CRAVER APOLOGIZES FOR ARREST

THOMASVILLE - Thomasville City Manager Kelly Craver on Friday issued a
public apology concerning his recent arrest on drug charges and
released the results of a clean drug test.

Paul Mitchell, the city's interim manager and city attorney, released
the information following a request by The High Point Enterprise. He
said the city received the drug test results and apology from Craver's
attorney, Misti Whitman of Thomasville, Friday afternoon.

"First of all, I would like to share my deepest regrets for having
cause for this situation," Craver wrote. "Mere words cannot express my
remorse in how this has hurt those that I care most about, city staff,
City Council and the citizens of Thomasville that I have the honor of
serving. I am truly sorry."

Craver, 54, was arrested at a residence on High Rock Lake after a
Davidson County deputy responded to a 911 hang-up call placed at 11:37
p.m. Jan. 1 from a home in the Oakwood Acres neighborhood, according
to Sheriff David Grice.

Grice said the deputy was searching for 188 Sunset Blvd., which was
thought to be the source of the call. The sheriff said the house
numbers are difficult to see in that part of the neighborhood, and the
deputy approached 196 Sunset Blvd., which fit the general description
of the address from the call.

Grice said earlier this week the home belongs to Lisa Lackey Menius,
and Craver and his wife were apparently there visiting, along with
Karen Annette Hamilton. Craver said Friday he and his wife co-own the
home.

The deputy knocked on the door and after someone answered, he detected
the smell of marijuana smoke coming from inside, Grice said. The
deputy asked for permission to come in. The occupants granted him
permission, and he observed a small quantity of what he suspected was
marijuana and drug paraphernalia on a table.

Craver is accused of being in possession of "a clear plastic bag
containing green vegetable matter along with a glass smoking pipe
containing marijuana residue," according to court documents. Craver
was charged with misdemeanor possession of up to one-half ounce of
marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and was released from
custody on a $2,500 bond, according to court records. He has an
appearance scheduled for Jan. 25 in Davidson County District Court,
where Craver says his legal counsel's intent is to resolve the matter.

"I assure you that the marijuana that was found in the lake house that
I own with my wife and another married couple was not purchased by me
and was brought into the house by someone else without my knowledge or
permission," Craver wrote.

Craver wrote in the apology letter that he voluntarily submitted to a
drug screening on Tuesday. The drug test, administered by LabCorp,
shows Craver is negative for all illicit substances, including
marijuana. Craver also wrote that he is "happy to submit to random
drug testing at any time."

"I'm not an authority on drug tests for marijuana but my understanding
is that if someone has smoked marijuana, it would show up in a test
like this for a number of days, possibly even weeks," Mitchell said.
The drug test "may be helpful in dismissing the charges," the city
attorney said.

It's unclear what type of impact the apology and drug test will have
on Craver's future with the city of Thomasville. Craver, Thomasville's
manager since 2006, was suspended indefinitely with pay on Monday, and
City Attorney Paul Mitchell was named interim manager. Mayor Joe
Bennett and Councilman Raleigh York Jr. declined to comment on the
apology and drug test on Friday.

Whitman and Craver also could not be reached for further comment
Friday evening.