Two Large Kerosene Heaters Stolen

Sheriff deputies say they have no suspects so far in the theft of a kerosene heater last week from a house under construction in Wilkes. The site is on Lexi Drive in MIller's Creek. Thomas Jarvis reported the crime Thursday morning, saying when work had ended for the day Wednesday, his laborers had put away the tools and secured them for the night, but due to the size of the kerosene heaters, they were left at the site. The construction isn't far enough along that the building can be fully secured. Two white, 55-thousand BTU Reddy heaters were taken. By the time of the report Thursday, one had already been replaced so work could continue. Although deputies interviewed all of Jarvis' hired help, Jarvis did not believe any of the laborers was responsible, and the investigation bore out that belief. The case remains open.

German Shepherd Stolen, MIxed-Breed Shot

A Wilkes dog owner says someone shot one of his dogs and took the other. Sheriff deputies were called to Victor Verela's home in Ronda last week after Verela came home and could not get one of his dogs to respond. His wife says both dogs were outside shortly before she came home, and she had been playing with them both until that time. But she went inside, and when Verela came home, only his mixed-breed dog would come to him -- the German Shepherd was nowhere to be found. Later that evening, he bathed the mixed-breed dog, and found a bloody mass in its hair, and evidence that it had been shot with a pellet gun. The dog was taken to the vet the next morning and is apparently okay, according to Verela. The female German Shepherd has not been seen since. Deputies are investigating the case, and if a suspect is identified, they would potentially face a theft charge and a charge of cruelty to an animal.

Dr. Alford to Enter Consent Agreement with NCMB on Friday

The oft-delayed disciplinary hearing for a local doctor accused of writing prescriptions to close family members and writing himself a prescription for a controlled substance has now progressed to a resolution. Doctor Glen Alford of Wilkesboro is charged with writing prescriptions for close family members several times, including prescriptions for a number of pain killers that are controlled substances. He's also charged with giving some of the drugs to family without a prescription. He's accused of asking a drug company to provide free samples of two sleeping aids for his own use. Each of the charges is a violation of the state's rules of professional conduct, according to charging documents from the Board. His hearing on the charges has been delayed several times, and according to an agenda released Friday from the North Carolina Medical Board, he is set to enter a consent agreement during the Board's meeting on Friday. A consent agreement is a negotiated settlement between the board and a doctor that avoids a hearing on the matter.

Foxx: Politicians Need to Heed Do-Not-Call List, Too

Fifth District Representative Virginia Foxx is speaking out, in opposition to automated phone calls by candidates and those groups trying to garner voters either for or against candidates. In testimony before Congress yesterday, Foxx described what led her to join the push to allow folks to sign up for a political do-not-call list just like the one for general telemarketing:

Foxx authored the bill that would make political calls subject to the same rules as regular telemarketers.

Suprise Wakeup: Sleet and Freezing Rain

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST THIS MORNING.

FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL GRADUALLY TAPER OFF OR CHANGE TO LIGHT RAIN TOWARD SUNRISE. HOWEVER RESIDUAL ICY SPOTS WILL PERSIST ON MANY ROADS ESPECIALLY BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES ACROSS
WATAUGA...WILKES AND YADKIN COUNTIES THROUGH MID MORNING. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW...SLEET...OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

Accidents and icy roads are causing road closures. For a while this morning, 421 was closed at the foot of the mountain, but it has reopened. Highwa 16 has also been closed from Deep Ford Road north.

Dump Druck Drive-Off

Usually, when a convenience store reports a gas drive-off, it's a relatively small loss, on the order of 10, 20 or 30 dollars. But Wilkesboro Police say one recent drive-off was somewhat more brazen, not only for the amount of gas stolen, but for the way in which it was accomplished. According to the clerk at Fast Track in front of Wal-Mart, a man came into the store Wednesday morning and bought a cup of coffee. He told the clerk to go ahead and turn on the pump for his friend, who was waiting to pump gas outside. After she did, the man, who had been in the store before, went back outside, supposedly so he could get a credit card to pay for the gas. That didn't happen. he and his friend piled into the dump truck and drove off, without paying for 94-dollars in gas. The clerk says she thought the truck was being used to haul Christmas trees, but she had no business name off the side of it or a tag number. Police are still hoping to spot the truck if it's making regular trips into the area.

NC #1 Christmas Tree Producer? Well...

North Carolina now wears the country’s Christmas tree crown. Or at least that's what we were told. As we reported recent, when state agriculture commissioner Steve Troxler watched the harvesting of a presidential tree in Ashe County last month, he announced that the state was now the nation’s leader in Christmas trees. The tree was selected and shipped on Nov. 20 from Mistletoe Meadows farm, and Troxler was on hand to commemorate the occasion and celebrate the state’s tree industry.
Troxler said North Carolina has exceeded Oregon as the leading Christmas tree state in the nation, and his remarks caused some annoyance in Oregon, whose tree industry questioned the statement. Troxler came back a week later and said his ranking was based on cash receipts, not production.

Troxler drew on the figures that are part of the National Agricultural Statistics Service data, which reports North Carolina’s cash receipts for 2006 at $134 million and Oregon’s at $121 million. However, the NASS data ranks Oregon number one in Christmas tree production.
“Growers in North Carolina and Oregon recognize that the real competition is not with each other, but the plastic trees imported from other parts of the world,” Troxler said, adding that real trees offer many benefits including oxygen production and pleasing aromas. “Try as you might, you just can’t capture the scent of a freshly cut Fraser fir in a spray bottle,” Troxler said.
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Oregon sells about three times the number of trees that North Carolina. Ours just fetch more money.

Man Shot, Suspect Tells Stories

A Wilkes man was rushed to the hospital following a shooting incident last night, and is now in Baptist Medical Center following surgery to repair his wounds. Deputies say they found James Burchette sitting on his sofa about midnight last night, with a gunshot wound to the leg and a large pool of blood forming underneath him. He was conscious, and able to tell them his version of what happened -- pointing to 42-year old Jerry Icenhour when asked who shot him. That statement launched Icenhour into the first of what would turn out to be nearly half a dozen different stories about how Burchette had either shot himself, or his girlfriend had shot him and left, or ... well, just about anything but admitting he had pulled the trigger.

He became belligerent, at one time trying to kick out the side window of a squad car, and fought with deputies as they tried to subdue and handcuff him. A two-second stun earned deputies a couple of minutes reprieve, but Icenhour started resisting again, earning another stun when other measures didn't get him to cooperate. He is now jailed on a 25-thousand dollar bond, charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Two Arrested - One on Warrants, One for Disobeying Deputy

Deputies who were at a local apartment building to serve a warrant on one person ended up arresting another person on outstanding warrants. They had gone to the apartments on H Street to see if the person they wanted was in the vicinity, but instead heard a disturbance inside the house. When a deputy knocked on the door, at first he was not let in, and heard someone yell belligerently through the door that they didn't have to open it for the police. The deputy was able to gain entry, though, and when he ran a warrant check on everyone inside he hit upon an outstanding warrant for one of the occupants, Maria Grimes. However, the person who had apparently yelled through the door continued to be abusive verbally toward the deputies, in spite of multiple warnings to quiet down and stop getting up as if she were going to accost them. After the third refusal, 25-year old Tammy Lee Cooper was arrested on a charge of obstructing the service of the warrant on Grimes.

Purse, Wallet Stolen from Unlocked Car

Leaving the car door unlocked is one of the most frequent mistakes made by people who subsequently have items stolen, according to police reports from across the nation. A Wilkes woman learned that the hard way this week, when her wallet and all her ID was taken from her unlocked car. Jessica Wagoner says she parked her car outside her Hays home about 3:30am Tuesday, and when she went back outside about 7, she found her purse had been stolen, along with a wallet containing 20-dollars and all her ID, plus some prescription and over-the-counter medicines. She waited another four hours to report the crime, and tells deputies she has no idea who might have opened the car and taken the purse. The case remains under investigation.