Cheese Sold in NC Recalled

A Tennessee company is recalling cheese sold in seven states and distributed natiowide in gift baskets that could be contaminated with dangerous bacteria. No illnesses have been reported.

Sweetwater Valley Farms Inc. said its Southern Cheddar Jack Volunteer Special Cheese was distributed in 7-, 10-, 15-ounce and 5-pound blocks sold in retail stores in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland and Alabama. The cheese from lot number 539 was distributed between Sept. 19 and Nov. 18. It was also potentially distributed across the continental U.S. in gift baskets sold on the company's Web site.

Another Tennessee-based wholesaler, Le Gourmet Connection, said it sold 10-ounce blocks of the cheese through Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, Ohio, between Aug. 28 and Nov. 19.

Sweetwater Valley Farms said the product could be contaminated with Listeria monocytongenes, a bacteria that can cause serious, sometimes fatal infections in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. Short-term symptoms in healthier people include high fever, severe headaches, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

The contamination was discovered in a routine sampling by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The company said in a news release that is investigating how the contamination happened. Customers are urged to discard the product or return it for a full refund. They can call (877) 862-4332 for more information.

Local Police Arrest Illinois Fugitive

Wilkesboro Police have arrested a man wanted in Illinois. It appears Anthony Chichorz had been living in Wilkesboro for some time, as he had a local job and an officer reports he recalls seeing the man's car parked at the Lowes Motel for some time. According to the crime report, the officer noticed as Chichorz pulled into the motel parking lot early today that the lens on one of his brake lights had been broken. He remembered seeing the car, which had an Illinois plate, several times in the past year, and when he ran the plate, he found it was expired. When the officer ran his ID, he found there was felony larceny warrant out for Chichorz, and that Chicago-area authorities wanted him held for extradition to Illinois. He was arrested without incident.

Gas and Go...and Go...and Go

Two area convenience stores have been hit by thieves recently. IN one case it was a robber, in the other it was a gas drive-off. A clerk at the Grocery Bag on Boone Trail across from the Cricket Fire Department faced down the robber last Friday. She says the man, who was white and estimated to be in his 30's, was paying for a purchase, and as the cash register drawer opened, he grabbed at the money and ran out the door. She says she chased him for a short distance down Boone Trail, but lost him. She estimated 200-dollars was stolen. The man does not match the description of the thief who did nearly the same thing at the Grocery Bag in Hays three days earlier.

The convenience store that suffered a gas drive-off was also in Hays. This happened about 9:30 Monday night at Uncle Kenny's Gas-n-Go -- a rather ironic twist of fate. The clerk says that's just what the man in the black pickup did -- gas...about 3 gallons worth, stopping the pump at 10-bucks, and go...without paying for the gas he'd just pumped. The store does have surveillance cameras, and deputies have been promised a copy of the tape from Monday night.

Two Wilkes Residents Die in Holiday Crashes

The Thanksgiving holiday will be remembered with sadness by two Wilkes families, because of fatality car wrecks. 43-year old Pamela West of Roaring River and 69-year old Jeanne Wadkins of Miller's Creek died in separate wrecks -- Wadkins on Wednesday night, West on Thanksgiving morning.

The Highway Patrol says Wadkins was the front-seat passenger in a car that was on Boomer Road just after 8pm Wednesday. In the lingo of the Highway Patrol, her car is "vehicle one:"

As of early this morning, the names of the drivers and the fourth person involved in the wreck have not been released, and their current conditions are not available. Dispatchers tell me Wadkins was wearing her seat belt when the wreck happened. A decision on what charges would be filed against the driver of the car that crossed the center line would be up to local prosecutors.

About 8:30 yesterday morning, dispatchers say Pam West was alone in her car, traveling on Ruritan Road:

She was alone in the car at the time. Troopers have not released any explanation for why she lost control.

Christmas Parade will Be Saturday, Dec. 1

The annual Christmas Parade is December 1st this year, and it has a new twist. For the first time ever, the parade is co-sponsored by both the Town of Wilkesboro and the Town of North Wilkesboro, along with the Chamber of Commerce. 3WC's John Wishon talked with The Town Managers, Ken Nolan and Hank Perkins, earlier this week. They say it's not too late to enter in the parade:

Domestic Fight Injures Woman

Deputies called to break up a domestic squabble found the fight had ended of its own accord, and only one of the people involved was still there. The fight between 28-year old Michael Harrold Junior and 36-year old Amy Michael was reported about 11:30 Monday night. Arriving deputies found only Harrold at the house, but Michael showed up a few minutes later with obvious signs of injury. She was evasive when asked by the deputies what happened, saying only "you know what happened." They arrested Harrold on an outstanding warrant, and Michael was taken to the hospital. When she was interviewed there, she told deputies Harrold had grabbed her by the arms and dragged her down the hall, then punched her in the back of the head, causing a cut to her scalp. Harrold now stands charged with assault inflicting serious injury.

Three "Rounds" from Taser Needed to Control Man

A suicidal man took three discharges from a Taser to bring under control, according to a report released yesterday by the sheriff's department. Deputies were called to Tony Blackburn's home on Greenbriar Road Monday afternoon when it was reported he had threatened to kill himself and was armed with a gun. The 42-year old Blackburn became agitated when the deputies told him they would not be able to leave without also taking him for commitment to the hospital, because he was a danger to himself. He began to threaten the deputies, and one of them says he arose as if he planned to assault them. At that point, the deputy pulled his Taser to protect the other deputy, and fired it, hitting Blackburn with the first stun pulse. That didn't affect him at all, and the deputy reports it took two more jolts of electricity to get Blackburn to comply with deputies. However he remained combative in the things he said, although he was handcuffed and no longer presented a danger to the deputies. He was committed for mental evaluation without further incident.

Taser Use in WRMC ER Prompts Medicare Threat

Local leaders say the threat of Mediare stopping payments to Wilkes Regional Medical Center over the use of ttasers by law enforcement personnel in the hospital's emergency room is likely to be hollow. A ad in the Winston-Salem Jornal this weekend prompted some surprise, according to Wilkes Regional president Ted Chapin, who said that the hospital has been following procedure in handling the situation, and he doesn’t understand why the agency published a legal notice announcing the anticipated action.
As we've previously reported on 3WC, Tasers were used in the hospital ER twice this summer:
On June 28, a Highway Patrol trooper arrested a man on a charge of driving while impaired and brought him to the emergency room. The man attacked the trooper in the emergency room, and the trooper fired the Taser to protect himself.
On September 6th, a sheriff’s deputy used a Taser on a man who had been brought into the emergency room for an involuntary psychiatric commitment. The patient had grabbed a nurse and pinned her against a wall. Sheriff Dane Mastin said that no one with Medicare has checked with his office about what happened in the incident involving the deputy. He said that the officer acted properly.

Dead Man's Property Missing

The situation surrounding the death of a Wilkes man continues to generate investigation on the part of sheriff deputies. Kelly Laws, who awoke last Friday to find her husband unresponsive in bed next to her, called deputies back to the couple's home yesterday. She said she'd left the house after things happened Friday, and returned to find several of her husband's items missing from the house. They include two wrist watches, a pair of Oakley sunglasses, and a Motorola flip phone, altogether valued at over 3-thousand dollars. She believes some of her husband's family may have come and gotten the items using a key, as there is no sign of forced entry. The official cause of death for her husband has not been determined, as deputies are waiting on lab results from an autopsy.

Nominations Sought for National Awards

Gov. Mike Easley is asking North Carolinians to nominate deserving fellow citizens for “Above & Beyond Citizen Honors,” a national award to recognize extraordinary actions by regular citizens on behalf of others. The nationwide search and selection process is being coordinated by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which is made up of the 109 living Medal of Honor recipients.

“For the first time ever, those who have won the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor, will recognize civilians who have shown they also value service over self,” Easley said. “There are many North Carolinians who have demonstrated the kind of integrity, sacrifice and courage that this award will recognize.”

To be considered for this rare civilian honor, nominees must have made a difference in the lives of others through a singular act of extraordinary courage or in a series of extraordinary acts that demonstrate a willingness to sacrifice for others. In all cases, the actions being honored must epitomize the concept of “service before self” and must be performed “above and beyond” one's professional or vocational area of responsibility or conduct. The deadline for nominations is December 16, 2007.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society will select 50 finalists from the nominees to represent their respective states at the Medal of Honor Day ceremony March 25, 2008. From these 50 Americans, the Society will announce three Above & Beyond Citizen Honors recipients.