Wilkes County Considered Accident Prone
Well it appears that Wilkes County is slightly accident prone. That was the report taken from AAA of the Carolinas, who issued their annual list of the most dangerous counties across the state. Wilkes came in 31st in regards to total crashes during the year, recording a total of 1677 accidents. Only eight of those accidents had fatalities involved, while 1040 were injured. In general across the state, the total amount of wrecks were down .3 percent, as 230,577 were recorded. However the number of fatal crashes rose 1.4 percent, to finish out at 1574. New Hanover County was ranked as the most dangerous, with Mecklenburg coming in second. On the other side of the coin, Curriuck County was ranked as the safest, with Swain in second place.

Thieves Raid Millers Creek Home
A Millers Creek woman returned home Tuesday night to a surprise. Two tvs were missing from inside the house, along with a set of speakers and four tires. Despite the theft, there was no sign of a break-in and no damage done to the property. All total an estimated $700 worth of material was stolen from the home. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

Open House Next Week At Central Wilkes
As students get set to wrap up the first month of the new semester, Central Wilkes Middle School is inviting parents and others in the community to come in and have a look around. Central Wilkes will have a Second Semester Open House next Thursday, February 2nd. That event will go on from 1-6pm and everyone is invited to come in and tour the school.

Check For Charity Stolen From Mailbox
What kind of person steals money from a charity? That’s what a man in Ferguson is wondering today. He heard a noise on Wednesday afternoon and looked outside to find a vehicle pull up at his mailbox. The person inside opened the box, went through the mail and took an item before driving off. When the homeowner came out, he found the only thing missing was a check that had been written to the Principals Benefit Fund for $21. A description of the driver and their vehicle was turned over to deputies and that investigation continues.

Heating Oil Stolen From Roaring River
A Roaring River man got a surprise when he arrived home Wednesday afternoon. A $650 one to be exact. During the day, someone had pulled up to the oil barrel used to heat the home and poured it out, running off with 250 gallons of oil in the process. Despite the equipment such an operation would take, no one in the area could recall hearing or seeing anything unusual during the day. That investigation continues.

Salvation Army Offering Help
Many families can find themselves in a time of need during the winter season. It can be hard to pay the bills and also put food on the table. The local Salvation Army is helping to solve that by taking applications for their financial assistance program. The program is open to anyone who can demonstrate a need for help paying utility or rent bills. However before going out, please remember that you can only be seen with an appointment, during either Tuesday or Thursday from 1-5pm. Also there is a limited amount of money available to help, given out on a need based approach. The Salvation Army is located in the Wilkes United Way office building, at 910 C Street in Wilkesboro. For more information or to set up an appointment you can call 651-7800.

Recall Of Pot Stickers
Before you put that Lean Cuisine dinner in the microwave tonight, you might want to hear the next bit of news. 54,690 pounds of Lean Cuisine’s Asian Style Pot Stickers have been recalled. Pot Stickers are a frozen mix of chicken & vegetable dumplings with rice. The reason for the recall is that certain packages have pieces of plastic inside due to an accident at the plant. Included in the recall are all nine-ounce packages of Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine Asian Style Pot Stickers. Each of the meals has a Best By date of before October 2006 and a package code of 5262595512. In addition, each of them have an establishment number, that you can find on the right side of the meal that is P-7991. A number has been set up to deal with any questions or concerns at 1-800-993-8625.

Red Cross Looking For Fundraising Help
We’ve talked a lot here on the news about the need for blood in Wilkes County. But thanks to last year’s hurricanes and the cost of relocating survivors, the local Red Cross needs help of a different kind as well. The local chapter continues to sell cookbooks, to help raise the money it needs to cover costs of daily operations. The cost of a cookbook is $10 and it contains recipes from chapter members along with their family and friends. For more information or to purchase one, you can call the Red Cross at 838-4563.

Thieves Run Off With Wilkesboro Man’s Chainsaws
Be careful who you let inside your home. A Wilkesboro man found that out the hard way this week. He had been letting two people stay with him for the last few weeks and decided they could be trusted alone in the house, so he went out of town. When he returned on Wednesday, the two people were gone and so was some of his property. Taken in the theft were two chainsaws and an 8mm handgun. Names and descriptions of the suspects were given to Wilkesboro police and the investigation continues.

State News

Blue Light Bandit Harassing Thomasville
Officials in Thomasville are still trying to track down a man pretending to be a police officer. Earlier this week on 3WC we mentioned that there have been several reports over the past two weeks of a man in a red Ford F-150 pulling up behind people and flashing a blue light. Dubbed “the blue light bandit”, the man will follow behind for a few minutes before taking off down the road. The bandit has since harassed high school students and other drivers throughout the Thomasville area. Police are now asking that anyone with information regarding the bandit please give Crimestoppers a call at 336-475-4260.

New Network Beginning For Western NC Hospitals
A new project in Western North Carolina could possibly save local hospitals millions of dollars and also cut down on medical bills for patients. As part of a new experiment, Haywood Regional Medical Center in Clyde, Angel Medical Center in Franklin, Rutherford Hospital in Rutherfordton and Transylvania Community Hospital in Brevard are being linked together by a computer network. That network will help the hospitals share test results from patients and also medical histories, while eliminating repetitive records. One file per patient will be shared for all four. The move comes thanks to $2.5 million in federal grants and if it’s deemed successful, more hospitals are expected to join by the end of this year.

BBC Broadcasting From Durham
A radio station in Durham will be the site for some history next Monday, when the BBC comes to town. The British Broadcasting Corporation will do its’ Newhour program live at Durham station WUNC, the first time their programming has been done in a non-BBC studio. An estimated 5 million people across the world listen to Newshour and Monday’s show will focus on veterans of the Iraqi war that are stationed at Fort Bragg.

Police Ask For Help In Murder Investigation
Officials in Winston Salem are asking for help in solving a recent murder. Marcus Anthony Wilson and William Chavis Miller were both found dead of gunshot wounds on January 18th. The incident happened on East First Street and now officials are asking people to help in tracking a vehicle that is tied in with the crime. The vehicle in question is a white 2006 Signature Series Lincoln Town Car with the license plate TTC-2311. It had been rented during the time of the murder. Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-336-727-2800.

12-Yr-Old To Represent US In Holland
A high school freshman from Kernersville is on his way to represent the United States. 12-yr-old Will Groce has been selected to represent the nation in the People to People Sports Ambassadors Program. Groce will travel to Holland along with 16 bowlers from other countries and compete, something he certainly has the qualifications for. He has barely missed a perfect game and has a high score of 290. The high school freshman says that he wants to keep bowling so he can earn money for college.

Sports Headlines

High School Basketball Tonight
Around the high school scene last night, it was all Surry Central all the time as they swept the East Wilkes Cardinals. In the girls varsity game, it was Surry Central over the Lady Cardinals 58-32 and the boys from East lost 60-41. Two county schools are in action tonight. West Wilkes goes on the road against Mt. Airy, while in our 3WC Game of the Week, it’s Wilkes Central playing host to North Surry. The only loss for the Lady Eagles this year was against North Surry and so a little bit of payback may be in the cards tonight. We’ll tip off our coverage at 7pm with the pregame show then join Ken and Keith at 7:15 for the play by play.

NCAA Scoreboard
Taking a look at last night’s college scoreboard, it was UNC Wilmington over James Madison 83-46. And the Duke Blue Devils got back on track, with a 80-67 win over Virginia Tech. Sheldon Williams came out in a big effort for the Blue Devils, putting up 24 points and 15 rebounds. J.J. Redick also added 24 points as Duke cruised to its’ 18th win of the season. Next up on Saturday Virginia will be making the trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Wake Forest Lands Major Recruit
The Wake Forest football team got a much needed shot in the arm this week when Josh Adams committed to the school. Adams, a tailback from Cary High School, was one of the top prospects in the nation and turned down offers from NC State, Maryland, Oklahoma and Florida State to join the Deacons. Over four years at Cary, the 6’1ft Adams rushed for 6842 yards and was named to the first team all state list by the Associated Press. Adams said that the chance to stay close to home played a part in his decision.

Tarheels Land Another Offensive Lineman
The pieces continue to fit into place for the UNC Tarheel football team. Offensive tackle Alan Pelc committed to the school this week. The 6’7ft 310 lb. Pelc is known for his quick feet and flexibility and turned down an offer from Houston to join UNC.

NHL: Hurricanes Win Another One
On the ice last night, the Carolina Hurricanes have another winning streak going, after beating Atlanta 5-1. Bret Hedican had a goal and an assist to lead the Hurricanes, who now have the NHL’s best record at 35-11. They are heading back to Raleigh on Saturday for a rematch against Atlanta.

Rusty Wallace Finds New Career
With his racing career in the rear view mirror, Rusty Wallace is starting a new job this year. Wallace will working on camera during several Indy Racing events and Sportscenter, as a trial run for 2007. That’s when coverage of NASCAR will be turned over to ABC Sports and ESPN and Wallace will be working the races as lead analyst for the tv broadcasts.