Steve Ohnesorge
Bureau Reporter
Charlotte, NC
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Steve started as a photographer at WBTV in 1975, leaving for CBS (New York) in 1980. He returned from New York a year later and in 1981, started the Morganton-based newsroom.
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This weekend an art festival is set for Banner Elk and what’s called a Draft Horse Pull will be held in Newland.
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Household items were taken and an ATV in a shed outside was stolen as well.
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Many folks were out and about in the morning so they wouldn’t have to deal with afternoon temperatures.
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Whatever the reason, though, the shelter in Morganton is now full and can’t accept any more surrenders right now.
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The county health director says no one should be forced to take the vaccine but urges those who are hesitant to “do some homework.”
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Flashing signs have been placed across the county, reminding people that the coronavirus is still around and people should not let their guard down.
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The arch will go on the Highland Avenue Bridge which Highway 127 passes under. Crews have already raised one arch, back in winter.
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Tangela Parker and her husband Eric were on the run for six months after Michelle Marlow was gunned down at her place of work.
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Restaurants were full, lots of people were walking on the sidewalks, and business owners were happy.
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COVID-19 shut down the 2020 Highland Games but this year’s event is underway.
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“I Personally don’t want no mother to feel the pain I feel, burying my child,” she said.
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Law enforcement agencies along lakes and waterways in North Carolina will have patrol boats on the water during the Fourth of July weekend.
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$3.7 million will be spent on the new shelter. Officials say that’s lower than they expected, given the rising cost of building materials.
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The truck, nicknamed “CTEatery,” is not just an addition to the schools, say officials. They call it a learning tool.
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A shortage has put a lot of pressure on ammunition supplies and manufacturers have not been able to keep up.
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Renovations are underway to turn the old mill houses that were featured at the start of the movie ‘The Hunger Games,’ into luxury cabins for people to stay in.
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Last year, the event, as so many others were, was canceled due to the coronavirus.
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The FDA says its research shows that the batches of Johnson and Johnson vaccine like the ones in Taylorsville have an additional six weeks before they expire.
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Not to worry, say the experts. In North Carolina, a different brood of cicadas is expected in 2024 and another brood the next year.
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Competing with the unemployment checks has been tough, but one business owner thinks businesses will win out in the end.
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There’s up to a $5,000 fine for those caught throwing trash into the wilderness there.
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At Julian Price Campground on Friday, so many people showed up the line of vehicles spilled onto the parkway itself. Rangers were called in to direct traffic.
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Officials said the off-duty pay for deputies will be around $45 per hour. Captain Jonathan Kirby says that’s not extravagant when you consider overtime pay, weekend pay and more.
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Some counties in the eastern part of the state are under burning bans as Memorial Day Weekend approaches.
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The biggest change from last May is that most campgrounds are open.
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Avery County sent its mobile health clinic trailers out on Thursday, hoping to vaccinate seasonal workers and visitors who are staying for the summer.
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The flood washed the old one away and a new one will be built there.
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Many gas stations remain empty with bags on the pumps as the shortage moves into the weekend.
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Many stations that had bagged up their pumps on Tuesday reopened Wednesday morning after fresh shipments of gasoline and diesel arrived.
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It wasn’t that long ago when lines formed every time a COVID-19 vaccination clinic opened.
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The pandemic forced the university to keep graduations virtual until now.
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Thousands are expected for the funerals.
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At Watauga High School on Wednesday, students and families were encouraged to show up and be vaccinated.
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Dozens of vets showed up for the event, including some who are homeless.
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They live as larvae deep underground for 13 or 17 years, depending on the brood, before coming to the surface and becoming Cicadas.
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Both had expected to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because it only requires one dose.
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Easter weekend weather was not kind to many farmers in Lincoln County. Those who grow peaches felt the sting of freezing weather.
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COVID-19 vaccine clinics have been held in many unusual locations in North Carolina recently.
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Another round of frost is expected Saturday and Sunday mornings.
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The crop can take some freezing weather but not extended for hours. The key will be how cold it gets and for how long.
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President Biden has suggested that a solution to stop mass shootings would be to ban the sale of assault weapons.
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The archway is a centerpiece in the two-mile long City Walk that spans the city with the downtown’s Union Square in the middle.
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The clinic on Friday was made possible after another county gave Avery County a supply of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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Science Center officials are already talking of putting up a dinosaur exhibit in the spring of 2022.
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Fans have returned to college basketball.
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The plant manufactures tiny glass vials that hold six doses each.
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No one knew at that time how long it would be before crowds and the games could come back.
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The store received 200 doses of vaccine Tuesday morning and by Wednesday afternoon they were giving shots in a store aisle.
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The box arrived Tuesday morning and vaccinations will begin Wednesday afternoon.
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Teachers and school staff in Avery County finally got their chance to get the COVID-19 vaccine.