Public Announcement

♦

Rabbi Will McCubbin, China Grove, N.C.

♦ The merchants and restaurant owners in Downtown Salisbury should be praising City Councilman Kenny Hardin to the sky for standing up and telling the truth about Salisbury’s Downtown and its alleged promoter Paula Bohland and DSI. Facts are facts–nobody is really going down there. From the South Main Badlands all the way up to just past the County Courthouse is littered with vacant storefronts, vacant buildings, and vacant offices galore. Kenny’s tour didn’t include all the vacancies on East and West Innes street and those side streets in the Downtown Area. Its beyond sad especially if you were from the area and witnessed what has happened to Salisbury over the years.

Downtown Salisbury has fallen off a cliff since I was a teenager when young people from the county used to cruise Main Street. Things were really happening down there. You’d see crowds of people shopping on Main. There were real retailers along Main Street–the place was alive. Now its like one of those Chinese ghost cities.

Why? Save for maybe Simply Good, Innes Street Drug, a few pricey gift shops and a handful of restaurants like Bangkok Downtown there is nothing much to attract people to Downtown. People go to the city’s actual chain big box stores out at Tinseltown or Jake or out of town to do their shopping. The days of brick and mortar are basically doomed by the internet with Amazon’s amazingly fast delivery. Downtown shuts down come nightfall because people fear going down there to get mugged, shot, knifed, or carjacked.

Kenny Hardin is right about City Hall and DSI Inc. overemphasizing the Downtown to the detriment of the rest of the city. It seems like there are no visible Black businesses on Main Street. Are they being excluded? Are Black business people being given the run around when they inquire about a storefront on Main or nearby? There were a few Black Businesses several years ago. Formez a convenience store that died for a lack of traffic. A boutique with an upstairs jazz and poetry spot that City Hall started to harass with code and licensing stuff. The woman who owned it was really angry when she closed and went back to Baltimore. There was a Jamaican Store on Innes and a Black owned boutique nearby. Both gone.

It’s a wonder any retailers or restaurants last a year down there. The rents and leases are sky high. If you approach some building owners from what I’m told you’ll get a runaround–some asking about the last 5 businesses you owned. Even if you are only planning to use the first floor only they’ll want you to pay for the upstairs and its upkeep is on you.

It’s hard to imagine any startup businesses breaking even down there even if they had prior business experience and have an airtight business plan. Why? You get the largest Municipal Services District Tax in the State to support a decrepit hotel. No place to park. No attractions. And the merchants tell me DSI is only going to promote one Friday Night Out a Month now?

It’s going to get rougher down there with people with spendable income moving out of the city and selling their digs at a loss.

Bohland was a howl on the Q and A she had with Kenny Hardin. She avoided answering his questions and made assertions she could not back up with data.

Seriously does anyone really believe the Empire is going to be developed for $20,000,000 by a developer who has not fully committed to signing on the dotted line? Merchants Downtown tell me that Mark Lewis is saying the Empire Hotel is a 10 year project?

Somebody needs to put up data about all the retailers who have come and gone since 2007. That would be an eye-opener.

Keep telling it like it is Kenny Hardin.

Chuck Hughes, Board of Education, Salisbury, N.C.

♦ My first thought about student parking fees was, “Since driving to school is a privilege, not a right, I have no problem with parking fees.” After looking deeper into the issue, I began to question my wisdom.

Currently, parking fees are $50 per student driver, totaling about $67,530 in 2015-2016. Thirty percent of the fees went to the district and were actually used for pot-hole repair and parking lot striping. The remaining 70% went to principals to be used as discretionary funds for various needs such as parking permit hangers, office supplies, frames/photos for the school, banners for schools, facility equipment such as wet/dry shop vacuums/batteries/oil, school tractor servicing, furniture (not in classrooms), classroom US/NC flags, school signs, clock and battery replacement, graduation programs, grounds maintenance (fescue, straw, mulch, etc.), broken equipment, school beautification projects, and new radios. I do not object to funding these items using a principal discretionary fund. However, with the exception of 1:1 iPad fees that actually cover the loss or damage of the iPad, I do not believe we they should be funded by students or parents under the guise of a unrelated parking lot fee.

Little thought seems given to one major benefit student drivers bring to the school system. Since the maximum seating capacity for high school students is 48 per bus, providing transportation for 1350 additional high school students who currently provide their own transportation, would require enough extra buses to literally bankrupt our transportation system. The other reality is that our district’s 30% share of the fees is a pittance when it comes to parking lot upkeep while the 70% for the principal discretionary fund is being used for everything except parking lot upkeep.

As I said, my concern is not the items principals currently fund from the fees; it is “taxing” just one sector of the community; a sector that brings significant more to the school system than it takes from it (when it comes to parking). In fact, we could argue that students should be paid for driving to school since they free up about 1350 bus seats twice a school day.

There should be a discussion on discontinuing all parking lot fees starting next school year. “Fee” funding should be replaced by a budgeted principal discretionary fund divided between our 35 schools. Another option would be to provide funding from the general fund balance if reqired.

Eventually, we need to have a discussion about cheer leader and marching band fees as well.

RFP Staff/drugabuse.gov/

♦ Yesterday in Spencer two women were found overdosed in a strip mall parking lot by the Spencer Police. Fortunately emergency responders arrived in time to inject the two victims with Narcan a rapid acting opioid blocker that saves lives. Many overdose victims are not so fortunate.

Presently the leading overdose death threat in Rowan County/Salisbury’s hard drug epidemic is heroin laced with Fentanyl AKA “China White”.  Fentanyl, an ultra-powerful synthetic opioid painkiller, possesses rapid killing power even in low doses.  Fentanyl is becoming all too common in street heroin across the U.S.A.  While heroin laced with Fentanyl is a favored high for many heroin addicts, its catastrophic downside is that the heroin-Fentanyl mix is the product of amateur labs lacking required measuring controls.

To learn more about Fentanyl go here:

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/fentanyl

To obtain help for addictions in Salisbury and Rowan County go here:

Assistance with Salisbury, N.C.’s Heroin, Meth, Crack, Opioid, and Alcohol Abuse Epidemic

RFP Staff

♦ Sources in the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office report that Devin Hunter Jenkins, 23, living on Highway 601 in Midland, N.C., was arrested Thursday in Salisbury as an absconder from Stanly County for alleged multiple drug charges.

Devin Hunter Jenkins:

Prior to his flight to Rowan County, Hunter lived at 12315 Hwy 601 in Midland, N.C.:

Jenkins was charged in Stanly County with sell control substance IV (felony), deliver control substance IV (felony), simple possession controlled substance schedule IV, (misdemeanor), possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver controlled substance schedule IV, possess/distribute chemical (meth) precursor (felony), maintain a dwelling for controlled substance (felony), and possess paraphernalia (misdemeanor).

Under a secured $10,000 bond, Jenkins was on temporary hold in the Rowan County Detention Center. He has since been transferred to the Stanly County Detention Center in Albermarle, N.C.

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♦ According to sources in the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Robert Edwards, 41, was held up early Thursday morning at knifepoint on the 3000 block of N. U.S. Hwy 29 in Spencer, N.C. Sustaining minor injuries during a struggle with the robber and facing a knife, Edwards eventually gave up his wallet containing $15.00 to the stranger.

Map of the 3000 block of N. U.S. 29 Hwy in Spencer, N.C.:

If you have any information about this crime please call the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office at 704-216-8700. If you fear retribution, want to remain anonymous and possibly collect an award of up to $1,000, information can be submitted 24/7 via the web: http://tips.salisburyrowancrimestoppers.org/ or by calling the Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.

**This article will be updated as soon as more information arrives.**

Kenny Hardin, Salisbury City Councilman

♦ I just left the Livingstone campus after spending over an hour talking with Officers and students. I received so many calls and messages after 11pm about fighting, riots, and pepper spray being used that I drove over to the campus around midnight.

As I pulled up to the main gate area, I was met with such a sea of blue flashing lights, white high beams, flashing EMS lights, and two Fire trucks, I couldn’t see in front of me.
I walked up to the gate and spoke with a campus police officer who said a student had swung at her during the incident. I counted at least 20 Salisbury PD and Rowan County sheriff cars as I walked more inside the campus.

I passed several students complaining about being pepper sprayed. I walked up to a group of about 15 officers standing together and asked if I could assist in anyway. I was told that the fights broke out in several different locations and involved close to 100 individuals. One officer said they had to use the pepper spray for the students’ safety.

A radio call came in as I was standing there and the entire group moved down the hill in formation towards the Tubman Theater and Honors Dorm where a small angry crowd had gathered. The officers took immediate control and asked several times for the crowd to disperse. Several young people began arguing back at the Officers and would not adhere to their commands. Several of those people were identified as visitors and not students. I stood off to the side and observed. The officers were firm and authoritative, but not inciting the situation.

The incident was growing tense as the officers continued to ask the crowd to disperse. The students and visitors began to walk slowly away, but continued arguing back at the officers. I walked into the small group and began encouraging them to disperse and refrain from arguing with the officers. I talked with several students one to one as I loudly yelled for them to keep moving. I asked a group of female visitors to stop yelling at the officers and leave the campus peacefully.

At one point, a freshman student whom I had talked with as we were walking, defied a command and became unruly. Several officers rushed him, put him in handcuffs and arrested him.

The officers asked all students to return to their dorm and all visitors to sit on benches to figure out who was who. The group did not respond or adhere to the commands. I again walked through the crowd of students asking them to comply. The students eventually began to listen and order was restored to a certain degree.

I have to give the Officers and campus Security credit for the patience and restraint they showed in dealing with the students in this tense, volatile situation. Had they not showed this level of professionalism, this situation could’ve escalated very quickly.

I called my Brother Chris Sifford immediately after I arrived and kept him on the phone the entire time I was there. He shared the same level of disappointment I had as he listened to the young people.

Video: Salisbury Police and Sheriff’s Office presence at the Livingstone College Campus Unrest on Saturday Evening:

Salisbury City Councilman Kenny Hardin at the Livingstone College Homecoming Parade in Downtown Salisbury (photo by Jeff Hicks)

RFP Staff

♦ Rowan County Commission Meets on Monday October 17th at 6 p.m. at County Administration Building on 130 W. Innes Street in Salisbury, N.C.

ROWAN COUNTY COMMISSION AGENDA

Call to Order
Invocation
• Provided By: Chaplain Michael Taylor
Pledge of Allegiance
Consider Additions to the Agenda
Consider Deletions From the Agenda
Consider Approval of the Agenda
Board members are asked to voluntarily inform the Board if any matter on the agenda
might present a conflict of interest or might require the member to be excused from
voting.
• Consider Approval of the Minutes: October 3, 2016
1 Consider Approval of Consent Agenda
A. Engineered Option Permit Fee
B. RCHD Fee Schedule
C. Foundation for a Healthy Carolina Dental Grant Application
D. Refunds for Approval
E. Program Debt Write-Off
F. Private Hangar Lease Assignment
G. Thanksgiving Office Hours
H. Agreement with Novant Health Rowan Medical Center
I. Apply for State Farm Grant for SRO Training
2 Public Comment Period
3 Public Hearing for ZTA 02-16
4 Financial Report
5 Adjournment

http://agenda.rowancountync.gov/DisplayAgendaPDF.ashx?MeetingID=198

Citizens with disabilities requiring special needs to access the services or public meetings
of Rowan County Government should contact the County Manager’s Office three days prior
to the meeting by calling (704) 216-8180.

RFP Staff/Rowan County, N.C. Board of Elections

♦ Everything You Want to Know about Voting in Rowan County, N.C. in 2016

Important Dates to Remember:

http://www.rowancountync.gov/Portals/0/Government/Departments/Elections/documents/DATES%20TO%20REMEMBER-2016%20General.pdf

Candidates List Complete for Rowan County:

http://www.rowancountync.gov/Portals/0/Government/Departments/Elections/documents/cont_cand_rpt_2.pdf

Voter Registration Lookup at NC State Board of Elections:

https://enr.ncsbe.gov/voter_search_public/

Much Useful Voter Information at North Carolina State Board Of Elections:

http://www.ncsbe.gov/

For Additional Information and Updates from the Rowan County, N.C. Board of Elections:

http://www.rowancountync.gov/GOVERNMENT/Departments/BoardofElections.aspx

RFP Staff

♦ According to Salisbury Police sources Thomas Gerhard Emmesberger, 18, of the streets of Salisbury, was arrested Saturday night for alleged armed robberies of both the Auto Zone, at 325 E. Innes St. and the Speedway convenience store at 500 East Innes Street.  Emmesberger allegedly stuck up AutoZone at 8 p.m., netting only $4 for his efforts.  His description quickly spread to officers on duty.  Later Emmesberger allegedly tried his luck at the Speedway convenience store further up on East Innes Street.  There he allegedly pointed a pistol, partially obscured by his sleeve, at the cashier and demanded money.  Unimpressed by the gunman, the cashier refused.  Emmesberger fled the store.

AutoZone at 325 E. Innes Street in Salisbury, N.C.

Speedway at 500 E. Innes Street in Salisbury, N.C.

Thomas Gerhard Emmesberger:

Later in the evening an alert Salisbury Police officer and a Sheriff’s Office deputy observed Emmesberger running near the intersection of Fisher and S. Clay Streets. They sent out a call for assistance and set up a perimeter in the area as other officers arrived. Emmesberger was caught and quickly taken into custody after he tried to leave the rear of a house at 213 S. Clay Street.

Emmesberger was charged with 2 counts of robbery with firearms and other dangerous weapons (felony). Under a secured $200,000 bond, he was placed in the Rowan County Detention Center. Other charges may be pending because he is a suspect in last weeks Circle K robbery on East Innes St.

Thomas Gerhard Emmesberger’s Previous Record:

http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/opi/viewoffender.do?method=view&offenderID=1520522&searchLastName=emmesberger&searchFirstName=thomas&listurl=pagelistoffendersearchresults&listpage=1

RFP Staff

♦ As law and order increasingly breaksdown in Salisbury because of a hard drug epidemic needing to be fed through criminal means, a skeletal police force made so by a $10,000 day municipal broadband habit, mushrooming gang life, and a legion of revolving door burglars and breaking and entry artists, it is not puzzling that burglaries, unlawful entries, and break-ins are spreading throughout the city.  First it was the historic district and later the Crescent where burglaries and break-ins happened with increasing regularity.  In the natural order of progression the “Country Club” AKA “Plunder Isle” is starting to grow in popularity with the city’s highly mobile criminal element.  This is where the big money is–almost every house in “Plunder Isle” provides a lucrative take.  Jewelry, furs, firearms, bulging safes, paintings, and  high-end TVs and electronica.  The car parked down the street watches and waits.  Word is out–“Plunder Isle” is where it’s at.

According to Salisbury Police sources the Crawfords, an elderly well-to-do couple living on the 200 block of Confederate Avenue, were victims of a burglary–unlawful entry on Friday night.  The crime was reported to the Salisbury Police at 11:50 p.m. Someone quietly entered the house through an unlocked backdoor.  In less than 20 minutes the burglar carted off 10 revolvers, assorted jewelry (6 pieces), 3 rifles/shotguns, 2 knives, an opal pen, and  2 jewelry boxes.  The total take: an estimated value of over $21,000.

200 Block of Confederate Avenue in the Country Club area of Salisbury, N.C.

Map of the 200 block of Confederate Avenue in Salisbury, N.C.

At this time no suspects have been developed.

Citizens having any knowledge about this crime are urged to call the Salisbury Police at 704-638-5333. If you fear retribution, want to remain anonymous and possibly collect an award of up to $1,000, information can be submitted 24/7 via the web: http://tips.salisburyrowancrimestoppers.org/ or by calling the Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.

**This article will be updated as soon as more information arrives.**

RFP Staff

♦ Video: Rowan County Commission Meeting at 6 P.M on Monday, October 17th:

http://rowancountync.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=604

TODD TV

♦ TODD TV Video: RRSOS Board of Education Challengers Forum on Sunday, October 16th:

RFP Staff

♦ Armed robberies and shootings continue to pile up at a rapid clip in Salisbury, N.C. again this week with no apparent letup.

Sources in the Salisbury Police Department report that Juvarius Markest White, 33, of the 400 block Ludwick Avenue in Salisbury, was shot in the thigh by an armed robber during a holdup at 817 Park Avenue around 8:15 p.m. Monday.

White drove to the house on Park Avenue to pick a friend up, but a stranger jumped into the car and pulled a semi-automatic on him, demanding cash.  The two men struggled before the robber shot White in the thigh and relieved him of an undisclosed amount cash.  The gunman quickly fled the area.

817 Park Avenue in Salisbury, N.C.:

Map of 817 Park Avenue location in Salisbury:

Bleeding profusely from the gunshot wound inches above his knee, White drove his Mitsubishi Galant to Burger King on E. Innes and called 911 around 8:30 p.m.  A short time later White was transported to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center.  His condition is not known at this time.

The Shooting Victim Juvarius Markest White:

The Salisbury Police are currently hunting for the gunman described as a Black male wearing a dark hoodie sweatshirt.

Citizens having any knowledge about this crime are urged to call the Salisbury Police at 704-638-5333. If you fear retribution, want to remain anonymous and possibly collect an award of up to $1,000, information can be submitted 24/7 via the web: http://tips.salisburyrowancrimestoppers.org/ or by calling the Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.

**This article will be updated as soon as more information arrives.**

Kenny Hardin, Salisbury City Councilman

♦ I understand one of our so called Black leaders was upset with me that I spoke out about recent violence. The feeling was that there are some Black problems that should be handled behind closed doors. Accepting this misguided logic only serves as an obstacle and impediment to cultural progress.

I care very little about the criticism because until I bump into those critics regularly out when things are happening or they’re sitting next to me at strategy meetings to address these issues, you’re irrelevant.

I don’t subscribe to blind allegiance, but more importantly, it’s ridiculous to want progress but then pick and choose what issues you will get behind to fight for it.

We don’t need self-proclaimed Black Leaders who are doing nothing. We need many people in the Black community who will step up and lead.

RFP Staff

♦ According to sources in the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Jamie Dawn Agee, 31, of 616 S. Salisbury Avenue in Granite Quarry, was arrested during a routine traffic stop Monday around 2 p.m. on Julian Road in Salisbury and charged with multiple drug offenses, child abuse, and on outstanding warrants.  The warrants involved her alleged transaction with an undercover investigator back on April 20th when she was allegedly involved with selling/delivering Opana (a powerful opioid narcotic painkiller) and possession with intent to sell/deliver Opana.

616 S. Salisbury Avenue in Granite Quarry described by law enforcement as a filth ridden flea trap unfit for human habitation:

Jamie Dawn Agee:

Agee was charged with trafficking heroin or opium (felony), sell/deliver a controlled substance schedule II (felony), possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver a controlled substance II (felony), possession of drug paraphernalia (misdemeanor), contributing the delinquency of a minor (misdemeanor), and child abuse a general misdemeanor. Agee also faces a pending probation violation charge.

Under a secured $100,000 bond, Agee is being held in the Rowan County Detention Center.

During Monday’s traffic stop on Julian Road Agee was searched and was found to have concealed 75 10-milligram tablets of oxycodone (A powerful synthetic opioid painkiller) inside a small tube inside a body cavity. Her ten-year old daughter was found to have a tube containing 23 10-miligram oxycodone tablets and $587 in her pants pockets.

Drugs and Money Taken During Monday’s Traffic Stop:

Agee’s ten-year old daughter was placed in the custody of the Rowan County Department of Social Services.

Jamie Dawn Agee’s Previous Record:

http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/opi/viewoffender.do?method=view&offenderID=1135907&searchLastName=agee&searchFirstName=jamie&searchMiddleName=d&listurl=pagelistoffendersearchresults&listpage=1

Kenny Hardin, Salisbury City Council

♦ If you have a child between the ages of 13-18 years old, please take advantage of this FREE opportunity the City offers to visit and tour regional colleges. No one signed up for the last tour.

Wake Forest University is slated for this session.

Please share this and call the number on the flyer if you need more information. They do stop for lunch, but if you have challenges with the $10, please inbox me and I will ensure the student has lunch.

Public Announcement

♦ The N. C. Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting in October regarding the proposed project to construct an interchange on I-85 at the intersection with Old Beatty Ford Road relocated in China Grove.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, October 20 at the Moose Family Center located at 990 Old Beatty Ford Road in China Grove from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Interested citizens may attend at any time during the meeting hours. NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and listen to comments regarding the project. Please note that no formal presentation will be made. Citizens will also have the opportunity to submit comments and questions in writing. Comments received will be taken into consideration as the project develops.

The public can view maps displaying the location and design of the project as they become available online at:

http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings.

Anyone desiring additional information may contact Diane Hampton P.E., NCDOT Division 9, Planning Engineer by mail: 375 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston Salem, NC 27127 by phone; (336) 747-7800 or via email; jbabernathy@ncdot.gov. All comments should be received no later than November 3, 2016.

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact; Diane Wilson via e-mail at pdwilson1@ncdot.gov or by phone (919) 707-6073 as early as possible so that arrangements can be made.

Persons who speak Spanish and do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak orunderstand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by
calling 1-800-481-6494.

Aquellas personas que hablan español y no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

RFP Staff

♦ According to Salisbury Police sources an intensive hunt is on for Richard Burlan Agee, 44, suspected of the October 12th Walgreens Pharmacy armed Robbery and the husband of the recently arrested Jamie Dawn Agee.  Warrants were issued for Agee charging him with robbery with a dangerous weapon.  The Walgreens Pharmacy at 705 W. Jake Alexander Boulevard was robbed just before closing by a man with a note allegedly stating he would start killing people.  Stolen was an undisclosed amount of oxycodone pills.

Agee’s last known address was 2764 Farley Court. Salisbury Police investigators believe Agee may be in the Madison, Kentucky area.

2764 Farley Court in Salisbury, N.C.:

Richard Burlan Agee:

Walgreens security cam still of the suspect:

RFP Article on October 18th about Agee’s Wife’s Arrest: Jamie Dawn Agee from Granite Quarry Arrested Monday by Sheriff’s Office Deputies for Alleged Multiple Drug Charges and Child Abuse:

Jamie Dawn Agee, from Granite Quarry, Arrested Monday by Sheriff’s Office Deputies for Alleged Multiple Drug Charges and Child Abuse

Citizens having any knowledge about this crime are urged to call the Salisbury Police at 704-638-5333. If you fear retribution, want to remain anonymous and possibly collect an award of up to $1,000, information can be submitted 24/7 via the web: http://tips.salisburyrowancrimestoppers.org/ or by calling the Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.

**This article will be updated as soon as more information arrives.**

RFP October 13th article on the Walgreens Pharmacy Armed Robbery: Salisbury: Man with a Knife Robs Walgreens on W. Jake Alexander Boulevard Wednesday Night. Takes Off with a Bag of Oxycodone

According to Salisbury Police sources a white male claiming to be armed with a knife and a threatening note held up the Walgreens on 705 W. Jake Alexander Boulevard Wednesday at 9 p.m. for a bag filled with an undisclosed amount of oxycodone pills, a powerful synthetic opioid painkiller aka “Hillbilly Heroin”.  Whenever and wherever a pharmacy in the Salisbury area is stuck-up, the favorite “request” is oxycodone.

Just before closing a white male with a salt and pepper beard, wearing a grey hoodie sweatshirt, dark pants, and a winter style cap (toboggan) walked immediately to the rear of Walgreens where he called over to a pharmacy tech and handed him a note that basically said if you don’t give me the oxycodone I’d start killing people.  The robber said he was armed with a knife.  The tech in turn passed the note to the pharmacist on duty.  For a moment or two the pair appeared to be moving too slowly for the robber who allegedly warned the pharmacist to hurry up or he’d start killing people.  The pharmacist placed an undisclosed amount of oxycodone pills in a bag and handed it to the robber.  Neither the pharmacist or the tech ever saw a weapon displayed.

The robber headed out of Walgreens to the rear of the building where he disappeared on foot into a wooded area off Mooresville Road.

Walgreens security cam still of the suspect:

Walgreens security cam still of the suspect entering the store:

The case remains under investigation. No suspects are named yet.

Walgreens at 705 W. Jake Alexander Blvd. in Salisbury, N.C.:

Map of Walgreens location in Salisbury:

Chuck Hughes, Board of Education, Salisbury, N.C.

♦ Mr. Gene Miller raves about his years of experience in the Executive Branch of the school system, i.e. Assistant Superintendent of Operations. He attempts to take credit for many things including the Central Office Building.  Yet, all he contributed to its finalization over the years was rhetoric. Still, his rhetoric was very revealing. First, he lobbied for the Central Office Building to be built on that postage stamp-sized lot next to Integro on South Main Street despite the absence of parking which was already promised to Integro.  Additionally the site suffered from heavy groundwater contamination. Despite the alleged no-further-action letter issued by NCDENR, the school system would’ve been a target for “vapor intrusion” suits had they packed administrators and support staff into the building proposed for 329 S. Main St.  Has anyone ever noticed why the grass and weeds don’t grow there much?

Mr. Gene Miller also dished out false hopes to the downtown merchants that our school system employees would rush out at to dine at lunch time and stay after work to shop to the tune of $5,000 per person per anum. His wildly spun fantasies completely ignored the fact that most downtown businesses close by the time these employees leave the building and hike blocks to wherever they were able to find parking earlier in the day.

Despite the Wallace Educational Forums many vacant rooms, Mr. Gene Miller continues to complain that the building is not large enough. This was not his fault however! During one of his failed runs for County Commissioner, he allegedly told the architect to “slow down” because once he was elected he would “Up-It”–It being the central office building.

Despite being responsible for insuring maintenance and replacement of both paving and roofing for school system’s buildings during his tenure as Assistant Superintendent of Operations, when I came to the board in 2012, roofing and paving were millions of dollars behind schedule. The current administration is still struggling to climb out of the hole dug by Mr. Gene Miller’s neglect of properties over the years.

His campaign slogan appears to be, “I want to make it better!” I suggest he already had that opportunity during his years as Assistant Superintendent of Operations and failed.  Just sayin’.

Rodney Cress, Veteran Advocate

♦ Here is a highly informative newsletter “The Agent Orange Newsletter” filled with important information for Vietnam-Era Veterans and their families:

Click on this link to read the Agent Orange Newsletter:

https://app.box.com/s/6pelc23ybowkp6ngjrvjr76j5qox2eta