By correspondent Virginia Bridges

The Durham County social services board may have broken the law when it appointed a sitting member to become the interim Department of Social Services director, according to a report released today.

But the violation appears to have been unintentional, based on documents and interviews, according to Jimmie Hicks Jr., the New Bern attorney the Durham County commissioners hired to investigate the appointment in the wake of former director Gerri Robinson’s firiing in July.

The commissioner asked Hicks to investigate three things:
- The county commissioners' appointment of Gail Perry to the Department of Social Services board in June.
- Whether DSS board members Stan Holt, Joe Bowser and Perry held an illegal meeting before the July vote to fire Robinson.
- Whether it was a conflict of interest for Perry to vote to fire Robinson and then be appointed to her position on an interim basis.

Hicks’ report found no legal problems with the first two issues.

The Cities of New Bern and Rocky Mount this afternoon urged federal regulators to force Progress Energy and Duke Energy to sell off power plants as a condition of approving their merger, the most sweeping proposal to date to curtail monopoly concerns.

The filing before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency reviewing the Duke-Progress merger, argues that the two utilities would manipulate electricity prices unless drastic measures are taken to reduce the monopoly powers of the combined company.

The federal commission's response will determine if the merger is approved in a matter of weeks, or if the $26 billion deal is delayed, which could take a year if the companies are forced to submit a new application.

The West Raleigh Baseball's Cal Ripken 10U and 12U teams got a big send-off on Wednesday evening as they prepared for the Cal Ripken World Series.

Alumni from the youth baseball organization turned out to help the Southeast Regional championship teams practice at the West Raleigh Exchange Club Park in advance of the 12U Cal Ripken World Series scheduled for Aug. 13-21 in Aberdeen, Md., and the 10U Cal Ripken World Series being played Aug. 13-20 in Winchester, Va.

BSH Home Appliances plans to cut production at its New Bern factory and eliminate about 100 jobs.

The company, which is a joint venture of Germany's Bosch and Siemens, announced Friday that it will stop making some front-load washing machines and dryers at the factory, about 110 miles southeast of Raleigh.

The New Bern plant employs about 730 people and also makes dishwashers, stoves and other appliances under the Bosch and Thermador.

The layoffs are the latest blow to North Carolina's beleaguered manufacturing sector.

DURHAM -- Something had to give.

In a clash of 4-A titans, undefeated Durham Hillside hosted undefeated and equally impressive New Bern on Friday night at Russell Blunt stadium.

After the Bears' No. 2 -- quarterback Josh Taylor -- dazzled in the first half, it was the Hornets' No. 2 -- Vad Lee -- that ultimately stole the show. Lee threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Aquez Willis and darted for a 62-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, leading Hillside to a 12-7 victory and a spot in next Saturday's 4-A championship game.

I did pretty well (4-for-4) in my predictions for area prep football games last week. I'll give it a go again this week with the games involving Garner, Wake Forest-Rolesville, Southeast Raleigh and New Bern. Remember, my predictions aren't' the typical score or winner outcomes but these projections are what I think will have the most direct outcome of the two games.

4-A Playoffs

Southeast Raleigh (10-3) at New Bern (12-0)

Prediction No. 1: This is the easy one, folks. One of the two young starting quarterbacks — Southeast's David Washington (a junior) or New Bern's Josh Taylor — will have a huge game statistically. I'm talking like 250-300 yards from scrimmage kind of big. One will find two or three big holes to make big (30-plus-yard) plays for his team.

I did pretty well (4-for-4) in my predictions for area prep football games last week. I'll give it a go again this week with the games involving Garner, Wake Forest-Rolesville, Southeast Raleigh and New Bern. Remember, my predictions aren't' the typical score or winner outcomes but these projections are what I think will have the most direct outcome of the two games.

4-AA Playoffs
Garner (11-2) at Wake Forest-Rolesville (12-1)
Prediction No. 1: Garner sophomore quarterback Lemond Johnson entered the season as a threat opposing coaches spent as much time thinking about how to stop as they did A.J. Clanton and Juwan Moye. After all, Johnson made several plays last season that won games for the Trojans.

CLAYTON -- Unbeaten New Bern had too much speed and too many big plays as it held off stubborn Clayton 38-22 in the second round of the 4-A East semifinals.

The Bears (13-0) took advantage of field position in the first quarter to build a 12-0 lead then weathered a second-half comeback by the Comets to claim the victory.

Hatteras Yachts, a division of Brunswick Corp., plans to add 350 jobs during the next five years at its manufacturing facility in New Bern.

State officials this afternoon approved giving the company incentives worth up to $3 million if it meets hiring goals and keeps 279 existing jobs at the Craven County site.

The new jobs will pay average annual salaries of $31,425. The Craven County average is $29,848.
 
The company also stands to get $900,000 of incentives from Craven County.

The expansion comes at the expense of Hatteras' facility in California, where it makes Cabo yachts. That plant is being closed and the work will transfer to New Bern.

The company began building boats on the North Carolina coast about 50 years ago. Hatteras once employed 1,400 people in New Bern, but has struggled during the recession, which hurt many boatmakers.

See video from a massive fish kill on the lower Neuse River near New Bern, N.C. Video by staff photojournalist Chuck Liddy.