Focus On The Darkness
A new campaign is starting across the nation, helping to raise support for all Pregnancy Care Centers in the Country. Called Lighting The Darkness, it's an idea that was put together by a group including the project's national director, Rick Gathman. Rick will be Brian's guest this week for Focus on the Foothills, as they'll be discussing the campaign and how people can get involved if they want to do that. It's coming up today at 1:05pm, right after the midday stock report.

Trailer Stolen From Local Business
Wilkesboro police were called out to the Hartzog Implement Company on Tuesday, after several landscaping trailers went missing. An employee was doing inventory Tuesday afternoon and discovered the missing trailers, estimated at $775. That investigation is ongoing.

Big Plans Coming For Wilkes Habitat
In the coming weeks, the Wilkes Habitat for Humanity offices will be a little easier to find. They're going to be moving into the old Woodward Middle School, which is owned now by the Brushy Mountain Baptist Convention. A date for the moving hasn't been set yet, although when it does come, volunteers will be needed to help with the cleanup. In addition to their office, Habitat will also be opening a retail store in the Woodward building in the coming months. Salvaged and donated building supplies will be for sale, with all the proceeds going to help fund upcoming Habitat worksites.

Be Careful Where You Put Your Wallet
Be careful where you lay your wallet. That's the lesson a Wilkesboro man learned this week. He was leaving a local restaurant when he put the wallet on the top of his car, then drove off down the road. When he realized where he had left it, the wallet was gone and there was no sign of it on the road. Included inside were several credit cards, his driver's license, social securiy card and other items, totaling just under one thousand dollars in value. There are no suspects in the case but that investigation continues.

Red Cross Looking For Fundraising Help
The Red Cross finds itself in need of help as we enter the month of November. The local chapter continues to sell cookbooks, to help raise the money it needs to cover costs of daily operations, in addition to the funds used to help victims of the recent hurricanes. The cost of a cookbook is $10 and it contains recipes from chapter members along with their family and friends. For more information or to purchase one, you can call the Red Cross at 838-4563.

Just Came In To Have A Look Around
A Wilkesboro business was damaged by some would be thieves earlier this week. Thieves pried open the front door at the Tax Professionals office, also knocking some windows off track before unlocking and leaving through the back door. However despite the damage, nothing was taken or touched inside the business. A witness at the scene described two men who were hanging around near the back door and gave their information over to Wilkesboro police. That investigation continues.

Training Session For Pregnancy Center Coming Up
As we start the month of November, the Wilkes Pregnancy Care Center finds itself in need of help. The Center is looking for volunteers, however before someone can begin helping, they need to go through a training session. Starting today, there will be a three day training session that will last through this Saturday November 12th. The sessions last for 2 ½ hours tonight and Friday, then wrap up with a three hour session on Saturday. For more information about what training involves or if you want to sign up, you can call the Center at 838-9272.

Elizabeth Dole Dealing With Wilkes Issues
A representative from Senator Elizabeth Dole will be in Wilkes today, answering questions and listening to the concerns of local people. That will go on from 10-11am this morning at the Commissioners' Room in the Wilkes County office building. You don't have to make an appointment of any kind, just simply show up to ask questions or talk about anything from issues before Congress to concerns with federal agencies. Once again that's from 10-11am today at the Commissioners' Room in the Wilkes County office building.

Wilkes Open Forum Tonight
There can be a lot of questions when dealing with how we want to be treated at the end of our lives. As we saw in the Terry Shivo case, it's important to know your rights and have them documented. But how can you do that and what's involved? Coming up tonight, the Wilkes Open Forum will hold a panel discussion put on by Hospice and Home Health of Wilkes. The discussion will be free to the public and questions will be answered, dealing with Living Wills and what exactly a Healthcare Power of Attorney is, among other things. That's tonight at 6pm, in the Wilkes County Library.

State News

Three Charged In Appalachian State Murder
On Tuesday morning, officials in Watauga County found a grusome sight when they discovered the body of an Appalachian State student lying in the trunk of his car. 19-yr-old Stephen Harrington had been a sophomore at the college and was found after authorities noticed smoke coming from the trunk. Harrington had been burned to death. The boy's car was found in Foscoe, a small community just outside of Boone. Now less than two days later, three suspects are in custody. 20-yr-old Matthew Dalrymple, 21-yr-old Kyle Triplett and 24-yr-old Neil Sargeant are all facing criminal charges. All three have been charged with first degree murder and while local officials believe they now know why Harrington was killed, the sheriff's department said they didn't want to publically discuss it.

Dole Breaks Ground On Future
Wednesday morning, the Dole Company broke ground on their new production plant in Gaston County. Located in Bessemer City, the salad production plant will employ 525 people over the next three years, before expanding to 900 over the next decade. The workers will be taking fresh vegetables and sorting them out into bags to ship across the southeastern part of the country. Hiring is expected to begin possibly mid to late 2006.

Monroe Police Chief Quits
The town of Monroe got a surprise along with their election results Wednesday morning. The chief of police, David Slusser announced he was resigning, effective immediately. It's unknown why Slusser stepped down, as he had just been hired for the job in June of this year. An interim chief will be named next week but until then, assistant chief Lane Richardson is taking over the post.

$100 Million Cocaine Ring Busted
A 14-month investigation has come to a head in Alamance County, after over a cocaine ring was broken up. The ring, which operated in Alamance, Durham and Guilford counties, was responsible for bringing in over $100 million worth of cocaine into North Carolina over the last two years. The suspects, all of which lived in Alamance County, ranged in age from 21 to 49. Justice Department officials said that a significant organization had been disrupted by the bust.

Only One Student On Corolla School Bus
Officials and parents are colliding today over the use of a school bus in the Outer Banks town of Corolla. Students from Corolla make the trip each day across the Outer Banks to a school in Currituck County, but now some people are questioning if the bus rides should stop. It costs $21,000 each school year to make the trip, which currently has only one rider. School officials have assured the rider's parents and others in the community that as long as one student needs the assistance, they'll have a bus ready to pick him up. All this will change hopefully by next fall, as a dock is still being built for a ferry to take the Corolla kids across the water. That would be a 45 minute ride, as opposed to the 2 1/2 hour bus trip.

Textile Jobs Returning With Imports Slowed
Some good news today for the North Carolina textile industry. A new trade agreement with China has re-established quota limits on how many imported items can be shipped in. Local plants have already seen improvements, according to officials. They said that once quotas were reached, customers started coming back to buy American products and that's led to several laid off workers being offered their old jobs back. The only problem is this is a temporary solution, as the deal runs out in 2008.

Sports Headlines

East Carolina Player Kicked Out Thanks To The NFL
Around the college scene, a member of East Carolina's football team will have to watch the rest of the season from the bench, but not because of the coaching staff. Kicker Robert Grant had been on the roster of an NFL Europe team some six years ago in 1999. He returned to college and asked to be re-instated for football. The NCAA refused this week, saying that while he never actually played a professional game, he did sign a contract and in doing so, lost his eligibility.

Two Blue Devils Named All Americans
Two members of the Duke basketball team were named as All Americans this week by the Associated Press. It's only the fifth time in the preseason list's history that a pair of teammates have made it on the squad, as J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams both were named to the team. For Redick this is his second time on the list, while it marks Williams' only trip to the first team list. The only other two Duke players to make the list as teammates were Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill.

Panthers' Steve Smith Gets Another Award
In the NFL, Steve Smith already has started to pick up awards this year. Now he can add another to the trophy case. Smith recieved the Ed Block Courage Award this week, during a ceremony at Bank of America Stadium on Tuesday. A winner is selected from each team in the NFL, one that shows courage by overcoming challenges on and off the field. The award is voted on by the players, who pick one of their teammates each year. This has certainly been a decent return for Smith, who leads the league with 55 catches for 903 yards and nine touchdowns. All this after sitting out the 2004 season with a broken leg. Smith said the experience helped him to develop a closer relationship with his family and made him love the sport he plays even more.

Bobcats Fall To Spurs
In the NBA, the Charlotte Bobcats gave it their best shot but fell just short against the San Antonio Spurs, losing 94-86. Gerald Wallace, who was playing despite suffering a concussion in Monday's game against Utah, led the team with 15 points, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Charlotte will play host to Dallas tomorrow night.

Carolina Hurricanes Continue Winning Ways
Taking a look around the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes kept their winning streak alive, beating Buffalo 5-3. The Hurricanes, who improve to 11-2 with the win, haven't lost a game since October 8th.

Rudd Calling It Quits
The checkered flag is being waved by Ricky Rudd, who announced this week that he's retiring after the season. Rudd, who's been in NASCAR for 31 seasons, said that it was the perfect time to step away, since his contract with the Wood Brothers ends after 2005. The 49-yr-old Rudd will end a streak of 786 consecutive starts when he leaves the sport, a mark that no one else is even close to. Taking his place in the Wood Brothers garage is expected to be Kenny Schrader, but there hasn't been an official comment.