The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • A4

4A Thursday, March 13, 2014 charlotteobserver.com The Charlotte Observer Local Daily charlotteobserver.com/local Legislators at the General Assembly are interested in streamlining how local govern- ments can tax North Carolina businesses in a move that could take millions of dollars away from the largest cities. A committee that focuses on tax issues unveiled Wednesday a businesses depending on where located. Sen. Bill Rabon of Southport said some governments have abused their authority. The lobbying group for North municipalities is con- cerned about the lost revenue.

Estimates range from $11 million to $25 million. ASSOCIATED PRESS new version of a bill that would repeal the business privilege license tax that municipalities can charge and replace it with a new tax that would be capped at $100 per business location. Legislators say the broad au- thority towns and cities have creates disjointed tax rates for Cities, towns could face $100 cap on business tax A school resource officer was injured Wednesday morn- ing when he backed into a glass window at Garinger High School. A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spokeswoman said the incident took place about 11:30 a.m. inside the north- east Charlotte school.

She said the officer was in a with a student and stepped backward. He backed into the window, the spokeswoman said, and it shattered. The officer suffered cuts on his hand and was taken by Medic to a hospital for treatment. STEVE LYTTLE Window breaks, officer injured at Garinger Gov. Pat McCrory criticized Attorney Gener- al Roy office on Wednesday, suggesti- ng Cooper was politicizing the cleanup of Duke coal ash spill on the Dan River last month.

McCrory has given Duke until Saturday to supply options, costs and other details for dealing with its ash ponds. Last month a collapsed culvert spilled up to 39,000 tons of coal ash sludge across some 70 miles of river bottom. Reporters asked the governor about the Duke situation after he finished speaking Wednesday morning at an economic forum at Central Piedmont Community Harris Campus. Duke CEO Lynn Good last week said the company will pay to clean up the spill, but said Duke expects customers to underwrite the ex- pense of closing ash ponds at 14 sites. Cooper, a potential 2016 Demo- cratic gubernatorial candidate, has said he will fight the utility if it tries to charge customers for the expense.

McCrory said the attorney office comment on the situation while au- thorities are still trying to get to the bottom of what happened. McCrory, a former Duke employee, said he would let the N.C. Utilities Commission decide financial matters on the cleanup. The governor appoints the members of the commission. make decisions based on data and re- search, not based on he said.

we need to do is have every politician get in the details of that, because they are not them- selves going through the complex study that this engineering and environmental issue Asked if that was a reference to Cooper, McCrory replied: frankly think inappro- priate for that office to comment on this be- cause they are involved in the process both past, present and The attorney office, which has ap- pealed three recent rate hikes by Duke, defend- ed its right to speak out. done in the past, Attorney General Cooper intends to fight for consumers as state law gives him the authority to do with utility rate spokeswoman Noelle Talley said in an e-mail. McCrory said he expects that, in resolving the coal ash issues, state officials will follow proc- esses similar to those in South Carolina, where the Santee Cooper utility ultimately agreed to spend $250 million to clean ash out of its seven ponds. Asked what he expected to get from Duke by the Saturday deadline, the governor replied: expect a strategic plan on how to handle a very complex situation that needs a remedy both short term and long Records from the Utilities Commission have been subpoenaed as part of a federal grand jury investigation prompted by the Dan River ash spill. The subpoena, issued last month, asks for records related to ash-pond dam inspections formerly reported to the commission.

It also seeks documents on illicit seeps and discharges from those dikes. The grand jury will meet in Raleigh for three days next week. Subpoenas have also gone to the N.C. Depart- ment of Environment and Natural Resources, to 18 current or former water-quality officials, and to Duke. A subpoena to DENR initially sought records for Dan River plant, where the spill oc- curred Feb.

2, as part of a grand jury investiga- tion of a A second round of subpoenas went to 18 current and former water- quality officials within the agency. Duke acknowledged also getting two subpoe- nas in February but would not discuss them further. STAFF WRITER BRUCE HENDERSON CONTRIBUTED. Frazier: 704-358-5145; on Twitter McCrory: politicize ash spill Governor criticizes Attorney General Cooper for remarks about cleanup By Eric Frazier McCrory Cooper Good MORGANTON The suspect in a double hom- icide in Burke County who was also accused of fatally shooting a U.S. Forestry officer was killed by officers during a manhunt Wednes- day afternoon.

Investigators identified the victims as Rhon- da and Levi Whisnant, the parents of Troy Da- vid Whisnant, 38, who is suspected in their kill- ings. The U.S. Forestry Service has not identi- fied the officer whom investigators say Whis- nant also killed. Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, investigators were called to the house on Fish Hatchery Road to check their welfare.

There, deputies found their bodies. The house near Morganton is in a heavily wooded, mountainous area, where homes are spaced far apart. As the investigation went on, the N.C. High- way Patrol notified investigators that two cars had been reported stolen and may have been connected to their case. Late Wednesday, investigators had not re- moved the bodies of Troy Whisnant and the Forestry officer from a wooded area and were preventing cars from going down the road.

More than 100 officers from about a half-doz- en agencies joined in the manhunt. Sheriff Steve Whisenant said after discover- ing the bodies, police began to sus- pect Troy Whisnant, a felon who had spent time in prison. The sheriff said the manhunt fo- cused on an area a mile in diameter from the house. Searchers located one of the stolen vehi- cles abandoned near Old Tabletop Road. thought that we had him confined.

We set up roadblocks on all the arteries, and we pretty much had him confined to a mile radi- the sheriff said. Around 3 p.m., the U.S. Forestry officer and his search dog approached Troy Whisnant. Whisnant shot the officer and dog, took the of- gun and kept running, the sheriff said. Shortly afterward, he was approached by an Avery County deputy and two state troopers.

They told him to drop the weapon, the sheriff said. Whisnant fired one shot, and at least one officer returned fire, killing him. The Burke County Office is investi- gating the killings of Rhonda and Levi Whis- nant. The State Bureau of Investigation is in- vestigating the death. The FBI is in- vestigating the U.S.

Forestry killing. The sheriff said he did not know a motive. He said Troy Whisnant used to live at his par- house but had moved out. According to N.C. Department of Correction records, Troy Whisnant was released from prison in July after serving 11 months on a receiving sto- len property charge.

In the late 1990s, he served a year in prison for manslaughter. STAFF WRITERS ANDREW DUNN AND MICHAEL GORDON CONTRIBUTED. Wootson: 704-358-5046; Twitter: PHOTOS BY JEFF WILLHELM Crime-scene tape hangs at the entrance to the home on Fish Hatchery Road near Morganton where Rhonda and Levi Whisnant were found dead Wednesday morning. Police suspect their son, Troy, who was shot by law enforcement officers after a manhunt Wednesday afternoon. Sheriff: Suspect in 3 deaths shot Standoff ends with officer shooting Burke man accused of killing his parents and a U.S.

Forestry officer By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. Officers gather at Mountain Grove United Methodist Church, their command center Wednesday to investigate the deaths of Rhonda and Levi Whisnant, whose bodies were found in their Fish Hatchery Road home. The sheriff said he did not know a motive. Gastonia S.C.

N.C. Charlotte Morganton Hickory 85 77 40 321 10 MILES 40 PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST Lake James 181 181 126 Fish Hatchery Rd. Double homicide Morganton DAVID PUCKETT STAFF MAP A federal judge delayed a hearing Wednes- day in a lawsuit by the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation over Duke coal ash. The foundation sued Duke Energy Carolinas last year over illicit discharges from two ash ponds at the Riverbend power plant on Moun- tain Island Lake, water source. Such lawsuits are not allowed under federal law if state or federal authorities are a separate but similar action.

Duke filed a motion to dismiss the founda- lawsuit. The company argued the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources had al- ready sued Duke over ash and reached a proposed settlement. A magistrate judge agreed, recommending in December that the lawsuit be dismissed. The recommendation went to District Judge Max Cogburn.

power plant in Eden spilled tons of ash into the Dan River on Feb. 2. The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing the Riverkeeper Foundation, ar- gued the spill had changed events. A federal grand jury began investigating the spill. The state sidelined the proposed River- bend settlement.

State regulators cited Duke for illegally dumping solids from its ash pond on the Dan River, enforcing a standard the foundation said also applied to Riverbend. On Wednesday Duke asked Cogburn, who will decide whether to dismiss the lawsuit, for more time to respond to the foundation. think this demonstrates even more dili- gent prosecution by DENR, not attorney Brent Rosser, representing Duke, told Cogburn. The attorney, Frank Holleman, called request part of a of delay that has resulted in serious harm to the people of North Carolina and the waters of the Cogburn agreed to delay the hearing. The foundation has until March 26 to file a brief on the spill-induced changes.

Duke will have until April 9 to respond. Groups call on McCrory In a separate press conference event Wednesday at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, environmental, energy and public-interest groups called on Gov. Pat McCrory to disclose his financial ties to Duke, including the value of company stock the former Duke executive owns. DENR spokesman Drew Elliot once worked for Progress Energy, now part of Duke. Depart- ment ombudsman Joseph Harwood was a longtime Duke executive.

A grand jury probing coal ash will meet in Raleigh next week. Henderson: 704-358-5051; Twitter: Judge delays Duke coal ash hearing Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation has until March 26 to changes to case; Duke to respond by April 9 By Bruce Henderson.