SALISBURY - It's going on right now, the 74th consecutive year of Tar Heel Girls State, and for the twelfth year, Catawba College will host the weeklong session.

At the annual event, sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, Department of North Carolina, several hundred girls from across North Carolina, all high school juniors who are academically in the top third of their class, will participate.  The Girls State program is a weeklong practical study of the structure and operation of North Carolina State Government. 

In a non-partisan atmosphere, participants take a “hands-on” approach to learning how state and local governments function.  Citizens, as the participants are known, develop an understanding of the responsibilities of citizenship by creating and living under their own mock government.

After the recent carbon monoxide scares this week, emergency responders want to make sure your family is safe from the "silent killer."

"It's the silent killer. You can't see it, you can't smell it and you don't know it's there," said Keith Watts, Gastonia Fire Department.

According to the United State Consumer Product Safety Commission , "On average, about 170 people in the United States die every year from CO produced by non-automotive consumer products. These products include malfunctioning fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, ranges, water heaters and room heaters."

The Safety Commission also points out that the initial symptoms of low to moderate CO poisoning are similar to the flu.

IREDELL COUNTY, NC (WBTV) -Investigators in Iredell County say they have identified a teenager whose body was found after he went missing while swimming in a quarry on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Iredell Emergency management, the search began on Tuesday at