4 sept. 19, 2013
• yANCEY cOUNTY nEWS
Trusted resident faces statutory rape charge By Jonathan Austin Yancey County News A Yancey County paramedic and former Burnsville Police officer was arrested last week, accused of raping a minor. James David McCourry, 48, of 37 Birch Lane, Burnsville, was arrested by C.E. Vines Jr. of the State Bureau of Investigation after the agency was asked by the Burnsville Police Department to investigate allegations against McCourry. Burnsville Police Chief Brian Buchanan said the SBI was asked to investigate “because he is a former employee with the town; a former police officer.” McCourry has been suspended from his job as a paramedic with Yancey EMS, working for
Mission Health Care. A hospital spokeswoman said McCourry has worked more than 20 years for Mission. Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman with the N.C. Department of Justice, said “the SBI opened an investigation into McCourry on September 7 at the request of the Burnsville Police Department.” Talley said she could provide no further details other than to say “I can clarify that the alleged crimes do not appear to have been committed while on the job.” The actual charges against the paramedic are one count statutory rape/sexual offense in which the defendant is six years or more older than the complainant and one county felony taking indecent liberties with a child.
According to the warrants, “there is probable cause to believe that” McCourry “unlawfully, willfull and feloniously did engage in a sex act with a known child victim … of the age of 13 years.” Buchanan verified that the victim is female. The police chief said the initial complaint “came in through the school system. The victim had spoken to someone.” Buchanan said McCourry worked as a town police officer in the late 80s and early 90s. He said he believed the arresting agent asked McCourry to turn himself in at the sheriff’s department, and that McCourry had done so. He was released on $100,000 secured bond.
Woman accused of plying boy with alcohol
By Jonathan Austin Yancey County News A McDowell County woman has been arrested and charged with raping a 13-year-old boy while on a camping trip at the Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area. Rachel Alison Smith, 28, of Old Highway 10, Nebo, faces numerous sex offense charges involving the boy, said McDowell County Sheriff’s Det. Paul Alkire. “She, this boy and a bunch of neighborhood kids had done stuff
on weekends,” Alkire said. They went “camping, went to Carowinds, and Carolina Hemlocks,” he said. He said Smith “has two younger children of her own.” He said she was having neighborhood kids over to play with her children, which he said was what he called her ‘mask’ to get older kids in the house. The detective said Smith is accused of providing alcohol to the boy. “They were having a blast, partying at 13 years old and didn’t
know no better,” he said. In McDowell County, Smith is facing three felony counts of statutory rape and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for providing the alcohol to the child. Alkire said “nobody else came forward” when asked if there were other victims among the children who took trips with Smith. “He isn’t old enough to make any decisions” about engaging in sexual activity, the detective said.
Part two: Exploring the impact of school vouchers in North Carolina From page 2 kicking to the curb underperforming private schools, barring them from receiving school vouchers. Milwaukee’s voucher program is known for producing poor educational outcomes as well as rampant fraud and abuse. A recent study concluded that Milwaukee students participating in the voucher program performed significantly worse in both reading and math than students in Milwaukee public school system. At Milwaukee’s Mandella School of Science and Math, Principal David Seppah - who also founded the school - used proceeds from state voucher payments to buy two Mercedes-Benz automobiles at a cost of $65,000. Seppah owed the state almost $330,000 for more than 200 checks officials acknowledged they “inappropriately” cashed. Many of those checks, worth about $1,500 a piece, were made out to families whose children never attended Mandella. The head of another former Milwaukee voucher school, Henry Tyler, was indicted by a federal grand jury on counts of mail fraud and money laundering. State officials said the school owed nearly $500,000 for improperly cashed checks, improperly claimed summer school payments, past payroll payments and other debts. The indictment says Tyler defrauded federal food programs out of $196,000 between January 1, 2006 and May 5, 2006. Tyler also billed for 372 students, nowhere near the number of students attending the school. Tyler was suspected of using a school credit card to buy an $865 gold necklace from a Las Vegas pawnshop in May 2006. In North Carolina, private schools will not have to present the results of a financial review conducted by a CPA until they receive at least
$300,000 in school voucher funds. Such little oversight for private schools’ financial management is especially concerning when one considers what just happened last week with a public charter school in Kinston. That charter school, which should be subject to more rigorous scrutiny of its financial stewardship given that it is fully financed with taxpayer funds, shut down with very little notice thanks to problems with its financial operations. Just two weeks into the school year, Kinston Charter Academy’s 230 students were left to scramble for a new school—at either one of the local public schools or at the other local public charter school, which is also having financial problems. The voucher program is not universally liked in the Republican-led state legislature. Sen. Jerry Tillman told Asheboro’s The Courier-Tribune that he doesn’t like the voucher program because the private schools receiving vouchers have no oversight. The state will be giving these schools public funds but has no control over them. “People say it’s great that vouchers can go to some of these Christian schools,” he said. “But I ask them, do you want to see money go to a Catholic school? Do you want to see it go to a Muslim school, one that teaches Islam? The way the law is written now, it can.” This part of the legislation may be destined for the courtroom, Tillman said to The CourierTribune. He said the Supreme Court doesn’t allow public taxpayer funds to go to religious education. That issue, and a closer look at some of the private schools that stand to benefit from the school voucher program, we will explore in Part III of School Vouchers Come to North Carolina. Education reporter Lindsay Wagner can be reached at lindsay@ncpolicywatch.com.
“He was going along with it for a while, then they had a falling out.” Asked if the other children knew what was going on, Alkire replied: “To some degree, yes, others knew.” He said another person corroborated the boy’s complaint about the sexual activity while at Carolina Hemlocks. According to the warrant, Smith is a student at South College in Asheville. She is currently jailed in Yancey County Jail.
LEGAL NOTICE
BURNSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF MUNICIPAL ELECTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN A Municipal Election will be held on November 5, 2013 in the Town of Burnsville, North Carolina to vote on (1) Mayor for a four year term, (2) Two Town Council Seats for a four year term each. Polls will be open from 6:30 AM until 7:30 PM. The polling place will be located at: Burnsville Town Center 6 South Main Street Area “C” Burnsville, NC 28714 Absentee ballots are not allowed. All residents of the Town of Burnsville who are registered to vote with the Yancey County Board of Elections may vote in this election. Voters who are previously registered need not re-register for this election. Those residents of the town who are not registered to vote must register on or before 5:00 PM, October 11, 2013, in order to be eligible to vote in this election. Any voter who has moved outside his or her precinct but within the county since the last election should notify the Yancey County Board of Elections in writing by 5:00 PM, October 11, 2013. For additional information contact the Yancey County Board of Elections at 828-682-3950 or by email at yancey.boe@gmail.com. By the order of Yancey County Board of Elections, Marvin Holland, Chairman Published Sept. 20, 27, October 4 and 11, 2013
Attention! To all Celo Health Center patients: Celo Health Center will be having its Flu Shot Clinic on Monday, Sept. 30, 8 a.m. – noon and 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. THIS FLU SHOT CLINIC IS FOR CELO HEALTH CENTER PATIENTS ONLY. No appointment necessary. For more information call the office at 675-4116.