Pete Luter III, a 68-year-old Roanoke Rapids skydiver and owner of Countryside Chimney Sweeps, died after having a problem with his parachute in Florida.
Complaints of drug and prostitution activity in south Weldon have led to several arrests following a six-month long investigation.
Thus far results from Tuesday’s special election in Scotland Neck look good, Halifax County Board of Elections Supervisor Kristin Smith said.
The board of elections will meet Tuesday at 11 a.m. to canvass the votes and no one has sent in paperwork challenging the outcome. Candidates in the special mayoral race have until Thursday to do so.
Raymond Watson collected 51 percent of the votes to become Scotland Neck’s new mayor, according to unofficial results.
Watson got 448 votes to incumbent James Mills’ 434.
Watson swept Mills in Precinct 2 voting by an 89 percent margin while the incumbent won in Precinct 1, collecting 86 percent of the votes.
Fifty-one percent of the town’s voters came out for the special election.
A new election was ordered after irregularities were found in the November mayoral election.
A part of Halifax’s history burned to the ground this morning when one of the cabins of the Halifax Fishing Club caught fire.
The fire was called in around 1 a.m. when a neighbor awoke to find their power was out and the building was on fire, Halifax Fire Chief Ed Johnson said.
When firefighters arrived — 13 from Halifax on three trucks and five from Weldon on one truck — the cabin was engulfed and past saving.
Former Halifax County District Attorney Bob Caudle, who could not be reached for comment, owned the building.
Johnson said the building dates to 1947 and was built by Caudle’s uncle. “There’s a lot memories and history for all the community.”
Assistant Chief John White said in an email correspondence with rrspin.com the two-story cabin was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, structure on the site.
Johnson said the cause of the fire remains under investigation although foul play is not suspected. Power was connected to the structure. “It’s possible with the warm weather rats or mice could have got in and started gnawing something.”
Randy Birdsong, president of the club, said, “It’s a big loss and a bigger loss to Bob.”
He said the club used that cabin for its meetings. “We’ll have to make different arrangements.”
Planning board members tonight recommended sending proposed regulations on Internet cafes to city council for consideration.
Carl Garner voted against the recommendation because he believed it was unfair to allow the establishments to close at midnight while bingo halls can stay open until 2 a.m.
“How can you penalize one business?” he asked. “You can’t tame this animal so you close at 12.”
No one from the public spoke for or against the proposals at a public hearing on the matter.
Mayor Emery Doughtie did ask whether the seven Internet cafes operating in Roanoke Rapids would be under a grandfather clause.
“It’s a gray area because it’s such a new use,” Planning and Development Director Amanda Jarratt said. “There are localities retroactively enforcing. We wouldn’t make them close because their too close (to schools and churches).”
That wouldn’t mean the city wouldn’t regulate hours of operation and the number of machines for existing businesses, she said, which is something city council would have to decide.
Doughtie also asked about a moratorium on any new businesses coming coming to town. “My thought would be until we get a handle on them we don’t want to have so many in town.”
Jarratt said there are ways to enact moratoriums in cities but the matter was not discussed further.
Council will consider making the establishments a conditional use in the B-4 and I-1 districts.
Jarratt presented two minor changes to council, one putting language in the proposal for hours of operation — 8 a.m. to midnight — making it clear all games cease at midnight. The other change clarifies there shall be no more than 20 machines in a business including video poker machines.
Other proposed regulations remained unchanged:
• 500 feet from any residence or residential zoning district.
• 1,000 feet from any church, religious institution, day care center, public or private schools, public park or playground, public library, cemetery, video arcade or theater which shows G or PG movies regularly.
• 1,000 feet away from any existing electronic gaming operation, tattoo and body piercing establishment or adult and sexually oriented business.
• The machines or terminals must not be prohibited by state or federal law and must have applicable licenses and permits.
• No alcoholic beverages may be served or consumed on the premises.
The proposal also addresses parking with a requirement of 1.5 parking spaces for every two electronic gaming machines plus one space for each employee on shift of greatest employment.
There are currently seven establishments in the city. They are located at the following:
• 1114 Julian R. Allsbrook Highway
• 1740 Julian R. Allsbrook Highway
• 1308 East Tenth Street
• 112 East Tenth Street
• 1052 East Tenth Street
• 291 Premier Boulevard
• Second floor of Jackpot Bingo
Two people were arrested on drug counts and three others charged on unrelated counts following a drug bust in the 100 block of Hamilton Street today.
“Word’s y’all slingin’ dope like crazy,” one man taken into custody on an unrelated warrant said to a group of people handcuffed on the porch of 135 Hamilton Street.
Roanoke Rapids Police Chief Jeff Hinton, carrying a G-man like Tommy gun, said the arrests resulted from a lengthy investigation including officer observations and citizen complaints. “It’s been a lot of activity around both these houses.”
One man arrested told officers he was trying to sleep before the 10 a.m. bust. “Y’all weren’t yesterday,” the officer replied.
Hinton said officers served two search warrants, one at 134 Hamilton and another at 135 Hamilton.
Those charged on drug counts were:
• Maurice Sneed, 22 — possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was jailed on $15,000 bond.
• Marcus Blount, 18, faces the same charges as Sneed along with a count of felony possession of marijuana.
Charged on unrelated counts were:
• Terrence Anderson, 19 — disorderly conduct. He was jailed on $750 bond.
• Matthew Turner, 20 — simple assault and second degree trespassing. He was released on $1,000 bond.
• Jimmy Lee Harrison — simple assault. He was released on a $500 bond.
Two men were arrested Wednesday for carrying a concealed weapon.
Lieutenant Chuck of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office said the narcotics unit was patrolling the Wallace Fork Road area when he stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. During the search a gun was found and Bryant Antonio Harrison, 22, of Roanoke Rapids, and Larry Nathaniel Jenkins Jr., 22, of Weldon were charged for carrying a concealed gun. Jenkins was also cited for not wearing his seat belt.
Harrison’s bond was $500 and Jenkins’ bond was $1,500. Their court date is May 5.
Roanoke Rapids police are booking several people following a drug bust this morning in the 100 block of Hamilton Street.
“Word’s y’all slingin’ dope like crazy,” one man taken into custody on an unrelated warrant said to a group of people handcuffed on the porch of 135 Hamilton Street.
Chief Jeff Hinton, carrying a G-man like Tommy gun, said the arrests resulted from a lengthy investigation including officer observations and citizen complaints. “It’s been a lot of activity around both these houses.”
One man arrested told officers he was trying to sleep before the 10 a.m. bust. “Y’all weren’t yesterday,” the officer replied.
Several of those handcuffed were eventually let go although it wasn’t immediately clear why.
Officers searched both houses and then carried several men off for booking. Their names or charges were not immediately available.
One thing council will immediately begin to look at is exploring new health insurance for its employees.
The city’s premium for the past fiscal year with Blue Cross and Blue Shield was more than $1 million, Human Resources Manager Kathy Kearney told council during its retreat today.
Finance Director MeLinda Hite said that figure is expected to be same at the end of this fiscal year.
Its premium in 2006 with a different provider was $440,000 with a 80-20 split. The current plan is a 70-30 split.
“We need to take a look at that,” Council member Greg Lawson said. “There has to be a competitive process.”
Said Kearney: “We need to look at it for our employees and taxpayers.”
City Manager Paul Sabiston said the city could see savings of a couple $100,000 a year by going elsewhere.
“We need to get rolling,” Lawson said.
Retreat highlights
Police Chief Jeff Hinton
• 26 Community Watch groups formed.
• Call volume is more than 30,000 a year.
• Some areas need more attention than others.
• Laws and courtrooms continually change. “It’s very important for officers and liability to be kept up to date, to solve crimes that come up.”
• Officers encouraged to get out of patrol cars and interact with community.
• “I can’t say everything is rosy. We have issues on pay and working conditions. Overall morale is positive. We want to be part of the solution, not the problem.”
Councilman Ed Liverman to Hinton: “In our district we have a lot of businesses. It seems to be the consensus that business owners don’t know the officers.”
Hinton: “We’re striving to change that. Our officers are aware people in town are subject to sit on a jury.”
Fire Chief Gary Corbet
• Planning a fire Explorer post.
• More activity during Fire Prevention Month. “We plan to expand involvement in the community for installation of home smoke detectors.”
• Need to think seriously about replacing ladder truck. “Our ladder truck is 12 years old. It’s starting to show wear and tear. It costs $8,000 to $10,000 a year to maintain.”
Public Works Director Richard Parnell
• “We get it done. We refer to ourselves as custodians of city. We clean up, repair, we’re in the background of everything that’s done.”
• Lost nine employees in 2008-2009 and 13 part-time employees. “That was 25 percent of our workforce. We didn’t drop 25 percent of our services.”
• Explore possibilities of contracting street maintenance. “We’ve not resurfaced a street in Roanoke Rapids since 1999. In 1999 the cost per mile was $4,027. In 2009 it was $16,496 for materials.”
Parks and Recreation Director John Simeon
• The inmate program moved the department from being reactive to proactive.
• Improve conditions of athletic fields. “We probably haven’t replaced soccer goals in eight to 10 years. I’m not sure we could do a soccer tournament if we wanted to.”
• Complete plans for a fitness center at T.J. Davis.
Planning and Development Director Amanda Jarratt
• Capitalize on momentum from Opportunity Clean Sweep.
• “Now is the time to take a good, hard look at where we want Roanoke Rapids to be in 20 years.”
• Need to update land use ordinance, storm water management ordinance, water quality plans, sign ordinance and lanscape ordinance.
• Training for board of adjustments and planning board.
• Need for administrative help.
Finance Director MeLinda Hite
• Establish fund balance policy.
• Restore bond rating.
• Continue to build a reserve fund.
• Aggressively collect all delinquent taxes and receivables.
• Redesign city’s website.
Human Resources Manager Kathy Kearney
• Employee wellness.
• Lunch and learn sessions.
• Redesign HR section of website.
• Revise employee benefits book.
• Redesign Channel 15.
City Clerk Lisa Vincent
• Post minutes to website.
• More attractive and user friendly website.
• Review codes.
• Work to have codes on website.
City Manager Paul Sabiston
• Reestablish basic city service and performance minimums.
• Address employee salary issues.
• Stabilize finances of the theater.
• Boost employee morale.
• Update city code.
Following the momentum of Opportunity Clean Sweep, the city will begin aggressive enforcement of its minimum housing code.
City council hopes to know something next week on Lafayette Gatling’s February and March payments for the Roanoke Rapids Theatre.
A Roanoke Rapids area man was charged Tuesday with strangulation following an investigation by the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office.
Lieutenant Bobby Martin said in a press release Deputy Corey Griffin met a source in P&J Trailer Park about an assault.
Griffin and Martin learned the victim was assaulted in the early morning hours Saturday, allegedly by her boyfriend, Michael Wayne Lee Jr., 29.
The victim alleged Lee became angry with her over a dispute they were having and began to strike her in the face before he allegedly started to strangle the victim with his hands.
The victim escaped and returned to her home. She later sought medical attention at Halifax Regional Medical Center and was treated and released.
Lee was charged with assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious injury and communicating threats. He was jailed on $20,000 bond and has an April 20 court date.
