Month: April 2026

By Elijah Skipper

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    CANTON, North Carolina (WLOS) — The Town of Canton has ended its contracts with J Evans Construction after officials said work to repair Helene-related damage at Recreation Park stalled for months, delaying the reopening of the town’s baseball fields and pool facilities.

Town attorney William Morgan said the town ultimately lost confidence that the work would be completed in a reasonable timeframe after repeated delays.

The projects were intended to restore storm damage from Helene, with town leaders expecting both the ball field and pool support structures to be back in use months ago.

Morgan said the contractor had been contacted multiple times about the delays before the town decided to terminate the agreement.

The town says it has already paid roughly two-thirds of the original contract, though officials believe a similar portion of the work was not completed.

“So, the town is out some amount of money,” Morgan said. “The total is yet to be determined.”

Town leaders say they are now exploring options to recover those funds.

At the same time, challenges within the construction industry may have contributed to delays.

Anthony Harp, owner of Southeastern Property Care, said his company was brought in as a subcontractor by J Evans Construction shortly before the contract was terminated.

“We were scrambling at the time to kind of pick up all the loose pieces,” Harp said. “I did see that a lot of the subs and a lot of the materials didn’t meet the expectations.”

Harp said the project relied on multiple subcontractors, a common structure in construction, and that issues at that level can slow down progress.

He also pointed to broader industry challenges following Helene, including supply chain disruptions and difficulty sourcing materials.

According to Harp, materials needed for baseball field repairs, such as fencing, bleachers and dugout components, became especially difficult to obtain after storm damage impacted fields across the region.

“Those specific materials, which are not in high demand, suddenly became a high demand,” he said.

Now working under a new contractor, Harp said he is optimistic the project can move forward more quickly.

“I’m beyond hopeful,” Harp said. “Materials are ordered. They’re on their way.”

For Harp, the project is also personal.

“I’ve got pictures of me at four years old at Canton Park,” he said. “It’s very close to me and my entire family.”

Morgan said one key takeaway for the town may be the importance of thoroughly vetting contractors, even as communities push to rebuild quickly after disasters.

“Probably vet fully your contractors,” he said, “even though you want to get the projects underway and finished.”

Town officials say they hope the renewed effort will allow the ball field and pool facilities to reopen as soon as possible.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Madilyn Destefano

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    FLAGLER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — The body-camera video and 911 calls related to the arrest of a 46-year-old Palm Coast man, who is running for governor and previously ran for mayor, have been released.

According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Kevin Cichowski was arrested after a disturbance with a weapon.

Deputies responded Friday morning to a home on Cleveland Court after a report that a man had “battered two elderly victims in the home — hitting one with a cane and throwing a cellphone at the other — and allegedly had a gun.”

“The 911 caller, who was one of the victims, further reported the suspect, Kevin Cichowski, had threatened to kill them multiple times and stated he would kill law enforcement if they were called,” FCSO said.

In the 911 call, the victim can be heard saying, “Our son came in here, hit my husband with a cane. We’re both disabled right now.”

The caller goes on to say Cichowski threw her phone at her head, causing her to bleed.

Deputies located the two victims, who were hiding in a bedroom, and said they could not leave the home because one of them was bedridden.

After the victims were evacuated, deputies made contact with Cichowski and ordered him to surrender.

He did and was taken into custody without incident.

Cichowski is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of battery on a person over 65, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, tampering with a witness and two counts of robbery by sudden snatching.

While being transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, Cichowski made suicidal statements and was placed into protective custody under the Baker Act, FCSO said.

Cichowski was previously arrested in 2024 for domestic battery, domestic battery by strangulation, and false imprisonment.

Cichowski is running for governor of Florida and previously ran for Palm Coast mayor in 2021.

He filed in the Division of Elections as a Democratic candidate.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Ted Wayman, Danae Bucci, Imani Clement

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    WEBSTER, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A vigil was held Monday for a 10-year-old girl who died after she was struck by a vehicle in Webster, Massachusetts.

Marleigh Rose Guevara was Saturday hit while she was playing outside on School Street near her home.

A passerby with their own automatic external defibrillator initiated CPR before first responders arrived and took her to UMass Memorial Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

According to both the Webster and Dudley police departments, the driver in the crash was arrested on April 3 for drug possession and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

The driver was stopped in the middle of Center Road in Dudley just after 9:30 p.m. and appeared to be asleep behind the wheel, police said.

Inside the car, police found a green container containing a substance believed to be crack cocaine and two other baggies believed to be either heroin, fentanyl or crack cocaine. The driver was arrested and released on personal recognizance.

Carmen Borerro said she heard the impact of the School Street crash and stayed with Marleigh until police arrived.

“The person stopped. The person who hit her stopped,” Borerro said in Spanish. “They were talking to her until they eventually let her go.”

In a letter from Webster Public Schools, the superintendent said Marleigh was a fourth grader at Park Avenue Elementary School.

“When a community tragically loses a child, it loses a piece of its soul. Our hearts go out to Marleigh’s family and friends as they endure this terrible loss,” the police department said in a statement.

Marleigh’s mother wrote on a GoFundMe that she is “shattered in a way I didn’t know possible.”

“Marleigh was everything. She had the kind of light that you don’t come across often, the kind that made people feel safe, happy, and loved just by being near her,” her mother wrote. “Her laugh was contagious, her heart was pure, and her presence made this world a better place. To know her was to truly love her.”

Neighbors said drivers frequently speed down School Street.

“Notorious. They need to sit on this road and catch people. I don’t know, put speed bumps on the road,” neighbor Jason D’Andrea said.

The driver has not been charged in Marleigh’s death.

The crash is being investigated by the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Accident Reconstruction Unit, along with the Webster Police Department and the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.