SALISBURY - The day after fifth grader Cooper Wood drowned in a backyard swimming pool, his mother recalls his bright spirit.

"He was the sweetest little boy," Erin Nicholas told WBTV about her son. "He was so precious. He would come home every day from school and run into my bedroom and say 'hey mommy I love you and give me a big hug.'"

Today was the first day Erin Nicholas didn't get that hug from 10-year-old Cooper.

His tragic death has stunned his family, his classmates, and friends at school who today were putting up a sign to honor his memory.

"While some of them are sad that Cooper has passed away, they know he's in a better place and they're at peace with that," said Mount Ulla Elementary School Principal Lee Anne Thomas.

ROCKWELL - Deputies in Rowan County are looking for those responsible for vandalising a 1953 International truck on a man's eastern Rowan farm.

Frank Henry King, III, reported the vandalism on Monday when he discovered the blue 1953 International R130 had been damaged.

SALISBURY - The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) formally announces that Salisbury Parks and Recreation was reaccredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) this year. 

This distinguished accomplishment was announced during the NRPA 2010 Congress and Exposition in Minneapolis, Minnesota in late October and presented to the Salisbury City Council on December 7.