News & Sports For September 12th

Red Cross Offers Opportunity To Help
While supplies continue to be donated across Wilkes County, many people can’t afford to give money or other items. If you find yourself in that situation and still want to help, the Red Cross is offering the first of several training sessions tomorrow night. In order to volunteer for any type of disaster relief, people first have to complete the Red Cross training sessions. Tuesday night the first one will be held from 6-9:30pm. To get more information you can call the local Red Cross at 838-4563.

Foxx Vote Raises Questions
How much of our government’s aid dollars will actually make it to the victims of Hurricane Katrina? That question was brought up late last week in the U.S. House by 5th District Congresswoman Virginia Foxx. Foxx asked why there wasn’t any guidelines as to what the $51.8 billion will be spent on, with no money set aside for rebuilding areas damaged by the storm. Instead all of the money as it stands now would be placed in the hands of state officials, to be spent on whatever they decide. As a result, Foxx was one of eleven members who voted against the bill. All of those members are calling for the bill to be revised, to provide relief directly to those families who were hit hard, instead of putting the money in the hands of the state. Members of the Democratic Party meanwhile have come out and attacked the eleven, saying that there was no reason to revise the bill and accusing them of abandoning the hurricane victims.

Deputies Discover Bombs And Drugs
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to a Wilkes County residence late last week to serve a warrant, only to later discover homemade explosives. Deputies announced their presence when they arrived at the home and heard people yelling inside, saying to hide it under the chair. Once they came inside they served the warrant for assault on one of the suspects, but also found two silver cartridges with fuses attached. Also found inside was a 30-06 rifle, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Marijuana seeds were later found along with plants being grown inside the house. Jason Howard Greene and Travis Nathaniel Pierce were charged with maintaining a dwelling for the sale of drugs, drug possession and possessing a weapon of mass destruction.

Early Morning Wake Up Call
A Roaring River man woke up early Thursday morning after a loud noise outside his home. He came out to find dents and damage to the side of the house, where a two by four had slammed against it. The board had been left by the vandals, with around $40 worth of damage done. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, a time to help get men informed about the deadly disease and what can be done to diagnose it. September 23rd there will be a free clinic here in Wilkes, available for any men 45 or older. From 9am until 2pm, people can come in and get checked for the disease. For more information, you can call 838-5655.

Deputies Investigate Forged Checks
A Traphill woman noticed that her bank account was lower than it should be over the weekend. She checked and found that someone had been writing checks and forging her name. She contacted sheriff’s deputies and turned over the information, including a suspect’s name. That investigation is ongoing.

Always Keep Your Doors Locked
It’s always a good idea to lock your car doors when you leave. A Wilkesboro man learned that the hard way over the weekend, after he came back and found thieves had paid him a visit. The man had left $5000 in his car and forgot to lock the doors. He then walked into a nearby store and returned to find the money was gone. Wilkesboro police are investigating the case.

State News

Hurricane Ophelia Heading To NC
With the Gulf Coast still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, now people in North Carolina are being advised to watch out. Hurricane Ophelia is sitting just off the cost with wind speeds of 85 mph. By no means as strong as Katrina, the storm has still brought on hurricane watches for 250 miles of coastline. Governor Mike Easley declared a state of emergency over the weekend, but it’s not clear where the storm will turn. Officials from the National Hurricane Center said that it could drift on out to sea or make a move toward North Carolina. If it does head back toward land, that would be around late Tuesday night.

Job Fairs In The Works For Evacuees
More help is coming for hurricane victims in North Carolina. Later this week, there will be two job fairs set up in the Charlotte area, to help people find jobs. While details haven’t been finalized yet, over fifty different companies will be involved, including Coca-Cola and Home Depot. Those fairs will be open to hurricane victims only and identification will be checked.

Big Plans In Store For Kernersville
Good news for people in the Kernersville area, as plans are starting to take shape for the former Pillowtex building. It was purchased earlier this year by billionaire David Murdock, who announced he was going to transform the property into a biotechnology complex. Later today, Murdock will be at the plant to unveil the finalized plans and explain what exactly will be involved. Murdock, a California native, said that he hopes to revitalize the area’s economy by getting the complex up and running. 4800 people were left without a job when the plant closed down in 2003.

Hurricane Victims Robbed In Gastonia
If losing their home to Hurricane Katrina wasn’t enough, a family from Louisiana returned to their hotel room this weekend to find they’d been robbed. The family, who had been put up in a hotel by people in Gaston County, came back to discover $6200 worth of items had gone missing. Included in the theft were two cameras and $300, among other things. Officials said that the thieves gained access to the room by using guest keys, although it’s unclear why they were accepted. The investigation is ongoing.

Andy Griffith Makes Donation
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill just became one of the largest collectors of Mayberry memorabilia. Andy Griffith announced over the weekend that he was donating film footage, manuscripts and other items stretching across his entire 55 year career to the school. The documents will be used as part of the university’s Southern Historical Collection, which currently holds more than 15 million items.

Sports Headlines

High School Scoreboard
Taking a look around the high school scene last night, it was West Wilkes beating Bishop McGuiness 24-7. With the win, the team heads into a bye week at 3-1, their best record in two years. Just up the road at East Wilkes the news wasn’t so good for Cardinal fans, as their team lost as heartbreaker 14-7, to drop in the standing to 2-2. And in our 3WC Game Of The Week, it was North Wilkes breaking a two year losing streak with a win against Alleghany 35-7, earning Coach Roy Carter his first victory as a Viking.

College Football Scoreboard
Around the college scene, it was a bad weekend for teams from North Carolina. The UNC Tarheels lost their opening game 27-21 to Georgia Tech, after a mistake filled afternoon. The Tarheels had a chance to come back and win the game, but quarterback Matt Baker was intercepted three times in the last six minutes. Meanwhile Appalachian State had a chance early, but saw their hopes die in the second half of a 36-8 loss against Kansas. Appalachian trailed by less than two touchdowns at halftime with the score 13-0. But the defense caved in the second half and Kansas soon took control. In Durham, the Duke Blue Devils didn’t have any chance, as they were clocked 45-0 by Marcus Vick and his Virginia Tech Hokies.

Panthers Fall In Season Opener
In the NFL, penalties and mistakes ended up costing the Carolina Panthers in their home opener. They lost 23-20 to the New Orlean Saints on a last second field goal by Saints kicker John Carney. The Panthers appeared to have some communication problems, as they were tagged eleven times for penalties totaling 84 yards. Stephen Davis and Steve Smith came out in full force however, as Smith had eight catches for 138 yards and Davis rushed 13 times for 81 yards in his return from knee surgery.

Parker Makes NFL Debut
The news was better however for a former North Carolina player. Third year running back Willie Parker made his debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers and racked up 161 rushing yards as the team cruised to a 34-7 victory. Parker was put into the starting lineup after injuries to both Jerome Bettis and Deuce Staley during the preseason.

Chase For The Cup Begins After Richmond
In NASCAR, the ten man playoff field has been set after Saturday’s Rock & Roll 400. Kurt Busch took the checkered flag and announced he was donating half of the night’s winnings to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Also he donated half of the night’s souvenir sales. Meanwhile Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhart Jr. are out, while Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield are in the race. So the Chase for the cup shapes up like this. It’s Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Jeremy Mayfield, Rusty Wallace, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth. Now under the Chase rules, everyone is basically back at square one. First place Tony Stewart has only a five point lead over second place Biffle, with all other drivers also separated by only five points each.