Fire Burns Local Home
Three fire departments were called out to a structure fire Thursday night in Traphill. The blaze happened at 3125 Traphill Road with Mountain View, Traphill and Mulberry departments all responding to the blaze. Wilkes Fire Marshal Nikki Hamby was also called out to the scene, to help determine what caused the place to go up in flames. According to Fire Marshal Hamby, lightning during Thursday’s patch of storms struck the roof of the building and ignited the fire. Before firefighters could arrive on the scene, most of the roof and also portions of the living room had been burned to the ground.

Dr. Laws on Schools
Yearly progress reports were released this week for all public schools as part of the No Child Left Behind program. Overall the news was good for Wilkes County, with 17 out of the 21 schools in the district making adequate progress. Coming up today on the 3WC News, we'll be airing parts of Brian's conversation with County Superintendent Dr. Steve Laws, getting his reaction to the report and what is being done on a county level to correct the problems. Also they'll be discussing where we stand with the high school construction project and other achievements made during the past year.

Gas Thieves Target Neighbors
Gas thieves hit another Wilkes County business this week, targeting Neighbors’ Store. A man drove up in a silver Pontiac, pumped just over $35 in gas and then took off down the road without paying. Employees inside were able to get a description of both the driver and vehicle, which was turned over to deputies. That investigation continues.

Animals Need Help In Heat
With all the hot weather this week, it can be easy to forget that our pets have problems dealing with the heat. Cats and dogs don’t have sweat glands, so they succumb to heatstroke a lot quicker than humans. According to Animal Control, there are several heat related symptoms you need to look out for in pets. If your animal starts salivating a lot, excessively panting, experiencing dizziness or begins vomiting, he or she needs to see a vet immediately. Other signs of heat stroke are a high pulse rate and a glassy stare. During the hot weather, Animal Control says to never leave your pet in a car, even with the windows down. Also never leave your pet without food, shelter or water. Here in Wilkes the number for Animal Control is 903-7688.

Heat Relief Available For Elderly
Summertime can also mean problems for the elderly, with rising temperatures leading to sickness and possibly death. With that in mind, the Wilkes Senior Citizens Council is giving away fans this summer to any senior citizen that meets their requirements. In order to get a fan, you must be at least 60 years old, live in Wilkes and be served by Duke Power. In addition, your home situation must present a threat to your life without the fans. Applications are being taken from 8:30am til 5pm at the Wilkes Senior Citizens Council office, located at 228 Fairplains School Road. For more information you can contact them at 651-7811.

Thieves Run Off With Local Woman’s Medication
A run-in with several supposed good Samaritans turned problematic for a North Wilkesboro woman this week. Her car ran out of gas on the Winding Trails Road and soon after, a jeep pulled over and several men got out. They helped move the car to the side of the road and told the woman they could get her some gas. She gave them $5 for the gas and watched as they drove off down the road, never to return. Also she discovered that some pain medication inside the car had gone missing. A description of the men and their vehicle was turned over to deputies and the investigation is ongoing.

Money & Jewelry Taken From Ronda Home
How do you break into a house without leaving behind any evidence? That’s what a Ronda woman wants to know. She returned to her home on the Elkin Hwy Wednesday morning to find $50 in cash and a diamond ring had been taken. Nothing else was missing and there was no damage done to the property, also there was no sign of a break-in. Deputies are continuing the investigation.

3WC Celebrates Anniversary With Concert
Throughout the month of July, 3WC Radio has been celebrating its’ 12th anniversary by giving gifts to the listeners. That will continue tonight with a concert featuring the Greenes. The event will be held at Oakwoods Baptist Church in Wilkesboro free of charge, starting at 7pm. Once again that’s coming up tonight at Oakwoods Baptist Church. And also be sure to tune in August 1st to the John & Ted in the Morning Show, when three names will be randomly selected for trips to Chicago, New York and Atlanta. The names will be chosen from registration slips available at participating businesses.

Thieves Run Off With McGrady Man’s Car
A McGrady man had his car stolen earlier this week. He had gone swimming at an area on the Tumbling Shoals Road and climbed out of the water to find his keys were gone and the car was missing. Information about the car was turned over to sheriff’s deputies and there is a potential suspect in the case. That investigation is ongoing.

State News

FBI Work To Rescue High Point Missionaries
Two North Carolina missionaries being held for ransom were released last night in Haiti. The two men, Tom Barron and William Seastrum were on the way to church Sunday when they were kidnapped by a local group. The FBI worked in connection with State Department officials and people in Haiti to get the men released, as an estimated $100,000 was paid for their freedom. Barron, the pastor of the Mustard Seed church in Haiti and Seastrum are both natives of High Point. So far this month alone, 29 people have been kidnapped in the island nation.

North Carolina Law Deemed Unconstitutional
A North Carolina judge has deemed the state’s law against unmarried couples unconstitutional. Under current law, it’s illegal for an unmarried couple to live together here in the state but on Wednesday State Superior Court Judge Benjamin Alford ordered that to change. Alford said that it was unconstitutional for the state to regulate what happens between two consenting adults in their own home, citing as support a 2003 ruling by the Supreme Court which eliminated an anti sodomy law in Texas.

State Will Have Power To Screen Interpreters
North Carolina courts will soon have the power to perform background checks on interpreters, thanks to a new law. On Wednesday, state lawmakers approved a bill giving complete control of the interpreter program to the NC Administrative Office of the Courts. Currently interpreters are hired by individual judges and background checks are performed only at their request. In addition, there are no yearly evaluations performed and no mandatory screening process to go through. All that will change thanks to the new bill, which also allows court officials to discipline or fire interpreters if problems occur. Gov. Easley is expected to sign the bill into law next week.

Fort Bragg Contractors Under Investigation
Officials at Fort Bragg are investigating several local contractors, in the wake of Tuesday’s arrests at the base. 58 workers were caught trying to get on base with fake IDs and other falsified documents. Now base officials are targeting nine of the twelve companies at work on construction projects in the area. Included in the sweep of workers caught in the sting were a sex offender, a suspected gang member and three fugitives.

Gates Foundation Gives Money For Vaccine
Duke University received money from Bill Gates on Thursday, to help in finding a cure for AIDS. An estimated $46 million in grant money was given to the university, to help continue vaccine research and create a central lab to share data about the virus. The donation is part of an estimated $290 million given out to different groups, in hopes of developing a international network to find a cure.

Sports Headlines

Soccer Sign Up Tomorrow
For any kids wanting to play soccer this fall, the Tri-County League is holding registration. You can stop by the Elkin Recreation Department anytime to pick up a registration form, plus there will be two more days of open enrollment coming up later this month. The next one coming up will be tomorrow, July 22nd, as kids can walk into the Rec Department throughout the day and turn in their forms. There is a fee however. For the 10 and under groups, it’s $35 a person while for kids 11-14, it’s $45. For more information you can call 336-874-2398.

State Lands Baseball Recruit
The NC State baseball team got a shot in the arm this week with the addition of a new recruit. Crest High School star Dusty Quattlebaum announced that he was committing to the team. The 6 ft. 200 lb. third baseman hit 8 home runs this past year at Crest while batting .453. He turned down offers from North Carolina, Clemson and South Carolina to join the Wolfpack, saying that the State team just felt like family.

49ers Suffer Setback In Recruiting
In college basketball, the news wasn’t so good for the UNC Charlotte 49ers as the team may lose one of its’ incoming freshmen. The SAT score of forward An’Juan Wilderness has been red-flagged and officials are reviewing it, to make sure there was no cheating involved. Wilderness’ score went up by several hundred points over the last time he took the test, which caught the attention of SAT officials. If the review process isn’t finished within the next month, the 6’6 ft. 210 lb. freshman will have to sit out this season, as the first day of class is August 21st.

Duke Football Team Deals With Setbacks
The bad news keeps coming for the Duke football team, as one member was suspended this week and three others dismissed. Starting quarterback Zack Asack has been suspended for the season after it was discovered he had plagiarized another student’s work in the classroom. The sophomore won’t be eligible to step back on the football field until next summer, leaving the team with just two scholarship quarterbacks for the upcoming season. In addition, offensive lineman Joe Suder, safety Andreas Platt and wide receiver Deon Adams were all cut from the program for breaking team rules. School officials wouldn’t say what rules were broken.

Wake QB Transferring
The Wake Forest football team will be one man short next season after quarterback Allan Holland announced plans to transfer. The redshirt sophomore spent last season alternating between the third team and serving as a backup to starter Benjamin Mauk. He went 0-1 in his only performance last season, stepping in for a series against Duke and tossing an incomplete pass. Holland is transferring over to Eastern Kentucky and will be eligible to compete for the starter’s job.

Bobcats Sign Harrington
In the NBA, the Charlotte Bobcats added another piece to the puzzle, coming to terms with forward Othella Harrington. The 6’9 ft. Harrington has averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds during his 10 year NBA career, having spent the past two with Chicago. GM Bernie Bickerstaff told reporters that Harrington was being brought in for more depth on the bench and also to serve as a mentor to the younger forwards and centers on the team.