NewsArgus.com's 2009 top 12
By Staff Reports
Published in News on January 1, 2010 11:37 AM
Based on the percentage of page views, the most popular online stories of 2009 were:
JANUARY -- Fremont officer found dead in his home: Rusty Herring, a Fremont police officer, was found dead in his Goldsboro home on Jan. 22. Friends said he had been ill.
FEBRUARY -- Man commits suicide: Pikeville police were investigating the Feb. 20 death of Harold Lee Person, who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. At the time, Person, a former teacher at Charles B. Aycock High School, was being investigated by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation concerning improper conduct by a teacher, though no charges had been filed.
MARCH -- Southern Wayne High School teacher arrested: Shannon Grace Herring, an exceptional children's teacher at Southern Wayne High School, turned herself into the Wayne County Sheriff's Office on March 2 after a police report accused her of sexual activity with a 17-year-old student.
APRIL -- Two motorcyclists killed in crash: Charles Poe, 59, of Greenville, and Lenwood Whitle, 57, of Chocowinity, were killed when a pickup driven by Billy Joe Fowler, 32, of Goldsboro, crossed the center line and hit them on U.S. 13 on April 18.
MAY -- Accident takes woman's life: Anita Gail Grantham, 29, of Lincoln Drive, a passenger in a car driven by Sheilena Brown of Goldsboro, died when the vehicle was struck by an 18-wheeler May 12. Ms. Brown and a 1-year-old child were hospitalized following the wreck. Ms. Brown was making an improper turn when the accident occurred.
JUNE -- Two shot at local hotel: Two Hampton Inn employees, Stephen King and Amanda Justice, were taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital on June 11 after being shot in the leg and buttocks by alleged robbers.
JULY -- Two from SJAFB killed in jet crash: Capt. Thomas J. Gramith, 27, of Eagan, Minn., and Capt. Mark R. McDowell, 26, of Colorado Springs, Colo., both members of the 336th Fighter Squadron Rocketeers, died July 18 when their F-15E Strike Eagle crashed in Afghanistan.
AUGUST -- Thirty sought in meth raids in Mount Olive area: Mount Olive police, aided by officers from surrounding law enforcement agencies, took more than a dozen suspects into custody early Aug. 19.
SEPTEMBER -- Man, teen found dead in Mount Olive cemetery: A 16-year-old girl was found dead in Carvery Cemetery on Sept. 13, shortly before the body of a man in his 20s also was found in the gravyard. The victims were later identified as Martavia Shevon Royster, 16, of East Kornegay Street, Mount Olive, and her boyfriend, Tigko DeJante King, 29.
OCTOBER -- Radio personality Jerry Wayne, 38, dies of cancer: Radio disc jockey Jerry Wayne Sandusky, whose enthusiasm for charity work helped raise thousands and made him a local celebrity, died Sept. 30. Wayne was known for his morning radio show on station 107.9.
NOVEMBER -- Down-town Goldsboro restaurant closed: Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. officials confirmed Nov. 19 that the Pupetta Bar and Grill, 100 N. Center St., had closed.
DECEMBER -- SWHS teens die in crash: Lisa Myers, 17, of Dobbersville Road, and Tyler Brewer, 15, of the Mount Olive area both died when their vehicle collided head on with a pickup truck on Stevens Mill Road Dec. 13.