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Guilford County Says No To Rock Quarry
Guilford County commissioners will not let a company open a rock quarry near Pleasant Garden.
The News and Record reports commissioners voted 8-0 not to rezone 352 acres of land, which stops Lehigh Hanson from operating a quarry there. The Texas-based company had planned to invest $30 million over ten years.
Lehigh Hanson had made a last-minute attempt to address environmental and safety concerns raised by residents.
Hundreds of people filled the meeting room, many wearing T-shirts objecting to the quarry. Jubilant opponents cheered after the vote, and rushed to thank the commissioners.
NC School Board Picks First Facing Takeover By Outsiders
North Carolina's statewide school board has picked the first academically low-performing school to be taken away from local control and turned over to hired school operators.
The State Board of Education on Thursday voted that Robeson County school leaders must turn over Southside Ashpole Elementary School or close it.
A decision deadline for Robeson school officials in February will come about the same time the state decides which charter school operator or other organization would be hired to run it.
Cooper Pushes For More Contracts With Minority-Owned Firms
Gov. Roy Cooper wants his Cabinet-level agencies to boost contracting with businesses owned by minorities, women and people with disabilities.
Cooper signed an executive order Thursday setting a goal for those agencies to purchase 10 percent of the dollar amount of goods and services they buy from what are called historically underutilized businesses.
The governor also named the members of a new council to give advice to the Department of Administration on carrying out the order, which includes more concerted efforts to match state needs to these companies.
4th Prison Worker Dies After Failed Breakout
Officials say a fourth worker at a North Carolina prison has died from injuries suffered during an inmate escape attempt last month.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Jerry Higgins says in a news release that maintenance mechanic Geoffrey Howe died Thursday of injuries in the Oct. 12 incident at Pasquotank Correctional Institution.
Small Device Detonated On UNC Campus; Suspect In Custody
Authorities at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill say a small device was detonated near a popular attraction and that a person has been taken into custody. One person was hurt.
UNC police say the device was detonated on Thursday near Davie Poplar in McCorkle Place near the center of campus. A video posted to Twitter showed a fire burning at the base of the tree, which is estimated to be up to 375 years old.
The school's webpage says legend identifies the tree as the spot where Revolutionary War General William R. Davie selected the site for the school.
What Are The Odds? Woman Claims 2 Lottery Prizes On Same Day
Kimberly Morris of Wake Forest scratched off two North Carolina lottery tickets on Monday, winning $1 million on one of the tickets and $10,000 with another.
Morris thought things were going well when she bought a ticket at a grocery store Monday afternoon and scratched off the $10,000 prize. She went to the lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim her prize.
On the way home, she stopped and bought another ticket, and bingo! It was worth $1 million.