The Wendell Board of Commissioners added to its list of recent town manager firings in September by abruptly dismissing Hugh Montgomery.

Commissioners said Montgomery was “terminated for cause,” meaning that their decision was based on a specific reason.

But Commissioners and town attorney Jim Cauley bucked state law in refusing to release documents that explain the reasoning behind their decision.

Cauley confirmed only that Montgomery was not fired for malfeasance or illegal or immoral behavior.

Montgomery was hired in January 2011 to replace former manager David Bone who was fired in June 2010.

The town will start off a new year by hiring its third town manager in as many years.

New town leaders

Public frustration with Mayor Harold Broadwell’s feud with commissioners Carol Hinnant and Sid Baynes, and the board’s overall reputation for disfunction, may have played a part in Broadwell’s defeat on Election Day.

Tim Hinnant defeated Broadwell to retain the seat he left in 2008. Hinnant and Baynes chose not to seek reelection. Their seats were filled by Samuel Laughery and James Parham.

Hinnant, 53, is a retired assistant director of the Governor’s Crime Commission. He didn’t seek reelection in 2007.

Laughery is a 69-year-old retired tech specialist who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and Nasdaq.

Parham, 72, is a retired education professor.

Shooting tragedy

On Dec. 7, one couple’s personal problems became a public feud.

Tariq Aaron James Taylor, 21, followed 20-year-old Jason Jeffrey, to his job at the local Food Lion. Taylor and Jeffrey argued at the front of the store, where Taylor then drew a pistol and started shooting.

Taylor shot Jeffrey twice, but also hit Food Lion employees Chiquita Baker and Laquanda Beechum.

Beechum, 19, had been shot in the hip and wrist. Baker, 22, was struck in her right leg. They were taken to the hospital and released the next day.

Jeffrey, 20, took shots in his back and ankle. He remained in critical condition for several days before his health began to improve.

Taylor, after the shooting, fled into the woods. The next day, police found Taylor dead in a barn on Marshburn Road from an apparent suicide.

It was the first shooting within town limits since 2006.

Domestic violence

A couple weeks prior to the Food Lion shooting, a Wake County deputy was shot just outside of town limits on Gail Ridge Lane while answering a domestic disturbance call.

Deputy Jeff Martin on Nov. 19 was shot by Mark Brandon Zareski, a 56-year-old man who was fighting with his wife, Diane Zareski, 28.

Brian Buckner, a neighbor, provide refuge for the wife, who fled her home.

Buckner said Diane Zareski told him her husband assaulted her with a beer bottle and that her elementary school-age daughter was still inside their home.

Before deputies arrived, Buckner said, Mark Zareski shot several times at his house.

Zareski fired at deputies, injuring Martin, upon their arrival. In a crossfire, Sheriff’s shot Mark Zareski, who was in critical condition for days.

Insurance probe

Affordable Choice Insurance & Tax Service in Wendell – owned by Brad and Holly Cooper – was one of four family-owned insurance agencies investigated and fined by the N.C. Department of Insurance on fraud charges.

The other agencies were Smithfield Insurance, Clayton Insurance, and Selma Insurance, which is owned by the Coopers. Each agency is owned by a child of Bill and Karen Honaker, who own Premium Service of Smithfield, which the four agencies use to finance policies for their customers.

The N.C. DOI began investigating the agencies this summer and found they misquoted and overcharged customers in 77 cases by a total of $131,261.

Each agency in December a $50,000 fine and is required to pay back customers who were overcharged.

The face of awareness

The stories of Leigh Murray of Wendell, a 42-year-old breast cancer survivor; her mother, Sandra Driver, of Zebulon, 63; and best friend, Christi Denton, of Wendell, 44, were broadcast nationwide in a 30-second television commercial as part of Belk department stores’ effort to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation for breast cancer research.

Murray was diagnosed when she was 36 and her two children were 4 and 2. Her positive attitude while undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and surgery inspired Denton in 2007 and Driver in 2009, when they were diagnosed.

“(Murray) was a pioneer,” Driver said. “I wouldn’t have found my cancer as early if I hadn’t known to check for it. ... And I knew if she could go through it with a smile that I could, too.”

The ad ran throughout October, which is breast cancer awareness month.

Expanded reach

After coming to terms on a new development agreement with the owners of Wendell Falls and rearranging the water and sewer merger with the City of Raleigh, Wendell reshaped its ETJ extension request to win over the Wake County commissioners.

The Wake Board unanimously approved extending Wendell’s ETJ in July after a new map was considered that cut the proposed ETJ extension from 3,958 acres to 2,179 acres.

The decision gives Wendell the authority to govern how land is used and developed in the affected area.

Wendell Falls to Wells Fargo

Commissioners in June voted to amend the developer’s agreement made with Wendell Falls’ original owners so a new ownership group, Wells Fargo, can restart the project.

Terms of the new agreement with Wells Fargo include Wendell keeping 550,000 gallons per day (gpd) of water allocation, so the town will return 3 million gpd in water allocation to eliminate $22 million of debt created in the merger.

The amendment guarantees Wells Fargo will help pay down the town’s water/sewer obligation every year, while the previous agreement called for only the town and its customers to pay off the obligation.

By September 30, Wells Fargo will purchase $1 million worth of water and sewer capacity -103,000 gallons for 412 residential units. Also, Wells Fargo will purchase water and sewer capacity each year for a set number of residential units, the town will hold the capacity until it is needed or the developer’s agreement runs out on Sept. 1, 2029.

An additional 16 acres of open space will be provided - two acres at a time - every time 500 certificates of occupancy for residential units are filed.

Dean, Knuckley, Parrish pass on

Former Mayor and longtime businessman C. “Proc” Dean died Feb. 14 at his home. He was 84. Dean was a larger than life figure among Wendell mayors. He served from 1965-1971 and stayed busy throughout his tenure. He was the founder of the Wake County Mayor’s Association. He is also credited with shepharding major improvements to downtown Wendell, sparking an effort that continues to this day to make the downtown retail market an attractive one.

Jeanette Kannon Knuckley, a pioneering businesswoman who was part of the first Catholic, Lebanese family in Wendell, died Oct. 14. She was 88. As the face of Kannon’s clothing on Main Street and an active member of St. Eugene’s Catholic Church (of which she was a charter member), Knuckley wielded more influence than any town politician. Knuckley was also a groundbreaking parishioner, relentless community activist and accessible friend and mother.

Aileen Parish, a former Wendell town commissioner and friend to nearly everyone in town, passed away Dec.1 at the age of 85. Parish, who moved to Wendell after marrying her husband Bill in 1951, took the interest she had in people and put it to use getting to know, and becoming a part of, Wendell. Parish volunteered as the choir director for Wendell Christian Church for 35 years. She was an active member of Wendell’s Rotary Club and served for four years as Wendell town commissioner.