20191003-NT-A1-EPA Grant Saves Small Business
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We appreciate Brenda Hartley and all of our readers. SPORTS Fun at CCC&TI’s Fan Fest Page B1 PROUD TO BE CALDWELL COUNTY’S LOCAL NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1875 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 WWW.NEWSTOPICNEWS.COM $1.25 EPA grant saves small business BY VIRGINIA ANNABLE for an affordable price and N.C. Department of Envi- “(The property) was a VANNABLENEWSTOPICNEWS.COM finally had a place to call ronmental Quality. They good deal, but we didn’t Douglas Guerra saved his own. said he had to clean up the know what we were get- his money for over a “We always wanted to property by removing two ting in to,” Guerra said. “I decade. have our own building,” leftover underground gaso- was really worried about it Year by year while build- Guerra said. “I used to rent line tanks, which would cost ing Douglas Custom Paint- all the time, but I think ... tens of thousands of dollars. SEE GRANT/PAGE A5 ing, he stashed his savings, (owning) is a good oppor- waiting until he could buy tunity for my business to his own building for his grow.” Douglas Guerra, owner of Douglas Sutom Painting, business. Then the bottom fell bought the former Jo Ja’s gas station on U.S. 321-A Early this year, the time out. this year only to nd out it had old gas tanks that came. He bought the old Two months after the had to be removed — a costly process. Jo Ja’s gas station on U.S. deal closed, Guerra start- 321-A just north of Hudson ed getting letters from the VIRGINIA ANNABLE | NEWS-TOPIC Sheri ’s o c e , school to honor students BY KARA FOHNER KFOHNERNEWSTOPICNEWS.COM The Caldwell County Sher- iff’s Offi ce has partnered with Gamewell Elementary School to honor one fifth grade stu- dent each month for their per- formance. Ava Grace Barker, 10, was nominated in September to be the fi rst fi fth grade citizen of the month. According to a press release from the school, Ava “shows great citizen strength by (being) always will- ing to help with student council KARA FOHNER | NEWS-TOPIC functions such as helping stu- Someone destroyed the interior of Priscilla Icenhour’s childhood home, breaking holes in the walls, shattering windows, dents to class, helping out our overturning furniture and ripping out the ceiling fan. cafeteria staff daily and being a strong leader.” Ava also does her homework and has a pleas- ant attitude, the release said. Woman’s childhood home damaged Deputy Holt Coleman, Gamewell Elementary School’s BY KARA FOHNER one day rent it or sell it. the fl oors — dishes, furniture, boxes, school resource offi cer, said he KFOHNERNEWSTOPICNEWS.COM But when they visited the house plastic bags and birthday cards, came up with the idea to help When Jake Icenhour last visited Monday, they found that it had been among other things. The inside of the give a kind of validation to stu- his wife’s childhood home on Christie extensively vandalized. There are house looks as if a giant picked up the dents who stood out. Road last week, it looked much the now many jagged holes in the inte- house and shook it. On the outside, Students selected to be the same as it had for years. The house rior walls. Someone ripped down the windows are broken, and the carport citizen of the month must meet hadn’t been lived in since 2008, but ceiling fan, leaving it dangling from roof has collapsed, its support beams a variety of criteria. Among Jake and his wife, Priscilla, still visited a cord, its blades broken. A layer of other things, all their home- the property regularly and hoped to debris and household items covers SEE HOME/PAGE A8 work must be turned in on time, they have to stay out of trouble, and they must show they are respectful and respon- sible, assisting teachers with tasks and reporting bullying Sawmills has favorite for new manager when they see it. Coleman said that the teach- BY GARRETT STELL could be the last stage of top candidates and some- and begin operating with a ers who select the students GSTELLNEWSTOPICNEWS.COM the search process, said times they don’t, but if town manager rather than struggled at fi rst because there The Sawmills Town Anthony Starr, executive things are successful with an administrator. The deci- were so many good students Council may be able to director of the WPCOG. this candidate, then they sion was made partly in that they wanted to honor. announce a new town man- “They have now inter- should be able to make an hopes that advertising for “You see terrifi c kids all the ager within weeks. viewed their top candidates announcement in the next a town manager — a more time,” Coleman said. “It’s usu- After a closed session and have entered into couple of weeks.” popular position with well- ally a pretty hard decision for meeting Tuesday night negotiations with a favored After the previous town defined responsibilities them. They want to pick two or with representatives of the choice,” he said. “I’ve done administrator, Christopher under state law — would three of them, but you can only Western Piedmont Council this search process many Todd, resigned in July, attract better candidates. pick one.” of Governments, the town times. Sometimes the nego- the town council voted to council moved into what tiations work out with the amend the town charter SEE SAWMILLS/PAGE A5 SEE STUDENTS/PAGE A8 Visit us online at www.newstopicnews.com. OBITUARIES WEATHER INSIDE Lenoir Hudson TODAY Pansy Absher Jay Williams Astrology ................ B4 Clarence Co ey Rhodhiss Abby .........................A7 Charles Barbara Mundy Calendar .................A7 Roberts Sr. Classifieds .......... B5-6 PAGE A6 Comics ..................... B4 HIGH LOW Crossword .............. B4 Opinion ...................A4 95 66 Scoreboard ............ B2 1070 Taylorsville Road, Lenoir, NC PAGE A7 Stocks ......................A3 VOLUME 1,880 facebook.com/ 828-754-7979 CONTACT US thenewstopic NEWS: 8286108719 CLASSIFIEDS: 8286108220 @newstopic www.evansfuneralservice.com CIRCULATION: 8286108220 NEWS-TOPIC | www.newstopicnews.com THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 PAGE A5 The grant is tech- GRANT nically only for study- Former N.C. GOP head pleads ing and testing water FROM THE FRONT PAGE and soil on the prop- erties but, as Icen- because we spent all hour told the EPA, guilty to lying in bribery case our savings.” the soil at Guerra’s He’d been to the property couldn’t be BY TOM FOREMAN JR. agreed to recommend 2020 reelection cam- a motion last month he Caldwell Community properly tested for AND EMERY P. DALESIO a sentence “at the low paign, prosecutors said. was using his constitu- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS College and Techni- contaminants without end” of that range, along Hayes initially pro- tional free-speech rights removing the tanks. CHARLOTTE — with monetary penal- tested, saying that mov- to support Causey. Lind- cal Institute’s Small The former chairman ties, prosecutors said. ing so much money berg “simply sought a Business Center A few weeks ago, of North Carolina’s “Today was a big step would draw attention, fair and reasonable reg- before for classes, a large backhoe and Republican Party admit- forward. Robin looks but eventually relented ulatory examination by so Guerra turned to heavy equipment ted Wednesday that forward to completing during the conversation, a competent and neutral the center for help. were out at the prop- he broke the law by this process and mov- according to the indict- decision-maker” for his Director Ben Willis, erty uncovering the lying to federal agents ing ahead,” said Kearns ment. company, his lawyers who is also a Lenoir large, metal tanks about his role in an Davis, Hayes’ lawyer. “Whatever you all said. City Council mem- and hauling them alleged effort to bribe Hayes left the court- want to do, we’ll do,” Lindberg and two ber, was not hopeful. away. Again, Guer- the state’s top insur- house without speaking Hayes said, according to associates charged with “I was like, ‘This ra got lucky — the ance regulator to help a to reporters. the indictment. “Alright, conspiracy to commit is not good,’ ” Wil- tanks had no leaks, major GOP donor. In an indictment I’ll get ‘er done.” honest services wire lis said, then asked Willis said. Robin Hayes, 74, unsealed in April, pros- Causey, a Republican, fraud, bribery, and aiding Guerra, “Did you do “Most of the time pleaded guilty to mak- ecutors said Hayes reported the alleged and abetting are sched- due diligence?” there’s some leak- ing a false statement agreed to use the state bribe attempt to federal uled to go on trial as early Guerra had age — like 90% of the in August 2018 to FBI Republican Party as offi cials and for months as mid-November. bought the prop- time there’s some agents conducting the a conduit for filtering helped them gather evi- Hayes gave up erty for cash, and residue and they rust bribery investigation. $250,000 to state Insur- dence, prosecutors said. operational duties as at a price so much and they leak and Hayes, a former con- ance Commissioner Lindberg is an insur- chairman of the North lower than the tax you have to do these gressman, was initially Mike Causey’s reelec- ance and investment Carolina Republican value that he leaped monitoring wells, also charged with con- tion campaign. Prosecu- firm founder who has Party after the charges at the opportunity and it gets pricey,” spiracy and bribery. His tors said Hayes agreed been among the state’s became public.