Moonshine Stills Remain Part Of State's Past, Present

Authorities say Melvin Privette, 62, was involved in the creation of a moonshine still near Creedmoor.

"He had a first-class operation as far as the bootleg community would be concerned," Granville County Sheriff David Smith said. "He just loved making liquor and of course, he said, 'I knew when I started, I was running that risk of getting caught,'"

Last week, Smith and his deputies busted up Privette's operation, taking the still and more than 100 gallons of evidence.

Smith drilled holes in the bottom of the still, so it cannot be used to make liquor. The still may end up in the Granville County Museum in Oxford.