GRAHAM — A lawsuit challenging a central North Carolina county’s decision to keep in place its government-owned Confederate monument is over after civil rights groups and individuals who sued decided against asking the state Supreme Court to review lower court rulings.
The state Court of Appeals upheld in March a trial court’s decision to side with Alamance County and its commissioners over the 30-foot tall monument outside the historic Alamance County Courthouse. The state NAACP, the Alamance NAACP chapter, and other groups and individuals had sued in 2021 after the commissioners rejected calls to take it down.
The deadline to request a review by the state Supreme Court has passed, according to appellate rules. Following the March decision, the plaintiffs “recognized the low probability of this case proceeding to a full trial,” Marissa Wenzel, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said while confirming no appeal would occur.
The monument, dedicated in 1914 and featuring a statue of a Confederate infantryman at the top, had been a focal point of local racial inequality protests during 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals panel agreed unanimously that the county had kept the statue at its longtime location in accordance with a 2015 state law that limits when an “object of remembrance” can be relocated.
Ernest Lewis Jr., an Alamance County NAACP leader, told WGHP-TV that his group is now encouraging people to vote to push for change.
“We have elected to focus our efforts instead on empowering our clients to advocate for change through grassroots political processes,” Wenzel said in a written statement Thursday.
Other lawsuits involving the fate of Confederate monuments in public spaces in the state, including in Tyrrell County and the city of Asheville, are pending.
A bank glitch prevented Alamance-Burlington School System employees from being paid on Friday, according to a joint message from the school system and its bank, Atlantic Union Bank.
The statement said that Atlantic Union processed the $9.8 million payroll, but it was not posted as it should have been. Atlantic Union Bank will offer reimbursement if any employees incur late fees due to this delay.
ABSS’s bank was American National Bank and Trust Company until it merged into Atlantic Union Bank, which was completed on May 28.
WFMY reported that some of the bank’s customers had told the TV station or had posted on social media about having problems with their accounts after the merger was completed.
The school district said that pay began moving into employees’ accounts late Friday afternoon.
BURLINGTON — A Roxboro man previously convicted of felonies, including two sex crimes, has been arrested on eight new charges involving children.
On May 8, a Burlington parent reported the person’s child having online interactions with an adult, the Burlington Police Department said on Friday. Detectives investigated and found that Joshua Calvin Tapp, 34, used a social media account to communicate and meet with multiple children.
On Wednesday, May 22, Tapp was arrested and charged with four counts of indecent liberties with children, two counts of solicitation of a child by computer and one count each of statutory sex offense with a child under 15 and crime against nature.
Tapp was being held at the Alamance County Detention Center with no bond allowed.
Detectives continue to investigate this case and believe additional victims may be found. Anyone who suspects they may be a victim can contact the Special Victims Unit at 336-229-3500.
Police said they urge parents and caregivers to have open and ongoing conversations with children about online safety. Awareness and monitoring accounts are essential, police said.
Anyone interested in learning about resources available for adults and teens can visit the N.C. Department of Justice and the NC Department of Information Technology websites below for more information.
The Burlington Police Department asks that anyone with additional information about this investigation call (336) 229-3500. For anonymous methods, call Alamance County-Wide Crimestoppers at (336) 229-7100 or use the mobile app, P3 Tips. Tips provided through Crimestoppers may be eligible for cash rewards.
Tapp has been convicted of multiple felonies in Person County since 2007, including second-degree rape in 2008 and indecent exposure in 2022, according to the N.C. Department of Adult Correction.