An oil and gas production platform exploded today after a well that was connected to the platform caught fire roughly 100 miles off the central coast of Louisiana. The flames engulfed the entire vessel, forcing 13 people overboard. Luckily, all 13 people were found and rescued, and despite earlier reports claiming one person was injured, no one was hurt in the explosion. Earlier reports also said that the fire was started after an explosion, but according to officials the fire started at one of the seven wells connected to the platform, then causing the explosion. According to various reports, the platform remains on fire at this moment, but helicopters and cutters from the Coast Guard are on the way to put out the blaze. According to the owner of the platform, Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc., there was no chemical spill, but new reports have surfaced that an oil "sheen" more than a mile long can now be seen. This recent explosion comes more than four months after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded on April 20th, killing 11 people and causing one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
Recently in Crime Category
An oil and gas production platform exploded today after a well that was connected to the platform caught fire roughly 100 miles off the central coast of Louisiana. The flames engulfed the entire vessel, forcing 13 people overboard. Luckily, all 13 people were found and rescued, and despite earlier reports claiming one person was injured, no one was hurt in the explosion. Earlier reports also said that the fire was started after an explosion, but according to officials the fire started at one of the seven wells connected to the platform, then causing the explosion. According to various reports, the platform remains on fire at this moment, but helicopters and cutters from the Coast Guard are on the way to put out the blaze. According to the owner of the platform, Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc., there was no chemical spill, but new reports have surfaced that an oil "sheen" more than a mile long can now be seen. This recent explosion comes more than four months after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded on April 20th, killing 11 people and causing one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
Do you remember the report of the Indonesian toddler who was smoking as many as 40 cigarettes a day? Well, two-year-old Aldi Suganda was finally checked into rehab by his mother, and according to reports, he is now heading home having kicked his addiction. The chain-smoking boy gained national attention after a CBS News team traveled to his hometown to find out if the rumors circling about this young boy were true. When the crew found him with a cigarette in hand, and saw how addicted he was, his story spread rapidly. After struggling with getting Aldi to kick the habit, his family finally checked him into rehab and sent him through multiple tests and x-rays that showed a thickening on the left wall of his heart. According to doctors, the thickening of a wall of Aldi's heart is because he's obese, so his heart has to work harder, and not from the smoking, which hasn't affected his health...yet. To help limit Aldi's nicotine withdrawal symptoms, doctors had Aldi participate in play therapy, to keep his mind occupied. Now, the true test will come as he returns to his hometown.
Blue Ridge EMC has issued a warning to copper thieves to stay away from electric utility substations because of the danger involved, in addition to the criminal consequences. While substations have signs posted throughout that read "DANGER--KEEP OUT," that still doesn't keep some people out that are in search of copper. Blue Ridge Electric wants to remind these people that past thieves have been hurt or killed while attempting to break-in and steal copper from electric substations. So they have issued a couple of tips to ensure the safety of everyone. First, if you see any unusual activity in or around substations, towers, utility poles, storage sites and other electric utility property, report it to your local electric cooperative or law enforcement agency immediately. And secondly, no one should ever climb substation fences, utility poles or towers. People should also stay away from substations and transformers. Activity like this is hazardous and can result in severe injury and even death. Only trained, professional line technicians and utility workers should ever be in or around a substation, power poles and lines, or other electric facilities.
Blue Ridge EMC is happy to announce that in July, North Carolina lawmakers expanded the state's 'move over law' to include electric utility vehicles restoring power on the sides of roadways. The 'move over law' requires motorists to slow down and cautiously approach emergency vehicles with flashing lights, moving over one lane when possible. Beginning in December, the law will encompass electric utility vehicles that are stopped, with amber lights flashing, on roadway shoulders. The expanded law protects electric utility workers as they work to maintain power lines or restore power in local communities and along North Carolina's highways. Director of public relations Renee Whitener, says that this inclusion of electrical workers into the law will keep Blue Ridge EMC employees safe, because much like me and you, they have families that they want to return home to safely as well. Although the law does not take effect until December 1, residents are encouraged to begin the practice of moving over and slowing down if they see an electric utility vehicle. This will help protect the safety of not only the workers, but also the drivers. Since Blue Ridge Electric's service area is typically in areas that experience severe winter weather, moving over will help drivers become accustomed to "thinking safety" and moving over for line workers well before ice or snow typically arrive and the new law takes effect.
Authorities are vowing to prosecute anyone who attempts to damage or remove any political signs related to the sales tax vote or any other. The response comes after District Attorney Jerry Wilson said that a Burke County group has reportedly planned to remove all political signs from Watauga County this election season. According to the press release sent by Wilson, anyone who doesn't obey this policy will be prosecuted in a "very serious manner." Now, the policy doesn't apply to the owner of the signs or anyone working for Wilson, the law enforcement, the Department of Transportation, or private property owners who did not authorize the signs to be placed. To date, only a few signs opposing the sales tax increase have been stolen according to Boone Police.
Have you seen this guy? His name is Alain Robert, and he is a French skyscraper climber that climbs with nothing but his bare hands and climbing shoes. Nicknamed "Spiderman," Robert took his latest climbing skills to a 57-story building in Sydney, but after finishing his climb he was promptly arrested. Robert is known for climbing some of the world's tallest and most famous buildings. The 48-year-old claims he has climbed over 70 skyscrapers around the world, including the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. But today he was arrested after his latest attempt to climb the Lumiere building in downtown Sydney. But arrests are nothing new for Robert, as many of his previous climbs have resulted in arrests and fines. He has not yet been charged yet, but last year, Robert was fined 750 Australian dollars, or $676 U.S., for climbing the 41-story Royal Bank of Scotland building in Sydney. Now, of course not wanting to see his efforts go unnoticed, Robert has his own website, complete with photos, videos, and more at www.alainrobert.com. 
An accident on U.S. 421 on Tuesday afternoon left six people injured, and prompted rescuers to use the Jaws of Life to free passengers. The wreck happened around 4pm on Tuesday in Deep Gap when torrential downpour caused a black Chevy Suburban to hydroplane and slam into a guardrail before hitting a navy blue Jeep Wrangler. The accident occurred near Orchard Road, just past the Parkway overpass, according to authorities. Police say the Wrangler was parked on the shoulder, waiting for the rain to let up, when the Suburban struck it. Six people were injured, but no one was seriously injured. Rescuers had to use the Jaws of Life and other cutters to free the female driver and the male passenger in the Jeep. They also had to help remove the five occupants of the Suburban who were trapped inside the vehicle. Both the driver and the passenger of the Jeep were taken to the Watauga Medical Center, and were conscious after they were removed from the vehicle. According to police, four of the five passengers of the Suburban were also taken to the Watauga Medical Center. The names of the driver and passenger in the Jeep are not available at this time, along with the names of the passengers in the Suburban, but the driver of the Suburban, Alisa Nance, was cited for a safe speed violation. Police say the airbags deployed on the Suburban, but not on the Jeep, and they also add that both cars were totaled in the wreck.
Police in Wilkes County are continuing to investigate an accident that occurred early Monday morning in which there was no sign of a driver. The bizarre wreck happened around 2am Monday in Wilkes County near the highway 268 exit on 421. When Wilkesboro police responded to the scene, the car was totaled, but there was no driver. After running a check on the plates, police discovered the $40,000 Lexus belonged to Thuyen Luong of Boone. According to reports, witnesses who saw the wreck, stopped to help, and were asked by a man for a ride home. After asking for a ride, the man then walked up 421 and could not be found by officers. Police say the wreck took out 21 feet of guardrail and smashed into the NC 268 sign, causing $5,000 worth of damage. The accident is still under investigation, and we will pass along more details as they become available. 
Authorities have identified the Hays woman who was killed in a wreck on Saturday evening in Wilkes County. The state patrol says the woman killed in the collision on Traphill Road at the intersection with Oak Ridge Church Road is 50-year-old Reba Annette Johnson of Dehart Community Center Road. Johnson was driving her 1993 Chevrolet at about 5:20pm Saturday, when she was hit in the side by 17-year-old Corey Dean Morrison of Traphill, while trying to pull out of Oak Ride Church Road. No charges were filed in the incident, but both vehicles were severely damaged.
America's Most Wanted will be focusing their attention on a High Country town this week. The national TV program will be investigating the suspicious death of 40-year-old Deana Elizabeth Schermerhorn in Seven Devils. Schermerhorn was found dead in a shallow grave in the woods near her Seven Devils home on December 15th, 2009. After conducting an autopsy on her body, the cause of death was ruled to be blunt force trauma of the head due to beating. Family members had seen Schermerhorn alive over a month earlier at her home, but who killed her remains a mystery. Police are still looking for her husband, Christopher Warren Meade, who was last seen by relatives in Bristol, Virginia about four days after Schmerhorn was reported missing. Authorities are looking for Meade for questioning as a person of interest, and he is also wanted by police for felony financial card theft. The show will air on Fox on Saturday at 9pm. Police are still asking anyone with information about the case or Meade's whereabouts to contact the Seven Devils Police Department at 828-963-6760, "America's Most Wanted" at (800)CRIME-TV, or Watauga County Crimestoppers at 828-268-6959.
