Wilkes Catches Break With Rabies
Another virus is on its’ way back to North Carolina, as several counties are reporting more cases of rabies than normal. In fact, things have gotten so serious in Wake County that residents are being advised to immediately seek treatment after coming into contact with any animal. But Wilkes County seems to have been spared so far, with Animal Control reporting only 7 rabies cases this year. Most people recognize that raccoons carry the virus, but what they may not know is that so do bats. In fact, bats have accounted for over 80% of the human deaths from rabies in the past eight years. Here in North Carolina there hasn’t been a human to die from the virus since 1953, but this week in Texas a 16-yr-old boy died after a rabid bat flew into his room and bit him while he was sleeping. Animal Control suggests to solve the problem, make sure that both you and your pets all have current rabies vaccinations.

Beware Of Medicare Scams
Even as we’ve passed the deadline for people to sign up for the Medicare drug benefit, that doesn’t mean con artists have disappeared. People here in North Carolina and across the nation are getting phone calls from con artists pretending to represent a private health insurance company. They say that their company has been allowed to extend the deadline, take your information over the phone and set you up for a plan. Please be warned, no legit health insurance representative would ask for your personal information over the phone. As part of the new benefit, providers are not allowed to market their plans by going door to door or through your email. The only information they can obtain over the phone is your mailing address, to which a copy of their plan can be sent. And even with the deadline passing, you can still sign up with a penalty attached. To do so or to see if the provider that called you was legit, call the toll free Medicare hotline at 1-800-633-4227. It's available to be used 24 hours a day.

Focus On Schools
As we approach the end of May, changes are going on throughout the school system, with some kids graduating and others moving up to another level. Communities in Schools is also going through some changes and coming up on tomorrow's Focus on the Foothills, Brian will be talking with Glendora Chipman about the organization. They'll be discussing both the changes and also assistance from the community that the group finds themselves in need of. That’s coming up tomorrow at 1:05pm right after the midday stock report.

Batteries Taken From Local Home
Thieves tried and failed to run off with several batteries from a McGrady man’s property on Monday. The incident happened at a residence just off of Hwy 18 in McGrady, as the owner was driving home and saw two people coming out of his storage shed and carrying batteries. When they saw the homeowner they dropped the batteries and took off into the woods. Information about both suspects was given to sheriff’s deputies and the investigation continues.

Gas Thieves Hit Uncle Kenny’s
The high price of gas was apparently too much for one man to pay. On Monday, a person in a pickup truck pulled in to Uncle Kenny’s, pumped $40 in gas and then took off down the road without paying. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

3WC Techwatch: New Credit Card Scam
A new credit card scam could have you willingly turning over information to thieves. In this new scheme, a person calls pretending to be from the fraud department of your bank. He or she will then say that they’re checking up on some unusual purchases recently made with your debit or credit card. They’ll give you their name and also an employee ID badge number. In addition, the person will already have your information on hand, in regards to mailing address and they’ll check to see if that’s correct. Then you’ll be given an explanation as to what the unusual purchase was and after you verify that you didn’t buy the item, they’ll agree to credit your account, saying that the company who charged the account is one that’s been long suspected of fraud. Here’s where the scam takes place. The caller will then inform you that he or she is starting an internal fraud investigation and advises that if you have any questions, just call the 1-800 number given on the back of your card. Then they will ask for your card’s security number, to prove you are in possession of it. The security numbers are on the back of your card. The first four are part of the card number but the last three are what’s known as the security numbers. After receiving these, the caller will ask if you have any questions and then hang up. This can be a serious problem due to the fact if the thieves are only asking for your security number, that means they somehow have already obtained your credit or debit information. Now all they need is your security numbers to go on a spending spree. If this happens to you, do not give out those security numbers. Instead hang up and call your bank or credit card company’s fraud department, to let them know what just happened, then follow their recommendations.

Recall Of Chrysler Vehicles
Bad news today for some Chrysler owners, as several thousand 2006 models are being recalled. The recall affects all 2006 models of the Jeep Commander, Jeep Liberty, Dodge Durango, Dodge Dakota and Mitsuibishi Raider. In the Jeep Commander, the bracket mounting for third row seat belts may come lose and cause the belt to give way in a crash. Also on the Liberty, certain models are having issues with the left oxygen sensor wiring harness. It’s coming into contact with the exhaust pipe and has caused the vehicle to go up in flames. Finally for those 2006 Durango, Dakota and Raider models, a problem in the wiring can lead to turn signals, headlights and windshield wipers to malfunction, something most definitely not needed during wintertime. All of these problems can be corrected, by taking it back to the dealership where you bought the car. Also a hotline remains up for anyone who wants more information first at 1-800-853-1403.

Red Cross Looking For Fundraising Help
We’ve talked a lot here on the news about the need for blood in Wilkes County. But thanks to last year’s hurricanes and the cost of relocating survivors, the local Red Cross needs help of a different kind as well. The local chapter continues to sell cookbooks, to help raise the money it needs to cover costs of daily operations. The cost of a cookbook is $10 and it contains recipes from chapter members along with their family and friends. For more information or to purchase one, you can call the Red Cross at 838-4563.

Regional News

Alleghany County Joins Zoning Group
Alleghany County is no longer out of the ordinary, when it comes to zoning practices. The county’s commissioners approved a plan on Monday to regulate any new businesses that come into the area, by adopting a zoning ordinance. All single family homes and farming property would be exempt from the plan, in addition to any business already in the county.

Raise Coming For Caldwell Teachers
Some teachers in Caldwell County will be getting a raise next year, if a current plan goes through. The Caldwell County School System has put forth a proposal which would give all teachers at Valmead Elementary, Whitnel Elementary and West Lenoir School of Technology a 2% salary supplement. All three of the schools fall under the federal government’s definition of high poverty areas, as over 90% of the students are eligible for free or reduced school lunches. Some teachers at the schools even help families pay for food and new clothes for the kids. The goal, school officials said, was to use the bonus money to help recruit the best and brightest to those areas which need them most.

State News

NC FBI Has New Leader
North Carolina’s FBI Division has a new boss, as Nathan Gray was appointed to the post this week. Gray, a former patrol officer in Kansas City, was named to the position on Monday by FBI Director Robert Mueller. Gray takes over as Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Charlotte office, which has jurisdiction over all of North Carolina. In his 16 years as an FBI agent, Gray worked as part of the Organized Crime Section and also served as part of a taskforce investigating drug trafficking in Asia.

Cannon To Be Displayed For An Hour
For a moment later today, people in North Carolina will be able to see a piece of the past. Archaeologists are set to raise a cannon up from a ship off the coast of North Carolina that many believe to be the Queen Anne’s Revenge, captained by the legendary pirate Blackbeard. From noon til 1pm, the cannon will be on display at Fort Macon State Park, before being wrapped up and sent away to QAR Conservation Lab in Greenville. There the cannon will be preserved through a three year cleaning and protection process.

A New Hospital Set To Open Up In Kernersville
It’s been called the Fastest Growing City Without A Hospital. Now Kernersville will be loosing that title, as plans are in the works to build a treatment center there. A 50 bed hospital is set to be built as an extension of the Forsyth Medical Center system. All that’s needed now is for the state to approve the plan, which was given to North Carolina leaders on Monday. If construction begins soon, the hospital should be taking patients by the summer of 2009.

Sports Headlines

High School Scoreboard
Taking a look around the high school scene, the state playoffs have started in baseball and two Wilkes County teams were in on the action. Wilkes Central fell to East Rutherford 6-4 in first round action. With the loss, the Eagles end their season at 10-16. West Wilkes meanwhile advanced to the second round, beating Albemarle 6-3 in front of an energized crowd in Blackhawk County. Josh Zumbrook hit his 7th home run of the year as West moves on to face the winner of the game between North Moore and Chatham Central. That second round game will be held at West Friday night starting around 7pm.

Rule Change Coming For NCAA
A change could be coming in the rules for college basketball. If approved, the rule change would make it illegal for a player to call timeout when falling out of bounds. Players can still call timeouts if they’re on the ground, but just not when sailing in the area. There’s still one last hurdle to climb, as the change has to be approved later this month by the NCAA Rules Oversight Panel.

Lowe Adds Another Piece To State Puzzle
New NC State head coach Sidney Lowe has added another piece to his coaching staff, bringing in former Coastal Carolina coach Pete Strickland as an assistant. Strickland joins a staff that includes Monte Towe, Larry Harris and new director of basketball operations Quentin Jackson. Under Lowe’s management, all three assistants will have an equal share in the duties, game planning, scouting, recruiting and working with players in practice.

Elon Suiting Up To Play A Loaded Schedule
In college football, Elon University is looking to step up the level of competition they face. The school released its’ nonconference schedule for both 2007 and 2008 this week, with several big name teams on the list. The first game of 2007 will see the Elon Phoenix at Wake Forest, taking on the Demon Deacons. Also in 2007 Elon will take on Liberty and Stoney Brook. Then in 2008 the Phoenix will play William & Mary and Richmond, before facing Liberty and Stoney Brook again.

Johnson Signs Extension
Around the NASCAR circuit, Jimmie Johnson has found a home for at least the next four years. Johnson signed an extension this week that will keep him with Hendrick Motorsports through 2010. The 30 –yr-old Johnson has won more races than anyone else on the circuit over the last four years, while driving the #48 Chevy.