A candidate for Lincoln County commissioner recently completed the terms of a probation sentence after he admitted to bribing a Department of Motor Vehicles agent in Catawba County.

A small device, often found in restaurants and businesses, is now being used by area thieves to steal information from personal accounts.

Mike Pitsikoulis did not want to shut down his eatery, Captain Pete’s, but had no other choice.

“I never wanted to leave,” he said. “I love the place. I love the community.”

Elections do not normally occur during the second week of March in North Carolina. But Tuesday’s Lincolnton City Council contest is a “Special Election,” ordered by the State Board of Elections as the best fix for a difficult situation that emerged after a decade-old data-entry error resulted in an ineligible candidate winning the original election in November.

City Council members engaged in a lively discussion Thursday about permitting events that serve alcohol.

In the end, however, the board voted unanimously to grant permits to the two annual events in question, the Alive After 5 summer series and the Hog Happening.

Construction of the new Lincolnton ABC store is nearing completion, despite the recent winter weather.

Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying a person of interest in a Denver bank robbery.

Detectives say the man entered the Peoples Bank, at the intersection of N.C. 16 and N.C. 73, an hour prior to Feb. 24 robbery.