On Thursday night, nearly 50 students were recognized for consistently doing the right thing at the ninth annual YMCA Teen Character Awards.

"The nomination is a recognition of achievement itself," said Drew Daniels, a history teacher at Hickory High School, and the school system's teacher of the year. "I'm glad the YMCA recognizes character."

He told the 44 nominees that maintaining outstanding good character as a teen is very difficult.

"Sometimes you'll feel your character's been overlooked entirely," he said. "Those closest to you have said they believe in you. We need you to make the world a better place."

One of the people who will do that is Marcus Byrd. A St. Stephens High senior, Byrd is this year's winner of the Gary and Mary Hogue Scholarship. The $500 scholarship is awarded to one senior each year who demonstrates the four values of the YMCA: caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

Byrd is on the school's football team. During the game against Newton-Conover High School, one of his teammates broke his leg. Byrd went to the hospital with someone else on the team and stayed with his injured teammate the entire night. The next morning, Byrd dropped his teammate off at his house, then went to church to play his saxophone in services, and to his job that afternoon, all on very little sleep.

"I was so surprised and overwhelmed," Byrd said when he heard his name called. "I thought there were others who have done so much more than me."

In addition to being involved in marching band, jazz band and football, Byrd also volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and has logged community service hours with Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Key Club and National Beta Club. In October, he coordinated a haunted house for children who are waiting to be adopted.

Byrd said his mother, who raised his sisters and himself while attending night school as a single mom, and his stepfather, who has taught him how to get ahead in the world without stepping on anyone he passes along the way, are his inspirations.

Although Byrd wants to go to college in the fall for architecture or exercise science, he still wants to volunteer in his community.

"Working in the community is something I will continue to do because empowering others is the key to building strong people," he said.

In addition to Byrd, there were 13 other winners of the Teen Character Awards. Like the recipient of the Gary and Mary Hogue Scholarship, winners of the Teen Character Award must demonstrate each facet of the YMCA's core values.

The junior varsity winners, who are in middle school, are Savannah Apple, Cole del Charco, Ali Miller and Cassie Mumford.

The varsity winners, who are all in high school, are Carson Binns, Benny Bradshaw, Kendall Hamm, Emily Annette Johnson, Mason Lehman, Margaret Locke, Melissa Noah, Lacy Peterson and Taylor Pisel.

Phil DiCasolo, the president and CEO of YMCA of Catawba Valley, addressed all of the nominees at the award ceremony Thursday.

"The path you've chosen is the difficult path," he said. "To continue to make the right choices when no one is watching is difficult."

He expressed confidence in each of them, stating they had a room full of support, and had already made good choices.

When an 83-year-old resident heard his name called and a knock on his front door, he went to find out who it was. When he did, two men forced their way into his home, said Maj. Clyde Deal of the Hickory Police Department.

Once inside, the men forced the man and his 80-year-old wife to sit at their kitchen table and took an undisclosed amount of money from them before leaving the home by the back door.

The suspects are described as two young black males in their mid-20s with short hair. They were wearing blue jeans at the time of the robbery, Deal said.

One of the suspects brandished a handgun during the robbery, but no one was injured, Deal said.
The incident is under investigation.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the suspects is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at 328-5551.

For safety reasons, county policy is that Riverbend Park, located off N.C. 16 North at the Catawba River in Catawba County, is closed when the floodgates are open at the dam, county spokesman Dave Hardin said in a press release.

Catawba County Parks staff members are hopeful Riverbend Park will reopen today, he said.

The department's goal is to hold a light rescue certification during 2010, and the 2009 Pierce Custom Cab Contender will be able to accommodate the extrication, medical and stabilization equipment needed for traffic accidents.

The new truck went into service on Nov. 1 after the firefighters spent a month training on the vehicle.

It cost about $420,000 and replaced the department's 1996 truck, said Chief Shawn Greene.

The truck was paid for from the fire district tax, and the department has budgeted for it for the last six years.

"We've never been big fans of credit purchases," Greene said.

The new truck will be the primary responder for all traffic accidents and rescue calls. It will serve as the secondary vehicle to all structure responses.

The truck was built in Bradenton, Fla., and its custom cab allows four firefighter, rescue or EMT personnel to ride out on calls.

Randolph said the members of St. Stephens Fire Department are excited about the new truck and the service it will provide the St. Stephens community.

A Norfolk Southern train headed westbound clipped her car about 1:30 p.m.

"It just caught the tail light section and pulled it right off," said Capt. Gary Lee of the Hickory Police Department.

Reinhardt, 21, was in town to appear in court on charges of speeding and driving while license revoked.

The impact caused $1,000 in damage to the car, which is owned by Davashia Demar Woods of Maiden.

Lee said it's common for people to park in the gravel near the tracks, but this is the first time he's heard of a train hitting a parked car in Hickory in his 23 years with the department.

The area where Reinhardt was parked belongs to Norfolk Southern. She was charged with trespassing on railroad property for parking there, he said. There is no line of demarcation between the parking lot and the railroad's property. It is not marked or fenced off.

"People should park on the pavement, not the gravel," Lee said.

Reinhardt is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 19 on her most recent charges.

University Christian High School offers a highly-academic, Christian alternative to public high school. Students at UCHS enjoy high academic standards, state-licensed teachers, superior facilities and a partnership with Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Principal Bill Unverfehrt will make a presentation of the current academic and student life, upcoming events and plans for the future. Although specifically geared to students entering ninth or 10th grade in 2010, everyone is welcome. Another presentation will be given on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. at the UCHS campus at 215 Fifth Ave., SE, in Conover.

2. Footcandle Film Society screens "The Hurt Locker:" An elite team of soldiers in Iraq faces a deadly game of urban combat.
Location: Carolina theater, 222 First Ave., NW, Hickory
Cost: Free for members, $5 for nonmembers
Time/Day: 7 tonight

3. Wine tasting: You are toast. Take a world tour of wines with Heather Nelson of Tryon Distributors as your guide. You'll also get a chance to taste domestic varieties.
Location: Hickory Community Theatre's Firemen's Kitchen, 30 Third St., NW
Cost: $12
Time/Day: 6:30 p.m. Monday

FOR FAMILIES
1. Judson Hurd on piano: Here's the key to a classic night. Top-selling pianist Judson Hurd comes to Hickory for a performance on his Seasons of Giving Tour. He will donate part of the money from the show to the Make A Wish Foundation. Listen to samples at judsonhurd.com.
Location: Heavenly Flow coffee shop, 2010 Clement Blvd., NW (beside L.P. Frans Stadium)
Cost: $4 in advance (at 308-5283) and $5 at the door
Time/Day: Doors open at 7 p.m. Friday

2. Art museum show and tell: There's heavy metal at the art museum. Conservators will talk about how to care for metal objects. You're welcome to bring your own pieces for advice.
Location: Hickory Museum of Art, 243 Third Ave., NE
Cost: Free
Time/Day: 2:30 p.m. Sunday

Five people were traveling in a Suzuki Aero when it ran the red light on N.C. 10 eastbound and was crushed by an oncoming semi headed south on N.C. 16 about 11:45 a.m., said the investigating officer, Trooper S.R. Lineberger.

The impact killed driver Joyce White, 56, and passengers Ruby Leatherman, 66, and Cody Storey, 11, Lineberger said.

Isaiah Trivette, 10, and Tyler Trivette, 12, were transported to Catawba Valley Medical Center, where they were listed in critical condition at press time.

Paul Brown, 63, of Gastonia, was at the wheel of the Hagan Kennington Oil Co. truck. He was transported to Catawba Valley Medical Center.

The jackknifed truck, which was transporting 55-gallon drums of oil, rested atop N.C. 16's concrete median just south of the N.C. 10 intersection.

More than 15 emergency vehicles with lights responded to the scene. A cold, steady rain fell as state troopers worked amid the wreckage and groceries strewn across the road as they took the measurements necessary to reconstruct the accident.

It was unclear if the weather contributed to the accident, Lineberger said.

The traffic signals at the intersection were flashing yellow for vehicles on N.C. 16 and red for those on N.C. 10 as emergency crews worked to clear the scene.

Lineberger said a power outage in the area Wednesday morning had caused the signals to reset and flash. He said the signals were flashing at the time of the accident.

Tomatoes, cans of biscuits, sliced cheese and other groceries surrounded the red Suzuki Aero behind the blue tarp erected to shield the victims from onlookers.

The preliminary investigation suggests that the occupants of the Suzuki were returning home after a shopping trip to Honey's IGA supermarket in Newton.

Ken Carpenter of the Newton Fire Department said the accident and the deaths had been hard on his fellow firefighters.

"Any time there are children involved, it makes it a lot more serious," he said. "It makes you want to call home."

N.C. 16 was closed and traffic was rerouted from about 11:45 a.m. until about 3:30 p.m.

A program that turns old cell phones into prepaid phone cards is racking up millions of minutes to distribute to GIs far away from their loved ones.

Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home in Newton is the local starting point for getting used cell phones into the global network that connects soldiers and their families.

"We're members of Veterans and Family Memorial Care," said Duane Alexander, advance funeral planning manager for Willis-Reynolds.

"We became involved in the cell phone project through them. It's good we can help soldiers call home from overseas."

Good indeed. Willis-Reynolds just completed its second round of collecting old cell phones. Alexander said the funeral home has a couple of hundred phones that will be turned into minutes for the soldiers.

Here's how the system works:

The old phones are sent to the nonprofit Cell Phones for Soldiers, the brainchild of two teenagers from Massachusetts who wanted to help troops stationed abroad.

That organization sells the phones to ReCellular, a company that specializes in refurbishing cell phones and repurposing key component parts.

All the money earned from sales to ReCellular is used to buy prepaid cell phone minutes.

Cell Phones for Soldiers manages the distribution of minutes to the troops.

In the last quarter, 4,000 cell phones were sold to ReCellular. The minutes for the troops now total 250 million.

That's a lot of calls back home.

Alexander said Willis-Reynolds staff feels fortunate for the opportunity to contribute to the program.

"Only one funeral home per county is a member of Veterans and Family Memorial Care," he said, "and that allows us to be involved in all kinds of things for the troops and veterans."

The funeral home works with the VFW and American Legions arranging military honors for funerals, besides collecting cell phones and serving families of veterans.

One thing that excites Alexander is Willis-Reynolds' involvement with the National Veterans History Archival Institute.

Among the nonprofit organization's goals is the acquisition of video archives of veterans. Alexander is in charge of videography for the institute at Willis-Reynolds.

"We make videos of the veterans telling their stories and recounting their military experiences," Alexander said.

"The institute sees that one copy goes to the veteran's family and another copy is given to the Library of Congress."

The Library of Congress plans to permanently maintain the videos.

The institute is also a repository for veterans' written recollections.

The archives are not limited to living veterans. Families of deceased veterans can share memorabilia to preserve the legacy of those who served in the military.

"It's an honor to be able to help our troops and contribute to the archives," Alexander said.

"We'll be collecting more cell phones, and we're establishing a routine where veterans and their families can make appointments for the video archive.

"Our troops deserve our support and the stories and service records of our veterans must not be lost," Alexander said.

Meanwhile, expect a lot of holiday cheer to be exchanged with those millions of cell phone minutes for the troops.

"Two hundred and fifty million minutes," Alexander said. "That's amazing."

The rate for the 2008-09 year was 77 percent, down from 81 percent the previous year.

"We want to get it back up to where it should be," Campbell said. "We want to increase it from 77 percent to 85 percent or higher. It won't be easy but it's doable. We have such a low dropout rate to start with, so that helps us."

The high school also hopes to increase the proficiency in its end-of-course exams in English I, Algebra I, physical science, civics and economics and U.S. history, so they top 70 percent.

The school scored above that in Algebra II, geometry, biology and the 10th-grade writing test, with geometry at 89 percent. Campbell wants to see continued improvement in those areas. The school scored 100 percent on physics.

To boost student achievement, Campbell wants to increase parental contact and involvement at the school.

"I hope to improve student achievement by decreasing the number of students with six or more absences by 25 percent and increasing the number of extracurriculars students are involved in," Campbell said. "If they're doing something outside the classroom, the students feel more connected to the school, and their achievement in school will be enhanced."

In the core subjects — English, math, social studies and science, the school offers students extra help during the day. Guidance counselors also meet with at-risk students.

Every two weeks, staff participates in professional learning community meetings, which Campbell said has helped develop new strategies to decrease the achievement gap.

The school is identifying students at-risk of not achieving proficient scores on their EOCs and offering two hours of remediation specifically for them each week. Prior to the EOCs, the school also will have a fifth block for the students, which will be used for review, Campbell said.

He also hopes the school will increase the number of students who take college-level classes through the Advanced Placement program as well as the number of students who score a 3, 4 or 5 on the final exams.

The organization, which brings together area service organizations to assist the most families possible and avoid doubling up on Christmas help, will hold the Christmas Bureau distribution at the American Legion Fairgrounds on Dec. 14 and 15. Families get two new toys for each child, a stocking if enough are available, clothing if it is available in the right size, coats while supplies last and grocery store vouchers for food.

Families chosen for the program meet low-income and expense guidelines set by participating agencies, which include The Salvation Army, The United Way, Christian ministries and others.

Area givers can help in a number of ways.

Donate a coat. Many Catawba County dry cleaners collect and clean coats for families who might go cold otherwise. Collection goes on through the first week of December.

Pick up an angel from a local Angel Tree and provide Christmas gifts for a child ages 12 and younger. If you can't find an Angel Tree, go online to www.jcp.com/angel to pick a child from your area.

Donate to the Teen Christmas program. Gifts or checks designated for Teen Christmas can be dropped off at the United Way, Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry or Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry. For more information, call Sylvia Long at 327-6851.

Give a bike. Families eligible for help from the Christmas Bureau draw for chances to get refurbished bikes every year. Call Hickory Fire Department at 323-7523 for more information.

"Adopt" a family. The United Way can provide the specific needs of a Christmas-Bureau-approved family for church or community groups, or anyone interested in helping. Adopted families don't go to distribution day at the fairgrounds to pick out toys and clothes. Instead, the United Way delivers their gifts. Groups can ask for a family in a specific area or with a specific need.

Contribute to Toys for Tots. As the holiday gets closer, drop-off points will be listed on the Web site www.toysfortots.org. Click on Toy Drop-Offs and follow the directions to find Hickory-area sites. There's also a spot to make donations online.

Volunteer to help shepherd parents through the Christmas Bureau toy shop on Dec. 14 and 15. The need is especially high for bilingual volunteers. It takes about 200 people to guide parents and restock throughout the day. Volunteers can work in shifts. They don't have to devote the whole day to the work. The United Way asks for volunteers who are high school age or older to help out on distribution day. Call Cheryl Abee at 324-4357 to offer time.

Volunteer to set up for Christmas Bureau distribution. "It takes a lot of strong backs," said Maj. Melody Davis of The Salvation Army. Workers will put up tables, hang clothes, stuff stockings and do other prep work Dec. 7 through Dec. 12. Volunteers can work in shifts. The Salvation Army prefers adults and supervised teens for the work. Call 322-8061 for more information.

Give to The Salvation Army bell-ringer. Last year, agencies including The Salvation Army spent an estimated $120,000 providing clothing, stockings, food and other Christmas gifts to families in need, said Maj. Ken Davis. The money that goes into the red kettles helps cover that cost.

On Monday, a Catawba County grand jury indicted Patrick Smith on two counts of felony obtaining property by false pretense.

Smith, who resigned from Cargo Consolidation Services Inc. in August, was arrested by Claremont police and given a $5,000 unsecured bond. His first court date on the charges is Friday.

Smith already was charged with one count of felony obtaining property by false pretense.

Capt. Gary Bost of the Claremont Police Department said the charges against Smith stem from his receipt of more than $22,000 from companies that were doing business with Cargo Consolidation Services, a provider of freight consolidation, third-party logistics and support services to the furniture industry.

Smith worked for the company for 20 years before joining Worldwide Logistics, a specialized furniture carrier formed last year with the merger of six furniture transportation companies. He is vice president of sales and marketing at Worldwide Logistics.

Jason White, an attorney representing Smith, said the businessman will plead not guilty.

In an earlier conversation with the Hickory Daily Record, Smith denied any wrongdoing.

He said the payments being questioned were commission-type arrangements that "did not affect the revenue stream" of Cargo Consolidation Services.

John Pope, Cargo Consolidation Services chairman, said Smith's compensation package was a fixed salary with a year-end bonus and no commissions allowed.

Ownership was unaware that suppliers were being asked to make payments to Smith and would never have condoned such a practice, Pope said.

Pope said Cargo Consolidation Services became aware of the unauthorized payments to Smith after he left the company.

Smith is a past president of the American Home Furnishings Alliance suppliers division, and has been active on the Furniture Foundation board of directors, the Specialized Furniture Carriers Association and the National Home Furnishings Association.

"We wanted to honor the veterans," said Sydney Hall, co-president of the school's student council, which hosted the event. "We let everyone in the community know by sending flyers home with the kids."

About 50 veterans, many of whom were related to students at the school, showed up. Some attended Sherrills Ford Elementary when students could still attend through 12th grade.

Emilio Torres, the other co-president for the student council, called the veterans "ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things."

Richard Lynch, who served in the Air Force Strategic Air Command from 1953 to 1957, was one of them.

"A friend said he knew my name was on the list to be drafted to Korea," Lynch said. "I signed up for the Air Force because I figured that would be better than being drafted into the Army."

He went to school from noon to 6 p.m. for 54 weeks, training to do countermeasures and radar reconnaissance aboard a B-36 peacemaker bomber.

"I was in school more hours training for it than I was during four years of classroom instruction in college," Lynch said. "But those planes were great. Wingtip to wingtip, it would cover a football field."

After serving in the Air Force, Lynch used the GI Bill to earn his liberal arts degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ken Reavis also enlisted in the military, joining the Marines in 1966.

"A few uncles were in the Marines, and they didn't discourage me from it. I didn't think it could be that bad," he said. "It was something to do. My brother enlisted in the Navy at the same time, and I figured I would one-up him."

Reavis served in the Marines until 1970. Although his brother was sent to Vietnam twice, Reavis spent his time serving in California.

"Two weeks before I was to get out, I got orders to go to Vietnam, but it was too late then," he said. "I was a sergeant at the time, an E-5, and I could refuse one set of orders. I refused those."

Reavis, who has worked in construction since leaving the military, came to Sherrills Ford Elementary's event on Tuesday from Yancey County, where he lives, because his grandson asked him.

Tom Bone came with his daughter, Jodi Bone-Hudson, to be with his granddaughter. Tara is in second grade at Sherrills Ford Elementary. She stuck close to her grandfather during the Veterans Day celebration, leaving only to get breakfast.

Bone began serving in the Army in the 1950s, retiring in 1976. Although he served in Vietnam for two years, he prefers to talk about his time serving in the Honor Guard Company at Arlington National Cemetery.

To be in the Honor Guard Company, soldiers must volunteer for the assignment, then try out and be selected.

"There are different teams," Bone said. "Each team worked 24 hour shifts, from 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. Then you had two days off before you returned."

When he served, soldiers worked on four-man teams with a relief commander. Each one would guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for an hour at a time before the changing of the guard. Now, there are more people on a team.

Bone-Hudson remembers watching her father at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

"I sat on the steps at Arlington and watched my dad go back and forth in his sunglasses, and I tried to get his attention, but he wouldn't budge," she said, adding that she was in first grade at the time.

Bone-Hudson treasures a photo of her dad handing a wreath to President John F. Kennedy to place on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Bone also served in Germany while in the military.

"It was a good life. I enjoyed serving," he said.

The victim crossed the street and called 911 from his friends' home. He had blood on his clothing and, when police arrived, he told officers that he thought he'd been shot in the head, according to police.

The incident took place about 11:30 p.m. Monday night when a black male knocked on the side door of the man's modest home in the 1100 block of 13th Avenue, NE, and asked to use the phone. When the resident opened the door, his late-night visitor and three masked men forced their way into the home.

The victim told officers he did not know the men. According to the report, he was vague about the incident and was unable to describe the men who had ransacked his house upstairs and down.

During the attempted robbery, one of the men fired a gun, the man told police. The bullet grazed the victim's head and fragmented when it hit the floor, according to the police report.

He was treated at Frye Regional Medical Center. According to police, it took seven staples to close his wound.

Assuming her title and most of her duties is David Stegall, who has worked at Newton-Conover City Schools.

Stegall currently serves as the director of elementary curriculum, ESL (English as a second language) and AIG (academically and intellectually gifted). He joined the school system from Iredell-Statesville Schools in July 2007.

Barry Redmond, superintendent of Newton-Conover City Schools, said Stegall was selected for the position because he has proven himself with his consistent good work.

Stegall will assume most of Sigmon's duties, although a few will go to other people, Redmond said.

Overall, the school system's central office leadership will be reduced by one person with Sigmon's retirement.

Stegall's contract will be approved at the board of education's work session Dec. 2.

Sigmon worked as associate superintendent for Newton-Conover City Schools for 12 years. Redmond said she was known for her integrity and honor, and her love of children.

Sigmon helped implement AVID, the Newton-Conover Health Science High School and Gear Up.

The new middle school will be built at 873 Northern Drive in northwest Conover. Based off the design of Northview and Grandview middle schools in the Hickory Public Schools system, Newton-Conover City Schools is hoping their school will achieve platinum level in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System, the highest level possible, said Tom Balke, the principal architect with Little Diversified Architects.

The certification covers the design, construction and execution of a building. There are categories for every aspect of a building, with a point value assigned for each of the green criteria a builder includes in the design. After a building is constructed, it is certified by a third party to determine if it meets all the criteria of a LEED building.

Green elements to be incorporated into the school include maximization of open space, the type of roof used, reduced light pollution, protected habitat, water-efficient landscaping, minimum energy use and on-site renewable energy.

The building, which is estimated to cost $21 million, will hold 800 students or up to 950 with a six-classroom addition.

The school is designed to have student drop-off in the front of the school and bus parking in the rear.

There will be football, softball, baseball and soccer fields and the option of tennis courts to be built in the future.

The first level features classrooms, a teachers' lounge, cafeteria with lots of windows and a gym. There's also a courtyard.

The second level has the media center with lots of windows, the administration area, guidance area, classrooms, auditorium and art and choral classrooms.

The third level features computer labs, a dance and drama room, classrooms, a teachers' lounge and career and tech classrooms.

Board member Scott Loudermelt quizzed Balke about the safety of students at the school.

"Students come in through the central staircase, which is near the administration area," Balke said. "There's also hardware on all the doors so people can't just come in. People have to go through the front door to get in. It's a simple circulation design."

The school system will seek bids for the new school in January, and will receive them in February. The bids should be awarded in March. The new middle school is scheduled to be ready in time for the 2012-13 school year.

He began his address by reminding those in attendance that he'd voted against the bank bailouts, higher taxes, spending bills and the stimulus, which he called an "abject failure."

When he said, "I voted against cap and tax or cap and trade and I voted against health care," the audience burst into applause.

"Your values are my values. Your direction you want to take this country is my direction," he said. "We have the capability to fight back and we will."

He said he was proud to have voted against the health-care bill Saturday night. But he said there's still work to be done, and he rallied the audience to help him work to defeat the bill in the Senate.

At the conclusion of his remarks, he opened the floor for questions and spent the next hour and a half speaking to members of the audience about what was on his mind.

He agreed with the man who said the health-care bill passed by the House is unconstitutional.

McHenry predicted dozens of lawsuits will be filed if the current bill becomes law. "The idea that they can socialize 1/6th of our economy is offensive," he said. "I'm as frustrated as you are."

"I'm stuck with those nuts running the place with Ms. Pelosi," McHenry said. "It's a heavy burden to have Nancy Pelosi on your back."

Asked if he'd had time to read the entire 2,000-page health-care bill, he admitted he had not.

"I couldn't get through the bill completely — I tried. I read every summary available," he said. "I'm convinced that not even the people that wrote the thing read the entire thing either.

"It's like it was written by eight trained mice," he said.

Asked why he hadn't introduced a bill requiring those who vote for the health-care bill to use the plan they voted for, McHenry said he already has.

"It says, 'If you vote for the public option, you're enrolled in it,'" he said.

McHenry said he went to Washington to shrink the national government, and he's working to do so. He said the changes need to be drastic to work.

"It has to be something huge — it has to be the anti-New Deal. It has to reverse it," he said.

After fielding questions from people who said they like the job he's doing, McHenry faced the only dissenting voice of the night when a European-born St. Stephens High School student asked about health care.

"Health care in America is generally considered to be a flaw in the American system," she said. "Private health-care companies make money by denying people coverage. What's good about that?"

McHenry said what's driving up American health-care costs is a lack of competition among insurance providers, and the plans he supports would address that issue. He also supports tax-free, low-cost catastrophic insurance.

He said the European single-payer style of health care would not work in America.

"I would support our system against any other system in the world — even with its flaws," he said. "We have a very valid system here in the U.S."

McHenry's visit to Hickory was co-sponsored by Lenoir-Rhyne University's chapter of College Republicans and The Hickory 9/12 Project — an outgrowth of the political movement begun by Fox News commentator Glen Beck.

The watch includes Alexander County; the greater portion of Burke County, including the mountains; the greater portion of Caldwell County, including the mountains; and Catawba County.

Through Wednesday afternoon, moisture associated with Tropical Cyclone Ida will continue to overspread the region into Wednesday, producing large amounts of rainfall, from 2-5 inches.

The rainfall may cause flooding of creeks, streams and rivers. Locations with poor drainage will flood.

A flash flood watch means that conditions may develop that lead to flash flooding.

Tiffany Dawn Seymour, 30, of Mooresville and formerly of Hickory, turned herself into the Hickory Police Department on Oct. 26, and another woman, LouAnn McFalls of Caldwell County turned herself into the Alexander County Sheriff's Office on Oct. 29.

Andrew Irwin Jordan, 32, of Mooresville and formerly of Hickory, was arrested during a traffic stop in Florence, S.C. and, officers there learned he was wanted by the Alexander County Sheriff's Office for the larcenies which occurred at Ellendale Convenience Store and Cubbard Express.

Jordan waived extradition and was transported back to Alexander County.

Both ATMs were recovered.

Several agencies, including the Alexander County Sheriff's Office, Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, Catawba County Sheriff's Office and Burke County Sheriff's Office, were involved in this investigation.