News & Sports For November 2nd

News From Last Night's Commissioners Meeting
Wilkes County could be looking at an increase in sales tax, after last night's commissioners meeting. The board of commissioners voted for Wilkes to be included in a resolution going before the General Assembly in February. 48 counties in North Carolina have their names on the resolution, which would give each of them permission to raise the sales tax a 1/2 cent in their respective areas. If the resolution is passed by the General Assembly, it would then come back and be voted on in November of 2006. According to County Manager Gary Page, the increase in sales tax would generate $2.4 million each year in revenue, just enough to pay for the county's portion of the new high schools. All five commissioners agreed that it should go to the citizens for a vote and approved the resolution. In other news from the meeting, a public hearing was set for December 20th to discuss using land near Hwy 421 West for a Truck and Used Farm Equipment Sales lot. And the Chesnut Acres Phase 2 subdivision was approved in Mulberry.

JobFair Later Today At WCC
For many people here in Wilkes, the economic problems of the area have made it hard to find work. It can be complicated at times. What companies are hiring? What skills are they looking for? The Wilkes Joblink Center was created to help answer those questions. And coming up later this morning, the Center will hold a Job Fair at Wilkes Community College. The event will be held from 10am til 1pm at the John A Walker Center. If you’re looking for a job, all you have to do is show up and over 45 different employers will be on hand for an interview.

Thieves Break Into Deejays
A Wilkesboro business fell prey to thieves earlier this week. At DeeJays resturant, the owner came in Sunday morning to find that her office door was open and over $4000 was missing. The door to the office had been forced open by the thieves and all information was turned over to sheriff's deputies. There are suspects in the case and that investigation continues.

Focus On Hats
Women have to juggle a lot of different jobs, being cook, caretaker, banker and several others all to benefit their families. Coming up this Saturday, Fountain of Life Church wants to honor all the ladies with a special "Hats Off To Women" Service. Former Wilkes County resident and christian comedian Kim Coleman will be speaking at the event and will be Brian's guest this week for Focus on the Foothills as they'll be talking more about the event itself and also about Kim's own ministry as a Christian comedian. That's coming up tomorrow at 1:05pm right after the midday stock report.

Tag Stolen While Owner Shops
A Moravian Falls woman came out of the pharmacy earlier this week to find that someone had paid a visit to her car. There was no damage done to the vehicle, however the car's tag had been ripped off. Witnesses however saw what they described as a suspicious vehicle circling the area earlier in the day and turned that information over to Wilkesboro police. There are suspects and that investigation is ongoing.

Tickets Still Left For Inman Conference
Coming up this Sunday, the Friends of the Library will welcome in former tv anchor Bob Inman to speak at their annual dinner meeting. The event, which will be held at the North Wilkesboro Elks Club, will feature Inman discussing the experiences of his life as an author and journalist. There is a fee of $25 to attend this Sunday's dinner, with proceeds going to benefit the Wilkes County Library. However if you want to make reservations, you better hurry. Today is the last day to do that by calling 667-6910.

Eat Fast Food For A Good Cause
This Friday, you can help raise money for a good cause with every burger you eat. Communities in Schools is partnering up with the local Hardees' for Community Day. This Friday, a percentage of all the day's sales at Hardees will be donated to Communities in Schools, to help fund things such as their Lunch Buddy program. There's no paperwork involved, you don't have to request for your money to go to the organization. All you have to do is simply go in and eat this Friday throughout the day. For more information you can give Communities in Schools a call. Their number is 651-7830.

State News

Search Ends For Missing Girl And Grandmother
Officials in Craven County have finally laid to rest their search for 15-yr-old Heather Roberts and her grandmother. Their remains were found in the van that was brought up on Monday from the bottom of the Neuse River. The discovery ends a 10-month old search and begins what could possibly be a murder case. Just before the two disappeared, the house they had been living in caught fire and investigators still haven't been able to determine what caused it. Questions are now being raised if the fire and the disappearance is somehow linked.

North Carolina Families Starving
It turns out that North Carolina families are literally starving. In a study done at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, North Carolina households came in fourth in the nation in regards to the rate of hunger. 4.9% of North Carolina families classified as being hungry, that's just below Arkansas at 5.3 while Oklahoma is first in the nation with a hunger rate of 5.6%. Data for the study was taken from the Department of Agriculture, which also found that over the last five years, the number of hungry familes across the U.S. jumped by 43%.

Vandals Cause Thousands In Damage To Chapel Hill School
What possibly started out as a high school prank turned extremely costly for East Chapel Hill High. When officials came in to get things ready for the school day, they found vandals had been by during the night. All parts of the school, from the main building, to the parking lot and even the concession stands at the nearby football field were hit, with estimated damages placed at over $5000. The vandals did leave behind one piece of evidence, spraypainting the numbers "06" on the buildings, symbolizing next year's graduating class.

Valdese Company Closes Its Doors
Bad news for workers in Valdese, as Carolina Mills is cutting back both on the local plant's operating hours and on the staff. 100 of the 220 workers at the plant will be let go, an almost 50% reduction as the company moves to a five day workweek. Company officials blamed the changes on rising natural gas prices and competition from cheaper foreign goods.

Black Substance Appearing In Canton Water
Officials in Canton North Carolina are testing a strange black substance found leaking out into the water this week. Barrels containing the substance were found leaking originally over the weekend, then earlier this week firefighters were called out to clean up a 20 by 30 spill of the material in the local river. Residents of Haywood County have been asked to conserve water as lines were shut down leading into the town of Clyde. As a temporary measure, people in Clyde will be getting water from nearby Waynesville. There is still no answer as to what the substance is.

Sports Headlines

High School Sports Tonight
Around the high school scene, several matches will be going on tonight. In soccer, the state tournament has started and in the 1A division, both East Wilkes and West will have their teams on the field. The 11-10 West Wilkes Blackhawks will be on the road against South Stanly, while East Wilkes heads up to Bishop McGuiness for their first round battle. In the 2A division, Wilkes Central recieved a first round bye and won't know their opponent until later this week.

NC State Lands New Recruit
Some good news for the NC State Wolfpack. While this year's football season hasn't exactly gone as planned, 2006 is looking a lot better. The Wolfpack added another name to their recruiting class this week, as DeAndre Morgan committed to the school. The 5-10 Morgan, a defensive back from Florida, turned down offers from Wake Forest, Syracuse, Clemson and Purdue to join State. Morgan will join his older brother DaJuan at the school. DaJuan Morgan, also a defensive back, is a redshirt freshman this season.

Wake's Chris Barclay Takes Weekly Award
After running for 204 yards in the win against Duke, Wake Forest's Chris Barclay was named co-offensive player of the week by the ACC. He shares the honor with Miami's Tyrone Moss, who put up 194 yards against UNC last Saturday. Also Andre Brown, NC State's freshman running back was named the ACC rookie of the week, after running for 248 yards and two touchdowns in the win against Southern Mississippi.

Panthers Make Roster Moves
Coming off their 38-13 win over Minnesota on Sunday, the Carolina Panthers made some roster moves. Gone is cornerback Garnell Wilds, who the team released. Taking his place on the roster is third round pick Atiyyah Ellison, who was brought up from the practice squad. The Panthers will be fighting for first place in the NFC South this week when they take on Tampa Bay.

NASCAR Standings
Taking a look at the Nextel Cup Standings, Tony Stewart increases his first place lead, holding a 43 point lead over second place Jimmie Johnson. In third is Greg Biffle, 75 point back and fourth place is occupied by Sunday's winner Carl Edwards, sitting 107 points behind Stewart. Ryan Newman is fifth, Mark Martin sixth, Matt Kenseth seventh, Rusty Wallace eighth, Kurt Busch is ninth and Jeremy Mayfield is bringing up the back of the pack in the Chase for the Cup. The next race will be the Dickies 500 this Sunday.

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