Blust Challenges Garwood To Debates
A challenge has been laid down to 45th District Senator John Garwood. His opponent in the upcoming Republican Primary, David Blust, wants to organize a series of debates over the next few weeks and has set a deadline of March 17th for Garwood to respond. Blust said in a press release issued over the weekend that he was asking all local newspapers and radio stations in the 45th District to work together and coordinate the debates. As planned, the debates would have questioned submitted from a panel of media members, along with a series of questions that each candidate would ask the other. A deadline of this Friday, March 17th has been set for Garwood to respond.

Hays Man Gets Surprise In Bank Account
A Hays man got a very unwelcome surprise when checking his bank account this week. A total of $1000 was missing and checks had been written to the account for items he had never bought. After going through his checkbook, it was discovered that someone had apparently come in and taken the checks, as the first ten were missing. All of the used checks were turned over to sheriff’s deputies as evidence and there is a suspect in the case. That investigation continues.

Gas Thief Arrested In Millers Creek
Sheriff’s deputies arrested a woman last week after she was caught stealing gas from the Creek Stop. The incident happened on Thursday as a woman pulled up, pumped just over $32 in gas, broke the nozzle on the machine and took off down the road. An employee from the store followed & detained her til sheriff’s deputies arrived, at which time she gave them a false name. This despite having her real name tattooed on her neck. 23-yr-old Amanda M. Wyatt was charged with gas theft, damage to property, driving with a revoked license and giving false information to law enforcement.

Gas Savers Part Three: Checkup Before Filling Up
With gas prices continuing to go up, it’s more important than ever to conserve fuel. Today in the third part of our gas savers series, we take a look at some other ways to save you time and money at the pump. First of all, keep your engine in tune. That may seem like a small thing, but an out of tune engine can lower your gas mileage by about 4%. Also be on the lookout for worn out sparkplugs. They can drop your car’s gas mileage by 30%. Be sure and replace the car’s air filter when needed. A clogged filter can cost you an additional 15 cents a gallon. Finally make sure to check your tires. Underinflated tires wear down quick, offering more resistance and forcing your engine to work harder. The gas mileage on underinflated tires can drop by 15% or more in some cases. It may seem like a long list of things to do, but it’ll be worth it when you can spend more time away from the pump.

Two Cars Totaled on Oakwoods Road
Two cars were totaled after an accident last week on the Oakwoods Road. On Wednesday a North Wilkesboro woman was trying to onto the road, but didn’t see another vehicle coming. The other car, driven by a Wilkesboro woman, couldn’t slow down in time to avoid a collision. No one was injured in the crash however estimated damages were placed at $4500.

Bank Of America Providing Customers With New Service
Getting information about your bank account may only be a click away, thanks to a new service from Bank of America. Customers in Wilkes County and around the county will soon be able to receive warnings, alerts and other information on their computer or cell phone. Bank of America announced late last week that it’s beginning a new service to alert customers about their accounts. For example in the new program your email or cell phone would automatically receive a text message anytime that a deposit is made. Also you would get a warning whenever the account is in danger of being overdrawn or if an abnormal series of purchases was made on your debit card. The service is expected to be up and running across the nation by the end of this year. You can sign up now if you’re a Bank of America customer by logging on to www.bankofamerica.com

Parts Of Satellite Ripped Off Local Home
A Thurmond woman returned home last week to find someone had paid her a visit. Thieves had ripped off the Coax Converter on the woman’s satellite dish, causing about $99 worth of damage in the process. No one in the area could recall hearing or seeing anyone near the home, however that investigation continues.

3WC Healthwatch: Who Wants A Cup Of Coffee?
Most people love to have a cup of coffee before going to work in the morning, but could it actually be good for you? A study coordinated between three universities in the U.S. and Canada found the answer to be yes and no, as we explain in today’s 3WC Healthwatch. In the body there is a specific gene that breaks down caffeine and for some, it works slower than in others. That’s why the amount of coffee that’s healthy varies from person to person. Researchers from Harvard, the University of Toronto and the University of Costa Rica studied 4000 coffee drinkers, half who had fell victim to heart attacks previously and the other half who hadn’t. What they found was that for those coffee drinkers who had suffered from heart attacks, their system took longer to break down the caffeine, meaning that just one or two cups could increase their risk of heart problems. For the other half however, even as many as four to five cups of coffee didn’t cause any physical problems and in fact helped lower the risk of heart attack by a slight margin. However the test used to determine which version of the gene people have isn’t available to doctors or hospitals yet, so the researchers suggest you limit your coffee intake to no more than four cups a day.

State News

Football Employee Accused Of Embezzlement
The new owner of a Carolina football team got more than he bargained for with his purchase. Robert Boyd has filed charges against the team’s former general manager, accusing him of embezzling over $2000. Boyd took over the Carolina Ghostriders back in January and since then has discovered a paper trail leading back to former general manager David Dix. According to the police report, Dix made deals with people behind the owner’s back, agreeing to pay them without ever clearing it with the team. An audit is currently going on along with the police investigation.

Doctor Killed By Patient Over The Weekend
An Asheville doctor was killed over the weekend by a patient. On Friday, a man came in for his appointment, went into the examination room and then shot the doctor as he was coming in to check up on him. Once the gunshots rang out staff members tackled the shooter and held him until police arrived. Dr. Brian Ling later died at Mission Hospital. It’s believed that the gunman had a son who had died earlier this month while under Dr. Ling’s care.

UNC System Adding High School To University List
A 17th name has been submitted to the General Assembly by the North Carolina public university system, requesting that it be added. What makes this one a little different is the fact that it’s a high school. The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics will if approved, join the UNC college system and be supervised by the UNC Board of Governors in how its’ run. Until now, the school had been listed as part of the UNC system, but the board had no control over how it was run or who was in charge. That raised concerns about how they could be accountable for a school they didn’t control.

Sports Headlines

Duke Takes ACC Title
For the seventh time in eight years, the Duke Blue Devils took the ACC conference title. This time it was after a 78-76 win over Boston College. J.J. Redick had 26 points in the win, as the Blue Devils roll on to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Tournament Seeds Revealed
The Blue Devils weren’t the only North Carolina team to make it into the NCAA tournament. Duke will take on Southern University, while the #9 seed UNC Wilmington will face off against #8 seed George Washington. NC State makes it in as a #10 seed, taking on #7 California in the first round. #15 ranked Davidson will take on #2 Ohio State, while the #3 ranked UNC Tarheels will face off against #14 Murray State. Times for each of the games has yet to be set.

Bobcats Fall To Pistons
A two game winning streak came to an end for the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday, as they lost to Detroit 94-78. Charlotte had to play for most of the game without leading scorer Gerald Wallace, who was injured in the first half. Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 18 points, as the team drops to 18-46 on the season.

Hurricanes Lose To Florida
The Carolina Hurricanes have hit a snag as the season winds down, losing their last two games. On Saturday they dropped an overtime game to Florida 4-3. With the loss the team drops to 43-15, but stays in first place in the Southeast Division.

Jimmie Johnson Takes The Win
Jimmie Johnson made his return to victory lane on Sunday, winning the Daimler-Chrysler 400. Matt Kenseth was second, Kyle Busch third, Kasey Kahne was fourth and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five. The win Sunday is the second this year for Johnson, who also took the checkered flag in the Daytona 500. Next up is a trip to Atlanta for the Golden Corral 500.