COVID-19 UPDATE

The number of deaths in Burke County due to COVID-19 rose by three over the weekend for a total of 154.

A news release issued Monday afternoon says the three were in their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s and were all hospitalized.

Public health officials report an increase of 13 cases since Friday In Burke, for a total of 9-thousand-911 COVID-19 cases.

Figures show 273 cases are reported to be active, and 9 people remain hospitalized.

McDowell County reported 15 new virus cases yesterday for a total of 4-thousand-979 positives.

58 residents in McDowell are still in quarantine.

Hiker Killed

Local and state emergency personnel were called to Linville Gorge over the weekend where a man reportedly fell 40 to 60 feet to his death.

Rescue crews responded to the Babel Tower area around 12:30 Saturday afternoon to the report of a long fall.

After hiking along the trail for about a mile, officials found the victim deceased.

Emergency officials report the man had been hiking with his son, and had apparently decided to climb part of Babel Tower without using ropes.

The US Forest Service continues to investigate the incident.

The NC Helo Aquatic Rescue Team assisted Burke EMS and Burke Emergency Management, along with Burke County Rescue, Avery and McDowell Counties, and NC Emergency Management.

Withholds Evidence

The owner of a Caldwell County country store has been arrested for withholding evidence in the March 28^th shooting of his dog Rocky.

Bruce Morrison Gray was arrested for withholding video evidence of the incident – video revealing Rocky charged and lunged aggressively at the man charged in the shooting Joshua Wayne Hawley of Burke County.

The dog Rocky was described as a mascot at Betsey’s Olde country store in Collettsville.

Hawley initially left the scene following the shooting but was later found and admitted to killing the dog.

He was charged with felony cruelty to animals and given a 10-thousand dollar bond.

Reports say Gray had the video detailing Rocky’s attack on Hawley, but failed to turn it over to investigators.

He has now been charged with felony obstruction of justice and issued a 20-thousand dollar bond.

 

Drugs on Probationer

A Marion man already on probation is found with drugs in his possession.

On March 31^st, McDowell Sheriff’s Office deputies and State Probation and Parole searched the residence of 46-year-old Jerry Chris Trantham on Owl Hollow Road.

Authorities discovered meth, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.

Trantham was charged with numerous drug possession charges.

 

COVID Relief Available

Most NC families with children received an automatic 335-dollar COVID-19 relief payment last fall to help with virtual schooling and childcare costs.

Eligible families who did not receive those funds have another chance to apply through May 31^st 2021.

The 335-dollar payments are for individuals with a dependent child who was 16 or younger at the end of 2019.

For those who did not file a 2019 state tax return because gross income for the year did not exceed the state’s filing requirements for their filing status may still be eligible for the payment if applied for by May 31^st.

If you have already received the grant, you are not eligible to re-apply.

The State Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging families who have not already done so to take action before the deadline.

Go to ncdor.gov/extracredit for details and to apply.

Chase

A vehicle chase through three counties Wednesday evening leads to a wreck and to the arrest of a Burke County man.

Shortly after 6:30 p.m., Lincoln County officers attempted to stop a car that had been reported as stolen from Caldwell County.

As a deputy pulled in behind the car, reports say the driver accelerated leading officers into Cleveland and Burke Counties.

Deputies lost sight of the vehicle on Pine Ridge Drive in Burke and began a search of the area.

Authorities later discovered the vehicle’s driver had fled on foot after leaving the car on Pine Mountain Drive.

A resident of the area reportedly told lawmen a man had walked out of the woods and offered to pay for a ride out of the area.

Deputies shortly thereafter found the man hiding underneath a bridge and took him into custody.

The suspect identified as 34-year-old Stephen Brett Dellinger of George Hildebran School Road was charged with fleeing to elude arrest, possession of a stolen vehicle, and driving while license revoked.

He was also served with outstanding warrants from Catawba County for failure to appear on shoplifting and larceny charges.

Dellinger was jailed in Lincoln County under a 19-thousand dollar secured bond.

The Burke County Sheriff’s Office assisted Lincoln authorities in the incident.

Knife Dispute

A domestic dispute in McDowell County Wednesday results in weapon charges for a Marion man.

Just before 11 pm, deputies were called to the dispute on Hankins Road involving 28-year-old Jacob Channing Cable and a 70-year-old man.

Reports say Cable brandished a knife and cut the man on the chest causing minor injuries.

Additionally, Cable broke a door and windows in the home.

He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, injury to real property, and second-degree trespassing.

City Walk Bridge

The second set of wooden arches for Hickory’s City Walk pedestrian bridge is scheduled to be installed this weekend.

The work will close NC 127 between First Avenue Southeast and First Avenue Northeast from 6 am Saturday through 6 am next Monday.

Detours will be clearly marked and motorists are urged to use Fourth Street and the one-way pairs to navigate around the closure.

For information about the City Walk project, visit craftinghickory.com.

 

 

 

Schools Lockdown

As local authorities searched for a man armed with a handgun, two Burke County elementary schools were placed on a soft lockdown on Wednesday.

School officials report WA Young and Glen Alpine elementary schools were advised by law enforcement to observe a soft lockdown around 12:30 p.m.

Reports say the lockdown was lifted around an hour later at 1:30.

Officials with the school system state all students and staff were safe inside the schools, and that parents received phone notification of the situation.

According to a news release from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, a man identified as 46-year-old Craig Herman Lytle was armed and had pointed the firearm at a resident living in the Powerhouse Road area.

The investigating officer also discovered several fires that had been set in the area, and Lytle is a person of interest in setting the fires.

Lytle is described as being 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 196 pounds. He has long brown hair and was wearing a black bandana and green BDU pants.

Emergency officials say Lytle was last seen on Arney Drive off Powerhouse Road just outside the Glen Alpine town limits.

Law enforcement continues to look for Lytle while urging residents to not approach the suspect, but call 911 or the Burke Sheriff’s Office at 438-5500 if you see him.

McDowell Wanted

Authorities in McDowell County are on the lookout for a Marion man who fled during a traffic stop Tuesday night.

42-year-old Jeremy Wayne Parker was stopped in Old Fort for multiple traffic violations.

After finding meth, pills, and drug paraphernalia reports say the officer charged Parker with numerous drug offenses.

Parker who initially gave the deputy fictitious ID information fled into the woods after the traffic stop and remains at large.

Parker’s passenger 29-year-old Haley Helms of Marion also received drug trafficking and possession charges.

Anyone having information about Parker’s whereabouts is urged to call the McDowell Sheriff’s Office at 652-2235.

Nebo Drugs

Both occupants inside a vehicle stopped at a license checkpoint in Nebo now face charges.

Shortly after 9 pm April 6^th, officers with the McDowell Sheriff’s Office and the NC Highway Patrol were checking motorists at the intersection of Harmony Grove and Fairview Roads.

Reports say 43-year-old Wesley Rogers of Bostic approached the checkpoint with 43-year-old Tommy Burleson of Marion as his passenger.

Rogers was reportedly driving with a suspended license and is currently on probation.

Officers reports say could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

A search of the suspects and vehicle turned up meth and marijuana.

Rogers and Burleson were each charged with two counts of trafficking in meth and one count of possession of up to one-half ounce marijuana.

Rutherford Drug Bust

Three people have been arrested and charged following an investigation into meth distribution in Rutherford County.

Authorities there report receiving information that the suspects were distributing meth from a home in Ellenboro.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office narcotics unit assisted by Forest City Police seized more than 451 grams of methamphetamine, a pistol, over 5 grams of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.

James Wilson, Holly Edmonds, and Meranda Dotson were all charged with trafficking meth and conspiring to traffic meth.

Wilson and Edmonds were also each charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, while Edmonds was additionally charged with maintaining a vehicle to traffic meth.

Dotson’s bond was set at 250-thousand secured, Edmonds was secured at 330-thousand, and Wilson’s at 400-thousand dollars secured.

Missing Found

A missing teenager from Lincoln County has been located in Buncombe County.

The US Marshal’s Service informed Lincoln authorities Tuesday that they had located Navaeh Rollins at her grandparent’s home in Asheville.

She was turned over to the Buncombe County Department of Social Services.

Rollins had been reported missing after she finished her shift at McDonald’s on Highway 16 in Denver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COVID-19 Update 

Burke County Public Health reports 241 active cases of COVID-19 for

a total of 9-thousand-846, with 6 patients hospitalized.

McDowell County reported 6 new cases of coronavirus yesterday for

a total of 4-thousand-941, with 45 McDowell residents in quarantine.

Caldwell County saw an increase of 10 cases of the virus for a total of

9-thousand-68, with 6 people in the hospital.

Catawba County reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, for a total

of 18-thousand-83, with 18 patients hospitalized.

Freedom High will be hosting a Moderna vaccine clinic tomorrow for

ages 18 and older, and a second clinic Saturday, for the Phizer vaccine for

ages 16 and older. Many appointments are available by calling 358-4454.

Hildebran Mountain Fire  

Crews responded early Tuesday morning to a fire in the George Hildebran

area of Burke County. George Hildebran Fire Rescue, along with the North

Carolina Forest Service responded to Hildebran Mountain about 1:15.

The News Herald reports that helicopter drops and firefighters on the

ground fought the fire, with crews returning today to continue efforts.

Hickory Checkers Fire  

Hickory firefighters responded about 8:30 Tuesday morning to a fire

at Checkers, 1304 2nd Street NE. No injuries were reported and damages

were considered major to the inside of the building. Fire investigators

determined the cause of the fire to be cooking inside. Catawba County EMS

and the Hickory Police Department assisted with traffic control.

Prison Sentence for Burke Man  

A Connelly Springs man will spend 28 to 35 years in prison following

his conviction Monday, in Burke Superior Court, for two counts of

second-degree murder and two counts of robbery with a dangerous

weapon. Brian Jerome Robinson entered a guilty plea in connection

with the September 2016 deaths of Spencer Jermaine Murray and

Albert Alexander Austin. Two other co-defendants - Icy Chenell Gooden

and Brandy Nicole Davis – already have entered pleas for their involvement

and are serving active prison sentences.

Rutherford Highway Dedication  

NCDOT leaders and Rutherford County Board of Commissioner members

attended a highway dedication on Monday. Walter Dalton, Lieutenant

Governor from 2009-2013, now has a 5.8 mile stretch of of U.S.74 from

U.S.221 to the Polk County line named for him. Dalton is a Rutherford

County native, and has served in the N.C.Senate, as well as President

of Isothermal Community College.

 

 

McDowell Tornado

The National Weather Service at Greenville-Spartanburg has confirmed an EF-Zero tornado struck McDowell County Saturday night.

Reports say the tornado touched down along Muddy Creek Road in Dysartsville and then ended one minute later in Nebo.

The weak tornado reportedly damaged the underpinning of a mobile home and partially blew a window from its frame on the same property.

The twister also tore the roof off of a shed, uprooted trees, and snapped some other smaller trees.

The weather service also detected some damage around the tornado’s path that was likely caused by straight-line winds.

McDowell County Emergency officials report winds Saturday evening were estimated at 80 miles per hour.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

New Catawba Facility

A new manufacturing facility is slated to open in Catawba County soon.

Gusmer Enterprises Incorporated will become the fifth tenant in the Trivium Corporate Center.

Gusmer Enterprises plans to construct a 135-thousand square foot manufacturing facility to produce liquid filtration media and devices used in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries; including products used in the production of COVID-19 treatments.

Over the next five years, Gusmer plans to create 73 jobs and invest a minimum of 38-point-2 million dollars in new facility construction, machinery, and equipment.

The company will be hiring a variety of positions including production, maintenance quality, and engineering.

Hiring is expected to begin later this year through 2023.

Iredell Shooting

A man is dead while another is in custody following a Friday night shooting in Iredell County.

Iredell officers were called to a residence off Rock Springs Road near the Harmony area just after 8:15.

Upon their arrival, reports say they found James Henry Potts of Statesville lying in the yard at the home.

Potts had been shot several times and reportedly died at the scene.

Witnesses identified the shooter as being a relative of the deceased – Noah Franklin Potts who fled the crime scene on an ATV.

Deputies later found the suspect and also found a pistol in the ATV.

Potts was charged with felony first-degree murder and is being held without bond.

Checkpoint Drugs

A license checkpoint in McDowell County last month results in another drug arrest.

On March 29^th, a Ford Mustang that approached officers at the intersection of Nix Creek Road and Veteran’s Drive smelled of marijuana.

An occupant of the vehicle 20-year-old Deven Taylor Ramsey of Nebo was charged by deputies with possession of a synthetic cannabinoid, possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana and possession of less than 1 and one-half ounces of marijuana.

Reports say a search of Ramsey and the vehicle turned up THC wax, a dab pen, and marijuana.

Stolen Trailer

McDowell County authorities are asking for the public’s help in locating a stolen utility trailer.

Reports say the 5-by-12 foot custom-built trailer was taken from property on Old Fort-Sugar Hill road sometime between January 7^th and February 21^st.

The side rails of the trailer, which was painted blue, also serve as ramps.

Anyone having information about the theft should contact McDowell detective Lambert at 652-2237 or call Crimestoppers at 65-CRIME.

 

COVID Death

Burke County’s death toll from COVID-19 stands at 149 now as local public health officials report the latest person to die from the virus.

A news release says the individual was in their 70’s and had been hospitalized.

McDowell County reported 5 additional positive cases Thursday for a total of 4-thousand-919 cases.

Presently, there are 40 McDowell residents in quarantine.

Caldwell County reported 18 new cases of the virus for a total of 9-thousand-41, with 9 people in the hospital.

Catawba County saw an increase of 30 cases of COVID-19 for a total of 17-thousand-995 with 18 patients hospitalized.

HS Graduations

Officials with the Burke County Public Schools have announced that area high schools are planning to hold traditional in-person graduations in May.

A news release indicates graduation ceremonies will take place indoors for Burke Middle College, Hallyburton, Patton, and Draughn; while Freedom and East Burke are both scheduled to hold outdoor ceremonies with a backup rain plan.

Officials state the events will still follow current CDC guidelines and meet state regulations on crowds and social distancing.

Families will sit together in designated areas, with individual health screenings upon entry, and masks will be required.

Graduation for Burke Middle College is May 24^th, May 26^th for Hallyburton Academy, East Burke, and Freedom; and May 27^th for Draughn and Patton.

Theft Arrest

A Catawba County man is now in custody and faces multiple felony charges in a 2019 break in and theft in Lincoln County.

The Lincoln Sheriff’s Office received reports of storage units in Maiden being broken into in August and December of 2019.

A news release says evidence collected at the scene led to a suspect – 41-year-old Alvin Jack Johnson.

On Wednesday, Johnson was arrested by a Lincoln County detective, assisted by NC Probation and Parole and the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.

Johnson is charged with six felony counts of breaking and entering, five felony counts of larceny after breaking and entering, and five felony counts of possession of stolen goods. 

He was jailed under a 40-thousand dollar secured bond.

Arson Charge

A Marion man is charged with first-degree arson in connection with a fire that occurred on March 20^th.

Reports with the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office say a small fire broke out on the back porch of a home on Red Oak Drive in Nebo.

The suspect, 59-year-old Kevin Brian Loftis of Roy Hollifield Road was seen leaving the house shortly after the fire started.

Also in McDowell –

A license checkpoint turns into an arrest for a Marion motorist.

On March 24^th, reports say McDowell deputies along with the state highway patrol had set up a checkpoint at the intersection of Deer Park and Harmony Grove Roads.

24-year-old Cory Tyler Woodard of Deer Park Resort Drive Marion came through the checkpoint without a valid driver’s license, and authorities learned he also had outstanding warrants.

Upon searching Woodard, officers also discovered methamphetamine.

 

 

 

COVID Death

Burke County’s death toll from COVID-19 stands at 148 now as local public health officials reported the latest person to die from the virus on Wednesday.

A news release says the individual was in their 70’s and was hospitalized.

The latest figures released show Burke with a total of 9-thousand-770 cases of COVID-19.

McDowell County reported 5 additional positive cases yesterday for a total of 4-thousand-914 cases.

Presently, there are 44 McDowell residents in quarantine.

Vaccine Clinics

The Burke County vaccination team will be hosting two COVID-19 vaccination clinics next week.

The vaccine is now available to all adults, but you must have an appointment to get vaccinated.

The first clinic will be Thursday April 15^th at Freedom High School.

Officials will be distributing the Moderna vaccine which is approved for those 18 and older.

The second clinic is Saturday April 17^th also at Freedom.

The Pfizer vaccine will be distributed at Saturday’s clinic which is approved for those 16 and older.

The vaccine is free, and no insurance or ID is required.

You do not have to be a Burke County resident to make an appointment.

Local health officials report there are many available appointments.

Schedule your vaccine appointment by calling 358-4454 or visit chsbr.org/vaccine online.

 

Caldwell Child Health Fair

The Caldwell County Health Department will host the 2021 Child Health and Safety Fair Wednesday April 14^th 5:30 till 6:30 pm.

The event will be held in the parking lot of the Health and Human Services building on Morganton Boulevard in Lenoir.

During the free event, parents can drive through the area stopping at each agency table for educational material and prizes for young children.

Some of the participating agencies include Caldwell County Safe Kids, local law enforcement, Caldwell EMS and fire departments, Caldwell Health Department and many more.

The fair is held annually during the ‘Week of the Young Child’ and is geared toward parents and their children ages birth to 5 years.

The rain date for the fair is April 21^st.

For more information, contact Anna Martin at 828-426-8415.

Drug Possession

A Marion man admits to possessing drugs that McDowell County officers seized in a search almost two years ago.

On April 18^th 2019, a McDowell deputy and Marion Police assisted state probation and parole with a search of a Fairview Park Lane residence.

The search, reports say, turned up methamphetamine.

At the time, authorities arrested the occupant of the home 63-year-old Sandra McKinney Capps who was on probation.

During a recent court appearance, 55-year-old Steve Allen Buchanan of Green Meadow Lane testified the drugs found on Fairview Park Lane in 2019 belonged to him.

Buchanan was charged with meth possession and maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance.

Vale Man Found

A Vale man who was previously reported as missing has been located safe in Jacksonville.

39-year-old Travis Michael Reilly had been reported missing after he was last seen April 1^st traveling to Lincolnton to return items to a store.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office thanks the public for their help.