BRASSTOWN
Utility worker hit by vehicle
A local woman accused of using her car as a weapon faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting a public officer.
Melissa Susan Vines, 66, lives on Royal Oaks Trail, where the incident occurred on the afternoon of May 5.
Christopher Tyler Hill was clearing brush from a driveway, when he and reported that he was cursed by Vines and struck on his right shoulder by her automobile as it drove by, Clay County Sheriff Mark Buchanan said in a release.
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“Luckily, Hill was not injured at all,” Buchanan said.
Vines denied responsibility for striking Hill. She provided a cell phone video to investigating Officers Chris Moral and Nick Queen that she indicated would prove her innocence, Buchanan said. It did not.
When officers reviewed the video, it showed Vines turning her steering wheel toward Hill as she drove past him, Buchanan said.
“Vines appeared upset with the work Blue Ridge Mountain (Electric Membership Corp.) was doing by clearing right-of-way brush in the area with a helicopter,” Buchanan said.
As she was being arrested, Vines was told to put her hands behind her back to be handcuffed, but refused.
“She physically resisted being handcuffed to the point she ended up on the floor of her house,” Buchanan said.
Vines was taken to the Clay County Detention Center in Hayesville, where she was given a $5,000 unsecured bond and released.
MURPHY
Free alcohol locks at ABC
Free alcohol locks are available at the Murphy ABC store, thanks to Mountain Strong, the prevention arm of Mountain Projects.
Using a grant from Community Impact North Carolina, the Mountain Strong team has placed three types of locks on displays in Murphy and several other ABC stores in western North Carolina. The displays include individual bottle locks, cabinet locks and locks to secure refrigerators where alcohol may be stored.
The free locks are part of Talk It Up Lock It Up, a campaign that encourages keeping kids safe from alcohol by locking it up. According to stats from TIULIU, two out of three youth say alcohol is easy to get from their home or the home of a friend or relative.
In addition to securing and monitoring alcohol, the campaign also encourages talking with youth about the harmful effects of alcohol and establishing clear expectations on no underage alcohol use.
Details: Visit mountainstrongwnc.org.
Compiled by Publisher David Brown. The Clay County Progress contributed to this report.