‘Mystery project’ in Lenoir
News-Topic is reporting that there is a “mystery project” located off N.C. 18 in the Overlook Drive area. They also state that the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission, acting as a separate limited liability company, purchased more than $3 million in property, according to county real estate records.
Could this be the site of the once mentioned Google Data Center possibly coming to Caldwell County? That would be nice , but I do not know. The story mentions that the land was being graded. Most data centers are placed either partially or fully underground to protect the center from disruption from natural and man-made disasters.
**UPDATE**
The State has released an article regarding Google and NC push to land the search engine in Caldwell county.
Wreck on Gwaltney Road
There was a wreck this afternoon on Gwaltney Road. It occurred around 12:00 Noon. There was only one vehicle involved. It is believed that the vehicle was driving too fast and the driver lost control of the vehicle, hitting trees and flipping the Ford Ranger. The driver was checked by EMS workers from Oak Hill Fire and Rescue and was only found to have minor injuries. NC Highway Patrol and Burke County EMS also responded. There are no reports on charges being filed at this time.
Let’s get started again
Some people are interested in getting the blog back up and going. Well, I need your help. I need new stories. I particularly would like to get an election information page with the candidates on it. Anyone have any other suggestions? Let me know.
Cheap Gas
Where is the cheapest place in Burke County to get gas? Today I got gas at Three-Way Supply on NC 126 near Lake James for $2.699/gal.
Matt and Ramona’s ‘Hats for Helments’
This is just for your information and if you can help.
This has been copied off of 107.9 The Link's website at www.1079thelink.com.
Matt and Ramona's 'Hats for Helmets'
Benefitting Operation Helmet
Matt and Ramona want to protect our heros!
Click here to bid on the autographed Superbowl Panthers Helmet!
Help Matt and Ramona HELP our troops who are being sent over to Iraq by providing them with helmets to keep them safe and protected.
Some facts:
* Matt and Ramona have teamed up with Operation Helmet, a non-profit organization that provides helmets to troops in Iraq and Afganistan as well as those who will soon deploy.
*Each helmet costs $71.
* Proper helmet provide comfort, stability and protection.
Hats for Helmets Party!
Matt and Ramona will be collecting donations this Friday Night at Morehead St Tavern!
The fun starts at 5pm and goes all night!
Address:
Morehead Street Tavern
300 East Morehead St.
Charlotte, NC 28202
704-334-2655
Click here for a map and more information
YOU can show up and do 1 of 3 things:
1. Contribute through a small cash or check donation.
All contributers will receive their name on a paper helmet!
2. Contribute $71 through cash or check.
For each $71 contribution receive a Matt and Ramona hat.
3. Contribute through a corporate donation.
Please be sure to bring either cash or check. All checks will be made out to Operation Helmet.
If you would like to donate to Matt and Ramona's Hats for Helmets but will not be able to attend the party you can mail a check t
Matt and Ramona's Hats for Helmets
1 Julian Price Place, Charlotte NC 28208
Please make all checks payable to 'Operation Helmet'
MORGANTON, NC Political Contributions by Individuals
MORGANTON, NC Political Contributions by Individuals
The information is a few years old, but none the less interesting.
Should the FDA regulate restaurant portions?
Today there were several news release about the FDA talking about regulation restaurant portions. Yahoo! has the story here. Should they do this? What are your thoughts?
Powerball
Starting today, you can purchase Powerball tickets at your local lottery retailer. So with Wednesday's drawing estimated at $38 Million, how many people are going to stand in line and wait?
President’s Statement on Materials Recovered from Congressman William Jefferson’s Office
Over the last several days, the House of Representatives and the Department of Justice have attempted to resolve a dispute over the execution of a search warrant on the Capitol Hill office of Congressman William Jefferson, who is under criminal investigation.
The Department of Justice's search was part of an important investigation of alleged public corruption. At the same time, the bipartisan leadership of the House of Representatives believes this search violated the Constitutional principle of separation of powers and the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution. They note these principles must be adhered to, even in the pursuit of a legitimate criminal investigation.
I recognize these are deeply held views. Our government has not faced such a dilemma in more than two centuries. Yet after days of discussions, it is clear these differences will require more time to be worked out.
So today I am directing the Department of Justice to seal all the materials recovered from Congressman Jefferson's office for the next 45 days and not to allow access to anyone involved in the investigation. I am also ordering the sealed materials to remain under the custody of the Solicitor General – who heads a separate office within the Justice Department and is not involved in the investigation.
This period will provide both parties more time to resolve the issues in a way that ensures that materials relevant to the ongoing criminal investigation are made available to prosecutors in a manner that respects the interests of a coequal branch of government. The Justice Department and the House of Representatives should continue their discussions and resolve this matter as quickly as possible.
Let me be clear: investigating and prosecuting crime is a crucial executive responsibility that I take seriously. Those who violate the law – including a Member of Congress – should and will be held to account. This investigation will go forward, and justice will be served.
Nude Pictures and Sexual Harassment at the college **
It has been brought up that one of the officers who works for the college took nude pictures in the classroom and gave the come on aggressively to other female students. The word is he also had a camcorder in the bathroom while a group of high school girls were changing clothes. Female employees have been sexually harassed and assaulted and no one did anything.
—–UPDATE 5/23/2006—–
Another source has notified me that most of this is not true. It was "nothing more than a scam to bash people." This source also asked me to take the post down which I will not.We are continuing to update this post as new information comes available.
—–UPDATE 5/28/2006—–
I did receive some more information via. e-mail. Included were three pictures, two of which show two different women showing their chest (it looks as 1 was taken in St. Augustine, FL). This same informant is mailing some information to me via snail mail. Once I receive it all, I will work on it and try to get it posted. Once I receive the information in the mail, I will try to get most of it posted. I will not be posting the photos at this time.
—–UPDATE 6/3/2006—–
I received the information via snail mail today. It appears to be internal documents for Burke County EMS and a letter. They are dated October 2004. I will not be posting theses nor will I be pursuing this post anymore. I will not be posting any more information regarding this due to moral issues. This is an incident that occurred in the past. I do not know who all of the internal documents are from. I do feel that this information is a private matter that should have been handled by BCEMS and should not be release to the public. So because of this, I will be shredding this information and I will be closing this post. If any more information turns up, I will reopen this post. Thank you for everyone who has contributed, but I do have to draw the line when the information is attacking individuals.
For the people who have alerted me that attorneys know who have this information and I could be sued for even having this post: I am do have constitutional rights and I am protected by them. I am protecting the rights of these individuals by not posting the information that I received. Any further information needs to be communicated by e-mail.
Thank you.
Burke Independent Update
We now have cards that you can print out to help get the word out. Please post these where you can and give one to all of your friends and family members. The more people who know about the site, the more news we will get. The more news we get, the more you will know about what is really going on in Burke County.
We are not trying to be a mainstream news source. We want to have the news that no one else will report.
If you have a story, you can post it to the site. To do so, you must be authorized by the site administrator by sending an e-mail to admin AT burkeindependent DOT com. If you have some news that you want to share anonymously, you can send it to news AT burkeindependent DOT com. We will post it under the Burke Independent name.
Thank you for all of your help.
Bush to possibly deploy the National Guard to protect US border
The AP released an article today basically saying that President Bush is weighing the idea of deploying the National Guard to guard the US / Mexico border. This comes at talks heat up about reforming US immigration laws. The article also states that as many as 10,000 troops would be used. The president is supposed to address the nation from the Oval Office on Monday at 8:30… just in time to cause the TV networks problems with season finales.
Burke EMS Scandal
This story was brought up on “The News Herald” blog at morganton.com It has an ongoing discussion/debate.
The following was submitted by a reader and posted on another blog on 04/06/2005. A month later, this is still a major debate on the News Herald blog. It has been requested to be put into the paper so everyone can read, but nothing has been mentioned about it.
Let me tell you about the EMS scandal. 8 paramedics have quit in the past 3 weeks. It began years ago when the county forced EMS personnel to work a 24 hour shift but only pay them for 16 hours. The county justified this by saying that the paramedics had down time at work where they might be sleeping or watching tv or whatever. The paramedics argued that yes, we have down time, but not as much now as in the past.
As the county continues to grow, EMS, which is one of the few profitable departments of the county was virtually working their employees 20 hours a shift. The employees also argued that even though they might not be on a call they are forced to be away from their families. A number of employees have hired a attorney and are suing for back pay. The current situation is this: Burke county is practically running out of paramedics as they continue to move on to more desirable employment. What is left are EMT’s who do not have experience and are not authorized to perform as paramedics. There are more situations than I can describe where a patient may find himself at the mercy of one of these people who do not have the training or experience of those paramedics who have left. The county has also been forced to hire some employees that they would not otherwise hire. One recent hire worked for Alexander county before pulling out in front of a tractor trailer resulting in a accident. I won’t comment on casualties at this time. This same employee soon after being hired now has a back injury and is alleged to be milking the county of disability benefits.
When the current county manager became involved, (also a reject from Alexander county) his policy was to pay the employees for the hours but cut back on the days that they worked per month. The end result was as much as a 30 percent decrease in pay, forcing many of the experienced paramedics to quit in order to support their families. I am told that these employees consider this payback for the lawsuit. So who is suffering for this? Me and you if we need an ambulance and expect them to do anything other than haul you to the hospital. I have no idea why this story is being kept quiet. Some EMS employees believe that the county manager is keeping the county commissioners in the dark. Maybe. I wonder if the commissioners are not fully aware and are comfortable letting the county manager take the heat. At least till after the election.
So what is the local paper doing about it. Nothing as far as I can tell. Why? Here’s a theory. Well, unless you haven’t noticed, Morganton is a small town with button down conservative values and the newspaper know that you don’t stir certain people at this level or payback may come to them in the form of not allowing reporters on the scene or finding other ways to shut the newspaper out when something is going on like Synthron for instance. It would be easy for the paper to get the EMS story. Just find ex-employees and talk to them. That would force a response from the county manager and others.
Let me also mention one other person that may be assisting with string-pulling. The county attorney. He has been known in these parts as “high dollar Dan”. That is a story also waiting to be looked into but I won’t bore you with the details at this time.
I’ll end by saying that all the information that I have given you on EMS is from people who work there, which forces me to remain anonymous, hence the Burke blogger title. I do not want to jeopardize an EMS employees job by association. They can be fired for speaking out. I also need to remain anonymous in order to keep getting information from my sources. Lastly, I need to remain anonymous because I can’t afford to be attacked by those who will choose to attack the messenger. I’m sure that you have noticed that Duke Conover has not even responded to any of my blogs. Whats up with that? I apparently can’t even bait him to respond. It’s an election year, in Burke county. Just watch and learn.
This entry was moved from politicallyincorrect.wordpress.com with permission of the owner.
Welcome
Welcome to BurkeIndependent.com.
Why are you here? – We are here because I found the need for a community to share news. News happens all over our county all of the time, but it is never reported by local media outlets. We are here so that citizens can report their own news.
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