Someone Drove Off With His Truck

He had just bought the truck, parked it in his driveway, and someone else drove off with it.  A Boomer resident called the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Department to report the theft of his 2004 Ford Ranger Pickup.  The victim told police that he left his residence at 9am, and when he returned about 5:30 pm, his pickup was gone.  He had just bought the truck, paid cash for it, and had not told anyone they could borrow it.  The man left the truck parked in his driveway with the keys under the floor mat.  The Ford Ranger, valued at 5000 dollars, is gray with burgundy and the tag number is ADJ-9771.  There are no suspects at this time, and the Sheriff’s Department is investigating.

Summer Home Break-In

The owner of a summer home in Wilkes called Sheriff’s Officials last week to report a break-in and theft.  The victim owns a house on Summit Ridge Road and has someone watching the house for him.  The homeowner was notified last week that a glass was broken out of the house and the hinges on the door of an outbuilding was removed.  Stolen property included a jar of change, 2 large containers of batteries, and a stereo.  Stolen items are valued over 300 dollars.  Damages to the house and outbuilding are estimated at nearly 600 dollars.  A small, dark blue pickup was seen in the area around the time of the break-in.  There is no other word on possible suspects at this time.

Unwanted Help With the Move from Thieves

It has happened more than once here in Wilkes.  Someone is moving, and ends up getting unwanted help with the move from thieves.  In this case there had to be more than one thief as the things stolen were a washer and dryer.  The victims were in the process of moving and had left the Frigidaire Washer and Dryer in their house on Shady Hill Circle in Ronda.  When they returned, the washer and dryer valued at 200 dollars each was missing.  There are possible suspects but were no witnesses to the theft.   The Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the investigation.

Attempted Break-In

At a Hwy 18 residence, someone tried to break-in but were unsuccessful.  The homeowner on Hwy 18 in McGrady called Sheriff’s Deputies last week to report the attempted break-in.  The homeowner was away from home for a few hours.  When she returned, she saw that the rear basement was partially pried open.  Access inside the house was not gained and nothing was reported stolen.  Damages are estimated at 50 dollars.  There are no leads on suspects at this time.

Iron Man Comes to NC

Iron Man is coming to North Carolina.  Gov. Bev Perdue has announced that Marvel Studios film Iron Man 3, starring Robert Downey Jr., will soon start pre-production in Wilmington. The motion picture is expected to be made in North Carolina over a 10 month period, including pre production, principal photography, and wrap, and have an estimated economic impact over $80 million while creating 550 crew jobs and over 1,000 talent opportunities.  State and local officials have been working with Marvel Studios for over six months on bringing the project to North Carolina.  “This will be the largest production to shoot in North Carolina,” said North Carolina Film Office director Aaron Syrett.  The announcement of Iron Man 3 coming to North Carolina continues to make 2011 a banner year for the state in the film industry.  As of September 10, and not including the Iron Man 3 figures, 29 productions have set up offices throughout the state and have had an estimated direct spend in excess of $200 million while creating over 3,000 crew, 500 talent and 21,000 background talent  job opportunities for North Carolinians. 

Foxx Votes for Repeal Bill

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) voted last week for legislation (H.R. 674) to repeal a federal mandate to require state, local and federal governments to withhold three percent of payments made to companies that do business with the government.  Even President Obama recently said this mandate “keeps capital out of the hands of jobs creators” and has endorsed the House bill.  Foxx said. “Repealing this job-killing regulation will help free up cash for small businesses that they can use to invest in their operations and in hiring new employees.”  The three percent withholding rule was originally intended to increase compliance with federal taxation.  However, most companies would be unfairly harmed by the new requirement aimed to curtail tax delinquency.  Additionally, government agencies questioned whether the additional tax revenue collected would be greater than the cost of complying with the new rule.  The three percent withholding repeal bill, H.R. 674, passed the House 405-16.  Foxx also said,  “I’m pleased that the House passed this bipartisan bill and urge the Senate to give it an up or down vote as soon as possible.  More than 15 bipartisan bills focused on job-creation have passed the House and are awaiting a vote in the in theSenate.  It’s past time they got to work.”

Friday Morning School Bus Bump Up

No one was reported injured in a school bus wreck this morning.  According to Trooper Allen Hall, a Mountain View Elementary School Bus was stopped at a stop sign at the Intersection of Airport Road and Rock Creek Road when it was rear-ended by a SUV.  No students were injured and no damages were made to the school bus.  The driver of the SUV, Bridgette Royal of North Wilkesboro was also uninjured; however, her GMC sustained about 1800 dollars in damages.  Royal was charged in the wreck with failure to reduce speed.  Trooper Hall says that on rainy days, drivers need to remember to increase their following distance.

NC Governor Coming to WCC

First the President and now the Governor.  North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue is scheduled to be in Wilkesboro this afternoon to tour Wilkes Community College.  Specifically the Governor will be touring the Applied Technology Center at WCC.  Governor Perdue is expected at the college this afternoon at 2:15.

Take Back Is Prescription for Safety

What’s your prescription for safety?  That is the question asked by Safe Kids of Wilkes for their Operation Medicine Drop Take Back Events this weekend.  Poisoning from prescription medication has been a growing problem in Wilkes and North Carolina for over a decade.  That is one reason you are being asked to bring all old prescription drugs both antibiotics and narcotics to either medicine drop to dispose of the properly.  Sheriff Chris Shew says bringing old prescriptions to the Take Back Medicine Drop Events protects children, protects ground water from being contaminated, and protects you as many times homes are broken into just to get prescription drugs.  And Sheriff Shew says we have been successful in past years with medicince drops.   Fire Marshall Kevin Bounds of Safe Kids of Wilkes explains we should keep drugs secure at home to protect children, and parents can use this Take Back event to get unused prescriptions out of the home and out of harm's way.   You’re invited to bring old prescriptions to the Walmart parking lot today from 1 til 6 or stop by the North Wilkesboro Police Department on Saturday from 10 til 2.

Used Stolen Debit Card to Buy Gas

Thieves have already used a stolen debit card to purchase gas following a car break-in.  In a report filed with the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Department, a couple of victims living on Shumate Mountain Road said their car was broken into this week.  Several things were stolen from the car including a wallet, 2 gift certificates, cash, cigarettes, debit card, 2 social security cards, and a food stamps card.  The victim’s bank has now been notified to close the account, but the debit card had already been used at the Shell Station in Millers Creek to purchase gas.  There is no word on suspects at this time.