News & Sports For July 29th
Friday, July 29, 2005 at 6:34AM
3WC DJ

Troops To Be Honored This Weekend
This weekend, people in Wilkes and the surrounding areas will be turning out to honor our troops before they ship out. The 505th Engineering Battalion of North Carolina’s National Guard have received their orders and will depart for Iraq in the fall of this year. Before that however, the troops have to go to another base out of the area for training. They’ll leave for that extended training session after the ceremonies, which will take place in separate parts this weekend. The battalion is made up of several different units from all over the area, some of which have been broken up with the skills of some soldiers required elsewhere. A ceremony for the Lexington, Mocksville and Mount Airy units will be held at 10am Saturday morning at the Vance Auditorium in Lexington. Later on in the day, the Kings Mountain unit, along with portions of the Elkin group will hold their send off. That will take place at 2pm at Kings Mountain High School. Here in Wilkes a ceremony will be held Sunday at 10am honoring the North Wilkesboro unit at the Walker Center. Finally at 2pm Sunday afternoon, portions of the Elkin group will join with the Gastonia unit at the First Baptist Church in Gastonia for the final send off. It’s not been defined as to how long the troop is expected to be overseas, although estimates are placed at around one year.

More Counterfeit Money Comes Into Wilkes
Counterfeit money continues to flow into Wilkes County, the latest incident taking place at the Northwestern Bank in Millers Creek. While bringing in the deposits on Wednesday, bank employees noticed that several of the bills were in fact fake. A $1 and a $5 were proved to be counterfeit, although there’s no way of knowing who made the deposit. The evidence was turned over the sheriff’s deputies, who are continuing the investigation.

Voting Nearing An End For Gospel Awards
There’s only three days left if you want to cast a ballot for this year’s Southern Gospel Music Awards. The awards are put out by online magazine TheSouthernGospel.com and the Top Five Finalists in each category will be announced this coming Monday, August 1st. 3WC is in the running for Favorite Radio Station and morning show DJ John Wishon was named as one of the Favorite Radio Personalities, in addition to making the list of Favorite Concert MCs. If you want to get involved and vote, you can log on to www.thesoutherngospel.com , click on Southern Gospel Music Awards 2005 and cast your ballot. All it takes is a working email address to be able to make your voice heard. Then the winners of this year’s awards will be revealed on October 29th during a ceremony at the LJVM Coliseum in Winston Salem.

Gas Theft In Traphill
With the temperatures skyrocketing this week, it’s no surprise that drivers have been burning more gas than normal, keeping the air conditioner going in their cars. A couple in Traphill however decided they shouldn’t have to pay for it. A car pulled up to the Pleasant Hill Grocery in Traphill, the driver pumped $27 worth of gas and then took off without paying. Store employees were able to get a description of both people in the car as well as the vehicle itself and turned all the information over to deputies. That investigation is ongoing.

How To Beat The Heat Part Four: In The Kitchen
Now that the temperatures have dropped and we have a small break from the recent heatwave, it might be a good idea to starting thinking about taking precautions for the next one. In today’s fourth segment of our Summer Series, we take a look at some problems with food in the heat. Something to think about when putting food in the refrigerator, keep the temperature too hot or too cold and either way you can end up spreading bacteria. The Department of Health says that cold foods should be kept at a minimum of 45 degrees. Any higher and you risk bacteria setting in. Also be sure to wash your hands with hot soapy water before and after handling food. While it might not seem like a big deal, bacteria can grow into a virus causing you some problems later on. Also when cooking, be sure to turn the temperature up to at least 140 degrees if using the stove, or the high setting on your microwave. That will guarantee that any bacteria on the food will be killed. Finally never eat anything that’s been left out for more than one hour, if the temperature climbs above 90 degrees. While it might not smell or taste funny, that bacteria can quickly get into your body and wreck havok.

Mailbox Vandals Hit Again

For the second time in less than a week, mailbox vandals hit a home in the Wilkes County area. Except this time it appears they were trying to keep the homeowner out, not get in. Deputies were called out to a Wilkesboro residence on Wednesday, after the woman came home to find someone had put a masterlock on her mailbox, sealing it shut. There was no damage done to the box and nothing else disturbed on the property. Also no one in the area could recall hearing or seeing anyone come by the home while the owner was gone. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

Drove Off With The Mower
A Ronda man called sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday after discovering that his riding mower had been stolen. The vehicle had been parked near the side of the house the night before, but when the homeowner woke up, he found it was missing. There is a suspect in the case, as people in the area saw a local man at the house the night before. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

BROC Head Start Continues
Applications are still being taken for this year’s Head Start program, a preschool plan designed to help 3 and 4 year old children with their education. The program, which is run by the BROC agency, is currently accepting new students at their three locations here in Wilkes: The Cub Creek Center, the Lomax Center and also the North Wilkesboro Center. To be eligible, children and their families have to meet certain guidelines, mainly concerning the household income. In addition, the program also accepts disabled or special needs children regardless of their family income. In order to be eligible, the child has to turn three years old by October 16th of this year. The program itself will run from August until May of 2006, 8:30am until 2:30pm Monday through Thursday. For more information you can call Judi Mitchell at the BROC head office. Her number is 667-7174.

Never Leave Your Home Unlocked
It’s always a good idea to lock up before you leave. A Millers Creek family found that out this week, after returning to discover that thieves had paid them a visit. While the family was out, thieves came in and took a stereo from the home, in addition to $4200 in cash that had been hidden away in an envelope. Nothing else was missing and there was no damage done. The doors hadn’t been locked however, so the thieves just walked right in and took what they wanted. Neighbors however couldn’t recall seeing or hearing anyone near the home. The investigation is ongoing.

State News

Pender County Athletes Won’t Pay
Some good news today for student athletes in Pender County, as the board of commissioners shot down a proposal that would have forced them to pay in order to play. County officials had presented a plan earlier this month that would have forced students to pay a fee of at least $15 if they wanted to take part in school athletic programs. That idea was conceived after the local school system found itself with a $500,000 shortfall in the budget. So instead, now officials are planning to cut the funding for the library in half and chop $170,000 from the school materials and supplies budget.

Firefighter Charged With Arson
Officials in Union County have arrested a junior member of the Lanes Creek Fire Department, charging him with arson. 17-yr-old Matthew Oates is suspected by detectives of setting fire to two empty houses in the area along with a storage building and a mailbox. The teenager is currently being held in the Union County Jail after the arson spree, which detectives believe started last year. Oates didn’t provide detectives with any idea why he committed the crimes.

Woman Robbed While Jogging
Be careful what you wear when out jogging. That’s the lesson a Charlotte woman learned Wednesday night after being robbed while out on a run. A man came walking up to the woman and demanded that she hand over $1500 worth of jewelry that she was wearing. After handing over the jewelry, the woman watched as the man walked off, getting into a nearby Toyota Camry and driving off.

Jobs Leaving Pleasant Garden
Opponents of the CAFTA agreement were in shock as the bill passed through Congress this week, despite severe arguments against it by several members of the House, including 5th District Congresswoman Virginia Fox. Now opponents of the bill are concerned that their argument has been proven true, as layoffs were announced at yet another manufacturing plant in North Carolina. 280 people will be out of work this fall as Hooker Furniture announced that they will be shutting down their plant in Pleasant Garden this coming October. Company officials said that they couldn’t compete with overseas labor and would rely more on imported goods for their customers.

Cleanup Continues At Train Derailment
Cleanup continues today at the site of a train derailment at the Davidson/Rowan County line. Several rail cars jumped the tracks and fell into a nearby reservoir, where the limestone cargo started leaking out. In addition, another of the cars held ground up glass, which also spilled into the water. It’s unclear exactly how the derailment happened, but thankfully none of the crew was injured. However local authorities estimate that it could take days to clean up the area. While the limestone won’t hurt the environment, it could be dangerous to animals that come to drink at the reservoir.

Chemical Spill In Forsyth
Portions of U.S. 52 were shut down in Forsyth County on Thursday after a chemical spill. The incident happened Thursday morning, when a tractor-trailer flipped, spilling its’ 50 gallon cargo of hydrocide. The chemical, which is sprayed on buildings to help repel water, covered parts of the area, causing one lane of the highway to be shut down while cleanup crews came in. No one was hurt in the accident.

Sports Headlines

UNC Locks Up Another Prospect
The UNC Tarheels added another piece to their football puzzle this week, after Morgan Randall committed to the school. Randall, a 6’6 245 offensive lineman, from Greenville Rose High School said that he picked Carolina in part because of a great combination of athletics and academics that the school offers, but also because of the family ties he has in the area. Every member of his family that had gone to college graduated as a Tarheel and he wanted to continue that tradition. The move marks the 16th commitment UNC has for 2006.

Randolph Will Sign NBA Deal
It seemed like Shavlik Randolph made a mistake, giving up his senior season at Duke to enter the NBA draft. It looked like more of one after he went undrafted. Now however Randolph will get a chance at proving himself after signing a free agent contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 6-10 Randolph will be at summer camp with the rest of the team when they meet next week.

Bobcats Trade With Phoenix
The Charlotte Bobcats made a trade yesterday, sending a second round draft pick to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for 27-yr-old center Jake Voskuhl. Voskuhl, who served as the backup to Amare Stoudemire, will add some depth to a Bobcat team coming into just their second season in the league. The team plans to use him as a backup to starting center Primoz Brezec.

Minor League Scoreboard
In the minor leagues last night, it was Winston Salem falling against Potomac 8-6. Warthogs’ starter Ryan Rodriguez got a no-decision, despite striking out seven and only giving up four runs in six innings. Rodriguez left in the sixth with a 6-3 lead, but Winston relievers got shelled by the Potomac attack. Javier Ortiz got his first loss of the season.

Panthers Trade For One, Sign Another
This was a busy week for the Carolina Panthers, as team officials were wheeling and dealing. They traded a conditional draft pick to the Washington Redskins, in exchange for former Clemson wide receiver Rod Gardner. The 27-yr-old Gardner was no longer in the Redskins’ plans, despite a reputation as a physical playmaker like former Panther Mushsin Muhammad. In addition, the Panthers came to a deal with fourth round pick Stefan Lefors. Lefors signed a four year deal with the team and will compete to be Jake Delhomme’s backup this season.

Article originally appeared on Hometown Christian Radio 3WC (http://www.hometownchristianradio.com/).
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