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Regional Briefs: Manager resigns from Yadkin post
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Published: August 26, 2009
Yadkin County officials will have to search for a new county manager for the second time in a little more than a year.
County Manager Stan Kiser gave his resignation to county commissioners this week. He will stay on through the end of September, then will take the county manager's post in Caldwell County to be closer to family.
Kiser, 53, is from Lincoln County and was that county's manager until July 2007, when he was fired after an election changed the makeup of the county board. He started in Yadkin County on Sept. 29 of last year.
Chad Wagoner, the chairman of the Yadkin County Board of Commissioners, said that the board will have to approve an interim manager as it begins the search for Kiser's replacement. Wagoner expects that the board will have an interim appointed by the time Kiser leaves.
Officials close part of I-77 for chase
STATESVILLE -- Authorities closed part of Interstate 77 yesterday and delayed classes on the opening day of the school year as they chased a suspect who shot at officers.
Statesville police said that an officer was shot in the leg during the pursuit and capture of the suspect they identified as William Welton Jr., whom they said is a convicted felon.
The manhunt began overnight when a driver drove away from a checkpoint in Wilkes County. The N.C. Highway Patrol pursued the driver south on I-77, closing the road for more than an hour while troopers tried to blow out the car's tires. Troopers said that the man ran into woods and fired shots at officers near Statesville Middle School and Pressly School, which were forced to postpone opening.
Second gym accepting Peak members
A second fitness club in Winston-Salem has offered to accept members from the Peak Fitness gym on Robinhood Road that closed abruptly over the weekend.
The fitness group 24/7 Fitness and Martial Arts said yesterday that it is accepting prepaid and monthly paid memberships. It is based at 1850 Healy Drive.
Greg Wood, the general manager of 24/7 Fitness, said that prepaid memberships to the Peak gym on Robinhood will be honored for the full remainder of their unexpired contracts with no payment required to his gym. Rates for monthly paid memberships also will be honored for the remainder of their unexpired contract period. Peak members who pay monthly will get their first month at 24/7 Fitness free.
For more information, call 765-1950.
Gold's Gym on Reynolda Road will also accept the members.
People evacuated after gas line cut
Twelve people were evacuated yesterday from their houses in Winston-Salem's Ardmore neighborhood after a gas line was cut, authorities said. There were no injuries.
Employees of the City-County Utilities Division were working on a water line in the 2000 block of Craig Street shortly after 11 a.m. when an employee cut a 3-inch line that carries natural gas, the Winston-Salem Fire Department said.
Firefighters monitored the area with gas meters and evacuated the people. Piedmont Natural Gas Co. turned off the gas in the damaged line.
Elk Knob State Park opens trail
BOONE -- Elk Knob State Park has opened a new section of trail that has been under construction for the past year. The trail now extends 1.1 miles toward the 5,520-foot summit of Elk Knob. The trail will be two miles long when is finished.
For now, once hikers get past the completed part of the trail, they can follow a steep, rocky four-wheeler road to the top. The new trail will cross the road several times and wind along the mountainside on a gentler slope, with a better surface for hiking.
Volunteers and park staff members work on the trail from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, weather permitting. The work includes clearing small trees and stumps, digging the footpath, building rock walls and spreading gravel. For more information about volunteering, call 828-297-7261.
Study: Pamlico best spot for energy
BUXTON -- A new study says that the best spot for utility-scale wind energy is in the Pamlico Sound off Buxton along the Outer Banks.
The feasibility study found that most other state waters aren't suitable for wind-energy development. UNC Chapel Hill conducted the study, which was requested last year by state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare.
The nine-month study analyzed the areas of available wind power, the ecological risks, user conflicts, electrical-transmission infrastructure, regulatory barriers and carbon-reduction potential.
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