Posted on 07/11/2014 7:44:49 AM PDT by Morgana
CHINA GROVE State records indicate Rowan County has a drug problem. This week, residents learned that it extends to one of its best schools.
Four faculty members from Bostian Elementary were arrested Tuesday and accused of being part of a ring that illegally obtained thousands of doses of the painkiller hydrocodone.
China Grove police and state investigators say family physician Orrin Walker unlawfully wrote hundreds of prescriptions that were filled by his wife, Abby, her co-workers and friends.
Orrin Walker, 48, operated Main Street Family Practice. Abby Walker, 44, was a second-grade teacher at Bostian. Both were charged with trafficking opiates by possession, according to authorities.
As part of the four-month investigation, Meredith Wiggins Raynes, 43, a third-grade teacher at Bostian, and teacher assistants Alisha Beaver Christian, 31, and Tammy Aldridge Eudy, 45, face charges of conspiracy to commit prescription fraud by forgery and multiple counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud.
Three other women, including two educators, were arrested Tuesday on the same charges:
• Teresa Beaver Seagroves, 53, an administrative assistant at McKnight Child Development Center, a preschool facility for the Kannapolis City Schools.
• Summer Knight Thomason, 31, a teacher at Southside Christian Academy, a preschool center in Salisbury.
• Crystal Elizabeth Maness, 31, of Salisbury, the only female suspect not employed at a school.
School officials reacted quickly to the arrests. Walker resigned in the spring. Eudy and Christian were suspended without pay on Wednesday. Raynes’ status wasn’t clear.
“We have been reassured by law enforcement that at no time was the safety of any child at Bostian Elementary impacted by these activities,” Rowan-Salisbury Schools Superintendent Lynn Moody said.
“Now that we have the employee names, we can move forward with our own investigation and appropriate personnel action.”
(Excerpt) Read more at charlotteobserver.com ...
This area was a cradle of support during the Revolutionary War. Its deteriorated as has much of our country.
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