Unemployment Climbs In Wilkes
Wilkes County’s unemployment rate continues to climb. At the end of February, the jobless rate stood at 5.7%, which translates to 1814 people finding themselves without work. That’s an increase of .6% from January, when unemployment was at 5.1% and continues a trend started at the end of December, as seasonal workers were let go. So far over the first three months of 2006, a total of 227 people have lost their job in Wilkes County. Also more bad news from the latest employment numbers, as the county’s labor force is shrinking. In January, the Wilkes labor force totaled 32150 people. By the beginning of March, that number had dropped to 32049, meaning that 101 people either retired or left the county.

All For A Bowl Of Soup
Thieves broke into a local man’s apartment last week, running off with two bowls of soup. The incident happened at an apartment complex on the Elledge Mill Road, as the renter came home to find the side door was open. Glass in the door had been shattered and thieves had walked right in. Taken from inside were two cans of soup, a ceramic piggy bank and $15 in change. Neighbors saw a woman hanging around the area and provided information to sheriff’s deputies. That investigation is ongoing.

Time Ticking Down To Register
Time’s almost up if you haven’t registered yet to vote in the primaries this year. At 5pm Friday, voter registration will be over. If by that afternoon you aren’t registered to vote, then you won’t be able to cast a ballot in the primary elections or in the school board race. All registrations have to be turned in to the Board of Elections by 5pm or if you’re out of town, you can mail it in with a postmark of this Friday’s date.

Fox To Have Wilkes County Office
5th District Congresswoman Virginia Fox wants people of the area to know that she’s available to help whenever possible. With that in mind, the congresswoman has an office here in Wilkes County that is in operation for certain portions of the week. On the first and third Friday of each month, Foxx has representatives available at the Wilkes County office building from 2 til 4pm. That’s this Friday April 7th from 2-4pm. If you’re not able to make it out during those hours, you can also send your comments or concerns to the congresswoman via her website, which is located at www.fox.house.gov.

Blood Drive Coming Up Today
1500 pints of blood are used in hospitals and emergency rooms every day to treat accident victims, deal with disease and perform surgery. With accidents and other injuries constantly in the news, Wilkes County’s blood supply continues to hover around the critical level. In order to help solve the problem, the Red Cross has organized another blood drive today. The drive will be held at Millers Creek Baptist Church from 2-7pm. Before donating, just remember that you must be at least 17 years old and weigh no less than 110 lb. To set up an appointment you can call the Red Cross at 838-4563

Cheaper Way To File Taxes
We are t-minus 12 days and counting before this year’s tax deadline and a lot of people haven’t had time to file a return yet. But if you fit in that category don’t panic, because there is some help on the way. Filing your return doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, thanks to a new plan across North Carolina. The State Department of Revenue has set up an agreement with two companies to offer free state & federal 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 service.

State News

Amendment Sold In Burlington
How much is history worth to you? For one person in Burlington, the answer was an astounding $1.8 million. That’s how much was paid out for an original copy of the 13th Amendment this weekend in Burlington. An auction house in the area had uncovered a copy of the document, of which only 13 copies were ever made and put it up to bid. A man from New York won the bidding and took home the document, which was signed into law by Abraham Lincoln, abolishing slavery over 150 years ago.

Bush Coming To Carolina
President Bush will be making a return to the Queen City this week. Bush will be making a stop in Charlotte on Thursday, to discuss progress in the war on terrorism. This will mark Bush’s 6th trip to North Carolina during his presidency. He last made an appearance back in December, speaking on global trade in Kernersville.

Burlington Students To Wait For Degree
Students in Buncombe County will have to wait a few days later to get their degree. 1300 seniors from local high schools had been scheduled to walk down the isle of the Asheville Civic Center the first week of June. However thanks to a scheduling conflict, instead of students elephants will be walking in the center. The ringing Brothers Circus will be making its’ way through Asheville and somehow the center was double booked. School officials are upset because they reserved the center back in August of 2005, with a date set for June 1st-4th. However as it stands, the students will be waiting up to 10 days before getting their diplomas.

Sports Headlines

Redick & Morrison Share National Spotlight
The season may be over for J.J. Redick, but the awards ceremonies have just begun. On Thursday, Redick and Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison were named co-players of the year by the United State Basketball Writers Association, marking the first time in history that two players have shared the award. Morrison and Redick were given the Oscar Robertson Trophy in a ceremony at Conseco Fieldhouse Friday night.

NCAA Scoreboard
Taking a look at the NCAA Women’s Final Four, the field is set for tomorrow’s championship. It’ll be the Lady Blue Devils of Duke taking on the Lady Terrapins of Maryland. Maryland beat UNC 81-70, despite the Lady Tarheels getting 28 points and 10 rebounds from Erlana Larkins. It was Duke over LSU 64-45, thanks in part to 13 points from senior Monique Curry.

Sendek Leaves State
The NC State Wolfpack will have a new coach on the sidelines next year as Herb Sendek is on his way out west. Sendek accepted a job over the weekend with Arizona State, taking over as that college’s men’s basketball coach effective immediately. Sendek leaves the Wolfpack with a record of 191-132 in 10 seasons, having drawn criticism for his team’s early exit from the NCAA tournament this year.

Bobcats Lose To Cavs
It went down to the wire, but the Charlotte Bobcats fell just short on Sunday with a 101-97 loss to Cleveland. Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 20 points, as the Bobcats drop to 20-54.

NHL: Carolina vs. Atlanta
On the ice this weekend, the Carolina Hurricanes lost to Atlanta 5-2. Carolina was on cruise control for most of the game, having already locked up both a playoff spot and the Southeast Conference title. With the loss, the Hurricanes drop to 48-20 on the season with a game tonight against Washington.

NASCAR Results
It was Tony Stewart taking the checkered flag Sunday night at Martinsville, in the Direct TV 500. Jeff Gordon was second, Jimmie Johnson third, Dale Earnhart Jr. came in fourth and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five. Drivers will now head to Texas this next week for the Samsung/Radio Shack 500.