News & Sports For February 9th

WILKES COUNTY SCHOOLS ON TWO HOUR DELAY
WILKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE ON TWO HOUR DELAY

Reward Being Offered In Murder Case
A reward is now being offered for any information regarding a local murder. 30-yr-old Timothy Dwayne Shatley was found shot to death by Ashe County EMS back on November 19th, in the driver’s seat of his van. Shatley had been an employee of Paw Paws restaurant here in Wilkes County and now Governor Mike Easley is offering a reward of up to $5000 for any help tracking down his killer. Ashe County police are searching for the driver of a white Ford Explorer that was seen in the area after the murder. Shatley was killed just two days before his son’s 9th birthday. If anyone has information please call the Ashe County sheriff’s department at 336-219-2600.

Recall Issued Of Ice Cream
Bad news for all you ice cream lovers out there. Harris Teeter has ordered a recall of all 1.75 quart cartons of its’ Sundae Carmel Cone Crunch ice cream. The reason being that peanuts could be in some cartons without it being advertised on the box, leading to potential problems for anyone with a peanut allergy. The affected cartons all have the UPC code 7203643026 and customers can return the product for a refund. In addition a hotline has been set up at 1-800-432-6111 to answer any questions.

Two Cars Totaled After Wreck On Hwy 421
Two cars were totaled after an accident on Hwy 421 Tuesday afternoon. The incident happened just after 2pm as a Purlear woman was getting set to turn off the road. She didn’t notice a Collettsville man traveling down the highway until it was too late, as the two cars collided and his was spun off the road near Empire Dodge. Thankfully no one was hurt in the crash, which caused an estimated $5000 worth of damage. Both drivers claimed they had the green light when talking with police.

Salvation Army Offering Help
Many families can find themselves in a time of need during the winter season. It can be hard to pay the bills and also put food on the table. The local Salvation Army is helping to solve that by taking applications for their financial assistance program. The program is open to anyone who can demonstrate a need for help paying utility or rent bills. However before going out, please remember that you can only be seen with an appointment, during either Tuesday or Thursday from 1-5pm. Also there is a limited amount of money available to help, given out on a need based approach. The Salvation Army is located in the Wilkes United Way office building, at 910 C Street in Wilkesboro. For more information or to set up an appointment you can call 651-7800.

Focus On The Scouts
Yesterday marked the 96th anniversary of the Boy Scouts across the world. Local leader Derrick Young will be Brian’s guest this week for Focus on the Foothills as they talk about the Boy Scouts, examine their history and discuss the troops here in Wilkes County. That’s all coming up this afternoon at 1:05pm right after the midday stock report.

Cheaper Way To File Taxes
Filing taxes this year could be a lot cheaper for people here in North Carolina, thanks to a new plan. The State Department of Revenue announced this week that two companies have agreed to offer free state tax returns through their website. The plan applies to anyone who makes $50,000 a year or less and can be accessed by going to www.dor.state.nc.us . That will let you link up with either TaxEngine or TaxSimple, the two companies providing the free services.

Vehicle Totaled On Hwy 421
A wreck Tuesday on 421 totaled one car. A Wilkesboro man was traveling down the highway when a vehicle appeared to cut in front of him. To avoid a collision, he swerved and lost control of his car, going off the road and into a nearby guardrail. An estimated $5000 worth of damage was done to the vehicle however thankfully no one was injured.

Regional News

Free Wood In Winston
With winter weather making an appearance, it’s a good idea to stockpile as much wood as possible. Winston Salem city officials are looking to help solve two problems at once, by offering free firewood to anyone who will cut & haul it away. The city is looking to tear down the old Recreation Maintenance Warehouse & instead of having to pay someone, they’re offering to give the wood away to anyone who wants it. To call ahead the number is 336-748-3019 and the warehouse is located at 2480 Reynolds Park Road.

State News

Black Facing Charges
A Winston Salem law firm has been linked to House Speaker Jim Black, as hearings continue into his campaign contributions. According to lawyers from Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, a request was sent in from Black’s office, asking them to donate funds to Representative Michael Decker. Decker’s decision to change from Republican to Democrat helped Black keep his job as Speaker of the House. The request was done through a lobbyist to the firm, one of several it appears. According to financial records, donations to Decker’s campaign rose right after he changed parties. The donations weren’t illegal, however an investigation is going on to determine if the way contributions were solicited violated NC law.

More Information Released From Morganton Plant
The investigation continues into the Morganton explosion that left one dead. It now appears that an out of control chemical reaction is to blame for the Synthron Inc. plant exploding. Employees inside the plant were apparently making paint additive in a 1500 gallon reactor before the explosion. To do that, the chemical butyl acrylate has to be used along with several flammable solvents. That combination by itself puts off a lot of heat. It’s unknown how, but witness testimony makes it appear that they lost control of the reaction. Investigators say it could take them up to a year before a final report is ready.

Guns & Drugs Found At Day Care Center
Officials in Durham have shut down a local day care center after guns and drugs were found inside. There were 14 violations of state policies found during an inspection of Rising Shining Home Care February 1st. In addition, police were called out in response to a fight at the center between a man and woman. In the course of the investigation, they went inside and found four grams of cocaine, along with a stolen pistol. The center’s owner, 27-yr-old Cathy Denise Lipscomb is also being investigated by Social Services, to determine if she is fit to care for her own 4-yr-old child.

No More Smoking In Greensboro
Cigarette smokers may have a hard time if they plan to attend the ACC tournament. The event is held this year in Greensboro, where a new law just went into effect. Tuesday night, the city council approved a ban on smoking in the Greensboro Coliseum. The ban takes effect March 1st, meaning that any smokers who have bought tickets to either the ACC tournament or NCAA regionals will have to wait and light up after the game.

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 The deadline to register is February 17th and for more information you can call 651-7355.

Tarheels Lose Coach To NFL
The UNC Tarheel football team will be one man short next season, as offensive line coach Hal Hunter announced this week he was leaving. Hunter, who has been at UNC for the last four years, accepted a job with the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. He’ll serve as the assistant offensive line coach with the team.

NCAA Scoreboard
Taking a look at the college scoreboard last night, it was Charlotte over Temple 66-59. Leemire Goldwire led Charlotte with 21 points and 7 rebounds, as the 49ers improve to 14-8. It was Davidson over UNC Greensboro 92-73 and Winthrop beat VMI 98-65. In the ACC, it was Boston College over Wake Forest 72-66. Wake got 24 points from Justin Gray as they fall to 12-11 on the season. And it took double overtime to do it, but NC State beat Miami 86-77. Cameron Bennerman had 23 points and 7 rebounds for the Wolfpack, as they improve to 19-4.

Winthrop Player Quits
Before last night’s game against VMI, the Winthrop basketball team learned that they’ll be one man short for the rest of the season. 6’8 ft senior Billy Houston announced he was quitting. Houston, the school’s all time leader in blocked shots, said he quit because of school. He needs 400 more hours of community service before he can get his degree in Social Work and with less than three months until graduation, Houston didn’t have time for both. Over his career at Winthrop, Houston started 73 games and recorded a total of 141 blocked shots.

NBA: Philadelphia vs. Charlotte
The Charlotte Bobcats made it three in a row last night with a 100-92 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bobcats were led by Melvin Ely’s 19 points and 10 rebounds as the team improves to 14-36 with Toronto coming to town on Friday.