Filing Update – 5:30 p.m.

I’ve heard Mollie McInnis, Lee County’s register of deeds, has filed to seek a third term.

McInnis is a Democrat.

More updates as they come.

Filing Update – 4 p.m.

I’m actually handling some other things today, so Jonathan Owens is writing the election filing update story, but he told me that a guy named Wade Childress filed as a Democratic candidate for the county board of commissioners.

I’m completely unfamiliar with Mr. Childress, but Jon tells me he’s a somewhat regular fixture at the commissioners’ bi-weekly meetings.

Anyway, I’ll continue to update as I get more information.

There was no school shooting

There’s a rumor going around town today that there was a shooting at one of the high schools in Lee County.

I just got off the phone with Darla Cole, the chief school resource officer for the county school district, who told me that there was no shooting at any of the schools today.

The best Cole could figure is that following a wreck near Lee County High School on Tuesday morning, a helicopter had to land at the high school’s practice football field in order to fly an injured pedestrian (non-student, as far as I know right now) to a nearby hospital. She said someone must have seen the helicopter and some police cars near the school and assumed something terrible had happened.

How that turns into a school shooting is beyond me, but working in a town like Sanford I’ve seen how quickly rumors, true or not, can spread.

Cole said phones have been ringing “off the hook” at the county’s schools and at the Sanford Police Department. I told her I would do my best to help dispel the rumor before any more parents or students become needlessly worried.

So if you’re reading this, pass the word along to your friends: There was no school shooting in Lee County today.