Coming to Wilkesboro in One Week

Today we are exactly one week away from one of the biggest events in Southern Gospel each year and the biggest annual fundraiser for the Ebenezer Christian Children’s Home.  The work began this past Friday and continued on Saturday until the Big Tent for Singing in the Foothills was standing long and tall.  The annual Southern Gospel Singing to benefit The Home is held at Wilkesboro Raceway Park off Hwy 421 in Wilkesboro.  This year’s 3-day concert begins on Thursday, June 21 with Jason Crabb, Triumphant, The Cookes, Sisters, and Pfeifers.  On Friday, June 22, everyone is invited back the second night for The Diplomats, Perrys, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Skyline Boys, and Michael Combs.  And the benefit concert concludes on Saturday, June 23, with The Martins, Karen Peck & New River, The Primitives, Nelons, Talleys, and Kingsmen.  Ebenezer Board Member John Wishon says, the only thing left to do is buy a ticket.  For tickets or information go online singinginthefoothills.org or call 336-838-5683.

NC Senator Goes to Middle East

Earlier this month a North Carolina Senator traveled to the Middle East region.  As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Richard Burr traveled to Israel and Egypt where he visited with foreign officials to discuss regional security and stability.  Burr and other Senators, all members of the Intelligence Committee, traveled to Israel, Egypt, and Djibouti.  In Israel, the delegation met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials including Defense Minister Barak and National Security Advisor Admidror.  These meetings provided the opportunity to restate America’s strong support for Israel in light of the Iranian threat.  

Coming to NC

In September, North Carolina will be the target of every political energy and synergy. One of the focuses of the Democratic National Convention, held in Charlotte September 3 through 7, will be the American Dream of Homeownership. That focus will continue at the American Mortgage Conference (AMC), sponsored by the North Carolina Bankers Association (NCBA), September 10-12 in Raleigh, NC.  President Obama and Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney have both been invited to speak at this year’s AMC and there are high expectations that they might accept.  The American Mortgage Conference will bring together leading experts in the financial services industry; mortgage practitioners of every kind; policy makers and investors to discuss these important issues and to analyze what progress is being made in Washington.  More than 250 delegates attended the first AMC in 2011. They represented 18 different states.  It is expected that an even larger number of attendees from all across the country will be coming in September to North Carolina.  

Slumped and with Drugs

When he was seen slumped over in the car at a gas station, someone called for help.  Wilkes County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived and found Russell Hawkins, age 39, in his car and impaired.  His car was parked at Uncle Kenny’s on Yellow Banks Road in Hays.  Upon further inspection of Hawkins’ vehicle, Deputies found illegal drugs.  Hawkins was then arrested on one count of possession of Schedule IV drugs and taken into custody.  In another drug related incident, a prison inmate was charged with drug possession.  According to a report filed with the Wilkes Sheriff’s Department, Jennifer Barlow had been arrested on other charges and taken to the Wilkes County Jail.  Earlier Wilkes Sheriff’s Deputies had been sent to a Congo Road residence regarding a disturbance.  When they were called out the second time, Barlow and another person were arrested and charged with breach of peace.  While Barlow was being processed, Jailers found that she had concealed drugs in a body cavity.  Additional charges were then filed against Barlow for drug possession by an inmate.

Drunk and Helping to Steal

Wilkesboro Police were called recently to Four Brothers in Westwood Hills regarding an intoxicated person in the parking lot of the store.  When Police arrived they saw a teenage female and a man standing beside an SUV.  Police questioned the two about what they were doing.  The man said he had come to drive the teenage girl home because she had been drinking.  Police asked for and received a consent to do an alco-sensor test on the girl.  She blew a .12.  Police also noticed several snack foods in the vehicle.  The store clerk was asked to review surveillance video from the store.  The video showed the teenage girl distracting the clerk while another man stole the snacks.  The other man had already left the scene before police arrived.  The underage teen was arrested and charged with aiding and abetting larceny, possession of stolen property, and underage drinking.  A warrant for arrest for also secured for her shoplifting accomplice that had left the scene. 

In Jail and Fighting

First he tried to start a fight in town and then he started a fight in jail not once but twice. Wilkesboro Police were called out to Cub Creek Apartments regarding a disturbance.  When Police arrived they saw a white male staggering through the parking lot and yelling derogatory remarks and racial slurs.  A crowd started to gather and Police took the man, identified as James Wyatt, into custody and removed him from the scene.  When Police escorted Wyatt into the Intake Center, he saw another man, Larry Chambers who was arrested in another incident.  Wyatt then attacked Chambers and head butted him before Police could separate them.  Chambers was taken to the Wilkes County Jail.  Officers secured warrants on Wyatt for being intoxicated and disruptive and for assault.  Wyatt was given a 2000 dollar bond and then he was taken to the Jail.  Officers tried to warn Jailers about the two men, but they put both Wyatt and Chambers in the same holding cell.  Immediately, Wyatt attacked Chambers again and Jail staff had to wrestle Wyatt to the ground.  Additional charges could be pending.

Going Shopping and Then Going to Court

A shopping trip or rather a shoplifting trip to Walmart resulted in an invitation to the Courthouse for a Wilkesboro woman.  Wilkesboro Police were called to Walmart this week concerning a shoplifter.  Store employees observed the woman take several items and conceal them in her pocketbook and diaper bag.  In fact, the woman took nearly 100 dollars in merchandise from the shelves and attempted to leave the store without paying.  When Wilkesboro Police arrived, they recovered all the stolen property and cited the woman for misdemeanor larceny.  She was released but given a court date of July 27^th.

CPOWER Meeting in Wilkes

 “Going to a TEA PARTY!!”  The next meeting of CPOWER or Conservative Patriots Of Wilkes Empowering the Republic is tomorrow 7pm at the Brushy Mountain Smokehouse & Creamery.  Those invited include anyone who is conservative at heart and loves the idea of a robust and prosperous America.  Of particular interest at this meeting will be a short description of “The Vision For CPOWER, Where they are going and Why they are here” by one of the founders of CPOWER.  Also, they will be showing major portions of the movie, “IndoctriNation”.   “IndoctriNation” is a feature length documentary film that takes the audience on a panoramic exploration of one of the most important and controversial issues in the history of mankind, the issue of education.  Attendees are asked to come early if you would like to enjoy dinner before the meeting.

Presidents and NC

From George Washington to Barack Obama, U.S. presidents have slept, studied and taken their first steps in North Carolina. They vacationed here, played golf and visited must-see attractions. Depending on whom you believe, as many as four native sons have held the nation’s highest office.  As the state awaits the September 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, political junkies of all persuasions can explore presidents’ pasts across North Carolina.  A memorial at the State Capitol in Raleigh honors James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson as “Three Presidents North Carolina Gave the Nation.” However, it seems history leaves room for dispute.  Did you know a community in the Blue Ridge foothills presents a case for Lincoln’s birth in North Carolina instead of Kentucky?  The Bostic Lincoln Center, about an hour’s drive from Charlotte, preserves the lore that holds with Nancy Hanks giving birth to the 16th president in a log cabin on Puzzle Creek.  Business and pleasure alike have brought presidents to the Old North State.  First and foremost was George Washington, who toured Southern battlefields in 1791.  In New Bern, Washington stayed at John Wright Stanly’s house and dined at Tryon Palace, the young state’s first capitol.  For more information, go to www.visitnc.com .

Scrap Metal: Collecting vs. Stealing

Yes, many people collect scrap metal to sell, but there are a couple of rules you need to know before collecting scrap metal.  One:  if it is being used, then it isn’t scrap…and two:  if the metal doesn’t belong to you and the owner has not given you permission to take it, then it’s stealing rather than collecting.  Case in point, Wilkesboro Police were called by a local business owner regarding a theft.  The owner of Wash World reported that the two metal lids from the trash cans at the back of the car wash had been stolen.  Video surveillance at Wash World showed a white male take the two lids while he was vacuuming out his truck.  North Wilkesboro Police also had a report of two stolen metal trash can lids from Ride with Pride Carwash.  It is unknown if the thefts were done by the same suspect.  Police have a copy of the video surveillance from Wash World and charges are pending further investigation.   Stolen property is valued at 400 dollars.