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Man arrested in months-long arson probe near North Carolina-Georgia line

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Man arrested in months-long arson probe near North Carolina-Georgia line


A man has been arrested after a months-long investigation into a series of intentionally set fires near the North Carolina-Georgia state line, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office says.

On March 10th investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Murphy Police Department, the North Carolina Forest Service, and the Georgia Forest Service arrested 48-year-old Kevin James Roper of Blairsville, Georgia.

Roper is suspected of setting multiple fires in wooded and brush areas near the state line. Roper has been charged with 10 counts of intentionally setting fire to grass, brushlands and woodlands.

The investigation began in late December 2025 after several suspicious fires were reported along Tate Road, an area that straddles the state line between Cherokee County, North Carolina, and Union County, Georgia.

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Because of the location of the incidents and the nature of the fires, the North Carolina Forest Service and Georgia Forest Service initiated a joint investigation.

Additional fires were reported in February 2026 in the Martins Creek Community.

On February 22nd, deputies with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office responded to one of the fires as part of the ongoing investigation.

On March 10th, the North Carolina Forest Service and the Georgia Forest Service requested assistance from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and Murphy Police Department in taking Roper into custody.

Investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office made contact with Roper, who was taken into custody and transported to the Cherokee County Detention Center.

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Roper was released after posting a $25,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Cherokee County District Court on April 7th.



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Former Madison County chief deputy in North Carolina custody after Arizona arrest

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Former Madison County chief deputy in North Carolina custody after Arizona arrest


Former Madison County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Bronis Coy Phillips was processed on Thursday, June 25, in a North Carolina county, according to court documents.

The warrants were served in Avery County on behalf of Madison County. He is now being held without bond, according to the court paperwork.

SBI ARRESTS FORMER MADISON CO. CHIEF DEPUTY FOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY INVOLVING INMATES, STAFF

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced that Phillips was arrested on June 14 in Maricopa County, Arizona. He’s expected to face charges in N.C., as News 13 previously reported.

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According to court records, Phillips faces multiple felony charges, including:

  • Furnishing controlled substances to inmates
  • Furnishing deadly weapons to inmates
  • Involuntary servitude
  • Two counts of assault with a firearm on a detention facility employee

COURT RECORDS REVEAL NEW DETAILS IN FORMER MADISON CO. CHIEF DEPUTY ARREST

He was also charged with two misdemeanors:

  • Furnishing alcoholic beverages to inmates
  • Furnishing tobacco products to inmates
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The NCSBI said the charges stem from an investigation into alleged criminal activity involving inmates and detention facility staff.



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NC State, UNC planning nonconference men’s basketball game this season

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NC State, UNC planning nonconference men’s basketball game this season


North Carolina and NC State, scheduled to meet just once in the men’s basketball regular season for the second consecutive season, are working to schedule a nonconference meeting in Greensboro in December, WRAL has learned.

The Atlantic Coast Conference rivals had played annual games in Raleigh and in Chapel Hill for more than 100 years before last season when the teams met just once in Raleigh. This season, the ACC scheduled just one meeting between the schools in Chapel Hill.

The additional meeting, which is not finalized, would be played Dec. 15 in Greensboro, according to a source.

The 18-team ACC moved from 20 conference games to 18 before last season in an attempt to improve the league’s NCAA Tournament credentials. It worked as the league received eight bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2026, but it also created some scheduling changes, including the elimination of a second game between NC State and UNC in most seasons.

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The current conference schedule dictates that each school plays two teams twice (a primary partner and a variable partner), plays 14 teams once and misses one school altogether. In 2026-27, UNC will play Duke (primary) and Louisville (variable) twice and won’t play Clemson. NC State will play Wake Forest (primary) and California (variable) twice and won’t play Syracuse.

Greensboro was the longtime home of the conference office. The ACC men’s basketball tournament has been held at First Horizon Coliseum, formerly the Greensboro Coliseum, 29 times – the most in league history.

For decades, the ACC played a true round robin among its members a format that became unworkable as the league grew to 12, 15 and, now, 18 basketball-playing schools.

State lawmakers have pursued various measures to force schools in the UNC System to play each other, citing the economic impact of such meetings. North Carolina and NC State are UNC System schools.

A 2024 bill would have required the two ACC schools to play each other and other in-state public universities in football and basketball. A 2025 bill, aimed at potential conference realignment, would have required that NC State and UNC play each annually in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball. The Senate’s 2025 budget proposal would have required more basketball games between UNC, NC State and smaller schools across the state. The budget would have added UNC and NC State to the schools that receive annual distributions from sports betting tax revenue.

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None of those measures have become law.

NC State and North Carolina have been conference mates since 1911, first in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association, then in the Southern Conference and now the ACC. Both have been members of the ACC since its 1953 founding.



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Great Horned Owl kills barn owl owlet on North Carolina Wildlife Live Cam

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Great Horned Owl kills barn owl owlet on North Carolina Wildlife Live Cam


There is some sad news from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s popular Barn Owl Live Cam.

Wildlife officials say a Great Horned Owl entered the barn Wednesday around midnight and killed one of the barn owl owlets. Biologists have not been able to determine which owlet was lost.

They have confirmed it was one of the three youngest birds in the nest. The Wildlife Commission says the incident is heartbreaking but also a natural part of life in the wild.

Great Horned Owls are one of the main predators of Barn Owls, and encounters between the two species do happen. The attack was captured on the live camera.

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Officials say the video also shows an extremely rare moment when the adult female Barn Owl fought the Great Horned Owl on top of the nest box. Despite the loss, the surviving owlets are expected to continue growing over the coming weeks.

They will lose their fluffy down feathers, begin exploring outside the barn, and continue developing hunting skills.

The Wildlife Commission says some of the young owls could leave the nest as early as July.

After leaving the nest, they usually travel alone and may eventually move hundreds of miles from where they hatched. The Barn Owl Live Cam remains available for the public to watch.



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