February 2014
Page 8
Summerfield Church Holds Chili Competition
At the Pleasant Ridge Christian Church in Summerfield, lots of people turned out for their annual chili competition. Winners included Mr. Sumner (right) and Mr. Higgins (left) who won top prizes in the cookoff. Photos: Star.
There were plenty of appetizing chili offerings including traditional beef chili and chili made with chicken. There were a record number of entries this year.
By R. Gregg, The Star SUMMERFIELLD - The Pleasant Ridge Christian Church recently held their annual chili cooking contest and had a record number of entries. When it first started several years ago, there were only eight entries but this year, there were a record 16 people competing for top prizes as either the judge’s choice or the people’s choice. This year, Mr. Sumner won the top
prize for the people’s choice and Mr. Higgins took home the honors from the judges. There were many types of chili this year including all beef chili, chili made with venison, white chili with chicken, and even vegetarian chili. Some of the chilis had fun names like “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner” and “the Grand Marshal.” There was also plenty of desserts to go around and many of the chili pots were empty at the end, so guests evidently liked the local recipes. ::
Duke Power Spills 164 Million Tons Of Coal Ash, Sued Over Belews Lake By The Star BELEWS LAKE & EDEN - In addition to a lawsuit filed by the State of North Carolina over leakage of coal ash into the water supply at the Belews Creek Power Station, state and federal officials are now investigating a recent spill of 164,000,000 pounds of coal ash containing heavy metals into the Dan River in Rockingham County. The massive spill took place at the beginning of February when a 48 inch storm water pipe broke at the now closed Dan River Power Plant in Eden, which is in northern Rockingham County. The Dan River provides drinking water for towns in Rockingham County including Madison and Mayodan and also for Danville, Virginia. According to The Charlotte Observer, the Environmental Protection Agency is on site investigating the leak. Last year, the State of North Carolina filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy saying that toxic heavy metals from coal ash ponds at 14 different power stations were leaking into the groundwater. The heavy metals include selenium, thallium, arsenic, and boron and although they appear in nature, they can be toxic in high doses. People who have been going to Belews Lake for many years may remember the signs that used to be posted there warning pregnant women not to eat the fish from the lake, as they contained high levels of selenium from the coal ash.
The recent lawsuit says that the coal ash ponds where ash from the burning of coal at the plants has been stored are leaking into the surrounding ground water supplies illegally. Duke Energy says it has been complying with state laws and has been in compliance. ::
Police: Duke Energy Worker Stole ID’s Of Power Customers By The Star CHARLOTTE - According to The Charlotte Observer newspaper, a Duke Energy call center worker was allegedly stealing the personal information of hundreds of customers. Police in Georgia said they found the credit card numbers and checking account numbers of 549 power customers in North Carolina and South Carolina in the suspect’s car in January. Since it is not known if the call center worker stole other customers’ personal information, Duke Energy customers may want to monitor their credit card and banking activity. Duke has already contacted the 549 customers whose names were found in the car to alert them that their information may have been compromised. Duke Energy did not say how the worker managed to steal so many people’s ID’s at work. ::