Sheriff's Deputy Facing Charges
A Wilkes County sheriff's deputy is facing charges today. 30-yr-old Brian Wayne McGuire has been charged with causing injury to a prisoner. after a series of incidents over the past two weeks. McGuire was checking the cellblock area sometime between December 18th and December 20th, using a Krypton bulb flashlight. After getting into a conversation with inmates about how hot the light was, McGuire then offered a cigarette to anyone who would hold the light against their skin for five minutes. 36-yr-old Tony Oliver agreed to the deal and later had an infected blister caused by the light. He filed a grievance after being treated by the jail physician. Later on it was discovered that a second inmate, 27-yr-old Boyd Cleary, also agreed to the deal and had to undergo treatment for the same injury. McGuire has since been let go by the sheriff's department and has been charged with causing injury to a prisoner. Additional charges are pending as the investigation continues.

Unemployment Drops In Wilkes
The economic numbers look better for Wilkes County as we begin a new year. Unemployment fell to 5.5% by the end of November, but that also takes into account a lot of seasonal jobs that didn't last beyond the holidays. The labor force in Wilkes also continunes to shrink, following a trend started back last summer. By the end of June 2005, 32,568 people were reported as part of the local workforce, according to the Employment Security Commission. By the end of November, that number had dropped to 32,078, a loss of 490 people over the last six months. Wilkes stays above the state unemployment average, which is 5.2%

Wilkes County In Top 100 Places To Farm
If you're looking for a place to grow crops, you don't need to go any further than out your front door. Wilkes County has been named one of the Top 100 Places To Farm, thanks to a recent article. The piece, which appeared in Farm Futures magazine, ranked Wilkes 88th out of the Top 100. Sampson County here in North Carolina was ranked 1st, with nearby Duplin County second and Monterey County in California wrapping up the top three. Wilkes meanwhile beat out places like Cook County Georgia (91st) and Edgar County in Illinois (96th). The rankings were based on information from the Agriculture Census from 1987-2002. The main things examined were net profits per farm, sales growth, profit growth and profit margin. You can read the article by logging on to www.farmfutures.com and type in Hotbeds of Profitability on the website's search engine.

Power Bills To Possibly Decline
Good news for any Duke Power customers in the area today. Your power bill could be declining later on this month. As a way to win approval for its' upcoming merger with Cinergy Corporation, Duke Power announced this week that it'll be cuting rates by an average of 3.3%. The only catch is this rate drop won't take effect until the merger is finalized, which probably won't be until the middle of this month. The merger with Cinergy will save Duke Power an estimated $655 million over the next five years alone. As a stipulation of the agreement, Duke Power can't raise rates during that time as a way of passing on their costs to North Carolina customers.

Blood Drive Going On Today
1500 pints of blood are needed on an average day here in North Carolina. With rain in the forecast, the need increases with the possibilty of wrecks or other injuries. The Red Cross is trying to plan ahead and solve the problem, with a blood drive later today at Wilkesboro Civic Center. It will last from 2-6:30pm and is open to anyone who wants to give, with some exceptions. You must be at least 18 years old and weigh no less than 110 lbs before donating. To call ahead for an appointment the Red Cross number is 838-4563.

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 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.

Wilkes Cares Needs Help
As we head into the new year, many families face a struggle to put food on the table. Wilkes Cares has been there to help, providing food and also clothes to needy families here in the county. But now Wilkes Cares is facing a problem of their own, as their shelves are almost empty of food and they don't have enough clothes to give out. One of the major needs is for childrens' coats, especially with winter weather constantly in the forecast. If you have any children's clothes or extra food to donate, you can drop it by to Wilkes Cares. They're located on the Elkin Hwy in North Wilkesboro. You can also call at 838-4900.

State News

Lawmakers Working On Gas Compromise
Some relief from gas prices could be coming for people here in North Carolina. A committee of state lawmakers have gathered together, to work on a solution. They're considering holding a special session of the state House and Senate, to roll back the increased gas tax or to possibly lower the home heating fuel tax also in effect. The moves come without the support of Governor Mike Easley, who doesn't want to lose millions of dollars for road construction in the state. If approved, the reduced taxes would help drivers save an average of 50 cents for each tank of gas.

Fake Police Officer Arrested In Fayetteville
A man who impersonated a police officer for money is in jail today. Fayetteville police arrested Mitchell Morehead on Monday after reports came in that he was pretending to be a cop. Morehead apparently would go up to people, asking for contributions to charity on behalf of the local police department. The Louisiana native is now in the Cumberland jail awaiting his court date.

Carboro Fire Chief Arrested Again
For the second time in less than two weeks, Carrboro's fire chief has found himself behind bars. Chief Rodney Murray was arrested and charged over the weekend with misdemeanor stalking.This comes after Murray is already facing charges thanks to an incident on Christmas Eve. He was found in Durham with his car in a ditch, after telling officers that he had been on the way to a girlfriend's house. Murray was charged with DWI and making harassing phone calls. 2005 marked 11 years Murray had worked with the Carrboro Fire Department.

Independence Air Going Under
North Carolina travelers have one less option when they want to fly. Independence Air announced on Monday that it will be closing down all operations effective this week. Everything will close down at 7pm this Thursday, less than two years after the company first got started. Financial problems were to blame, as Independence hadn't been able to find a major investor to get them out of bankruptcy. The company is working to contact all passengers who were to fly back home after Thursday, to try and arrange earlier trips.

Fayetteville Police Officer Shot
Officials in Fayetteville are searching for a suspect today after a local police officer was gunned down Sunday night. The officer had stopped a blue truck, because its' driver was a suspect in two earlier shootings. After finally stopping the vehicle near Methodist College, the officer, whose name has not been released, attempted to walk up to the driver's side, where he was shot. The truck then drove away, but witnesses were able to get help in time to get the officer to the hospital. No other information has been released at this time.

Sports Headlines

High School Basketball In Action Tonight
School is back in session and tonight the high school basketball season resumes as well. East Wilkes will be on the road gainst North Stokes, while West Wilkes is at home against Alleghany. Then in our 3WC Game of the Week, Coach Tommy Johnson makes his return to Wilkes Central. We'll go on the air at 7pm with the pregame show, then join Ken Byrd and Keith Briand for the girls' varsity game.

NCAA Scoreboard
Around the college basketball scene last night, it was Belmont over Campbell 102-91, also Lipscomb over Gardner-Webb 70-58. The Bulldogs had four scorers in double figures, but lost the rebounding battle, as Lipscomb had 32 to their 23. Also Simon Conn went cold, putting up only 11 points on the game. The loss drops Gardner-Webb to 5-5 on the season. Finally, it was all Duke all the time as the Blue Devils cruised to a 84-50 win over Bucknell. Sheldon Williams had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks to lead the Blue Devils, who also got 22 from J.J. Redick. Duke is now 13-0 on the season with their next game coming this Sunday against Wake Forest.

North Carolina Recruit Sticking Around
The Tarheels got some good news for their basketball team this weekend. Recruit Wayne Ellington plans on sticking around for a while. The 6-4 Ellington, who's ranked as one of the nation's top five high school players, says that his goal is to bring another championship to Chapel Hill. He also said that he plans to stick around for more than one season and develop his game, which he doesn't believe is ready for the NBA level.

Quarterback Leaves Duke
Duke's football program will be one man short next season. Quarterback Mike Schneider announced this week that he's planning to transfer. The junior was the Blue Devil's starting quarterback over the past two seasons, before being replaced by freshman Zach Assack. The problem has been interceptions with Schneider, as he's tossed for 19 of them over his three year career at Duke, while only putting up 12 touchdowns. Schneider said that he plans to transfer to a Division I-AA school, so he'll be eligible to play next fall.

NBA: Charlotte vs. New Orleans
Injuries finally caught up with the Charlotte Bobcats last night. Even though the team fought hard, they couldn't make up for the loss of Emeka Okafor, Sean May and Jake Voskul, all out with injuries. Point guard Brevin Knight led Charlotte with 19 points and 4 assists, as the Bobcats fall to 10-21 on the year.