Election Day Arrives In Wilkes
November 8th is here and once again it's time to head out to the voting booth and cast your ballot. There are four races here in the county this year, beginning with the race for Mayor of North Wilkesboro. Incumbent Steve Foster will be going up against Democratic challenger George Church. Also in the North Wilkesboro Town Commissioners' race, two out of the three candidates will be picked for office. Debbie Ferguson, Robert L. Johnson and Laura Welborn are all running for the two positions. Over in Wilkesboro, James S. Hartlet and Mike Inscore are running unopposed for the two town commissioners' spots and finally in Ronda, eight candidates are running for the three seats on the town board. Wanda Blackburn, Brison Combs, Ricky Cothren, Holly Wood Duplisea, Patricia Houck Hawkins, Helen T. Porter and Manuel Wood are all in the running. Throughout the area, polling places open this morning at 6:30am and will stay that way til 7:30pm tonight. Keep in mind when going to vote, if your polling place is a school, class is in session today so it might be a good idea to avoid the drop off and pick up times, when so much traffic is in the area.

Hit & Run In Wal-Mart Parking Lot
Wilkesboro police are searching for a hit & run driver today, after a wreck in the Wal-Mart parking lot this weekend. A Wilkesboro woman returned to her vehicle, only to find it had been severely damaged while she was inside the store. Witnesses at the scene gave police a description of the hit & run suspect's vehicle, described as a white SUV. Estimated damages were placed at $2000 in the crash and that investigation continues.

Applications Being Taken For Energy Assistance Program
With the economy still struggling here in the area, it can be hard at times for people to afford to pay their heating bill. Social Services here in Wilkes County is taking applications now for their low income Energy Assistance Program. People can come in and apply from now until Friday November 18th at the Wilkes Social Services office, located on College Street in Wilkesboro from 8:30am til 5pm. Also applications will be taken on two days at the Clingman Family Resource Center, on Wednesday November 9th and Wednesday November 16th. This will be a one time credit to help in paying for your heating costs this winter.You can call Social Services for more information at 651-7400.

Gas Thieves Hit Another Wilkes Business
On Sunday of this week, sheriff's deputies were called out after another case of gas theft here in Wilkes. This time thieves hit Uncle Kenny's on the Yellow Banks Road in Hays. A man drove up in a white 1980s model truck, pumped his gas and then took off down the road without paying. Employees inside the store were able to get a description of the man and his vehicle, which were turned over to deputies. That investigation is ongoing.

Blood Drive Later Today
1500 pints of blood. That's how much is used each day by doctors across the state, dealing with traffic accidents and surgeries. With the blood supply still low here in the county, a drive is going on this afternoon at the Wilkesboro Civic Center, from 2-6:30pm. To schedule an appointment you can call the Red Cross at 838-4563. Or if you want to just walk in, they'll take you on a first come, first serve basis.

Thieves Steal Prescriptions From North Wilkesboro Home
Prescription drugs were the target for thieves at a North Wilkesboro home earlier this week. Sunday afternoon a man returned to his house on Miller Lane and found that the back door had been pried open. Stolen from inside were several hundred dollars worth of prescription drug medication. Nothing else was damaged or missing from the home and 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. Coming up later this week, there will be a three day session beginning Thursday November 10th and finishing Saturday November 12th. The sessions last for 2 ½ hours on Thursday 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.

Thieves Leave Damage Behind For Wilkesboro Woman
A Wilkesboro woman got a surprise when she returned to her car over the weekend. She had left it to go into a local store and came back to find the CD player had been ripped out and damage had been done to several of the seats. An estimated $700 in damage was done to the seats and other parts of the car. That investigation is ongoing.

Rescue Squad Celebrating 50th Anniversary This Saturday
This Saturday Wilkes will take time out to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the County's Rescue Squad. There will be free food on hand over at Smoot Park, along with prizes, tours of the rescue truck and ambulance and blood pressure checks. Also during the event you can take time out to meet the current members of the Wilkes Rescue Squad. It will go on from 11am til 3pm this Saturday November 12th.

State News

Charlotte Police Hunting Robbery Suspects
Officials in Charlotte are searching for some robbery suspects in the University City area today. Five men and one woman are all wanted for questioning, after a break-in at the Wexford Meadows apartments this weekend. Somehow the robbers broke in, evading security and robbed several homeowners in the area. Police are asking for help as they don't have any information except that five men and a woman were involved and all were armed. This incident happened just off NC 49, north of I-485 near University City.

Holiday Jobs Coming Early
Some good news for job hunters out there, as holiday and part time work is being offered a little early this year. According to careerbuilder.com and several other online sites, employers here in North Carolina are already starting to put out help wanted ads for seasonal work. Overall this holiday season people here in the U.S. are projected to spend over $453 million dollars and that has some stores scrambling to find workers. Postings from Wilkes and the surrounding counties are on careerbuilder and monster.com. You can also visit the local employment security commission's website to check out who's hiring in the area.

High Point To Pay Parking Tickets
As a show of thanks for coming out to their furniture show, officials in High Point are paying customers' parking tickets. Several hundred dollars worth of them. All the customers who parked illegally to get inside last month's Home Furnishings Market will have their ticket paid by the city of High Point. Officials decided to pay the tickets as a way of keeping customers coming to their trade show, now that some competition has sprung up in Las Vegas.

People Come Out To Celebrate Ham Day
In the Caldwell County town of Sawmills, people came out over the weekend to celebrate Ham Day. Over 2000 pounds of ham was eaten at the 16th annual event, put on by the local fire department. The all day event acts both as a community get together and also a fundraiser for the local fire department, who uses the proceeds to buy equipment, make renovations and help finish other needed projects in the area. This year a portion of the funds has been given to the annual Sawmalls Christmas party for special needs kids in the area, in addition to buying treat bags and smoke alarms for senior citizens in the community. $100 in free gas was also given out as part of a raffle that was held later on.

Florida Company Helps Revive Lenoir
Some of those unemployed in Lenoir after last week's plant closings by Broyhill might find work in a familar place. Broyhill's Harper plant has already been sold to a Florida company, who plans to come in and take over production. Woodsmiths, a company that makes furnishings for the hospitality industry, will instantly be hiring 30 workers, with possibly to follow. Operations are expected to be up and running before Thanksgiving.

Database Launched To Help Lawmakers
A new database was launched on Monday to help state lawmakers determine the needs of families across North Carolina. The North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute complied facts on family size, income and child care needs based on information from all of the state's 170 districts. The goal is to show lawmakers that there are problems with families in each county and district, issues that need to be dealt with, instead of pushed to the back burner, according to institute officials.

Sports Headlines

Brown Named Offensive Player Of The Week
It's been a good week for NC State football. First the team knocks off Florida State and now freshman runningback Andre Brown has been named the Division I-A Offensive Player of the Week. Brown ran for 179 yards in Saturday's 20-15 win and is already being compared to Dallas Cowboys tailback Herschel Walker.

Appalachian Players Make Awards Lists
Two players from Appalachian State have made it on the list for this year's Division I-AA football awards. This will mark the 19th year that the Walter Payton Award has been given out, as it is each season to the best player in DIvision I-AA. Quarterback Richie Williams from Appalachian is one of the 16 semi-finalists for the award. So far this year Williams has thrown for 1845 yards, 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions, while running the ball for 117 yards and four touchdowns. Also defensive end Marques Murrell from Apalachian is in the running for this year's Buchanan Battle Award, handed out for the past 11 years to the best defensive player in Division 1-AA. The winners will be announced on Thursday December 15th at the I-AA College Football Awards in Chattanooga Tennessee.

Bobcats Fall In OT To Jazz
In the NBA, the Charlotte Bobcats lost a heartbreaker to the Utah Jazz last night, falling in overtime 95-91. Charlotte drops to 2-2 with the loss, however Raymond Felton and Sean May had their best game since joining the team. Felton had 7 points and 10 assists, while May put up 13 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block. Next up the San Antonio Spurs come to town on Wednesday.

One More To The Panther Wounded List
Unfortunately, while the Panthers won going away on Sunday, there was one casualty. Tight end Kris Mangum had to leave in the first quarter after injuring his knee. After doctors examined the injury it was determined that Mangum has a sprained knee. It's unclear exactly how much time he could miss, but Mike Siedman and Michael Gaines will take over in his absence. Carolina will come home this Sunday to take on the Jets.

Nextel Cup Chase Heats Up
As drivers get set to march into Phoenix for this Sunday's race, the Chase for the Cup has gotten a little closer. Tony Stewart is still hanging on to his lead, but is just 38 points in front of second place Jimmie Johnson. Carl Edwards is third, just 77 points back and seperated by just one point are Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth. Martin is fourth, 122 points back while Kenseth rounds out the top five, 123 back of the leader.