Western Piedmont Community College Trustees recently honored Judge Claude Sitton by naming him a Trustee Emeritus of WPCC. Judge Sitton served as a trustee from 1977 to 2015 and as chair of the board in 1988, 2010, and 2011. He his public service career has spanned over 60 years where he has served as an attorney and superior court judge. Judge Sitton has received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, was named Rotary Club Morganton Man of the Year in 2010, and has worked to preserve local history through the History Museum of Burke County and preservation of the Sam J.Ervin, Jr. Memorial Home. He also was instrumental in developing the Senator Sam J. Ervin Library and Museum on the WPCC main campus.

Hickory firefighters responded to a possible drowning early Tuesday morning. At about 1:50, firefighters and other agencies responded in the area of 4800 North Center Street, the bridge over the Catawba River and Lake Hickory between Catawba and Alexander Counties. Firefighters were told that an employee, who was working on the bridge, fell into the water. Additional employees went into the water to locate the worker, but attempts were unsuccessful. Various agencies from several counties responded, with water equipment rescue assistance with the location of the victim and at approximately 3am, the victim was removed from the water by divers.

A Burke County resident is charged with 2 counts of felony probation violation. The Catawba County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, charged 30-year-old Danielle Renee Hoosier of Morganton. Bond was set at $50,000 with a court appearance scheduled for Tuesday.

A Marion man is charged with breaking into a safe. The McDowell County Sheriff;s Office Tuesday, charged 43-year-old Jonathan Wayne Griffin with 3 counts of safecracking. A Nebo man reported on August 16th that money was missing from his safe. An investigation showed that Griffin, who is
acquainted with the victim, broke into the safe on multiple occasions and stole cash.

Catherine Thomas was honored for her time serving on the board and a schematic design plan was approved for the new elementary school in Monday night's Burke County Board of Education regular meeting. Thomas resigned from the board earlier this summer for family reasons, but was recognized for her time and outstanding work while on the board. School board members praised Thomas for her dedication to the students and for her heart as a public servant. The board has already begun taking letters of interest from those currently living in the western district to fill Thomas' seat. Chairman Randy Burns said that the board is looking for applicants who do not have a political agenda, but who are willing to show their heart and value children. A New schematic design for the new elementary school was also approved during Monday night's meeting. The new elementary school will be built in the same location as the previous Mt.View Elementary and construction is projected to start around the end of September. In other news, Chartwells, who partnered with BCPS in the child nutrition program, donated money to Freedom and East Burke High School FFA for their agricultural programs. Chartwells also donated $7,000 to United Way for the build-a-back-pack-program.

A Morganton woman has been charged after her vehicle hit a school bus. The News Herald reports that the accident occurred Monday when Jessica Muill's car struck the bus on Lail Road. No one was injured. Mull was charged with driving left of center. Glen Alpine Police Chief Tony Moses told the News Herald that another bus was brought in to complete the route.

A Marion man has been charged with taking indecent liberties with a child. The McDowell County Sheriff's Office Friday, charged 32-year-old James Gregory Parker. The incident reportedly occurred when the victim was 6, she is now 16. The victim and suspect are acquainted.

Funding is available to Hickory low income families with urgent home repair needs. The City of Hickory currently has funding available to assist qualified low income families needing urgent home repairs. Assistance up to $7,200 can be made available to qualified homeowners to alleviate housing conditions posing a threat to the life or safety of the resident, or to provide accessibility modifications and other repairs necessary for those with special needs. Qualified applicants must also be 62 years old, handicapped or disabled, be a single parent with at least one dependent child in the residence, be a family of five or more, or have a child age 6 or younger with an elevated blood-lead level. The home must be located within the Hickory city limits. The program is sponsored by the City of Hickory with funds provided by the state Housing trust Fund. For more information call 323-7414.

Today is the first day of school in Burke County, and the the Public Schools is taking a stand against bullying and asking everyone associated with the school system to sign a pledge acknowledging bullying will not be tolerated in the schools. Bullying can manifest itself in many actions, uncluding pushing, shoving, hitting, spitting, name calling, picking on, making fun of, laughing at and excluding someone. Cyberbullying is when a person is tormented, threatened, harassed, huiliated, embarrassed or targeted by another person using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. Students, parents, teachers and other staff members will be presented with an anti-bullying pledge. By signing this pledge, they promise to be a buddy and not a bully. The pledges will go home with all students today. Parents and students will read and review the information at home, sign the pledge and return it to school.

The 25th District Attorney's Office rules on an officer-involved shooting that happened in Catawba County. Actions by law enforcement officers in a shooting that occurred in Catawba County August 10th have been deemed justifiable by District Attorney David Learner. The shooting took place at the end of a 40-mile chase that began in Mecklenburg County and ended at NC 16 and Buffalo Shoals Road, as the suspect vehicle crashed into a utility pole. Reports say when officers tried to arrest the suspects, 29-year-old Rodolfo Joel Ulloa-Paz pointed a firearm at them. Officers then responded with the use of deadly force injuring the suspect. Ulloa-Paz was hospitalized from the incident, but did survive. DA Learner reviewed body-cam footage and determined the officers were totally justified in their use of deadly force to defend themselves. Charlotte Mecklenburg Police, the State Highway Patrol, and Catawba County Sheriff's Department are among the agencies involved.

Burke County's rate of death due to accidental drug overdoses is over twice the average for North Carolina. Area pharmacies now can provide the public with a life saving antidote. Table Rock Pharmacy in Morganton is going to host a no charge public information forum tomorrow at 5pm. Learn what you can to help someone facing a life or death situation. Call 438-9355 for details.

An escaped inmate from North Carolina has been captured in West Virginia. State prison officials report that inmate Jason Strickland is now in law enforcement custody in West Virginia. Strickland escaped by leaving a highway work crew in Wilkes County July 27th. That day he was picked up by a female driving an SUV. Several days later, Strickland was spotted in Galax, Virginia, but there had been no leads since then. Strickland was located after checking into a homeless shelter in Beckley. Preparations are underway for his extradition to North Carolina.

A dedication event will be held this morning at the Whippoorwill Farm at 6793 High 126 Nebo. It will be a celebration of Foothills Conservancy of NC's donation of 41 acres of the Whippoorwill Farm property to Lake James State Park beginning at 10 o'clock.  A short hike will follow brief remarks.

An Eastern Burke County man faces methamphetamine and other charges after an arrest early this morning. Hickory Police charged 28-year-old Joshua James Hampton of Icard will possession of meth, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of stolen goods/property. Bond was set at $25,000 with a court appearance scheduled for today.

In a special meeting, held Wednesday, Hickory City Council voted unanimously to approve a settlement agreement with Willie Grimes in the amount of $3,250,000. Grimes was convicted of the rape and kidnapping of Carrie Lee Elliot in July of 1988. He was sentenced to life, plus nine years. After serving 24 years of his sentence, Grimes was released in 2012 while still maintaining his innocence. His claim of innocence was investigated by the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, a State agency which investigates post-conviction claims of innocence. The Commission found that latent finger prints from the case did not match Grimes' prints. Grimes was exonerated of the crime in October 2012 by the Commission. In 2014, Grimes filed a lawsuit against the City of Hickory and four Hickory Police Chiefs and Officers. After Plaintiffs and Defendants mediated the case, a proposed settlement was reached, which releases all Defendants. The City of Hickory will pay $2,250,650, while the City's insurance carrier, National Casualty, will be responsible for $999,350.

More charges are filed against four McDowell County residents accused of counterfeiting. Detective Billie Brown of the McDowell County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, filed additional charges against 33-year-old April Marie Byrd of Marion, 34-year-old Sylvia June Crain of Nebo, 41-year-old Richard Andrew Smith of Old Fort, and 40-year-old Scotty Keith Styles of Old Fort. The four suspects have been in custody since August 4th, when McDowell County sheriff's deputies and Marion police officers raided Smith's house and garage on Souther Road and found counterfeit money of all denominations, equipment used to make the currency, and stolen goods, according to Brown. The SBI, U.S.Department of Homeland Security and N.C.Department Division of Motor Vehicles assisted in the cases.

The Alexander County Sheriff's Office has filed multiple charges on a Valdese man. 28-year-old Justin Wayne Singleton was charged Wednesday, with Larceny of a Motor Vehicle, Larceny of a dog and Cruelty to Animals. The charges are related to the incident from last week at the Dollar General in Bethlehem where a car and dog were stolen. More arrests are expected and the investigation continues. Singleton is currently in the Burke Catawba Jail on unrelated charges.

Volunteers are needed for the Susan G.Komen Northwest NC Foothills Race for the Cure. This year's race will be held October 15th at L.P.Frans Stadium in Hickory, as event organizers are calling for volunteers from the foothills region. The Komen Race for the Cure series - the largest series of 5k events in the world - raises significant funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer, celebrates breast cancer suvivorship, and honors those who have lost their battle with the disease. The foothills affiliate covers Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Alexander, Avery, Mitchell, Madison, Yancey, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany Counties. For information call Gina Simmons at 828-295-2190.

Foothills Conservancy recently received a $1 million grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund in order to further conserve Wildacres Retreat. Governed by a board of directors, Wildacres Retreat is a nonprofit conference center that offers its facilities and surrounding woodlands to nonprofit groups conducting educational or cultural programs. Wildacres property consists of 1,100-acres along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Little Switzerland. It shares more than a mile of boundary with the Parkway, is surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest and shares land with the Deer Lick Gap Overlook. The Clean Water Management Trust Fund awards grants to local governments, state agencies and conservation nonprofits to help finance projects that address water pollution problems specifically. Protecting the water quality in these areas benefits millions of residents in the Carolinas who draw drinking water from the Catawba River. Money from the grant will be used to purchase the conservation easement on the lands surrounding the nearly five miles of mountain streams along the property. In doing so, the water quality in the Armstrong Creek watershed in the Catawba River's headwaters will be permanently protected. Conserving The Wildacres property also protects streams found that are designated by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality as High Quality Waters and Trout Waters indicating good conditions for trout with high water quality.

With the 2016-17 academic year underway at Lenoir-Rhyne, a record 560 new undergraduate students have been welcomed to the Hickory campus. Undergraduates are comprised of 460 first-year students and 100 transfer students, with 49 international students representing 20 countries. Over 800 graduate students are enrolled in programs on the Hickory, Asheville, and Columbia campuses. 465 of those grad students are participating in programs on the main campus in Hickory.

A special called meeting of the Hickory City Council will take place this afternoon at 4:00, in Council Chambers of the Whitener Municipal Building on North Center Street. The purpose of this Special Meeting: Review and Discussion of Citywalk and 321 Gateway Design Contracts, Review and Discussion of Downtown Revitalization Grant from NC Department of Commerce, Review and Discussion of Proposed Settlement Agreement, Review and Discussion of Associated Budget Amendments, and Pursuant to NC General Statue 143.318.11(a)(4)(6) Council will discuss, in Closed Session, Economic Development Projects and a Personnel Matter.

Burke County Public Schools is mapping out a strategic plan for the future and seeking community input is part of the process. The school system invites business leaders, elected officials, parents, students, teachers and school staff to get involved in the Burke County Public Schools District Strategic Plan 2022 - A Roadmap for Our Schools and Community. The school district will hold town hall meetings and conduct surveys to help evaluate goals and objectives and assess strengths and opportunities. The results will direct the district's strategic plan for 2017 through 2022. The focus of this fact-finding quest includes aligning district priorities with community expectations, making great community relationships even better, and exploring stakeholder ideas on how to best prepare students for the future. Burke County Public Schools will take the next six months to map out the new strategic plan. The times and locations of the town hall meetings and details on the survey process will be announced soon.

Foothills Conservancy of NC hosts a clean-up project later this week on John's River. A river loat and clean-up outing called 'Erase the Waste' will be held Friday. The public is invited to join the annual event to help clean the river while strolling down a five-mile stretch of its waters in Burke and Caldwell Counties; near where the John's River and Wilson Creek meet. The outing begins at 8:30am and runs until 4pm: however, an RSVP is required by tomorrow. For additional details, call Foothills Conservancy at 828-437-9930. The Morganton based land-trust serves Burke, McDowell, Rutherford, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Alexander, and Lincoln Counties.

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners was named winner of one of this year's County Government Partnership Awards from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. The award is one of five given regionally across North Carolina each year. According to George Place, Director of the Cooperative Extension-Catawba Center, "collaboration with the Catawba County government has resulted in numerous successes toward the Cooperative Extension Service's goal of educating the public, developing youth, preserving farmland, and bolstering a local food system." The award was presented August 11th at the annual North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Conference in Winston-Salem.