Cary, NC – Recent vehicle break-ins have been solved thanks to the investigative efforts of the Town of Cary Police Department.

Derek Holland

Derek C. Holland, 23, of Cary, North Carolina, has been charged with one count Felony Larceny, four counts Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle and two counts Misdemeanor Larceny. He is being held at the Wake County Public Safety Center.

Holland was arrested for breaking into multiple vehicles on Halesworth Drive and on New Kent Place in Cary in December 2009 and January 2010.

Investigative efforts led to the identification of Holland and the recovery of some of the stolen property. These break-ins appear to be unrelated to the motor vehicle break-ins that occurred during the same time period at area hotels.

“Both instances of these motor vehicle larcenies involved unlocked vehicles, so we want to remind citizens that one of the best ways to prevent these crimes is to simply lock your vehicle doors,” said Pat Bazemore, Police Chief with the Town of Cary.

The Town of Cary Police Department encourages citizens with information on any crime to keep Cary safe and report it to Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers pays up to $2,500 for the arrest or indictment of those responsible for committing certain types of crimes. If you have information, contact Crime Stoppers at 226-CRIM(E) or contact Sgt. Randy Byrd at (919) 380-2133; you may also visit www.carycrimestoppers.net. All calls will be kept CONFIDENTIAL at caller’s request.

—————————————————————————————–

This week’s News is sponsored by FrantzForHouse.org.

Cary, NC – Lochmere Swim & Tennis (LSTC) announced this week that they had received a loan from Wachovia to allow them to open for the summer season.

This is great news for club members, residents of Lochmere and the kids who swim on the club team.

As reported earlier, this gives LSTC time to negotiate a transfer of ownership to the Lochmere Home Owners Association. While far from a done deal, the funds from Wachovia provide the means to run the club as usual this summer and find the best long-term solution.

From the LSTC website:

We just received word that Wachovia has agreed to our proposal to open the pool this year so the Lochmere Monsters will again be a force in the pool!!!! This is great news not just for us as members but the entire Lochmere community as we will continue to maintain the pool while the LHOA prepares for a resident vote to purchase LSTC.

Good to know that the sound of the lifeguard’s whistle will be heard again this summer at Lochmere.

Cary, NC – From the Police Newsfeed:  Citizens in the Cary Parkway and Waldo Rood Boulevard area of Cary are encouraged to be on alert for home burglaries.

On February 7, a citizen reported seeing an unidentifiable man in the crawlspace of his parents’ home.  On February 28, a resident reported a burglary in progress in the same area.  No one was hurt in the two incidents.

While the circumstances are similar, police do not know if these crimes are linked to the January burglaries in the Lochmere area of Cary that we reported on earlier in the year.

To help prevent these types of crimes, the Town of Cary Police Department reminds citizens to keep all doors locked at all times, including garage doors, exterior doors and car doors. Please be watchful of any suspicious or idling vehicles in residential areas, especially at night, and don’t hesitate to call police with suspicions.

For more crime prevention tips, see the Police Department section of www.townofcary.org or call (919) 469-4324.

CaryCitizen photo by Hal Goodtree.

L-->R Don Frantz, Harold Weinbrecht, Paul Wasylkevych and Jack Smith

Cary, NC – The Town of Cary’s outstanding volunteer for 2010 and recipient of the Herb C. Young Award is Paul Wasylkevych.

Wasylkevych and hundreds of other volunteers who give their time to town events, activities, boards and commissions, were honored Tuesday night at a banquet and celebration at the Herb C. Young Community Center.

More than 400 town volunteers were in attendance.

Wasylkevych has provided more than two decades of volunteer service to the town, according to parks, recreation and cultural arts director Mary Henderson, who made the announcement, as Mayor Harold Weinbrecht and councilmen Don Frantz and Jack Smith presented the honors.

“Our honoree was the first recipient of the Cultural Arts Award in 1997. He has served multiple terms with the Cultural Arts Committee and the board of directors for the Friends of the Page-Walker. He was last year’s co-chair of the Festivals Committee. He led the spruce-up of the White Plains Cemetery, coordinating the work of many other volunteers to provide stewardship for this historic resource,” Henderson told the crowd.

Wasylkevych said, after the announcement, “This is such a surprise and not deserved. It’s all of you, all of the volunteers I work with, who did this.”

Also recognized at Tuesday’s event:

DON SMITH AWARD – Rick Adamson

Adamson received the Don Smith Award, recognizing outstanding leadership, serving as a role model to children and promoting the Athletics Division philosophy of participation, skill development, sportsmanship and fun. Henderson said, “The coach being recognized tonight, received numerous nominations from parents and players who participated on his teams he has served as an assistant coach in girls softball and assistant and head coach in baseball. One parent writes, ‘WOW, what a coach! Words that come to mind include awesome, stupendous, knowledgeable, encouraging, respectful, leader, kind and fun.’”

DISTINGUISHED NEW COACH AWARD – David Buchanan

Buchanan received this award recognizing the contributions of a volunteer who has coached for less than five years. “This coach is all about the total team,” Henderson told the crowd. “Everyone plays, everyone improves, everyone enjoys the game. He leads by example, promoting friendship and respect among the team members. This coach insists that each player try their best and is very quick to give praise.”

CULTURAL ARTS AWARD – Rafael Osuba

The Cultural Arts divisions promotes literary, performing and visual artists by providing opportunities for enjoyment and development through a variety of activities. “Our (award recipient) has volunteered hundreds of hours and worked in conjunction with the cultural arts division to develop, organize and promote initiatives such as Ritmo Latino Festival at Bond Park, the Latino Arts in the School, the Latino Arts and Culture Summit, the Three Kings Day Parade and more,” Henderson told the audience.

PARTNER ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR – Cary Teen Council

This newly created award is given to the non-profit, school, club or organization that has partnered with the department to achieve its mission. “Our inaugural Partner Organization of the Year is the Cary Teen Council. The Cary Teen Council recently celebrated its 20^th anniversary. This group has now grown to over 500 middle and high school students who give of their time and talents. Over the past year alone, the teens volunteered over 10,000 hours, with 3,500 of those hours directly in support of parks and recreation activities throughout all areas of the department,” Henderson said.

EVENTS VOLUNTEER AWARD – Robin Jones

This new award honors the volunteer who helps the town produce special events throughout the year. Jones played an integral role in the inception of the Cary Community Tennis Association, that was later renamed the Western Wake Tennis Association. This organization was recognized this year by the USTA Southern Section, which includes nine states, as the Community Tennis Association of the Year,” Henderson said. “When Robin commits to a project, you can rest assured that it will be on time and always in a top-rate, first-class fashion.”

OUTSTANDING TEEN VOLUNTEER – Christine Nacewicz

Nacewicz has been a community volunteer for the past seven years, beginning as a 7^th grader. “She has accrued over 625 volunteer hours in activities such as Santa’s workshop, Breakfast with the Bunny, Lazy Daze, Safe n Sane and others. She has served as the teen representative to the Athletics Committee for four years and led the teens’ volunteer activities for Safety Town,” Henderson said.

SENIORS IMPACTING SENIORS AWARD -Bernie Kellog

Kellog was honored for his volunteerism in the SeniorNet program at the Cary Senior Center. “He created and taught the graphics class where students learned how to make Christmas and birthday cards, posters and other graphics, he created the classroom signs that explain the classes, he created an introductory presentation for the instructors, coaches and students, and he has served as the group’s Outreach Council coordinator to take the programs to retirement communities,” Henderson said.

PARKS & TRAILS AWARD – Mandy Astor

Teenager Mandy Astor began her experience serving as the middle school Teen Council’s representative on the Hemlock Bluffs board five years ago. “For a few of her specific contributions, she developed a scrapbook for the Friends, produced a Mother’s Day Event photographic exhibit showcasing a time line for the event’s 10^th anniversary, and made the Friends’ holiday ornament for the Cary Community Christmas Tree. Our recipient’s parents say that she has matured greatly because of her experiences volunteering and has increased her passion for nature and the outdoors,” Henderson said.

In his remarks to the audience, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht thanked the group of volunteers for all they contribute to the town. “By volunteering, you are a leader in this community,” he said. “We see you as eager, we see you as creative, we see you as spirited.”

Guest speaker Bill Leslie of WRAL-TV said that being a volunteer is a unique personal experience. “It’s kind of like being in a special club,” he said. “You have to be a part of it to really understand.”

Leslie told the volunteers, “You are, indeed, the lifeblood of this community.”

More than 800 volunteers were invited to the event this year.

Award winners from the 2010 Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department annual Volunteer Awards.

Morrisville, NC –  Since tips coming from the local press have been successful in helping the police, we will continue to post these feeds from the Town law enforcement.

In the early morning hours of February 15, unknown suspects broke the glass front door of Winston Joseph, LLC, 7000 Hospitality Court off of Airport Boulevard. Winston Joseph provides strategic consulting services in IT infrastructure, digital signage, wireless LAN and WAN, architectural and engineering solutions and break/fix maintenance. The company has offices in India, Belgium, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The thieves broke through the glass door, then passed five boxes out the smashed door. The boxes were reported to be unopened shipments of computers. As seen in this surveillance footage, suspects quickly fled the scene after committing the crime.

“We appreciate any assistance in identifying these people or any suspicious activity around the area during the time in question.” said Captain Mike Williams, Criminal Investigations with the Town of Cary.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers pays up to $2,000 for the arrest or indictment of those responsible for committing certain types of crimes. All calls will be kept CONFIDENTIAL at caller’s request. Simply contact Crime Stoppers at 226-CRIM(E) or call Sgt. Randy Byrd at (919) 380-2133; you can also visit http://www.crimestoppers.net/.

To help prevent these types of crimes, the Town of Cary Police Department reminds businesses to:

• Keep doors locked at all times
• Place panic alarms near the register and store room where they can be discreetly and safely activated
• Install alarm systems and surveillance equipment and be sure to keep it in good working condition
• Keep valuables in secure areas and out of plain view of shoppers
• Light the inside and outside of your business, especially around doors and windows
• Be watchful of any suspicious or idling vehicles
• Call the police with any suspicions

Cary, NC – In case you missed this on the Town of Cary website last week:

Just 10 days after releasing video surveillance to the public, the Town of Cary Police Department has arrested Bradley Lane Tucker, 28, of Stem, North Carolina in the case of a recent construction site larceny. Tucker has been charged with Felony Larceny and is being held at the Wake County Public Safety Center.  Additional charges are pending.

Tucker’s identification and arrest were prompted by a citizen who saw video surveillance and a photograph released by the Town. The video captured a gray pick-up truck leaving a construction site located near O’Kelly Chapel Road with a multi-purpose bucket loader.

“This case perfectly illustrates how essential it is to foster open communication between our citizens, our officers, and the media,” said Pat Bazemore, police chief with the Town of Cary. “With our Cary Crime Stoppers, we hope to continue this partnership as we keep Cary one of the safest communities in the nation.”

Citizen tip – it says so in the news release. We don’t know if they mean CaryCitizen, but thanks to all our readers anyway.

Morrisville, NC – Saltare lit up TVs across the nation on Thursday night with their latest performance on “America’s Best Dance Crew.”

The jump-robing team includes Tyler Perez and Brittany Fortier of Tri Force gym in Morrisville. Saltare is the first jump-rope team to compete on the dance show, demonstrating a unique combination of athleticism and hip hop.

The judges seem to like what they see. But, in this round, it’s the audience who will determine which teams move on in the competition.

Watch the entire episode online (Saltare’s performance comes at about minute 38:15 if you want to skip ahead).

VOTE FOR SALTARE

According to info on the Saltare Facebook page, you can vote for Saltare two ways:

Call 1-877-96-CREW-2 (1-877-962-7396)

Text 6 to 22444

Cary, NC – The U.S. Veteran’s Corp honored Colonel Hal Shook (Retired) as its Veteran of the Year at a luncheon at RallyPoint on Friday.

Col. Shook, 90, was a fighter pilot in WW II, Korea and Vietnam. He recalled providing close air support for ground forces during the invasion of Normandy in 1944. “Those are the guys who deserve the honor,” he said.

The USVC also chose Shook for his life outside the military. He is a well-known motivational speaker and the author of 3 books.

The Colonel seemed pleased to receive the award and there was some light-hearted inter-service banter. “I’m glad to be here with you characters,” said the Colonel.

MORE VET NEWS

USVC brings together veterans from from all the services with a mission to get “hands on.” The idea was born after “Operation Coming Home,” a special edition of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition that built a house for a vet in New Orleans. Local vets Andrew Ladner and Chris Lawson participated in the effort and decided to founded USVC.

John Byrnes of the Veteran Leadership Council of NC-Cares spoke about the plight of homeless vets in the Triangle. He estimated that there are over 1,000 homeless military veterans in the Triangle.

Particularly acute is the plight of homeless female vets with children. VLCNC-Cares has plans for a Veterans Life Center to provide emergency and transitional housing. It will also offer a mall of services, “one stop shopping,” for Veterans in need.

Congratulations to Colonel Shook, a legendary fighter* and a true gentleman. Send your veteran’s news to the Editor.

Hal and Marilyn Shook. CaryCitizen photos by Hal Goodtree.

* Col. Shook has also received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 19 Oak Leaf Clusters, a Presidential Unit Citation, the Belgian Croix de Guerre, the French Croix de Guerre with Palm, and the Legion of Merit.

He began flying in a Stearman PT-13B, an open-cockpit, two-seater biplane.

Meat

Cary, NC - Apparently our readers were interested in the opening of the Meat House in Saltbox Village.  It was one of the most viewed stories of the past 30 days.

So we feel compelled to let you know about the  Cary Chamber of Commerce’s hosting  of a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new local gourmet butcher shop.

Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, the Cary Town Council, and the Chamber Ambassadors and Board of Directors are slated to attend the event that will run from 5-7  pm on Thursday, February 18.

Learn more about this new addition to Cary, and sample some complimentary hors d’oeuvres from the store including The Meat House’s marinated steak tips.

Pothole on Mac Arthur Drive

Cary, NC – The NCDOT warns 2010 is a bad year for potholes and asks that drivers be observant while driving on roads throughout the state.

REPORT A POTHOLE – STATE ROADS

Officials with the State Department of Transportation want your help keeping our roads in reasonable shape during this frosty winter.

How do you report a pothole? Call (877) DOT-4-YOU. Please be specific about where the pothole is located.

REPORT A POTHOLE – CARY

If you are in Cary you can report Potholes and other damage to Public Works & Utilities at (919) 469-4090 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. or e-mail townofcary@townofcary.org. They may tell you that the road in question (particularly in outlying areas) is not a Cary Road, but in fact a County or State road. Potholes on State-maintained roads in Cary will be reported to the N.C. Department of Transportation.

EVEN MORE ABOUT POTHOLES

Potholes are common during the winter months when moisture seeps into cracks in pavement, freezes, expands and then thaws. This causes cracks to widen or asphalt to rise. Traffic then loosens the pavement, which eventually crumbles, creating a pothole. The department says the state has seen several of these freeze-thaw cycles this winter.

Extra crews have been assigned to respond to the large number of potholes occurring across the state. Since most asphalt plants are not operating during winter months crews will use “cold patch,” as well as spray patchers, to patch the holes as an interim treatment. “Cold patch” is a premix that NCDOT stockpiles for winter pothole response. Crews will perform permanent patches with hot mix when it is available.

With the mix of snow, ice, thawing and freezing that we have had this winter, the NCDOT will be especially busy this year. But if you do encounter rough roads, do not slam on your brakes. Instead, roll through at a slower speed. Always keep your tires properly inflated.