News & Sports For June 15th

Wilkes County Faces Cancer Problem
Wilkes County is facing a cancer problem today. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths across the state and here in Wilkes, the mortality rate is actually 16% higher than the state average. What’s most concerning though is that while across the rate the mortality rate is down, here in Wilkes it’s actually climbing. One of the key factors that can lead to the disease is a diet high in fat and low in fiber, something that according to the North Carolina Institute For Public Health, is a problem here in Wilkes. Recently the Institute did a community assessment and found that “few if any (people) “ follow what would be considered an appropriate diet. Colon cancer mainly affects those 50 and older and doctors advise that you should begin testing for the disease no later than age 50, as part of a regular checkup.

Wilkes County Considered Accident Prone
Well it appears that Wilkes County is slightly accident prone. That was the report taken from AAA of the Carolinas, who has issued their annual list of the most dangerous counties across the state. Wilkes came in 31st in regards to total crashes during 2005, recording a total of 1677 accidents. Only eight of those accidents had fatalities involved, while 1040 were injured. In general across the state, the total amount of wrecks were down .3 percent, as 230,577 were recorded. However the number of fatal crashes rose 1.4 percent, to finish out at 1574. New Hanover County was ranked as the most dangerous, with Mecklenburg coming in second. On the other side of the coin, Curriuck County was ranked as the safest, with Swain in second place.

Thieves Run Off With Smokey
Thieves broke into the Forest Service Station on Rendezvous Mountain, running off with Smokey the Bear. An eight piece Smokey the Bear costume, worth an estimated $1750 was taken, despite there being no sign of a break-in and no damage done to the property. Forest Service officials believe that was because the thief was with a tour group at the station, who snuck away and stole the costume. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

One Person Hospitalized After Wilkesboro Wreck
Two cars were totaled and one person was injured after a wreck on Oakwoods Road this week. Tuesday afternoon, a North Wilkesboro woman was traveling down the road when she slowed down, to let the vehicle in front of her turn off. A Purlear man was following behind and didn’t see that the car was stopped until it was too late to avoid a crash. He slammed into the woman’s car, causing a domino effect as she plowed into another vehicle. All three cars were totaled, with estimated damage placed at $15,000. The Purlear man had to be taken to Wilkes Regional for treatment.

Focus On Schools
With school out for the summer, most groups associated with kids have shut down as well. Communities in Schools however is still up and running, as they have several programs that last throughout the year. Amy Whitley from Communities in Schools will be Brian’s guest during Focus on the Foothills this week, as they’ll be talking about some of the upcoming events. Also they’ll be discussing the need for volunteers and what kinds of help are most needed. That’s coming up today at 1:05pm right after the midday stock report.

Be Careful When Transporting Pesticides
The Agricultural Department of North Carolina has again issued a warning for all farmers regarding pesticides. In recent weeks there have been several accidents involving farmers transporting the chemicals and the department has released some tips to consider. First, make sure that the chemicals are separated from any food, seed, grain or livestock feed. Also don’t carry pesticides in the passenger seat of your vehicle. The reason is that vapors can escape from the canister and prove harmful to the driver along with anyone else in the vehicle. Finally when buying pesticides, be sure and make sure all caps, plugs or stoppers on the product are tight, to prevent gas from escaping.

Just Walked In And Went Shopping
A Ronda man fell prey to thieves earlier this week. He returned home to the residence on Austin Little Mountain Road to find someone had run off with his hunting and fishing equipment. Taken in the theft was a deer stand, a climbing stand, a tackle box and several rods & reels. All total the estimated value of the stolen items was placed at $5480. That investigation continues.

Ham Put Up For Recall
Before you sit down to that ham dinner tonight, it might be a good idea to hear this next bit of news. Thurman’s Inc. has issued a recall of its’ boneless proscuitto ham, due to a possible bacteria contamination. The Canadian company shipped its’ ham to grocery stores across North Carolina and the rest of the United States. But later tests found some packages of the meat to be infected with Staphylococcus (staph-y-lo-coc-us) bacteria, although it’s still unclear how the contamination happened. All packages of Thurman’s Boneless Prosciutto with the establishment number 507 are involved in the recall. You can find the establishment number by looking on the seal of inspection. Customers can return the meat to the store they bought it from for a full refund.

Regional News

Elkin Approves New Budget
The city of Elkin has approved a new budget, set to take effect on July 1st. The Board of Commissioners met Monday night and outlined the plan, establishing a $6.9 million budget. The tax rate will stay at 47.5 cents for every $100 of valued property, with money in the budget for a new town garage and repairs for the sidewalk among other things.

Boone Set To Host Holocaust Symposium
Appalachian State is getting set to host a symposium on the Holocaust coming up next week. The event “Remember The Holocaust” is part of the 5th annual Martin and Doris Rosen Summer Symposium at the university. The event, which runs the entire week, gives people a glimpse of life during the Holocaust, touching on Jewish life in Europe before and during World War II. Also the fundamental teachings of Judaism are explored and discussions will be held on the continuing repercussions of the Holocaust that still pop up today. The weeklong event is free to the public and will be held in the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on the Appalachian State campus.

State News

New President Elected For Southern Baptists
The Southern Baptist Convention has a new president, after what some are calling a surprising upset. Reverend Frank Page, pastor of First Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina was elected after receiving 50.5% of the vote. He defeated the frontrunner in the election, Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd, in a contest that came down to donations. Rev. Floyd’s church in Springdale Arkansas gave less than one percent of their budget to the Convention’s Cooperative Program last year, the fund which helps financially support mission work across the world. By comparison, Rev. Page’s much smaller First Baptist Church donated over 12% of their annual budget to the fund. Delegates told reporters that the Convention needed a president who “leads by example”, as one Florida pastor put it. The 53-yr-old Page said that he wants to encourage young people to get involved and help develop new leaders for today.

NC Government Planning On Higher Lottery Figure
North Carolina lawmakers aren’t going to make any corrections to the budget, despite lowered expectations from the lottery commission. That was the announcement made on Wednesday by members of both the State House and Senate. Under the current budget, $425 million generated from the lottery is set to go for education programs. However lottery commission members said on Tuesday that only an estimated $401 million would be available, a figure that lawmakers from both sides of the political isle disagree with. Money from the first three months of the lottery aren’t being counted as profit. Instead the cash is being diverted into a reserve fund to handle any unforeseen expenses. Gov. Easley’s financial advisor Dan Gerlach told reporters on Wednesday that if the lottery commission doesn’t release the $425 million as expected, the state will tap into that reserve and make up the difference.

Yadkin County Puts On Hiring Freeze
A lack of extra funds has put the Yadkin County school system in a hiring freeze. County officials learned last week that the new budget would have the same amount of money for the school system as this past year, which stood at $5.7 million. Without any extra money, the system has had to issue a hiring freeze on all positions except for teachers, of which more are needed. In order to help pay for the new teachers, the school system is terminating several other part time and full time workers such as library assistants and secretaries.

Sports Headlines

American Legion Results
In local American Legion action last night, the Post 31 Patriots lost to West Forsyth 8-6. The Wilkes County bats were on fire last night, as they matched Forsyth run for run in the first four innings. However once West Forsyth took the lead, the Patriots tried to rally but just couldn’t seal the deal. With the loss, they stay in last place in the division.

UNC Pitcher Named Player Of The Year
In college baseball, a member of the UNC Tarheels was honored with an award this week. Tarheel pitcher Andrew Miller was named the National Player of the Year by Baseball America. Miller becomes just the 6th pitcher in history to win the award and the first left handed one, as he went 13-2 this season with a 2.11 ERA. In 111 innings of work, he only surrendered one home run and was drafted as the sixth pick last week by the Detroit Tigers.

Baddour To Stay At UNC
In other Tarheel news, UNC has locked up their athletic director for at least three more years. School officials announced this week that they’ve extended the contract of Dick Baddour through the 2008-2009 athletic year. Baddour has served as Carolina’s athletic director for 9 years, during which the university has brought back a national title in men’s basketball and this year is making its’ first appearance in the College World Series since the 1980s.

Panthers Now Have Full Training Camp
The last member of the Carolina Panthers finally reported to training camp this week, after being held out by the NFL. Safety Nate Salley was Carolina’s fourth round draft pick this year but under league rules, had to sit out the first two weeks of camp. Salley’s school, Ohio State, didn’t wrap up their spring semester until this past week and until classes are finished, the NFL won’t let draft picks join their team. He’ll join the competition for a starting free safety job, along with free agent pickup Shaun Williams and Deion Grant.

Ganassi Rules Out Wheldon
In NASCAR, Chip Ganassi is hunting for a new driver to replace Casey Mears, who has announced that he’ll be leaving at the end of the season. Since that announcement, rumors have been swirling about who will step behind the wheel. However earlier this week Ganassi put at least one of the rumors to rest, saying that he wasn’t going to bring Dan Wheldon from the IRL circuit. The Indy car driver races for Ganassi’s IRL team and last year won both the points championship and the Indianapolis 500. It was believed that he’d make the jump to NASCAR, but Ganassi said he doesn’t want to mess with a good thing and plans to keep Wheldon on the IRL circuit.