The Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve remains free of a lethal insect that threatened its namesake hemlock trees last year.

The town announced Tuesday that testing done this fall turned up no signs of the hemlock woolly adelgid, an aphid-like insect that kills trees by feeding at the base of their needles, which eventually turn brown and drop off.

The adelgids were found on only 11 of the preserve's 250 Eastern hemlock trees in the summer of 2010, but town officials feared they would spread.

The hemlocks in the 158-acre nature preserve grow along north-facing bluffs above Swift Creek, far from their normal range in the foothills and mountains of North Carolina.

To protect the trees, the town hired contractors who applied pesticide to their bark in August 2010.

Surveys in October 2010 and twice this year have turned up no evidence that the woolly adelgids survived. A contractor will inspect again in June.

"We are committed to biennial inspection of our hemlocks for the long term," Doug McRainey, the town's parks planning manager, said in a statement. "It's encouraging that the adelgids have been kept in check this long. But it doesn't preclude another round of future treatment."

The state owns most of the land in the Hemlock Bluff Nature Preserve, which is operated by the town and draws about 100,000 visitors a year.

Photos of teen lead to charges

From staff reports

MORRISVILLE Police on Monday accused a 36-year-old man of taking photographs and videotaping a juvenile in sexually provocative poses.

Nathaniel Beltran Grinstead of 1909 Grantsboro Lane in Morrisville has been charged with nine felony counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to arrest warrants filed Dec. 14 at the Wake County Magistrate' Office.

Morrisville investigators say the offenses occurred Dec. 12, court records show.

Police have accused Grinstead of having a 14-year-old girl pose nude in several provocative positions, including on leopard-print material, a black and white animal material and in a brown chair, court records show.

Morrisville police transported Grinstead to the Wake County jail, where he is being held in lieu of $1.5 million bail, court records show.

Morrisville to replace trees

From staff reports

MORRISVILLE Residents may soon see stumps where trees used to be along Morrisville Parkway, but only temporarily.

Due to age, disease and storm damage, existing Bradford pears are becoming more of a hazard to vehicles along the parkway.

Beginning Tuesday, public works crews will be removing the Bradford pears from the median and having the stumps ground down, as part of a five-year program.

Red maple trees will be planted in the following weeks