News & Sports For August 16th

Fox To Meet With Chairman In Wilkes Today
5th District Congresswoman Virginia Fox will be in Wilkes this morning, to meet with U.S. Representative John Boehner. Mr. Boehner is the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and will be touring Wilkes Community College along with Congresswoman Fox, before meeting with local officials. The point of the meeting is to discuss the Higher Education Act and how it could possibly affect Wilkes County.

Deputy Assaulted By Break-In Suspect
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to an Elkin residence earlier this week, after reports came of a break-in. A man had apparently busted into the home, knocking open the door and damaging a wall. Once inside he screamed at the homeowner and her family before rushing out and climbing the roof. Within a few minutes the man disappeared, just before deputies arrived. However he returned once again, refusing to let the deputies out of their vehicle. He kept cursing at the deputies, swinging the car doors and trying to hit them. 37-yr-old Richie Holbrook was arrested and charged with assaulting an officer, in addition to breaking & entering along with property damage. Estimated damages at the woman’s home were placed at $600 and it’s still unclear why the man chose that specific home to go into.

Gas Theft In North Wilkesboro
Gas thieves hit another business in Wilkes County earlier in the week, this time targeting the Run-In on Statesville Road. A man pulled up, pumped $36 worth of gas and then took off down the road, spinning tires while doing so. A description of both the man and vehicle were turned over to sheriff’s deputies and that investigation is ongoing.

Rabies Becoming A Concern This Year
As we close the book on summer, rabies is still a problem both in Wilkes and across the state. With a shortage of the rabies vaccine, officials are still concerned of a potential problem. The easiest way to fix things is to go and have your pet vaccinated, which at the local clinics costs $10. Keep in mind if that seems like a lot, humans can also contract the virus and it costs around $2500 to treat an infected person. If you’re not sure, call your vet and check that your animals all have up to date vaccinations. If you have any questions, you can call Animal Control at 903-7688 or the Wilkes Health Department at 651-7450.

Mower & Video Games Stolen
A Millers Creek man returned home earlier this week, only to find that someone had paid him a visit. Gone from inside was the man’s push mower, in addition to his X-Box game system. It appears that the thieves had pried open a side door with a pocket knife to gain access. Nothing else was stolen and no other damage was done to the home. There are several suspects in the case and deputies are continuing the investigation.

Health Department Offering Car Seat Help
85% of child safety seats across Wilkes County were not installed correctly, according to the local SafeKids organization. While this is slightly lower than the national average, it’s still high enough for concern. However if you’re still trying to figure out what the right way to install one is, you don’t have to wait until the next safety check. The Wilkes Health Department is partnering with SafeKids to help show parents the right way to install the seats. To set up an appointment, you can call Jean Edwards at the Health Department. Her number is 651-7478. Or if you want to wait until the next safety check, there will be one going on September 17th.

Gun Fired At Traphill Home
Deputies were called out to a Traphill residence after reports came in of shots fired at the house. The homeowner returned from church Sunday afternoon to find that his windows had been shattered and also parts of the siding on his home had been torn up as well, all this done by a shotgun blast. $2500 worth of damage was done to the property, however there are no suspects in the case. The investigation is ongoing.

“Spoofing” Pt. 1 Of Internet Safety Series
Virtually everyone is logging onto the internet these days, checking email and even working from home. However a new practice called spoofing can give you an online headache. The idea is a ripoff of an old practice, sending out fake emails that have the exact same information as a company you do business with, such as Wachovia, even down to the log-in screen. It’s even impossible to tell if the email is legit by looking at who sent it, as hackers can alter any portion of the message. First and foremost, if you get any emails from a company you do business with, log out and go directly to their website. Don’t click on any links that will connect you. While it may seem harmless, what that does in fact is link you with a hacker’s computer. Now he has a way into your system. Also the spoofed emails will always have a generic greeting, such as welcome Wachovia customer. Also realize that no legit company would ever ask for bank account, credit card or debit card numbers. They also wouldn’t ask for your drivers’ license or full name. These are all little tools hackers use to gain access to your information. The best thing to do is delete an email if it seems strange or if you think it’s hacked. Then if nothing else you can go directly to the website of the business in question and find out for yourself. It’s a lot cheaper than the alternative.

Thieves Leave Vehicle Behind At Heist
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to a home on Hwy 16 North earlier this week, after reports of a break-in in progress. They arrived to find several tools had been stolen from the woman’s home, including a $200 pressure washer and $200 welder. Estimated cost of everything that was stolen was placed at $1400. However a vehicle was parked nearby, one that didn’t belong to anyone in the neighborhood. Deputies radioed in and got the information as to who owned the car and are continuing the investigation.

Farmers At Risk Of Losing Benefits As Deadline Extended
Some farmers here in Wilkes County could be at risk of losing state aid dollars unless a mistake is corrected. The aid money is being sent out to any farmer who suffered crop losses or had to rebuild from last year’s hurricanes. However when filing out their information sheet, several hundred farmers throughout North Carolina refused to allow the state to share their information with federal agencies. This causes a problem because the Department of Agriculture is the one in charge of sending out the aid money & without that consent form, they don’t know who to send it to. The deadline to turn in a form is September 9th and you can pick one up at the Cooperative Extension office. To call for more information, the number is 651-7331.

Never Leave Money Out In Plain Sight
A Wilkesboro man learned why it’s never a good idea to leave money in plain sight this week. He locked his car before going into a store, however when he came out, $60 that had been laying on the seat was missing along with his wallet. In addition the driver’s side door and driver’s side key lock were both damaged. Total damages were placed at $250 and the investigation is ongoing.

State News

Police Hunt For Wingate Robber
Police at Wingate are hunting for a robbery suspect today, after a government employee was assaulted. A driver for one of Union County’s transportation vans was pulling out of a nearby Burger King when a man rose out of the backseat and tried to beat him with a pipe. After a brief struggle, the driver was able to toss the man off, after which he jumped out the door and took off running. There were no injuries and nothing was stolen from the van. However police around Wingate are still attempting to locate the man, before he strikes again. He’s described as a skinny black male, last seen wearing a red shirt and black cap. If you have any information Wingate Police are asking for a call at 704-233-1697.

North Carolina In First Regional Cold Case Group
The state of North Carolina is taking part in a law enforcement organization that’s the first of its’ kind on the East Coast. Investigators from North Carolina, Delaware, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia are all coming together as part of the Mid-Atlantic Cold Case Association. The group will help each other out on cases, offering a fresh pair of eyes to a case that might have stumped law enforcement til now. David Cordle is the president of the group, in addition to being the chief investigator for the Anne Arundel County state attorney’s office in Maryland.

Man Shot After Robbery
Winston Salem police are investigating after a robbery Monday morning. The incident happened around 6:30am at the K&W Cafeteria on Hanes Mill Road. A 54-yr-old man was shot after a would be robber came up to him in the parking lot and demanded his money. It’s unknown what exactly happened after that, however the man was shot and the robber took off in a small green car. No one could provide any more details of the incident. The man however, 54-yr-old Marshal Norman, is currently in Baptist Hospital, recovering from surgery.

Broyhill Plant In Lenoir Shuts Down
Bad news today for people in the Lenoir area, as Broyhill Furniture officially closed down their Occasional 1 plant. A few workers are remaining on staff to help run the warehousing operations, which will continue until all the stock has been moved. Today is also the final day for Lenoir’s Harper plant, which closes down at the end of business. Overall 475 jobs will be lost, with an additional 285 people being forced to relocate in order to keep theirs. Both plants are currently up for sale.

Caldwell County To Hold Employment Event
Some good news for people without work in Caldwell County, as later this week a job fair of sorts will be going on. Called “Directions”, the program will be set up at Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute from Wednesday through Friday. Times are set starting at 10am in the morning and wrapping up that evening at 6pm. The program is designed to help any out of work people find connections for assistance and possibly jobs before they leave. The event is free to everyone and on hand will be healthcare providers, food, clothing and school supply drives among other things. Once again that’s taking place Wednesday through Friday at the Caldwell Community College from 10am til 6pm.

Sports Headlines

Tarheel Player Considers Redshirting
This year hasn’t gone as planned for Tarheel runningback Ronnie McGill, who’s recovering from a torn chest muscle. Now as he faces at least four months of rehab before he can get back on a football field, McGill is considering redshirting and making his return next season. An official decision hasn’t been made yet, but McGill said he didn’t want to return for just a few weeks and cause any problems for the team.

Duke Lands Ahead Of North Carolina In Preseason Poll
Some surprises came out in the first national college football poll. USA Today released its’ first preseason poll and more surprising than who was left off was who got a vote. The Duke Blue Devils received a vote in the poll, one more than both North Carolina and Wake Forest despite only winning eight games in five years. The only other North Carolina school receiving a vote was NC State, who was ranked 31st, with 69 votes.

Giuliani To Play At Duke
A member of the first family is enrolling this fall at Duke University. The first family of New York that is. Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, will head to Durham this fall in hopes of making the golf team. The 19-yr-old doesn’t have a scholarship, but will instead try to make the team as a walk-on. In addition to Giuliani, Coach Rod Myers returns most of a team that won the ACC title last season. Giuliani said one of the reasons he picked Duke was because of his friendships with some guys already on the team.

Minor League Scoreboard
Taking a look at the minor leagues, it was Winston Salem beating the Wilmington Blue Rocks 6-5. Winston starter Wes Whisler got his third win of the year, only giving up one run in six innings of work while striking out seven. Reliever Fabio Castro picked up his second save of the year in 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. Noah Hall led the Warthogs’ attack, going two for three with a home run.

Panthers Win Comes With Price
Not everything went as planned for the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, as two more players were added to the list of walking wounded. Linebacker Brandon Short sprained his left foot and special teams captain Karl Hankton sprained his shoulder. Some good news however also came for the team, as cornerback Ken Lucas, receiver Keary Colbert and safety Mike Minter were all cleared to return to practice, after recovering from injuries.