Story by Hal Goodtree | September 13, 2009 | Tags: candidates, cary, crime, Editors Journal, elections, meth lab, nc, Opinion, police, town council
Here’s some info that didn’t find its way into print over the last couple of weeks.
CRIME REPORT
Two serious and troubling crimes occurred during the last week in Cary. If you hadn’t seen these stories, they are of concern to all Cary citizens.
Realtor Raped in Cary
A Realtor showing a home in the West Lake subdivision was raped at knife point last Sunday.
The accused perpetrator is 33 year old Michael Sleeman of Raleigh. Sleeman was arrested within hours by Cary police and is in Wake County jail on $2 million in bond. He was previously convicted of a similar crime in Virginia.
Meth Lab in a Backpack at Motel 6
Police arrested 26 year old Brandon Carlon of Fuquay-Varina at the Motel Six on Buck Jones Road early last Sunday morning.
According to Cary Police Lt. John Szymeczek, Carlon’s backpack held containers, a hot plate, lighter fluid and other chemicals and hardware typically used to make methamphetamine.
“It is very dangerous,” Lt. Szymeczek said. “We do not by any means frequently have methamphetamine labs in Cary.”
Cary Police called for backup, a standard procedure in meth cases. The State Bureau of Investigation cleared the site, assisted by a hazmat unit from Raleigh.
Carlon is in Wake County Jail under $26,000 bond.
Editor’s Viewpoint: For all the “small town charm,” Cary is the seventh largest city in North Carolina. What can we do to avoid the crime that plagues other small cities?
TOWN COUNCIL CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS
We’ve completed our series of video interviews with all six candidates for contested seats on the Town Council. Julie Robison, running uncontested in the At-Large district, could not participate due to a scheduling conflict.
Town Council members decide how our substantial tax revenues are spent. Do we repave the roads or get a new park? Do we have a new drugstore at the corner or do we lose 80 acres of wooded land? Considering how important these issues are in the daily lives of Cary citizens, and considering the education and activism of our population, it’s surprising that so few people vote in Town Council elections.
Would you know your Town Council member if you bumped them with your shopping cart at Food Lion? I wouldn’t. At least, not until I shot these interviews.
Now you can meet the candidates face-to-face, on the privacy of your own PC. Each interview is approximately six minutes long. We asked each candidate for some biographical information, why they deserved our vote and one or two other obvious (we thought so, anyway) questions.
District A – Western and Northern Cary
- Jennifer Robinson (incumbent)
- Terry “Doc” Thorne
- Cindy Sinkez
- Lori Bush
District C – Southern Eastern Cary
- Jack Smith (incumbent)
- Catherine Evangelista
Cary elections are nominally “non-partisan,” meaning candidates don’t appear on the ballot as Democrats or Republicans. But the elephant and the donkey absolutely lend influence and channel money into our elections. The Editor of this news source thinks this is a bit of a farce, but maybe we’ll address that in another piece.
Vickie Maxwell, herself a candidate for Town Council in 2008, conducted the interviews.
Here at CaryCitizen, we know we’re not Meet the Press. But our Town Council Candidate Interviews are more content than you are likely to get from the area’s “major” news sources. Just saying.
Thanks again to all the candidates for participating and to all the readers who have had suggestions and comments. Do leave us your thoughts here or on Facebook.
Producer: Lindsey S. Chester. Director & Editor: Hal Goodtree. Production Crew: Tyler Bennett, Leslie Huffman, Matt Young. Production Support: SteadyFilm LLC and Southeastern Camera.
CARYCITIZEN STATISTICS
CaryCitizen has been publishing for seven weeks. Here are some interesting stats about our launch thus far:
Thanks to all our supporters and contributors in the community. Want to reach of growing audience of influencers in Cary? Contact us about advertising and sponsorships.
