Car Hauler Stolen

Law officers around the area are on the lookout for a man's car-hauling trailer, which was stolen recently. Robert Hodges says the trailer was stolen over a week ago, and he waited until last Friday to report it because friends often borrow it. This time, though, none of his friends said they had seen it. The car hauler, as he calls it, is worth about 900-dollars, is gold, red and black in color, and has a square metal box welded to the front where he says he can attach a winch to pull out stuck cars from time to time.

Death of Wilkes Man Investigated

Deputies are investigating the death of a Wilkes county man. They say 42-year old Arthur Laws' wife Kelly woke up Friday and found her husband unresponsive next to her in bed. While they list no major health conditions on the report form, deputies say Laws was taking a number of medicines, some of which were found in his wife's purse, and some of which have not been seen since the report of his death. His body was taken to Winston-Salem for autopsy. It will be several weeks before an official determination of the cause of death is made, due to the time it takes the labs to process toxicology results. Family members will hold a graveside service tomorrow afternoon, and will receive visitors tonight form 6 until 8 at Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home.

Fibrowatt Plant to Have Positive Economic, Tax Impact

A decision to be announced sometime between now and the end of the year will have a tremendous impact on taxes for either Wilkes or Surry county, but the impact will be felt in both counties no matter which one is chosen by Fibrowatt. The company is considering separate sites in Surry and Wilkes counties.
The 40 to 50-megawatt plant would create 100-full time jobs. The company estimates a $1.7 million annual payroll, breaking the average annual salary down to roughly $17,000 a year, or about $8.50 an hour.
Property tax revenue from the plant itself could bring in a million dollars a year, while the economic impact of the jobs will be felt over and over, and could be responsible for untold millions of dollars in positive economic impact. Fibrowatt said that it expects to start design work next year. The plant, could be producing electricity by 2010 or 2011.

Multiple DUI-Related Wrecks and Traffic Stops Over the Weekend

Wilkesboro Police were busy over the weekend with drunken-driving related crashes and stops. The first incident, a wreck, happened Friday night about 8 pm at the Highway 421 and 18 intersection. Police say 18-year old Bryan Carlton of Lancaster, South Carolina, rear-ended a car driven by David Eisenhauer of Cary, who was stopped waiting on the traffic light. Police say Carlton did not slow down, and ticketed him for that. He was also arrested for two counts related to DUI -- one for having any alcohol at all in his system, because he's under 21, and the other for driving with a blood alcohol over .08.

Early Saturday morning, an officer was on Curtis Bridge Road near Lowes Motel and had another vehicle speed by him going the other direction, about 60 in the 45 mile an hour zone according to the officer. The officer spun around and pulled in behind the Grand Am at the traffic light for Highway 421. The officer got the driver pulled over, but not without a bit of concern because it seemed the man was forgetting to put the car in park. Once he was fully stopped, the officer asked the man for ID -- he said he had none -- and a driver's license -- he didn't have one of those, either. He identified himself as Jimmie Christmas of North Wilkesboro. He said the car was his -- but when the officer ran the tag and Vehicle ID number, they came back to a woman in Statesville. According to the officer, Christmas was obviously drunk. He was staggering around before he was handcuffed, and later at the jail he fell asleep several times while waiting for the breath test. An ID on him matched the name he gave police, but they had to run it as a Driver's License to get the number to match. Then they found out his license had been revoked for -- you guessed it -- DUI. On the roadside, Christmas tested with a blood alcohol of .15, nearly double the legal limit. He refused the test at the jail, and is being held on driving on a revoked license, driving while impaired, and speeding.

A third man tried to give officers a Honduran National drivers license a his ID. Jose Padilla, who spoke little English, was pulled over after an officer saw him nearly hit another car Saturday afternoon. After pulling Padilla over at near Brushy MOuntain Road, the officer asked him for his license, and was given the Honduran license which was in the correct name, but the officer believed was a fake. It took the officer several tries to actually find the name Padilla was licensed under in the US, but when he did, he found the man had his license revoked after multiple DUI arrests. Apparently, Padilla was not drunk this time, though, as the charges filed all related to his driving on a revoked license and the assumed fake ID.

Reminder: Slow Down on Holiday Travels

The Highway Patrol will be targeting speeders and aggressive drivers on North Carolina interstates and major four lane highways through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Operation Slow Down began last Tuesday and will end on Sunday, November 25th. Last year 11 motorists were killed on North Carolina highways during the holiday in crashes investigated by the Highway Patrol.

"I have instructed our Troopers to crackdown on speeders this holiday weekend; speed is the leading cause of fatal collisions on our highways," said Colonel W. Fletcher Clay, Commander of the State Highway Patrol. "Getting to your destination safely should be your number one goal. Don't try to cut off a few minutes of your drive time by speeding or driving aggressively. It's just not worth it."

Speed is the leading cause of traffic fatalities and collisions in the state and the Highway Patrol receives numerous citizen complaints concerning motorists traveling at dangerous speeds on the highways.

Troopers will be using helicopters at the following locations for speed enforcement during the campaign:

• I-77 near the Mecklenburg and Iredell County Lines on Wednesday, Nov 21st from 1:00-3:00 pm
• I-40 near the Wake and Johnston County Lines on Wednesday, Nov 21st from 1:00-3:00 pm
• I-95 in Robeson County near the 36 mile marker on Friday, Nov 23rd from 1:00-3:00 pm
• I-26 in Henderson County between 42 and 46 mile markers on Friday, Nov 23rd from 1:00-3:00 pm

During the Thanksgiving holiday, the Patrol will also be participating in the state's Booze It and Lose It anti-drunk driving campaign and the national Combined Accident Reduction Effort, (Operation C.A.R.E). Sobriety checkpoints are being held throughout the state during the entire week.

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend officially begins at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 21st and ends at midnight, Sunday, November 25th.

Road Rage Incident Under Investigation

A road rage incident spilled over into a local school yard recently. Sheriffs deputies responded to the Boomer Ferguson School on Wednesday. They were told by Burton and Christie Adams, who were on the way to school to pick up their kids, when another car sped up in their rear view mirror, rode their bumper, and repeatedly tried to pass them on Highway 268, being pushed back into the lane by oncoming traffic each time. Finally the other car sped around the Adams on a curve, nearly hitting oncoming traffic, and then ducked back into the lane, slamming on their brakes in an apparent attempt to get the Adams to hit them. The confrontation continued briefly until the other driver saw Christie Adams making a call to 9-1-1 on her cell phone and sped off. The Adams turned into the school , and just as they got out of the car, the other driver roared into the parking lot, jumped out, and started threatening them. The other driver, a woman, then turned around, stalked back to the car, and sped off once again. Deputies are still looking for her.

Fake $50 Bill Caught by Store Clerk

Sheriff deputies are still following up on the recent report of a Wilkes resident trying to pay for something with a fake 50-dollar bill. It happened last week at Buddy's Grocery, and was quickly noticed by the clerk, who followed store policy and used a detection pen on the bill. THat pen showed the bill to be a fake, and the person who had just given the bill said it had been received from the local IGA. She told the clerk she was taking the bill back for a refund. But a little while later, the woman showed back up at Buddy's, saying the IGA would not refund her money, and she wanted the clerk to take the bill anyway. Instead, the clerk called the sheriff's office, and the woman disappeared. Although deputies know her name, they have not been able to contact the woman to question her.

Millers Creek FD Receives Federal Grant

A Wilkes county fire department will receive over 41-thousand dollars in federal grant money to upgrade its operations and safety equipment. The grant to the Miller's Creek fire department is part of more than 900-thousand dollars that is being made available in North Carolina through FEAM's Aid to Firefighters Assistance Grants. AFG awards aim to enhance response capabilities and to more effectively protect the health and safety of the public with respect to fire and other hazards. The grants enable local fire departments and emergency medical services organizations to purchase or receive training, conduct first responder health and safety programs, and buy equipment and response vehicles. AFG also supports regional projects in which multiple organizations serving more than one local jurisdiction benefit directly from activities implemented with grant funds.

Services Set for Sparks; One Killer Confesses

Funeral services are scheduled tomorrow for the mother and brother of local pastor David Sparks, who were killed in a home invasion in Hendersonville a week ago today. The Hendersonville News reports the graveside service is at 1pm tomorrow at Shepherd Memorial Park. Family is receiving friends tonight from 6 to 8:30pm at West Hendersonville Baptist Church. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Connie and Ricky Sparks Scholarship Fund, in care of the Henderson County Education Foundation, Box 1267, Hendersonville, 28793.

The teens accused of killing Connie and Ricky have been moved back to the Henderson County Jail, where they face charges of murder and auto theft, for stealing Connie's car. They face lesser charges in Pitt county, where they were arrested Saturday after acting suspiciously around the East Carolina University student center. Justin Graham, one of the teens accused of the murder, has confessed to the killing, according to his father Ben Gash. His father had thrown him out of his house just two weeks earlier, after the boy would no longer follow house rules because he had gotten involved with drugs. In his booking photo, the other suspect, Charles Frederick Collins, had an appearance commonly associated with someone who is strung out.

Drought Expands Slightly; Wilkes Mostly D-2

The latest survey from the US Drought Monitor is complete, and it shows all of North Carolina continues to suffer from unprecedented drought. In figures released yesterday, the percentage of the state covered by D-4, or the worst drought, was up almost a quarter, to nearly 21-percent of the state. The D-4 area comes as close as western Wautauga county. D-3 affects the foothills, including southern Wilkes. Most of Wilkes county is under the second-mildest level of drought, the D-2 status. D-2 conditions extend across the northern and eastern part of the state, covering just over 41-percent of the state. D-1, the lowest level of drought conditions, starts just north of Elkin and extends into Virginia. Forestry officials remind those who might be considering burning outdoors that the statewide burn ban remains in effect.