Marijuana arrest in Yancey

01/31/2006

Yancey Deputies have charged a Burnsville man with various drug offenses. Kenneth Wayne King, age 45, of an Apricot Lane address was charged earlier this month with felony manufacturing marijuana and with felony intent to sell and deliver marijuana, and with maintaining a dwelling place to keep & grow marijuana. King’s arrest was made after 389 marijuana plants were discovered growing inside the 2nd level of a 2-story barn owned by King and located behind his Jacks Creek Community home. Sheriff Kermit Banks described the barn as a sophisticated indoor operation and he said the buds and seeds seized were capable of producing many pounds of marijuana. King was released after posting an $85 hundred secured bond. His court date in Yancey District Court is February 24th.

Impact Fees Maintained

01/30/2006

Burnsville’s Town Council meet in special session Thursday to determine what impact assessment & tapings fees would be imposed on Altec Industries resulting from water and sewer connections to Altec’s plant on Cane River School Road, in West Yancey. Burnsville Mayor Danny McIntosh said the council voted to maintain the impact assessment fees at $134,400.00, with a pay option of 3 annual payments of $44,800.00 for the next three years. These payments would begin this year and be due on October 1st. The tapping fees total $25,218.00 (water $23,718.00 & $1,500.00 for sewer) will be due now. McIntosh said the impact assessment fees were adopted by the Town in October of last year. The water and sewer improvements to Altec are being paid for with federal and state grant dollars except for the local share which is being paid for by Yancey County. The grant applications were structured so that Yancey County assumes all risk of non compliance and possible paybacks; this means Yancey County is responsible for the impact assessment fees of $134,400.00 and the tapping fees of $25,218.00.

Seeking Answers in Sampson’s Death

01/30/2006

Mitchell County Animal Rescue officials believe someone deliberately harmed a wolf, housed at the shelter that resulted in his death. The wolf, named Sampson, died last Tuesday after being ill for a few days. Sampson had lived at the shelter for three years. So far, the investigation has revealed Sampson apparently ate a nylon collar that had been soaked in fish oil. Strings from the collar sawed at intestines killing him. According to Rescue Director, Patricia Beam, Sampson did not wear a collar and there were no other animals housed with him. She believes someone put pieces of collar in Sampson’s enclosure and these pieces appear to have been cut with a sharp object. The Mitchell Sheriff’s Department is investigating Sampson’s death and the rescue is offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest and convection. If you have information about Sampson’s death, call the Mitchell Sheriff’s Department at 688-3982.

Clearmont Teacher Charged

01/27/2006

A science teacher at Clearmont Elementary has been charged with inappropriately touching several students. Phillip Donald Deyton, age 48, of an Echo Hill Drive address in Green Mountain, faces 21 counts of assault on a child under 12 and 4 counts of an assault on a female. The charges involve multiple girls. Investigators say the incidents took place during class and involved the majority of the 5th grade at Clearmont. Deyton was removed from the classroom after the allegations were made earlier this month. Authorities interviewed the entire 5th grade class before deciding to make the arrest. Deyton was released after posting $15 thousand cash bond. He has a February 24th court date in Yancey District Court.

Logger Injured on Georges’s Fork

01/26/2006

Yancey Emergency personnel had a rough time Tuesday when they answered a call about a logging accident on George’s Fork. A logger had been struck in the head when a limb apparently snapped back as he was cutting down a tree. The accident site was impossible to reach with 4-wheelers, the only way was on foot and it took emergency workers about a 1 & ½ hours to reach him. To get him off the mountain workers used Mission Hospitals MAMA helicopter as a spotter to locate the safest and quickest way down, workers had to cut a path as they descended down the rough terrain. It took 4 & ½ hours from the time the first call came to the time the victim was airlifted by MAMA to Asheville. His injuries were to his head, neck & back. The man worked for an out of town company and his name or condition was not available. Responding to the call were units from Yancey EMS, Yancey Rescue Squad, Spruce Pine Rescue along with Burnsville, Newdale, Clearmont and Pensacola Fire Departments.

Altec Industries Targets End of February

01/26/2006

Construction of Altec Industries plant off Cane River Middle School Road in West Yancey is continuing. Officials say they’re targeting the end of February for completion of the 175 thousand square foot structure. And, some in-plant training could begin as-early-as next week. The family based company, from Birmingham Alabama, makes truck bodies and aerial lifts for the utilities, construction and tree industries. Yancey Commission Chairman Danny Hensley said the Commissioners have taken some heat for using this piece of property (formerly planned as a recreation site) for Altec, but when he thinks of 300 workers in the plant, he knows they made the right decision.

Smash-and-Grab Arrest in McDowell

01/26/2006

McDowell County investigators have arrested a man they say may be behind almost three dozen smash-and-grab type break-ins in three Mountain counties. 35-year-old Timothy Akers in Marion early Tuesday when deputies found him at a pay phone while they were responding to security alarms in the area. When they checked his ID, Akers had coins falling out of his pockets and a crow bar with glass on it in the back seat of his car. Akers is also suspected of several break-ins in Rutherford County.

Burnsville Special Sessions

01/25/2006

Burnsville’s Town Board met is special session two times last week. On Wednesday the board approved an amended contract for the 2004-2005 audit with Cody McKinney of Spruce Pine. He had not been able to complete the audit by the previous contract completion date of October. The contract and the audit have to be approved by the local government commission, in Raleigh. Special meeting number two was Friday; the board discussed and approved an agreement to accept a grant $173 thousand from the Golden Leaf Foundation. These funds will be used for water & sewer connections to Altec Industries in West Yancey. Also approved was a grant application of $46 hundred to the Community Foundation for the purchase of tables and canopies by the farmer’s market at the Burnsville Town Center. The Town board also approved an application to the NC Rural Center “small town economic prosperity demonstration grant program” This program is designed to identify communities across the state for revitalization and if accepted Burnsville would be eligible for up to $220 thousand for projects identified as revitalization needs for the town.

Searching For a New Superintendent

01/24/2006

Mitchell County Board of Education has begun the search for a new Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Bill Sears informed the board in December he would be leaving his post at the end June. Board Chairman Jeff Harding says under Dr. Sears' watch, the schools have made a tremendous amount of progress, test scores are up and they have quality staff. He says the biggest problem facing the school system is their financial situation involving local money, the systems fund balance is slowly decreasing and the cost of everything is increasing. Harding said the next few months will be critical in two ways to the education of the children of Mitchell County; the selection of a new Superintendent and hopefully a better working relationship with the County Commissioners. He says Mitchell Schools will be asking for more funding from the County than they have received over the past three or four years. The School Board hopes to have a new Superintendent in place by the first week in April.

Heating Assistance Funds Are Gone

01/20/2006

Heating assistance for those in need has run dry. Larry Deyton, Director of Mitchell County Department of Social Services says his agency received around $22 thousand in federal money and around the October 17th, they spent all of these funds in one day. In December Mitchell received about $8 thousand from North Carolina; these funds were given to households on the waiting list. All of their funds are gone and Deyton says they still have a need. Cynthia McIntosh at Yancey DSS says all of their funds are gone too. Yancey received a total of $77 thousand, $57 thousand in regular energy funds and $20 thousand in disaster funds from North Carolina. McIntosh says they served 298 households with these funds. Some funds may be coming as North Carolina Governor Mike Easley announced this week that he is releasing an additional $4 million in funds to help low-income North Carolinians with the high heating costs expected this winter. With the public and private funds Easley secured in November, a total of $14 million is available to assist needy residents with home weatherization and utility bills. The combined resources are anticipated to serve over 80,000 North Carolina families. Just how much Mitchell & Yancey Counties will receive has not been announced.

YSO Grant Application

01/19/2006

The Yancey Sheriff’s Dept has applied for a grant from the Governor’s Crime Prevention Program: Gary Banks, Chief Deputy, says the grant is to hire an additional investigator. This person would work with social services, mental health and child abuse. The total grant would be for $49 thousand with a 25% match from Yancey County in the amount of $12,500. The Governor’s Crime Prevention Program is designed to help local law enforcement deal with crime in the community.

News Details on Murder

01/18/2006

Mitchell County Sheriff Ken Fox says he believes someone murdered 65 year old Jimmy Bennett before dumping his body in Mitchell County and the crime may have occurred somewhere else. Bennett’s body was found on Friday by Unicoi County Tennessee Sheriff Kent Harris along the Mitchell & Unicoi County line. Fox says Bennett was beaten in the head and chest. He was also choked and dragged to the spot where his body was discovered. Bennett, from Johnson City, Tennessee, had been reported missing by family members on Wednesday January 11th. The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation along with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Johnson City Police Department.

Deputies Bust Car Theft Ring

01/17/2006

Yancey Deputies have arrested a Henderson County man & woman after connecting them to several stolen vehicles in Yancey, Buncombe & Henderson Counties. Donnie Charged are Ray Estes, age 19 and Cori Mae Henderson, age 18.The arrests were the result of an investigation into the breaking and entering and larceny of a vehicle at the intersection of Ewart Wilson Road and NC 197 South on November 30th. According to deputies, the victim had parked his 1999 Ford Ranger Truck at the old Merchison Store and rode to work with someone else, when he returned at about 5:30 pm, his truck had been stolen. While investigating the incident, Yancey Deputies J.P. Grindstaff and Deputy L.R. Higgins found an abandoned 1989 Nissan Pathfinder near Sharp Top Road. It had been stolen from a restaurant off Hendersonville Road, in Asheville. On December 3rd, Henderson County Deputies recovered the 99 Ford Ranger, it had been damaged in a wreck Yancey Deputies went to Henderson County where they conducted interviews with the suspects, they confessed to taking the vehicles in Yancey County. They also confessed to stealing several other vehicles reported stolen from area churches in Henderson County. Estes and Henderson are scheduled to appear in Yancey District Court on January 27th.

Cause of Death Yet to be Determined

01/16/2006

On Friday January 13, 2005 the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Unicoi County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office about an abandoned vehicle located just off of NC Hwy 197N just inside Mitchell County from the state line. The vehicle matched the description of a vehicle belonging to a person that had been reported missing from Johnson City, Tennessee earlier in the week. An investigator with the Unicoi County Sheriff’s Office did locate the vehicle on Federal Forest Service property just inside Mitchell County North Carolina. The investigator confirmed that the vehicle was registered to Jimmy Lee Bennett of Johnson City, Tennessee. Bennett had been reported missing by family members in Johnson City on Wednesday January 11, 2006. Investigators located the body of a male off an embankment near the vehicle during a scene search. No immediate cause of death was determined at the scene. The body was later identified as Jimmy Lee Bennett 65 years old of Johnson City. The body was transported to the Watauga Medical Center in Boone, North Carolina where an autopsy is scheduled for early this week.  At this time investigators are treating the incident as a Homicide. The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation along with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Johnson City Police Department.

Playground at Riverside Park Almost Ready

01/16/2006

The new playground project at Riverside Park, in Spruce Pine, is about a week and a half to two weeks from being completed. Spruce Pine Town Manager Richard Canipe says the playground is a project of Spruce Pine Rotary who has raised over $30 thousand and that amount has been matched by the Town through a Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant. Canipe asks citizens using the park to please “not use” the equipment until the work on the equipment is finished and until after the dedication which will be scheduled following completion of the project. He said members of Spruce Pine Rotary are also using some funds for extra things not outlined in the project such as landscaping around the playground, and he thanked Spruce Pine Rotary members for their contribution to the town. The town will also resurface the walking path at the park with funds from the grant!!

Body Found in Mitchell

01/14/2006

A body found in Mitchell County Friday afternoon has been identified as that of a Tennessee man missing since Tuesday. The Unicoi County Sheriff's Department, in Tennessee, says the body of 65 year old Jimmy Bennett of Johnson City was found off Highway 197 in Mitchell County, near the Tennessee border. Law enforcement officials are calling his death suspicious. No other details are available. His body has been sent to Boone for an autopsy.

Yancey and Burnsville at Odds over Fees

01/13/2006

Yancey Commissioners and the Burnsville Town Board met in special session Thursday to discuss capacity depletion impact assessment and tapping fees the town is imposing on Altec Industries. Yancey Commissioner Dean Hicks says the County has concerns over these assessment fees because they came, basically, after the fact that Altec announced they were coming. He said the County understands the issues the Town has and can appreciate the fact that it’s going to cost some money, but the County was not prepared for this fee, which ultimately the County has to pay and they’re asking the Town “for maybe a one time wavier” and he hopes talks will continue and something will get worked out. Burnsville Mayor Danny McIntosh said the town is trying to be industry friendly, but they have to remain true to the Town’s taxpayers and current users. The fees insure new users to the system will share in the infrastructure already in place and has been paid for by current users. He said this is only way the Town has for raising funds for capitol improvement projects and continued improvements to the Town’s water and sewer system—the only other way is to raise user fees of those who are current users. Unless there is a compromise, the capacity depletion impact assessment and tapping fees would be $169 thousand and if the fee isn’t forgiven the County would have to pay the fees. (The grant applications were structured so that the County assumes all the risk of non-compliance and possible paybacks) According to a letter to the Town from the law firm of Roberts and Stevens from Asheville, Yancey County sent the Town a letter on September 6, 2005 formally requesting water and sewer for the Altec Industries site on Cane River School Road. The Town responded on September 9th. There were a number of conditions in the September 9th letter, but there was no mention of the capacity depletion charges, and at no time during the numerous discussions with representatives of Altec and the County, was the subject of capacity depletion or impact fees mentioned. The letter goes on to say at the very least, mention of the fees should have been included in the September 9th letter and in the several public meetings with Altec and the County regarding water and sewer. The Town Council will meet Thursday, January 26th, at 6 PM to discuss what they’re going to do. The meeting is open to the public.

New Voting Machines for Mitchell, Yancey Decides Today

01/11/2006

In August the North Carolina General Assembly ratified a Senate Bill designed to restore public confidence in elections. The bill allows the state Board of Elections to certify and decertify election equipment. Voting machine vendors presented their equipment to the state board, and after the smoked had settled, there were two companies that were certified and one of those dropped out leaving Elections Systems and Software the only certified vendor allowed to conduct business in North Carolina. Mitchell Commissioners voted Monday to purchase new equipment from them. The good news, a grant of $120 thousand is available to Mitchell and the only cost to the county is $570. Yancey County Board of Elections is conducting a public forum today from 10am until 12noon in the Commissioners meeting room on the 2nd floor in the County Courthouse. The purpose is to demonstrate new voting machines for the county. Yancey citizens are encouraged to attend, make comments and ask questions. Following the forum, the Elections board will meet and decide which machines to recommend to Commissioners. $142 thousand in grant money is available to Yancey for the purchase of voting machines. A decision on which equipment to buy must be made by January 20th.

McDowell Land Dispute

01/11/2006

A McDowell County man, Rom English, is in a land dispute with the U.S. Forest. English says he has tax receipts and deeds dating back to 1835 that prove his family owns the land and never sold any portion of the property, but a 65-year-old mistake could cost him part of his family homestead. Rom English is the fifth generation of his family living on land in Northern McDowell County. The U.S. Forest Service says it purchased the land from a surveyor named Strikeleather, who came through the area. English says it was not an honest deal, "It was a sneak attack done in 1933 when Strikeleather came through and surveyed him out almost 1500 acres." The U.S. Forest service says it's still redoing it's boundaries and has plans to sort this out with the English family.

Talks about a Mitchell Jail

01/10/2006

Mitchell Commissioners meet last night, one of the items on the agenda was a possible county jail. They heard a presentation from Pease Associates, of Charlotte a company that designs and builds jail facilities. Two proposals were presented, one a 36 bed facility with an estimated cost of around $3.5 million, this facility would include a Sheriff’s Department (about $2.7 million without). The other jail option presented would not house a Sheriff’s Department but would house 40 inmates at a cost of around $2 & ¼ million. (Different building materials would be used in this proposal) After more than an hour of talk, comments, questions and answers, Commissioners appeared to be no closer to a unanimous decision about which proposal to go with. County Manager Ryan Whitson said a lot of decisions have to be made such as to have a full kitchen or have food brought in and how many personnel should man the facility. He said his feeling is that Commissioners want a new a new jail facility operational by July 1, 2007. Whatever the final product looks like, the county would finance the project through a USDA loan and it must meet state approval. The new jail facility would be built on the new Mitchell County Courthouse property in Bakersville.

2005 Busiest Year for Drugs

01/10/2006

Yancey Deputies ended 2005 with several drug related arrests. Becky Honneycutt, age 23, of a 19E address was charged on December 27th with possession of cocaine and maintaining a dwelling place to keep illegal drugs, an undisclosed amount of cocaine at her residence. On December 31st, Deputies arrested Loren Seth Westall, age 30, of a Blue Rock Road address with possession of methamphetamine and with maintaining a dwelling place to keep illegal drugs. On December 30th, Deputies charged Kenya Star Bell, age 19, of a Fern Drive address with meth possession and with intent to sell and deliver and they charged Kenneth Jack McIntosh, age 26 of Green Fern Lane, with meth possession and with intent to sell and deliver methamphetamine. Both Bell and McIntosh were charged with operating a vehicle without insurance and valid registration!! Yancey Sheriff Kermit Banks said 2005 was one of the busiest years for the department in all areas, but especially in the fight against drugs.

Yancey Teacher Investigated

01/09/2006

A Yancey County teacher is being investigated for allegedly inappropriately touching female students. The school board says the teacher has been removed from the classroom while they conduct an internal investigation. The SBI is also working with the Sheriff's Department to conduct a possible criminal investigation. That involves interviewing the entire Fifth Grade at Clearmont Elementary School. The Yancey County investigator says he expects to meet with the District Attorney about case sometime this week. So far no charges are filed.

Burnsville Mayor and Town Attorney Clash

01/09/2006

The January meeting of the Burnsville Town Board picked up where the December Town Board meeting left off. Mayor Danny McIntosh opened the meeting with a statement saying he was still concerned about the legal formation of the current board which was sworn in December 6th. He said this has to be settled because any action the board takes may be illegal. Then while reviewing a budget amendment of $5,412 to recognize increase in expenditures for town election for, a heated exchange occurred when McIntosh questioned the charges of $5,250 for services from Town Attorney Robert Phillips. McIntosh said he didn’t understand how Phillips could put that much time in over a three or four day period (he says the issue wasn’t raised until December 1st) and “not be able to produce some sort of brief or writing or some justification about his opinion.” Phillips answered by saying the Town has been under threat of lawsuit by McIntosh for three years; for being fired as fire chief (by unanimous vote) and for not being hired as police chief (by unanimous vote) and for the date on which he was going to be sworn in. Phillips said he got the opinion from the Institute of Government, the leading authority on municipal law, a former U.S. attorney, Councilperson Heather Hockaday (a lawyer) that there was nothing illegal with what they were doing, but he had to look into these matters because of McIntosh’s threat. Phillips said the only way you can be sworn is prior to the organizational meeting, that’s by state statute. Phillips said none of these fees had to be incurred if McIntosh had just come in for the swearing in on December 6th. Phillips said this is not a partisan issue, it had to do with being threatened with lawsuits for the last three years and probably more money has been spent on this issue for attorney fees than any one item that the town had incurred.

New Mitchell Jail on the Agenda

01/09/2006

Mitchell Commissioners meet tonight at 6 in the County Administration building in Bakersville. One of the items on the agenda is to consider plans for a county jail. Manager Ryan Whitson said Commissioners will look at two proposals, one a 36 bed facility with an estimated cost of $4.5 million, the other would house 40 inmates at a cost of around $2 & ¼ million. The county would finance either plan through a USDA loan. The new jail facility would be built on the new Mitchell County Courthouse property Bakersville.

Yancey Moved to Tier 2 in 2006

01/06/2006

The NC Department of Commerce has moved Yancey County from a Tier 1 to a Tier 2 designation in 2006. This could greatly affect in the county’s efforts in attracting business and industry to the area. Tier levels are based on population growth, per capita income and unemployment rate relative to the other 99 counties in the State. Yancey County moved from the 10th to the 22nd most distressed county in the State. The tier designations help ensure that the less prosperous counties have the tools they need to attract economic development to their communities. Designations range fro 1 to 5, with Tier 5 Counties being eligible for the least amount while Tier 1 would be eligible for the most. Tier designation determines a variety of economic development opportunities to each county in terms of availability of tax credits for job creation and the difference between a tier 1 and tier 2 is very significant. Tier 1 counties: New companies could receive $12,500 tax credit per new job created and a 7% tax credit on new machinery and equipment, but for a tier 2 county the tax credit drops to $4 thousand per new job and 7% tax credit for machinery and equipment expenditures more than $100 thousand. Michele Lawhern, Yancey County Manager says she’s shocked and disappointed by the announcement, but they plan to stay the course with current projects and continue their aggressive approach in attracting new business and industry to Yancey County. Area Tier designation for 2006 include Avery-3, Madison 3 and McDowell is a Tier 2 County.

Funds for Heating Assistance

01/06/2006

Western North Carolina Representative Charles Taylor has announced that North Carolina will receive $1,275,214 to help low-income families heat their homes this winter. The money is part of the Fiscal Year 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill which was recently passed by Congress. Taylor said; “These funds will go a long way toward assuring that our friends and neighbors who need the most help have a way to stay warm this winter, with energy prices at record levels, more families will need help paying their heating bills over the next few months, so I’m especially glad to have played a part in providing this increased funding.

Mitchell EDC Director Steps Down

01/05/2006

Saying its time for a change, Van Phillips is leaving his post as Mitchell County’s Economic Development Director. Shirley Hise, current Director of the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce will take on the duties as EDC Director. Hise says she doesn’t have the influence or resources to do what Phillips has done, but is glad to build on his momentum. She says the county has exciting plans for the future; The home of the Perfect Christmas Tree is up and running which has created income for area artist and crafters and hopefully jobs for many people in Mitchell County. Plans are to identify sites in the county for industrial development. EDC will be working on grants for a mapping project. Hise said there is a project that’s moving forward and a manufacturing company will be coming to the old Lexington Building bringing 150 plus jobs. Outgoing EDC Director Van Phillips will remain on the EDC Board of Directors and continue to help with various projects.

Counties Need New Voting Machines

01/05/2006

A new North Carolina law is on the books that will force counties throughout the state to buy new voting machines. The law requires counties to produce a paper copy of election results from electronic machines. Mitchell County Board of Elections will conduct a public forum Friday January 6th from 5-7pm in the County Administration Building in Bakersville. The purpose is to demonstrate new voting machines the county is looking at purchasing. All Mitchell County citizens are encouraged to attend to ask questions and make comments. Officials with the Yancey County Board of Elections indicate they will wait to see if the state reverses its decision following challenges from McDowell and other counties who say they stand to lose a lot of money if this new law is allowed to stand. Many counties recently purchased their current machines and they still own quite a bit of money on them. Mitchell’s current voting machines were purchased in 2002 and the county still owes $17 thousand on them.

Man Charged with Sex Offense

01/05/2006

Avery Deputies, assisted by Banner Elk, Sugar Mountain and Seven Devils Police Departments have charged a 30 year old man, with first degree sexual offense of a child under the age of 13. Officers arrested Gabrial Guerra Zamora. After responding to a fight in progress at Pine Haven Apartments in Banner Elk, Deputies discovered the fight was over the defendant sexually assaulting the child of the other man involved in the incident. Zamora is in the Avery County Jail under a $100 thousand bond. At his first court appearance Tuesday, a lawyer was appointed to represent him. His next court appearance is Friday for a probable cause hearing.

YSO Grant Application

01/03/2006

The Yancey County Sheriff’s Department has applied for a "drug interdiction overtime" grant from the Governor’s Crime Prevention Program. The funds would be for specially trained deputies and investigators to spend time dealing with the drug interdiction which has increased over the past few years. This year’s grant funds total $10 thousand with the county paying a $25 hundred match. The Governor’s Crime Prevention Program is designed to help local law enforcement deal with crime in their community.