News – Moore County Edition

Dec

07

2022

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By Moore County Staff

Substantial reward offered for Moore County substation attack

NewsFBI, gov. Roy Cooper, Moore County, Power outage, vandalism

PINEHURST — Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that the state North Carolina, Duke Energy and Moore County are each offering monetary rewards of up to a total of $75,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the destruction of two utility substations in Moore County. The state is providing up to $25,000 while Duke Energy and Moore County are also each offering rewards up to $25,000. “An attack on our critical infrastructure will not be tolerated,” said Cooper. “I appreciate the coordinated efforts of law enforcement to leave no stone unturned in finding…

Dec

07

2022

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By Matt Mercer

Moore County suffers stunning attack on power grid

NewsMoore County, power grid, Power outage, power station, vandalism

PINEHURST — On Saturday, Dec. 3, Moore County suffered an attack on two substations that left over 40,000 residents and businesses in the dark. Just after 7 p.m., several different communities across Moore County began experiencing power outages. As utility companies began responding to the different substations, evidence was discovered that indicated that intentional vandalism had occurred at multiple sites. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said at a Sunday news conference in Carthage that authorities have not determined a motivation. The sheriff said it appeared the culprits pulled up and “opened fire on the substation, the same thing with the…

Dec

07

2022

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By A.P. Dillon

Under new management: Moore County Schools swears in new board members

NewsEducation, Moore County Schools, new board members

SEAGROVE — Moore County Public Schools installed three new school board members at a ceremony held at Westmoore Elementary held on Dec. 5. The full event can be viewed on the district’s YouTube channel. The new additions were touted on the district’s holiday parade float, which carried a banner that read “under new management.” A total of 83 school boards had elections this year in the state, with 41 of them being partisan races. Republicans swept all seats in 21 of those 41 races, while Democrats only swept three. Moore’s school board races were nonpartisan; however, the new members are all Republicans…

Dec

05

2022

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By Moore County Staff

Many in Moore County remain without power as Duke, REMC work to replace damages infrastructure

Business, Government, NewsDuke Power, Mass Power Outage, Randolph Electric, Southern Pines

PINEHURST — Nearly half the over 2,700 Randolph Electric customers affected by the weekend damage to Moore County's power grid have regained power and Duke Energy crews have restored power to nearly 7,000 customers since Sunday night. As of Monday, approximately 38,000 Duke customers in the area remain without power – down from 45,000. Randolph EMC said in a release that the Moore County outage has affected 2,768 members and co-op has restored power to 1,276 total members at various times and for a limited duration. Randolph EMC has implemented a rotating restoration process for parts of the outage area.…

Dec

04

2022

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By Moore County Staff

Power still out across Moore County, state of emergency declared

Newsgov. Roy Cooper, Moore County, Power outage, Richard Hudson, Ronnie Fields

PINEHURST— Power remains out for over 35,000 Moore County residents following a suspected criminal attack on Duke Energy substations on Saturday, Dec. 3. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields announced at a Sunday press conference that multiple law enforcement agencies including the SBI and FBI were investigating the acts. Fields indicated that law enforcement has not determined a motivation. He said someone pulled up and "opened fire on the substation, the same thing with the other one," at the press conference. "No group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept that they're the ones that done it," Fields said, adding "we're looking…

Dec

04

2022

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By Moore County Staff

Moore power outage being investigated as criminal occurrence

NewsMoore County, Power outage, Ronnie Fields

PINEHURST — The Moore County Sheriff's Office is investigating a mass power outage across the county as a criminal occurrence, the department said on Saturday night. Just after 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, several different communities across Moore County began experiencing power outages. The department said as utility companies began responding to the different substations, evidence was discovered that indicated that intentional vandalism had occurred at multiple sites. Moore County Sheriff’s Deputies and various other law enforcement agencies within the county responded to the different areas and are providing further site security, according to Sheriff Ronnie Fields in a statement.…

Nov

30

2022

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By Ryan Henkel, North State Journal

Southern Pines council grants zoning exemption for existing mural

Newsmoore county government, Southern Pines Council, zoning exemption

SOUTHERN PINES — The Southern Pines Town Council met Tuesday, November 15, where they granted a zoning exemption for an existing mural and clarified sections of its UDO. The first action that the council took was to approve a zoning exemption for public art at 1012 N. May St. “The mural in tonight’s request is titled ‘Ode to the Pines,’” said Director of the Arts Council of Moore County Chris Dunn. “It depicts two scenes in Southern Pines. One is the downtown train depot, and the other one is a fox hunting scene. It was created by the Pinecrest High…

Nov

30

2022

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By Ryan Henkel, North State Journal

Aberdeen Town Board approves change to UDO for Wholesale businesses in certain districts

NewsAberdeen Town Board, department of transportation, wholesale businesses

ABERDEEN — The Aberdeen Town Board met Monday, where they approved a change to the UDO and sold property to the Department of Transportation. The board held a public hearing for a proposed text amendment to the UDO Principal Use Table to designate “Wholesale, Major” and “Wholesale, Minor” Use Types as a Permitted By-Right within the Light Industrial District, with additional Use Standards. “The proposed amendment from SiteOne Landscape Supply is asking to add Wholesale, Major and Wholesale, Minor Use Types to the LI District and amend the Use Classification of those to allow the sale of toxic chemicals or…

Nov

22

2022

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By A.P. Dillon

Former teacher claims hostile work environment under Moore middle principal

NewsMoore County Schools, moore middle school, work enviroment

RALEIGH — A former Moore County Public Schools teacher claims the principal of Crain’s Creek Middle School is responsible for creating a hostile work environment, particularly when it comes to student discipline issues. The claim comes on the heels of over a dozen student fights caught on video, threats of mass violence by students attending the school, and complaints by families of students who were injured during an assault by another student. Crain’s Creek Middle School’s principal is Melonie Jones. She took over as principal of the school in July 2018. Jones is currently making $8,490 a month, or around…

Nov

22

2022

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By Associated Press

N. Carolina Rep. Hudson named to lead House campaign arm

Newscongress, Richard Hudson, us house of representatives

RALEIGH — Veteran U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina was elected Tuesday by fellow House Republicans as leader of their campaign and fundraising arm to help get GOP candidates elected to the chamber. Hudson was unopposed in running to become the next National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, picked by new and returning colleagues meeting in Washington. He succeeds Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who on Tuesday was elected the House GOP caucus whip. Hudson joined the House in 2013 and got reelected last week, winning the state’s new 9th Congressional District seat. With Republicans on the cusp of majority control…