News & Sports For March 10th

Wilkesboro Church Of Christ Opens Its’ Doors
The paint is dry, the inside has been redone and the Wilkesboro Church of Christ is ready to open their doors to the pubic. The church will be holding worship services for the first time in their building this weekend, a project several months in the making. The new church sanctuary can hold 200 people and the building includes an education wing with six classrooms and a library. In addition there’s a fellowship hall and fenced-in playground on target to open later this spring. The church is located at 1740 Curtis Bridge Road in Wilkesboro.

Thieves Run Off With Generator
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to a Wilkesboro residence this week, after thieves ran off with several items. The theft happened at a home on Country Square Drive, as a local man returned to find someone had broke into his storage building. A generator and a garden tiller were taken from inside and there are suspects in the case. That investigation continues.

Gas Savers Part Two: Keeping Your Cool
Have you ever got in your car and started it up, only to notice that the gas needle had dropped since you had turned it off? As the rays beat down on your car, they also suck up gas from inside. In part two of our 3WC Gas Savers series, we’re explaining some more ways to help save money at the pump. First try and park your car in the shade. Parking in sunlight will help your car’s gas evaporate quicker on a hot day. While storing it in the shade won’t solve the problem, it will make the evaporation process go a lot slower, saving at least part of your gas for the ride home. Also make sure your gas cap is tight. Each year, an estimated 147 million gallons of gas are lost due to misplaced or loose gas caps. Air conditioning might seem like a vacuum, draining your gas dry and your wallet too. But studies have shown that while driving on the highway, most cars are actually more efficient when the air conditioning is on, as long as you don’t go too far. Cranking it on full blast won’t get things cool any faster, but what it will do is put a drain on both your battery and gas. When you have an open window, it produces more resistance for your car to fight against, meaning that the engine has to work harder to keep up to speed and that translates into more gas being burned. Coming up Monday in part three of our series, we’ll tell you how the right tire can keep you away from the pump for a few more days.

Blood Drive Later Today
1500 pints of blood are needed across North Carolina each day. To help keep that supply going and not put our own into critical levels, the Wilkes Red Cross is holding a blood drive at Gardner Glass from 11am til 3:30pm. It’s open to anyone, however please remember before giving blood you must be at least 17 years old and weigh no less than 110 lbs. To set up an appointment the number to call is 838-4563.

Pay Phone Hit By Car
It’s not unusual for someone to accidentally run over their phone with a car. However when the item in question is a pay phone, that becomes a little more out of the ordinary. On Tuesday sheriff’s deputies were called out after someone slammed into the pay phone at the Little Market Basket on Hwy 268 in Wilkesboro. An estimated $300 worth of damage was done. However the incident happened after the store had closed, so there are currently no suspects in the case. That investigation continues.

Dry Conditions Bring Fire Warning
While by all accounts Wilkes County has had a mild winter. But rain, ice and wind have left behind their calling cards with downed trees scattered throughout the area. As temperatures heat up, those trees can create even more problems. Rain from those weekend storms has also helped grass start to grow around the trees, creating a dangerous combination should there be a lightning strike. In order to protect your property, fire marshals suggest that you remove any downed trees before they can dry out. In addition, you can add some protection to your house by surrounding it with a few succulent plants. Those plants are 90% water and while they may be baked by the flames, they’re not usually burned easy. Instead the water inside can actually serve as a flame deterrent, slowing it down or in some cases aiding to put it out. Succulent plants include aloe, agave, stonecrops and cactus. It’s important to take steps and protect your home now as in the first three months of the year, there have already been several hundred brushfires throughout North Carolina.

Thieves Drive Off With Local Scooter
Be careful where you leave your vehicles. A North Wilkesboro man found out why that’s a good idea this week, after parking his scooter at a friend’s house and leaving it behind. He came back Tuesday afternoon to find the vehicle was missing. However in talking with deputies, he couldn’t provide an address for the friend’s house, only that it was somewhere on Sparta Road. That investigation continues.

Local Agencies In Need Of Help
Even though winter here in Wilkes County has been mild, the lack of jobs has sent people out in search of food. For most of the local relief agencies, that means their shelves are virtually empty. Wilkes Cares and Samaritan’s Kitchen both find themselves in need of any help possible. Everyone from retirees to those who just want to give a few hours in community service are asked to come out and help the organizations. You can call Samaritan’s Kitchen at 838-5331 or Wilkes Cares at 838-4900.

Recall Of Pasta Products
You might want to think twice before eating that bowl of pasta tonight. A recall has been issued by Unilever Inc. of over 560,000 pounds of pasta products. This is due to the fact that the products contain egg whites but that wasn’t disclosed on the package, potentially causing problems for people with allergies. The recall is for all 24-ounce bags of Bertolli Meatballs Pomodoro & Penne w/ peppers & onions, the complete skillet meal for two variety. Each package has an establishment number of EST 21340 inside the USDA inspection mark. They also have a best by date of Sept 14th 2006, Dec. 16th 2006, Dec. 23rd 2006, Jan. 4th 2007, Feb. 3rd 2007 or Feb. 15th 2007. They were sold in North Carolina and across the United States. A toll free hotline has been set up if you have any questions at 1-866-837-7592.

State News

State Unemployment Keeps Dropping
Some good news for people across North Carolina, as the state’s unemployment rate has taken another nose dive. At the end of January, the rate dropped to its’ lowest since 2000, coming in at 4.3%. One of the main reasons for the drop was an increase in education and health service jobs, as 6100 were added from December 31st to February 1st. North Carolina now ranks below the national jobless rate, which is sitting at 4.7%.

Man Charged With Kidnapping
One man in Rockingham County is facing kidnapping charges today after a short joyride. 39-yr-old Brian Kelly Land saw a vehicle idling at a convenience store in Stoneville and decided to climb into the driver’s seat. He took off down the road, with a woman and her 15-yr-old son in the vehicle. They had been waiting on the woman’s husband, who was inside the store paying for a purchase. Mr. Land drove the car to a restaurant in Eden North Carolina, before getting out and telling the two passengers they were free to go. He was arrested at that same restaurant a few minutes later by sheriff’s deputies. Land gave no explanation as to why he stole the car, only to return it shortly after.

State Senator Accused Of Campaign Violations
Prosecutors are determining if they’ll file criminal charges against State Senator Robert Holloman today. Holloman stands accused of not reporting over $23,000 in campaign contributions. In addition, part of that money is believed to be from businesses here in the state, something that’s illegal under North Carolina law. Holloman said that he didn’t intentionally break the law and was unaware of certain rules.

Inmate Death Labeled As Homicide
A Davidson County inmate that died in January was murdered, according to the state medical examiner’s office. 28-yr-old Carlos Castro died after a fight with two officers in the local jail on January 7th, after the officers tried to take a mop handle away from him. The ME’s report says Castro was asphyxiated, in addition to suffering severe head trauma, cuts and bruises. The SBI is continuing their own investigation into the matter.

Suspect Arrested In Murder Investigation
A suspect has been arrested in Union County after a series of murders that stretches across two states. Three women have been killed in North and South Carolina over the last few years, following a pattern that law enforcement traced back to 42-yr-old Scott W. Williams of Monroe. Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey announced the arrest at a press conference held Thursday afternoon.

Sports Headlines

NCAA Scoreboard
Around the college scoreboard last night, it’s tournament time across America and Wake Forest appears ready to make the most of it. They beat Florida State 78-66 in the opening round of the ACC tournament yesterday, being led by Justin Gray’s 25 points and 8 assists. Next up for the Deacons will be a rematch this afternoon with the NC State Wolfpack. Tipoff is set for 2:30pm. And in the Atlantic 10, the UNC Charlotte 49ers possibly saw their season come to a close, as they lost to Xavier 59-55. Star senior Curtis Withers had only 8 points to go along with 12 rebounds, as the 49ers drop to 18-12.

Bennerman To Play Tonight
Some good news for NC State fans, as Cameron Bennerman will be in uniform for the team’s matchup tonight against Wake Forest. Bennerman has been out for a week due to a hamstring injury, but was able to practice at full strength this week and has been cleared to play.

Redick Named To All America Team
Two Duke players made the Basketball Writers All America Team this week. Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick were both named to the squad, joining Adam Morrison from Gonzaga, Randy Foye from Villanova and Brandon Roy of Washington. This marks the 50th year the All-America team has been selected.

Wake Forest Plugs Up Holes
The Wake Forest football team plugged some holes on their coaching staff this week. Head coach Jim Grobe hired Tim Billings to take over as wide receivers coach. Billings has served the past six years as head coach of Southeast Missouri State, working before that as an assistant at Marshall, Missouri and Oklahoma. He replaces Kevin Sherman, who left to join the Virginia Tech staff back in February.

Fines Upheld By NASCAR
In Nascar, as drivers prepare for this weekend’s race at Las Vegas, one team finds itself dropping back in the points race without even hitting the track. Hall of Fame Racing saw its’ appeal tossed out this week against penalties given out by NASCAR. Those penalties were for modifications made to the #96 Chevy during qualifying for the Daytona 500. As a result, a $25,000 fine has been handed out to crew chief Philippe Lopez and 25 points were taken away from driver Terry Labonte. The team admitted the mistake but said the parts were brought in by a third party and it wasn’t intentional.

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