Many cities held their fireworks displays Friday night instead of on the fourth, including Garner.

Fireworks lit up the night sky with a heavy dose of reds, whites and blues for more than half an hour.

"I like the blue ones," said Kareem Alhertani. "Blue is my favorite color."

It's a spectacle that some 20,000 people came out to Lake Benson Park to see up close -- and that doesn't even count the folks watching from backyard bar-b-ques all over town.

The display capped off what has turned into a major event for Garner.

Hundreds of kids spent the afternoon swarming over a carnival-style play area, while the rest of the crowd sat back and listened to music ranging from classic soul hits by Johnny White and the Elite Band, to patriotic standards by the North Carolina Symphony.

"They come from all over because the communities they live in don't have anything that will rival this," said a proud Mayor Ronnie Williams.

And then of course, there was the food; thousands of picnic blankets covered the grass with all sorts of options.

"Mom and apple pie. You can't beat that," said one woman. "Baked it myself."

"We've seen some hot dogs and chicken over there. We brought sub sandwiches," said Ed Walaski. "If you look around people bring pizza; all kinds of stuff."

The celebration cost Garner about $50,000, but organizers say they're proud of the fact that they can keep it going without ever considering charging folks for it.

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In the 1760's, taxation without representation had colonies questioning authority, including farmers and merchants in Orange County, North Carolina.

Joel Turner with the Orange County Historical Museum explained the issue of taxes led to an uprising called the "War of Regulation."

"Everything was in upheaval, people knew something was going to change, they weren't really sure how."

After the war, six "Regulators" or rebels, were convicted and hanged in Hillsborough.

"At least in North Carolina it was kind of the first little tremor before the revolution," Turner said.

On July 4, 1776 the colonies broke away from the crown by signing the Declaration of Independence. One of North Carolina's three delegates to sign the declaration was from Hillsborough, William Hooper, whose house still stands today.

And in the heart of Hillsborough is the original site of where North Carolina's delegates debated the Constitution of the United States, and helped change it, to how we know it today.

"They sent it back to Philadelphia and said no we're not going to ratify it until you guarantee us certain rights," Turner explained. "It's because of North Carolina because of the delegates that met here in Hillsborough that we have the Bill of Rights, so, it's something you should be proud of."

Hundreds of people hit Jordan Lake Friday afternoon to kick off the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Including Elizabeth Wilkie and her family from Siler City.

"It's $5 to get in, we brought snacks, it's not a whole lot of money to spend," said Wilkie.

Although she said they're enjoying the three-day weekend, they're still remembering the reason for it.

"It's for our independence day as a nation," said Adam Bullard, Wilkie's nephew. "I think it's an important holiday."

For Ashley Wilkie, Elizabeth's husband, the Fourth of July is extra special. He has a friend serving in Iraq.

"You talk about sacrifice, he has three young ones," said Wilkie. "It's his third tour, when I think of the Fourth of July, I think of him."

He said his family will spend the rest of the weekend with friends, going to the pool and watching fireworks. Wilkie said doing that in a free country is something he doesn't take for granted.

"It means a lot that he's over there fighting for us," said Wilkie. "He's doing it so most of us won't have to."

Instead, many will be at the lake or beach the next couple days, celebrating America and what it stands for.

"Why wait another day? Why not ask store owners to be good servants," Melvin Whitley said Friday. "Safe communities are good for business."

On Thursday, Whitley once again went to three convenience stores to buy glass stems that he says addicts can easily use as a crack pipe.

"Sixteen years ago this was my instrument. This was my tool of misery," he said as he held one up. "I think it's wonderful that today ... I'm God's tool of hope."

Whitley pushed lawmakers to regulate the glass tubes for years now. Last week, Governor Bev Perdue signed a law that will force store owners to keep better track of who's buying novelties like glass pens and "rose in a glass."

"They'll find ways and means to get high," Whitley said. "But why make it easier for them?"

Starting Dec. 1, retailers will require buyers of potential paraphernalia to:

• present a photo ID that includes the person's name and current address
• enter his or her name and current address on a record that the retailer keeps on hand to track these items
• sign his or her name, verifying by signature the glass tube or splitter will not be used as drug paraphernalia in violation of the criminal laws of the State of North Carolina.

Bekee Food Store owner Steven Ikecachukwu said the products like the "glass pen" only account for less than two percent of sales in the store, but can be used legitimately.

"If you look at it ... it's a pen. You can use it to write," he said. "It's none of my business to ask them - ‘what are you going to use it for.'"

He thinks regulating the items should start somewhere else.

"If this is a great problem that people abuse some of this, why should the government allow the products even brought into the country," he said. "Most of them are made overseas ... from China."

But Whitley believes controlling problems starts in communities.

"It's like saying the pharmaceutical companies shouldn't be allowed to sell narcotics. It's regulated," he said. "What we're doing now is regulating the sell of an instrument that we already know has a history towards drug addiction."

He hopes store owners will feel the new regulations will mean keeping items like glass tubes on-hand isn't worth the work required.

"Why not send a message: if you want [drug users] to take one step towards recovery, why not use this as a step to say ‘we understand; we're going to help you to do so.' They can take one small step and with this we take a small step."

Read more about the new law.

According to the police report, 19-year-old John Michael Dean was travelling west on New Bern Ave. at a high rate of speed when he lost control while approaching a curve.

The car collided with a stone wall and "ended in a vertical resting place between two trees", according to the report. Dean was ejected from the vehicle.

The accident report also states that alcohol is suspected in the crash.

Dean has been charged with DWI, careless and reckless driving and provisional DWI.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office says someone broke into the Abundant Life Church around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

According to police, the church, located at 512 US 70, was unlocked at the time of the incident.

The suspects got away with four Sanyo flat screen TV's, a Playstation, a Wii, and games with a combined value of about $1,000.

But "Fun in the Sun" summer camp in Durham says it doesn't have to.

The program is being offered through the non-profit organization Star Foundation.

"Fun in the Sun" is a full day camp designed to accommodate working parents and runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

And at just $100 per week, per child, it's a bargain compared to most camps.

Camp organizers say their program includes playtime and exercise outside.

And when the sun's at its peak, the children go inside for arts and crafts and lessons on things like creative writing, and even ecology.

"If the camp was not around, we would have a lot of young kids that couldn't volunteer this summer, we'd have a lot of kids without summer jobs, we'd have kids who would be getting in trouble with gangs and stuff this summer," said camp administrator Joyce Waller.

The camp's in its fourth year and directors say it's about more than just having fun.

The non-profit also tries to teach life lessons to its campers and teenage volunteers, encouraging the older kids to be mentors and role models to the younger ones.

"I actually like when they smile at me and they make me feel good about myself. Making them happy, makes me happy," said teen staffer Janelle Whitley.

"If you take a smaller kid and you show them what you've learned so far, then someone a little older than you show you what they learned, then that's the way to just pass it down," said Ron Williams, another administrator with the camp.

Some days there are more volunteers than campers.

Directors blame the recession for low enrollment.

Even though the camp's running on a shoestring budget, organizers don't have the heart to turn anyone away.

"If you have a child that wants to go to camp, bring the child in, let's make some reasonable payment arrangements and hopefully the people in the community will start sponsoring these children," said Waller.

If you have more than one camp-aged child, it's only $75 for the second child and $50 for a third.

And because the camp is struggling financially this summer it has a couple fundraisers planned this month.

To find out when and where, click here.  

In softball stealing bases is legal, stealing equipment is not. But members of the East Wake Spirits softball organization are stepping up to the plate despite having a strike against them. Their 10 ft. trailer full of equipment was stolen Wednesday. Erica Adams, 13, said she was shocked when she heard the news.

"We worked so hard on fundraisers and all kinds of stuff and just to see it go right down the drain is just kind of heartbreaking," Adams said.

East Wake Spirits is a traveling softball club, with three different teams, meant to provide a little more challenge outside school and recreation leagues. Coach Phil Hocutt said the challenge now is replacing four years and almost $3,000 worth of donations.

"We can't replace it, I mean we can't replace it this year, it would take several years," Hocutt said.

Hocutt said everything from uniforms to catcher's equipment is gone. Coaches are doing the work of a stolen machine and pitchers have to throw batting practice. The girls have their own bats, but brand new balls were paid for out of the coach's pocket. Coach Phil, is asking the thieves to return what's missing.

"There's nothing in there that anybody could work with or use except for these kids," Hocutt said.

But parents like Sally Pollard said while they're mad, their children did gain a valuable lesson in what it means to be a team.

"They're all family and you know when something bad happens it happens to everybody, and so I think the girls, it makes them think about each other more," Pollard said.

Wendell Police are investigating. The team is in immediate need of balls, soft toss nets and catcher's gear. If you'd like to help, you can e-mail Coach Phil by clicking on this link, then by clicking on the contacts tab and 12U for his e-mail.

The marsupial, named Sydney, has been on the loose since yesterday after it jumped a fence at the Rolesville Veterinary Hospital.

"Went out there about 20 minutes later and Sydney had jumped the fence," Jennifer Hummel, a vet at the animal hospital, said. "As you can imagine, a wallaby can travel 35 miles an hour and has a pretty powerful jump whenever they're jumping so it's not easy to track a wallaby."

Jackson Taylor is tracking the little guy around this park.

"It's probably gonna be hiding right now and then he'll move a little bit at night," Taylor said.

Sydney probably felt right at home with other squirrels and rabbits that live at the park.

Since Sydney's been on the loose, residents have learned one important thing about nature:
"Never trust that wallaby can't jump high," Hummel said.

A grad student at UNC, Moynihan said getting around on a scooter for the last year has made him see a lot of advantages to it.  

"This is a perfect town to drive scooters in," said Moynihan. "And about a year ago there were all the problems with the gas prices going through the roof and they cost almost nothing to fill up."

And he doesn't even need a permit to park on campus. He just locks his scooter to a bike rack. But the UNC Board of Trustees passed new regulations in March that would essentially treat scooters like motorcycles and require them to have permits and park in designated spots. The new regulations would go into effect on August 15th.

When Moynihan and other scooter drivers heard about, they started an online petition to oppose it two weeks ago. Petitioners said since scooters are not considered vehicles by law, they should be able to drive about without any major restrictions.

"They're really a lot more like a bicycle in a lot of ways," said Moynihan. "They don't go very fast, they don't take up much space."

Moynihan said he supports part of the policy that prohibits scooters on sidewalks.

"I don't think it's safe," he said.

Some UNC employees and students agree. Joe Ferrington, an employee, said he also thinks scooters should be limited to certain parts of the campus.  

"If they're on the academic side where the majority of the classes are, there's no need for them," said Ferrington.

Other students NBC 17 News spoke with said they don't see the need for scooter regulations. 

"I feel like they should let them ride their scooters where they want to, park where they want to," said Sharelle Mitchell, UNC student. "They're really small, they're like bikes

"I think having students pay for permits would be a little excessive," said Travis Book, UNC Senior.

According to the Daily Tar Heel, the Board of Trustees will re-evaluate the policy during its meetings on July 22nd and 23rd.

The display will take place Friday night at Morrisville Community Park around 9:15 p.m.

"Hopefully the weather will be good to us," said Jerry Allen, Morrisville's Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources. "We'll have a 20-25 minute fireworks display there at the park."

Usually, Morrisville would have already had its annual "Day at the Park" in mid-June, but that event was cancelled because of the recession.

"When budgets got tight we had to make some additional reductions and that event had to be taken out," said Allen. "So Day at the Park went away, but unfortunately by the point we cancelled it we already had contracts in place, one of those being a fireworks contract."

Since the town was contractually obligated to have fireworks, officials just moved it back a few weeks.

The display costs about $5,000; if Day at the Park had gone on as planned the town would have spent ten times that amount.

Following Friday's fireworks there will be a couple different events on Saturday.

Firefighters will be hosting a pancake breakfast at Morrisville Community Park from 8 to 10 a.m.

Then at 2 p.m., the Fire Department will have a "wet down" ceremony to welcome its newest truck; kids are invited to bring their water guns and join the fire hoses in dousing the truck at Fire Station Number Two.

The Fire Department will have hot dogs and refreshments available.

Thursday, NCDOT workers installed several signs near Green Level to Durham Road and Cary Glen Boulevard.

The orange and black signs caution drivers that there's an intersection coming up, and have a suggested 35 mile per hour speed limit.

All the new signs are on Green Level to Durham Road as cars approach the intersection from both directions.

The Town of Cary has also made some changes, installing a "traffic sentry," a stationary machine that measures speed with radar.

The device is on the north-bound side of Green Level to Durham Road, and for the moment it is not displaying speeds to drivers because it's collecting data instead.

The intersection is the site of a deadly hit-and-run accident last week.

16 year old Kailee Birdsong died after the car she was riding in was clipped, and rolled over several times.

Police are still looking for a tan or beige van or SUV they believe took off after the wreck.

Anyone with information should call Cary Police at (919) 469-4012.

George Johnson, 50, turned himself in to authorities Wednesday afternoon, on two charges each of Taking Indecent Liberties with a Child, and Indecent Liberties with a Student by a Teacher.

Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 59 months.

A criminal investigation began after a parent made accusations against Johnson, who was then a first grade teacher at Wakelon Elementary in Zebulon.

School officials suspended Johnson from work, and he subsequently resigned June 12.

Wake County Public School System leaders said that when Johnson was hired, his background check did not raise any red flags.

When hiring employees, WCPSS policy is to collect written and verbal recommendations from previous employers, conduct criminal background checks for every place the applicant has lived in the past ten years, and check the nationwide sexual offender registry.

The hiring process is halted if anything suspicious arises in someone's background, said WCPSS spokesperson Michael Evans.

Johnson's bond was set at $70,000. He is scheduled to appear in court again on July 23.

The City of Durham received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. EPA in 2008 to train about 60 residents from Northeast Central Durham and the surrounding area to gain the skills and training needed to competitively seek employment in the assessment and cleanup activities associated with the redevelopment and reuse of local and regional brownfield sites, as well as other related "green" markets.

The EPA says the term "brownfield site" means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

The city says 17 students graduated from the first class; 12 found jobs in related fields.

Students have received training and certifications that include: CPR/First Aid (Emergency Response) certifications; a 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operations (HAZWOPER) certificate; field testing and equipment; lead worker awareness; and soil and water management. Employment opportunities for these students will offer starting salaries of $11 to $13 per hour.

For more information, contact Nicholas McCoy, interim senior workforce development manager for City of Durham's Office of Economic and Workforce Development and Durham JobLink Career Center, at (919) 560-4965, extension 15220 or via e-mail at Nicholas.McCoy@durhamnc.gov.

For general information regarding the Durham JobLink Career Center, visit the City's Web site at www.durhamnc.gov/departments/eed/dwdb_joblink.cfm.

Ann Britt and Linwood Maurice Stancil are both charged with child abuse.  They were also accused of tying up the boy’s feet.

Both Britt and Stancil were released from jail on a $1,000 bond.  Social Services say the two children that were living the with suspects are now in the custody of other relatives.

According to police, three suspects in a black car with South Carolina tags were stopped and then fled the scene. NBC 17 Reporter Kim Genardo reports that there are at least 15 Raleigh Police cruisers are on the scene with support by the Highway Patrol.

Two suspects were taken into custody shortly after the chase ended. The third and final suspect was caught just after 1 p.m.

The Highway Patrol helicopter flew over the scene to help with the search.. The search had been centered east to west over a creek area at the intersection. Officers are also out on the scene with rifles drawn.

Earlier on Thursday, Raleigh police officers responded to a bank robbery call at a Sun Trust location. An officer spotted the car in the chase and began a pursuit. Shots were fired, hitting the patrol car and that is when the chase began.

There are no reported injuries at the moment.

Stay with NBC17 and NBC17.com as the story develops.

This afternoon, Durham Police arrested Thomas Rashawn Monroe, 23, of 3300 Shannon Road, Apt. 5A, in connection with the shooting. He's charged with assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm and is in the Durham County Jail under a $250,000 bond.

Officer D.J. Youmans was with his training officer on a "shots fired" call at an apartment complex at 3300 Shannon Road shortly before 4 a.m. Other witnesses reported a possible break-in in progress to police.

"When they responded and came to the location here, they wound up confronting someone shooting at them," said Chief Jose Lopez, Sr. "There were multiple shots apparently fired."

It woke up some in the neighborhood.

"We were all asleep and we heard pops - about four or five," said Ashley Goodyear, who lives across the street. "It is quiet [here] so it's surprising and it's scary"

Earlier, investigators questioned four people apartment 5-A. Lopez said shots came from inside an apartment but the officers did not shoot back.

"I have to point to the officer's professionalism that in light of the situation they had encountered, they did not fire into the door ... into the apartment," Lopez said. "You have to know who you're shooting at. You can't just shoot randomly into the dark or an inanimate space if you don't know what's behind it."

Emergency teams transported Youmans to Duke University Hospital, where he was in stable condition Thursday afternoon. He was wearing a bullet proof vest, but the shot struck him right below the edge of that protection.

"It's like having someone in your family, which quite frankly ... they are my family ... be subjected to such a violent act," Lopez said.

Youmans joined the Durham force in May after spending two years with the New York City Police Department.

Watch the NBC 17 News video to hear how it all started.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol said more troopers will patrol highways during the holiday, which begins at 6 p.m. Thursday and ends at midnight Sunday.

Last year in North Carolina, eight people died and 634 were injured over the holiday.

Troopers will take part in the nationwide "Operation C.A.R.E." (Combined Accident Reduction Effort), which involves high visibility patrols that are designed to prevent crashes.

Citizens may report crashes, drunken drivers and stranded motorists by dialing star HP (star 47) on their cellular telephones.

The officials, including Administration Secretary Britt Cobb, are hosting the annual July 4th holiday cookout at the home in Fayetteville.

The N.C. State Veterans Home provides skilled nursing care to qualified veterans. The Fayetteville home has 150 beds and another in Salisbury has 99 beds.

The department said 100-bed homes are planned in Kinston and in western North Carolina.