Dooley Play Begins Tonight
Tonight will kick off the 2006 season of “Tom Dooley”, presented by the Wilkes County Playmakers. For the first time in its’ history, the play will be held outside at the new Fort Hamby Outdoor Amphitheatre and appearing tonight will be the Kingston Trio, performing their hit song “Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley”. The musical performance will begin at 7pm with the play to follow after. The performance is already sold out for tonight, but the play runs through June 30th at Fort Hamby, before switching back to Benton Hall on July 20th. Tickets are $15 a person and can be bought by calling the Wilkes Playmakers at 336-838-7529 or online at www.wilkesplaymakers.com

White Powder Found On Mailboxes
Deputies were called out to several homes in Moravian Falls Wednesday afternoon, after a white powder was found inside the mailboxes. A mailman found the first batch of powder, which covered the outside of a box on Hwy 18 South. Just down the road on Hwy 18, a local woman found the same type of white powder stuffed inside her mailbox. The powder tested negative for cocaine and didn’t appear to have any harmful effects. No one in the area could recall hearing or seeing anyone near the boxes either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. The powder has been sent off for testing and that investigation continues.

3WC Techwatch: Keeping Track Of Kids
It’ll be a little easier to keep track of your kids, as we explain in today’s 3WC Techwatch. A new system launched by Sprint will make it easier to keep track of kids by using their cell phones. The system is called the Sprint Family Locator and was officially launched last week. In the system, a GPS device embedded in the cell phone transmits a unique signal, giving the owner’s exact location. That information is then relayed to the parents, providing an interactive map and street address. The service was created in response to the recent string of child kidnappings and disappearances across the United States. One thing however some parents may not like. Every time information is requested, the cell phone’s owner is notified with a text message.

Summer Blast At Food Lion
For anyone trying to find a way to keep cool, there’s an event going on tomorrow at Food Lion. The Moravian Falls Food Lion store is holding a “Summer Blast” celebration, complete with food, music and games. The entertainment gets started at 10am and will stretch on til 2pm that afternoon with a dunking booth, face painting, a fishing game, a hula hoop contest and at 11am you can sign up to throw a pie at your manager. The event is put on as a fundraiser, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Miracle Network.

Traffic Stop Leads To Drug Bust
A routine traffic stop led to a drug bust for sheriff’s deputies earlier this week. Tuesday afternoon just before 1pm, deputies pulled over a man for speeding at the intersection of Bethany Ford and Rock Creek Road. The driver told deputies that he didn’t have his license with him and after a record check it was found to have been revoked. After getting permission to search, deputies found two tablets of the painkiller Hydrocodone hidden inside a cigarette pack. 20-yr-old Michael Cale Groce was arrested and charged with drug possession, driving with a revoked license and exceeding the speed limit.

Problems Found With Nissan Altima
Bad news for anyone who owns a 2006 version of the Nissan Altima, as a problem has been discovered. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the discovery this week, which affects an estimated 85,000 vehicles. The problem comes from an issue with the engine’s piston rings. After a certain amount of time they can start to malfunction, causing the engine to eat up oil at a faster rate than normal. In such cases, the car’s oil has to be kept at least at the minimum level or an engine fire can ignite. Nissan hasn’t yet announced how they plan to fix the problem, as officials are asking owners to check their oil levels every day. For more information you can call Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

Tires Taken From Local Home
A local man got a surprise when he returned home earlier this week as thieves had been by. The man came home to his residence on the Greenhorn Road to find someone had run off with several truck tires that had been sitting in his yard. There was no damage done to the house itself and nothing else was missing from the property. That investigation continues.

Regional News

Easley Grants Money To Dobson
Economic development in the town of Dobson got a shot in the arm on Thursday. Gov. Easley announced that Dobson has been given a $200,000 grant by the state, to help pay for expansion of their water and sewer infrastructure. Under the current plan, water and sewer service would expand past Zephyr Road to the point where it intersects with Exit 93 of I-77. Once the project is finished, local leaders predict that up to 500 new jobs could be created as new businesses move in. The money comes from the Appalachian Regional Commission, a partnership between federal and state governments that’s designed to help enhance economic development.

State News

House & Senate Move Closer To Budget Approval
North Carolina came one step closer to having a budget this week, as the House & Senate continue to work out their differences. One key component of the House plan is providing money to help take over the total cost of Medicaid. To do that, they set out $53 million from the current budget to help counties pay their share of the Medicaid cost. The Senate, which earlier had opposed setting aside money in this year’s budget, agreed to a compromise on Wednesday, agreeing to put $20 million in to help cover the cost. Discussions are still continuing on how to handle a minimum wage increase and salary hikes for school teachers.

NC Outlaws Campaign Cash Trade
A longtime practice of politicians here in North Carolina may soon be illegal. The State House tentatively approved a bill during their session on Wednesday which would make it against the law for campaign donations to be used as personal funds. Under the plan, a candidate or group would only be allowed to spend campaign cash in seven specific areas including paying for campaign costs, contributions to other campaigns and as a donation to charity.

Convicted Killer Found In North Carolina
A convicted killer who was deported to Mexico has been found in a tiny North Carolina town. Juan Herrara Gonzalez had previously been deported to Mexico, after serving time in a California prison for manslaughter. During a recent search by INS agents in Madison North Carolina, Gonzalez was found to be once again inside U.S. borders. He was working at the Pine Hall Brick Company, having forged his passport and other documents. Agents arrested Gonzalez, charging him with entering the country illegally after having been deported. The charges carry a penalty of up to nine years in jail, after which he’ll be turned over to Mexican authorities.

New Commander At Fort Bragg
There’s a changing of the guard coming at Fort Bragg. Major General Thomas Csrnko is taking over command of the U.S. Army Special Forces, stationed at the base. Csrnko was the commander of the U.S. Special Operations in Europe before being reassigned to this post. He takes over for Brigadier General John F. Mulholland, who was given the job back in April.

Eagle Scout Badge Given Out A Half Century Later
More than half a century after he first got involved with the Eagle Scouts, a World War II vet finally received his badge this week. 79-yr-old Salisbury resident Harry McCora had earned the badge back in 1945, but shipped out to serve with the Navy before he could receive it. McCora said he recently applied to get the Eagle Scout badge to show his grandkids that people can do more than just play video games. After receiving his information, including a detailed account about the other merit badges he had earned, McCora was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.

Jobs Coming To High Point
Some good news for the High Point area today, as more jobs are coming in. Legacy Classic Furniture announced plans this week to build a distribution center in High Point and will also move some of the company’s corporate offices there as well. The move brings 120 new jobs to the area with additional people expected to be hired once the center gets up and running. High Point’s City Council helped get things rolling with a $305,000 incentives package.

Sports Headlines

Wilkes Players In State Games
There’s still some baseball to be played for several Wilkes County athletes. As we mentioned on yesterday’s Sportsdesk, the State Games have started here in North Carolina, giving upperclassmen a chance at getting recognized by both college and professional scouts. However there are also games being played by the underclassmen from this year’s baseball teams. Players are selected from one of eight regions across North Carolina, with each of those regions acting as a team. Wilkes County falls into Region 7, which also includes players from Alleghany, Alexander, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Davie, Iredell, Surry, Watauga and Yadkin. Representing Wilkes County will be Justin Spears from West Wilkes and Wilkes Central’s Josh White. In addition, Wilkes Central coach Terry Johnson was named as one of the team’s assistants.

ECU Quarterback Joins Coaching Staff
Switching to talk college football, a former member of the East Carolina team is moving up to join the coaching staff. Paul Troth played at the university from 2001 to 2003, recording the 9th best single season passing record in school history. During the 2002 season, Troth tossed for 2315 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’ll join Coach Skip Holtz’s staff as an offensive assistant, replacing Kevin Turco, who was named the new defensive line coach at Newberry this spring.

State Losing Recruits
There’s some bad news today for the NC State basketball team, as more recruits are leaving. Athletic director Lee Fowler announced this week that two high school players which had committed to the school have asked for and received their unconditional release. High school guard Larry Davis and forward Dan Werner both were released from their commitment to State this week and have already made other plans. Davis is now set to join Seton Hall and Werner will head south to join the University of Florida squad. Both players cited the loss of coach Herb Sendek as a major part of their decision.

Players Refuse To Tryout For Bobcats
You can mark off three names from the list of players being considered for the Charlotte Bobcats’ #3 pick in next week’s draft. Texas center Lamarcus Aldridge, LSU forward Tyrus Thomas and Washington guard Brandon Roy all backed out of their scheduled workouts with the team on Thursday. The agents for Roy and Thomas said their clients were injured, but no attempts were made to even come in and meet with Bobcats officials.

Marlin Gets New Crew Chief
There’s a been a change behind the scenes for driver Sterling Marlin and the No. 14 Chevy. Doug Randolph was removed from his position as crew chief, to be reassigned to another section of MB2 Motorsports. In his place, Scott Eggleston will take over for this Sunday’s Dodge/Save Mart 350. The switch came after Marlin fell to 34th in points after 15 races and team officials decided a change was needed.