News & Sports For August 31st

Woodward School Has New Owner
On Monday night, the Wilkes County School Board met and went over several items on the agenda. The board officially severed their ties with the old Woodward Middle School property, accepting a bid from the Brushy Mountain Baptist Association to buy it. Lawson Horton from the Association says that the Association has several plans for the building. Aside from bringing in their own offices, the Association is putting together plans for a school, also hoping to move in their Upwards basketball program and several other groups. The Association is talking with Habitat for Humanity and Samaritan's Kitchen among others, who want to be part of the new facility.

License Check Leads To Arrest
Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man near Edgewood Road this week after nearly being hit by his vehicle. The deputies were performing a license check when a vehicle came up and refused to stop. The driver then aimed the car at one of them, who was able to barely move out of the way in time, hitting the driver’s side door with his flashlight. Deputies then pursued the man on NC 115 in what became a high speed chase, with speeds reaching above 80 mph. The man went through the parking lots of two different stores before deputies lost him. However they had been able to get the man’s license plate number and tracked him down at home. 39-yr-old Clyde Grady Nickelson Jr. was arrested and charged with DWI, assault with a deadly weapon and fleeing to avoid arrest.

Blood Drive Later Today
Wilkes County’s blood supply is in a critical stage as we head into September. All blood types are in critical levels, with Type O & Type B especially needed. This could cause serious problems as we move on through hurricane season. Even though Katrina passed us by, we still have several months left in the season, without enough blood to last through a major storm. To solve that problem, the Red Cross is asking people to come out and give today during their blood drive at Community Alternatives. It starts at 10am this morning and runs until 2:30 this afternoon. Just remember before giving, you must be at least 17 years old and weigh no less than 110 lbs. If you want some more information before heading out, you can call the Red Cross at 838-4563.

Just Wanted To Look Around
A North Wilkesboro woman got off work this week to find that someone had been inside her vehicle. The lock had been torn off her car’s trunk, but nothing was missing and no other damage was done to the vehicle. An estimated $400 worth of damage was done in the incident. There are several suspects in the case.

Voter Registration Deadline This Friday
Time’s almost up if you haven’t registered yet to vote this year. At 5pm Friday, voter registration for the North Wilkesboro Primary will be over. If by that afternoon you aren’t registered to vote, then you won’t be able to cast a ballot. The same goes for the November elections. All registrations have to be turned in to the Board of Elections by 5pm or if you’re out of town, you can mail it in with a postmark of this Friday’s date. Tomorrow on the 3WC News we’ll take a look at the upcoming primaries in the area.

Jewelry Stolen From Ronda Home
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to a Ronda woman’s home this week, after thieves took off with several thousand dollars worth of merchandise. Despite all the items missing, there was no sign of a break-in and no damage done to any part of the property. Included in the theft was a $600 diamond ring, a $500 gold rope necklace and several other items. There are suspects in the case however and the investigation is ongoing.

Gas Savers Part Three
With gas prices continuing to go up, it’s more important than ever to conserve fuel. Today in the third part of our gas savers series, we take a look at some other ways to save you time and money at the pump. First of all, keep your engine in tune. That may seem like a small thing, but an out of tune engine can lower your gas mileage by about 4%. Also be on the lookout for worn out sparkplugs. They can drop your car’s gas mileage by 30%. Be sure and replace the car’s air filter when needed. A clogged filter can cost you an additional 15 cents a gallon. Finally make sure to check your tires. Underinflated tires wear down quick, offering more resistance and forcing your engine to work harder. The gas mileage on underinflated tires can drop by 15% or more in some cases. It may seem like a long list of things to do, but it’ll be worth it when you can spend more time away from the pump.

Focus On Veterans
They are called America’s greatest generation. The veterans of World War II gave all they had to protect this country, leaving behind family and friends to fight across the ocean. Now members of the Wilkes VFW Hall want to honor our local vets by taking them on a free trip to the World War II Memorial. Rex Eldrith from the VFW Hall will be my guest tomorrow for Focus on the Foothills, as we’ll be talking about the upcoming trip, what’s involved and how anyone can take part. That’s tomorrow after the midday stock report at 1:05pm.

State News

North Carolina Has A Lottery
North Carolina is no longer the only state without a lottery. Tuesday afternoon, the Senate held a special session and voted on the measure, passing it by a vote of 25-24. The Senate was deadlocked, with the absence of two members, John Garwood of Wilkes, who’s recovering from illness and Harry Brown of Jacksonville, who decided to miss the session to start his honeymoon. With their absence, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue exercised her executive powers and cast the deciding vote. The bill earlier passed in the House so now it goes to Gov. Easley for his signature and will be made law.

Fugitive Found At UNCC
After over a week of searching, a North Carolina fugitive is behind bars. Robert Windsor stands accused of kidnapping then murdering his girlfriend, before leaving her body in the trunk of her car. He later abandoned the vehicle on I-77 and disappeared. Over the weekend however, reports came in that he had been sighted in University City, hanging around the UNC Charlotte campus. Campus police found the man on Monday, walking near the main entrance to the school. He was arrested and quickly brought back to Catawba County. It’s still unknown why he went to UNC Charlotte, as he had no ties to the school.

North Carolina Students Get Boost In SATS
Good news for North Carolina students, as the average SAT score here in the state has improved over the last year. According to figures released on Tuesday by the College Board, the class of 2005 improved by four points over the year before. Students here in the state averaged a score of 511 on the math section, that’s up from 507 in 2004. However the verbal test scores stayed the same, with students averaging 499. Virtually every demographic group increased their scores with the exception of Hispanic students. Despite the progress, North Carolina still lags behind the national average, which rose also this year to 520 in math and 508 on the verbal.

Bus Shooting Under Investigation
Officials in Durham are investigating a shooting today, after someone fired on an occupied Transit bus. The incident happened Monday afternoon as the bus was traveling down Holloway Street. Witnesses at the scene described a man standing in the yard of a nearby house, pulling out his gun and opening fire. Three bullets hit the bus windows, but no one was injured. It’s believed at this time the bus wasn’t the target, but rather a vehicle that had passed in front of it. Officials are continuing the investigation at this hour.

Man Who Died Not Criminal
After investigating further, it appears an innocent man died during a police chase in Belmont. Over the weekend, police at a DWI checkpoint saw a vehicle do a U-turn, let out a woman and then take off down the road. The woman told police she had been kidnapped and later raped, a story that would turn out to be false. Police pursued the driver, who eventually lost control of the vehicle and crashed, later dying from his injuries. Now the woman has admitted that she made up the whole story, because she was scared of being arrested. The man had let her out and turned around because he’d been drinking and didn’t want to be caught.

Sports Headlines

Volleyball Scores From Tuesday Night
Around the high school scene, some volleyball action on your Tuesday night. It was Forbush beating North Wilkes in JV action 2 games to nothing. In both games Forbush took the win 25-20. In varsity action, Forbush also pulled out a clean sweep 3 games to nothing against North Wilkes.

Friday Night Football
When the wind and rain expected to depart by Thursday, all the local high schools will be back in action this week. Right here on 3WC, we’ll be back out at Wes Steele Stadium for a game between Wilkes Central and East Wilkes. The Cardinals come in off a win against North at 1-1, while coach Jeremy Funderburk and the Eagles look to rebound from an 0-2 loss. Ken Byrd and Keith Briand will be on hand to bring you the play by play, while Brian Carlton will be back at the station, giving you updates on all the other games going on in the area. Kickoff is set for 7:30 with the pregame show going on the air at 7:15. All this on your home for local sports, 1240 3WC.

Blackman Starts For State
With a few days before their first game of the season, NC State finally named a starting running back. Sophomore Darrell Blackman will get the start, beating out fellow sophomore Bobby Washington, junior Reggie Davis and freshman Toney Baker, Andre Brown and Jamelle Eugene. The coaching staff said that Blackman got the nod due to the fact he can catch, block and also is a talented runner, a triple threat that none of the others could match.

Minor League Scoreboard
Around the minor leagues, it was Winston Salem falling to Kinston 10-5. Warthogs starter Lance Broadway was roughed up for eight runs in four innings of work. Robert Valido and Leo Daigle led the Warthogs with three hits each.

Former Tarheel To Get Start
A former UNC Tarheel will get his chance to make an impact in the NFL on Opening Day. Pittsburgh Steelers running back Willie Parker, who was signed as a rookie free agent by the team, will replace Jerome Bettis in the starting lineup. Bettis injured his right calf muscle and so Parker, who graduated two years ago from UNC, will step in and take his place. The 5-10 209 lb. Parker will line up behind the tackles for Pittsburgh’s game September 11th against Tennessee.

NASCAR Facing Gas Problems
NASCAR officials are facing a problem that can’t be fixed with testing or a suspension. Rising gas prices are causing car owners to consider several options, to avoid losing profits. Some of the teams who have been considering adding a third driver will most likely put that off for another season. In addition, teams are worried that the high prices will keep fans away not just during the Chase For The Cup, but also into next year.

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