There was a lot said in 2024.
People in Catawba County spoke out on a fatal crash involving a Hickory police vehicle.
They talked about early voting lines that stretched through parking lots.
Some shared words of resilience and fear in the wake of a deadly tornado in January.
Here are the quotes, compiled by the Hickory Daily Record, that defined the year.
“If you destroy this place, it’s over. We’ve got to do something about it now. You can’t let this place go on unpatrolled. You’ve got to charge admission or something, but you’ve got to have supervision up here. Dadgummit, it’s just too nice of a place to let it go down the drain.”
Brown Mountain Beach Resort owner Ron McDaniel
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In May, the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners met to discuss ways to improve Wilson Creek, a popular spot where people raft, fish and swim..
Brown Mountain Beach Resort owner Ron McDaniel stands along Wilson Creek on Dec. 11, 2024.
The meeting addressed concerns about parking, littering and public safety, particularly in the areas accessed via Brown Mountain Beach Road. Caldwell County officials said they were concerned that the increased number of visitors each year is having a detrimental impact on the environment. Cars parked along Brown Mountain Beach Road negatively impact the flow of traffic and can impede emergency responders.
Along the road, there are 141 parking spots, but during the summer up to 460 cars can be found parked along the road. Yearly, Caldwell County hauls away roughly 35,000 pounds of garbage from the Wilson Creek area.
Brown Mountain Beach Resort owner Ron McDaniel said the beautiful Wilson Creek area must be protected.
“To me, it changes nothing. His (Shamseldin’s) choices killed them (Cynthia and Michael), not hers.”
Cynthia Nicole Lail’s mother Beth Fox
Beth Fox discusses the high-speed police chase crash that claimed the life of her daughter, Cynthia Lail, and grandson, Michael.
Cynthia Nicole Lail was killed on Sept. 8, 2023, when Hickory police officer Atia Mohamed Shamseldin crashed a patrol vehicle into the side of her minivan at the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 and 13th Street, SW, in Hickory. Lail’s 12-year-old son Michael was a passenger in the vehicle. He died two days later from his injuries.
Shamseldin was travelling around 95 mph. Cynthia Lail was traveling around 10 mph, according to the initial crash report.
On Jan. 17, the N.C. State Highway Patrol released a statement saying Cynthia Lail “tested positive for drugs.” The release did not specify what drugs were found.
In response to the Highway Patrol’s release, Cynthia Lail’s mom Beth Fox said the results of the toxicology report changed nothing about how her daughter and grandson died.
“I still have nightmares about it. Every time the wind picks up, or it’s a high wind, (my daughter) freaks out and starts crying, thinking it’s another tornado. When it starts raining really, really hard, she thinks it is a tornado. My dogs are petrified. They run and hide when the wind picks up because they were outside (when the tornado came through).”
Claremont resident, tornado survivor Cassie Perrigan
On Jan. 9, a deadly tornado touched down in northeastern Catawba County in the Fox Hollow mobile home park, killing a member of the community.
Dustin Ray Weaver, 39, died while protecting his pregnant girlfriend when their trailer collapsed. Cassie Perrigan is married to Weaver’s brother and also lives in the Fox Hollow mobile home park along Evening Drive and Cindi Lane.
Thomas Perrigan and his wife Cassie attended a meeting about resources for families impacted by a tornado that hit Catawba County in early January. Perrigan’s brother, Dustin Weaver, died during the storm.
Around a month later at a disaster recovery meeting, Perrigan recounted being home with her three children when the tornado struck. She said she put the kids in the bathroom and shielded them with her body until the storm subsided.
“When I moved to North Carolina from Michigan, I lived in eastern North Carolina for a while. I’m a connoisseur of eastern North Carolina barbecue. I try eastern barbecue everywhere I go. This is up to snuff.”
Jim ‘N Nicks customer Paula Horton
Jim ‘N Nicks Bar-B-Q opened its third North Carolina location in Hickory in early November.
The exterior of Jim ’N Nick’s Community Barbecue in Hickory. The barbecue chain was founded in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1985.
Paula Horton was one of the restaurant’s early customers.
Horton is originally from Michigan. She lives in Wilkes County but visited Hickory for work that day. Horton ordered a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw.
Jim ‘N Nicks is located at 1687 U.S. Highway 70 SE.
“We gather to pay tribute to my hero, my best friend. Alden Elliott was a beacon of hope, a sense of strength, a source of support for me in joy and sorrow. And above all else, he was family to me.”
Jason McManus, childhood friend of officer shot, killed in Charlotte
Newton-Conover High School graduate Alden Elliott was one of four law enforcement officers killed in Charlotte while trying to serve a warrant on a fugitive wanted in Lincoln County.
Elliott was a N.C. Department of Adult Corrections officer and a part of the U.S Marshals Service Carolina Regional Taskforce.
The funeral procession on May 9 for William “Alden” Elliott arrives at Catawba Valley Community College. Elliott, 46, was one of four officers killed in a shootout while serving a fugitive warrant in east Charlotte on April 29.
N.C. Adult Corrections officer Samuel Poloche, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Joshua Eyer and U.S. Deputy Marshal Thomas Weeks Jr. were the other officers killed in the shootout. A total of eight officers were shot.
Elliott’s family was joined at Catawba Valley Community College by hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the state. Elliott’s funeral was held in the Tarlton Complex at the college.
“I worked 38 years of my life. It’s not my fault I’m physically and mentally unable to work now. I would give anything to go back to work today.”
Newton resident Jennie Rojo
Newton resident Jennie Rojo racked up a huge medical debt. A single bill dating back to 2016 was $40,000.
Jennie Rojo spoke about her struggles with medical debt.
Rojo shared her frustrations in an article highlighting a new state program that will help alleviate hospital debt. The program will help pay for hospital debt accrued since Jan. 1, 2014, for those who receive Medicaid benefits. It will also help some North Carolinians that do not qualify for Medicaid.
Rojo, 52, suffered a stroke in 2014. She has Medicaid and private insurance, but many expenses from hospital visits and medical supplies have not been covered.
Frye Regional Medical Center, Catawba Valley Medical Center, UNC Health Blue Ridge and UNC Health Caldwell are participating.
“I’ve never seen it like this, not even in 2020.”
Catawba County Board of Elections Executive Director Amanda Duncan
Catawba County Board of Elections Executive Director Amanda Duncan
Lines for early voting wrapped around buildings and through parking lots in Catawba County and surrounding counties.
Catawba County Board of Elections Executive Director Amanda Duncan said the lines were uncharacteristically long for early voting.
Catawba County had 87,485 out of 116,179 registered voters complete ballots in the 2024 election. That is a little more than 75% of registered voters.
“The state might be 80, but for this to be 60% is just not acceptable.”
Hickory City Council Member Jill Patton
Five of nine Hickory Public Housing Authority commissioners resigned on Nov. 4.
Jill Patton
Later that week, a discussion was held between the Hickory Housing Authority and Hickory City Council members Anthony Freeman and Jill Patton about the housing authority’s future.
In October, Hickory City Manager Warren Wood said the housing authority was only using about 61% of its vouchers. The vouchers help low-income families pay rent.
During the November meeting, Patton and Freeman said the new housing authority board should focus on finding out why the authority’s voucher rate is significantly lower than the Western Piedmont Council of Governments’ 98% voucher rate. The state average is an 80% utilization rate.
“We want to build the right way. Now, if we don’t do that — if we fail again — then this brand is dead.”
Surya CEO Satya Tiwari
The company Surya acquired Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams in November 2023 after the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams furniture factories abruptly shut down in August 2023.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams employees discuss what the company means to them at the Taylorsville, NC factory on Nov. 7, 2024.
Surya CEO Satya Tiwari spoke of his plans to restore the brand. Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams restarted production under the new parent company Surya in August 2024.
Surya is a rug-making company originally founded in 1976 in India. Surya is now based in Georgia.
The August shutdown left more than 500 people in Alexander and Iredell counties jobless.
Sarah Johnson is the courts and breaking news reporter for the Hickory Daily Record.
