Wilkes Income Standard Smaller Than Most Around
Some economic problems have reared their head for Wilkes, as new reports find the county on the lower end of the financial spectrum. The North Carolina Budget and Tax Center has released a report, detailing the income standard for each of the state's 100 counties. In 2005, the income standard here in Wilkes was $25,404, that's good enough to rank 57th in the state. Also Wilkes fell short in the immediate area, as only three out of the eight counties that surround it have a lower income. Those counties are Alleghany, Ashe and Surry, all with standards of $25,068. Watauga is the highest in the region, with an income standard of $30,876. Alexander and Caldwell County both come in just slightly above at $26,664, while Iredell has a standard of $28,704 and Yadkin is at $30,012. Overall across the state, Orange County has the highest income standard at $37,512 while Edgecombe County is dead last at $24,804.

Commissioners Meeting Tonight On Adult Based Business
Coming up tonight, the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners will hold a meeting to discuss several items. Among them is the moratorium currently placed on all adult based businesses that want to move into Wilkes. Comments from the public will be heard at 6:45pm and then the meeting itself will begin at 7pm in the commissioners’ room of the county office building.

Gas Thieves Hit Wyke’s Amaco
Gas thieves hit another Wilkes business earlier this week, targeting Wyke’s Amaco on Hwy 421. Sunday evening a vehicle pulled up, the driver got out and pumped $10 worth of gas before taking off down the road. A description of the car and its’ license plate was turned over to sheriff’s deputies. That investigation continues.

Thieves Steal Tires From Boone Trail Home
Who would steal some worn down tires off a car? That’s what a Moravian Falls man is wondering today. He walked outside last Friday morning to find the tires had literally been ripped off his vehicle, leaving it sitting on the ground. Despite the theft, he couldn’t recall hearing any noises during the night. An estimated $2100 worth of wheels and tires were taken in the theft and that investigation is ongoing.

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.

Two Cars Totaled On East Main Street
Two cars were totaled after a wreck in Wilkesboro over the weekend. The incident happened Friday morning on East Main Street, as a Millers Creek woman was attempting to turn onto a side road. She had the right of way however a Hays woman refused to yield and the two collided. Wilkes EMS was called out to the scene, but both refused to be taken to the hospital. Estimated damage was placed at $5000.

3WC Eye On Safety: Warnings When Heating Home
The things you don't do can be just as important when dealing with ways to heat your home. With the temps hovering around freezing, today and Wednesday we'll be going back for a look at things to be cautious of when trying to keep warm. First off, never use gasoline or starter fluid to ignite a fire in your fireplace. You'd be surprised how many people do that each year and cause a major blaze that puts the entire home at risk. Also fireplace chimneys commonly build up creosote, which is itself flammable. Be careful how much trash or paper you burn in your fireplace, as they are the number one cause of creosote buildup. Also be careful when using space heaters. They need to be kept on the floor, away from any combustible materials. Always unplug your heaters when going to bed or leaving the house and if you have a kerosene heater, never substitute gas or camp stove fuel. That could cause some serious problems you don't need.

Thieves Break In To Steal Medication
Never leave any type of medication in your car where people can see it. A Roaring Gap man found out why that’s a good idea over the weekend. He went out to get his prescription filled, then left the bag in the car once at home. The next morning he walked out to find the passenger side window to his car had been shattered and some of the medication was missing. Information was turned over to sheriff’s deputies and that investigation continues.

Recall Of Pork Barbeque
You might want to think twice before eating that pork barbeque. A recall has been ordered of all 5 pound plastic containers of Griffin’s Unskinned Pork Barbeque w/ Sauce. Griffin’s Barbeque issued the recall voluntarily after a type of bacteria was found inside some of the packages. All of the products have an establishment number of EST 07404, which can be found inside the USDA seal of inspection and also contain a sell by date of 04/10/06. The bacteria listeria was discovered inside certain packages, which can be deadly if it develops into listeriosis. The disease targets people with weakened immune systems and the elderly.

State News

Programs On The Chopping Block At NC Schools
Bad news may soon be coming to some North Carolina college students. The program you want to study may not be available for long. UNC system president Erskine Bowles has asked deans at all 15 of the state’s public universities to consider cutting programs to save money. Bowles asked that an evaluation be done and those programs the deans feel aren’t working be put under the knife. The move comes due to an extreme teacher shortage across North Carolina, as currently it’s estimated that 10000 people are needed to fill the spots open in our schools.

Missing College Student Located
Two weeks after he vanished, an NC State student was found this week. 23-yr-old Vitor Franchito was last seen at a convenience store February 5th but afterwards disappeared. Fliers were posted and searches were organized to track down the college student, who was located in Morrisville. People in the town recognized him from the fliers and brought Franchito to the local police station. He was later admitted to a local hospital, although it’s still unknown where he had been for the past two weeks.

Immigrant Smugglers Caught By Police
Police in Nash County went to investigate when witnesses reported that two men abducted a woman on I-95. Officers soon tracked down the vehicle and pulled it over, discovering the woman being held against her will. The two men told officers that they had smuggled her into the country from Mexico and then found she wouldn’t pay up, so they were planning to send her back. All three are currently being held by Immigration officials.

Shrimp Harvest Takes A Hit
The changing temperatures in 2005 didn’t just affect humans in North Carolina, but now it appears the shrimp market took a hit as well. The state’s shrimp industry hauled in the smallest catch in over 20 years, according to the numbers so far. 2.3 million pounds of shrimp were brought in, nearly a third of the usual 7 million pounds. Environmental scientists blame the weather, explaining that shrimp are sensitive to changes in temperature.

Sports Headlines

High School Basketball
The field is set and Wilkes County’s teams are preparing for basketball action. Wilkes Central’s boys team is in action tonight, playing against Ashe County. The game will tip off tonight at 7pm in Ashe County, between the #3 and #4 seeds from the Mountain Valley Conference. Then coming up tomorrow night, the Lady Eagles of Wilkes Central are in action, taking on Mountain Heritage. And we’ll be on hand over in Moravian Falls to cover the action, with the McDonald’s pregame show going on the air at 6:45pm and tipoff set for 7pm.

NCAA Scoreboard
Around the college basketball scene last night, it was NC A&T over Morgan State 56-52, High Point knocked off UNC Asheville 88-67, Coastal Carolina beat VMI 76-63 and it was Chattanooga over Appalachian State 64-50. The Mountaineers got 20 points from DJ Thompson, but he was their only player in double figures. With the loss, Appalachian drops to 11-15.

Two NC Baseball Teams Ranked
With March not far off, the first Top 25 poll of the year has been released by Baseball America and two North Carolina teams made the list. The UNC Tarheels enter this baseball season ranked #4 in the nation, behind three major league pitching prospects. NC State meanwhile came in ranked #21, thanks to two sport star Cameron Bennerman.

Wolfpack Football Team Loses Coach
Bad news for the NC State football team, as another coach is leaving. Offensive line coach Mike Barry was hired by the NFL’s Detroit Lions this week, ending a three year term as part of the Wolfpack. Barry is the second coach to leave the team since last year, as safeties coach Manny Diaz has also left to become the new defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State.

Gordon Is Media’s Pick To Win The Cup
With the Daytona 500 in the books, the verdict is in as to who’s the favorite to win the Nextel Cup this season. Jeff Gordon tops the media poll this year, followed in a close second by last year’s champion Tony Stewart. Jimmie Johnson comes in third in the poll, Greg Biffle is fourth and Carl Edwards round out the top five drivers. Jimmie Johnson got a head start on the rest of the field however with Sunday’s victory in the Daytona 500.