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In Galloway
Ridge attacks . . .
Grand jury
indicts
Clark for
murders
By Spencie Love
Barbara
Turrentine Clark, will appear in Chatham County Superior Court on
Monday, February 18 to face charges in the death of two elderly
Galloway Ridge residents late last year.
Clark, 41, of
Pittsboro will face two counts of first-degree murder, one count of
attempted first-degree murder, and one count of assault with a
deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.
The suspect
appeared before a Chatham County grand jury on January 15 and was
formally indicted after a panel of citizens concluded there was
sufficient evidence to try her on all counts.
Clark worked
as a housekeeper for two elderly women, both former social workers,
at Galloway Ridge, a retirement community at Fearrington Village
near Pittsboro.
In early
December, the women scheduled a meeting at their apartment with
Clark to discuss checks the two believed Clark had stolen from them.
An argument
ensued and Clark allegedly sprayed mace at them and beat them on the
head with a blunt object. Clark, according to authorities, also beat
the women’s neighbor who attended the meeting as a witness.
Margaret
Murta, 92, and Mary Corcoran, 82, who lived together, died at UNC
Hospital shortly after the incident.
In attacking
the two women’s neighbor, Rebecca Fisher, Clark allegedly attempted
to kill her as well. Fisher was injured badly but released from UNC
Hospital after several weeks.
Chatham and
Orange District Attorney Jim Woodall said that the state is charging
Clark for both the assault on Fisher and attempted murder because
investigation has led authorities to believe Clark’s actions were
premeditated.
Murta and
Clark had employed Clark for a year as their housekeeper.
Clark had
previously been convicted for stealing from an elderly client. In
2001 a judge ordered Clark not to work for elderly people ever again
after she pleaded guilty to stealing several thousand dollars from a
90-year-old man in a Durham retirement community.
Clark
apparently continued to have elderly clients for her housekeeping
business, both in Chatham County and in Chapel Hill.
Residents at Galloway Ridge
are still recovering from the murders. Galloway Ridge has adopted
new security measures in recent weeks, making sure that residents do
not hire housekeepers or other workers without background checks and
thorough screening.
more-
See Thursday,
January 31, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.9
Hotel tax rate
hike sought
By Bill Willcox
The Chatham
County Board of Commissioners is moving ahead with a plan to raise
the county’s hotel occupancy tax from three percent to six percent.
The
additional revenue would be used to promote travel and tourism in
Chatham County.
Commissioners
voted 4-1 on Tuesday, Jan. 22, to authorize county attorney Kevin
Whiteheart to file articles of incorporation for a Tourism
Development Authority.
The state
requires the creation of this new entity by counties that will
impose the tax.
One third of
the board members must be individuals affiliated with businesses
that collect the tax, i.e. hotels, motels, inns and bed and
breakfast operations. One half must be individuals who are active in
the promotion of travel and tourism in the county. One member can be
unaffiliated.
Gaining
approval for the non-profit 501(c)(3) entity may take several
months, Whiteheart said. He added that the state statute includes
errors that need to be corrected by the N.C. General Assembly.
The six
percent tax would double the amount the county currently spends to
promote tourism.
In speaking
about the additional revenue, Board of Commissioners chairman George
Lucier said, "I do believe three percent will be a fantastic
investment. There’s not much that can be done on $120,000 a year,
minus salary, and it shows."
The decision,
however, was not unanimous.
Commissioner Carl Thompson
voted against the increase in the occupancy tax, stating it would
add a burden to hotels that cater to large groups.
more-
See Thursday,
January 31, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.9
Chatham man
gets
Grand Ole honor
By Angela Delp
Who knew a
friendship started in 1951 could lead a Gulf man to the Grand Ole
Opry stage?
When Charlie
Daniels was inducted into the Opry January 19, his childhood friend
Russell Palmer, whom he credits with spiking his interest in guitar,
joined him to play on the stage.
"Charlie left
a message on my machine to tell me he was going to be inducted into
the Grand Ole Opry," Palmer said. "He wanted me to play up there
with him."
Later that
week, Daniels called him back to make travel arrangements and to
discuss songs.
"He asked me
how long it had been since I picked a banjo," Palmer said, laughing.
"I told him it’d been about 40 years, so he told me to get it out
and play."
Palmer said
his banjo efforts were unsuccessful, so Daniels encouraged him to
play guitar instead.
"He told me
we’d try to make it through ‘Long Haired Country Boy,’ so he sent me
a CD and I practiced until my fingers were sore," he said. "We did
make it though that song on the Opry stage. It was a wonderful
experience and I was glad to be able to do it."
Palmer, who
is a Chatham County native, met Daniels when they were in the eighth
grade.
"I remember he was over at my
house one day when I pulled out my old guitar," he recalled. "I knew
a few chords on it and he immediately asked me to show him."
more-
See Thursday,
January 31, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.9
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Jeff Davis photo
Dam taking
shape . . .
Construction on Siler City’s
new dam is taking place just north of town with the landscape
changing every day. The photo above is taken from the old pumping
station, looking back across Rocky River to where the dam itself
will be. The structure in the upper right of the photo is a concrete
making plant that will be used when they start pouring for
construction of the dam itself.
Work to double
reservoir
capacity
By Angela Delp
Construction
of Siler City’s Lower Rocky River Reservoir expansion, which will
greatly increase the town’s water supply, is progressing.
Hillsborough-based Thalle Construction Company is currently working
on the foundation for the town’s new roller compacted dam.
"Thalle is
using roller compacted concrete to build the dam, which is different
from the concrete typically used for foundation," Siler City’s
public works director Terry Green said in an interview last Friday.
"Contractors ran a water line from the water plant to the
construction site to make the concrete."
Green said
existing structures near the new dam, including a dam and pump house
dating back to the 1930’s, will be submerged when the new reservoir
is complete.
"The top part
of the old pump house will be removed," he said. "The bottom of that
building and the old dam will be completely under water when the
reservoir is completed."
He added
water will reach the door of the pump house currently in use.
"When the new
reservoir is full, water will come up to the bottom of the door," he
said. "It will not be torn down but the equipment inside will be
relocated."
The old pump will be
replaced.
more-
See Thursday,
January 31, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.9
Pittsboro
faces state fine if
water problem
not resolved
By Bill Willcox
The N.C.
Division of Environmental Health will fine the Town of Pittsboro if
its water is not brought into compliance with state standards by
September 30, according to a letter sent to Town Manager Bill Terry.
The fine
would be about $35,000, with a daily penalty of about $30 after
September 30, Terry said.
Terry told
Pittsboro commissioners Monday that it would be impossible to meet
the deadline. The Town has contracted with engineering firm Hobbs,
Upchurch and Associates to design and upgrade the water treatment
plant at a cost of $365,000, but the process won’t be complete until
next year.
Terry sent a
letter in December requesting an extension of the deadline until May
1, 2009.
In denying
the request, Mike Coates, an environmental engineer with the Public
Water Supply Section wrote that Pittsboro had failed to achieve
compliance for total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) since early 2006.
In the third
quarter of 2007, TTHM levels were four times the maximum contaminant
level of 0.08 mg/L, he added.
The letter
went on to state that Pittsboro would be assessed an "administrative
penalty" if the town failed to bring its water into compliance by
Sept. 30 or if water plant improvements are not completed by then.
Terry called
Coates for clarification on the "penalty," and was told it would be
"in the range of $35,000," Terry said.
At present, a
corrosion study is being conducted at Virginia Tech to determine if
the effect of different coagulants on lead and copper pipes from the
Town of Pittsboro’s distribution system.
A final
engineering report based on this study is tentatively due to be sent
to the Public Water Supply Section in April.
Terry said a
good faith effort to speed up the process might help the Town avoid
the fine.
But avoiding the fine is just
one hurdle. He said paying for the water plant upgrade is another
challenge.
The town has
applied for a grant from the North Carolina Economic Development
Center to pay for at least part of the project. Terry said he
remains "cautiously optimistic" the grant will be approved.
If the grant
is not approved, the town may consider taking out a loan, he
suggested.
He said at
current interest rates, servicing the loan could be funded by either
a $3 or four percent surcharge on water/sewer bills.
The $365,000 upgrade to the
water plant will include several improvements.
more-
See Thursday,
January 31, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.9
Furnace accident kills
elderly woman
By Angela Delp
A Chatham
County woman died Saturday, January 26 after sustaining burn
injuries the previous morning.
According to
Frank Smith of the Silk Hope Fire Department, Daphne Fox Teague, 84,
of 4823 Silk Hope-Liberty Road, Siler City, was severely burned
while putting wood into a furnace Friday morning.
"She was in a
furnace house, which was a separate structure from the home," he
said. "She had just finished putting the wood in and was closing the
stove door when the fire flashed.
"Her sleeve
caught on fire and then the jacket became completely engulfed in
flames."
Teague
attempted to extinguish the flames herself but was unable, he said.
"Her son then
came home and was able to extinguish the fire," he said. "He
sustained minor burns from helping her."
Smith said
Teague’s son called 911.
"When we got there, Mrs.
Teague had second and third degree burns from her head to waist," he
said. "They covered 55 to 60 percent of her body.
more-
See Thursday,
January 24, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.8
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