Home Care In Graham, NC

ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A man and three teenagers face charges after two fires, including one that destroyed a historic mill in Alamance County.

Wayland Heaths Phillips, 22, of Graham, was arrested in connection with a fire at the former Culp Weaving textile plant in Graham as well as a home in Green Level. A 13-year-old, 14-year-old and 15-year-old have also been arrested.

Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson says Phillips has admitted to the fires in Graham and Green Level.

Fire in Graham

For the second time in just over a year, the former Culp Weaving mill building in Graham caught fire on Nov. 12, destroying huge parts of the building. The building, located on the 300 block of East Parker Street, had been partially empty but also used for storage.

The building, which sits just hundreds of feet from homes, previously caught fire on Oct. 11, 2022. Graham Fire Department received the call around 9:15 p.m. from someone who lived near East Parker Street and said they thought heard an explosion.

Graham Mayor Jennifer Talley said the city has attempted to make the current property owners address safety concerns at the building since the previous fire at the property.

Fire in Green Level

The following day, deputies were still investigating the fire in Graham on Nov. 13 when the Alamance Sheriff’s Office says they learned of a “similar” fire.

At about 12:09 a.m., deputies responded to a fire at a home on the 900 block of Apple Blossom Lane in Green Level. The Green Level property, which was vacant at the time, shows significant fire damage.

Fire in Hopedale

The Alamance County sheriff says a fire at the former Carolina Hosiery Mill in Hopedale on Nov. 25 is still under investigation.

“We have yet to identify specifically any individual involved in the Carolina Mills fire in Hopedale, North Carolina,” Johnson said during a news conference about the fires on Tuesday. “That investigation is still active. Personally, in my mind, there is no doubt that that fire was set due to the fact that there is no electricity to that particular building and no lightning flashing that night.”

The sheriff said it was this fire that “really made us think that we have an arsonist.”

At about 4 a.m. on Nov. 25, the Alamance County Fire Marshall said that a working fire at the mill, which was vacant and had been vacant for years, was reported. 12 fire departments as well as several other Alamance County agencies, including the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

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Deputies say the 30,000-square-foot building was old and had oil on the floor that helped the fire get extremely hot. Several floors of the building collapsed, leaving the structure “totally destroyed,” according to the fire marshall.

The fire marshall says that it will be weeks before investigators will be able to enter the destroyed building and conduct a proper investigation. The delay is due to hot spots and structural concerns for safety.

The ACSO’s CSI team took photos of the scene that will be used if investigative responsibility is handed to them. However, the Alamance County Fire Marshall is currently handling the investigation.

Arrests

Phillips has been charged with two counts each of felony burning certain buildings and felony breaking and entering, one each for the Green Level fire and the Graham fire.

The three teenagers are each charged with felony burning certain buildings in connection with the Green Level fire. A charge of breaking and entering against each teenager is pending.

“We were very, very lucky,” Talley said. “These were extremely dangerous fires. The risk not only to the general public but also our first responders is very concerning. It is very concerning that our young people look to be responsible for this, and posting things on social media bragging about this kind of behavior is something that we just don’t need in our community.”

The sheriff says investigators are still looking into the Hopedale fire. Johnson said the sheriff’s office is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals involved in that fire.

Investigators will also be working to see if any of these suspects could be connected with any other fires in the area. Johnson said the sheriff’s office received a tip alleging that Phillips may have been involved in a fire that burned about two acres of property 12 years ago.

The former Culp Weaving Mill continues to burn after fire crews from across central North Carolina — including Alamance, Guilford and Orange Counties — responded to a fire at 300 E. Parker St. in Graham overnight Nov. 12.

According to Graham Fire Chief Tommy Cole, the fire department was called to the former Culp Weaving Mill around 7:55 p.m. Nov. 12. Cole said crews battled to contain the blaze throughout the night, with the worst of the event occurring around midnight when a fire wall failed within the structure. Cole said he believes roughly 50 to 100 firefighters were on scene at any given time.

Homes along Parker Street were evacuated to protect residents due to a risk of collapse on the building. According to Cole, the fire department also contacted Duke Energy to cut power during the response. The Graham Recreation Center on College Street served as a temporary shelter for those affected in the community, according to Graham Mayor Jennifer Talley.

The fire was contained to the structure by around 3 to 4 a.m. in the morning on Nov. 13. Cole said most of the fire was out by 8 a.m., with hotspots remaining.

As of Nov. 14, isolated small hotspots continued to burn inside the structure, as smoke continued to rise from the structure into local neighborhoods around the site.

“So everything's burning underneath it. So it's a matter of just it's gonna have to burn itself out or we continue to put water on it,” Cole said. “It's going to smoke and smolder probably for the next two or three days at least.”

The source of the fire has not yet been identified according to Beau Russell, fire inspector at the Graham Fire Department. Although Cole said the fire is considered suspicious by the nature and location it occurred, he said he believes determining the cause of the fire will be challenging due to the scale of the blaze.

“Unfortunately, buildings that size — when they burn like that — sometimes are very hard because any evidence burns up inside the fire,” Cole said. “So we've called our friends from the [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] that helped us last time so we have just kind of been working with them, bouncing ideas off each other.”

This marked the second major fire at the same complex, the first of which occurred in October 2022 and resulted in multiple confirmed structural collapses.

The roughly 11-acre complex was used until Culp, the current name of the company, closed the facility in 2007 when it decided to move operations to Anderson, South Carolina, and overseas to Shanghai.

The owner of the complex, UK Warehousing LLC, is registered as a North Carolina Domestic Limited-Liability Company in Morrisville, North Carolina.

Records from the Alamance County Tax Administration show that UK Warehousing LLC has failed to pay taxes on the property since 2016. Cumulatively, UK Warehousing LLC owes roughly $17,647 in taxes.

One resident from the Graham area who wished to remain anonymous said they have had concerns about security around the complex, especially after the October 2022 fire.

“There were already holes in the fence, but then the October 2022 fire happened, and the fire department cut large swaths of the fence out so they could get in and there was no effort made to secure the property at all,” the resident said. “Anybody who wanted to could easily walk in there.”

Firefighters are urging people who live near the old Culp Weaving Mill to stay indoors and limit outdoor activities.

GRAHAM, N.C. — The Graham Fire Department is warning of air quality as the old Culp Weaving Mill continues to spark hot spots from a fire Sunday.

That fire collapsed the factory and emitted thick smoke through the neighborhood.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took samples from the site and the City of Graham released an air quality report Thursday night.

It showed the air quality in the two-block radius of the mill is moderate to unhealthy.

Karen Cano said her mother and grandmother live close by.

"We are a little worried, because like the last two days you could smell a lot. It was really bad. They have headaches every day her and my mom that live here they were having headaches," Cano said.

Mark Montgomery also lives near the mill.

He said he had to spray his roof down with water Sunday night, as embers fell on top.

"It was unnerving a little bit, especially Sunday because I came in right as it looked like it was starting. I started watching a football game and had neighbors banging on my door saying, Mark there are embers on your house you need to come out," Montgomery explained.

Now, days after the fire has been put out, he has to deal with the smoke.

"That's why I sort of waited until the end of the week before mowing my front yard. I was waiting for it to sort of settle down," Montgomery said.

The fire department is urging people who live in the area to stay inside as much as possible and limit outdoor activities, especially when there is visible smoke.

Neighbors with health conditions like breathing sensitivities should shelter in place. The fire department is still watching for open flames smoldering beneath debris and said certain areas of the building are unsafe to access.

"Every day we hope its going to get a little bit better because the fire will eventually burn itself out. That's what is producing the smoke now is all the stuff under the debris that's burning," Graham fire Chief Tommy Cole said.

The City of Graham has made the up-to-date EPA reports accessible to the public, here.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation though it has been deemed suspicious.

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Graham became the third county municipality to impose a new 3 percent hotel occupancy tax , based on legislation enacted by the General Assembly last fall, and to become a part of the local tourism development authority that will oversee the tax.

Earlier this year, both Burlington and Elon had adopted the tax; further, Burlington, as the first local municipality to act, also established the Alamance County Municipal Tourism Development Authority to oversee the collection and distribution of the occupancy tax revenues.

This appointed body, with members from each jurisdiction that imposes its own tax, will make sure that each member city receives the portion of the municipal occupancy tax collected from its own hotels and motels. Under state law, two thirds of these funds must be used to promote travel and tourism within each community, while the remainder can go toward programs and facilities which bring visitors into the area.

According to the legislation, each municipality will get to keep the proceeds from revenues generated within its own jurisdiction. A countywide occupancy tax, also 3 percent, is collected by the county government; the proceeds are split between county government and through the local visitors and convention bureau.

Mebane, the fourth county jurisdiction eligible for the new tax, will resume consideration of the issue at its next city council meeting, on April 8. This newspaper’s publisher objected last week that inadequate notice had been provided because a hearing notice had been printed only in an Orange County newspaper, while all of the affected hotels are in Alamance County.

Are Airbnbs/Vrbo covered?

A new wrinkle in Graham’s discussion was mayor Jennifer Talley’s contention that the new occupancy tax would also apply to short-term rentals such as those of Airbnb and Vrbo, two national companies that coordinate with local homeowners who rent out all or parts of their home for guests often on vacation.

In Elon, the assumption had been the opposite. There, Elon mayor Emily Sharpe had conceded during that town council’s discussion about the new tax that the vacation rentals weren’t subject to local occupancy tax under current state law, although she said, “it would be nice.”

[See separate story this edition about interpretation of the occupancy tax application to short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnbs: https://alamancenews.com/do-airbnb-rentals-pay-occupancy-taxes-the-answer-appears-to-be-complicated/]

Elon’s discussion involved one hotel, the Inn at Elon, run by Elon University. In Mebane, the assumption had been that there were three existing hotels – a Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, and a Hampton Inn – located off N.C. 119 near I-85/40 that would be subject to the tax. A fourth hotel is currently under construction near Lowe’s Home Improvement on the other side of N.C. 119.

Earlier jurisdictions have stated their hope that, administratively, the county government will collect the tax – which is parallel to the existing 3 percent county occupancy tax – with proceeds from the new tax to be distributed based on the source of each hotel’s location.

Talley had earlier objected when the legislation first passed last fall that the distribution formula for the new tax was supposed to be population-based, but legislators explained that the language of the new statute was aimed at allowing each jurisdiction to keep all of the revenues generated by hotels within its jurisdiction, not what Talley felt had been promised.

GRAHAM CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

(Voters may select 2)

Full name: Ricky C Hall. Nickname: Ricky. Born: Date of birth: May 25 1959 Place of birth: Martinsville, Virginia. Education: Patrick Henry Community College, Certificate of Completion in Welding Technology, 1986-1989; Patrick Henry Community College, 1989-1992, Certificate of Completion in Advance Computer Aided Drafting and Design; Patrick Henry Community College Certificate of Completion in Machine Tool Technology and Computer Aided Machinist 1991-1994; UNC of Government 2022-2023 Ethic Training; UNC of Government, Essential of Government 2022-2023. Military service (branch and years): N/A. Occupation/place of employment: Retired. Family: Spouse: Judy Marie Hall. Children: — Religion/church affiliation: Church of Christ. Organizations: Treasurer for the Alamance Transportation Authority; BGMPO Member. Political career: Current Graham Mayor Pro Tem (Dec 2021 to Present); Graham City Council Member (Dec 2019 -Dec 2021); Planning Board Member (2008 to 2016); Chairman of the City Graham Planning Board and Board of Adjustment (2016 to 2019). Address: 2501 Pepperstone Drive, Graham.

Full name: Ryan Allen Kluk. Nickname: — Born: Date of birth: July 13, 1995. Place of birth: Waco, Texas. Education: Robert B. Gleen High School, 2013; B.S. in Biology & B.A. in History, Hampden-Sydney College, 2017; M.P.P. in Public Policy, University of Denver, 2021. Military service (branch and years): N/A. Occupation/place of employment: Regional Government Affairs Director, NC Realtors Association. Family: Spouse: Julianne Kluk, married two years on November 7. Children: N/A. Religion/church affiliation: Lamb’s Chapel, Burlington.

Organizations: National Association of Realtors – Land Use and Property Rights Board Member. Political career: N/A. Address: 1812 Brim Drive, Haw River (Graham).

Full name: Brice Caldwell Turner II. Nickname: Chip. Born: Date of birth: August 15, 1952. Place of birth: Graham, Alamance County. Education: Graham High School, 1970; Attended Ala-mance Community College, 1970-1972. Military service (branch and years): Army National Guard, 6years, 7 months active. Occupation/place of employment: Retired NCDOT. Family: Spouse: N/A. Children: Kelley Turner, 41 years old, Graham. Religion/church affiliation: First United Methodist Church Graham, Lifetime member. Organizations: Thomas M. Holt Masonic Lodge. Political career: Graham City Council, 12 years, 2 years mayor pro tem; Graham Recreation and Parks Commission Board, 10 years. Address: 128 Westover Street, Graham.

Full name: Bonnie Lou Whitaker. Nickname: — Born: Date of birth: October 6, 1962. Place of birth: Raleigh. Education: Attended UNC-Wilmington, 1980-84, majored in Broadcast Journalism. Military service (branch and years): U.S. Air Force, 1985-2010. Retired. Occupation/place of employment: Quality Assurance/Defense Contract Management Agency. Family: Spouse: Patty Hays, 19 years. Children: — Religion/church affiliation: Christian. Organizations: Graham City Council; Graham Council Liaison to Appearance Commission; Valleyfield HOA President. Political career: Appointed to Graham City Council March 2022 to fill Jennifer Talley’s seat. Address: 2456 Greenview Drive, Graham.