The Halifax County Sheriff's Office has received a complaint from a county resident who reported they received a letter from National Finance Company in Canada. The company sent a check for $4,850 with the promise of $125,000 from the winnings of a sweepstake, Maj. Bruce Temple said in a press release.

After phone conversations, the victim was enticed into cashing the check at a local convenience store and wired  $3,150 to the company for a "non-resident" tax. After the transaction, the company stopped answering the victim’s calls.

 Temple said typically these cases are not within budgets to investigate for local agencies and federal authorities are rarely are able to prosecute. “We would recommend that people should be skeptical when approached with a ‘too good to be true’ event. We would like for potential victims to call the sheriff's office prior to sending any money to a suspicious entity.”

The Roanoke Rapids Police Department reported the following:

1. •A stabbing last night at Fifth and Jewel Street. Chief Jeff Hinton said Timothy Roberson, 21, reported he was stabbed in the abdomen around 11 p.m. He did not give the police much information and the matter remains under investigation.

2. •A break-in occurred in the 300 block of Henry Street around 2:30 p.m. Friday. Hinton said people described as two black males broke into a house they thought was vacant. However, a juvenile was in the house, Hinton said. Entry was gained through a back door. When they discovered the juvenile was in the house they fled. Dogs from Tillery Correctional Center were called to the scene. The case remains under investigation.

3. •Thompson Welding reported a break-in Friday morning around 9 a.m. Approximately $900 worth of equipment was taken.

4. •A stabbing was reported Saturday around 10 p.m. on Wilkins Street. Britt McCoy, 52, was stabbed in the chest during an argument over a woman, Hinton said. His injuries were not serious. Jeffrey Fleming, 48, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Bond amount and a court date was not immediately available.

Fiscal year revenue totals from the register of deeds office reflect the current downturn in the economy on the local, state and national levels.

This was the summary of a report given to Halifax County commissioners today by Register of Deeds Judy Evans-Barbee.

Revenues for this past fiscal year were $402,034, according to the report, while in the previous year they were $575,300.75.

The report showed revenue stamp fees — which are used to determine property transaction values — were $158,789 this past fiscal year. That represents $79,394,500 worth of transaction values.

The previous year’s figure was $291,687, representing $145,843,500 in transactions.

There were also $67,300 worth of vital records recorded this past fiscal year, Evans-Barbee said, which included 3,437 birth certificates, 2,268 death certificates and 316 marriage licenses issued.

She also updated the board on other things going on in the office, including scanning maps in-house, which represents a $7,000 annual savings. The office is also working on getting  birth and death records scanned. Currently they are up to the year 1955 in births and 1983 in deaths, with plans to go back to 1913.

In other matters today the board:

• Approved buying a reconditioned compactor for the landfill from Road Machinery Services in Statesville to replace one which burned recently. Price of the compactor was $58,000.

While the board approved buying the equipment, Commissioner James Pierce said he wanted to know why he didn’t know about the fire. “Personally, I would like to be aware of an incident of this magnitude,” he said.

He also wanted to know if there was any preventive maintenance which could have been done to prevent the fire, to which County Manager Tony responded he wasn’t sure if anything could have been done. There were no injuries in the fire.

• Approved a $20,866 change order for the sludge dewatering project at Reser’s Fine Foods.

The board debated on a door for the system, which was priced at $2,900 and initially approved the change order, excluding the door.

Chairman Gene Minton, however, suggested the board approve the change order with the cost of the door to be no more than $2,000. Commissioner Rives Manning voted against that measure.

“We can’t afford to delay the project,” Minton said. “We don’t want to do anything to stop the process.”

Meanwhile, Gwen Matthews, public utilities director, reported the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District was accepting waste from the plant beginning today.

• Recognized the Finance Department for its award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the U.S. and Canada for 10 straight years of excellence in financial reporting. The board also honored each employee with a plaque.

A grease fire destroyed a house on Stone Street in Gaston Friday when a deep fryer flared up, the town’s volunteer fire department said.

The fire left Phillip Amyx and his wife homeless, Ed Porter Sr., deputy fire chief, said this morning.

The Red Cross was notified and Porter said it was his understanding Amyx was making arrangements with family members for a place to stay. The Red Cross was notified.

Porter said the deep fryer apparently flared up and Amyx left the house.

Firefighters from Gaston were assisted by those from Garysburg and Roanoke Rapids. Three firefighters were treated at Halifax Regional Medical Center in Roanoke Rapids for heat exhaustion and one sustained a minor injury. All firefighters were OK, Porter said.