News & Sports For February 17th

Decision Handed Down On Parsons
Wilkesboro police chief Gary Parsons was removed from office yesterday, but town officials stopped short of firing him. The decision was handed down during a special meeting of the town commissioners, who voted to indefinitely suspend Parsons until his case is heard in court. Parsons was taken off the police department payroll, however he will stay as a town employee until a verdict is reached on the case. In addition once the 30-day original suspension is over, Parsons will be paid his regular salary and keep his health insurance. He will however have to move out of his apartment at the Wilkesboro Fire Department and will no longer be allowed to work as a volunteer firefighter with the town. Town officials said they felt Parsons couldn’t be effective with the charges hanging over him, but due to his long history with Wilkesboro, they felt a verdict should be reached before making a final decision. In his place, captains Steve Dowell and Robert Bowlin will run the Wilkesboro police department until a permanent replacement is found. Parsons stands accused of 12 separate felony & misdemeanor counts including obtaining property by false pretense, using officers to do personal work for him while on city time, misuse of a public vehicle and embezzlement.

Child Seat Safety Check Tomorrow
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. Here in Wilkes a safety seat check will be going on tomorrow at Premiere Chevy. Parents can come in, learn the right way 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.

Pay Phone Stolen From Local Store
When customers pulled into a convenience store on Statesville Road this week, they got a surprise. The pay phone had gone missing. Wednesday afternoon, employees recognized that the phone had disappeared, along with $150 in change that was inside. Information was turned over to sheriff’s deputies and that investigation continues.

Scouting For Food Starts Tomorrow
The ice, snow and rain over the last few weeks has delayed Scouting For Food pickups across Wilkes County. But don’t worry, if you had some food set out that wasn’t picked up by the Scouts last week, they’ll be making the rounds this Saturday. For those areas, the Scouts ask that you have the food out ready to be picked up by 9am Saturday morning. For more information you can call the district executive Derrick Young at 927-2006.

Medicine Stolen From Local Woman
Thieves broke into a house on Chestnut Grove Road this week, running off with several hundred dollars worth of medicine. The incident happened sometime Wednesday morning, as the homeowner returned to find two bottles of pain medication missing. However there was no sign of a break-in and no damage done to the property itself. There is a suspect in the case and that investigation continues.

FAFSA Day Tomorrow For Collegebound Students
For any high school seniors and their parents, it can be confusing and frustrating at times filling out the government’s FAFSA form. That’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which you have to fill out before you’re able to be considered for any financial aid grants or federal scholarships. But don’t worry , some help is on the way. Throughout the day tomorrow, financial aid officers will be at 42 different places across North Carolina, helping students put down the right information and get that FAFSA filed. Several of those locations are close to Wilkes County, including one at Wake Forest University, Appalachian State, Surry Community College and Caldwell Community College. However in order to be seen, you need to pre-register and get an appointment. To do that you can go online to www.cfnc.org/fafsaday or by calling 1-866-866-CFNC.

Mailbox Vandals Strike Again
Mailbox vandals hit another home in Wilkes County, this time targeting a house on Beaumont Popular Road. Just as in a similar case recently, the vandals used a car to hit the mailbox before driving off down the road. Despite the noise, no one in the area could recall hearing or seeing anything during the night. That investigation is ongoing.

3WC Techwatch: Going Phishing
A new credit scam is floating around the internet, as we explain in today’s 3WC Techwatch. In this case, the con artists aren’t trying to hook you into buying something or advising you on a purchase. Instead, they’re masquerading as a representative from the National Credit Union Administration. Here’s how it works. You check your email and find a message from the National Credit Union Administration, informing you about some changes you should be aware of and asking you to log in. Once you click on the link in the email however, it takes you to a dummy website, where everything looks the same but with one small difference. When you type in your password and account number, you’re locked out and the hackers can take control. One way to avoid falling prey to these scams is to never open a link like that in your email. It could be real, but just to make sure, always exit from your email and go to the company’s webpage on your own. It’ll take a little bit more time, but it could also save your bank account.

Paintballs Used To Decorate Hays House
A Hays woman got a surprise when she arrived home Wednesday night. Someone had decorated her house by using a paintball gun. The incident happened on Airport Road, with no serious damage done to the home except for the paint. Deputies were informed of a red Nissan truck in the area, the same vehicle whose occupants were seen shooting paintballs on Elledge Mill Road recently. That investigation continues.

State News

Government Accidentally Releases NC Farmers Data
Over a hundred thousand North Carolina tobacco farmers are having to check their credit reports today, after personal information was accidentally released by the government. The Department of Agriculture was responding to a Freedom of Information request this week, to provide more details about the tobacco buyout program. Instead of the requested information, the groups received Social Security numbers and tax numbers for the farmers involved in the project, all 350000 of them. Everyone who received the information has promised to destroy it, but farmers are still being advised to check their credit reports to make sure nothing illegal has gone on.

Cell Phones Now Illegal At Seymour Johnson
For anyone traveling in Goldsboro, you might want to turn off your cell phone while driving. That is, if you don’t want a ticket. Using a cell phone while driving is now illegal at and around Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, according to a press release sent out on Thursday. The base in Goldsboro is the second one in North Carolina to enforce such a ruling, after Pope Air Force Base did the same back in December. Base officials said the ruling was put in to prevent traffic accidents.

Jobs Coming To The Triad Area
Good news today for people living around NC State as more jobs are headed to the area. The MeadWestvaco Corporation announced plans on Wednesday to create a Packaging Innovation Center on the NC State Centennial Campus in Wake County. The move will bring in 200 new jobs and inject $14 million into the area by 2010. The Center itself will handle all of MeadWest’s research and development, along with other operations.

Red Light Cameras Cause Accidents
The latest speeding ticket craze could actually cause more problems than it solves. According to a new study done at NC A&T University, red light cameras don’t make the intersections safer, but rather the opposite. The study was done over a 5 year period, studying 303 different intersections. They found that for whatever reason, vehicle crashes actually rose at intersections were there were red light cameras.

DVD Counterfeiting Ring In Catawba Busted Up
A major DVD counterfeiting operation was busted in Catawba County Wednesday night. Deputies seized over 7000 illegally copied DVDs from two homes in the Claremount area. The deputies were working in connection with officials from the Secretary of State’s office and the Motion Picture Association of America. Evidence has been turned over to the DA and charges are expected in the coming days.

UNC Greensboro Employees Accused Of Stealing From Mail
Some students at UNC Greensboro had been wondering why they hadn’t received any mail over the last few months. It turns out the problem was in their school’s mailroom. Three employees at UNC-G have been charged with stealing from the mailroom. Officials say all three took cards, cash and gift certificates from the mail when it was delivered. One of the employees is a student at the university and has been fired from the job, but allowed to stay in school. The other two employees have been suspended, following an investigation by campus police and the Postal Service.

Sports Headlines

Baseball Registrations Being Taken
With March just a few weeks away, it’ll soon be time for baseball around Wilkes County. Today is the final day of registration for the 2006 season in t-ball, baseball and softball here in Wilkes. You can pick up a registration form at Cook’s, the Recreation Department office and also online at www.wilkescounty.net For more information you can call 651-7355.

High School Scoreboard
Taking a look at high school basketball around the area last night, it was North Surry over Ashe County 56-52 in the boys semi-final of the Mountain Valley Conference. Kent Brown had 17 points to lead North, who improves to 21-4. In the girls semi-final it was North Surry over Ashe County as well 41-33. Whitney Culler led North with 16 points. And so the field is set for tonight’s championship games. The girls game will tip off first at 6:30pm, with North Surry taking on Surry Central. Then later on at 8pm, the boys of Starmount will take on North Surry.
Meanwhile in the Northwest 1-A conference, the championship games were held on Thursday night. On the boys side, North Stokes took the crown, with a 64-47 win over Mount Airy. Tyler Wilson and Travis Lawson both had 12 points to lead North. Meanwhile in the girls game, Bishop McGuiness kept on rolling with a 68-38 win over South Stokes. Katheryn Lyons had 22 for the Lady Villains, who improve to 26-0 on the year.

NCAA Scoreboard
Around the college basketball scene last night, it was Lipscomb over Campbell 82-70 and Gardner-Webb beat Belmont 74-66. The Running Bulldogs got 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks from Simon Conn, as they improve to 14-10 on the season.

Wallace On The Way Back
Great news for the Charlotte Bobcats this week, as small forward Gerald Wallace returned to practice. Wallace has been out for the past month with a leg injury and was medically cleared by team doctors. Wallace, who is the team's leading scorer, will get back on the court next week, when the Bobcats take on the Denver Nuggets.

Gatorade Twin 125 Duel Results
Around the NASCAR circuit last night, they held qualifying races for the final available spots in the Daytona 500. 23 drivers were in the hunt for those last four spots and making the cut was Kevin LePage, Bill Elliot, Mike Wallace and Kirk Shelmerdine.

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