Families Struggling To Pay Living Expenses
Despite what politicians may say, things aren't looking good for families both here in Wilkes and across North Carolina. According to a study released by the N.C. Budget and Tax Center, almost half of the families with children here in the state can't afford to pay for basic living expenses with what they earn from their paychecks. That includes being able to pay for child care, food, healthcare, housing, transportation and taxes. Research showed that it would take earnings of $44,256 for a two parent, two child family to survive without assistance in a city. That number was reduced to $39,264 when dealing with rural areas such as here in Wilkes County. For single parent families, it would take $33,072 to survive on their own in a city and $27732 in a rural area. 49.1% of families here in the state are given some form of assistance because their earnings don't meet those levels.

Local Man Arrested After Assault
Sheriff’s deputies were called out to an Elkin residence on Tuesday, with reports of a disturbance. When they arrived at the home on Byrd Curve Road, a shouting match could be heard and looking inside a window, saw a man holding a knife to the throat of a woman. The deputies entered the house with weapons drawn and ordered the man to give up the knife and get down on the floor, which he did. 47-yr-old Randall Smoot was then arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

Foxx Bill Passes House
A bill sponsored by 5th District Congresswoman Virginia Foxx may soon make planning for life after the military easier for our troops. The Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities Act, HR 1499, changes the IRS code to allow soldiers to put some of their hazard pay into IRA accounts. Previously because hazard pay isn’t taxed income, troops didn’t make enough to qualify for most IRA plans. Under the new bill, combat pay earned in 2004 and 2005 will also be eligible to be put into IRA accounts.

Affects Of The Drought Part II
Yesterday 3WC News aired a conversation with Matt Millen from the Wilkes Cooperative Extension, discussing effects Wilkes County has suffered from the drought. But the news isn’t all bad, as it turns out the dry weather has actually helped in one circumstance. Wilkes and the surrounding counties should be almost mosquito free for the next month, according to officials from the American Mosquito Control Association. The western part of North Carolina is harassed each year by 25 different types of mosquitos, but without standing water puddles to breed in, the bug population is lower than normal. And you can expect it to stay that way, according to Association officials. They say that even if Wilkes has several inches of rain over the next month, the ground won’t be wet enough for the bugs to return.

3WC Techwatch: Keeping An Eye On Credit
Keeping track of your credit report is a good way to avoid being a victim of ID theft. But as we explain in today’s 3WC Techwatch, you need to be careful. Now more than ever it’s important to keep up with your credit cards and make sure no one’s using your name. However free credit report scams are popping up, as hackers change with the technology. Everyone is eligible to order one free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting companies as of September of last year. But hackers have set up several dummy websites that for all intents and purposes appear to be the real thing. The only difference is that once your information is entered, you get locked out while the information is used to ruin your credit. The Federal Trade Commission has located 130 imposter sites over the last year alone. To solve the problem, you can get a free credit report by going through the Federal Trade Commission’s website at www.ftc.gov. You can follow the directions on the site to one of the three credit reporting companies and guarantee that your information is secure. Or if you’re not comfortable using the internet, then request the information over the phone by calling 1-877-322-8228. After all, it’s better to deal with this now instead of finding out later.

Salvation Army Offering Help
Many families can find themselves in a time of need as 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.

Regional News

Body Found In Alleghany County
Alleghany County authorities are trying to piece together what happened to a man found dead on a local road over the weekend. A person living in the area just off of Chevy Lane near Sparta found the body after trying to discover the source of a strange smell. Officials still don’t know how the man died, as the body was severely decomposed and the sheriff’s department believe it had been in the area for at least a month.

State News

Fight Over State Budget Begins
Less than two days after the state budget was released and already members of both parties have introduced bills to spend part of the money. Two bills have been introduced in the General Assembly, one which would create an amendment to the state constitution, guaranteeing that profits from the lottery would go directly to state school systems. The second bill would redirect some of that money, making it so that larger school districts would get a bigger piece of the pie. In addition, House Speaker Jim Black said that Gov. Easley’s proposed sales tax cut was a possibly, but not something that he wanted to commit to. The sales tax was raised to 7% as a temporary move back in 2001, in order to help cover deficits in the state budget.

Jobs Coming To Rockingham County
Good news for people job hunting in Rockingham County, as another company is set to relocate there. Bridgestone Aircraft Tire announced plans this week to build a new plant in Mayodan, bringing 95 jobs to a struggling economy. In addition, the company will be investing $13.5 million over the next three years, as it moves operations from its’ current plant in Miami. Officials say they want to have all of the 95 positions filled by the end of
2007.

New Gas Plan Could Soon Be In Place
If a North Carolina congressman has his way, gas prices could soon be a lot cheaper. 8th District Congressman Robin Hayes has introduced a bill known as the E-85 Investment Act of 2006. The bill is named after E-85 gas, an alternative fuel developed from 85% ethanol and only 15% gasoline. It’s cheaper to produce than regular gas and is also safer for the environment. In the bill, any company who makes E-85 available would receive a 75% tax credit up to $30,000.

DMV Office In Marion Shut Down
North Carolina has one less DMV office today, after state officials shut down the license tag office in Marion. SBI agents have also been brought in to investigate a case of embezzlement at the office, to the tune of $134,000. A Department of Transportation spokesman said that it’s believed the money was stolen over the last three years, beginning in November of 2003 and the office manager was not involved.

Sports Headlines

High School Scoreboard
Around the high school scene, conference tournaments are in full swing. Wilkes Central lost a heartbreaker in the Mountain Valley Conference semifinals, being beat by North Surry 14-7. The news was better however for the West Wilkes Blackhawks, as they pulled off the 3-2 victory over Bishop McGuiness. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Corey Taylor hit a bases clearing double to win the game for the Blackhawks. If the weather cooperates, they'll play in the conference championship at 7pm.

Tarheel Baseball Team Sets A Record
Switching gears to talk college baseball, a record was set this week by the UNC Tarheels. The Heels baseball team beat Campbell on Tuesday night 6-3, recording their 40th win on the season. With the victory, the Heels become the first team in the nation to get 40 wins and also set a school record, as this marks 5 straight years the UNC team has gotten 40 wins or more.

Possible Problems For MLB Baseball
In the major leagues, a hidden clause in the labor contract could make all of these steroid allegations pointless. According to the deal, which expires after this season, if a new contract hasn’t been reached by August 1st, the players’ union has the option of terminating the drug testing policy. If that happens, next season drug testing would be done under the old rules. The news has caught the attention of the House Government Reform Committee, which sent a letter this week to baseball commissioner Bud Selig and union president Donald Fehr, saying that it raised concerns. Negotiations are continuing with the deal set to expire on December 19th.

Chris Paul Named Rookie Of The Year
A former ACC player was named Rookie of the Year by the NBA this week. On Wednesday, the league announced that Chris Paul had won almost unanimously, with all but one vote, marking the largest margin of victory in 16 years. After leaving Wake Forest for the New Orleans Hornets, Chris Paul led all rookies in scoring with 16 points a game, assists with 7.8, steals with 2.2 a game and minutes played at 36.4 a night. Deron Williams from Utah received the only other vote in the balloting.

NHL PLayoffs: Hurricanes Take Game Three
On the ice last night, the Carolina Hurricanes won Game Three of the Eastern Conference semifinals 3-2 over the New Jersey Devils. Hurricanes forward Rod Brind'Amor scored the game winning goal, as Carolina goes up in the series 3 games to 0. Game Four is set for Friday night.