Expect Traffic Delays On Hwy 268E
The DOT will be working out in Wilkes County today and that means delays for anyone traveling on 268 East. They will be setting girders on 268 East, meaning that only one lane of traffic will be open. That starts this morning at 9am and will wrap up by 4pm this afternoon. DOT workers said to plan for delays when driving on 268 East for the rest of the day.

Wilkes County Asks For A Review Of Rules
County leaders are seeking an outside opinion when it comes to some new guidelines for sexually oriented businesses. The Institute of Government At UNC Chapel Hill has been asked to step in and go over the proposed guidelines, before it’s brought to county commissioners. Under these new rules, any sexually oriented business would have to set up at least half a mile from any church, day care center, home, park, playground, school or swimming pool. A proposal will not be brought before county commissioners until at least March 7th.

3WC Going Phishing: New Credit Card Scam
A new credit card scam could have you willingly turning over information to thieves. In this new scheme, a person calls pretending to be from the fraud department of your bank. He or she will then say that they’re checking up on some unusual purchases recently made with your debit or credit card. They’ll give you their name and also an employee ID badge number. In addition, the person will already have your information on hand, in regards to mailing address and they’ll check to see if that’s correct. Then you’ll be given an explanation as to what the unusual purchase was and after you verify that you didn’t buy the item, they’ll agree to credit your account, saying that the company who charged the account is one that’s been long suspected of fraud. Here’s where the scam takes place. The caller will then inform you that he or she is starting an internal fraud investigation and advises that if you have any questions, just call the 1-800 number given on the back of your card. Then they will ask for your card’s security number, to prove you are in possession of it. The security numbers are on the back of your card. The first four are part of the card number but the last three are what’s known as the security numbers. After receiving these, the caller will ask if you have any questions and then hang up. This can be a serious problem due to the fact if the thieves are only asking for your security number, that means they somehow have already obtained your credit or debit information. Now all they need is your security numbers to go on a spending spree. If this happens to you, do not give out those security numbers. Instead hang up and call your bank or credit card company’s fraud department, to let them know what just happened, then follow their recommendations.

Blood Drive Later Today
42 days. That’s how much time blood can be used after it’s donated. Once that time period passes, it has to be thrown out. With the local supply still at critical levels, poor turnouts at the recent drives hasn’t helped the situation. The Wilkes Red Cross is holding another emergency drive today at Temple Hill Baptist Church. The drive will go on from 3-7:30pm and no appointments are needed. Please remember before giving you must be at least 17 years old and weigh no less than 110 lbs.

Focus On Bikes
When you think of church, motorcycles and leather jackets don’t exactly come to mind. But the biker community is a mission field that we as Christians are called to. That’s where CMA comes in. Kurt and David Hefflin from the Christian Motorcycle Association will be joining Brian on today’s edition of Focus, talking about the different ministries their group is involved in. From food drives to evangelical missions, CMA is involved in a lot of places where the church otherwise doesn't reach and they’ll be sharing testimonies along with explaining how someone could join up. That's coming today at 1:05pm right after the midday stock report.

Cheaper Drugs Coming For Blue Cross Members
Some good news is on the way if you are a member of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The company announced this week that beginning February 1st, it will be a lot cheaper to get certain generic drugs. Blue Cross’s new co-payment waiver plan will give you the next new prescription for free. That doesn’t mean a new refill of something that you’ve been taking for a while, but rather a generic prescription you’re getting filled for the first time. The drugs covered by the plan are any that deal with chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and high cholesterol. There isn’t any paperwork to do, you just present the Blue Cross ID card when getting the prescription filled. This is however just a one time waiver. When you need a refill the co-payment plan goes back into effect. Also members of the State or Federal Employee Health Plans don’t qualify, because Blue Cross doesn’t cover drug benefits in those plans.

Cheaper Way To File Taxes
Filing taxes this year could be a lot cheaper for people here in North Carolina, thanks to a new plan. The State Department of Revenue announced this week that two companies have agreed to offer free state tax returns through their website. The plan applies to anyone who makes $50,000 a year or less and can be accessed by going to www.dor.state.nc.us . That will let you link up with either TaxEngine or TaxSimple, the two companies providing the free services.

Man Arrested After Almost Hitting Patrol Car
A local man was arrested earlier this week after he almost hit a patrol car. The incident happened on Murray Road, where deputies were responding to a disturbance. While on their way over, the deputies were informed that one of the subjects had left the residence and drove off, even though he was drunk. The vehicle was soon spotted, as the driver was having problems keeping it on one side of the road. Before he was stopped, the man almost hit a patrol car head on. 52-yr-old Charles Allen Johnson was arrested and charged with DWI and reckless driving. In addition, a small brown glass tube was found on his person that was covered with a white powder, later found to be cocaine. Charges are still pending in regards to drug possession.

Regional News

Road Closed Today
For anyone planning on making the trip to Blowing Rock today, you can expect some delays. US 321 will be shut down due to road construction going on from 12 noon until 2pm. The section of highway affected reaches from Kirby Mountain Road to Blackberry Road in Caldwell County. DOT workers have set up a detour. Drivers are being rerouted from Lenoir to Wilkesboro on Hwy 18, then instructed to take US 421 North to Boone, where you can switch back over to US 321.

State News

$20 Million In Cocaine Seized In Samson County
Officials in Samson County seized 20 million dollars worth of cocaine during an operation on Monday. 27-yr-old Alejandro Moreno-Salgado and 41-yr-old Isais Mareno-Ochea were taken into custody, but officials didn’t provide many details. All they would say is that over 200 kilograms of cocaine was taken but would say where it came from or where it had been going.

Decision On Tuition Could Be Coming Soon
Some bad news today for any high school students planning to attend UNC Chapel Hill next year. Your tuition could be increasing. The UNC Board of Trustees is expected to hand down a decision today regarding next year’s tuition costs. Four separate plans are on the table, each of which would increase tuition at least $200 for in state students and $600 for out of state. An additional $5 million in revenue will be generated by the hike in cost.

Program To Help Needy Families Ripped Off In Morganton
A Morganton program designed to help needy families was itself targeted by thieves this week. The Work and Ride project takes donations of used cars from companies and people in the area, then turns around and gives them to families who would otherwise have to get rides to work. On Monday night, thieves broke into one of the cars, shattering windows and then ripping off a stereo from inside. Estimated damages were placed in the hundreds, money the program doesn’t have.

NC State Athletes Donate Money For Katrina
Student athletes from NC State did their part this week to help hurricane victims. They voted to send $15,000 from the school’s Student Athlete Opportunity Fund to athletes at Southern Mississippi, which was hit hard by hurricanes in 2005.

Gentlemen Start Your Engines
For anyone out there looking to get involved with NASCAR and the motorsports industry, Belmont Abbey can help. The college announced that beginning this fall, they would be offering a four year degree in motorsports, which would include courses in racing management, team management and motorsports fundamentals among other things. After completing the courses, internship programs will be offered at different race tracks and with several racing teams.

Sports Headlines

High School Scoreboard
In high school basketball last night, it was North Wilkes over West 63-61. The Vikings had three players score in double figures, as both Phillip Booker and Brent Whittington put up 17 points, while Stephen Booker added 15. West meanwhile was led by Kurtis Lankford’s 23 points and Chad Lankford added 17. On the girls side of the court, it was North Wilkes over West 53-45. Ashley Wilcox had a monster night for the Lady Vikings, exploding for 29 points including 13 in the fourth quarter. West was only down by one after three quarters but the Lady Vikings held the Lady Blackhawks to just 8 points in the fourth to get the win. Nicole Harris also scored in double figures for North, finishing with 11 while Erin Hollars had 18, Emily Deal had 12 and Lauren Overton had 10 for the Lady Blackhawks.

NCAA Scoreboard
Taking a look at last night’s college scoreboard, it was Gardner-Webb over Campbell 81-70. The Running Bulldogs got 24 points and 10 rebounds from Simon Conn as they improve to 10-9 on the season. In other action the University of Central Florida knocked off East Carolina 64-59, In the ACC, a major upset as 15th ranked NC State fell to Seton Hall 83-65. Tony Bethel had 15 to lead the Wolfpack, who just had no answer for Seton Hall’s Donald Copeland, who lit them up for 22 points. State also had problems beyond the arc, shooting 26% from the 3-point line. The loss drops the Wolfpack to 15-4 on the season. Also Boston College knocked off North Carolina 81-74. Tyler Hansborough had 26 points and 8 rebounds for the Heels, who drop to 11-5 with the loss.

NC State Lands Another Commitment
Good news for the NC State football team, as another high school senior committed to the squad. Wide receiver LaMarcus Bond will step onto the field for State this fall. Bond is currently ranked number seven out of all North Carolina high school prospects. The 5’10 ft. 165 lb. wide receiver runs a 4.34 in the 40 yard dash and is a multiple threat. Last season he returned five punts for touchdowns, two kickoffs, rushed for 1100 yards and also had 8 interceptions. Bond turned down Virginia to join the Wolfpack.

NBA: Charlotte vs. Houston
In the senior circuit of the NBA, it was Houston over the Charlotte Bobcats 102-78. Matt Carroll had 19 points to lead the Bobcats, who drop to 11-32 on the season. Next up will be the Miami Heat this Friday.

NHL: Carolina at Florida
Another winning streak is starting up for the Carolina Hurricanes. Last night they beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 in a game that was decided by a shootout. Eric Cole scored the game winning goal for the Hurricanes, who improve to 34-11, still nine games ahead in the Southeastern Conference.

New Toyota Teams Taking Shape
Toyota’s future as part of NASCAR is starting to take shape. Bill Davis, Michael Waltrip and the Red Bull company will all have Toyota teams in the Nextel Cup circuit in 2007. Each of the teams will have two cars on the field. For Waltrip, he’ll be operating as both an owner and driver when the project gets up and running. Dave Blaney will switch over to Toyota for Bill Davis Racing next year. Currently Blaney is driving the #22 Dodge for Davis. Red Bull officials currently don’t have a driver in place.