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A third victim of what authorities called a “flash fire” at an Iredell County home has died.
Martin Lasswell, the home owner and a gunsmith, died at Wake Forest Hospital Saturday. He was one of three men in the basement of a home on Page Farm Road, east of Statesville near the Rowan County line in Iredell County when something ignited Oct. 17.
Deputies say they found gun powder in the basement of the home but they're not sure if that's what caused the fire. According to the Iredell County Fire Marshal's Office, the fire started in the muzzle of a gun that was being worked on.
Meck briefs
Jon Crosland Jr. will receive this year's Outstanding Philanthropist Award at a luncheon today.
Crosland helped found Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte in 1983 with the help of seven local churches.
The luncheon will be held by the Charlotte Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Also honored will be Bridget Anne Hampden and Tom Warshauer, Liz Simmons, Edifice Inc., Autobell Car Wash, Judy Harrison Bary, Dean Jones and James M. and Ellen L. Ross.
Laura Mesec received the outstanding student philanthropy award.
Regional briefs
Iredell County
Statesville
“Casino Night Uptown,” 6-10 p.m. Nov. 21 at Statesville Civic Center, will benefit YMCA of Iredell County and I-CARE.
“It's something a bit different to attract folks to contribute and have a good time,” said YMCA Chief Operating Officer Marcheta Campbell.
The cost is $50 per person or $75 per couple. Participants will be able to play an assortment of Las-Vegas style gambling games.
The entry fee buys $2,000 in chips.
The goal of the night is to raise $10,000, according to Campbell. The profits and expenses will be split equally by the agencies.
YMCA's portion of the proceeds will be earmarked for assistance for families and individuals who can't afford YMCA memberships.
According to Campbell, the YMCA provided $240,000 in financial assistance to families and individuals last year.
Last year, it raised $25,000 for the program, she said.
Brunswick County
Holden Beach
Holden Beach town officials are hoping the beach that greets turtles and tourists next year will be much the same as the one they remember before Tropical Storm Hanna hit in early September.
The storm took an estimated 300,000 cubic yards of sand from Holden Beach, and the projected cost for replacing it — $9 million — was the primary reason the federal government will pay for most of it to be replaced.
Ocean Isle Beach also lost 100,000 cubic yards of sand in the storm and will get assistance to put it back. The town further saw about 40 feet of the ocean end of Shallotte Boulevard collapse in place after the sand was scooped out from under it.
Town officials there are hoping to get state approval for raising the height of sandbags protecting the street end and are withholding decisions on the street's future until the ruling is made.
David Hewett, Holden Beach town manager, said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to award a contract by the end of this month to dredge parts of the Intracoastal Waterway crossed by rivers flowing through inlets into the ocean, a step that will help the town to rebuild the east end of its beach.
Forsyth County
Winston-Salem
The condition of a 12-year-old boy shot early Saturday has improved, according to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Police said they found Edson Garcia shot in the chest at about 12:40 a.m. They charged his father, Francisco Xavier Garcia Cisneros, 35, with felony child abuse.
Edson had been in serious condition at Baptist, but Sunday he had been upgraded to fair condition, a nurse said.
Police said that Garcia was intoxicated and handling a gun when Edson was shot. They also charged him with discharging a firearm inside city limits. Police recovered a .45-caliber gun when they arrested Garcia at his home, according to court papers.
