Boil Water Advisory Lifted
Onslow
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11/20/2009 |
ONWASA has lifted the boil water advisory issued Thursday for residents in
the Bear Creek area. Laboratory testing confirmed that the water system was ready to return to normal.
Approximately 350 people were affected by the water outage and boil water advisory including those on Shellrock Landing, Shellrock Lane, Leslie Drive, Peninsula Manor Road, Oyster Lane, and Pond Drive.
The boil water advisory was issued as a precaution due to the loss of pressure associated with the water leak caused by excessive rain and a road wash out. Although there were no indications of contamination, ONWASA’s top priority is the safety and health of customers and the advisory
was strictly a precaution.
This morning the testing confirmed no contamination or presence of harmful bacteria in the water system, and the boil water advisory was lifted. |
 
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UPDATE: New Charges
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11/20/2009 |
Police in North Carolina say a man already accused of kidnapping a 5-year-old girl also raped and asphyxiated her.
Authorities said Thursday night the additional charges were being filed against Mario McNeill, the man accused of taking Shaniya Davis from her Fayetteville home. Her body was found Monday alongside a road in Lee County after nearly a week.
A search warrant says McNeill picked the girl up in front of the home and drove her to a hotel where she was last seen alive.
The girl's mother, Antoinette Davis, is charged with trafficking her daughter and child abuse involving prostitution.
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ECU Tuition Hike
Pitt
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11/20/2009 |
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The ECU Board of Trustees will be recommending a tuition increase of 3.6-percent to the state's General Assembly. The actual increase will be decided by the assembly - and they are recommending an 8-percent hike in tuition rates. |
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Man Shot While Walking
Edgecombe
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11/20/2009 |
Police are searching for two suspects in a shooting.
Gary Beaver was walking down the street in Rocky Mount when two men approached him. The men shot him several times in the legs, back, and neck and ran away.
Beaver was taken to Nash General Hospital, and then transported to Pitt Memorial Hospital. He is in critical condition.
Police are still investigating. They do not know the motive for the shooting. |
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Family Terrorized
Onslow
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11/19/2009 |
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Onslow County deputies have arrested two suspects in a drive-by shooting. Devondre Cuffee and Leroy Burford are in jail on several charges, including armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and discharging firearm into occupied property.
Deputies are still searching for Michael Burt, Jr. He faces similar charges. If you have any information, call the Onslow County Sheriff's Office at 910-455-3113. |
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Emerald Isle Flooding
Carteret
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11/19/2009 |
Coast Guard Road on Emerald Isle is a mess. The streets are still flooded with more than a food of water after several storms.
The town had to use pumps to get storm water out of the streets.
The ground was so saturated with water, the only solution for this area was to pump the water right into the ocean.
The state has some tough regulations against that, but after a tour of Coast Guard Road, officials saw how bad the flooding was and gave the town to go-ahead.
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Can't Leave Home
Onslow
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11/19/2009 |
Most kids who live off Shell Rock Landing Road in the Bear Creek area stayed home from school on Thursday. Some parents stayed home from work, too. Nobody was playing hookie-- they just could not leave their homes.
The one road that led out of the area collapsed on Thursday morning.
Department of Transportation officials told News Channel 12 that all the rain water that Onslow County received on Wednesday flooded out the fill dirt under a previously repaired patch of that road. Once that dirt washed out, a six inch water main pipe was left unsupported, and it broke. That extra water from the pipe gushed and tore through the rest of the dirt under the roadway. Without any solid ground underneath it, the road collapsed.
The gaping hole showed layers of dirt and rock from a previous fill and even remnants of the wooden bridge that stood there long before traffic rode down the street.
"Forget the showers," said Doc Thompson, who had his two daughter home from school that day. "Forget the dishes!"
Water was shut off for about 350 residents in the area for a little more than four hours due to the break in the water main.
Chris Lee told us he had an excused absence from school. So he hung out by the big opening and talked with neighbors who all gathered around the nearly five foot deep hole.
"This is like, the biggest thing that's ever happened in Bear Creek."
Lee showed us his garden where water was nearly knee-high.
"Looked like it was floating this morning when I got up!"
Lee also took the day off to enjoy a little skim boarding right in the back yard.
The Bear Creek area is still under a boil water advisory while ONWASA waits for water testing results. Residents are advised to boil any water used for consumption, including drinking water, ice, and any water used to cook.
DOT crews said the road is now open for passage, but it is only a temporary fix.
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Water Cuts Off Neighborhood
Carteret
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11/19/2009 |
Neighbors in a Carteret County community have been stuck in their homes all day.
Hadnot Drive is the only road into their neighborhood.
It almost washed away last week and the temporary fix completely washed away last night.
Contractors started before dawn trying to fix it.
Many people jumped the creek, and caught a ride on the other side.
Some couldn't make it to work at all.
Neighbor George Ablen told us, "You can't pay the bills if you can't work and then people get mad at you for not being there. it's just a domino effect."
Contractors plan to permanently fix the problem when we get some drier weather. |
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Community College Threats
Lenoir
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11/19/2009 |
A man has been arrested and accused of making threats on the campus of Lenoir Community College.
Kinston officers responded to the school Wednesday afternoon, after students reported that Charles Ray Skinner, 19, made comments about killing people on campus.
Skinner was taken into custody at his home on Sloan Street. Officers searched the house and found a shotgun belonging to Skinner's mother. No ammunition was found.
Skinner was placed in the Lenoir County Jail under a $100,000 secured bond for felony false report of mass violence at an educational facility. The investigation is continuing, but detectives say they do not expect any more arrests.
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NC Inmates
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11/19/2009 |
State officials say dozens of violent North
Carolina inmates who thought they were getting out of prison this
year cannot knock time off their sentences for good behavior.
Gov. Beverly Perdue said Thursday the inmates will not be
allowed to accrue good behavior credits to shorten their time
behind bars. Those credits will only be used for improving an
inmate's custody status so they can have chance of leaving prison
on parole.
One of the inmates, Bobby Bowden, had successfully argued in
state courts that his life sentence was defined as only 80 years
long. He also argued that credits knocked more than half the time
off his sentence, meaning he is eligible for unconditional release.
Perdue said she continues to pursue all legal means to prevent
that from happening.
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Rain Causes More Road Problems
Eastern NC
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11/19/2009 |
1,500 people in Swansboro cannot drive in or out of their neighborhoods, and it is all because of water.
Emergency management officials say that between the heavy rain last night, and a water main break, all the dirt around a pipe simply washed away on Shell Rock Landing Road, leaving a gaping hole. It is the same area where a sinkhole opened up last week.
DOT crews are on the scene, as well as ONWASA officials, trying to get things patched up. Officials say they hope to have the road passable shortly.
There is a similar situation not too far away - a community in Carteret County is literally stuck at home, after the only road in and out of the subdivision collapsed.
It happened on Hadnot Drive overnight. Crews are on the scene right now, working on temporary repairs. We are told they are filling in the giant hole with sand. The road also collased during last week's wet weather, and since this is a private road, the DOT will not fix it.
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Break-in Arrests
Onslow
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11/19/2009 |
Jacksonville police have arrested two people suspected of breaking into vehicles in the Carolina Forest neighborhood.
Officers responded to reports of suspicious people breaking into cars in the early morning hours Tuesday. They took Robert Jenkins, 19, and Jarell Page, 18, in for questioning, and say the men then confessed.
They are charged with felony breaking and entering, larceny, possession of stolen goods, and felony conspiracy. There may be additional charges.
Deputy Chief Tim Malfitano says, "Jacksonville Police would like to thank the concerned citizens in Carolina Forest who reported the incident in their neighborhood and provided information regarding the suspects. We encourage all citizens of Jacksonville to report any suspicious activity to the Jacksonville Police Department." |
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Missing Man
Lenoir
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11/19/2009 |
It has been almost two weeks since a Kinston man disappeared, and there are still no signs of him.
A mail carrier was the last person to report seeing Miller Jones, 62. Police say he was spotted walking along Neuse Road near Lenoir Community College.
Police believe Jones is suffering from dementia. If you have any information about where he is, please call police. |
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Teen Robbed
Pitt
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11/19/2009 |
An 18-year-old was robbed at gunpoint, and the man behind the gun made off with his cash.
It happened in the 1000 block of Cheyenne Court in Greenville.
The victim was held up close to dinner time at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The robber made off with nearly $300 in cash and a cell phone. |
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$100,000 Doll
Craven
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11/18/2009 |
I-Stan is the new $100,000 dollar simulation mannequin at the Craven County Community College Nursing School.
Operated by computers, he can experience hundreds of emergency situations, making him perfect for nursing students to practice on.
Nursing Professor Belinda Barnhill says it increases the student's confidence level, so when they're actually taking care of a real patient in a similar type of scenario, there is no guess work. They know immediately what to do.
The mannequin can have heart attacks, traumas and even die preparing students for anything.
I-Stan will start working full time spring semester. |
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Owner Talks: Dog Overload
Beaufort
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11/18/2009 |
Beaufort county says she was in over her head. A woman's turned in more than 130 dogs to the county, overcrowding the shelter.
Animal control workers are busy making room for the dogs, who's owner says she just couldn't afford them anymore. She did not want her name released but says, "I told animal control to find home for them."
She says she's taken in the animals overtime, as a favor to both friends and strangers. "You'd be surprised when people come to you and everybody has a story and you say, ok, 1 more please? You say ok. Then, just another 1? No! I'll bring a cage? I'll set it up!"
But a tough economy left her no choice but to give the animals up Tuesday. She said, I tried! I come into bad financial times and I couldn't afford the dog food bill. Other things went lacking."
The county says it's not pressing charges because the dogs were well-fed and in good health.
Even though things are overcrowded, the owner hopes her decision will give these animals a better life. |
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Boaters Hit Bridge
Carteret
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11/18/2009 |
"It was pretty bad."
Ian Luther was on the scene when a 20 foot boat hit the Atlantic Beach High Rise Bridge on Tuesday afternoon.
Tow boat responders said James Bonner Williams and two friends were returning from a fishing trip, heading towards the bridge at about 20 miles an hour when something happened, and the boat operator made a severe right turn, and hit part of the bridge structure.
The bridge shows a little wear and tear from the collision. The off-white coloring on the side of one of the bridge's columns is from the boat's fiberglass.
The boat itself has been cleaned on the inside. The gaping cavity in the side of the watercraft resembles a cut out diagram of the boat's construction. However, it was the boaters who bore the brunt of the impact.
Exact details of how the accident happened are still hazy. A family friend told us they believe James Bonner Williams had a heart attack, and that was what threw him off balance at the helm. He flew through the front of the boat where his leg got impailed on a spoke of the boat's steering wheel. A fairly clean cut on one of those spokes shows where emergency responders cut through the steel in order to remove Williams from the vessel.
By the time Ian Luther got to the bridge, one man who was wearing a life vest had already been pulled from the water. The boat operator was still aboard.
"It looked pretty bad... there was a lot of blood and we were really concerned about his condition. We saw they had oxygen and they had I.V. to him and everything."
Wildlife officials are investigating this case, but don ot think alcohol was a factor. They say it was just a serious accident.
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Vehicle Break-ins
Craven
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11/18/2009 |
Havelock investigators need the public's help to solve 18 vehicle break-ins that happened November 11 and 12.
They happened in the area of Apache Trail/Blackhawk Trail, near Greenfield Heights Blvd. The preliminary investigation has showed that the thieves did not have to use force because all the cars were unlocked.
Items taken include GPS units, cell phones, Ipods, two-way radios, and cash. Anyone with information on the crimes should call investigator James MacRoberts or investigator Chris Morning at the Havelock Police Department at (252) 447-3212. People with information wishing to remain anonymous may call the Police Tip Line at (252) 463-7115.
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Names Released in Boat Crash
Carteret
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11/18/2009 |
We are learning more about the boat crash into the Atlantic Beach high rise bridge yesterday.
Officials say Bonnar Williams was driving the boat around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, when he made an abrupt right turn for some reason, hitting the bridge. Also on board were Larry Linder and Anson Jacobs, who are all from Newport.
Williams was impaled by steel spokes of the steering wheel, and had to be airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital. Linder and Jacobs were also hurt, but not as seriously.
Authorities say there was no structural damage to the bridge. A Coast Guard investigation is underway, but officials do not believe alcohol was a factor. We are told the boat is registered to Bonnar Williams' wife. |
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Hayes Trial Verdict
Craven
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11/18/2009 |
The man on trial for killing another man outside the Bayside Restaurant last year has been found guilty of first degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison.
Former Marine Gary Hayes was charged in the April 2008 shooting in the restaurant parking lot which left Odell Foster dead. The defense argued Hayes shot Foster in self defense.
Jury deliberation started Thursday, and continued through Friday, without verdict. The guilty verdict was announced this morning.
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