News & Sports For November 15th

Wilkes Heritage Museum Opens Today
The courthouse doors will open today and the Wilkes Heritage Museum will officially be in business. The 1902 courthouse has been completely restored and remodeled, with pieces of the county's history dating to the early 1800s and before. Junior Johnson's race car, World War II material and Civil War flags all lie inside, along with dozens of other exhibits and information. The Museum is open for tours or field trips for any organization or school group. You can also simply walk right in and have a look. The official ribbon cutting takes place this morning at 9:30am and for more information you can call Old Wilkes at 667-3712.

Dump Truck Overturns On Hwy 18
Traffic was backed up for several hours on Monday after a dump truck wrecked on Hwy 18 North. The truck had been heading up the mountain but the driver lost control and crashed, spilling his cargo across the road. Crews took a good portion of the afternoon to clean it all up.

Money Stolen From Local Restaurant
Wilkesboro police are investigating a break-in at Hardees over the weekend. Thieves somehow gained access to the building's safe, got inside and stole $1222 in cash. No damage was done to the property and there was no sign of a break-in. Officers have suspects and the case is still open.

Kerosine Tanks Damaged At Rock Creek BP
One driver was apparently lucky to walk away with their life earlier this week, after causing some damage at the Rock Creek BP station. Employees came in on Sunday to find the kerosine dispenser had been damaged, with evidence left behind from what was most likely a vehicle. Despite the damage, which was estimated at $200, there was no sign of who caused the problem and no witnesses to the event itself. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

Prank Calls Lead To Car Damage
An Elm City woman called Wilkesboro police earlier this week, after her car's tires were slashed. She had been staying at the Holiday Inn Express and recieving strange prank phone calls each night, where the caller would simply hang up minutes after she picked up the phone. All this despite the fact that she hadn't given out her number. Then walking out earlier this week she found her car's tires had been slashed. There are two suspects in the case and that investigation is ongoing.

Break-In At Wal-Mart Parking Lot
Thieves broke into a Warrensville man's car while he was shopping earlier this week. As the man was inside Wal-Mart, thieves pried open the passenger side window's weather stripping and got inside. They stole 100 music CDs, along with a pair of sunglasses, a palm pilot and several other items. Wilkesboro police are continuing the investigation.

Traffic Stop Leads To Drug Bust
A routine traffic stop by sheriff's deputies led to a drug bust earlier this week. Deputies got behind a vehicle on Hwy 421 that was having problems staying on their side of the road. After pulling over the car, deputies found that the driver had no license, as his had been revoked. In addition, electronic scales and marijuana were both found inside the vehicle. 21-yr-old Daniel McNeil II was arrested and charged with drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving erratically and driving with a revoked license.

State News

Theft One Of The Largest In Surry County History
Eight people are facing charges in what law enforcement are calling one of the largest thefts in Surry County history. $2 million worth of material was stolen from Bassett Furniture this past April, at the company's Mt. Airy complex. The day after the break-in, pieces started to be recovered, later totaling over 300 items. Eight employees of Bassett Furniture have now been charged with the crime, each given seven counts of conspiracy to commit embezzlement. All eight, who had worked in management at the plant, were fired as charges were brought. They are 62-yr-old John Ronald Jarrett of Morehead, 46-yr-old Gary Moser of Pilot Mountain, 51-yr-old Randall Alex Lawless of Stuart VA and 47-yr-old Lisa Marie Martin, 44-yr-old Michael Wayne Pennington, 35-yr-old David Ray Slate, 55-yr-old Jerry Conrad Tolbert and 30-yr-old Michael Slate all of Mt. Airy. Officials are still trying to track down the other pieces of furniture, which were sold to organizations and groups in the area. Deputies are asking anyone who bought a piece from one of these eight to give them a call at 336-401-8900.

Officials Hold Conference To Stop Meth Use
With meth use still a problem across North Carolina, officials from around the state are holding a meeting this Wednesday at Western Carolina University. The object of the meeting will be to curb the growing problem, which wasn't destroyed the way attorney general Roy Cooper believed it would be when his office banned certain cough medicines containing pseudoephedrine unless the person had a prescription. The drug is a key component of meth and as of November, 289 labs had been destroyed here in the state. That's almost on par with last year's total, which stood at 322.

UNC Colleges Cut Funding
Less than a week after announcing that all university chancellors would be getting a raise, the effects are becoming clear. With more money being diverted to staff pay, several schools made cuts in their student programs. UNC Chapel Hill announced that due to budget problems, 46 classes were eliminated, while at NC State 60 were erased. All total, an estimated $31 million in school programs and needed equipment was cut from the budgets of UNC campuses to help fund the staff raises. The only way to prevent the cuts, officials said, was to raise tuition, which has been capped by the board of directors to allow no more than a 10% increase.

Forensic Institute To Open In Greensboro
Some people have been behind bars for years, serving time for crimes they didn't commit. A new project will hopefully change all that, as a forensic institute will soon be open in Greensboro. The America Judicature Society is scheduled to open their doors in January and, working with Elon University's new law school, plan to work on ways of preventing innocent people from seeing the inside of a jail cell. Outdated forensic practices are a major problem here in the state, as currently 400 untested rape kits are waiting to be processed, kits that could help solve hundreds of open cases.

Edwards Apologizes For Mistake
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards has come out with an apology, both for people here in the state and our troops overseas. Edwards wrote an essay, which was published by the Washington Post, in which he apologized for supporting the Iraqi war. He said the decision was a mistake and was sorry that people here at home, especially soldiers, had to pay for it. However Edwards doesn't believe that we should pull out now, but rather figure out a way to succeed and leave Iraq a better place than when we arrived. He also called on other countries to lend a hand, as the stability of Iraq affects their lives, not just our own.

Drug Bust In Mount Holly Nets Three
Three men are in jail after an undercover operation in Mount Holly. Officers were able to break up a smuggling ring that was transporting methamphetamines into North Carolina from Florida. Just over 3 pounds of the drug was found in an old car battery, worth over $280,000. Police in Gaston County are still unraveling leads, but it's believed the three arrested could be part of a bigger network operating out of the Florida area.

Sports Headlines

NCAA Basketball Scoreboard
College basketball season has officially tipped off and several North Carolina teams were in action last night. It was the number one ranked Duke Blue Devils beating Boston University 64-47 in the first round of the Preseason NIT. J.J. Redick led Duke with 19 points. Meanwhile it was UNC Wilmington beating Wyoming 62-59, UNC Greensboro beating Morgan State 62-49 and UNC Charlotte falling against Northwestern 61-47. Charlotte was led by Curtis Withers, who had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Appalachian Adds To Next Year's Recruiting Class
In other college basketball news, Appalachian State continues to load up for next season. Their 2006 recruiting class got two more names over the weekend, as Ibrahim Graiba and Juan Pablo Montas committed to join. The 6-9 Graiba averaged 28 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks while playing for a club team in London while the 6-7 Montas put up 21 points and 11 rebounds while playing for his high school in the Dominican Republic.

Duke Football Lands Another Recruit
While the current Duke football team is struggling, help is on the way for next season. The Blue Devils received a commitment from offensive lineman Jeffrey Cowart, a high school senior from Georgia. The 6-6 Cowart can run the 40-yd dash in 5.28 seconds and helped Mary Parsons High School get into the state playoffs with an 8-3 record this season. Cowart turned down offers from Georgia Tech, Louisville and Memphis to join the Blue Devils.

Chase For The Cup Standings
Taking a look at the NASCAR standings, Tony Stewart stays atop the Chase For the Cup, 52 points ahead of second place Jimmie Johnson. Carl Edwards is third, 87 points behind while Greg Biffle comes in fourth, 102 behind Stewart. Mark Martin rounds out the top five, 162 points behind in the Chase. Next Sunday drivers head to Homestead Miami Speedway for the Ford 400.

France Begins His Restructuring Of NASCAR
Bill France announced over the weekend what some of the changes are going to be on the Nextel Cup Series next season. Owners can't have more than four cars in their garage and for those that already do, some compensation will be sorted out. Also as part of the new policy, drivers can only test cars at six of the Nextel Cup tracks. That includes Charlotte, Daytona, Homestead, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Richmond.