North Carolina News Briefs for June 16, 2014

AP- Charlotte schools offering meals to hungry kids

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A summer effort to feed the children of Mecklenburg County is getting underway.

From Monday through Aug. 8, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will provide children up to age 18 with free breakfast and lunch and no questions asked.

The school district last summer served more than 200,000 breakfasts and 355,000 lunches to Mecklenburg County children.

The program sponsored by the U.S. Agriculture Department steps up during the summer when children who might receive meals at school aren't attending classes.

The program is serving summer meals at nearly 180 schools and other sites throughout the county.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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NC to use drone to explore state historic site

SANFORD, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina is using a drone for research at a state historic site for the first time.

The drone will be used as part of a six-week project that begins Monday at the House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site near Sanford. State officials say a team led by the geography department at UNC Greensboro in cooperation with the Office of State Archaeology will use the drone.

Images obtained from ground-penetrating radar and other methods indicate several structures may exist below the Philip Alston House, built around 1770.

The public is invited to observe the work from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Monday. The rain date is Tuesday.

Bullet holes remain in the Alston home from a 1781 attack by British loyalists. The colonists were forced to surrender.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.