NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) – A rabid raccoon in Carolina Beach was euthanized on Sunday, according to a news release from Sergeant J.J. Brewer with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office.

Animal Services was called to pick up a raccoon on South Fourth Street in Carolina Beach that had possibly fought with an owned dog. The dog was current on its rabies vaccinations but it was handled by its owners after the incident, which potentially exposed them to the virus, Brewer said.

The raccoon was euthanized and sent to the state lab. Officials then notified the Animal Services Unit that the raccoon had tested positive on Tuesday, making it the sixth positive case in the county during 2012. Brewer said the victim was notified of the positive results and ASU staff verified that the dog was given a rabies booster vaccine.

Officials are expected to canvass the area to educate the public about rabies vaccines.

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WECT) – A man camping on the beach at Freeman Park is recovering in the hospital after being run over early Sunday morning.

According to the interim police chief, Dale Joseph Sheeler is believed to have a few broken ribs from the incident.

Sheeler was inside his tent when it happened, so police say he has no idea who or what exactly hit him.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) – More than 100 people have been verified as victims of sterilization by the state’s former Eugenics Board program, according to the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation.

A total of 111 individuals, whose procedures were conducted in 48 counties, have been matched to the program’s record, including two from New Hanover County. Seventy-two sterilizations were reportedly performed between July 1946 and June 1968 in the county.

In January, Governor Bev Perdue’s Eugenics Compensation Task Force recommended a tax-free $50,000 payment to living victims and those who were alive when initially verified. The Task Force also recommended providing mental health services to victims, creation and expansion of eugenics exhibits, and continuation of the Sterilization Victims Foundation.

“I am putting together the compensation plan for inclusion in my budget and I encourage anyone who believes they are a victim to contact the Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation,” stated Gov. Bev Perdue in a news release. “They are working hard to identify individuals who were affected, and the steady increase in matches with archived records is an important step in this process.”

The Foundation reported receiving more than 1,300 phone inquiries since January and the number of verified victims is expected to rise, according to Foundation Executive Director Charmaine Fuller Cooper.

“North Carolina operated the most aggressive eugenics program in the nation, sterilizing the majority of its program victims after World War II and the Holocaust. Anyone could have been subjected to a sterilization order and the chances for sterilization were great for those in poverty,” Fuller Cooper stated.  “Victims have courageously stepped forward to tell their stories and their courage has inspired more people to contact the Foundation.”