Heat Affecting Wilkes County Food
The hot weather is hitting Wilkes County where it hurts, both in the wallet and out in the field. The U.S. Labor Department announced this week that the national producer price index climbed 0.5% in June, thanks in part to the rising price of food. That’s slightly higher than the climb of 0.3% , that national economists had predicted. Wholesale food prices rose 1.4% last month, something that economists partially attribute to hot weather damaging the crops. According to Wilkes Cooperative Extension agent Matt Millen, the products most affected here in the county have been corn and soybeans. But he cautions that anytime the temperature climbs above 95 degrees, it becomes harder to sustain crops for long periods. Millen advises to be sure that all plants have adequate water and also keep checking on livestock, to guarantee they don’t get dehydrated.

Heat Illnesses To Look Out For
As temperatures stay in the mid 90s, heat related illnesses can become a serious problem. The first sign of any illness is usually heat cramps. When you start sweating, the body’s salt and moisture are expelled. If too much of this happens without that moisture being replenished, cramps start to occur in the arms, legs or abdomen. This can be easily remidied by drinking two to four glasses of water for every hour you’re outdoors. A more serious illness is heat exhaustion. That occurs after you’ve been exposed to high temperatures for several days without enough water. The warning signs for this illness are heavy sweating, muscle cramps, slight dizziness and you could possibly develop a headache. The best thing to do is immediately go inside to somewhere cool. Also be sure to drink plenty of water, to put the moisture back in your body. The final and most serious case of heat related illness is heat stroke. That happens when your body’s temperature suddenly rises and it’s unable to cool down, due in part to dehydration. If you’re suffering from heat stroke, your body’s temperature can reach 106 degrees within a period of 15 minutes. Warning signs for heat stroke are a throbbing headache, dizziness, confusion, nausea, and red hot skin with no sweating. If you are suffering from heat stroke, the Health Department advises that you should seek immidiate help from your doctor or the nearest hospital.

Focus On The Internet
All the time we hear horror stories about kids talking with strangers on the internet and then being abducted. But how much of a problem are internet predators? Security expert Vicki Courtney will be Brian’s guest this week for Focus on the Foothills, as they discuss ways that parents and grandparents can keep kids safe while on the net. They’ll be talking about terms parents should know, sites they should be aware of and also some tips to keep the predators at bay. That’s coming up tomorrow at 1:05pm right after the midday stock report.

Amendment Fails Despite Foxx Vote
Yesterday afternoon the U.S. House pushed aside a gay marriage amendment, falling short of the votes necessary to pass it on to the Senate. The vote was 236 for and 187 against, just 47 short of the needed two thirds majority. One encouraging sign for conservatives however was that the 236 votes were 9 more than the previous total. 5th District Representative Virginia Foxx, one of the bill’s original cosponsors, said that she was saddened by the bill’s defeat and told reporters why the Marriage Protection Amendment was necessary. The congresswoman said in a press release that "constitutionally defining marriage has become necessary due to the recent rulings of activist judges and the erosion of family values”. The bill isn’t expected to come up again before the November elections.

For A Few Quarters More
Deputies were called out to a Ronda home on Monday, after thieves broke in. The owner had returned to the home on Old Hwy 60 early Monday morning, to find the back door open to the house. Inside, there was evidence left behind from where someone had been sleeping in his bed and using his bathroom sink. In addition, $5 in quarters had been stolen from the bedroom. That investigation continues.

3WC Healthwatch: A Stalk A Day Keeps The Cancer Away
This next bit of news is for everyone out there who doesn’t like eating vegetables. You might want to reconsider. In today’s 3WC Healthwatch, scientists from the Institute of Food Technologists have found that eating broccoli could help prevent bladder cancer or possibly slow its’ spread if you’ve already contracted the disease. Doctors told the Reuters news service that compounds in broccoli called isothiocynates aggressively go after cancer cells in the bladder, dramatically slowing their spread. While this is by no means a miracle cure, it can help patients slow the spread of their disease in some cases and for others who are cancer free, broccoli sprouts can help you stay that way. One thing to consider however is that this research is still in the early stages and it’s not yet clear how much broccoli you’d need to eat before seeing results.

Toyota Issues Another Recall
There’s more bad news today for Toyota owners, as the company has ordered another recall. An estimated 420,000 vehicles across the globe are part of this latest callback, which includes the 2001 model of the Echo, Prius and Yaris. In some of these vehicles, a faulty engine part could lead to an oil leak, causing the machine to lock up. According to Toyota, there haven’t been any reported accidents and drivers can return the vehicles to the dealer they bought it from for a full repair.

Regional News

Crews Continue Search For Caldwell Boy
The search continued last night for a missing Caldwell County boy. The 17-yr-old hasn’t been seen since Monday night, when a neighbor watched him walk down Alfred Hartley Road. On Tuesday morning, a missing persons report was filed by the boy’s family and rescue crews were out late into the night. Their search included a five mile section in the Little River Community and as of last night, hadn’t uncovered any sign of the boy.

Jonesville Manager Could Take Yadkinville Position
Officials in Yadkinville are one step closer to selecting an interim town manager today. A proposal was put forth to Yadkin County commissioners this week to hire Ron Niland as interim manager. Under the plan Niland would put in four hours each day, five days a week in exchange for a $1000 weekly salary. Niland’s company, All American Associates, already helps the county with grant writing and managing certain projects. Commissioners are searching for a replacement for Cecil Wood, who resigned on July 3rd. No decision has been made on the position and commissioners are set to interview two more candidates later this week.

State News

Tropical System Grows In Strength
The second official storm of the hurricane season has formed off the coast of North Carolina. Tropical Storm Beryl hit sustained winds of 40 mph by Tuesday afternoon but forecasters from the National Hurricane Center say that it’s not expected to develop into a full blown hurricane. Currently it’s being tracked moving north at a rate of six mph but by this afternoon, officials expect it to turn and head northwest, while going inland. A tropical storm watch has been issued for the area north of Cape Lookout all the way to just south of Currituck Beach. A tropical storm watch means that a storm could hit within the next 36 hours.

Bragg Officials Net Illegal Immigrants
A joint operation between INS agents and officials from Fort Bragg led to the arrest of 58 suspected illegals. Most of the 58 were construction workers
and all had fake IDs or papers that were fraudulently obtained. The operation was part of an ongoing security effort at Fort Bragg to monitor what comes through the checkpoints. In addition, 14 vehicles were impounded for different offenses and four people were arrested on drug charges. Throughout the past year, over 150 people have been arrested at Fort Bragg for trying to gain access to the base through illegal means.

More Jobs Coming To Raleigh
Good news today for people living in the Raleigh area as more jobs are coming soon. Drug company Novartis announced plans on Tuesday to build a facility in Holly Springs. The building will serve as a vaccine manufacturing facility, helping to develop protection against the flu virus among other things. 350 new jobs will be created and $267 million will be invested into the area over the next five years, according to company sources. As a whole, North Carolina is currently ranked third in the nation in the number of biotechnology companies that have a home here.

Myrick Pushing For Charlotte Immigration Court
A campaign has been started to create a federal immigration court in Charlotte. On Tuesday, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph joined with Congressional Rep. Sue Myrick to announce the campaign. Under the new federal budget, the Justice Department has the funding set aside to create three new immigration courts, each of which would costs $383,000 a year to run. Pendergraph believes that Charlotte needs one of those three, due in part to the estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants living here in the state. Currently North Carolina’s immigration cases are tried in Atlanta.

Sports Headlines

UNC Football Team Lands New Recruits
The recruits keep coming for the UNC Tarheel football team, as two more committed to the school this week. Both Danorris Searcy and Fonterrian Ingram have joined the Heels’ list of recruits for the 2007-2008 school year. Searcy is a 6 ft. 195 lb. quarterback, runningback, linebacker and safety who was nicknamed “Baby Vick” for his skills. He runs a 40 yard dash in 4.4 seconds and is also a member of the track team. Meanwhile Fonterrian Ingram, a 6 ft. 193 lb. safety from Atlanta also committed to the team. As a junior last season, Ingram also served as a running back and starting linebacker, in addition to being a kick returner. He recorded 77 tackles, four sacks and recovered three fumbles.

Duke Adds To Coaching Staff
The staff of Duke football coach Ted Roof got a little bigger on Tuesday, with the addition of four new faces. Drew Dayton and Bill Hambrecht will join the team as graduate assistants. Also Bruce Warwick takes over the vacant job of director of player personnel and development. He and his new assistant director, Terrell Smith, will have a hand in recruiting and continuing to rebuild the program’s high school scouting.

Bobcats Hire New President
In the NBA, a former Nike executive has joined the Charlotte Bobcats. Fred Whitfield was introduced this week as the team’s new president and chief operating officer. Whitfield, a Greensboro native, helped new owner Michael Jordan when he ran the Washington Wizards, serving as director of player personnel. In addition, he’s helped run Nike’s Brand Jordan division. He’ll take over the task of trying to market a team currently ranked 22nd out of 30 teams in attendance.

Bobcats Re-sign Burleson
The Charlotte Bobcats have resigned another member of their team for next season, coming to terms with point guard Kevin Burleson. The third string guard played sparingly last season behind Raymond Felton and Brevin Knight and became a free agent this summer. But with little experience, he didn’t attract a lot of attention on the open market and agreed to come back to the Bobcats. Team officials have said that it’s possible Burleson could spend this season in the Developmental League.

NFL Sets Up Rule Changes
Things will be different in the NFL next season, as league officials have agreed to some rule changes. As of this year, all defenders will be penalized and possibly fined for hitting a quarterback below the knee. This comes after Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was knocked out of the playoffs after a defensive lineman landed on his knee during a game. Also the league has banned any touchdown celebration that includes a prop or involves the player lying on the ground. Fines and possibly suspensions could be handed out if the new rule is violated.