News & Sports For August 5th

Schools Drop As Test Results Released
More bad news today for some parents of Wilkes County students. The state released final results from this year’s ABC’s of Public Education program, holding schools accountable for student performances in all of the end of grade testing and other plans. Here in Wilkes, six schools failed to meet expectations for the year. They were CB Eller Elementary, Millers Creek Elementary, Mount Pleasant Elementary, Roaring River Elementary and North Wilkesboro Elementary, in addition to North Wilkes Middle School. All others met state expectations, while some in fact exceeded them. We’ll go over this more in detail starting on Monday, breaking down each individual school by examining their scores from the state.

Be Careful Who Has Your Information
Be careful who you give out personal information to. That’s what a local man learned this week. Some of his personal information, along with one of his credit cards had ended up in the hands of his girlfriend without his permission. Checking his account, the man soon found that $30 had been spent in the last day alone. Because he hadn’t given permission, the man took out a warrant for the girl’s arrest. But that wasn’t all that deputies found when they brought her in. Inside her purse was her boyfriend’s credit card along with two others that he hadn’t noticed missing yet, in addition to a capital one card apparently stolen from her grandfather. 22-yr-old Amanda Marie Wyatt was arrested and charged with two counts of larceny and financial card fraud.

Wreck On Curtis Bridge Road Totals Two
A wreck on Curtis Bridge Road damaged two vehicles this week. A Moravian Falls woman was trying to merge from a side road but failed to see the oncoming traffic. She slammed into a Wilkesboro woman who couldn’t get out of the way in time. Both vehicles were totaled, with estimated damages placed at $3600. However after giving out her information, the first driver took off down the road. Jennifer Ann Rathburn was charged with hit & run, along with failure to yield the right of way.

Maple Hill Grocery Falls Victim To Vandals
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to the Maple Hill Grocery on Wednesday, after employees came in to find that damage had been done to the place overnight. The building’s front window was shattered, with estimated damages placed at $300. There is however a suspect in the case, as a man in a white Chevy truck was seen in the parking lot doing donuts during the night. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

Deadline Today For Filing
Today’s the final day for anyone who wants to put their name in the election race this year. The deadline is today at noon, after that the nominees are locked in and we start progressing toward the primaries for those races who need one. One of those will be for the Republican nomination for mayor of North Wilkesboro. Incumbent Steve Foster is running again as is his opponent from the last time around, Gerald Lankford. A primary date will be set and then the winner of that vote will go on to face Democrat George G. Church in the November election. One more name was added to the race for Ronda commissioner this week, as Patricia Hawkins entered the race. She’ll join incumbents Brison Combs and Ricky Cothren, along with Manuel Wood, Helen Porter, Wanda Blackburn and Holly Duplisea. Over the bridge in Wilkesboro, incumbents Mike Inscore and James Hartley will be running unopposed for their town commissioner seats, while in North Wilkesboro, Billy Joe “Crow” Church, Robert L. Johnson, Debbie Ferguson, Faye Cox and Eric Williams will all be vying for the two Democratic seats up for grabs.

Items Stolen From Forest Service
The local branch of the Forest Service found itself the victim of a break-in this week as thieves walked out with over $1500 worth of material. There was no sign of a break-in at the property and no damage done, however several boxes of tools were missing. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

3WC Healthwatch: A Stalk A Day Keeps The Cancer Away
This next bit of news is for everyone out there who doesn’t like eating vegetables. You might want to reconsider. In today’s 3WC Healthwatch, scientists from the Institute of Food Technologists have found that eating broccoli could help prevent bladder cancer or possibly slow its’ spread if you’ve already contracted the disease. Doctors told the Reuters news service that compounds in broccoli called isothiocynates aggressively go after cancer cells in the bladder, dramatically slowing their spread. While this is by no means a miracle cure, it can help patients slow the spread of their disease in some cases and for others who are cancer free, broccoli sprouts can help you stay that way. One thing to consider however is that this research is still in the early stages and it’s not yet clear how much broccoli you’d need to eat before seeing results.

Radio Stolen From Car
A Millers Creek woman returned from a trip to find that thieves had paid a visit to her house. The radio was ripped out of her car, however no other damage was done to the vehicle and nothing else was bothered on the property. There is however a suspect in the case and deputies are continuing the investigation.

Relay For Life Later Today
When we hear the word cancer, the first thing we think of is death. But it’s not always a life-ending disease and with more research, it’s possible we could see a cure in our lifetime. To do that however, money has to be raised for the research, more than just the government can spare. One organization built to do just that is Relay For Life and this year’s Relay for Life event will be held at Wilkes Community College later on today. The event will begin at 6pm and continue on until 10am Saturday morning. For more information you can call Jo Dejournet at 838-3973.

State News

State Wanting Improvement In Failing Schools
The latest round of tests haven’t done much to improve North Carolina’s scores or standing in regards to education. With that being the case, Gov. Easley announced this week that he wants special teams to be sent into the 44 high schools that had low performance scores. These teams would be put together with workers from the state’s Department of Public Instruction and as a trial run, will start their program in 10 Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools. Each team will record data from the schools’ students and teachers, analyzing it while also taking a look at how schools in the area spent the money they were given. Then they’ll present goals for each school and recommendations on how to improve.

Minimum Wage Might Be Raised
Good news for people making minimum wage today, as your paychecks could be increasing. North Carolina’s House Finance Committee approved a bill Thursday morning that would raise the minimum wage here in the state to $6 per hour. That was part of a larger bill, creating a tax credit for all small businesses that give their employees health insurance. The bill will now go to the full House for a vote, after passing the committee 22-10. Opponents of the increase say that in order to keep increasing profits, companies would begin laying off workers to make up the difference. A similar bill failed to pass the House in June.

Reward Offered For Missing Guilford County Man
One week after a Guilford County man wandered off from his home and there’s still no sign of him. Officials used dogs over the weekend to track him and ended up at the Adams Farm shopping center, where the animals lost the scent. Now family members of 84-yr-old Frank Rasche are asking the public for help and have put out a $5000 reward for information. Residents living around the Guilford County area are being asked to search around any wooded areas near their homes, the most likely place for the man to be, according to county officials.

Missing Radiation In North Carolina
Residents of Charlotte were warned yesterday of a possible health risk, as a device holding radioactive materials went missing. North Carolina’s Radiation Protection Section said that the device in question was a gauge, used to measure the amount of radiation in the area. It disappeared from a construction site where it was being used near Highway 74. According to officials, if not handled correctly, the gauge can cause both health and safety problems, so they’re asking people to stay at least 15 feet away if they spot it. Anyone who does locate the device is asked to call the NC Radiation Protection Section at 919-571-4141.

Bragg Deserter Arrested
An Army soldier from Fort Bragg has been arrested in New Hampshire, after deserting from his post. 40-yr-old Gerald Remacle had been missing for over a year when officials found him living in New Hampshire. He was arrested and charged with desertion, in addition to driving with a suspended license. He’s currently in custody awaiting extradition back to North Carolina.

Wachovia Trimming Jobs From Carolina Cities
Bad news today for Wachovia employees, as the company announced it plans to cut an estimated 150 jobs over the next few months. The cuts were made so that Wachovia can outsource the jobs to another company, Chicago-based Hewitt Associates in order to save money. Most of the affected positions here in North Carolina will be in Charlotte branches, but company officials said they haven’t made a final decision as to who will be terminated.

Sports Headlines

NC State Lands Transfer
NC State will have some help coming in the linebacker position, if they can just wait a year for him to get here. Pat Bedics decided to transfer from Penn State, giving up his eligibility this season in accordance with NCAA rules. The reason the 6 ft. 230 lb. Bedics chose State doesn’t have to do with football as much as it does family. His brother John is a defensive tackle for the Wolfpack, currently planning to redshirt his freshman year.

Shelden Williams Named To U.S. Team
Duke’s Shelden Williams finds himself keeping busy over the summer months. He was named this week to the U.S. team for this year’s World University Games, joining fellow NCAA players such as West Virginia’s Mike Gansy and Eric Hicks of Cincinnati. This year’s games will be held starting on August 12 and going through the 22nd in Turkey.

Minor League Scoreboard
Taking a look at the minor leagues last night, it was Hickory blowing out the Lakewood Blueclaws 12-1. Crawdads starter Yoann Torrealba got his fourth win after giving up one run in seven innings of work. Meanwhile Hickory left fielder Anthony Bocchino led the offense with two home runs and six RBIs. Up the road in Winston however the news wasn’t as good, as the Fredrick Keys beat the Warthogs 9-4.

Former Hornet Takes Coaching Job
It’s been several years since the Charlotte Hornets packed up and moved to New Orleans, but locals still hold up some of their former players as icons. Many of those retired players have taken jobs within the new Charlotte Bobcats organization and one is stepping onto the court this year for the first time as a head coach. Muggsy Bogues was announced this week as the new head coach of the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting. The Sting, who have the worst record in the league at 3-21, found themselves in need of a coach after general manager Trudi Lacey stepped down from the position. Bogues says he wants to instill a strong defensive attitude and an up tempo style of attack, to bring the team out of last place.

Jarrett Testing Out New Ford Car
Dale Jarrett was out on the racetrack this week, testing out a new car. But Jarrett won’t be driving this car on a permanent basis, unless he switches teams. The Wood Brothers asked Jarrett to test Ford’s newest racing model car, the Fusion. Before signing on with Robert Yates, Jarrett had drove for the Wood Brothers and agreed to help them test out the latest product. If all goes according to plan, the Fusion could be out on the track by possibly next season.

Hurricanes Sign Second Free Agent
In the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes signed their second free agent in three days, locking up Oleg Tverdovsky. The 29-yr-old defenseman will help anchor a Carolina defense that is just getting to know each other and compete for a spot on the roster. The team restructured the defense after it fell flat during the 2003 season, helping them come to a last place finish.