Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation is sending out notices to all of their customers of a scam alert. According to Blue Ridge EMC officials, area residents need to be on alert for scam artists pretending to be Blue Ridge EMC workers. There has already been several reported incidents of individuals posing as right-of-way or other contractors for Blue Ridge Electric. In most cases, a female will tell the homeowner that the resident is needed to look at work being performed near a power pole or right-of-way, and after-wards, the resident notices that items are missing from their home. Now, authorities believe that a second accomplice enters the home and takes items while the homeowner is with the imposter. While Blue Ridge Electric employees may knock on your door they never need access inside your home to restore power. Furthermore, while a Blue Ridge employee or contractor may occasionally ask a homeowner to view an area where right-of-way or other work is being performed, members should always ask for proper Blue Ridge Electric identification. They may also call their local Blue Ridge Electric office to verify that work is being performed in their area or on their property. If you have any doubts about a person claiming to be a Blue Ridge Electric employee or contractor, please call your local Blue Ridge Electric office or the toll free number at 1-800-451-5474 to speak with a Blue Ridge employee to confirm identification. Residents are reminded to never let anyone inside their home and if there are questionable people around your home, please call local law enforcement authorities or call 911.
June 2010 Archives
Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation is sending out notices to all of their customers of a scam alert. According to Blue Ridge EMC officials, area residents need to be on alert for scam artists pretending to be Blue Ridge EMC workers. There has already been several reported incidents of individuals posing as right-of-way or other contractors for Blue Ridge Electric. In most cases, a female will tell the homeowner that the resident is needed to look at work being performed near a power pole or right-of-way, and after-wards, the resident notices that items are missing from their home. Now, authorities believe that a second accomplice enters the home and takes items while the homeowner is with the imposter. While Blue Ridge Electric employees may knock on your door they never need access inside your home to restore power. Furthermore, while a Blue Ridge employee or contractor may occasionally ask a homeowner to view an area where right-of-way or other work is being performed, members should always ask for proper Blue Ridge Electric identification. They may also call their local Blue Ridge Electric office to verify that work is being performed in their area or on their property. If you have any doubts about a person claiming to be a Blue Ridge Electric employee or contractor, please call your local Blue Ridge Electric office or the toll free number at 1-800-451-5474 to speak with a Blue Ridge employee to confirm identification. Residents are reminded to never let anyone inside their home and if there are questionable people around your home, please call local law enforcement authorities or call 911.
A major wreck in Ashe County that involved using a Life Flight helicopter this morning, has claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl. Shana Marie Dishman of Crumpler, was killed in an accident early this morning in Lansing when the '94 Toyota Corolla she was riding in crashed. According to authorities, 19-year-old Cody Collins of Jefferson lost control of the Corolla in a curve on Deep Ford Road in Lansing at about 6 am Wednesday morning, and ran off the road and struck a light pole. Collins was rushed from the scene to a landing zone where he was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. According to police, Collins is in critical condition. Shana Marie Dishman was pronounced dead at the scene, while Ashe Paramedics, rescue, fire and first responders all worked to save Cody Collins' life.
How's this to celebrate the holiday weekend? The Blue Ridge Parkway is opening up from end to end to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Independence Day. The entire 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway that runs from Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro, Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, will be open for the first time in 18 months this weekend, as part of the holiday celebration. Part of the parkway, from milepost 399 to 405 was closed last October because of a severe landslide. Since then, the section between Asheville and Mt. Pisgah had been closed with a detour. But an intense cleanup effort has been put forward to clear the debris from the roadway after the brutal winter we experienced. The area between Asheville and Mt. Pisgah will have one lane of traffic open by noon on Friday, but parkway officials anticipate the rest of the parkway will be back to normal. 
Police are investigating a potentially organized crime that has left one business out of $40,000. Wilkesboro Police were called to the lot of the Wilkesboro location of James River Equipment on Monday morning to investigate the theft of three tractors and three other major pieces of equipment. The investigation was made after an Iredell Sheriff's Department investigator called to ask if equipment was missing from the lot located off U.S. 421. It's still unknown whether any of the stolen equipment has been recovered, but inventory was taken exactly a month before the thefts were discovered. Investigators are still trying to determine exactly when the crime occurred, but without many other facts it will be difficult. The investigation has spread from Wilkes County to Charlotte though, as police continue to search for the suspects involved in the theft.
With only a couple of days left until the start of the next fiscal year on July 1st, ASU finally has a budget. While the new budget sees even more cuts, ASU and the UNC school system are glad that it wasn't worse. In the middle of one of the worst recessions ever, there were talks that the budget for the UNC school system could get caught up to $150 million. Instead, the budget cuts came to $70 million for the entire school system. The House of Representatives had requested the cut be as large as $150 million, the Governor called for 100 million in cuts, and the Senate called for a $50 million cut in the budget. After hearing all those proposals and finally agreeing on the new $19 billion budget, UNC officials are counting this budget cut as a small win considering the much steeper cuts that could have been adopted. School officials are also happy because the new budget calls for $34 million in need-based air, which is exactly how much money they need for the approximately 70% of students that fall in the need-based category. However, the future still remains a little gloomy considering that there will still be significant cuts and with the economy coming along slowly, there could be future cuts coming as well. Either way, government officials are trying to do something they haven't done in seven years...get the budget approved on time. The bill is expected to be voted on Tuesday and Wednesday before it is sent to Governor Perdue. The new fiscal year begins on Thursday, so officials are trying to make the late push to get the bill approved on time. 
Boone Police have released pictures and a video of individuals suspected of breaking and entering into a vending machine on Monday. The break-in occurred at approximately 3am on Monday morning at the Wood Masonry Supply in Boone. The video captures the scene as a Pontiac Grand Am is seen pulling up to the business. A black male is seen exiting the vehicle and breaking into the machine while a white female driver stands nearby. If you believe you know the identity of the suspects, please call the Boone Police Department at 828-268-6900 or Watauga County Crimestoppers at 828-268-6959.
One family is left without a home, at least temporarily, after a fire destroyed part of their home on Monday night. Hickory fire fighters responded to a call of a residential fire at 8:45 Monday evening in the laundry room at 49 10th Street. When they arrived on the scene they found a working fire in the residence. Everyone at the residence had evacuated the building luckily, and it took the firefighters just over an hour to get the two alarm fire under control. The American Red Cross is currently assisting the family, and no injuries were reported. The fire remains under investigation by the City of Hickory Fire Prevention Bureau. According to officials, the 100 year old home suffered approximately $20,000-$30,000 worth of damage.
Police arrested a local man after a recent vehicle break-in. Boone Police arrested 23-year-old William Arthur Greene of Sugar Grove on June 24th after charges stemming from a recent vehicle break-in in Boone. Greene was arrested in Mountain City, Tennessee and served with warrants for felonious breaking and entering into a motor vehicle and felonious larceny. Greene was given a $3000.00 secured bond and has a court date of July 21st.
After hearing the news that unemployment rates in the state dropped in May, the figures for the High Country have been released, and the news offers a sigh of relief for High Country residents. Overall, unemployment rates dropped in 86 of North Carolina's 100 counties. Avery County showed one of the largest drops in the state from 9.1% in April, down to 8.2% in May. Ashe County didn't see much of a drop and still remains the highest in the region, dipping from 11.3% to 11.2%, and Watauga County fell ever so slightly from 7.6% to 7.5%. Just down the mountain, in Caldwell County, the unemployment rate fell from 14.5% to 14.1%. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 16% while Currituck County once again had the lowest at 4.9% in May.
As of July 1st, ASU will have a new provost. Dr. Lorin Baumhover has been named interim provost at the university, effectively replacing Dr. Stan Aeschleman. Dr. Aeschleman made an announcement last August that he planned to step down from his administrative position, one that he has held since 2004, to return to the classroom. Baumhover previously served as chief of staff to the chancellor from February 2005 to December 2009 before his retirement. Before serving as chief of staff, Baumhover served as interim dean of Appalachian's Cratis D. Williams Graduate School from 2004-05. He was also the chairman of the Department of Sociology and Social Work from 1996-2004, and holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Colorado State University. As interim provost, Baumhover will be the university's highest-ranking official after the chancellor,and will have a central role in all institutional decisions. All academic colleges, departments and programs report to the provost, and the position is responsible for all academic policies, including those affecting faculty appointment, development, and promotion and tenure. Also within the provost's responsibilities is strategic planning and budgeting, academic and research initiatives, and general academic supervision of the campus. A search committee for a permanent provost will be formed in the fall to begin a search to fill the position.
