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Ex-Chatham sheriff denies accusations
[Mar. 8, 2005] Former Chatham County Sheriff Ike Gray said he wasn't upset that Dan Phillips took an informant to the FBI and was not involved in any way in the school system's controversy over racism at a high school. Gray took the stand in his defense Monday in a civil trial in which former deputy Dan Phillips is suing him for wrongfully firing him in January 2001, just a month and a half after Gray was appointed sheriff of Chatham County. Phillips claims that Gray fired him for being a whistle-blower in two controversial Chatham County events in 2000 and 2001. One was the theft of 5,000 pounds of marijuana that the sheriff's office had seized in a February 2000 raid. The other was allegations of racism at Chatham Central High School among students and Principal Buddy Fowler. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

2nd-graders learn scientific concept of matter
[Mar. 7, 2005] Second-graders don't learn just reading and math skills. Through simple experiments, the students begin to explore the world of science. They learn about controls, hypotheses and conclusions -- without really using those words. Then they experiment, watching as simple reactions happen before their eyes. "What have we been learning about?" Perry Harrison teacher Matthew Monette asked his students on a recent afternoon. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Club to talk environment with Chatham leaders
[Mar. 6, 2005] Chapel Hill - A local grassroots environmental group is taking Chatham leaders to TV this week, questioning them about how the county's rapid development will affect neighboring Orange County. Two Chatham commissioners and leaders of two slow-growth groups will meet with Sierra Club members Wednesday to discuss the traffic, air pollution and water problems they say will be paired with the growth. The discussion will air at 7:30 p.m. on public access television. It will be filmed live at the Chapel Hill Town Council chambers. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

James Lovingood charged in fatal hit-and-run
[Mar. 6, 2005] Authorities in Chatham County caught up with a man they say was intoxicated when he caused a fatal wreck Friday night near Pittsboro, then fled the scene. At 4 a.m. Saturday, authorities found suspect James Daniel Lovingood, 37, at his home at 921 Elmer Keck Road in Pittsboro. Lovingood faces seven charges, including accusations of driving while impaired, causing the wreck that killed Bonita Ray Cumbie, 53, of Pittsboro, having several open beer cans in his truck and fleeing the scene of an accident. Cumbie, of 415 Bowman Bare Road in Pittsboro, was driving home from a meeting for a cancer fund-raiser, friends said. She was heading north on N.C. 87 about 9:30 p.m. and had just passed the intersection of N.C. 87 and Chicken Bridge Road. That's when a 1974 Dodge truck driven by Lovingood came into a curve too fast and hit the front driver's side of Cumbie's Dodge Caravan head-on. Cumbie was pronounced dead and the driver of the truck, now overturned in a ditch, was nowhere to be found. By WEB RUN - N&O

32 vie for post as Chatham school superintendent
[Mar. 5, 2005] With 32 candidates competing for the position, the Chatham County school board is moving forward with its search for a new superintendent. The current head of the district's schools, Larry Mabe, plans to retire this June. The board is slated to interview a select group of the candidates during closed sessions this weekend. The board began searching for a superintendent last fall, soon after Mabe announced he planned to retire. Mabe has been superintendent of the Chatham system, which has 15 schools and 7,300 students, since 1994. He came to the district in 1974 as the principal of J.S. Waters School in Goldston. In 1979, he became the principal of Northwood High School, and in 1984, he moved to the central office. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Testimony paints harsh picture
[Mar. 5, 2005] Testimony in the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a former Chatham County sheriff's deputy painted a portrait of an organization that quashed dissent in the ranks and retaliated against those who spoke out against wrongdoing. Former Sgt. Dan Phillips is suing former Sheriff Ike Gray for wrongful termination. Phillips contends he was fired in 2001 for alerting the FBI about the theft of marijuana from the old county landfill. Phillips also contends he was fired because of his attempt to expose racism in the Chatham County schools. By WEB RUN - N&O

BOE chairman running for sheriff
[Mar. 4, 2005] Allan "Ziggy" Zimmerman, chairman of the Chatham County Board of Education, has announced that he will run for sheriff in 2006. The position is currently held by Richard Webster, who is serving in his first term. Zimmerman, of Goldston, was in law enforcement for 25 years and retired from the N.C. Highway Patrol. By WEB RUN - Sanford Herald

Problems must be dealt with
[Mar. 4, 2005] It's interesting to see that Lee County schools aren't the only ones in need of more buildings. The Chatham County Board of Education has shared its list of needs to county commissioners - to the tune of almost $90 million. And that's if the projects were to start today. The projected three-year escalated cost is more than $103 million. By WEB RUN - Sanford Herald

Ex-deputy denies drug theft
[Mar. 4, 2005] A former Chatham County chief deputy testified Thursday that he botched the handling of 5,000 pounds of marijuana evidence that was stolen from the department but said he did not swipe the drugs nor did he work to cover up the theft. About 4,000 pounds of marijuana were stolen from a surplus Army truck parked behind the sheriff's office. An additional 1,000 pounds was later taken from the landfill. The drugs, which had a street value of $5 million, had been seized in February 2000 during an undercover sting. In September 2000, Keck was in charge of the department's narcotics unit. He testified that he followed virtually none of the proper procedures for handling the drugs. His missteps included going to the landfill alone to bury the marijuana and not taking steps to destroy the drugs. By WEB RUN - N&O

Witness: Racist tape shouldn't have been released
[Mar. 4, 2005] A controversial tape recording of a Chatham County high school principal using racial epithets should never have been given to the sheriff's office because it was a confidential school personnel matter, according to the Board of Education member who brought the tape to the board. Ronald Collins, a member of the Chatham County school board, testified Friday during a civil lawsuit brought by former deputy Dan Phillips against former Chatham County Sheriff Ike Gray. Phillips claims Gray wrongfully fired him because he knew too much about racism at a high school and because he took an informant who knew about marijuana stolen from the sheriff's office to the FBI. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Amberly will increase Chatham tax base
[Mar. 4, 2005] Cary - Next month, developers will begin building the first houses in Amberly, a 1,000-acre community with three times as many homes as Chapel Hill's Southern Village and twice as many as planned for Chatham County's Briar Chapel. The development on the border of Chatham and Wake counties will have up to 5,000 homes. The Chatham County side, at nearly 520 acres, will include about 300 houses and the largest retirement community in North Carolina. When complete, Amberly could pump $2.65 million in property taxes into Chatham County annually. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Chatham could get juvenile detention facility
[Mar. 4, 2005] Siler City - Chatham could become one of five counties in the state to house a new type of juvenile detention facility that acts as a small, secured school with close ties to the surrounding community. The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is awaiting legislative approval for the centers, which would replace the state's five youth development centers. The first phase of the plan plunks 32-bed facilities into Chatham, Guilford, Edgecombe and Lenoir counties, and a 96-bed facility in Cabarrus County. The Chatham County Commissioners have agreed to donate 10 acres of land for the facility in Siler City, where U.S. 64 and U.S. 421 meet. The state-operated center in Chatham is expected to generate 62 jobs. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Tears flow at trial against ex-sheriff
[Mar. 4, 2005] Pittsboro - After former chief deputy Randy Keck tearfully apologized to the citizens of Chatham County about mistakes he said he made while in charge of 5,000 pounds of marijuana that had been stolen, a former detective in his unit took the stand Thursday and called him a liar. The two men testified during the civil lawsuit of Dan Phillips, who is suing former Chatham County Sheriff Ike Gray. Phillips, a former deputy under Gray, is suing Gray alleging that Gray wrongfully fired him Jan. 18, 2001, for being a whistleblower about racism in the school system and about marijuana that had been stolen from the landfill. By WEB RUN - Herald-Sun

Lawyers paint stark contrasts of ex-deputy
[Mar. 3, 2005] Opening arguments Tuesday in the wrongful termination lawsuit filed against a former Chatham County sheriff painted polar opposite pictures of the man who claims he was unjustly let go. Former Sgt. Dan Phillips' attorney, Al McSurely, told a Chatham County Superior Court jury that Phillips was a hero who sacrificed his career for the sake of making right the wrongdoing of school and sheriff's officials. McSurely said Phillips was fired as punishment for coming forward with the truth. But Mark A. Davis, former Sheriff Ike Gray's attorney, said the case is not about retaliation. He said Phillips was fired for insubordination, for being disrespectful to Gray and threatening him with a lawsuit. By WEB RUN - N&O