PLANT EMPLOYEES DEAD
Company probes whether procedures were followed after deaths
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — An eastern North Carolina industrial operation says it’s investigating whether safety procedures were followed after an accident that killed two workers over the weekend. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said two Valley Proteins workers were found unresponsive Sunday at the Fayetteville plant and the building was evacuated. According to its website, Valley Proteins collects, renders and recycles fat and bone trimmings, meat waste and used cooking oil. WTVD-TV reports that the company said Monday that one maintenance worker had worked there for 13 years and the other had been employed for less than one month. The company says the “accident may have occurred by lack of following company safety procedures which both employees have been trained in.”
SIGN-FATAL CRASH
NC man dies after crashing into county welcome sign in SC
RICHBURG, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say a Charlotte, North Carolina, man died after his van ran off Interstate 77 in South Carolina and hit a brick welcome sign for Chester County. The Coroner’s Office says 70-year-old Gregory Morris Hill died at the scene of the crash Monday afternoon. Troopers say Hill’s van was heading south on I-77 when it ran off the right side of the highway and into the “Welcome to Chester County” sign placed several years ago at Exit 65.
PROTEST-PRISON
Thrown brick at N. Carolina protest results in 1-year term
NEW BERN, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man who threw a brick through a courthouse window during a protest related to George Floyd’s death has been sentenced to more than a year in prison. Alexander Pridgen of Greenville was sentenced to 15 months at a hearing Monday in federal court in New Bern. He pleaded guilty to destruction of government property and possessing a firearm while under indictment. Prosecutors say Pridgen participated in a May 2020 protest in Greenville related to the death of Floyd, a Black man whose killing at the hands of a Minnesota police officer prompted nationwide protests over racial injustice.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Worker advocates seek more NC aid as federal benefits expire
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Advocates for North Carolina workers say the unemployed need higher and longer jobless benefits from the state more than ever now that additional federal benefits created for the COVID-19 pandemic have expired. Well over 100,000 displaced workers in the state can no longer receive federal benefits that ended this month, including an additional $300 per week. On Monday, Democratic Sen. Wiley Nickel urged Republican colleagues to pass legislation to raise maximum state benefits from $350 to $500 a week. GOP lawmakers have been cool to similar proposals in the past. Other speakers at a news conference say child care and job training are issues.
SPEEDWAY-TWO SHOT
Sheriff’s office: 2 men shot during fight at Speedway
ELKIN, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a North Carolina man has been charged with shooting two men during a fight at Friendship Motor Speedway. News outlets report that the Surry County Sheriff’s Office said two off-duty deputies working security at the speedway in Elkin on Saturday night were alerted about the shooting and found two men shot. Deputies believe Yosef Handy of Jonesville shot the men during an altercation. The sheriff’s office says two wounded men were taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. Handy was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and other offenses and given a secured bond of $350,000.
PROFESSOR DEATH
University professor falls to death through rusted staircase
A Boston University professor died over the weekend when he fell about 20 feet through a rusted out staircase near a train station. University and law enforcement officials say David K. Jones, an associate professor in the university’s School of Public Health, died Saturday. State police said in a statement that the death of the 40-year-old Milton man is under investigation. Troopers responded to the area near the JFK MBTA station in Boston at about 1:30 p.m. after a passerby spotted a body. The staircase has been closed for about 20 months and was blocked at both ends. Jones’ wife said he had gone out for a run.
PLANT EMPLOYEES DEAD
Authorities: 2 workers at eastern North Carolina plant die
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say two employees at an eastern North Carolina industrial operation have died at the site. It happened Sunday at the Valley Proteins Inc. plant in Fayetteville. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office says deputies came to the operation Sunday afternoon after the employees were found unresponsive. Their names haven’t been released pending family notification. Sheriff’s detectives are investigating what caused the deaths. Valley Proteins is based in Virginia and collects, renders and recycles fat and bone trimmings, meat waste and used cooking oil.
FELONS-VOTING-NORTH CAROLINA
NC’s highest court: Felons who registered recently can vote
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s highest court has ruled that felony offenders who are out of prison and registered to vote in North Carolina during a roughly 10-day period thanks to a recent order by trial judges will remain on voting rolls for now. The state Supreme Court declined on Friday to reinstate an order last month that declared any offender no longer behind bars could register. But the court declared that a felony offender who registered to vote because the order was enforceable at the time “are legally registered voters” until told otherwise. Those offenders can vote in this fall’s municipal elections.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
