News & Sports For November 22nd

Money Stolen From Koto's Restaurant
Thieves broke into Koto's restaurant over the weekend, taking off with several thousand dollars in cash. The owner of the business came in early Sunday morning to find his safe had gone missing. Included inside was just over $8000 in cash. Nothing was stolen from the office or the rest of the building and it's unclear how they gained access to the property. They did however leave behind a motorola walkie-talkie while escaping and apparently didn't notice the security cameras in the area. Footage of both thieves were turned over to Wilkesboro police and that investigation continues.

Local Man Arrested After Chase
Deputies manning a DWI checkpoint ran across a wanted man earlier this week. On Sunday, sheriff's deputies and Wilkesboro police were performing a DWI checkpoint on Hwy 421. A man came through and after running the license plate with the com center, deputies discovered he had warrants out for his arrest. Before they could arrest him however, the man drove off down the road, being followed by both sheriff's deputies and police. They tracked the suspect from Hwy 421, onto 268 West and then onto Browns Ford Road. After several more minutes, spike stripes were deployed when the chase got back onto Hwy 421 and the suspect was soon placed into custody. 47-yr-old Timothy James Frye was charged with fleeing to elude arrest, reckless driving, driving to endanger, resisting a public officer and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Christmas In Wilkes Has Angel Trees Out
With the holidays coming up, it can be hard for parents to afford both the bills and also a gift under the tree. Several organizations here in Wilkes are stepping in to help solve that problem. One of them is Christmas in Wilkes. For more information about sponsoring a child with the program or the organization itself, you can call Christmas in Wilkes at 927-2969.

Watch Out When Driving In Rain
A wreck earlier this week on Hwy 421 totaled two vehicles. The incident happened Sunday afternoon, as a Wilkesboro woman slowed down due to heavy traffic on the highway. A Boomer man was driving behind her, but couldn't slow down in time to avoid a collision. Estimated damages were placed at $3100. Thankfully however no one was injured in the crash.

Salvation Army Offering Aid
Many families can find themselves in a time of need as the holidays approach. It can be hard to pay the bills and also put food on the table. The local Salvation Army is taking applications for their financial assistance program. The program is open to anyone who can demonstrate a need for help paying utility or rent bills. The Salvation Army is located in the Wilkes United Way office building, at 910 C Street in Wilkesboro. For more information or to set up an appointment you can call 651-7800.

Personal ID Stolen At YMCA
A North Wilkesboro man had information and cash stolen while he was at the local YMCA this past weekend. The man had left his personal belongings in the locker room and went to work out. When he returned about an hour later, all $330 in cash was taken from his wallet, along with his debit card. Information was given over to Wilkesboro police and that investigation continues.

Empire Chrysler Working To Cure Diabetes
November is National Diabetes Month and one local car dealership is doing its' part to help cure the disease. From now until the end of the year, Empire Chrysler is donating one dollar from ever vehicle sold to the Iacocca Foundation. Proceeds will go to help raise money for diabetes research. Each year in the U.S., over 200,000 people die from diabetes with others losing limbs and suffering blindness. The Iacocca Foundation has worked with scientists to potentially discover a cure for the disease. However now they need to raise money for clinical testing of the treatment, of which they're halfway to the goal. In lab studies with mice, the treatment completely cured all traces of the type 1 portion of the disease, but it's still unclear how it could affect humans. In addition to Empire Chrysler, if you want more information about the Foundation itself, you can log on to www.iacoccafoundation.org

Thieves Break Into Cars At Queen's Garage
Wilkesboro police were called out to Queen's Garage over the weekend, after thieves broke into some of the cars at the business. The owner of the garage, along with a customer, both had radio/CD players ripped out of their vehicles while they were gone. An estimated $320 in electronics was taken by the thieves. Information was turned over to Wilkesboro police and that investigation is ongoing.

Regional News

Paw Paws Employee Killed Over Weekend On Hwy 16
An employee of Paw Paws' Restaurant was killed over the weekend in what police are now calling a homicide. 30-yr-old Timothy Dwayne Shatley was found by Ashe County EMS sitting dead in the driver's seat of his van. The case had originally been treated as an accident, as officials found the van smashed into a construction site. But a closer inspection revealed a bullet hole in the driver's side door. That investigation is ongoing.

State News

Unemployment Falls Across State In October
Some good news across the state as unemployment fell to 5.3% by the end of October. That's a drop of .2% from the end of September when it was 5.5% and marks the fourth straight month that jobs have been created. 1200 manufacturing jobs were added in October, along with 600 in professional services and 500 in entertainment and hospitality.

North Carolina Cities Safe For the Most Part
It's safe to life in North Carolina cities. That was the idea put out by Morgan Press over the weekend, as the annual Safest Cities in the Nation rankings were released. The town of Cary came in at number 10, while Raleigh also made the list at 151. On the other side of the coin, Durham was listed as the 77th most dangerous city in America, while Fayetteville was tagged as thr 105th worst. Several factors, including traffic accidents and murders were taken into account when putting together the list.

Caldwell County To Explore Methane Gas
Caldwell County is exploring a new way to generate electricity, by going through the landfill. Methane gas is produced in large quantities by most landfills here in the state and is used on a test basis by some to heat nearby greenhouses and help keep a glass blowing furnance running. In Caldwell, several test wells would be installed in the Lick Mountain landfill to determine if it would be a financially feasible project to begin mass production of methane into energy.

Soldiers Return From Deployment
3am on a Monday isn't a time you'd expect to see smiles and happy faces, but all those who turned out in Charlotte Monday morning were grinning from ear to ear. They were out to welcome back over 600 National Guard troops, who were deployed to the Gulf Coast to help with the recovery efforts and provide security. The first convoy got into Charlotte around 3am, while the second one finished unloading troops at 6pm. Troops from Boone, Fayetteville, Kinston and Goldsboro all made it home.

Charlotte-Douglas Proves To Be Cash Cow
Charlotte Douglas International has generated both jobs and money for the people of Mecklenburg over the past eight years. This according to a new study put out by UNC Charlotte and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. $6 billion dollars and 28000 jobs have been created thanks to the airport, which in turn pumped $5 billion into the local economy. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory called the airport "the region's most important economic development tool."

Spore Causing Problems In Onslow
Farmers on the eastern part of the state are facing some potential problems today. It appears that storms coming over from Asia have brought with them soybean rust spores, tiny little bacteria that can destroy a crop. Farmers near Jacksonville learned that the spore is now in their crop fields, after a test by NC State's Plant Disease and Insect Clinic. The only way to treat the spore is through the use of fungicides and monitoring your crops.

Sports Headlines

High School Basketball Tonight
High school basketball got underway last night here in Wilkes and up at North Wilkes, it was Alleghany over the Lady Vikings 46-35. Also as Coach Tommy Johnson made his debut for North, the Vikings steamrolled over Alleghany 50-32. And our hoops coverage will tipoff tonight with a game between West Wilkes and North. Coach Tommy Johnson and the Vikings will play host to the Blackhawks, as both teams look to explode out of the gate in the new season. The McDonald's pregame show goes on the air at 6:45 as Brian will be talking with Coach Randy Joines from the Lady Vikings. Then we'll have the wrapup of the JV game and turn things over to Ken Byrd and Keith Briand at 7pm.

NCAA Scoreboard
Around the college circuit last night it was Jacksonville State over Coastal Carolina 82-71, High Point blowing out Southeastern College 110-57, Georgia Tech knocking off Elon 81-69 and Appalachian State beating Virginia Commonwealth 51-47. The Mountaineers were led by D.J. Thompson, who put in 24 points in the win as Appalachian improves to 2-0. Meanwhile in the ACC, it was Wake Forest beating UNC Asheville 79-63. Justin Gray led the Deacons with 16 points and three rebounds.

Bad News For Tarheel Football
Some bad news for the Tarheel football team, heading into Saturday's game with Virginia Tech. Wide receiever Wallace Wright is out for the year after fracturing his left ankle last week. Wright, who also was a captain of the special teams, will be replaced by a combination of three recievers. Trimane Goddard and James Arnold will take over his kick returning duties, while Brooks Foster will come in at receiever and also work on the punt coverage. The game, which will be televised on ESPN is a do or die situation for Carolina. They have to win in order to be eligible for the postseason.

A&T Says Goodbye To Football Coach
After a 3-8 season, NC A&T said goodbye on Monday to its' football coach, firing George Small and his staff. Small is just two years removed from being named Coach of the Year in the MEAC Conference. The school will begin looking into replacements after Thanksgiving.

Morgan Walking Wounded
If Sunday's 13-3 loss to Chicago wasn't bad enough, the Carolina Panthers got some more bad news after the game. Dan Morgan, who's already playing with a seperated shoulder, injured his ankle early in the first half. X-rays showed that the ankle wasn't broken, but more tests are needed this week to determine what exactly is wrong. This will make the fifth time in Morgan's five NFL seasons that he's been out with an injury.

Final Standings In Points
With Tony Stewart taking the championship on Sunday, the Nextel Chase for the Cup ends with few surprises. Jimmie Johnson wrecked during Sunday's race and it dropped him all the way to 5th place, where he'll end the year. Moving up to second is Greg Biffle, while Carl Edwards is in third and Mark Martin finishes fourth. Rusty Wallace, who raced in his last Nextel Cup competition Sunday before retirement, finished his career with an 8th place in the points race.

Canadian Plans Continue
NASCAR's expansion plans are continuing and now there might be a date attached. Officials say that a Canadian track could be included in the Nextel Cup circuit as soon as 2007, if all goes as planned. The only holdup is between Nextel and track officials on where to hold the race. NASCAR wants a new track to be built, while several Indy owners want to use a current one and save money. If Nextel gets their way, the race could be held on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, where an oval track would be built.

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