HAMLET — Jerry’s Diner probably won’t be open in time for Easter brunch on Main Street, but a May 1 grand opening looks doable, the restaurant’s owner says.

Preston Bartley, 30, has been working on the old Jones on Main himself since buying it last month, drafting his aunt — Gwen Chavis Suite of Hamlet, who told him the restaurant was available — and anyone else he can grab for refurbishing work.

“When I open … I want it to be smooth sailing,” Bartley said one afternoon this week, as he painted part of the restaurant’s drinks bar.

The diner’s new name is up on the outside windows and on a sign over the door. Cooking and serving staff are standing by. And most of the interior has been repainted: walls gray, benches black and doors red.

Bartley and his crew also have retiled the area under the booths lining each wall, as well as the kitchen and men’s bathroom.

He’s waiting for a buffet table — “they’re taking their dear old time” — while he fills out paperwork for the health department. What plans he makes from now on may depend on what that department permits.

On Wednesday, the scent of spray paint on the bar and booths mixed with the odor of polyurethane on a portion of the hardwood floor. The existing buffet — for cold items — had been moved but may have to be repositioned.

Bartley, who also manages a handful of fast-food restaurants, co-owns Jerry’s Diner in Lumberton. He named both restaurants after his father.

He plans to retain much of the country-cooking menu of the former Jones on Main, augmenting it with personal favorites such as homemade vinegar-based pork barbecue.

Yvette Jones closed her Jones on Main early this year, citing health problems. She had served country cooking at the cafe for three years, after closing the Country Kitchen in Rockingham.

Celebrated for “soul food,” Jones on Main once earned a mention by then-Gov. Pat McCrory, during an appearance on “Meet the Press.”

Christine S. Carroll | Daily Journal Preston Bartley spray paints the bar of his upcoming restaurant, Jerry’s Diner, in Hamlet. Bartley has spent the past month repainting the inside of the restaurant, formerly Jones on Main.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_jerrysonmain.jpgChristine S. Carroll | Daily Journal Preston Bartley spray paints the bar of his upcoming restaurant, Jerry’s Diner, in Hamlet. Bartley has spent the past month repainting the inside of the restaurant, formerly Jones on Main.

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LILESVILLE — Boaters will soon be able to head back out on Blewett Falls Lake following improvements made to the landing by Duke Energy.

Amenities, including restrooms and picnic facilities, have been added to four recreational access points along the Pee Dee River, the company announced Friday in a press release.

“These enhancements are part of ongoing efforts by Duke Energy to ensure quality access areas for recreational use on the company’s lakes,” the company said.

Improvments to the Trailrace Fishing Area on Power Plant Road include an accessible restroom, updated public information signs and a new kiosk.

Picnic facilities, new boat ramps, a canoe and kayak launch area, courtesy docks and two restrooms were added to the Pee Dee Access Area on Boat Landing Road. The parking area was also expanded and paved.

At the Lilly’s Bridge Access Area on Lake Tillery in Mount Gilead, Duke added picnic facilities, new boat ramps, courtesy docks, a restroom and expanded paved parking.

The Stony Mountain Access Area in Albermarle has a new fishing pier, boat ramps, restroom and improved parking.

Duke also updated public-information signs and added kiosks to three of the four sites.

The company said the improvements “are a direct result of a cooperative stakeholder agreement during federal licensing of the Blewett and Tillery hydroelectric plants.”

The access areas are expected to reopen in late April or early May after being closed since August.

Last May, Duke Energy announced it had completed construction of the new Clarks Creek Access Area and improvements to the Tillery Tailrace Fishing Trail at the Tillery Hydroelectric Plant on the Pee Dee River In Montgomery County.

The Grassy Island Access area was closed in October 2016 and re-opened the following February. However, less than two weeks later, the site was vandalized with the words “F—- USA” in black spray paint.

Courtesy of Duke Energy New bathrooms are among the amenities added by Duke Energy to four access sites along the Pee Dee River, including Blewett Falls Lake.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_blewettfalls_br.jpgCourtesy of Duke Energy New bathrooms are among the amenities added by Duke Energy to four access sites along the Pee Dee River, including Blewett Falls Lake.

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Richmond County has taken the first step in a process intended to make the county friendly to those stricken by dementia and their caregivers.

Statistics seem to show that the effort hasn’t come too soon.

According to the 2010 federal census, 14.3 percent of those 65 and older living in the county suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, the main type of dementia. By 2025, state projections show, that percentage will rise to 15.2 percent in the county.

“Richmond County is prime” for programs that would allow those with dementia to shop without fear of strange looks from neighbors or threats of action by police who might not understand their behavior, Mark Hensley of the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services told health-care providers and others attending the first of three local conferences on making the county “dementia capable.”

The third in the series — “Understanding and Responding to Dementia-Related Behavior” — will be April 12.

Dementia can take as many as 50 forms, Hensley said, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most prevalent, at 65 percent to 70 percent of dementia cases. In North Carolina, Alzheimer’s also is the fifth-leading cause of death, behind heart disease, cancer, lower-respiratory diseases and cerebrovascular disease.

Yet despite the prevalence of the disease, many people don’t know how to respond when they encounter it. As Hensley asked: “If we saw someone wandering away … what could we do?”

Several North Carolina cities and counties already have taken steps toward dementia friendliness. Orange County has OCCARES; Wilmington, Dementia-Friendly WNC; and Durham, Dementia Inclusive Durham.

Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones has high praise for the Senior Information & Networking Group of Wake Forest, or SING-WF, which has sponsored seminars, training and business interactions for more than two years.

Having worked on the issue for several years, the community is one of the first in North Carolina to pursue the international “dementia friendly” designation begun by the United Kingdom’s Alzheimer’s Society.

“It is a wonderful opportunity to support a segment of our citizens,” Jones said this week. “If we can make our community sensitive to the fact that people have (dementia), but they still should be part of our community, that’s what we would like to do.”

Within the past several months, SING participants have approached area businesses, asking them to attend classes on dementia sensitivity. When the business representatives finish the class, they earn a sticker to put in the window of their concerns.

That way, caregivers can, say, take a relative with dementia out to lunch and not worry that the server will react poorly if the relative behaves differently from other patrons.

Most downtown businesses in Wake Forest have stickers in their windows, Jones said.

But being dementia friendly involves far more than stickers, advocates say. It means offering:

⦁ residential settings for those suffering memory loss;

⦁ dementia-aware legal and financial planning;

⦁ options for independent living and community engagement;

⦁ dementia-friendly transportation;

⦁ dementia-aware government services such as police and fire response;

⦁ and, of course, dementia-sensitive health care that also seeks out the underserved.

Such efforts require a network comprising businesses, churches, civic and governmental organizations, financial and legal enterprises, and human-services agencies working toward a common agenda.

And they cost money. In fiscal 2016, Richmond County spent $31 million on social services for those 60 and older, for such things as adult protective services, transportation and medical assistance. That’s the government and human-services sector of the network, and it counts only money — not hours devoted.

So, how might businesses, churches, civic organizations, and financial and legal enterprises contribute?

The first step is awareness.

Richmond County will undergo an increase in the percentage of those suffering dementia during the next few years, state projections show. That is why the Alzheimer’s Association and local health-care providers have joined to provide a series of conferences on dealing with dementia communitywide.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_hands.jpgRichmond County will undergo an increase in the percentage of those suffering dementia during the next few years, state projections show. That is why the Alzheimer’s Association and local health-care providers have joined to provide a series of conferences on dealing with dementia communitywide.

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HAMLET — A week’s worth of incident reports released Friday by the Hamlet Police Department list arrests in connection with drunken driving, a domestic disturbance and a neighborhood dispute.

• Devore Annette Womble, 46, of Deering Street, Hamlet, was charged March 16 with driving while impaired, after pulling over at a police traffic stop at Main and South Bridges streets. The resulting police report says that: Womble told police she had consumed three shots of tequila. She could not muster enough breath to take a field sobriety test. A third test revealed her blood-alcohol content to be 0.12 percent, above the level at which a person is deemed intoxicated. She was granted release until an April 5 court date.

• Brittany Darlene Chavis, 26, of Grace Chapel Road, Hamlet, was charged March 17 with simple assault related to a domestic dispute. She was released without bond. Her court date is April 2.

• Jose Alberto Ortiz Soriano, 24, of Peachland Drive, Hamlet, was charged Sunday with driving while impaired after police pulled over his 2004 Ford Explorer. He also was charged with resisting a public officer and carrying a fictitious driver’s license. All of the charges are misdemeanor offenses. Ortiz Soriano was booked into the Richmond County Jail and later released on a $2,500 secured bond. His vehicle has been impounded. His court date is April 5.

• Thomas Bernard York, 27, of Monroe Avenue, Hamlet, was charged Sunday with larceny and second-degree trespassing after officers served an outstanding warrant. Both charges are misdemeanors. York was jailed under a $1,000 secured bond and later released. His court date is April 2.

• Demetrius “D-Man” Lamar Hunter, 23, of Buttercup Drive, Hamlet, was charged Monday with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was taken to the Richmond County Jail, where he remains, in lieu of $5,000 secured bond.

Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Hunter was convicted of second-degree kidnapping and robbery with a dangerous weapon in 2012, landing him in prison for two years.

He was most recently convicted of felony larceny in 2015 and was given a 36-month suspended sentence, records show.

• Scotty Ira Curtis Wight, 37, of Hester Road, Rockingham, and Southern Randolph Mills, 22, of McDonald Avenue, Hamlet, were jailed Monday on a number of charges related to a fistfight with a 63-year-old Hamlet resident. Wight was charged with simple assault, resisting a public officer and injury to personal property, and taken to jail and given a $1,500 secured bond. All of the charges against Wight are misdemeanor offenses. Mills was charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, and jailed in lieu of a $1,500 secured bond. The third man, Jimmy Morris, had the same address as Mills. He was charged with aggravated assault, a misdemeanor, and released. Both Wight and Mills have been released.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_hamletpd.jpg

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ROCKINGHAM — Six city departments being given the Gold Award for safety in 2017 by the Department of Labor is no fluke, but the result of a concerted effort by Rockingham officials to overhaul the city’s safety measures following a 2015 accident that saw an employee airlifted to a hospital.

In March 2015, the Daily Journal reported that a Rockingham Public Works employee was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after suffering injuries while “working around a backhoe.” The employee was part of a crew that was installing irrigation grates along city sidewalks to plant crepe myrtle trees throughout downtown. City Manager Monty Crump said at the time that the equipment involved was taken out of service.

“As a result of that accident I thought it was necessary to bring in an outside third party to perform a thorough review of the city’s safety and risk management program,” Crump said in an email. “Based on the findings of that assessment and confidential management recommendations as result of that assessment, the city has completely restructured it’s safety and risk management program over the last two years.”

That third-party was Debbie Rogers-Lowery, a safety consultant and owner of Compliance Training Associates, Inc., who brought 25-years of experience coaching municipalities on complying with safety regulations. As part of her responsibilities, Rogers-Lowery did walk-throughs with each department and held annual department-specific training.

While there is no requirement for the number of hours staff must spend in training, she said that staff could spend between 12 and 20 hours per year in safety training. The training addresses any hazards they could be exposed to on the job, from lifting heavy objects to blood-borne pathogens.

In the first year of her work with the city, Rogers-Lowery said there was a 75 percent reduction in violations of safety regulations laid out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. There has also been a 50 percent reduction in injuries in the city since 2015, with four total across all city employees in 2017.

“When folks aren’t aware of the hazards around them, they just don’t know,” she said. “When you point it out to them and explain why it’s a hazard they will stop doing them.”

In addition to walk-throughs and classroom training, Rogers-Lowery reviewed and updated the city’s safety programs when required, was on-call for consultations, coordinated and tracked training, attended monthly safety meetings and handled reports to OSHA.

She said the Rockingham Public Works Department saw the largest decline in injuries, from four in 2015 to one in 2017. An injury is only recorded if it “requires more than first aid” to care for the individual, she said.

In addition to bringing in Rogers-Lowery, Crump created the position of director of safety and risk management, and hired Mike Deprizio to fill the role. Deprizio said he’s rarely in an office, instead he’s out personally overseeing work sites in a hands-on approach to holding employees accountable.

“(City staff) all know Mike and they respect him, they value his opinion and call him to ask if he can take a look at things,” Rogers-Lowery said. “Not every city does that — having a person whose dedicated job is safety.”

The six winning departments were Administration, Building and Grounds, Recreation, Waste Water, Water Treatment and the Fire Department. Rockingham Police and Public Works were close to getting the award as well. The Gold Award is the highest honor that the NCDL gives for safety. A department must have no fatalities at the “site or location for which the award was given” and have maintained an incidence rate at least 50 percent below the average for its industry group, according to the North Carolina Department of Labor’s website.

The winning departments will receive their awards at a banquet on May 21 in Wadesboro.

“City employees have really embraced the revised safety and risk management initiatives and programs. I am proud of their efforts and renewed commitment to safety,” Crump said. “The dividends are preventing loss of life, injuries, lost time accidents and savings to the taxpayer in terms of insurance cost.”

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or gstone@yourdailyjournal.com.

Crump

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_montycrump.jpgCrump

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ROCKINGHAM — Police officers arrested two Robeson County men on charges of having tools to break in to a building and drug paraphernalia on Sunday.

Brandon Benjamin Hucks, 30, of Orrum, and Vincent Ray Locklear, 49, of Red Springs, had bolt cutters, a file, a key puncher, gloves, a ski mask and a head lamp, according to warrants. The men were also allegedly found in possession of a crack pipe.

Hucks is charged with one felony each of of conspiracy, larceny and possession of burglary tools, one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, and two counts of failure to appear — one a felony and one a misdemeanor, according to warrants for his arrest.

Locklear is charged with one felony count of possession of burglary tools and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug parapheralia.

As of Friday afternoon, Hucks was still being held at the Richmond County Jail under a $26,000 secured bond. Locklear was placed under a $5,000 bond but has since been released.

Hucks has previously been convicted of three misdemeanor offenses in Robeson County, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction. He was convicted of misdemeanor larceny in December 2011 and possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a schedule VI controlled substance in March 2016.

Locklear has a much longer criminal record. He served three months in prison for a September 2002 conviction of felony breaking and entering a vehicle and misdemeanor larceny. He served another three months for an April 2008 conviction on misdemeanor charges of assault on a female and communicating threats, state records show.

In April 2012, Locklear was convicted on six felonies: three counts of breaking and entering; two counts of larceny after breaking and entering; and one count of receiving stolen goods, according to state records. He served one month in prison for five of these offenses in 2012, and later served nine months for the receiving stolen goods conviction in 2013.

While out of prison in 2012, he committed three offenses for which he was later convicted: two felony counts of larceny of over $1,000 and one misdemeanor count of wanton injury to personal property. He served nine months for these offenses and was released in July 2014.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or gstone@yourdailyjournal.com.

Locklear

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_vincentlocklear-1.jpgLocklear

Hucks

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_brandonhucks-1.jpgHucks

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PEMBROKE — U.S. Sen. Richard Burr will deliver the commencement address at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s spring undergraduate ceremony.

The ceremony will be held on the south quad lawn on May 5.

Long-time UNCP nursing professor Dr. Cherry Maynor Beasley has been named the keynote speaker for the graduate ceremony on May 4. Beasley, the Belk Endowed Professor in Rural and Minority Health, is the recipient of the 2017 Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Burr, a Republican from Winston-Salem, was first elected to the U.S. House in 1994, where he served for 10 years before being elected to the Senate. He is currently serving in his third Senate term representing North Carolina.

Burr serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He is also a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee.

Burr is a graduate of Wake Forest University and a recipient of the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Jim Jones, chairman of the UNCP Board of Trustees, said Burr’s visit will shine a spotlight on the university.

“Anytime you get a national leader like Sen. Burr to come to campus, people start asking about the university and this gives us a chance to tell our story,” said Jones, a fellow Wake Forest grad.

“The board is enthusiastic and very pleased that Sen. Burr accepted (our) invitation and we look forward to a very successful graduation speech.”

Burr has been a friend of UNC Pembroke for many years, giving the commencement speech in 2005.

Burr will be introduced during the commencement by Lumbee Tribal Chairman Harvey Godwin Jr. The veteran senator has been a supporter of federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe which was recognized by Congress in 1956, but was prevented eligibility to services that other federally recognized tribes receive.

He has introduced bills that would extend full recognition to the 65,000 member tribe. He has also testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee arguing that denying recognition is nothing short of discrimination.

Burr was instrumental in funding and relief aid efforts in Robeson County in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. He visited the county’s emergency operation and he and his wife, Brooke, met with storm victims at shelters set up at Purnell Swett High School and the Bill Sapp Recreation Center in Lumberton.

Beasley

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_cherrybeasley.jpgBeasley

Burr

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_senrichardburr.jpgBurr

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HAMLET — The smell of Boston butts grilling on the the back porch filled the air and the sound of guitars was resonating inside The Sports Connection on Saturday as the bar played host to a benefit for a local musician.

Daniel Branch, guitarist for River’s Edge, lost nearly everything he owned — aside from the clothes on his back and his Gibson guitar — in a Moore County condo fire earlier this month.

His brother and band mate, Franklin Branch, organized the show with a little help from his friends — from local singer Charity Davis, Carie Carpunky and River’s Edge vocalist Megan Bradley securing donations and raffle prizes, to Joshua Franklin manning the grill.

Then, there were the fellow musicians performing a collection of country, classic and alternative rock covers, mixed with a few original tunes, who gave up their time to entertain the crowd.

The Branch brothers both expressed their gratitude on the event’s Facebook page.

“It was heartwarming to see so many great people showing their support to help me get back on my feet,” Daniel Branch said.

“We were able to raise $1100 for my brother,” said Franklin Branch, who later said that another $1,000 was raised prior to the benefit. “Words can’t say enough for what everyone has done to help. We are forever grateful for your compassion.”

Tony Boatwright and his crew drove up from Cheraw, South Carolina to kick things off a little earlier than originally scheduled.

Three musicians — bassists Wayne Humphries and Patrick Razon and drummer Virgil Bowler — each played full sets with two bands during the night.

Simple Things — featuring guitarist Jonathan Robinson, drummer John Martin and Humphries — was the first band on the bill, followed by Doing it Again, an acoustic duo with Chris Herring on guitar and Roger Campbell on mandolin.

Next up was Safety Committee — headed up by Chuck Smith on guitar, Mervyn Celso and keyboards and guitar and Razon, with Bowler filling in — then Back Forty, led by Eric Whitfield on guitar and vocals, with Brian Grooms on guitar, David Lynch on drums and Razon. There was even a quick Black Powder reunion as Jason Singleton stepped in on bass and Smith on lead guitar. Former Back Forty drummer Brian King also sat in on a song and Davis provided backing vocals on another.

Raffle and door prize winners were called out during the 15 minutes between sets as the band members switched out their gear.

River’s Edge — with Daniel Branch on lead guitar, Shane Glaze on rhythm guitar, Franklin Branch and Bradley on vocals, Humphries and Bowler — fired up the final set with a cover of Grand Funk Railroad’s “American Band.”

Daniel Branch took center stage on a few songs, including Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

As predicted, a jam session followed the show — even as the crowd dispersed, the band played on.

(Disclosure: The writer of this story joined in for a rendition of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”)

Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 or wtoler@yourdailyjournal.com.

William R. Toler | Daily Journal Daniel Branch takes center stage during a benefit concert held for him on Saturday.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_riversedge2-1.jpgWilliam R. Toler | Daily Journal Daniel Branch takes center stage during a benefit concert held for him on Saturday.

William R. Toler | Daily Journal Shane Glaze, left, and Franklin Branch perform in a benefit concert for River’s Edge band mate Daniel Branch at The Sports Connection in Hamlet on Saturday.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_riversedge1-1.jpgWilliam R. Toler | Daily Journal Shane Glaze, left, and Franklin Branch perform in a benefit concert for River’s Edge band mate Daniel Branch at The Sports Connection in Hamlet on Saturday.

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ROCKINGHAM — Two authors with local connections will highlight Leath Memorial Library’s paperback book sale April 13 and 14. The appearances are part of the library’s celebration of National Library Week.

Donna Earnhardt of Concord — she grew up in Cordova — will present “Being Frank,” a picture book about a boy who learns that sometimes, truth should be tempered with kindness. And Marcia White will speak about a book derived from her dreams and journals: “Broken to Beautiful: Healing After Sexual Abuse.”

Earnhardt, who says she comes from a “family of Franks,” remembers standing in the shower — the place she uses for thinking and praying. And into her head popped the phrase: “Frank was always frank. Honesty is the best policy.”

Her father’s name was “Frank,” and he lived up to it, Earnhardt said Monday, although he did know how to temper honesty with tact. Sometimes her children don’t, though, she said with a laugh.

“Have you actually read the book your mother wrote?” she will ask them then.

Not only does the habit of frankness come from her family. One of the best lines in the book came from her husband, who was trying — rather unsuccessfully — to calm an argument.

“You wouldn’t get so many wrinkles if you didn’t glare at me like that,” he joked. Now, he takes credit for the book: “Oh, look at that! I got you a book published!”

“Frank” has won accolades from the School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, among others.

Earnhardt, who has been married more than 20 years and home-schools her three daughters, has written for High Five, part of the Highlights for Children family of magazines, as well as Blue Mountain Arts and other children’s magazines.

White, who works at Mount Olive Child Care Center, is a preacher’s kid who grew up in a loving family but with a horrible secret she kept even from her husband: She had been abused by three different men.

But it isn’t those men she talks about in her book — “I feel like that gives credit to Satan,” she said Monday — but the process through which she found healing.

“I’m a strong believer that the Lord has healing for anyone,” she said — a belief that eventually brought relief after she fell into depression, and suffered panic attacks and nightmares after marrying a man she had not told about her past.

When she finally managed to tell him, she said, he told her he would help her through her struggles with “the lies that I carried” to cover up the secret.

In addition, she said, “the Lord used several dreams … that I was able to take what was in the dream, and I’d learn from that.”

Through the years, various people told White that “you have a book in you.” One even brought her a bag of legal pads and some pens, which she stashed in the closet for 10 years.

Now, though, she has written her book and spoken at several churches and church gatherings, and she is free.

“It was a process of … 15 to 20 years,” she said. But “little by little, the Lord set me free.”

“Being Frank” by Donna W. Earnhardt, Flashlight Press (2012)

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_being-frank.jpg“Being Frank” by Donna W. Earnhardt, Flashlight Press (2012)

“Broken to Beautiful: Healing After Sexual Abuse” by Marcia White, WestBow Press (2017)

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_brokentobeatiful.jpg“Broken to Beautiful: Healing After Sexual Abuse” by Marcia White, WestBow Press (2017)

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ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County Schools are auditing their safety measures following last month’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The audit is being conducted by RCS Director of Operations Dennis Quick and the system’s school resource officer team, with support from local law enforcement, to determine what steps can be taken to tighten security, according to Superintendent Cindy Goodman.

“School safety has always been our highest priority,” Goodman said. “Of course, following the Parkland shooting, we renewed our efforts to keep our schools as as safe as possible.”

Auditors will review security measures for the interior and exterior of school property, along with options for surveillance, alarm systems and key control, among others, according Public Information Officer Briana Goins. The results will be applied to all system schools.

Some security improvements suggested in the early phases of the audit are already being implemented. Doors that require visitors to “buzz in” to enter, coupled with cameras, have been installed at some schools — with the goal of being system-wide — and the lighting throughout the schools has been upgraded, according to Goins.

All system schools practice “active shooter” drills twice a year, and law enforcement agencies use schools to stage tactical training drills, according to Goodman. The superintendent added that after national events like the Parkland shooting, schools often see an uptick in students making threatening statements. All threats are reported to law enforcement.

Sheriff James Clemmons said that the Parkland shooting did not illuminate any security weaknesses that have not already been taken into account in the RCS security plan.

“The school system has been very proactive in finding the best ways to keep students safe,” Clemmons said.

The sheriff’s office is actively involved in the audit. Clemmons was unable to share details of certain security protocols that are under consideration, but said he is in support of the school system’s efforts to ensure safety of students.

“If there’s a call, we shall respond just like we’ve always done,” he said.

The most recent threat to RCS came in January when a Richmond Senior High School student insinuated via Snapchat that he would bring a gun to school in the aftermath of a fight and shooting that occurred the previous weekend. The school identified the students involved, but did not disclose the disciplinary actions taken against the students at the time.

The audit began Feb. 26 and is scheduled to conclude at the end of April.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or gstone@yourdailyjournal.com.

Goodman

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_CindyGoodman_cmyk-2.jpgGoodman

Gavin Stone | Daily Journal A Richmond County Schools Special Police cruiser sits parked outside of Richmond Senior High School.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_rcs_police-1.jpgGavin Stone | Daily Journal A Richmond County Schools Special Police cruiser sits parked outside of Richmond Senior High School.

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In Hamlet, Arbor Day is whenever the shovel-bearing ladies of the Tree and Beautification Group say it is. And this year, that will be Friday, April 13.

The 2018 celebration will be at 1:30 p.m. at Hamlet’s Main Street Park, where the children of Monroe Avenue Elementary School’s “conservation rangers” will join beautification group members in planting three Vitex agnus-castus, also known as “chaste trees.”

The theme of this year’s celebration is “Trees Are for Bees,” which marks both the role of flowering trees and bees in maintaining the world’s food supply by pollination. (You wouldn’t think a chaste tree would be involved in such shenanigans.)

“Some of these kids, they’ve never dug a whole” before becoming conservation rangers who nurse saplings into plantable young trees, group member Sue Furman said Tuesday.

But since the early 2000s, children in grades three through five at Monroe Avenue Elementary have potted, fertilized and then sold some of their trees. Others, they have planted — at the Hamlet Public Library, the Hamlet Senior Center and at the intersection of Battley Dairy Road and N.C. 177.

The April 13 program will feature an appearance by Mayor Bill Bayless and an address by N.C. Forest Service Ranger Matt Parker. Monroe Avenue fifth-graders also will find out which of them created the best Arbor Day flag for the event, in order to win as much as $25.

As ever, city workers will stand by to assist, Furman said.

“Most of our members are women,” she said — “not that we can’t dig a hole!”

For non-Hamlet residents, Arbor Day will be April 27.

Daily Journal file photo Students from Monroe Avenue Elementary School cover up “Little Gem” magnolias behind the Hamlet Public Library in recognition of Arbor Day last April.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_arborday.jpgDaily Journal file photo Students from Monroe Avenue Elementary School cover up “Little Gem” magnolias behind the Hamlet Public Library in recognition of Arbor Day last April.

Daily Journal file photo The theme for this year’s Arbor Day celebration is “Trees Are For Bees.” See the March 31 edition of the Daily Journal to learn what local beekeepers are doing to protect the pollinators.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_bees_beecrop.jpgDaily Journal file photo The theme for this year’s Arbor Day celebration is “Trees Are For Bees.” See the March 31 edition of the Daily Journal to learn what local beekeepers are doing to protect the pollinators.

The post Planting trees for bees appeared first on Richmond County Daily Journal.

ROCKINGHAM — Police arrested two men on separate felony drug charges last week.

Marquis Tavon Quick, 29, was found on March 17 in possession of 61.4 grams of marijuana, or 2.17 ounces, according to warrants. Quick is charged with one felony count of possession of marijuana, two felony counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana, and one misdemeanor count of resisting a public officer.

He was placed under a $15,000 bond at the Richmond County Jail, but has since been released. He has no prior convictions, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.

Jimmie Jacobs, 47, was found in possession of cocaine, four crack pipes and steel wool, which is used as a filter when smoking crack, on March 21, according to warrants.

He is charged with one count of felony possession of cocaine and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $5,000.

Online court records show Jacobs is facing a slew of traffic infractions in Robeson and Richmond counties, including driving with a revoked license, speeding and failure to wear a seat belt.

Jacobs has been previously convicted on numerous charges in neighboring Hoke, Scotland, Robeson and Cumberland counties, according to state records.

From June to November in 1988, Jacobs was charged with one count of simple assault in Robeson County, two misdemeanor counts of breaking and entering and larceny, one felony count of breaking and entering and one felony count of larceny over $200 in Hoke County. He was sentenced to probation for these offenses, according to state records.

From February to April 2002, he was charged with 10 misdemeanor counts of writing a worthless check in Hoke County, with four more misdemeanor counts in Robeson County, for which he received probation. He was also convicted of driving with a revoked license over this period.

In 2008, Jacobs was convicted of two violations of employment security which he was originally charged for in November and December 2002. In June 2008 he was convicted of one felony count of breaking and entering and one felony count of larceny over $1,000 for which he served seven months in prison.

He was convicted in August 2011 of one felony count of larceny of over $1,000, one felony county of larceny after breaking and entering, one felony count of breaking and entering, and one felony count of larceny of a motor vehicle. He served 10 months in prison for these offenses.

Most recently, Jacobs was convicted in April 2013 of two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and one felony count of larceny over $1,000 for which he served two years and eight months in prison, being released at the end of December 2015.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or gstone@yourdailyjournal.com.

Quick

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_marquisquick.jpgQuick

Jacobs

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Jimmiejacobs.jpgJacobs

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ROCKINGHAM — The right to a speedy trial is enshrined in the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

However, there are some defendants in Richmond County who wait years before their cases are heard.

In a September 2015 story on inmate stays, the Daily Journal reported that Aaron Annoua Pinkney had been awaiting trial nearly six years. He was sentenced to state prison later that month.

(Note: Online records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction were not available Wednesday evening.)

District Attorney Reece Saunders said that his office looks at the jail list every day and tries to dispose cases “as quickly as we can.”

“It keeps me awake at night,” he said, regarding the number of cases that have yet to be adjudicated.

Moving cases swiftly through the system is an “ongoing problem,” he added, saying “every case is different,” and there are several factors that could slow the process down.

One is the high rate of violent crimes in his district, which serves Richmond and Anson counties.

A list of inmates in custody at the Richmond County Jail from March 9 shows 17 defendants had been locked up awaiting trial for more than 260 days. Of those, six are accused of murder, four of attempted murder, three of assault with a deadly weapon and three of sex crimes against children.

Although jail records show Mitchell Green was first booked on Feb. 7, 2015, the list has him being in custody for 428 days as of March 9. Green is charged with murder in the shooting death of Terry Jay Smith outside The Sports Connection in Hamlet. Records also show he was moved to another facility per a safekeeping order, which could account for the shorter number of days in custody.

Brandon Lee Reynolds has been in jail more than 700 days, charged with first-degree statutory rape, first-degree forcible sexual offense and indecent liberties with a child. A charge of statutory sex offense with a child by an adult was dismissed in July. He is being held under a $250,000 secured bond and his next court date is scheduled for Sept. 4.

Kevin Orlando Bowe Jr., Devon Douglas, Arthur Ray Martin and Hyshawn Goodwin were all booked as juveniles.

Bowe and Jimiel Lindsey have been in jail since July 2016 when they were arrested and charged with the robbery and murder of Benovente Jesus Dominguez on a path off Biltmore Drive the previous month. Bowe was 16 at the time, Lindsey was 18.

Douglas, Martin and Goodwin are accused of shooting at an adult and 9-year-old child who were sitting at a picnic table in front of an East Rockingham home last June. They were all 17 years old at the time of their arrest.

Charles Terry has had the third-longest jail stay, according to records. He was arrested in September 2016 after he allegedly assaulted and robbed Daniel Ingram, who later died.

Walter Little, who had been in jail for 408 days on a robbery, kidnapping and burglary charges — in addition to a slew of breaking and entering and larceny charges, most of which were dismissed by the D.A.’s office — was sentenced to federal prison on March 22.

Adrian Campbell, who has been in custody more than 350 days, is currently being housed in the Anson County Jail. He is charged with attempted murder in a 2016 Hamlet shooting.

Other inmates who had been jailed more than 250 days on March 9 were: Diquon Cox (336, first-degree murder, first-degree arson); Marion Ellerbe (292, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, first-degree burglary); Randy Johnson (267, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, robbery with a dangerous weapon); Kevin McDonald (358, statutory rape of a child); Dallas Parrisher (323, indecent liberties with a child, sexual battery); Devonte Scott (266, robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury); and Steve Smith (389, three counts of first-degree murder).

(Note: The charges listed behind the defendants’ names do not reflect all the charges they are facing. All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.)

“It takes a lot to get cases ready to go to trial,” Saunders said.

Although things are getting better, he said the backlog of evidence at the State Crime Lab has held things up in the past. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that there were more than 15,000 untested sexual assault kits in North Carolina.

Another issue is the need for an additional assistant district attorney, he said. When the judicial district was split in 2014, Saunders said Stanly County got “the lion’s share” of ADAs.

According to each of the district websites, Saunders has seven ADAs for Richmond and Anson counties; and Stanly County District Attorney T. Lynn Clodfelter has five.

Sometimes, defendants will switch lawyers, which also slows down the process. When that happens, Saunders said, the discovery process —where prosecutors and defense attorneys exchange information about evidence and witnesses that will be presented at trial — has to start from scratch.

Despite the challenges of moving cases through the system, Saunders said, “We’re plodding away at it.”

Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 or wtoler@yourdailyjournal.com.

Reynolds

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_brandonreynolds.jpgReynolds

Saunders

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_reece_mug.jpgSaunders

Daily Journal file photo Records from March 9 show that 17 defendants had been in the Richmond County Jail for more than 260 days awaiting trial. Since then, one has been sentenced to federal prison.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_rcjail.jpgDaily Journal file photo Records from March 9 show that 17 defendants had been in the Richmond County Jail for more than 260 days awaiting trial. Since then, one has been sentenced to federal prison.

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HOFFMAN — Two people were killed and two others sent to a hospital following a wreck just south of the Moore County line Tuesday night.

Randy Gibson, 32, and Sharon Campbell, 61, both of Aberdeen, died when they were ejected from the pickup truck they were in drifted off of the left side of the road and then over-corrected, causing it to run off the right side of the road and flip three times, coming to rest on the right shoulder, according to 1st Sgt. B.G. Jones of the N.C. Highway Patrol.

There were two other passengers in the vehicle at the time. Jones could not identify them Wednesday morning but said one was in critical condition and the other’s condition was unknown. It is unclear which hospital they were taken to. It is also unclear where the passengers were seated or who was driving at the time of the wreck.

The wreck happened around 9 p.m. Tuesday, just north of Glider Road and south of the county line at Drowning Creek.

Authorities turned away traffic at Leader Lane for about two hours. The highway was clear of debris and emergency vehicles around 11 p.m.

Troopers also provided an update on the March 8 wreck that claimed the life of 70-year-old truck driver Larry Steven Newell, of Candor.

Jones said at the time that because there was no sign that Newell applied the brake as his tractor-trailer drifted off of U.S. 220, the wreck was likely caused by a medical issue. Jones said the autopsy was inconclusive and so the medical issue designation has been retracted.

“We’re not sure whether he did or didn’t (have a medical issue),” Jones said. “If it’s a clear-cut medical issue they’ll rule it that way … that’s what we battle.”

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or gstone@yourdailyjournal.com.

Gavin Stone | Daily Journal Investigators with the N.C. Highway Patrol take photos of a wreck on U.S. 1 north of Hoffman Tuesday night that claimed the lives of two passengers and sent two others to the hospital.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_countylinefatal.jpgGavin Stone | Daily Journal Investigators with the N.C. Highway Patrol take photos of a wreck on U.S. 1 north of Hoffman Tuesday night that claimed the lives of two passengers and sent two others to the hospital.

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ROCKINGHAM — New data released by the North Carolina Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the economic impact of medication and drug overdoses in Richmond County.

In 2016, the combined cost of fatalities from medication and drugs — regardless of whether it was suicide or accidental, and not limited to deaths from opioids — to Richmond County was $7,420,168, according to the NCCHS. This number combines the $32,502 in total medical costs spent treating those victims and the total lost by employers of victims in terms of labor value and efforts to mitigate that loss which was $7,387,666.

The cost per capita of medical and work loss from medication and drug fatalities, regardless of intent, to Richmond County in 2016 was $165.12.

Social Services Director Robby Hall said he received the information on Monday as part of the Drug Endangered Family Task Force’s ongoing efforts to collect information about Richmond County’s drug problems in accordance with recent directives from the state.

“When you look at opioid impact, you have to look at all the different issues — not just family … issues but also how is it affecting your community as a whole, or what impact is it having on your workforce, (your ability) to attract new business,” Hall said. “So what we’re trying to show is, if this is how much is lost from the epidemic, how much do you need to invest to mitigate that loss?”

This data, along with what is collected from members of the task force who represent fields that have all been touched by the opioid crisis, will be shared in a series of upcoming events directed at both professionals and the general public. It will then be used to guide policy, grant applications and new hires for DSS, according to Hall.

These figures are not related to the damages the county is seeking as part of a wide-ranging lawsuit the county has joined — along with hundreds of other local governments nationwide — against companies along the prescription drug supply chain for their role in the opioid crisis. There is not yet an estimation of how much the plaintiffs in these lawsuits could receive.

The Richmond County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution in February declaring an opioid crisis in the county. The county is currently ranked fourth in the state in opioid pills per resident at 132.2 — well above the state average of 78.3 — according to statistics from the County Leadership Forum on Opioid Abuse. The county’s rate of unintentional medication and drug overdose rates are also significantly higher than the state average at 18.8 deaths per 100,000 residents compared to 12.2 statewide, according to the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or gstone@yourdailyjournal.com.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_robbyhall.jpg

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HAMLET — The police officer is your friend — even if your grandma’s in jail for doing nothing.

And so is a firefighter, even though one can look a little scary decked out in gear.

Forty-six preschoolers and a handful of teachers from Monroe Avenue Elementary School visited the Hamlet fire and police departments Thursday morning, to learn why firefighters wear all that equipment, what color lights fire and police vehicles flash, and that sometimes, police already know some of your family members — perhaps a little more intimately than either would wish.

First, the children heard firefighter John DeWitt describe the equipment firefighters wear: air tanks “so we can go into a fire … and rescue people,” helmets “to keep stuff from falling on our heads,” and boots, coats and special pants to repel the flames and to keep from being burned.

“When firefighters put all of their stuff on, they can be pretty scary,” DeWitt said in a sing-song voice. “But, do we need to be scared of a firefighter?”

That met a chorus of “noooooooooooooooooo”s, as did: “If there is a fire, y’all have to stay outside of it. You never … go back in.”

The children then moved outside to hear from Officer Corey Wilson, who introduced them to his mobile office, or police cruiser.

Wilson pointed to his gun and Taser, telling the children he never wanted to use them. He pointed to his body camera, telling the children it kept him both safe and honest.

One child asked whether Wilson would serve them doughnuts. (No, but they received goody bags later.)

And another volunteered that her grandma was in jail.

Child: “My grandma’s in jail.”

Wilson, lightly: “What did she do?”

Child: “Nothing.”

Wilson: “We hear that a lot.”

Following up on other tales of relatives in cells, Wilson answered: “Your daddy’s in jail? Sorry” and “Your uncle’s in jail?” before cutting off the line of true confessions.

The children, though, seemed unfazed, enthusiastically examining Wilson’s cruiser, then following him into the police station to close out their tour and receive their goodies.

Officer Corey Wilson shows preschoolers from Monroe Avenue Elementary School his office on wheels, complete with radio and siren. Wilson quizzed the children on calling for help. What number would you call? “9-1-1,” they all shouted.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_pofire1.jpgOfficer Corey Wilson shows preschoolers from Monroe Avenue Elementary School his office on wheels, complete with radio and siren. Wilson quizzed the children on calling for help. What number would you call? “9-1-1,” they all shouted.

Firefighter/EMT John DeWitt donned equipment one piece at a time, then opened the floor for questions – which all resembled one another: Why do you wear a helmet? Why to do you wear boots? Why do you wear an air pack?

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_pofire2.jpgFirefighter/EMT John DeWitt donned equipment one piece at a time, then opened the floor for questions – which all resembled one another: Why do you wear a helmet? Why to do you wear boots? Why do you wear an air pack?

The post Public safety field trip appeared first on Richmond County Daily Journal.

ROCKINGHAM — For the second consecutive year, a musician with local ties is being inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.

Bluesman Blind Boy Fuller, is among seven inductees for 2018 announced Thursday by the Hall of Fame.

Fuller was born Fulton Allen in Anson County on July 10, 1907, son of Calvin Allen of Wadesboro and Mary Jane Walker of Ansonville. Research shows he moved to Rockingham to live with his father after his mother died and and learned to play the guitar at a young age. He later married Cora Mae Martin in Bennettsville, South Carolina.

According to a physician’s eye report, Fuller went blind at the age of 21. The cause of blindness is listed as “phthisis bulbi” for his right eye and “papilloma of the cornea evidently following old perforating ulcer” in his left and the factor for his primary eye condition as “probably gonorrhea conjunctivitis.”

Fuller eventually wound up in Durham, where he lived until his death in 1941.

Fuller made 130 records from 1935 to 1940 on seven labels, according to researcher Jas Obrecht.

“Drawing on country blues, pop, and especially ragtime, Allen played fingerstyle and slide on a metal-bodied National Duolian guitar, sometimes using a capo,” Obrecht wrote in the online post “Blind Boy Fuller: His Life, Recording Sessions, and Welfare Records.”

“He sang with a strong, confident voice,” Obrecht continued. “His music came to epitomize the so-called Piedmont style, and his duets with harmonica ace Sonny Terry set the template for the later partnerships of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Bowling Green John Cephas and Harmonica Phil Wiggins, and others.”

Other artists being inducted this year are: Grammy nominee John Tesh, who studied at N.C. State; former “American Idol” contestant and Grammy nominee Chris Daughtry, from Rocky Mount; record executive Dolphus Ramseur, responsible for the Avett Brothers and Steep Canyon Rangers, who was born and raised in Concord; Grammy-nominated gospel singer, songwriter and producer Luther Barnes, of Rocky Mount; Grammy-nominated R&B singer-songwriter Calvin Richardson, of Monroe; and gospel group The Hoppers, of Madison.

Last year, Richmond County’s Bucky Covington and Anson County native Richard Lewis Spencer were both inducted.

According to Veronica Cordle, executive director of the N.C. Music Hall of Fame and Museum, inductees are decided by a five-member advisory board who narrow down a master list by voting.

The Hall of Fame began in Thomasville in 1994, but has had regular induction ceremonies since moving to Kannapolis in 2008. This will be the 10th induction since the move.

The ceremony will be held Thursday, Oct. 18 and is open to the public. Tickets are expected to go on sale later this spring, according to a press release.

Past inductees include Hamlet native John Coltrane, Marshville native Randy Travis, Charlie Daniels, Ronnie Milsap, Earl Scruggs, Parliament-Funkadelic’s George Clinton and Maceo Parker, Shirley Caesar, Andy Griffith, Warren Haynes and other “American Idol” contestants Kellie Pickler, Clay Aiken and Fantasia.

Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 or wtoler@yourdailyjournal.com.

Courtesy photo Blind Boy Fuller (includes Fulton Allen): Performing in studio, undated, in the John Edwards Memorial Foundation Records #20001, Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_blindboyfuller.jpegCourtesy photo Blind Boy Fuller (includes Fulton Allen): Performing in studio, undated, in the John Edwards Memorial Foundation Records #20001, Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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About two-thirds of Richmond County children live at or near the poverty level, and about one-third may not know where their next meals are coming from, according to a report released this week by the child-welfare watchdog NC Child.

The group called on elected officials and candidates for office to champion children’s issues and to specifically address child poverty in North Carolina, while noting minimal improvement in some data — including figures for Richmond County.

“Big problems demand big solutions,” said Michelle Hughes, executive director of NC Child. “In 2018, we hope candidates will take bold steps to (make) affordable, high-quality health insurance available …, (to invest) in our public schools and (to expand) access to quality early-learning programs for young children.”

The data snapshot shows how children and families fare in 15 key areas of well-being. Both Richmond County and the state as a whole are making halting progress toward improving children’s health and education, the report shows, but both should invest more in evidence-based policy solutions.

In its data on Richmond County alone, the report said that:

• 64.1 percent of children live at or close to the poverty level, which puts them at risk for poor educational attainment, bad health and continuing poverty.

• 27.9 percent of children live in food-insecure households, which puts at risk their immediate health, safety and ability to learn.

• 56.6 percent of women in Richmond County received early prenatal care in 2016 vs. 56.0 percent in 2015, the latest years for which statistics are available. Statewide, 69 percent of women received early prenatal care.

• 10.6 percent of babies were born at a low birth weight in 2016 vs 11.7 percent in 2015. Statewide, 9 percent of babies were born at a low birth weight.

• 76.7 percent of high school students graduated on time in 2017, compared to 81.2 percent in 2016. Statewide, 86.5 percent graduated on time.

“Marginal progress is better than no progress, but the fact remains that our state’s children face far too many barriers to success,” said Whitney Tucker, research director at NC Child. “Treading water isn’t good enough.”

The Richmond County Data Card also includes sample questions constituents can ask candidates for office about key issues facing children. Those and information allowing those in Richmond County to compare their data with data from other counties are available at www.ncchild.org.

At midmonth, the philanthropic Robert Wood Johnson Foundation labeled Richmond County one of the state’s least healthy counties, using data on the quality and availability of education, employment, health care and housing.

With its research partner the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the foundation released 50 state snapshots showing that where a person makes a home influences how long he or she lives. The foundation focused most strongly on health care.

Not surprisingly, North Carolina’s most prosperous counties fared the best and its least so, the worst.

The five healthiest counties were Wake, Orange, Camden, Union, and Mecklenburg. The five in the poorest health, starting with least healthy, were Robeson, Scotland, Vance, Edgecombe and Columbus.

In a breakdown of important categories, the study reports that Richmond County ranked 87th of 100 counties in terms of health outcomes — how people fare after receiving care — and 96th in health factors, such as the county’s physical environment, clinical care, and social and economic factors.

County Health Director Tommy Jarrell found something to applaud in the findings.

“There was a time when we were 99th” in one study of health outcomes, Jarrell said.

Citing holding steady — though not dropping — in the rate of teenage pregnancy, the county’s welcoming of measures to decrease tobacco use and the implementation of programs to improve educational attainment in both the public schools and Richmond Community College, Jarrell said, Richmond County could expect better outcomes over time.

The trouble with that, he said, is that everybody in North Carolina also is trying to improve outcomes.

“So if everybody does (better statistically), our ranking might not improve, but our scores will,” he said. “So we’ve got to work hard.”

Hughes

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Michelle-Hughes-2-.jpgHughes

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ROCKINGHAM — Deputies have arrested a couple and a man recently charged in a shooting on charges relating to selling crack cocaine.

Lionell Perez Powell, 51, of Aleo 9th Avenue, is accused of selling a total of 0.7 grams of crack cocaine to a confidential informant in two transactions between Feb. 5 and March 23, according to arrest warrants. A child was allegedly present during at least one of these transactions.

When deputies went to Powell’s East Rockingham residence to serve warrants for his arrest, 23-year-old Gladys Marie Warren answered the door and said that Powell was not home, though one of the officers had heard her talking to someone inside prior to opening the door, according to court documents. Deputies say Warren was also found with a syringe and lighter.

Powell is charged with four felony counts of selling or delivering a Schedule II controlled substance; two counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance; one felony count of maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance; and one misdemeanor count of child abuse.

Online records show he also has drug and weapon charges pending in superior court.

Warren is charged with one felony count of possession of cocaine, one misdemeanor count each of possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting a public officer and child abuse.

The two were arrested and are in custody at the Richmond County Jail. Powell is being held under a $25,000 secured bond, Warren under a $10,000 bond.

Delton Octavius Allen, 29, of Ellen Drive, allegedly sold at least 0.7 grams of crack cocaine to a confidential informant in two transactions between March 8 and March 23.

Allen is charged with four felony counts of selling or delivering a Schedule II controlled substance; two counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver as Schedule II controlled substance; and two felony counts of maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance.

Allen already has pending charges following a Feb. 11 shooting on Aleo 7th Drive. He admitted to bringing a gun to confront a man regarding a personal matter, and a witness said Allen and the man he was there to confront fired at each other, according to court records. He is facing one felony count each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and possession of a firearm by a felon in that case.

Allen is being held at the Richmond County Jail under a $75,000 secured bond.

Powell has faced drug and larceny charges dating back to 1984, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.

In March 1984 he was convicted of possessing a Schedule VI controlled substance with intent to sell, for which he served six months in prison. He was convicted in June 1990 of felony breaking and entering and, in May 1993, of larceny over $200, for which he served a combined sentence of 13 months in prison, records show.

Powell was convicted of felony breaking and entering in July 1997, serving eight months in prison. In April 2002, he was convicted of being a habitual felon and one felony count of selling a Schedule II controlled substance, for which he served four years and seven months in prison. He served seven months in prison for a December 2010 conviction of for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and operating a vehicle without a license.

Most recently, Powell was convicted in September 2014 one two felony counts of larceny of over $1,000 and sentenced to a month in prison, according to state records.

Warren has been previously convicted of four misdemeanors and has never been incarcerated. In December 2014 she was convicted of larceny and possession of stolen goods. Then in November 2015 she was convicted of larceny and first-degree trespassing, according to state records.

Allen was convicted of common law robbery and second-degree burglary in May 2006, and in December 2017 of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. He received probation for all three offenses, according to state records.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or gstone@yourdailyjournal.com.

Powell

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_lionellpowell.jpgPowell

Warren

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_gladyswarren.jpgWarren

Allen

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_deltonallen.jpgAllen

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ELLERBE — The next time Ellerbe workers fertilize the town cemetery, they’ll do it by hand, Mayor Lee Berry promised Tuesday — not by driving spreaders over the gravesites.

Doing the job the latter way a few weeks ago might or might not promote the growth of a bit of green this spring, but it for sure has raised the hackles of people whose loved ones lie under the cemetery’s spotty grass.

“I (take) 100 percent of the blame,” said Berry, who gave workers permission to traverse the graves in the name of efficiency. “We made a mess, and we fessed up to it, and we’re going to move on.”

During their meeting this week, town commissioners also moved to ensure that those buried on weekends or after hours actually are lowered into plots they bought. No one has wound up in the wrong plot yet, Berry said; the city just wants to make sure no one does.

From now on, funeral homes will have a number to call for off-hours burials, so someone at the city knows when they occur. They also will pay a $50 fee to open a grave, as well as a $25 fee to set a monument in place.

In a departure from tradition, coffins also will have to be lowered into lead vaults and not directly into the ground, a measure than erases a concern about water runoff.

And the earth over each plot will have to be properly compacted so that one- or two-week-old graves don’t become shallow depressions.

“It’s so hard to change what’s been going on (for) 30 or 40 years, in 30 days,” Berry said of the cemetery, which has been a top concern at recent council meetings.

But, in “18 to 24 months, we’ll be about where we need to be” in the growth of erosion-controlling grass. “We’ve (just) got to go into the growing season right quick.”

After receiving complaints last February, Berry and Richmond County Cooperative Extension agent Paige Burns took soil samples at the cemetery, then sent them off to the N.C. Department of Agriculture, to see what it would recommend.

The samples still aren’t back, but the town has begun a twice-annual spreading of fertilizer and soon will plug in grass.

“Cemeteries are tough places to maintain in the best of situations,” Burns said after touring the Ellerbe plots in February.

Berry figures then that the town would need to spend about $5,000 to rejuvenate the cemetery grounds.

It had not budgeted that money in the past, each year setting aside $2,500 for cemetery maintenance, with that whole amount usually spent just mowing the 10-acre lot. Mowing happens twice a month in the summertime.

In March, commissioners revised how the city finances the cemetery, sending 50 percent — and not 100 percent — of the money generated by plot sales into the general fund, and reserving 50 percent to create a maintenance and beautification fund.

Plots cost $300 for Ellerbe residents and $600 for nonresidents.

“I think we’re on the right track with the graveyard,” Berry said. “It’s just going to be a little while.”

Berry

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/web1_leeberrymug.jpgBerry

Daily Journal file photo The Ellerbe Cemetery will be fertilized by hand, to stop erosion, after complaints of using spreaders from relatives of those buried there.

https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/web1_ellerbecemetery.jpgDaily Journal file photo The Ellerbe Cemetery will be fertilized by hand, to stop erosion, after complaints of using spreaders from relatives of those buried there.

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