Wilkes Takes Part In National Child Passenger Safety Week
Close to 90% of child safety seats across Wilkes County were not installed correctly, according to local SafeKids coordinator Kevin Bounds. While this is slightly lower than the national average, it’s still high enough for concern. Across the nation this is Child Passenger Safety Week and here in Wilkes a safety seat check will be going on this Saturday at Premiere Chevy. Parents can come in, learn the right and wrong ways of putting in a car seat and ask questions of the SafeKids representatives on hand. That will go on from 10am til 2pm and is free to the public.
Search Leads To Drug Bust For Deputies
A search for a suspect in another case led to a drug bust this week. Deputies were attempting to serve a warrant on a local man and went to a residence on South River Ridge Road to find him. When the homeowner told them the man wasn’t there, they asked to come inside and search. Once in the home, deputies found a glass plate with white powder, later identified as cocaine. In addition, bags of cocaine were found in the homeowner’s vehicle and inside the house. 24-yr-old Delia Marie Castorena-Garcia was arrested and charged with drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Laptop Stolen From Local Home
Deputies were called out to a home on Mulberry Mill Road Monday afternoon, after thieves dropped by. The homeowner and her son had returned home to find his laptop was missing. There was no sign of a break-in and nothing else taken from inside. Neighbors reported seeing two suspects enter and exit the house during the day and gave deputies their names and descriptions. That investigation continues.
3WC Healthwatch: Possible Test For Alzheimers
Have you ever gotten confused and been afraid that it’s the onset of Alzheimers? Well there’s some good news today about the disease in our 3WC Healthwatch, regarding a word test that doctors believe could help identify the sickness. Researchers at the University of York performed a study earlier this year involving 136 people with an average age of 77. Some had Alzheimers while others were completely healthy. Each person was asked to name as many animals and fruits in a one minute time period as they could. The study showed that people with Alzheimers and those just showing signs of the disease couldn’t name as many and had trouble remembering certain ones. Badgers, giraffes and zebras were among the animals Alzheimers’ patients couldn’t name. According to the study’s results, as Alzheimers’ develops, patients usually retain only words they learned as a young child. While this is just a first step, the doctors hope that they can use this technique to develop possible treatments to help slow the progress of the disease and possibly one day find a cure.
Kerosene Stolen From North Wilkesboro Home
Who would steal over a 100 gallons of kerosene fuel? That’s what a North Wilkesboro woman is asking today. She returned home Monday afternoon to find the fuel missing, despite there not being any signs of a break-in. Nothing else was missing or damaged inside the house and deputies are continuing that investigation.
Focus On The 45th District
Challengers and incumbents alike rushed to file this week, putting their name in the hat for the November elections. One of the races this year is for the 45th District, placing challenger David Blust in competition with incumbent Senator John Garwood. David Blust will be Brian’s guest this week for Focus on the Foothills, as they’ll be going over the issues affecting the 45th District and some possible solutions. That’s coming up tomorrow at 1:05pm right after the midday stock report.
Damage Done At Union Grove Home
A Union Grove man got a surprise when he arrived home Monday afternoon. Someone had shattered the back window in his truck and tore up his front lawn, leaving tire tracks all over. Estimated damage was placed at $150 and there is a suspect in the case. That investigation continues.
Recall Ordered For Vehicles
Bad news today for some Ford truck owners as a recall has been issued of certain 2006 models. All 2006 Dodge Dakota, Dodge Ram and Mitsubishi Raiders are being brought back, due to a problem in the brake system. A software error has been detected in the system that could stop the ABS warning light from going off if it wasn’t working. A hotline has been set up for owners to contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. You can also take the vehicle back to the dealership and they’ll recalibrate the system for free.
Heritage Museum Once Again Taking Names For Veterans’ Walk
With Memorial Day coming up in three months, the Wilkes Heritage Museum wants to continue honoring soldiers by adding more names to their Veterans’ Walk of Honor. Bricks for the project cost $100 each, with the veteran’s name, rank, branch and date of service engraved. The deadline this year is April 28th, to guarantee that the veteran’s name will be placed on the walk in time for the ceremony. Proceeds from the walk will go to help fund the museum and other projects of Old Wilkes. To buy one, you can contact Old Wilkes at 667-3711 or stop by to pick up an application. The organization is located at 203 North Bridge Street behind the Heritage Museum in Wilkesboro. Or you can drop in at the museum itself to pick one up.
Regional News
Mistake Ruins Caldwell’s Future Board Of Elections
Some miscalculations have the Caldwell County Board of Elections searching for a new home today. Over the weekend, Caldwell firefighters used the empty Smithey building in downtown Lenoir as part of a training exercise, burning it to the ground. The plan was to clear away debris and then use the space for parking at the new county office building, which was undergoing renovations. However during the fire, one of the walls of the Smithey building collapsed, falling on what would have been the Board of Elections new office. The building, which the county paid $69,000 for, was damaged beyond repair and itself had to be torn down.
Caldwell Man Officially Indicted
Caldwell County prosecutors are still undecided if they’ll seek the death penalty against 45-yr-old Jerry Lee Anderson, who stands accused of killing his wife. 49-yr-old Emily Anderson went missing on December 29th and her body was found a little over a week later in South Carolina, stuffed into the toolbox of her truck. She had died of gunshot wounds. Jerry Anderson was officially indicted on Monday, being charged with first degree murder.
State News
Change Of Plans With Lottery Money
Critics of the state lottery were at least proved right on one point, as Gov. Mike Easley announced some changes this week to the education budget. Instead of being added to the current budget, profits from the state’s new lottery will replace already existing funding. $210 million from the lottery proceeds will be given to More at Four programs across the state and to reduce the size of elementary school classes. The money that had been in the budget for those programs is needed elsewhere, according to Gov. Easley. The governor himself offered no explanation as to where the money was going, however a spokesman said that part of the money will be spent on increasing teacher salaries.
Hege’s Son To Run For Sheriff
As filing continues for this year’s elections, a famous name has surfaced in Davidson County. Gerald Hege Jr, son of former Davidson County sheriff Gerald Hege announced plans this week to run for his father’s former office. The elder Hege stepped down in 2004 after 10 years in the job, pleading guilty to obstructing justice. Gerald Hege Jr. is one of four challengers for the job of current Davidson County sheriff David Grice.
Jobs Coming To Lexington
Less than a week after learning that PGT Industries plans to leave the area, the city of Lexington has found someone to fill the void. Kepley Frank Hardwoods has announced plans to move into an abandoned furniture plant and rebuild it as one of their factories. The company will bring 200 new jobs to Lexington over the next three years and invest $4.1 million in the area.
Rabies Scare In Orange County
Officials in Orange County are warning people to be careful with their pets, as a rabies scare has hit the area. Over the weekend a skunk tested positive for the disease, becoming the third infected animal found over the last month. Animal control is asking people to take precautions by making sure pets are up to date on their rabies vaccinations.
Sports Headlines
Baseball Registrations Being Taken
With spring around the corner, it’ll soon be time to for kids to suit up and play baseball. The Wilkes County Recreation Department is now registering kids for the 2006 season in tee-ball, baseball and softball. You can pick up a registration form at Cook’s, the Recreation Department office and also online at www.wilkescounty.net You have until this Friday, February 17th to register and for more information the number to call is 651-7355.
High School Scoreboard
Around the high school scene, we’re in the middle of the conference tournament season in basketball. Last night in the Mountain Valley Conference, it was North Surry beating North Wilkes 76-48. Coming up tonight in the girls semi-finals, it’s going to be the #1 ranked Wilkes Central Lady Eagles taking on #5 Surry Central. Tipoff is set for 6:30pm and we’ll be on the air at 6:15 with the McDonald’s pregame show.
NCAA Scoreboard
In college basketball last night, it was more of a practice run for the Duke Blue Devils, as they ran over Wake Forest 93-70. Duke was able to sit their starters for a good part of the second half, as they improve to 24-1. Wake on the other hand drops to 13-12. J.J. Reddick also set an NCAA record for most three pointers in a career. Curtis Staples had set the previous record of 413 back in 1998. On Tuesday, Reddick passed that mark and looks to add a few more before graduating this year.
Instant Replay Coming To College
Instant replay could soon be a permanent part of college football. The NCAA’s rules committee agreed this week to allow coaches one replay challenge per game, starting next season. Once that’s approved by the full NCAA board in March, that’ll go into effect for all schools and all conferences in Division I-A football.
Appalachian State Football Schedule Released
Coming off a season where they won the national championship, the road to repeat will be a little harder for the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The schedule has been released for next year, when the team will play six games at home. The season kicks off September 2nd at NC State, the first time since 1992 the two schools have played. Then one week later, App will look to continue an 18 game winning streak at Kip Brewer Stadium when they have their home opener September 9th against James Madison.
Jimmie Johnson’s Crew Chief Suspended
As drivers gear up for Sunday’s Daytona 500, some bad news for Jimmie Johnson. Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus has been suspended for some alternations made to the #48 Chevy. Officials found that the rear window on the car had been raised, affecting its’ aerodynamics and possibly giving a bit of an edge to the team. The change was found during the post qualifying inspections and as a result Johnson has been dropped to the back of the pack for this Thursday’s 150-mile race. NASCAR also said that more penalties against the team could be coming after the 500.