Midland News

Lowe's Motor Speedway, one of the top attractions in the area, is linked to the opening of many new hotels.

“Some people think we are only in it for the big businesses, but we are not”

Cabarrus business leaders discussed a lot of numbers Tuesday at the Cabarrus County Economic Development annual Stakeholders Summit. via Salisbury Post

“If you can count to four and know right from left, you can make lace”

The lace that launched a thousand stitchers. NEWS & OBSERVER FILE PHOTO Details Lace Day runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Gregg Museum of Art & Design, 3302 Talley Student Center, N.C. http://gad.ncsu.edu/ ... via News Observer

“You have a problem. You have to find a solution. That's where creativity and imagination is important.”

Jacqulyn Fike and her classmates at Northwest Cabarrus High School were among students from more than 20 schools competing in a robotics competition Tuesday at UNC Charlotte. via Independent Tribune

“I can tell you this is one of the most expensive cases we've ever had”

The cost to the state's indigent defense fund for two high-profile attorneys to defend Lisa Greene: about $350,000.

The salaries prosecutors were paid during the four months of hearings and testimony in Greene's murder trial: about $75,000.

The cost to the federal government to build and burn three models of Greene's house, to test the prosecution theory that she set fire to her Midland home to kill her children: around $50,000 each.

The final cost of convicting Greene: Who knows? Read more

“I fed my horses and went to pick up my wife in muddy boots. She asked me if I was going to clean up and I told her that I was going to see if they really meant it when they said to come as you are.”

There is no stained glass or fancy carpet.

In fact, for months, members of this church gathered on the packed dirt at a stockyard, patting their feet to the sound of bluegrass gospel music as the smell of manure, hay and diesel fuel wafted through the place.

If the setting doesn't tell you what kind of church this is, take a look at the pastor, Dewayne Waldrup. He's not wearing a dark suit and collar or a flowing robe. Nope, the whiskered Waldrup dons a black cowboy hat, jeans and cowboy boots and preaches a few feet away from a leather saddle. Read more

“This is an event that the athletes eagerly look forward to every year”

Cabarrus County

Man held in connection with shooting into home

KANNAPOLIS

A Kannapolis man has been arrested on charges of attempted murder and other offenses, authorities said Thursday. Bradford Howard Wyrick Sr., 50, of Wyrick Avenue was arrested Wednesday at 11 p.m. by Kannapolis police and the Rowan County Sheriff's Office.Kannapolis officials provided these details of the incident: On Jan. 29, someone shot into an occupied home at 1002 Barnhardt Ave., Kannapolis. No one was hurt. Officers found a weapon at a Kannapolis home Wednesday that they believe was involved in the shooting. Read more

The jury in the case where a mother from Midland, NC was convicted last week of setting her house on fire in 2006 and leaving her two children inside have returned to sentence Green. via Lincoln Tribune

A 6-year-old Midland boy was in surgery Wednesday after a Rottweiler bit him while his family visited a neighbor's house, authorities said.

Now authorities and residents are trying to track down the dog's owner.

The neighbors, who had the dog chained in their backyard, were asked to watch the 3- or 4-year-old pet. But they haven't heard from the owner in five months, said Capt. Phillip Patterson of the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office.

'They were trying to get rid of the dog because they couldn't get up with the owner,' he said. Read more

“While the adults were in the house, two children were playing the backyard”

A 6-year-old boy underwent surgery Wednesday night when he got too close to his neighbor's chained Rottweiler. via Salisbury Post

It's not uncommon to see worshippers wearing belt buckles and boots or ministers preaching in a barn at a cowboy church. via WTVM Columbus

Police searching for 3 men after robbery of credit union STATESVILLE Police are searching for three men who robbed the Federal Credit Union in Statesville about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday. via The Charlotte Observer

Investigators acknowledge they tricked Lisa Greene to get her to the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office after a house fire that killed her children two years ago.

A sheriff's deputy said Greene had to sign some forms to get her house back. But, according to one of the deputies involved, state and county authorities suspected Greene set the fire and wanted to see if they could get her to admit it.

After spending about five hours in an interview room, Greene signed a statement that prosecutors have described as a confession. Read more

“They have accomplished a great deal just by winning their school spelling bee”

There was no need for Sarah Ensley to harrumph into the microphone. She was the last student standing Thursday at the Cabarrus County Schools Annual Spelling Bee. via Independent Tribune

“They had gotten some money and Daniel wanted to take me out to eat He took me to Cici's Pizza.”

It was a day of differing testimony Friday as the prosecution rested its case against Lisa Greene and the defense began its case - calling Greene's mother, Norma Greene, to the stand. via Independent Tribune

About 200 balloons were released New Year's Day to honor murder victims throughout Cabarrus County.

Mothers of Murdered Offspring's Cabarrus chapter hosted the ceremony for the first time in downtown Concord and wants to make it an annual event.

'It's important to the let people and the victims' family know that even though their loved one is gone, they're not forgotten,' said Johnsie Tucker, the mother of murder victim Tara Chambers of Concord. 'They're still remembered in our hearts, and we still love them.' Read more

“This really is, in my estimation, the crux of the case”

Duke researchers find that chimps can perform addition DURHAM Researchers at Duke University have demonstrated that monkeys have the ability to perform mental addition, and that they performed about as well as ... via Charlotte.com

Defense attorney Lisa Dubs has yelled, wrung her hands and shaken her head while questioning prosecution witnesses during the murder trial of her client, Lisa Greene.

So a prosecutor took umbrage Friday when Dubs asked him to avoid having conversations in the courtroom that jurors could hear.

'I find it interesting Ms. Dubs would preach to anyone about how to behave in front of a jury,' N.C. Assistant Attorney General David Adinolfi said.

Lawyers for both sides have regularly taken shots at each other during the five weeks of testimony in Greene's trial. Greene, 42, is accused of intentionally setting a fire at her Midland home that killed her two children, Daniel Macemore, 10, and Addison Macemore, 8. Read more

“We looked for a candle. We looked for any residue of a candle, and we were unable to locate it”

Two children were trapped behind a closed door as their mother lit a fire outside their bedroom last year, a state arson investigator said Thursday. via WCNC-TV Charlotte

If you've spent any time in Sunday School, you've probably heard a sermon, or lesson, or devotion about 'the church.'

'The church,' we explain to the youngest children, is not really a building, but the people who inhabit it. It's a community of believers who come together for worship, fellowship and service.

I certainly believe all that is true, but I also think that a church building says an awful lot about the people who use it.

For example, a church with inviting and engaging spaces for children probably highly values their youngest attendees. A church with the finest of musical instruments is usually proud of its musical program. Read more