GREENVILLE—Two years ago Eastern Carolina University broke ground on their School of Dentistry.  Last Friday, local, state and university officials attended a meeting in which a retired Greenville orthodontist pledged one of the largest gifts in the university’s history.

Retired orthodontist, Dr. Ledyard E Ross, 84 made known his intention to give the ECU School of Dentistry a monetary gift of $4 million for academic purposes. During the regularly scheduled meeting, the ECU Board of Trustees voted to name the new building that will house the School after the retired orthodontist as Ledyard E. Ross Hall.

“This generous gift comes at a time when we are starting a new school and puts us in a position to support faculty and students at its inception,” said Chancellor Steve Ballard. The funds will be used for as student scholarships, faculty research and other academic enterprises. 

Ross is a graduate of then East Carolina College and has been an active supporter of academic and athletic initiatives at the university.

Dr. James Hupp, dean of the School of Dentistry, said, “The difference between being a good dental school and a great dental school hinges on private giving. Dr. Ross’ very generous philanthropic gift will propel us toward greatness, allowing us to accomplish our grand vision of improving the health and quality of life of North Carolinians by leading the nation in community-based, service-learning dental education. We cannot thank him enough.”

The first students to be admitted to the new School of Dentistry will likely begin in the fall semester of 2011. According to the school, approximately 50 students will enter the program each year.

The 100,000+ square feet Ledayrd E. Ross Hall will be located on the ECU Health Sciences campus. The North Carolina General Assembly is providing $90 million for its construction. The funds will cover both the main building in Greenville, along with ten community service learning centers in rural areas of North Carolina that are underserved in the field of dentistry.

Ross’ lifetime achievements include graduating from Greenville High School, Hardbarger Business College and East Carolina College (the forerunner of ECU). He then went on to graduate from Northwestern University Dental School with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery and received a Master of Science degree in Orthodontics in 1959 from UNC-Chapel Hill. He is also a United States Marine veteran who served in the First Marine Division from 1943-1946.

Ross is married to Alta Dant Ross and have four children: Dr. Dennis Ross of Greenville, Cynthia Teague of Raleigh, Kathryn Ross Pitts of Huntersville and Jody Ross Odaniell of West Linn, Oregon.

Large Australian Bird Captured In Local City

ROCKY MOUNT—A large bird was discovered on the loose in Rocky Mount earlier this week, according to multiple news outlets. According to reports, a witness flagged down a Rocky Mount Police officer just after 4 PM on Monday to report what was thought to be an ostrich running through Martin Luther King Park.

Later, authorities identified the bird as an emu, which is native species of Australia. Emus are often farmed for their meat, oil and leather. When fully mature, these birds can stand nearly 6 feet tall and weigh up to 110 pounds. They are smaller than the African ostriches, but are the second largest bird in the world.

The bird eluded capture covering several blocks through the northern part of the city. Witnesses helped track the bird from the park to a Kentucky Fried Chicken located on Fairview Road. A few minutes later, the bird was cornered behind the State Employee’s Credit Union and took to the city’s animal shelter on North Church Street.

Authorities have no idea where the large, flightless bird came from, however it was turned over Noah’s Landing, a non-profit nature center that allows visitation for families to become acquainted with different types of animals. Noah’s Landing is located in Harnett County just outside the town of Coats off of Highway 27. The center’s website is www.noahslanding2x2.com. 

NC State Trooper Crashes Into House

CLINTON—A North Carolina State Trooper crashed his Dodge Charger Highway Patrol car into a home, according to news sources. First reported by WRAL-TV in Raleigh, aerial imagery showed a marked patrol car with a crumpled front end resting against a corner of a home with moderate damage.

The Daily Record of Dunn, NC reported that Trooper D.K. Pearson was driving the highway patrol car when it crashed. According to accounts published by the newspaper, Trooper Pearson was attempting to overtake a vehicle he apparently intended to stop when a school bus pulled into his path. Pearson swerved to miss the bus, lost control of the car and struck the house located at the intersection of Jasper Street and Northern Boulevard.

The Highway Patrol is investigating the crash with no word on pending charges.

Realigning NC Highway 55 In Progress

DUNN—Governor Bev Perdue has announced that a rerouting project of NC 55 in Harnett County will be included with the $138.3 million being allocated throughout the state using funds generated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

According to the contract, N.C. 55 will be realigned at the Dunn interchange. Currently, three roadways—Interstate 95, U.S. 421 and NC 55—converge at the same junction. The $1.2 million project awarded to Highland Paving Co. LLC of Fayetteville is scheduled to begin in early March with final completion no later than November 1.

Currently, Interstate 95 northbound travelers must turn onto NC 55 briefly before turning left onto the interstate access ramp. The project will move the NC 55/US 421 interchange slightly further south of its present location to allow the northbound ramp for I-95 to be solely dedicated to interstate traffic.

Motorists using NC 55 in the Dunn area should be prepared for temporary lane closures and ongoing construction for several months until the project is completed.

Just east of the Dunn interchange, bridge construction is also in progress on NC 55. Two narrow, outdated bridges are currently being replaced.

For more information, visit www.ncdot.gov. 

City To Ban Tie-Outs For Dogs

GOLDSBORO—City Council members have approved two ordinances that will change the way some owners secure their dogs in Goldsboro and also make owners responsible for clean up of their dogs’ defecation off their own property.

The two ordinances were adopted Monday. The first deals with owners who use rope, chain or any other type of corded restraint devices to secure their dogs to stationary objects in their yards. The ordinance enforce date will be July 1, 2010.

The second ordinance, requires that dog owners be responsible for cleaning up their dog’s bowel movements that occur on streets, public right of ways or on private property belonging to someone other than the dog’s owner. This town ordinance becomes effective April 1, 2010.

Three Suspects Charged In Murder

MOUNT OLIVE—Three young men have been charged with murdering a Latino man. The victim was found injured on February 22 and later died, according to authorities.

Charged are Demario Montrell Leach, 21, Demontae Antwan Leach, 26 and Michael Brandon Faison, 20. All three are from the Mount Olive area and are being held without bond at the Wayne County Jail in Goldsboro.

The cause of death was not made known. The victim was described about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed approximately 108 pounds. He is also described as having short black hair, a thin black mustache and a goatee. The victim also has a small scar near his left eyebrow.

Mount Olive Police seek further information about the case. Call the Mount Olive Police Department at 919-658-5031, extension 102 or 104. Those with information can also contact the Wayne County Crimestoppers at 919-735-2255.

Raleigh Tops on Forbes ‘Most Wired City’ List

SPECIAL REPORT—It is not often that Raleigh takes the top spot from cities like San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Boston or San Jose, but Forbes magazine has recently named Raleigh as having topped all other U.S. cities for being technologically advanced in broadband access.

Raleigh score was due to three measures in which the city excelled: Broadband penetration, broadband access and plentiful wi-fi hot spots, according to Forbes.  Raleigh jumped from No. 15 on last year’s list to the top spot, bumping Seattle (last year’s No. 1) to No. 3 this year and Atlanta taking the No. 2 place.

Though a surprise to much of the country, many that call Raleigh and surrounding areas their home are well aware of the city’s bounty of technology assets that include global tech companies like IBM, Cisco, Lenovo and other that operate from the nearby Research Triangle Park. Furthermore, Raleigh is close by to Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and right in the heart of Raleigh, North Carolina State University.

Sprint Nextel recently launched its “4G” next-generation mobile broadband in Raleigh and the rest of the Triangle before expanding it nationwide, which indicates that a number of high-tech communications companies are well aware of the significant impact Raleigh has on the rest of the nation.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Raleigh is the 8^th fastest-growing city in the United States and overall, is the 45^th largest city in the nation. 

Slim Jim Plant to Permanently Close

GARNER—Multiple news outlets reported Wednesday that ConAgra Foods, Inc—the company that produces Slim Jim beef jerky products—had announced intentions to close their Garner production facility. Currently, the Garner facility has been the exclusive producer of Slim Jim products.

ConAgra will move production of Slim Jim products to a facility in Troy, Ohio, according to officials. The company plans to close the plant by the end of 2011. An estimated 400 employees of the plant will be put out of work by the move. Officials broke the news to employees with some walking out during the meeting in dismay.

ConAgra has agreed to donate the 450,000 square-foot production facility along with the 106-acre surrounding the property, along with paying $3 million for a community center to be built in Garner.

The news comes after a natural gas explosion rocked the plant last June, killing three workers and a contractor. Dozens more employees were injured.  The company reopened the plant but was inspected by the NC Department of Labor, which found 27 safety violations at the facility. ConAgra paid $106,440 in fines for those violations.