Wilkes County Celebrates Martin Luther King Birthday
People around the county are gathering together to pay tribute to a great American today. January 15th is the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and here in Wilkes a celebration will be going on at the old Lincoln Heights school. Stephen McCloud, a deacon from Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Winston Salem, will be speaking at the event, which begins at 7pm tonight. Dr. King was only 39 years old when he was gunned down on April 4th 1968 in Memphis Tennessee.

Wilkes Farmers Will See Tax Breaks In New Year
2006 brings some good news for Wilkes County farmers. There is a tax break coming for all farmers here in North Carolina on supplies and farm equipment. Certain items are now exempt from all sales and use tax, including grain, feed or soybean storage equipment. Also exempt are all farm machinery parts, attachments, lubricants and repair parts. In addition, farmers won't have to pay sales tax on any containers bought to use in planting, cultivating, harvesting, packaging or transporting farm products. Under the previous law, those products all had a tax assessed of 1%. In order to have proof on hand that they qualify, farmers need to fill out Form E-595E, known as the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement Certificate of Exemption. The forms are available online at www.dor.state.nc.us/downloads/sales.html or you can also call and get it mailed to you at (877) 252-3052.

News From WCC Trustees Meeting
The trustees at Wilkes Community College met last Thursday at the John A Walker Center to discuss some ongoing projects. Construction is progressing on the new science and technology building, with 34% of the work completed. The college has also been picked to serve as one of 15 pilot sites for the state’s new Career Readiness Certificate. The certificate is designed to serve as verification for potential employers that a person has developed the basic skills of reading, writing and processing information. People can go to the local JobLink center and test their skills, then get help in setting up any additional training they may need to qualify.

Search Continues For Missing Girl
Sheriff’s deputies are continuing the search today for a missing Ferguson girl. Tiffany Nicole Griffith was last seen January 9th at the Wilkesboro Sonic. She disappeared after being fired from her job at the Sonic and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Tiffany is a 18 year old white girl, about 5’3ft and weighing 138 lbs with hazel eyes and brown hair. If anyone has information regarding Tiffany’s whereabouts, please call the Wilkes Sheriff’s Department at 903-7600.

Wreck Totals Two On 421
Two cars were totaled after an accident on Hwy 421 last week. A Millers Creek woman was merging back onto 421 from a side street, but didn’t notice the oncoming traffic. She pulled out right in front of a Wilkesboro man who wasn’t able to stop in time to avoid a wreck. No one was injured however estimated damages were placed at just under $11,000.

Fish Recall
Before you sit down and eat that fish for supper tonight, you might want to take a look at where it’s been. Whole Foods Market is issuing a recall of all Whole Catch Lemon Pepper Garlic Hot Smoked Trout. Packages of the trout were found to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can prove deadly to young children or the elderly. North Carolina is one of 11 different states where the food was shipped to stores. No reported cases of sickness have been reported yet, but testing by the Florida Department of Agriculture earlier this month uncovered the bacteria. An investigation continues as to how the bacteria got inside the food, but anyone who purchased the Whole Foods Smoked Trout can return it to the store for a full refund. The product has since been pulled from shelves and a number has been set up for anyone with questions. You can call 1-512-542-0656. Once again the affected packages are all “Whole Catch Lemon Pepper Garlic Hot Smoked Trout” and the UPC code on the affected boxes is 9948241183

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. You can contact the Health Department and make an appointment anytime during the week by calling Jean Edwards at 651-7478.

Check Road Conditions Before Leaving
With rain and wind in the forecast, it's important to know what road conditions are like across the county. For people in Wilkes, that can be accessed now on the internet by visiting the state DOT webpage at http://www.ncdot.org/. You can also check out information on proposed road projects and how the weather might affect both their schedule and your traffic conditions at www.ncdot.org/projects/wilkescounty/. There you will find information on public meetings, schedules, and area maps.

State News

New Jobs For Textile Workers
Some good news today for unemployed textile workers in the Tarboro area. They may be going back to work. Glenoit Corporation closed down their operation in the area last year, but now a new company has bought out the plant and plans to reopen. Tarboro Textiles, a local business created by former Glenoit workers, will reopen the plant in the next month and hopes to have 140 people on the payroll by March.

Answers Coming Regarding White Sludge
Officials finally have some answers regarding the white substance covering a Raleigh creek. Tests have determined it’s a type of dead algae, mixed in with deposits of calcium. The calcium is used by a nearby water treatment plant to remove chorine. It’s not toxic, however the calcium will burn exposed skin it comes into contact with. It’s still unknown how exactly the calcium is leaking out, but officials are continuing the testing, to make sure there’s no risk to the population.

Rockingham Gets Shot In The Arm
Some good news today for people in Rockingham County. Plans are moving forward to build a $10 million equestrian center in Reidsville. The center would be used for regional horse shows and current projections believe it could generate up to $15 million a year in revenues for the county. When plans are finalized the center will be just off US 29 on a 152 acre spread.

Sports Headlines

High School Scoreboard
Around the high school scene, it was the Lady Cardinals of East losing to Mount Airy 37-23 in a game of missed free throws and turnovers. The Lady Cardinals drop to 1-11 with the loss. It was Ashe County over the North Wilkes Lady Vikings 63-40. Blake Shumate had 16 points as the only player in double figures for the Lady Vikings, who drop to 4-8 with the loss. The West Wilkes Lady Blackhawks gave it their best shot but weren’t to knock off Bishop McGuiness, losing 72-29. Lauren Overton led West with 14 points. Meanwhile on the boys side of the court, it was Mount Airy knocking off the East Wilkes Cardinals 68-57 in a game that was a lot closer than the final score. East led for most of the second half, being led by 17 points from Matt Garris and Brent Poplin, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the Granite Bears’ offense, as East drops to 5-8 on the season. North Wilkes lost to Ashe County 76-54 despite 16 points and 7 rebounds from Aaron Church. The Vikings fall to 3-12 with the loss. And it was West Wilkes losing to Bishop McGuiness 66-49 despite 15 points from Chad Lankford.

NCAA Scoreboard
Taking a look at some college basketball over the weekend, it was Maryland over Wake Forest 90-86. Justin Gray had a career night, scoring 38 for the Deacons but it wasn’t enough as Wake drops to 11-5. Also it was Florida Atlantic over Gardner-Webb 72-51. The loss drops the Bulldogs to 6-9. It was Birmingham Southern over Coastal Carolina 77-64, Charleston Southern over UNC Asheville 70-68, Xavier knocked off UNC Charlotte 78-65, Elon beat UNC Greensboro 62-56, it took triple overtime but Hofstra beat UNC Wilmington 92-87. It was Appalachian State over Montreat 105-57. Appalachian was led by D.J. Thompson’s 18 points and 7 assists, as the Mountaineers improve to 7-9. NC State beat Georgia Tech 87-78 thanks to a balanced scoring effort led by Cameron Bannerman’s 16 points. It was Miami over the UNC Tarheels 81-70. Carolina got 25 points from freshman Tyler Hansborough as they drop to 10-3. Finally it was Duke over Clemson 87-77. J.J. Redick had 34 points for the Blue Devils, who stay undefeated at 16-0.

Bobcats Lose To Detroit
The Charlotte Bobcats gave it all they had but came up short Saturday, in a 114-91 loss to Detroit. Primoz Breznec had 18 to lead Charlotte, as the team drops to 11-26 on the season. They’ll take on New Orleans later today.

Panthers Advance To Championship
In the NFL last night, the Carolina Panthers came one step closer to the Super Bowl with a 29-21 victory over the Chicago Bears. The Panthers got 218 yards and 2 touchdowns from Steve Smith, while quarterback Jake Delhomme tossed for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day. Next the team will head up to Seattle to take on the Seahawks in the NFC championship.

Hurricanes Keep Winning Streak Going
In the NHL, it was the Carolina Hurricanes over the St. Louis Blues 4-2. Eric Staal had 3 goals and an assist for Carolina, who improve to 30-10 with the win.