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Businessman in jail after alleged assault on
wife . . .
Patrol probes
role of trooper in incident
By John Hunter
Authorities
confirmed that a Chatham County-based State Highway Patrol trooper
was at a Pittsboro residence when a prominent businessman is alleged
to have choked and pointed a gun at his estranged wife.
Captain
Everett Clendenin, an N.C. Highway Patrol spokesman, confirmed in a
statement released Monday that Trooper Anthony Scott was at the
"residence/property at the approximate time of the incident" when
Pittsboro real estate agent Eric Andrews was accused of assaulting
his estranged wife, local attorney Jennifer Andrews.
Scott, 38,
is assigned to the Siler City troop district. He has been a state
trooper since June of 1994.
The Highway
Patrol launched an internal investigation into the Friday, August 14
incident the following day. Scott was then placed on administrative
duty on August 19, according to Clendenin.
"We are
investigating the matter at this time and because of the ongoing
criminal investigation we cannot comment on the specifics of the
incident," Clendenin said in the statement.
Clendenin,
contacted by telephone on Monday, also said that he could not
comment on the nature of the investigation on Scott, or why the
trooper was at the home at 548 Chapel Ridge Road in Pittsboro when
the incident occurred.
"Because of
state personnel law we can’t discuss the specifics of Trooper
Scott’s investigation," Clendenin added.
Jennifer
Andrews, in a recording of the telephone call she placed to 911 as a
result of the domestic incident, does not mention any one other than
her being in the house on August 14.
In the 911
call, Jennifer Andrews tells the dispatcher that her husband had a
gun and threatened to kill her.
When Eric
Andrews arrived at the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office following the
incident, he surrendered to deputies. Officers also seized a Smith
and Wesson revolver from Andrews at the time of his arrest.
more- See Thursday,
August 20,
2009
edition
Bus service
revs up with new Pittsboro route to Chapel Hill
By Bill Willcox
The
Pittsboro Express bus service got off to a quiet start Monday,
August 24, with riders enjoying no fares for the first week.
The official
ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 7 a.m., Monday, August 31, at the
Lowe’s Home Improvement parking lot.
On Monday
morning, drivers arrived at the Lowe’s lot ready to take their first
ride. Many drove around the lot looking for the small sign at the
northwest corner, marking the bus stop.
Will
Peterson drove over from Powell Place to drop off his wife who works
at UNC. He said the bus would get more ridership if there was a
better crosswalk across 15-501 for residents of Powell Place.
Pittsboro
resident Madeline Mason arrived at the bus stop, dropping off her
daughter Felicia, who has a job at Cole Park Plaza.
She was
actually not there for the Pittsboro Express bus but for one from
Chatham Transit that has also established a stop there as part of a
new fixed route.
(In response
to the Pittsboro Express, Chatham Transit has also established new
fixed routes to provide more options for riders.)
Lorraine
Cramer, a lecturer at UNC-CH, was also waiting for the bus. She said
she was thrilled to be riding it and plans on telling all her
friends about the service.
"It saves
gas and I can do things while on the bus," she said.
Six people got on the bus
before it left for the next stop at Fearrington Village.
One rider
arrived late and expressed frustration that she thought she would
have to give up her Commuter Assistance Program (CAP) sticker to
ride the bus.
But UNC
employees and students who are part of the CAP program can request a
pass for the Pittsboro service through UNC’s Department of Public
Safety.
Chapel Hill
Transit Assistant Director Brian Litchfield said ridership numbers
will not be available for several days.
"Things went
well in the morning," he said. "There are always little things to
work out with any new service."
The bus runs
between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill, along US 15-501.
It is funded
by a federal grant of $176,356 and a local share of $176,356
(Chatham County and Town of Pittsboro). Total operating costs are
estimated at $352,712 for 18 months.
more- See Thursday,
August
27,
2009
edition
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Jeff Davis photo
Watering down . . .
It’s hot! You’re at football practice with
your dad, who happens to be a coach, and you’re just watching. But
it’s still hot. So what do you do when the water break comes. Well,
you do like the players do . . . get some water. Blaine, left, and
Lane Shockey cool down while catching water droplets from the ole
watering hole at a recent Chatham Central football practice. The two
were spotted by Chatham News/Record photographer Jeff Davis as they
watered down. A lot of the water wound up on the boys clothes, but
they didn’t seem to mind. After all, they are boys.
Students return for new
school year
By John
Hunter
Tuesday
marked the first day of school for many Chatham County students, and
school officials said the first day back in class after summer
vacation went smooth.
Nearly 7,700
students and 1,200 employees were expected to begin the new school
year in Chatham County.
Five schools
within the district have new principals at the helm – Bonlee School,
Chatham Middle, Perry Harrison, SAGE Academy and Silk Hope.
Daniel
Haithcox, who in his first day as principal at Bonlee School after
being transferred from SAGE Academy, said that the beginning of the
school day went off without a hitch.
"It’s going
great so far," Haithcox said.
"Everything
went really well this morning. and we had great attendance,"
Haithcox said.
Another
first year principal, Kim Taylor said her school, SAGE Academy, had
an equally smooth start.
"We at SAGE
are very excited to report that all but 5 students reported to class
this morning," Taylor said
"We had a few typical
problems, but everything went very well. It went smooth as silk,"
Taylor said.
more- See Thursday,
August 27,
2009
edition
Moncure’s
only bank to close
By John
Hunter
At the end
of October, the only bank in Moncure will close and many customers
are unhappy about the news.
Even
Fidelity Bank president Mike Whitley, in an interview Monday, said
the decision is unfortunate.
"I wish it
was different," Whitley said. "We’re not happy about the decision.
There are a lot of good people in Moncure and we’ve done a lot of
good business there; just not enough of it."
And that,
Whitley said, is the primary reason Fidelity Bank is closing its
Moncure branch.
"There’s
just not enough business in that town to justify the overhead and
costs associated with running a bank today," Whitley said. "It’s
been that way for some time."
Whitley
explained that a bank "needs a certain amount of commercial
business. You can’t rely on consumer customers."
And Moncure, he said, lacks
the number of businesses the bank needs to sustain the branch,
prompting the bank to seek and receive permission from the state
Banking Commission to close the branch.
more- See
Thursday,
August 27,
2009
edition
Big-box
retailer coming to Pittsboro
By John
Hunter
A Pittsboro
developer told the Town Board Monday night that he plans to bring a
big-box retailer to property he owns at the intersection of Hwy.
15-501 and Russet Run.
Ricky Spoon
of Ricky Spoon Builders, would not name the store since negotiations
are still underway with two other developers.
He said he
plans to provide more details once an agreement is reached "sometime
in the next 60 to 90 days."
Spoon is the
developer of Bellemont Station where Lowe’s Home Improvement,
Carolina Brewery, McDonald’s and other businesses are located.
The retail
store would be sited across Russet Run from the American Asset
Corporation’s (AAC) planned Pittsboro Commons, a 43-acre shopping
center already approved by the town.
The shopping center will be
anchored by a grocery store, probably include a pharmacy and retail
shops such as sporting goods stores and clothing stores, said Joe
Dye of American Asset Corporation (AAC).
more- See Thursday,
August 27,
2009
edition
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