Residents on the North Carolina coast are bracing themselves for Hurricane Matthew, which is expected to move up the east coast and hit the Carolinas on Friday night, though gusty winds and rain bands could begin as early as Friday morning.
Governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency Monday night for 66 counties in central and eastern North Carolina. McCrory says the declaration will help farmers clear their fields of crops already impacted by heavy rain over the last two weeks. As part of the declaration, truck weight restrictions and hours of service are lifted, so farmers can take their harvest to market ahead of the storm.
Current forecasts are predicting rainfall amounts of three to five inches across much of the east with tropical storm force winds between 39 and 73 miles per hour extending nearly 200 miles from the center. With grounds already saturated from recent heavy rains, emergency officials are preparing for downed trees and power outages. A FEMA incident management team arrived on Monday to expedite any federal assets that may be needed to respond to the storm.
“While we do not yet know how Hurricane Matthew will impact North Carolina, we do know that we can expect some form of impacts on our state,” Governor McCrory said in a statement. “Already, we’ve seen substantial flooding in eastern and central parts of the state from recent rain events, and many areas are already saturated. We are taking this storm seriously, and I encourage residents and visitors do the same.”
After Pulling NC Games Over HB2, Atlantic Coast Conference Announces New Locations
The Atlantic Coast Conference has picked new sites for eight of the championships it pulled from North Carolina in response to House Bill Two. League officials say four of the championships will be moved to Georgia, three more are headed to South Carolina, and another is set for Kentucky. Last week, the ACC awarded this season’s football championship game to Orlando, Florida. Tuesday's announcement addresses every sport affected by the relocation decision except women’s basketball.
The league announced last month it would pull championship games from North Carolina, citing the ACC’s “commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination.”
“We believe North Carolina's House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values,” the league said in a statement, “and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year."
Funeral for 6-Year-Old Shot At Elementary School Will Be Held Wednesday Morning
Family and friends are gathering to remember a 6-year-boy who died after being shot at a South Carolina elementary school. A visitation for Jacob Hall is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Oakdale Baptist Church in Townville. The funeral is set for Wednesday morning at the church.
Prosecutor Chrissy Adams said Monday that because of Jacob’s death, an attempted murder charge has been upgraded to murder. Adams said a 14-year-old also faces five weapons possession counts and an attempted murder charge for a third child who was injured in the shooting last week. That child’s name has not been released.
The teen already was charged with wounding another student and a teacher September 28th. The teen also is charged as a juvenile with killing his father shortly before the school shooting.
