By Jason Saine

STAFF REPORTS - With the 2010 elections fast approaching, candidates began filing for office on Monday at the Board of Elections in Lincolnton.

With the scheduled trial of Sheriff Tim Daugherty on the docket, the candidates filings were a bit overshadowed.

With the dismissal of charges, Daugherty opted to take advantage of the opening day of filing and filled out the necessary paperwork to be a candidate for reelection.

Also filing on the Democrat ticket was former Lincolnton Police Chief Terry Burgin. Parole/Probation officer David Carpenter filed on the Republican ticket.

State Trooper Marc Walker, a Republican, is expected to file next week.

Entering the race for county commissioner was current school board member Carol Robinson and Darrell Gettys.

Gettys in speaking with the Tribune cited some of the leadership positions he has held in the past such as Lincolnton/Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Chair, Lincolnton Rotary Club Chair, Lincoln Medical Center Board Chair, and LEDA Board Chair as examples of his commitment to the community.

Photo: Darrell Gettys, accompanied by his wife Crystal, files to become a candidate for County Commissioner on Monday at the Board of Elections in Lincolnton.

By Michael Lowrey
Carolina Journal

RALEIGH — In a Dec. 22 decision, the N.C. Court of Appeals held that the state’s general ban on video poker is legal. In doing so, North Carolina’s second highest court ruled that federal law allows the state to grant the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians the exclusive right to operate video poker within the state.

State gambling regulations are complex because the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act grants Indian tribes the right to operate gaming operations on their land. Whether the state can outlaw video poker except on tribal land depends on the interplay between federal law, state law, and agreements between the state and Indian tribes covering their gaming operations.

by Jim Kouri


News of the death of 77-year old Congressman John Murtha, of Pennsylvania, on Monday garnered the usual coverage afforded a high-profile political leader by the news media and the Beltway elites.

Even Republicans fawned over his long record in the House of Representatives. For example, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said, "Every person who serves in the military has lost an advocate and a good friend. The House of Representatives has lost one of its own."

One can only wonder if Rep. Boehner recalls that Murtha publicly called U.S. Marines "cold-blooded murders" during the height of warfare in Iraq.

Profile America -- Tuesday, February 9th. The idea of awarding performers a gold record for a big selling performance dates back to this week in 1942. During a live radio broadcast, surprised band leader Glenn Miller was given the first gold record for his million selling hit, "Chattanooga Choo Choo." The award wasn't revived until 1958, for Perry Como's single "Catch a Falling Star." The first award for an album was the cast recording of the musical "Oklahoma." The best selling album of the 20th century, with over 26 million copies, was the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits(1971-1975)." Even with the increasing popularity of downloading music, Americans still spend over $8.5 billion a year on physical recordings, mostly CDs.

By Donna Martinez

RALEIGH — A Davie County Republican is urging fellow state lawmakers to stop wasting time and money on the state’s climate change commission and support energy policy he says will have a tangible impact on the state. Sen. Andrew Brock says the legislature should move to tap the massive natural gas reserve experts believe is sitting off the North Carolina coast.

“This whole thing was based on a false set of principles and false data,” says Brock, referencing e-mails leaked last year from the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. Climate-change activists have relied on East Anglia data to justify massive government intervention, including caps on greenhouse gas emissions and limits on fossil fuel consumption. “There’s no credible evidence that supports that all the production by mankind is affecting the global climate.”

The four-term conservative is a longtime critic of the N.C. Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change, created in 2005. He’s also a longtime supporter of offshore drilling.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha, an influential critic of the Iraq War whose congressional career was shadowed by questions about his ethics, died Monday. He was 77.

The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said.

In 1974 Murtha, then an officer in the Marine Reserves, became the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. One of Congress' most hawkish Democrats, he wielded considerable clout for two decades as the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending.

STANLEY – The Lake Norman Covekeepers recently announced a new location for their February, March and April meetings.

All interested residents of the Lake Norman area are welcome to attend these meetings.

Rusty Rozzelle, Water Quality Program Manager for Mecklenburg County, will address the topic, “Water, Water Everywhere,” providing an interesting look at the history of the Catawba River and some of the current threats and future challenges to river management and water quality.

LINCOLNTON, NC – In a bomb shell that has all of Lincoln County talking today at lunch, prosecutors dismissed charges against Lincoln County Sheriff Tim Daugherty this morning.

Daugherty was to go on trial today for two felony counts of obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor charge of making a false report to another officer.

Attorneys for the prosecution had asked for a continuance on Monday morning claiming that they had new evidence that just surfaced over the past few days.

The judge denied the motion at which point prosecutors in the case said they would have to dismiss the charges.

The State Bureau of Investigation reported Daugherty gave conflicting statements and evidence about learning his former chief deputy helped a local doctor avoid a DWI charge in 2007.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLN COUNTY - Candidates for Congress, Senate, N.C. House and Senate, Lincoln County Board of Commissioners, Register of Deeds, Clerk of Court, and other offices will begin registering today for the 2010 campaigns today. The filing period opens at noon and runs until noon on Friday, February 26th.

This year’s high profile races will include the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Richard Burr of Winston-Salem and the U.S. Congressional seat held by Republican Patrick McHenry.

There are a number of Republican candidates for County Commission expected to file during the period including current commissioner Jim Klein from eastern Lincoln County who is seeking reelection.

There are two seats on the board up for election this year and the race has also attracted several other Republicans who intend on filing including Darrell Gettys, Byron Sackett, Martin Oakes and Carl Robinson.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - A controversy that has engulfed the Lincoln County Sheriff, Tim Daugherty, will be one step closer to finality today when court proceedings get underway in Lincolnton.

Daugherty is facing obstruction of justice charges for allegedly interfering with a DWI arrest of a local doctor in February of 2007. The incident has already cost former chief deputy Barry Taylor his job and a conviction of misdemeanor obstruction of justice.

Toyota owners looking to trade in their cars have little reason to sing the carmaker's old ad slogan, "I love what you do for me — Toyota!"

Recalls and a bungled response to safety questions are putting a dent in the resale values of their cars. For years, Toyotas have been praised both for high quality and maintaining their worth. These days, the Toyota in your garage is no longer like money in the bank.

Some dealers are refusing to accept Toyotas for trade, while others are paying considerably less than they did just two week ago. Kelley Blue Book has dropped the value of recalled Toyotas by as much 3 percent. The auto research Web site Edmunds.com estimates resale or trade-in values could fall up to 10 percent in the short term.

By Rich Lowry

President Barack Obama is a budgetary Don Quixote, with Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag his enabling sidekick Sancho Panza.

Obama has donned his armor and picked up his lance to wage a thoroughly imaginary battle for fiscal restraint. He betrays not the slightest sign that his self-styled brave, tightfisted responsibility -- slaying wasteful programs and freezing spending all around him -- is all a dream.

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Your natural Arian leadership qualities make you the person others will follow in tackling that important project. But don't get so involved in the work that you neglect your personal life.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Aspects favor sorting through your possessions, both at work and at home, to start giving away what you don't use, don't need or don't like. Relax later with someone special.

Today is Monday, Feb. 8, the 39th day of 2010. There are 326 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 8, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.

On this date:

Profile America -- Monday, February 8th. The Boy Scouts of America was founded 100 years ago today in Washington, D.C., by William Boyce, based on the work in England of Sir Robert Baden-Powell. Today, there are more than 4 million members in its various divisions, including Cub Scouts. Since its founding, more than 110 million Americans have been members of the Boy Scouts. The organization operates traditional scouting locally through units sponsored and operated by churches, clubs, and civic organizations. Units are led entirely by volunteers. Across the U.S., nearly 62 million people volunteer their services to a wide range of organizations.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The following listing represents incident and arrest reports from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

This listing does not necessarily mean anyone at the listed address was accused of any crime, only that a report was made at that location. Also, it is advisable to understand that many people may have the same or similar names.

Local law enforcement asks that anyone with information about any of these incidents or to report a crime call CrimeStoppers at (704) 736-8909. CrimeStoppers allows you to remain anonymous and pays up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

Incident reports are brought to you by Helms Security, Inc. in Lincolnton. Follow update “tweets” on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/helmssecurity .

INCIDENTS
2010-00274
Damage to Property
Assigned: Officer Locklear
Location: 1441 Cloverleaf Lane
Victim: Carlos Perez
Suspect caused damage to vehicles
Date Reported: January 14, 2010
District A

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - On Feb. 4, 2010, deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office Traffic Enforcement and K9 Unit along with the Community Crimes Unit conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Rafael Rodriguez Torres travelling on US 321.

During the stop LCSO K9 Dogan alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. Subsequent to the K9 alert, deputies located and seized approx. 170 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $102,000.00.

Drew Brees grew up in Texas and started playing for pay in faraway San Diego. But he made New Orleans his home and its cause uniquely his own.

After 43 years of futility and one of the finest quarterbacking performances ever delivered in a Super Bowl, he made sure there's no need to ask "Who dat?" anymore.

Thanks to Brees, the answer to "Who dat say they gonna beat them Saints?" is: nobody.

The ultimate underdogs, they ain't. Not anymore. The Saints are Super Bowl champions now.

Who Dat? Try Drew Brees, Sean Payton and a team that has reversed its embarrassing past, carrying an entire city to the top with it.

Put away those paper bags forever.

Brees and the Saints rallied to upset Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday night in one of pro football's most thrilling title games.

Betty White plays football, babies talk about "milkaholics" and a house made of Bud Light cans falls slowly apart.

It must be the Super Bowl — or at least the advertising showcase that entertains amid the gridiron action.

Not every commercial was strictly humorous. Automaker Toyota aired several ads before and after the game to reassure worried owners after its recalls connected with accelerator problems.

Weekly Scripture is presented by Melany Dawn Crouse and is an expression of faith through photography.

by Wilson Casey

1. Is the book of Romans in the Old or New Testament or neither?

2. From II Chronicles 14, where was Abijah buried? City of David, Jerusalem, City of Gath, Nazareth

3. According to Numbers 33, how old was Aaron when he died? 100, 113, 123, 132