The plant off Highway 601 started preserving wood with creosote in the 1950s. It shut down in 2009.

EPA workers have been at the site for the last few months. EPA officials said they have already removed four pounds of mercury and 1,600 tons of contaminated soil, and there is more work still to do.

“Almost 60 years, it hadn’t caused any problems. Nobody’s got sick, hadn’t killed any fish. It’s something hanging over us stockholders,” said Glyn Holcomb, 85, one of four family owners of the business.

“They stayed there so long clearing everything off and testing we knew it must be worse than what we thought, but we weren’t really concerned, ever,” said Janie Helton with Grace Bible Church, which is next door to the plant.

The EPA has found some high levels of metals and traces of creosote in nearby ponds, but they said they haven’t heard anyone getting sick from them.

Helton said the EPA has tested the church’s water, but they are in the clear so far.

“It’s never been a problem for us. There’s never been any terrible odor associated with it,” Helton said.

The meeting takes place Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Yadkinville Volunteer Fire Department.

The plant could be placed on the EPA’s national priorities list in the next few months. Being placed on the list would allow the site to be cleaned up faster.

While some were cleaning up from Wednesday night’s storms and getting their vehicles fixed from all the icy crashes on Monday, others were enjoying the sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s.

In the video above, see how local residents have seen a little of all four seasons in the last five days and see what’s in store for the weekend.

Alamance County health officials said they have confirmed 82 cases in six elementary schools, six middle schools and two private child care centers.

The affected elementary schools are B. Everett Jordan, Audrey W. Garrett, Haw River, South Graham, Alexander Wilson and Eastlawn.

The affected middle schools are Western Alamance, Graham, Broadview, Turrentine, Hawfields and Woodlawn.

Health officials would not identify the two private child care centers.

The first confirmed case was reported Dec. 21 at B. Everett Jordan Elementary School. Health officials are still trying to figure out where the outbreak started.

The health department is now offering free Tdap vaccines, which normally cost $35. The department is open from 8-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. They are allowing walk-ins.

Health department officials said they will probably offer the free vaccines for the next month.

A community-wide clinic will also take place at the Mebane Arts and Community Center on March 2 from 3-7 p.m.

Pertussis is a bacterial infection that often starts with typical cold symptoms before turning into prolonged bursts of coughing, which sounds like whooping, in one or two weeks. Some may simply have a cough that lasts for several weeks.

The program was recently recognized by the White House, and it’s a perfect example of What’s Right with Our Schools.

Those who are interested in getting some of Robyn Hadley’s advice out of the school system can find her book, titled Within View, Within Reach: Navigating the College Bound Journey, online and in bookstores.

The health system’s board of trustees on Wednesday approved a plan to investigate other partnerships within the next year.

Last month, the health system announced it would partner with Duke Medicine on Heart and Cancer Care.

The board said the process may take six months to one year.

Rielle Hunter sued former Edwards aide Andrew Young and his wife in 2010 over the intimate tape and other personal items the couple claimed she abandoned. Hunter lived with the Youngs in 2007, while she was pregnant with Edwards’ baby.

In a court settlement filed Thursday, the Youngs agreed to give up their claim on the property, which has been held in the vault of a North Carolina courthouse. The Youngs also agreed not to talk publicly about the tape.

A book published by Andrew Young has described what’s on the tape.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Lucille and Willis Mabe were charged with 27 counts each of misdemeanor animal cruelty, Stokes County Animal Control officials said Thursday. They are scheduled to meet with the district attorney March 1, when they will be served.

The Mabes own Dan River Bullies, located at 1560 Bob Mabe Road in Danbury. More than 150 dogs were seized from the property in a raid Feb. 7.

Officials with the Humane Society of the United States said the dogs lived on top of each other, and food was thrown on the floor next to their feces.

A person at the raid described the scene as “heartbreaking” and said it may be the worst they’ve seen in North Carolina.

The Guilford County Animal Shelter took in 130 of the animals. Director Marsha Williams said the animals had multiple problems, including eye, skin, and teeth infections.

The site Danriverbullies.com was taken down shortly after the raid, but it listed several breeds for sale, including bulldogs, English Bull pups, French Bull pups and Shih Tzu pups. Prices for some of the dogs were in the thousands of dollars.

When: Saturday February 25, 2012 1:00 PM -3:00 PM

Where: Eight locations (listed below):

Forsyth County Animal Control, 5570 Sturmer Park Circle, Winston-Salem 27105

Pet and Hobby Shop, 3800 Reynolda Road, (Oldtown Shopping Center) Winston-Salem 27106

Enterprise Center, 1922 S Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive, Winston-Salem 27107

Let`s Pet, 3191 Peters Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem 27127

Tractor Supply, 1011 Bethania-Rural Hall Road, Rural Hall 27045

Tractor Supply, 196 Westwood Village Drive, Clemmons 27012

Country Junction Market, 2412 Old Hollow Road, Walkertown 27050

Farmer`s Feed and Seed, 311 N Main Street, Kernersville 27284

What You Need to Bring:  If you qualify, please come to one of the above locations on the date/time above and bring the following:

•     Proof of income (WIC card, W-2, etc.)

•     *$10 CASH ONLY

•     A valid photo ID that shows current address (Must be Forsyth County resident)

•     *Proof of rabies shot for pet being applied for (certificate of vaccination) If no current rabies vaccination exists, or you don`t have documentation, an additional $5 will be required for the vaccination.

There is a limit of 3 vouchers per household.  Surgeries will take place at the Central Spay, Neuter and Wellness Clinic in Kernersville.  Recipients of vouchers will be responsible for making an appointment with the clinic before April 15th.  Only pets less than 7 years of age are eligible.

Ehsan Shahnawaz, 32, of Greensboro, owns ES Motorsports, Inc. at 707 Norwalk St.

Shahnawaz was charged with selling vehicles to out-of-state customers, charging them illegally for North Carolina taxes, titles and tags, when the vehicles were not being titled or licensed in the state.

Officials said Shahnawaz was arrested after a routine dealer audit by DMV inspectors. The audit allegedly included an investigation into the dealership’s sales records over an 18-month period.

Shahnawaz was charged with 87 felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense, 12 counts of common law forgery, and six counts of common law uttering.

Misdemeanor counts included two counts of having open titles, 25 counts of charging hidden fees, four counts of failure to inspect vehicles prior to sale, and 13 counts of improper issuance of a 30-day marker.

Shahnawaz was placed in the Guilford County Detention Center under a $95,000 secured bond.

License and Theft Bureau inspectors are continuing to investigate. Authorities said he was also charged other fees not allowed by North Carolina law.

ES Motorsports, Inc. has specialized in high-end sports cars and BMWs since opening in 2008. Officials said Shahnawaz also sold cars online.

Police said James Summers, 52, wearing a tie and carrying a briefcase, claimed he was sent by Denny’s corporate office Tuesday to be the new manager at the restaurant in Madison.

The current manager told him he must have the wrong restaurant. Summers told her she apparently had not received the memo about the change in leadership.

Authorities say the manager called her supervisors while Summers helped himself to a meal. WISC-TV said police were summoned and took Summers into custody.

Officers say they found a stun gun on his belt. Summers is charged with disorderly conduct, drug possession and possessing an electric weapon.

Credit: The Associated Press.

Hanna Kennedy Miller, 77, was turning left out of the parking lot at Crestview Baptist Church, located at 1975 Union Cross Road, when her 1989 Cadillac sedan collided with another vehicle shortly after 8:15 p.m., police Lt. Brad Yandell said.

Miller was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, where she remained in critical condition as of 11 a.m. Thursday.

Jeremy Allen Coe, 22, who was driving the other vehicle, was taken to a Kernersville hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Police are still investigating the wreck and have not said who is at fault or if weather played a role.

The 2012 “Winston-Salem Dash Customer Service Team Job Fair” is planned for 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the facility’s Womble Carlyle Club.

Officials said the Dash is hiring several part-time positions for the 2012 season including bat boys, box office employees, cleaning crew and club level attendants.

“Job seekers will have the opportunity to join an organization that strives to provide an optimal fan experience for every game,” according to a press release.

In a statement released through his spokeswoman, Jordan says he’s worked hard to establish his name and calls the issue “deeply disappointing to see a company build a business off my Chinese name without my permission, use the number 23 and even attempt to use the names of my children.”

Jordan says “This complaint is not about money, it’s about principle and protecting my name.”

The Chinese company has registered and uses the name “Qiaodan” — the moniker Jordan has been known by in China since he gained widespread popularity in the mid-1980s.

——-
This story was written and provided by The Associated Press Wire.  (Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ETOWAH CO., Ala — An Alabama woman charged with murdering her 9-year-old stepdaughter has given birth, reports said Thursday.

A key environment committee at the General Assembly was scheduled Thursday to receive a draft proposal crafted with the blessing of Republicans now in control of the Legislature. They want to curb what they call redundancies in state and federal air toxics programs that lead to additional paperwork and business costs but don’t protect human health, air and water commensurately.

Under the proposal, the rules of the state Air Toxics Program wouldn’t apply to business operations such as power plants, paper mills and chemical manufacturers that already are required by federal regulators to install equipment to reduce emissions by the maximum achievable amounts.

The state program would still monitor nearly 100 toxic air pollutants emitting from hundreds of facilities statewide by measuring concentrations at property lines and their effects on human health, according to Rep. Mitch Gillespie, R-McDowell, co-chairman of the Environmental Review Commission.

The bill also would place permanently into state law a rule that has given leaders at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources the ability to require permits for emissions considered an unacceptable risk to human health.

Gillespie labeled the bill consensus legislation worked out between business lobbying organizations such as the North Carolina Chamber and Manufacturers and Chemical Industry Council of North Carolina and top department regulators. He said the measure doesn’t go as far as some people seeking regulatory overhauls would like — probably including other Republican lawmakers. Some GOP legislators backed last year doing away with the state program.

“This is pretty middle-of-the-road,” Gillespie said an interview. “I might have some problems with my own (party) on this.”

Environmental groups weren’t at the table to draw up the changes, Gillespie said, but they were told before Thursday’s meeting about the proposal. Any changes would still have to clear the full House and Senate later this spring before going to

Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue’s desk. Gillespie said he expected the commission to debate the legisltion more at its March meeting.

Perdue hasn’t seen the legislation and won’t comment on it yet, Perdue spokesman Mark Johnson said.

“The governor supports regulatory reform that doesn’t compromise public health,” Johnson said Wednesday.

State regulators have said the state program is different from the federal program, which seeks to reduce emissions involving 187 pollutants, 76 of which also are monitored by the state.

Margaret Hartzell, policy advocate for Environment North Carolina, said her group remains concerned about details that it has yet to see. She said the proposed rules, if approved, “are not helpful to the environment and public health in North Carolina.”

She said it’s unwise to decrease authority of the state Air Toxics Program because it focuses on protecting the public in the state while the federal program bases pollution limits on nationwide averages.

North Carolina Chamber President and Chief Executive Office Lew Ebert said parts of the state program put up barriers to growth for businesses.

“By finding a common ground between the two programs, we can provide greater efficiency, consistency and predictability to the business community in North Carolina, which in turn allows them to create jobs and invest in our state,” Ebert said in a prepared statement.

——————–
This story was written by GARY D. ROBERTSON of The Associated Press. (Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

“She wanted to hire someone for money, somebody to go out and murder somebody with a fur coat on, anybody with a fur coat,” said FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson.

The FBI arrested Lowell Tuesday morning after they said Lowell spent months trying to solicit a hit man via Facebook.

The FBI said in the indictment that the killing was to take place in front of the Coventry Village Branch of the Cleveland Heights Library.

The FBI said an investigator posed as a hit man online and corresponded with Lowell for several months via Facebook.

According to the indictment, Lowell wanted to be present during the hit and wrote that she had papers on the fur industry that she planned to distribute to people after the murder at the ‘event’.

According to the indictment, Lowell wrote the victim should be, quote, “at least 14 years old or older but should be at least 12 years old.”

The indictment alleges Lowell used the computers at the Cleveland Heights Library to arrange the would-be random murder, or which she would pay $730 in cash and jewelry.

Lowell wrote that she expected to go to jail, and wrote “many activists have gone to jail or prison for the benefit of the movement.”

“I’m appalled and horrified that somebody would think that committing violence is going to further a cause that is all about non-violence,” Jennifer Kaden said.

Kaden and Amy Wagar Cinch, co-founders of the Cleveland Animal Rights Alliance, said they don’t know Lowell, and that the animal rights movement opposes violence of any kind.

“Humans are animals too, and we want everyone to live in a peaceful environment, not just non-human animals,” Wagar Cinch said.

Lowell is being held in custody until a court appearance next week.

The judge said she will have a competency hearing.

———–
This story was written by Fox 8 affiliate reporter Emily Valdez.

The FDA panel of outside physicians voted 20-2 Wednesday in favor of the weight loss drug from Vivus Inc., setting the stage for a potential comeback for a drug that has been plagued by safety questions since it was first submitted to the agency in 2010.

A majority of panelists ultimately backed the drug due to its impressive weight loss results, with most patients losing nearly 10 percent of their overall weight after a year on the drug. But the group stressed that the drugmaker must be required to conduct a large, follow-up study of the pill’s effects on the heart. Studies of Qnexa show it raises heart rate and causes heart palpitations, a longtime concern with diet pills over the years. The group of experts said it is still unclear if those side effects lead to heart attack and more serious cardiovascular problems.

“The potential benefits of this medication seem to trump the side effects, but in truth, only time will tell,” said Dr. Kenneth Burman of the Washington Hospital Center.

The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it often does. A final decision on the drug is expected in April.

In a key question, the physicians said Vivus could conduct its study after FDA approval. Conducting the study ahead of market approval would cost the company millions of dollars and take at least three more years.

“There is an urgent need for better pharmacologic options for individual patients with obesity,” said Dr. Elaine Morrato, of the University of Colorado. “I believe Qnexa demonstrated a meaningful efficacy benefit and that there are consequences to not treating obesity.”

Vivus, based in Mountain View, Calif., is one of three small drugmakers racing to bring the first new prescription weight loss drug to market in more than a decade. In the past two years the Food and Drug Administration has rejected pills from all three: Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. and Vivus. All three companies are in the process of resubmitting their products.

The FDA rejected the diet pill Qnexa in October 2010, citing numerous side effects including raised heart rate, psychiatric problems and birth defects. Vivus has resubmitted the drug with additional follow-up information on safety, hoping for a more favorable ruling.

Vivus President Peter Tam said the overwhelming panel vote Wednesday underscores the need for effective weight loss drugs.

“I think they see the medical need,” Tam said. “Right now there aren’t any good treatments out there besides dieting and bariatric surgery, clearly there’s a huge gap.”

With U.S. obesity rates nearing 35 percent among adults, doctors and public health officials say new weight-loss therapies are desperately needed. And even a modestly effective drug could have blockbuster potential. Analysts expect a new weight loss pill to garner at least 10 million users within a few years.

Qnexa is a combination of two older drugs: the amphetamine phentermine, which is approved for short-term weight loss, and topiramate, an antiseizure and antimigraine drug sold by Johnson & Johnson as Topamax. Phentermine helps suppress appetite, while topiramate is supposed to make patients feel more satiated.

Along with heart safety, panelists raised concerns about potential birth defects in women who become pregnant while taking Qnexa. One of the two ingredients in the combination pill, topiramate, is known to more than double the risk of birth defects.

There were 34 pregnancies among 3,386 women enrolled in Vivus’ studies of Qnexa, despite precautions to make sure women used contraception. An FDA expert on birth defects estimated there would be five babies born with a cleft lip defect for every 1,000 women who became pregnant while taking Qnexa.

If approved, FDA scientists said they would require Vivus to train prescribers in the pregnancy risks of Qnexa and distribute warning pamphlets to patients. The drug would only be available from 10 mail-order pharmacies.

Credit: The Associated Press.

“I picked her up in my arms, and I could see her taking some of her last breaths she could take,” Matthew Cretzman said Thursday as he recalled the last time he held Azlynn, his 3-year-old daughter.

Matthew was driving west on I-74 with his wife and two daughters when their minivan hit a patch of ice on a bridge near Exit 6 around 7:30 a.m. Monday. The minivan left the roadway and struck an interstate sign, causing heavy damage to the right side of the vehicle.

“The minute I crossed over that bridge, it was almost as if the van took itself,” Matthew said. “It slid off the road, went on the grass. It didn’t slow down.  It just kept moving toward that pole.”

Azlynn, who was sitting in a child safety seat on the rear passenger’s side, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I remember seeing her pretty little face, and I could see her take her last breath and she gasped for air. I’ll never forget that: looking down on my poor little girl — my princess — and seeing her take her last breath.”

The Cretzmans are Baptist missionaries from Ontario, Canada.  They were headed for a church service in Ohio when the tragic accident occurred.

But Matthew reiterated: “Nothing happens by accident.”  The man of faith said in that moment, he knew more than ever that God is real.

“I visualize the whole car crash, and as we are drifting over toward the pole I just picture the angels hovering over that van, and the second she takes her last breath they catch her away and she is straight up into Heaven,” Matthew said.

Matthew’s hope now is that something good comes out of the tragedy.

“It shouldn’t take a tragedy like this for there to be this kind of awareness of missions and people to encourage everybody like that,” Matthew said.  “Imagine if everybody’s response to each other was like this all the time.”

Lana Cretzman, the mother, was riding in the front passenger’s seat.  She was airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center with a broken leg and lacerated liver and has since been recovering.  She is expected to be released from the hospital by late Thursday.  Matthew and the couple’s other daughter, 2-year-old Maddison Cretzman, were both treated and released from the Northern Hospital of Surry County.

Local churches and family members have been working to raise money for the family’s hospital and vehicle expenses, as their minivan was totaled in the crash.  The Cretzmans said they’ve lived out of their minivan since 2010 while traveling the U.S. for various missions projects.  Information about making donations can be found at cretzmanstocuba.com.

Matthew said the outpouring of support in wake of the crash has been overwhelming. He said he’s never seen a community do so much for people they don’t even know.

“Man, I love you guys. We are so thankful we are overwhelmed–one thing after another,” Matthew said.

The family said funeral services for Azlynn will be held at Gospel Light Baptist Church in Walkertown on Monday, Feb. 27.  Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon and again from 3 to 4:30 p.m.  The funeral service is set for 6 p.m.

A separate fundraising effort has been organized for Thursday night in Kernersville. Taylor Ann Harpist will perform a benefit concert scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the C&H Cafeteria on Main Street.  Donations will be collected and counted at the event and then delivered to the family by a third party, organizers said.

The Forest Service said Thursday that cases of laurel wilt have been confirmed near the communities of Sandy Creek and Northwest.

The disease already has been spotted in South Carolina and Florida after first being detected in Georgia in 2002.

The disease can kill trees within a month of infection. It’s carried by the redbay ambrosia beetle, which is native to Southeast Asia.

Last year, officials found the beetle in Bladen, Columbus, Sampson and Pender counties.

Plants at risk from the fungus include sassafras, pondberry and spicebush trees. Officials say Mountain Laurel is not affected by the disease.

Credit: The Associated Press.