The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue — Edward R Murrow
City employees will say farewell to Pete Connet and welcome Paul Sabiston next Thursday at the Jo Story Senior Center.
Employees are paying for the luncheon from their own pockets, Mayor D.N. Beale said this morning. The luncheon will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Beale said an event introducing new City Manager Sabiston to the entire community is being planned. Sabiston begins his job Monday. Interim City Manager Connet will stay to brief him.
Connet bid council farewell at its Tuesday night meeting.
Beale said the city was glad to have Connet. “He’s really a nice guy. I’m sure Smithfield (where he previously worked) was glad to have him.”
Sabiston has been in Shallotte nearly five years and was town administrator in Mexico Beach, Fla., before that.
The city manager will earn $95,000 a year and will receive a monthly car allowance of $350 and 35 cents per mile for business travel outside Halifax County. He will receive a PDA/Blackberry device from the city and will be reimbursed up to $9,000 for moving expenses with the understanding he gets two estimates.
The city will pay temporary living expenses of $500 per month until he obtains a sale and closes on his existing home not to exceed six months. He is required to obtain permanent residency within the city limits within six months.
After attending a meeting with state Department of Transportation officials in Wilson today, Roanoke Rapids Mayor D.N. Beale says the tolling of Interstate 95 is a reality.
“They cleared up a lot of things,” Beale told council during its meeting tonight.
One of the things cleared up, the mayor said, “The tolling of I 95 is going to happen. Eventually it’s going to happen.”
Late last month the North Carolina Turnpike Authority took possession of $1.01 billion in bond proceeds and federal loans allowing it to award construction contracts to build the state's first modern toll road, the Triangle Expressway in Wake and Durham counties, a July 29 press release from the authority said.
Beale said it was not clear when the move to tolling the heavily traveled I-95 would happen, but it would most likely occur within the next five to 10 years. There have already been engineering studies.
The mayor said there was no mention of revenues from the tolling of the highway.
The Triangle Expressway is a new-location roadway from the NC 55 Bypass near Holly Springs to I-40 at NC 147. This toll road system is approximately 18.8 miles in length and is comprised of three segments: Western Wake Freeway, Triangle Parkway and existing NC 540 between NC 55 and NC 54. The project is a six-lane, controlled-access toll road and is expected to save customers up to 20 minutes per full trip. The Triangle Parkway is scheduled to open to traffic in 2011 while the Western Wake Freeway is scheduled to open to traffic in 2012.
According to the press release, the Triangle Expressway will be the first project in the United States designed and built to use an all electronic toll collection system, meaning there will be no toll booths and no stopping to pay tolls. Customers may use cash, check or credit card to buy an electronic transponder that will automatically charge for road use. For those without a transponder, overhead gantries with high-speed camera imaging systems will capture license plate information and drivers will be billed. The Triangle Expressway toll rates have not been set, however similar toll facilities around the country charge tolls in the range of 10 to 20 cents per mile.
In other city road matters Beale said he and the officials talked about extending Premier Boulevard to the Holiday Inn Express off NC 125.
The bridge has been designed with hopes businesses will build on either side of it, Beale said. There are, however, right of way issues that must still be worked out.
In other matters tonight council:
• Approved the conveyance of land located at 10th and Cedar streets to Halifax-Northampton Habitat for Humanity. Habitat will use that property to build a house after it finishes one on Glover Street.
• Listened to a brief farewell message from Interim City Manager Pete Connet. Connet will be leaving next Thursday after he briefs incoming City Manager Paul Sabiston on city issues, he said.
“I thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve for the last 2 1/2 months,” Connet said. “It’s been a pleasure to serve you. You’ve got a good new city manager starting Monday. Roanoke Rapids has a lot of positive things going for it.”
He said as the state and national economy begins to turn, so will the city’s.
Beale said the city appreciated Connet’s work. “You guided us through some tough times. You gave us guidance while we were trying to deal with a new manager.”
Mayor D.N. Beale quietly explained the impression Dylan Moore cast on him. The Moore family quietly accepted a proclamation making Sept. 18 Dylan Moore Day.
“I never had the opportunity to meet Dylan,” Beale said tonight during city council’s meeting. “I did attend the funeral. As people stood up and spoke, if you hadn’t ever met him, you realized what type of little fellow he was.”
The mayor said there wasn’t a better place to hold Dylan’s funeral than the Roanoke Rapids Theatre. “You could picture him standing there with his cowboy hat and guitar ... He was definitely a showman.”
After the mayor read the proclamation the audience stood as Dylan’s mother, Betsy said, “We thank everyone for doing this. We thank everyone for the prayers and support. We want to say thank you all.”
The resolution honored Dylan by mentioning his love of country music, The Andy Griffith Show, his dog Corky and his pony Silver.
Three years after his birth Dylan was diagnosed on Sept. 22, 2004, with Fanconi Anemia, a rare blood disorder. “Dylan was an inspiration to everyone that knew him as he braved the many tests and treatments over the last five years,” said the proclamation. “The city of Roanoke Rapids and citizens of the entire Roanoke Valley were saddened to learn of Dylan’s passing on Sunday, July 26, 2009.”
Said the document: “Dylan will be missed by all whose lives he touched during his short seven years of life and The Roanoke Rapids City Council would like to pay tribute to Dylan for his bravery and inspiration, his strong spirit and for teaching all of us some very valuable lessons about life.”
Anthony Finney, who led a movement on the social networking website Facebook to have a day set aside for the youngster said following the meeting he was pleased by council’s unanimous approval. “I chose to do something for him because of what he did for me,” said Finney, who has said in previous interviews with The Spin the youngster inspired him to keep his head up.
“We’re truly honored,” Dylan’s mother said following the meeting, adding she was moved by Finney’s effort to have the day in her son’s honor, a movement which as of tonight had 1,068 members. “We really appreciate Mr. Finney doing that. We’re glad Dylan was able to change his life.”
Police have arrested a Roanoke Rapids man for allegedly trafficking Xanax, city police Chief Jeff Hinton said this morning.
The arrest stems from an investigation at 84 Madison St. where a marijuana plant was found in plain view in a tomato garden.
After seizing the plant, officers obtained consent to search the house and found 165 Xanax pills, Hinton said. They also found 135 grams of marijuana and paraphernalia.
Police charged Kenny Brooks with trafficking schedule IV — the Xanax — possession of a controlled substance without prescription label present, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver marijuana, felony possession of schedule VI, maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Bond amount was not immediately available.
The Halifax County Sheriff's Office is investigating the breaking and entering of buildings and theft of several items which occurred in the Winslow road area of Scotland Neck in the late night hours on July 13.
Maj. Bruce Temple said in a news release the suspects stole a pick-up from the property and drove the truck into a ditch nearby.
The truck was used to damage road signs in the area. Items actually stolen included a 2002 Suzuki "Enger 400cc" four wheeler,a Garmin GPS,Apple I-Pod and bracket, rechargeable flashlight with charger and a cigarette plug splitter.
The Sheriff's Office is also investigating an unrelated theft in the Everetts School Road area on Aug. 6 where someone forcibly entered a car to steal a CD/DVD player, 15-inch sub woofer speakers, 2000 watt amplifier, and 13-inch flip down TV. A significant amount of damage was done to the car to gain entry.
If anyone has information about who may have been trying to sell property described in these cases please call Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444
A drug bust first reported by The Spin yesterday has netted several arrests, the Roanoke Rapids Police Department said.
Five people were charged after officers went to 36 Madison St. acting on tip, according to Chief Jeff Hinton.
When narcotics agents arrived they found Larry Nathaniel Jenkins Jr., 21, sitting in a car. When he gave the agents ID, officers saw a bag of marijuana under the seat. The bag contained 20 separate bags of marijuana packaged for sale, Hinton said.
Jenkins, of Weldon, was charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, maintaining a vehicle for controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Agents found a 5-pound bag of marijuana inside the stove and charged John Matt Deloatch, 36, of 36 Madison St., with possession of schedule VI, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Rashard Jones, 22, of Gaston, was charged with felony possession of marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and an outstanding warrant for assault on a female. He was jailed on $5,000 bond.
Hinton said Monte Plum, 34, of the 900 block of Cedar Street, was charged with felony possession of marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, maintaining a vehicle to keep a controlled substance, felony possession of schedule II for allegedly having a gram of cocaine in his vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was jailed on $10,000 bond.
Mykeal Greene, 27, of Hamilton Street, was charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, possession of schedule VI, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and an outstanding warrant for assault on a female.
Hinton said agents believe the men arrested were possibly working together.
Meanwhile, Hinton said a case at 84 Jefferson Street remains under investigation. A pot plant was found in plain view in a garden and several bags of marijuana were hidden in different rooms of the house.
Roanoke Rapids police seized pot plants and marijuana from Jefferson and Madison streets this morning.
A pot plant was found in plain view in a garden at a residence at 84 Jefferson St. A subsequent search of that residence revealed several bags of marijuana hidden in different rooms of the house. An investigation on drug complaints at 36 Madison St. revealed a large quantity of marijuana. Additional details to follow.
The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office reported the following over the weekend:
• Deputy G.H. Teal arrested a Northampton County man for drug related charges and outstanding warrants. Teal stopped a vehicle traveling on MLK Avenue in Enfield for a seat belt violation, Detective Jonathan Merritt said in a press release.
Teal asked the passenger to provide identification but he could not, giving a name the officer felt was false.
After asking the passenger to exit the vehicle, the passenger produced ID, identifying him as Devon Michael Everette, 18, of Seaboard.
Everette was taken into custody for giving a false name. During a subsequent search, three small bags of marijuana were located as well as two blunt cigars. After transporting Everette to the sheriff’s office, Teal found out Everette was listed as a wanted person by Probation and Parole in Northampton County.
Everette was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, resist, delay and obstruct an officer and the probation violation from Northampton. He was held in the Halifax County Jail under no bond due to the probation violation and has a Sept. 2 court date.
• On Saturday Detective Doug Pilgreen said deputies arrested 52-year-old Bradley Walker Wilson from Monroe for misuse of a 911 system. Wilson made several non-emergency calls to Halifax County 911. During the investigation it was discovered Wilson had an outstanding order for arrest from Mecklenburg County for failure to appear on charges of misuse of 911 systems.
Wilson was placed under a $1,750 bond and has a court date in Halifax County on Aug. 26 and a court date in Mecklenburg County on Sept. 2.
