Bryan Beatty gave an provocative answer about his future.

Asked by Dome through a spokesman for the N.C. Department of Crime Control whether he hoped to continue working under the new administration, Beatty did not say.

"He said he appreciates your interest, but that is between him and Gov.-elect (Beverly) Perdue," said Capt. Everett Clendenin of the N.C. Highway Patrol.

Beatty, who has been secretary of crime control since 2001, has long been rumored to be interested in staying. Of late, the speculation has been that he might take over the N.C. Department of Correction from retiring Secretary Theodis Beck.

He is the first current Cabinet member to explicitly refuse to answer the question since Dome began calling around this week.

Community groups looking for free space to hold events might want to contact the captain of the State Highway Patrol's Troop C headquarters on Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh.

On Saturday night, the patrol's captain, James Williams Jr. allowed one of his sergeants, Kenneth McCray, to use the headquarters' auditorium for an awards party for his son's Pop Warner football team, Dan Kane reports.

Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said patrol admistration didn't know about the event, and he was unaware of any other outside groups using the auditorium in the past.

But after checking into it, Clendenin said he could find nothing in the patrol's policy against it.

"It was up to the captain, and he approved it," Clendenin said.

The patrol would have to arrange for the gates of the Troop C facility to be open during weekends so community groups can use the auditorium. The gates are typically closed. Clendenin wasn't sure how the patrol would make sure that those who used the headquarters would be separated from patrol offices or equipment.

The auditorium comfortably holds 50 people and has a stage. Those who use it would have to clean up after themselves.

The final crowd estimate for a Barack Obama rally in Raleigh today: 25,000.

That's according to Capt. Everett Clendenin of the State Highway Patrol.

Update: Raleigh Police seconded that estimate and added that another 1,000 people were turned away from the event. 

An estimated 13,000 people are at a Barack Obama rally in downtown Raleigh.

The estimate came from the Secret Service around 11:30 a.m., so the figure may be as much as 15,000 by now, said Lt. Everett Clendenin of the N.C. State Highway Patrol. 

The N.C. Highway Patrol will have its first female major and section head next month.

Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. is promoting Capt. Jennifer Harris to lead the patrol’s training academy, Dan Kane reports. She currently is commander of Troop D in Greensboro and has been with the patrol since 1989.

The promotion is among several moves that Wilson is making as he settles in as patrol leader. Some have taken effect; the rest are set for Sept. 8.

Other moves include transferring Maj. Wellington Scott from the Technical Support Unit, which handles information technology and troop logistics, to the Office of Professional Standards, which includes internal affairs. Capt. Randy Campbell is being promoted to major in charge of motor carrier enforcement and special operations.

Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin is being promoted to captain and he is also taking over the patrol's Traffic Safety Information Unit. Others being promoted to captain include Lt. Tim Belch in internal affairs, Lt. Chris Phillips in administrative services and Lt. David McCoy, who will lead Troop D.

Earlier this week, the patrol had confirmed that Maj. Gregory Hayes had been transferred from Troop Operations, which oversees much of the patrol’s day-to-day duties, to lead the Technical Support Unit, and that Capt. Mike T. James, who leads Troop G based in Asheville, is being promoted to major and will run Troop Operations.

Maj. Randy Glover has been running Troop Operations in the interim, but he is being promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Recently-appointed N.C. Highway Patrol Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. has made two changes in his command structure.

Maj. Gregory Hayes is shifting from Troop Operations, which oversees much of the patrol's day-to-day duties, to lead the Technical Support Unit, which handles information technology and troop logistics, reports Dan Kane.

Capt. Mike T. James, who leads Troop G based in Asheville, is being promoted to major and will replace Hayes on Sept. 8.

Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin said in an e-mail message that Wilson made the change to allow Hayes and James "to grow as managers by expanding their knowledge in other patrol sections."

More after the jump.

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President Bush will be in Raleigh today, but the only trace you see of him may be a congested rush hour.

Bush is appearing at a fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory. The event will be late Friday afternoon at the home of Raleigh developer John Kane, who lives north of the Carolina Country Club, Ben Niolet reports.

The event is closed to the public and press, so there’s not much chance to actually see Bush. But folks driving between the airport and Raleigh late Friday afternoon might know the president is in town.
White House and local officials say they either don't know or can't discuss Bush's route between the airport and the fundraiser.

Lt. Everett Clendenin, a spokesman for the state Highway Patrol, said he was not familiar with Bush’s travel plans, but said presidential traffic delays are usually quick.

"By what we've seen in the past, it does have an impact on traffic, but the good news is it clears quickly," Clendenin said. "It may be an inconvenience for a short time, but the ones we’ve been involved with, it’s uneventful and there’s some moderate congestion."

The state Highway Patrol will likely have a K-9 program again soon.

In April, Bryan Beatty, secretary of the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, suspended the patrol's K-9 program after a hearing exposed rough obedience techniques such as shocking, suspending and kicking dogs.

Beatty ordered a review that would show what training techniques were used and how they compare to generally accepted practices. The patrol has 10 dogs that mostly sniff out drugs.

Lt. Everett Clendenin, a patrol spokesman, said Thursday that Major Jamie Hatcher, director of special operations for the patrol is conducting the review.

"We feel confident that the highway patrol in the near future will have a K-9 program once again," Clendenin said.

The patrol's dogs are still living with their trooper handlers, but instead of tracking drugs, the dogs are staying home, Clendenin said.

State administrative law Judge Fred Morrison called on the state in a written order to stop using dogs for law enforcement unless the state purchases dogs that already are trained and assigns them only to troopers who also are fully trained. In such cases, he said, the state also should give the troopers specific written compliance techniques for dealing with the dogs.

The N.C. Highway Patrol has pulled its 10 police dogs off duty indefinitely after several troopers testified in a personnel hearing this week to several rough training methods that involved shocking, kicking and suspending the dogs.

Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin said that Bryan Beatty, the N.C. Crime Control and Public Safety secretary who oversees the patrol, ordered the suspension so that a review can be conducted of training techniques, Dan Kane reports.

"We can't run the risk of one of our dogs being injured or somebody in the public being injured because of the training," Clendenin said. "We're not sure what's taking place, so that's what we are going to do."

Over the course of three days of hearings into the firing of Sgt. Charles Jones, who is trying to win his job back, troopers in the canine program have said that dogs have been shocked with a stun gun, kicked, and suspended until they are nearly unconscious.

They also have acknowledged throwing plastic bottles filled with stones at the dogs and twirling them around in a technique known as "helicoptering," sometimes releasing them in midair.

More after the jump.

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The off-color jokes are gone from the N.C. Highway Patrol Retirees Association's Web site.

Highway Patrol Commander Fletcher Clay contacted the association Tuesday afternoon, after hearing about the jokes from the News & Observer, Dan Kane reports.

Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin, said Clay told them they can't have pictures of the patrol's badge, patch and patrol car along with jokes that refer to breast size and the sexual prowess of certain ethnic males.

The association, which is not affiliated with the patrol, opted to keep the patrol paraphernalia.