$14K Stolen From H.S. Hoops Office

Ledford High School officials are looking for $14,000 that was stolen from a coach's office between Sunday and Monday.

The money, which was stolen from a locker in the office, came from revenues from the NewBridge Bank Christmas Classic basketball tournament played at the school last week. The ticket money was going to be split among the eight schools that participated.

When principal Bill Butts was asked if he thought it was an inside job, he said only that he is letting the Davidson County Sheriff's Department conduct the investigation.

"We want to find out who got this money because it effects so many of our student athletes and just our community in general. It's not what we are all about," Butts said.

"It sounds very likely that it was an inside job--that someone knew about it. That would be my first guess," Keith Smith, parent, said.

"From what I know, they have a great staff, so I'd be very surprised if it would be an inside job," Deedee Howard, parent, said.

Butts informed all the participating schools of what happened before the story broke in the news media, he said.

The school is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.

It has not been a good few weeks for Ledford High School. In late December, one of the school's fields was vandalized after ruts and tire tracks were seen all over it. The field is used for practice by the band and sees occasional use by the soccer team. Deputies are following up on new leads in that case.