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After
overpowering guards, scaling fence
By Spencie Love
Five
prisoners escaped from the Chatham County Jail in Pittsboro late
Monday night, triggering a massive search that lasted well into the
following day.
At
approximately 11:30 p.m. Monday, the five men overpowered two
deputies, stole their keys, and changed into civilian clothing
before scaling a 10-foot wire fence behind the Sheriff’s Office
building where the county jail facility is housed.
Before
sunrise Tuesday, all but one of the escapees had been captured.
One,
30-year-old Stewart Wendell Baldwin, remained at large Tuesday when
Maj. Gary Blankenship, Chief of Staff for the Sheriff’s Office, gave
a final press briefing for the day, shortly after the department’s
search had been scaled down.
Almost the
entire staff of the Sheriff’s Office — more than 70 deputies — had
been called out in the search, as well as members of the Pittsboro
and Siler City police departments, the State Department of
Corrections (DOC) and the State Highway Patrol.
The
Department of Corrections in Raleigh had sent three bloodhounds to
assist in the search effort, adding to the Sheriff’s Office’s own
canine unit of two dogs.
Blankenship
said that while the dogs had picked up scents, they hadn’t been able
to follow them.
Blankenship
said Tuesday afternoon he believed Baldwin, a north Chatham resident
whose address is 130 Mann’s Chapel Road, was likely outside Chatham
and still trying to get as far away as possible.
Baldwin, like the other
escapees, had been in jail for about a month, awaiting a court
appearance. He was being held for felonious drug possession and
possession of a firearm by a felon.
The other
four escapees were: James Austin Tarrer, 16, of 2480 Hadley Mill
Road, Pittsboro; Adrian Carlos Reyes, 24, of 78 Dogwood Knoll in
Chapel Hill, held for first degree rape and felonious indecent
liberties with a child; Brian Keith Blackwell, 32, of 41 Rockybrook
MHP, Carrboro, held for felonious drug charges; Kyle Evan Kettey,
22, of 185 C Morris Road, Pittsboro, held for felonious breaking and
entering and larceny.
more-
See Thursday,February
7, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.10
For possible pandemic flu
outbreak . . .
Agencies
brainstorm response plan
By Randall Rigsbee
How would
Chatham County respond to a pandemic flu outbreak?
Members of
the Chatham County Citizen’s Corps Council, which is comprised of
representatives from a wide range of government agencies and private
businesses who would likely play a major role in the event of such a
health crisis, gathered last Wednesday to brainstorm on the subject.
Beth Dickens,
who is the county health department’s preparedness coordinator, met
with the group at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro to
help Council members in their planning.
Dickens
brought with her sobering data illustrating the potential severity
of a pandemic flu outbreak.
Pandemic
influenza differs from seasonal influenza, which is the highly
contagious respiratory illness that occurs annually and normally
peaks in January and February.
Seasonal flu
results in an average 200,000 hospitalizations each year in the
U.S., Dickens said. Annually, it causes 36,000 deaths in the U.S.,
she said.
While
seasonal flu is serious, a pandemic flu would be much more
devastating.
A pandemic influenza occurs
when a new influenza virus for which people have no immunity
surfaces. Because there is no immunity and there is no vaccine
against such new strains, more people worldwide would be sickened or
die from the new strain, Dickens said.
occurred
during the 20th century, including the 1918
Spanish" flu pandemic which resulted in the deaths of 20 to 40
million people worldwide, 500,000 in the U.S.
Avian
influenza (or bird flu) can be a source of new influenza viruses,
according to information from the state Department of Health and
Human Services which was distributed at last week’s session.
While humans
cannot easily catch bird flu, the recent bird flu outbreak which
originated in Asia has resulted in several hundred human deaths
worldwide.
Health officials fear that a
person infected with seasonal flu could become infected with avian
flu with the two viruses combining into a new virus easily spread
from person to person .
more-
See Thursday,
February 7, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.10
Monday is
launch of primary filing period
By
Bill Willcox
Candidates
may begin filing to run in the May 6 primary election beginning next
Monday.
The filing
period runs from noon on Monday, Feb. 11 to noon on Friday, Feb. 29.
Chatham
County candidates for State Senate, State House of Representatives,
Register of Deeds, County Commissioner Districts One and Two, Board
of Education Districts One and Two must file a Notice of Candidacy
in the Board of Elections office at 984 Thompson Street in
Pittsboro.
For State
Senate District 18 and State House District 54, candidates will file
in the county in which they reside.
At the state level,
candidates can file for the District Court seats of Charles
Anderson, Patricia DeVine and Alonzo Coleman.
more-
See Thursday,
February 7, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.10 |
Jeff Davis photo
Still looking . . .
Law enforcement officers are still looking
for one prisoner that escaped the Chatham County jail late Monday
night. In the top photo a deputy shows a picture of Stewart Baldwin
to a motorist on old 87 out of Pittsboro Monday morning. In the
bottom photo, a coat hangs from the razor-wire fence that surrounds
the jail outside where the five scaled the fence and escaped.
Siler City,
county boards talk issues, plan local summit
By Angela Delp
Water needs
and economic development were among the issues discussed Monday
night when the chairman and vice chairman of the Chatham County
Board of Commissioners met with the Siler City Town Board.
In an effort
to bridge the gap between the two entities, Chatham County Board of
Commissioners chairman George Lucier and vice chairman Mike Cross
met with Siler City’s Town Board Monday night.
While the
session, which lasted under an hour, was frequently contentious,
both boards agreed to participate in a summit between the county and
all three local municipalities.
Lucier said
the purpose of the Monday meeting was for the two governing bodies
to "seek common ground."
"We’ve got a
lot of issues we’re facing, a lot of mutual interests and we need to
move forward," he said. "I hope we can develop a relationship that
is mutually beneficial."
He addressed
the water situation and various measures taken to deal with it.
"The
emergency water line from Sanford is now completed and almost on
schedule," he said.
The project
took longer than expected because contractors had to bore beneath
the Rocky River.
"The water
line on NC 902 is still being worked on for that reason," Lucier
said. "We had to hire a new contractor to bore under it since our
previous one broke several pieces of equipment making attempts."
He added that
there are four sources of water in Chatham County: Jordan Lake, Haw
River, Deep River and Rocky River.
"These water
supplies are not connected but when we have the opportunity, I think
we should do it," he said.
Lucier also
discused progress at Central Carolina Business Park.
"We’ve
encountered some problems with the Department of Transportation
(DOT) concerning roads and culverts," he said. "We’re working
through them but the county may take over the roads until we can get
help in the future."
He added
there is a lot of potential for economic development in the business
park.
"We’re going to try to get it
filled up," he said. "We need to develop our marketing strategy to
get people in there."
more-
See Thursday,
February 7, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.10
Reservoir
named for Mayor Turner
By Angela Delp
Siler City’s
water supply has a new name. The Lower Rocky River Reservoir will
now be known as the Charles L. Turner Reservoir.
Siler City’s
Town Board passed a resolution Monday to name the Lower Rocky River
Reservoir in honor of the sitting mayor.
Commissioner
Helen Buckner said passing the resolution was "a very appropriate
move for the board, in light of all Turner has done for the town."
"Next to
family, he cherishes this town more than anything," she said. "He’s
worked very hard on the water situation."
She said
Turner was a man of integrity.
"If Charles
Turner tells you something, you can take it to the bank," she said.
"What you see is what you get."
Commissioner
Larry Cheek said Turner has given 33 consecutive years of his life
to serve Siler City.
Cheek was the
commissioner who first suggested the reservoir carry Turner’s name.
"I felt like he deserved the
honor because he is always working for the betterment of the town,"
he said.
more-
See Thursday,
February 7, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.10
Special
election to be held
in Pittsboro
By Bill Willcox
One-stop
voting for the special election between Pittsboro Town Board
candidates Hugh Harrington and Michele Berger will begin February 28
and end March 15.
Voters
wishing to take advantage of One Stop voting can cast their votes at
the Board of Elections office in Pittsboro, located at 984 Thompson
Street.
One Stop
voting is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8 a.m. to 5
p.m.., and Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On Saturday,
One-Stop voting will be open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Mail-in
absentee ballots will be available at the Chatham County Board of
Elections on Feb. 18. Absentee ballots must be received by March 17.
The deadline
for voter registration is Feb. 22.
The state
Board of Elections (BOE) ruled in January that Pittsboro would have
a new election for the contested seat on the Town Board.
The State BOE
set the date for a runoff election between Town Board candidates
Berger and Harrington after ruling in December that there were
sufficient irregularities in the Nov. 6 election to call for a new
vote.
Harrington
and Berger came in third and fourth in the town race, and Harrington
was initially declared the winner.
But Tim Keim,
Berger’s partner, filed a protest on her behalf, citing multiple
violations of election law.
The Chatham
County Board of Elections held a hearing Dec. 6. Attorney Jeffrey
Starkweather, representing Berger, proved that 17 ballots were cast
illegally and could not be retrieved. With only three votes
separating Harrington and Berger, State Board Chair Larry Leake
said, "We really can’t say for sure who did win."
He asked Starkweather to draw
up the order for a new election.
more-
See Thursday,
February 7, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.10
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