North Carolina News – October 11

North Carolina News – October 11

PARKWAY OVERLOOK-BODY

Body found near Blue Ridge Parkway overlook

BLOWING ROCK, N.C. (AP) — The National Park Service says a man was found dead near an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that the park service says a park visitor reported the body on Saturday below the Yadkin Valley Overlook, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Asheville, and law enforcement rangers found the body a short time later. The Blue Ridge Parkway stretches 469 miles (755 kilometers) from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, through Asheville and Western North Carolina to the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Officials say the cause of death is unknown.  

AP-NC-COAST GUARD SEARCH

Coast Guard searches for missing canoeist

The Coast Guard searched in the vicinity of Portsmouth Island in Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina on Sunday for a 27-year-old woman who is missing after a canoe capsized. The search began after a 911 call was received about 4:15 p.m. on Saturday of a capsized canoe with two people aboard. Watchstanders subsequently lost communication with the reporting source, who was a member of the same group. An aircrew located a conscious male survivor alongside a green canoe at about 9:54 a.m. on Sunday. He was transported to Carteret Hospital in Morehead City. A second survivor, the original reporting source, was found ashore on Great Island by a good Samaritan.

AP-NC-BODY FOUND-HOMICIDE SUSPECT

Man found shot to death in Durham was a homicide suspect

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A man found shot to death inside a car in a Durham, North Carolina, elementary school parking lot has been identified as a suspect in a homicide in Newport News, Virginia. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that Newport News police identified the man on Saturday as Karlos Evan Andrews, 37. Andrews was wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of 49-year-old Loren Javell Ransome, on Oct. 5. Andrews was found at Eastway Elementary School on Friday. Newport News police said they were notified by Durham police late Friday that Andrews had been found, and that he had taken his own life.

SUV CRASH-RESTAURANT-DEATH

Siler City man charged after crashing SUV into restaurant

SILER CITY, N.C. (AP) — Police say a Siler City man has been charged after he crashed into four people at a restaurant on Friday, killing one. Media outlets reported Saturday that John Salvatore Graviano was booked in the Chatham County Detention Center and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. He was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, and driving left of center. A 64-year-old man was killed in the crash. A 77-year-old woman was airlifted to UNC Hospital, and is in serious condition but is expected to live. The other pedestrians were transported to the hospital but did not have serious injuries.

AP-US-ARMY-BODY-ARMOR

Right-sizing the force: Army offers armor for smaller troops

WASHINGTON (AP) — Army Capt. Kim Pierre-Zamora remembers the protective vest she was issued when she went to basic training. It was a size medium that hung too low, making it difficult for her to even bend over. When she tried to shoulder her weapon, she had to move the vest. It’s a common complaint from female soldiers and small-stature men who have struggled with the bulky armor they’ve worn over two decades of war. The Army for the first time is handing out armor in three additional sizes and can be adjusted to fit better and allow soldiers to move faster and more freely.

READING SCORES

N. Carolina third-graders struggling to meet reading goals

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Far fewer North Carolina third-graders in public schools have demonstrated reading proficiency, compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. State educators say the finding is troubling and needs to be urgently addressed. A report presented this week to the State Board of Education showed 31% of third-graders had not met promotion standards. That means these students are either repeating third grade this fall or receiving specific kinds of fourth-grade class instruction. The past school year was marked by limited in-person instruction due to the pandemic. A new law this year is designed to improve the state’s reading proficiency efforts.

OBIT-ARMY GENERAL

Army general who commanded in Iraq dies of cancer at age 67

WASHINGTON (AP) — The family of Raymond T. Odierno, a retired Army general who commanded American and coalition forces in Iraq at the height of the war, says he has died of cancer. He was 67. Odierno capped a 39-year career by serving as the Army’s chief of staff, retiring in 2015. The family said his death was not related to COVID-19. He was a native of Rockaway, New Jersey, and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1976. He served three tours in Iraq, including two years as the top U.S. commander. 

ELECTION 2022-MINORITY VOTERS

Effort to register minority citizens in N. Carolina launches

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A new organized effort to boost North Carolina minority voter turnout during the 2022 elections and beyond is underway. The New North Carolina Project is modeled after a similar initiative in Georgia founded by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. The North Carolina organization aims to register over 100,000 voting-age adults and increase early-voting turnout dramatically next year. The group’s leader is former Democratic state House candidate Aimy Steele. She says the initiative will focus on residents in 29 rural eastern and Sandhills counties and portions of seven urban centers for 2022. The project also will endorse candidates.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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