Missing Chapel Hill attorney John McCormick was arrested Friday in Phoenix.

Via WRAL:

John Gregory McCormick, 59, was arrested by Phoenix police officers at about midnight, authorities said. He was being held without bond in Arizona, pending extradition to North Carolina.

McCormick turned over his driver’s license to a Phoenix officer who asked three men sitting in a park for identification, Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said. When the officer checked the license, he found that McCormick was wanted in North Carolina, Woodall said.

Here’s the official release from the AG:

Fugitive former attorney arrested in Arizona, announces AG Cooper

SBI, FBI and Chapel Hill police worked to capture fugitive

John Gregory McCormick, a missing Chapel Hill man accused of embezzling over $1 million from clients, was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona this morning, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today.
“I am pleased with the hard work and cooperation of law enforcement to find and capture this suspect,” said Cooper. “We hope some resolution and justice will be brought in this case now that he has been found.”
At approximately, 12:00 a.m. (PST) John Gregory McCormick, date of birth April 14, 1948, was arrested by officers with the Phoenix Police Department. McCormick, who disappeared in July 2006, was the subject of a
NC State Bureau of Investigation embezzlement investigation.
McCormick was arrested on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He also faces a charge of
embezzling more than $802,000 in North Carolina and is suspected to have embezzled a total of more than $1
million.
McCormick will be held without bond in Arizona until he is returned to North Carolina.
The SBI began its investigation at the request of the Orange County District Attorney in July 2006. On April 4,
2007, the SBI requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation to assist in the fugitive investigation and on April
5, a federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued. Law enforcers followed leads both in the U.S. and overseas in an effort to find and arrest McCormick.
“The FBI remains committed to assisting our local and state law enforcement partners in pursuing and apprehending fugitives who flee interstate or internationally to avoid prosecution in significant cases,” said Nathan T. Gray, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division.
The Chapel Hill Police Department, Phoenix Police and the FBI assisted in this ongoing investigation.
The Office of District Attorney Jim Woodall is handling prosecution of the state charge.

 
There were plenty of officials and dignitaries on hand, but school board chair Jamezetta Bedford got the honors at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Carrboro High School last Thursday.  Photo by Jock Lauterer

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Despite enrollment being somewhat higher than projected, the first day of school across the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district went unusually well as more than 11,000 students headed back to class, school officials said.

“So far, everything’s running relatively smoothly,” said Steve Scroggs, assistant superintendent for support services with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. “We’re knocking on wood right now.”
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By Valarie Schwartz

Like the poplar leaves starting to pile as the drought yellows and drops them to the ground, people are starting to pile around town.

First the university students arrived, piling their stuff into their living spaces and their young selves out onto streets. About 35 students learned that first weekend that drinking on a Chapel Hill street or while underage piles up misdemeanors on their records

This week, people piled up around schools all over the place. The line forms on the bypass outside of St. Thomas More School around 2:40, with cars backed up to the overpass before the bell rings, letting the children loose.

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 By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

In their first meeting back after the summer break, members of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen picked up where they left off, reviewing another large downtown project and considering the best means of adding the town’s stock of affordable housing.

Tuesday night at Town Hall, the board, all sporting recently acquired Carrboro Jaguars T-shirt, opted to continue deliberation on the proposed Alberta project — a four-story residential and retail building on the corner of Roberson Street and Sweet Bay Place.

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Ben Lucas, branch manager, left, and Larry Loeser, president, in front of Harrington Bank’s new office at 1203 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The branch officially opened for business last Monday. Look for a story on Harrington Bank’s expansion efforts in the Business Extra section of next week’s Citizen. Photo by Kirk Ross

Despite a thorough 89-0 drubbing at the hands of defending 2A champions Burlington Cummings, the first-ever football game at Carrboro High School was the social event of the season.

Above, Jaguar defense end Dequan Bradley (80) chases a loose ball after batting down a Cummings pass, as fellow Jaguar Brandon Hunter (74) looks on.

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By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer

Resolution has been found. The Really Really Free Market will resume operations at the Carrboro Town Commons this Saturday, at 2:30 p.m., as previously arranged, and will be allowed to distribute food, thanks to an agreement that a local nonprofit will provide insurance coverage.

“We’re happy that we can help,” said Jillian Johnson, co-director of Students United for a Responsible Global Environment (SURGE) Network, the Durham-based organization that has stepped up to provide the insurance so that Really Really Free Market participants can continue to distribute food to attendees.

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Maine Island deck-level Sumac. Photo by Ken Moore

By Ken Moore 

I was not looking forward to the long drive to visit cousins in New England, but the tediousness and hazards of highway travels can be pleasantly calmed by viewing roadside vegetation along the way.

Like any wild botanist, I’m most content when identifying plants at 60-plus miles per hour. That’s why my wife prefers to drive. That’s fine with me, and she remains much calmer.

Along the way we enjoyed many patches of sumac. In some states, mowing crews had left the patches; sadly, in others, similar patches had been mowed or killed by herbicide application.

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By Jack Carley
Staff Writer

Scott Conary knows coffee. He knows it well enough to be head judge for the World Barista Competition in Tokyo – which is like the Olympics, only more aromatic.

The co-owner of the Open Eye Cafe knows it well enough to teach to even the people who actually grow coffee what it takes to make a good cup. And for 16 days in Honduras, that’s what he did.

Conary was flown to the Honduran mainland in late June. A grant from USAID, organized by Winrock International, a non-profit working toward economic development, covered the flight and rooming expenses.

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River Critters
The Haw River Watch Project will host a “Finding River Critters” event on the Haw River in Bynum on September 8.

River Watch Project coordinator Cynthia Crossen will teach participants how to measure a stream’s water quality by identifying the number and type of water bugs and doing simple chemical tests.

The event is free and open to the public. Participants should bring waterproof boots or water shoes and be prepared to be in and around the river.

Participants will meet at the Bynum Beach parking lot, and the event will run from 10 a.m. to noon, weather permitting. For directions or for more information, contact Crossen at 967-2500 or riverwatch@hawriver.org.

Watchdogs emphasize sustainability, economic development in long-term plan

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Board of County Commissioners on Monday took their first official look at a draft of the county comprehensive plan update, which will guide Orange County through 2030.

The commissioners heard public input on the plan update – which includes goals and a draft of the county profile – and returned the plan to the planning board for further revision. The comprehensive plan has not been updated since 1981.

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Ballentine subdivision approved
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the Ballentine subdivision — a 96-unit project off Old N.C. 86 near the new Twin Creeks Park.

The plan for the subdivision, which is being built by M/I Homes, includes 62 single-family homes and 34 townhomes. Seventeen of the townhomes would be set aside as affordable units under an arrangement between the developer and the Orange County Land Trust.

The approval at Tuesday night’s Board of Aldermen meeting came after the board heard concerns about how an access road to the site, which will be shared with the park, will affect traffic on Old 86.

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Photo by Kirk Ross

A rather warm evening didn’t wilt the enthusiasm for the opening of Carrboro High School last Thursday (above). It was an event so exhilarating that most of the students, teachers and parents sat patiently through a half-dozen speeches congratulating them on their new school. More »

McDougle names interim principal
McDougle Elementary Assistant Principal Nathan Hester has been named the school’s interim principal.

McDougle Elementary Principal Tekeisha Ford left the district last week after accepting the principal’s job at Burton GeoWorld Elementary Magnet School in Durham Public Schools.

Prior to his work at McDougle, Hester served as assistant principal of Ephesus Elementary from 2003-06 and as a French teacher at Ephesus from 1997-2002. He holds a bachelor’s degree in French education from UNC and a master’s degree in school administration.

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Yesterday was the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and with it came another reminder of how inadequate the response by those we trust to respond was and is.

It is also a reminder — or should be — that even this far inland we have to take precautions ourselves and not be caught unprepared. That starts with each household having an emergency plan and a hurricane kit.

If you think you don’t need those things, then chances are you moved here after Hurricane Fran. Those of us who lived through that storm know firsthand how important water, food, batteries and a way to stay in touch can be on such occasions.

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