Legislators Override Budget Veto (Raleigh, NC)
State legislators are overriding Governor Cooper's budget veto for the second consecutive year. House Republicans overwhelmingly passed the state plan yesterday after last week's Senate approval. The governor says he wanted to make an important statement although he knew the veto was unlikely to stick. Republicans feel it's a good plan with state employee pay raises, while the governor said public education funding wasn't enough.
Storm Clean-Up Costly In WNC (Polk County, NC)
Most mountain roads closed due to storm damage are now re-open in Western North Carolina. WLOS-TV says it will cost at least 17-million-dollars in the recovery process. The DOT is still determining exactly how long some of the temporary repairs will take to make permanent. A contractor just began the clean-up of a Highway Nine landslide yesterday.
Interim County Manager Named Today (Asheville, NC)
Buncombe County commissioners plan to name an interim county manager this afternoon. Mandy Stone announced her retirement earlier this week. There was no explanation for the sudden announcement. Former county manager Wanda Greene is set to appear before a federal magistrate judge this morning in relation to indictments of insurance fraud.
Suspect Found With Thousands Of LSD Doses (Hendersonville, NC)
A Hendersonville man is facing felony drug charges stemming from a raid by North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement. Agents say they found Tristan Fleming in possession of around five-thousand doses of LSD. They also discovered Fleming had cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms. He was additionally charged with trafficking 58 grams of ecstasy.
SC Officer Charged With DWI In Gaston County (Cherryville, NC)
Cherryville Police say an off-duty South Carolina police officer was driving while impaired and charged with drug possession in Gaston County earlier this month. Officers pulled over Tanya Ervin-Leonhardt for driving recklessly near Dallas-Cherryville Highway. There was also an open container in her car. Ervin-Leonhardt has since been fired by the Fort Mill Police Department.