Jonathon Filmore Spivey, 21, of 11145 NC 42 was arrested for the murder of Thomas Mathew Coore, 23, of Pittsboro, according to information provided by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Spivey, who is a resident of Chatham County, was charged with first degree murder, the report said.

Capt. Jeff Johnson of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said Filmore did not appear to have any prior criminal record prior to his arrest.

Authorities did not disclose a motive for the killing.

Johnson also noted that the victim had a lengthy criminal record. Coore had been released from prison in November after serving 13 months of a charge of possession of a fireman by a felon, authorities said.

He had also faced breaking and entering, common law robbery and drug charges.

A Siler City man is $1 million richer thanks to a winning Powerball ticket.

Last week, Steven Bowers of Siler City collected a $1 million prize he won in the January 27 Powerball drawing.

According to officials with the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL), Bowers purchased the winning ticket at Kangaroo Express #218 at 1130 N. Horner Boulevard in Sanford.

Bowers won $200,000 by matching all five white balls, the NCEL reported.

However, because Bowers chose the "Power Play" feature, his winnings increased to $1 million since the multiplier for the drawing was five.

more- See Thursday, February 1 paper: Vol 87, No. 9

Chatham County’s Planning Board underwent several changes Monday, including an overhaul of its members following an ordinance revision which allows commissioners to do so.

Commissioners amended the ordinance to allow them to replace current Planning Board members and to change the terms of office of planners so they run concurrently with those of the commissioners who appoint them.

Commissioners also established that the Planning Board, which serves in an advisory capacity to commissioners, be comprised of 11 members instead of 10.

In a statement unanimously endorsed by commissioners and read by commissioner George Lucier, the board explained its intent in making the changes, including commissioners’ desire to "implement the Land Conservation and Development Plan; have the Planning Board engage in public education on planning and zoning issues; develop effective interactions with municipal governments in Chatham County as well as neighboring governments on planning and zoning issues; and prepare an annual report on accomplishments, goals and priorities of the Planning Board."

The board’s statement noted that "these elements along with others are explicit responsibilities that were assigned to the Planning Board in the ordinance that established it. However, the former Planning Board had a different philosophy. Therefore, the Board of Commissioners felt it necessary to make substantial changes in the membership of the Planning Board."

more- See Thursday, February 8 paper: Vol 87, No.10

Sign ordinance upsets Siler City merchants

Many Siler City businesses are so unhappy with the town’s sign ordinance they’ve banded together to form a petition to fight it.

One business has left Siler City because of the ordinance.

Smart Cars owner Burt Weiland said he closed the business’s Siler City office because of the sign ordinance.

Weiland said when the company celebrated its grand opening in Siler City, he was required to obtain a permit to fly balloons and post signs.

"After getting the permit, I assumed there’d be no problems so I flew the balloons," he said. "The town came to look at them and told me I couldn’t fly the balloons more than 15 feet in the air."

Weiland said he corrected the problem but town officials still found fault with the balloons.

"I had a mathematician figure how much air I needed for the balloons but the town said the balloons were too big," he said.

Before moving to their US 64 location, SmartCars was located on Siler City-Glendon Road.

"When I was located there, I had all the streamers, balloons and flags I wanted and no one said anything," he said. "When I moved to US 64, they said I couldn’t do any of that."