Wilkes County Native To Face Court Martial
A Wilkes County native will now face court martial in Washington State. Preliminary hearings wrapped up this week at Fort Lewis Washington, where Specialist Brandon Bare stands accused of the premeditated murder of his wife. 18-yr-old Nabila Bare was stabbed 71 times with knives and a meat cleaver in the couple’s house July 12th. In addition to the murder itself, Bare also faces charges of indecent acts due to the mutilation of his wife’s body after she was dead. On Wednesday of this week, Fort Lewis post commander Lt. General James Dubik handed down a decision, sending Bare’s case to a general court martial. The Wilkesboro native served with the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Iraq and was home on leave when the murder happened, recovering from injuries sustained in battle. No trial date has been set in the case.

Congresswoman Foxx Receives High Marks From Taxpayers
One local lawmaker received high marks from the National Taxpayer’s Union this week. Every year, the group releases a report of all lawmakers in Congress, handing out grades based on how their votes affected taxes, spending, debt and regulatory concerns for the American public. 5th District Congresswoman Virginia Foxx was given a grade of A, one of only three lawmakers in North Carolina to rank that high. The group found that 70% of the votes Foxx made benefited taxpayers not just in the 5th District but across the United States. Patrick McHenry and Sue Myrick were the other two North Carolina lawmakers to receive high marks from the Union.

Guns Taken From Wilkesboro Home
Thieves hit a residence in Wilkesboro earlier this week, running off with almost $6000 in guns. It’s unclear exactly how they managed to get inside, as no damage was done to the property and there’s no sign of a break-in. However a 9mm rifle, .45 caliber revolver, 12 gauge shotgun and several other weapons were taken, along with a laptop computer. There is a suspect in the case and that investigation continues.

Wilkes Animal Shelter Holding Event
The Wilkes Animal Shelter is opening its’ doors this Saturday for an extended period, inviting people to come and take a look around. The shelter will be open from 10:30am til 3pm February 25th, with members of the Humane Society on hand to help with adoptions. In addition, the Humane Society will have information about pet care and will be available for any questions people may have. To raise money, the society will also have several cookbooks, calendars and other things on sale. The shelter is located at 408 Call Street in Wilkesboro and you can see the pets up for adoption by logging on to www.humanesocietyofwilkes.org

Tags Ripped Off At Local Dealer
Thieves paid a visit to a car dealer here in Wilkes this week, targeting Roaring River Auto Sales. Employees came in Tuesday morning to find that a license tag had been ripped off one of their vehicles. Nothing else was missing from the business and no other cars were damaged. That investigation continues.

Recall Of Baby Formula
A recall has been announced for a certain type of baby formula today. Certain packages of GENTLEASE powdered infant formula have been contaminated with metal particles, large enough to get into the infant’s lungs. The recall affects all products of the formula with the lot number of BMJ19. They have a use by date of July 1st 2007 marked on the package as well. Just over 41000 cans of the formula have been recalled by the manufacturer Mead Johnson and it’s still unknown how the metal got inside. A hotline has been set up at 1-888-587-7275 for more information.

Tools Stolen From North Wilkesboro Home
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to a North Wilkesboro residence on Tuesday, after thieves went on a shopping spree. It appears they broke into the house through one of the windows, using a nearby screwdriver to pry it open. Once inside, they stole several drills, a craftsman toolbox, several saws and a few extension ladders. All total over $5000 worth of tools was taken from the home. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

Vandals Hit Millers Creek Area
A Millers Creek man got a surprise when he walked outside Tuesday morning. Someone had wrecked havoc on the truck sitting in his driveway, causing over $1000 worth of damage. The headlights and side mirrors were all damaged, along with the passenger side window. He had been borrowing the truck from a family member but didn’t recall hearing anything unusual during the night. That investigation is ongoing.

State News

Police Ask For Help In Possible Kidnapping
Police in Charlotte are asking for help in solving a kidnapping Tuesday night, one they’re not exactly sure even took place. A caller dialed 911 Tuesday night in a panic, explaining that both the caller and the caller’s mother had been carjacked by a man with a gun. They went on to tell officials the vehicle they were in was a black Chevy Caprice. It wasn’t clear from the phonecall what gender the caller was, however since then police have gotten several calls about Caprices in the area, including one with stolen license plates. It’s unknown if the call was for real or not, because there haven’t been any missing persons reports filed to match the caller or their mother. Police however are asking people across North & South Carolina for help in locating the car, described as a 1990s model black Chevy Caprice. It was described as being dirty and not in good condition, with a license plate of TNT-7043. Anyone with information can call the Charlotte Crimestoppers at 1-704-334-1600.

FBI Create Anti-Smuggling Hotline
In an effort to crack down on illegal immigrants being smuggled into North Carolina, the FBI has set up a toll-free hotline. The number was created so that people can report suspicious activity, as in Nash County earlier this week when a phone call from witnesses led to the breakup of a local smuggling ring. The number, which is available 24 hrs a day is 1-866-252-6850. It’s believed that in the Charlotte area alone, several hundred Hispanic women are brought in to work as prostitutes and in brothels.

Lawmaker Used Campaign Fund For Personal Use
A former North Carolina lawmaker is being investigated for his use of campaign funds. Campaign disclosure reports show that Representative Bill Culpepper, a Democrat from Edenton, took $12700 from his campaign money to pay off a credit card debt earlier this year. He claims that it was reimbursement for legitimate expenses and the money was used on travel costs, along with paying salary for his office assistant. In addition, Culpepper’s campaign took $2000 in donations from phone company BellSouth just five days after he announced plans to leave politics and become a part of the NC Utilities Commission later this year. Culpepper told reporters his campaign had been offered the money before the announcement of his departure became public and he has since told BellSouth the money will be turned over to the Democratic caucus in the NC House.

Elon Now Smoke Free
Students at Elon University can breathe easy today, thanks to a new rule. School officials announced that as of this fall, all dorms at Elon will be smoke free, the result of an 18-month study just recently finished. In the study, 82% of those polled said that they wanted smoke free dorms, including several people who identified themselves as smokers. Around the rest of campus, you can’t smoke within a 30 feet area of any administrative or classroom building.

Candidate For Sheriff Arrested In Avery County
One political contest in Avery County took a turn this week, after a candidate was arrested. Robert Taylor, who is running for the office of Avery County Sheriff was arrested and charged with altering court documents. Taylor, who has worked as the clerk of superior court in Avery for the past 22 years, didn’t deny the charges but also said he didn’t realize it was illegal. He stands accused of changing the bail bonds for detainees in the county jail without permission. Thanks to those changes, several of the inmates received an early release.

Sports Headlines

NCAA Scoreboard
Taking a look at the college basketball scene, it was Winthrop over High Point 94-78, UNC Wilmington squeaked by Virginia Commonwealth 61-54 and Coastal Carolina knocked off Liberty 78-61. Gardner-Webb beat Mercer 77-67, as they got 12 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks from Simon Conn. Brian Bender also added 11 as the Running Bulldogs improve to 16-10 on the season, good enough for third in the Atlantic Sun conference. Also Appalachian State beat UNC Greensboro 75-70. The Mountaineers got 29 points from DJ Thompson, as they improve to 12-15, good enough for fourth in the Southern Conference’s North Division.

UNC Names O-Line Coach
It didn’t take Tarheel coach John Bunting long to make changes on his staff. It was announced on Thursday that Mark Weber will take the vacant spot as offensive line coach next year. Weber comes over from Fresno State, where he worked with new Tarheels offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti. He takes the job from Hal Hunter, who left to join the NFL’s San Diego Chargers.

NC State Picks Up New Coach
The NC State football team also brought in some new personnel this week with Rick Kravitz being hired. Kravitz will become the new safeties coach and special teams coordinator, having worked as defensive coordinator the last five years at South Florida. He’ll also lend a hand in recruiting.

Coach Hits 1000 Wins
A new record was set Wednesday night when Gene Bess became the first college basketball coach to record 1000 wins in a career. Bess, the head coach of Three Rivers Community College, picked up his 1000th win Wednesday as his team beat Forest Park 77-60. At age 70, Bess has a record of 1000-258. Right behind him in second place is UNC’s Dean Smith, who has 879, the most in Division I.