News & Sports For August 15th

Where Did You Come From?
A Wilkesboro man was walking through his home over the weekend when he noticed a woman in his kitchen. He asked who she was, only to see her run out the door. There was no damage done to the house and it didn’t appear that anything was stolen. However the man later found that his billfold had been taken, along with $60 in cash and his drivers’ license. A description of the woman was turned over to deputies and an investigation is ongoing.

Wreck On Oakwoods Road Wrecks Two
It’s always a good idea to keep your eyes on the road. A Moravian Falls man found that out the hard way over the weekend, as he was driving down Oakwoods Road. After looking away for a few seconds, he glanced up to see the vehicle in front of him had come to a stop. Unable to follow suit in time, the two cars collided, causing an estimated $10,500 in damage. The Moravian Falls man was taken by ambulance to Wilkes Regional.

Local Church Holds Youth Conference
Emmanuel Church is celebrating its’ 13th year of operation in 2005 and portions of the church’s youth are working to honor that achievement. A conference will go on this week at the church, located in North Wilkesboro, where the target is to bring 250 teens together to honor and worship God. The name of this year’s conference is Raising the Crop. If you want to get involved and help, you can do that as well. The church is accepting any donations of time, food or whatever you can give to help support the conference. They are located at 708 F Street in North Wilkesboro and once again the number to call for information is 903-0693.

Always Helps To Lock Your Doors
A High Point woman called Wilkesboro police over the weekend after discovering that thieves had been inside her car. The woman had left her vehicle while going to different businesses in the area, keeping a camera inside with the doors unlocked. However when she returned, the camera was missing. That investigation is ongoing.

Upcoming Abortion Conference
The Wilkes Pregnancy Care Center has been helping people deal with unplanned pregnancies for the last 10 years. They also counsel women who are either considering abortion or have already gone through with one. Coming up later this week, the Center is putting together a program to help minister to those who are struggling to come to terms with an abortion in their past. That will go on this Saturday, August 20th starting at 9am in the morning. For more information you can call the Pregnancy Care Center at 838-9272.

Air Conditioner Stolen From Local Home
The heat apparently got to at least one person over the weekend, as a Wilkesboro man returned home to find that thieves had stolen his air conditioner. Damage was done throughout the house, with the final bill estimated at around $500. There is however a suspect in the case and deputies are continuing the investigation.

Roadside Assistance For Farmers
The Department of Agriculture has created a new program for farmers in the area, one that would help them market their products. The Roadside Farm Market program is designed to help farmers directly sell their fruits and vegetables to people who might otherwise buy the products at a store. Now for more information or to get involved with the program, you can contact Ross Williams at the NC Department of Agriculture. His number is 919-733-7887. Applications are also available at the Wilkes Cooperative Extension office.

3WC Ranks In Top Five
The first round of voting is over and the Top Five Finalists were announced on Monday for this year’s Southern Gospel Music Awards. 3WC made the list as one of the top five radio stations, joining Joy FM, WJBZ, WDJC and KKGM on the list. Over one hundred thousand people from over 70 countries cast their vote for their favorites in each category. Now the second round of voting begins and you can cast a ballot even if you did so the first time. Same as before, you just have to log on to www.thesoutherngospel.com , click on Southern Gospel Music Awards 2005 and cast your vote. 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.

State News

Deputy Fired After Stealing Weed Eater
Normally law enforcement officers watch surveillance tapes, but for one Craven County sheriff’s deputy, he was the subject of one. Sgt. James Teel was fired from his job after being found guilty of stealing a weed-eater. The man was caught on tape walking over to a local storage shed, then kicking down the door and grabbing the trimmer. He pleaded guilty in criminal court, but didn’t give any reasons for his crimes. The 10-year law enforcement vet was given 45 days in a suspended jail sentence, along with 18 months of probation. This marks the fourth employee fired from the Sheriff’s Department in Craven County over the last week.

Bad News For College Students
While North Carolina finally has a state budget, that could actually be a bad thing for college students. In the $17 billion dollar budget, funding for state colleges & universities was cut 1.72%. Now what that means is schools are going to have to make up the difference themselves, which for many means a choice between cutting staff or increasing tuition. College officials across the state said the decision will be different for each school, but also said increasing tuition was the more likely choice.

Reward Offered As Hunt Continues
Officials in Winston Salem are hunting today for a hit & run driver and are offering a reward for information. A four year old boy was hurt last week after walking on the sidewalk of his street and being hit by a speeding car. The vehicle was described as a red convertible with a black top, but no other information could be provided by witnesses. After slowing down, the car kept on going down the road. The boy suffered a broken leg in the incident and now his parents are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. If anyone has information about the case, you can call 336-727-2800.

Marines Return Home
Some good news for military families in the state this weekend, as 900 Marines returned home to Camp Lejeune. The 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine group had left for Iraq in January, where they helped to train the Iraqi army. Also while over there, the soldiers confiscated 125 weapons caches and 26,000 rounds of ammunition. On Sunday, families started arriving at 9am, with over 500 eventually crowding around. The soldiers said they were most proud of helping to calm the violence, as attacks were down almost 50% from January til July. 210 attacks went on in January, compared with 65 in July.

State Finally Has A Budget
One week after it was passed by state lawmakers, North Carolina’s budget became official as Governor Easley signed it into law. The $17.2 billion plan will stay as it was originally conceived, with over $600 million coming in via new tax plans. Several projects within the budget have been called into question, including $400,000 to pay for a Teapot Museum in Sparta and $1 million to help pay for an equestrian center in Rockingham County. Despite the concerns, Easley did in fact sign the budget into law.

Sports Headlines

Results Of Local Golf Tournament
Around the local scene, this weekend was the Ebenezer Christian Children’s Home Golf Tournament, played at Oakwoods Country Club. The winning team from the first morning flight included Bradley Eller, Burn Gregory, Todd Felts, John Battle, while second place went to Kerry Cook, Scott Prevette, Matt Reneger and Gray Burchette. On the second flight of the morning, it was John Burchette, Marsh Lyall, Mark Church and Don Rhodes taking first place, with Keith Huffman, Bob Simmons, Steve Ellis and L Tomlin. Later on during the afternoon, it was the team of James Mathis, Jeff Shoemaker, Jim Wiles and Jim Barlow finishing first, with Barry Byrd, Ed Snyder, Brian Bonette and Kent Sherrill coming in second. Then on the final flight of the day, it was Kevin Lyall, Erine Drumm, Mark Jolly and Brandon Jolly finishing first, with Bruce Miller, Josh Welborn, West Minton and Arthur Lankford wrapping up second place.

Under 21 Team Fails To Get Gold
It was a rough weekend for the U.S. Under 21 team, as they were knocked out of the running for a gold medal. Canada beat the U.S. by a score of 93-90 on Friday, a game that went into overtime. The U.S. rebounded on Saturday, winning the consolation game 99-79 over Puerto Rico. Justin Gray from Wake Forest had 16 points for the U.S., while Duke’s JJ Redick was ice cold, only scoring three points.

Minor League Scoreboard
Around the minor leagues, it was Winston Salem losing against Fredrick 3-2. Ray Liotta got his first loss of the season, giving up three runs in seven innings of work. With the loss, Winston falls two games back in the race for the Southern Division title. Up the road in Hickory the news wasn’t any better for the Crawdads, who fell against Lake County 3-2.

Former 49er Gets Major Chance
Hurt by injuries, the Baltimore Orioles made a call to the minors for pitching help over the weekend. After one game, it seems they made a good decision. Former UNC Charlotte pitcher John Maine made his first start in the majors this season, tossing five innings of shutout baseball against the Toronto Blue Jays. The plans were to have Maine sent back down after one game, but club officials were so impressed they’ve added him to the roster.

Panthers Win Opening Game
In the NFL, it was a good start for the Carolina Panthers, who took their first preseason game 28-10. Playing against the Washington Redskins in front of just over 61,000 people, the Panthers put on a show both on and off the field. During halftime, they retired the jersey of former player and linebackers coach Sam Mills, who died earlier this year from cancer. Coming up next for Carolina is a matchup against the Giants, this Saturday at 8pm.

NASCAR Results
Tony Stewart took the checkered flag at Sunday’s Sirius at the Glen. Robby Gordon was second, Boris Said came in third, Scott Pruett was fourth and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five. With the win, Stewart moves ahead of second place Jimmie Johnson by 95 points in the race for the Cup.