Todd Fire Department reopens after 5 months
Ashe and Watauga counties
Todd Fire and Rescue Department announced it has will be answering fire and first responder calls after five months of being out of service. The department closed due to address problems in insurance and operations last year. In December, the department began testing its equipment to ensure they were up to standard. The Watauga fire marshal conducted an inspection and gave them the OK.
Watauga Democrat
Henderson County school district considers snow makeup days
Henderson County
Henderson County Public Schools decided to cancel school due to inclement weather, which has put them behind on instructional hours required by the state. The school district has canceled school seven times this year due to snow and ice and Hurricane Irma in September. Administrators say they will need to make up one day, but will decide when after the winter weather passes. Some options are Saturday school, spring break or adding days to the end of the year.
Blue Ridge Now
N.C. State Parks attendance increases in 2017
Avery County
The North Carolina State Parks system saw an increase of more than 19 million visitors to their parks, which is a 3 percent increase compared to 2016. According to the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 27 of the 39 state parks saw an increase in visitation, included Grandfather Mountain State Park, which saw more than 87,000 visitors. Lake James State Park saw an uptick of 8 percent. The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources secretary said an extra 2,075 acres of land was acquired for the state parks system in 2017.
High Country Press
Police searching for Pisgah Forest armed robbery suspect
Transylvania County
Sheriff deputies continue to search for a suspect who robbed a Triangle Stop on Hendersonville Highway Sunday night. Police say a white male entered the store with a firearm, demanded money from the clerk and took off with an undisclosed amount of money. The suspect was wearing dark colored pants, a reflective yellow jacket and a face mask. Deputies recovered a jacket and a pair of tennis shoes on Crab Creek Road, which they believe belonged to the suspect.
Citizen-Times
Three N.C. men charged with human trafficking
Guilford County
Police say that a call about a suspicious car led them to discover a 19-year-old girl in a townhome and evidence of a human trafficking ring. Charged with felony human trafficking, 22-year-old Michael Blaze Craddock was arrested. , Tommy Lee Woods, 52, is charged with misdemeanor conspiring to commit prostitution, and William Scott Dorner, 61, was charged with misdemeanor soliciting for prostitution.
High Point Enterprise
Knightdale father, daughter charged with incest
Wake County
A Knightdale man and his daughter were charged with incest after his estranged wife told the police the two were having a baby together. Steven Pladl and Katie Pladl were arrested in their home on Jan. 27. According to arrest warrants, Katie, 20, was legally adopted out of the state at birth, and when she turned 18, she reached out to Steven and her mother. Warrants say Katie and Steven’s baby was born in September 2017 and was with them at the time of the arrest. They were charged with incest with adult, adultery, contributing to delinquency.
ABC11
Woman shot in University City apartment with 6-month-old baby inside
Mecklenburg County
A woman was shot in an apartment in University City on Monday morning while a 6-month-old baby was inside. Police responded to Wexford Apartments on Wexford Meadows Lane for a home invasion call. The woman was shot multiple times in the upper body. The woman was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The baby was not hurt.
WSOC TV
Reidsville officials investigating 6 ‘suspicious’ fires
Rockingham County
Law enforcement are investigating six fires that happened in a span of three hours on Sunday morning. The fires were started between 12:12 a.m. and 2:53 on Vance, Poplar, Elm and Hillsdale streets and Linville Drive. Officials are calling the set of fires “suspicious.” It’s unknown whether the fires were residential or businesses or is anyone was hurt.
Greensboro News & Record
UNC claims right to shield names of students displaced for sexual misconduct cases
Orange County
UNC-Chapel Hill lawyers said judges should shield the university from having to release the names of students disciplined for on-campus sexual misconduct cases. Federal laws give the university discretion to release the names of students found responsible for crimes of violence and “non-forcible sex offense.” UNC Chancellor Carol Folt decided to go against the disclosure. UNC is attempting to prevent a group of media organizations to force disclosure of students’ names it has disciplined in sexual misconduct cases.
Herald Sun
“Selfie Kid” from Super Bowl born in Greenville
Pitt County
Ryan McKenna, the 13-year-old teenager who gained Internet fame and memes from nabbing a selfie with Justin Timberlake during the Super Bowl was born in eastern N.C. McKenna, who now lives in Boston, was born in Greenville and his family moved to New Bern shortly after. He attended Arendell Parrott Academy in Kinston before moving north.
WITN
NASH UNC Heath Care names cancer center for Danny Talbot
Nash County
The recently opened 16,100-square-foot Danny Talbott Cancer Center on the campus of Nash UNC Health Care has been named for Danny Talbott, a star athlete from the twin counties. Talbott was a three-sport standout at Rocky Mount High School leading the football team to the 1962 4A state championship. He was also a linchpin on Rocky Mount’s basketball and baseball state championship teams. Talbott later started at quarterback for three years for the North Carolina Tar Heels’ football team, including earning First Team All-ACC honors in 1965. Talbott also earned all-conference honors at UNC as a baseball player and was inducted in the 2003 North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Rocky Mount Telegram
New Eastern NC School for the Deaf director to arrive next month
Wilson County
The Eastern NC School for the Deaf has named Michele Handley its new director following the resignation of Carter Bearden in mid-2017. Handley currently works for the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, where she has been since 2007. In addition to administrative roles, Handley has been a parent adviser, teacher and interpreter at schools in Colorado and Georgia since getting a bachelor’s degree in 1996. She also holds master’s and doctorate degrees.
Wilson Times
