Car Stolen, Victim Believes He Knows Theif

Wilkes deputies are looking for a Surry county man who is accused of stealing an Elkin man's car. The 27-year old man, whose name is not being released, has three other warrants out for his arrest and is known to have stolen a vehicle more than once in the past, according to a deputy's crime report. Curtis Johnson tells deputies he came home from the hospital and found his car, a Champagne-colored, 1995 Ford Taurus, missing. The suspect had been at the house for a few hours on Tuesday, Johnson says. There are only two sets of keys to the car, and both are accounted for. The unidentified man is believed to be living in Surry county, but his current address is unknown. The case remains under investigation.

Effects of Rain Wash Downstream -- Drought Marches On

The weekly report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows worsening conditions across the state as the effects of a late October rain abate. That's evidenced by river levels, such as those in the Upper Neuse and Tar rivers, falling back to the low flows observed before the rain, the weather service said. This week, 92 counties are suffering from the top three levels of drought: exceptional, extreme and severe. That's 10 more than last week. The state's other eight counties, all in the coastal plain and northern Piedmont regions, are experiencing moderate drought, the least severe level of drought in the four-category system. Fifty-eight counties are in the exceptional or extreme categories, up from 52 in those categories last week.
North Carolina needs rain - and lots of it - for conditions to improve. Much of the state needs 14 to 18 inches of rain over the next three months, and there's just a 10 percent to 15 percent of that happening. That wouldn't end the drought, just reduce exceptional drought conditions to moderate, the weather service said. To actually end the drought, the state needs as much as 24 inches of rain over the next three months. The odds of that happening are just 4 percent.

Govenor Easley: Water Use Reduction is A Start

As North Carolina struggles with what's now the worst drought in its recorded history, conservation measures taken across the state are not yet up to the standard demanded by Gov. Mike Easley. Two weeks ago, the Governor asked residents to try to cut their water use by as much as 50 percent by Halloween. Water use in the state's 25 largest systems is down nearly 30 percent between August and the end of October - a good start, but not good enough, Easley said.
"My goal was lofty, but all citizens must cut water use as much as they can," he said. "Given the situation nearly all of North Carolina faces, we cannot afford to do any less." Data from the National Weather Service support Easley. By the end of October, the state was experiencing the worst drought conditions since 1895, when data on drought were first recorded.
Easley had asked each of the state's public water systems record the amount of water used daily and report weekly totals to his office. Water utilities representing 72 percent of the 6.8 million customers served by public water systems responded, Easley said.

Woman Takes Ax Handle to Man's Car, Steals Drugs

A Wilkesboro woman was arrested yesterday on charges she followed a man from the courthouse to a local business parking lot, then took after his car with an ax handle. 37-year old Teresa Ann Smith turned herself in last night following the incident yesterday afternoon in the McDonald's parking lot on 421. According to the victim, Hank Berry, Junior, she had followed him from the courthouse to the McDonalds parking lot, and when he stopped to go in, she got out of her car carrying an ax handle, smashed in his front and back windows, and stole two freshly-filled bottles of prescription painkillers. Berry says he got back in the car, sat down on the broken glass, and tried to get away from Smith. She followed him onto 421 and allegedly tried to run him of the road, but instead lost control of her car. Berry drove on to the US Cellular parking lot, where he called police. He was not hurt in the incident.

Childress Faces $100,000 Bond, Court Dec. 12th.

The man accused of shooting at Wilkes sheriff deputies with a bow and arrow faces a 100-thousand dollar bond, and is scheduled for a court appearance in the case in December. The original incident is a story we reported first earlier this week. 36-year old Randy Lee Childress was arrested at the edge of the woods behind his burning house Sunday night, after an incident that escalated over a several-hour period. Deputies were called to the house to check on the welfare of Childress. The crime report does not state why someone was concerned enough to call for the welfare check, but Childress' actions after deputies arrived may provide a clue.

According to deputies, he immediately began yelling at them through a broken window, threatening to kill anyone who came in the house. over the course of the incident, he made a number of threats that sounded like he was trying to provoke a deputy to shoot him -- including trying to run over the deputies with an SUV and shooting arrows into a patrol car and the ground near a deputy's feet. None of that was enough to provoke the deputies to shoot at him, although after the attempted run-over, a deputy did try to use a Taser to gain control of Childress, but only one probe hooked on him and the shock was ineffective.

Then he allegedly set fire to the house and escaped through the back door. Deputies, who have taken some heat from the uninformed over not chasing him into the woods, instead set up a perimeter around the house and left the woods undisturbed so as not to affect the scent tracking dogs would use to trail Childress. It turned out the dogs weren't needed, as Chidress walked back to the edge of the clearing and gave up without further incident.

Wilkes Men Arrested for C-Store Break-Ins

Two Wilkes men collared in Yadkin county for several convenience store break-ins are charged in at least one similar crime in their home county. 19-year old Justin Wayne Shew and 20-year old Shannon Edward Key are accused of breaking into Parsons Quick Stop in Roaring River early Tuesday morning. Deputies were alerted to the break-in by the store's burglar alarm, but the thieves were gone by the time they arrived. The glass next to the front door had been broken out to gain access. Deputies found change laying on the ground along with the wrappers from some stolen cigars. The total loss, including damage to the window, was about 400-dollars. The store video tape showed two white males as they stole the items. Yadkin county notified Wilkes county of the arrest later in the morning, and the deputy was able to get a confession from Justin Shew, who confirmed he and Key were the two men seen on the tape. Each faces charges of breaking and entering, property damage, and theft in Wilkes county, and multiple counts in Yadkin county.

NW Light Up Downtown Event is Friday, Nov. 16

The 12th Annual Light Up Downtown Christmas Celebration in North Wilkesboro is a week from tomorrow. Santa will be there from 5:30pm - 9:00 pm in the lobby of Wilkes Towers to listen to all your Christmas wishes. Free pictures will be available to take with Santa. Hayrides will also be available to ride around the downtown and enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations. Organizers say there will also be lots of food, craft, and merchandise vendors lined down Main and Tenth Streets. Don’t forget to get a jump on your holiday shopping. Downtown Retailers will be open late to kickoff the Christmas shopping. Liberty Theater will also be open.

As always, there will be three stages throughout the downtown with entertainment. The first stage will be on 9th Street, the second stage will be on 10th Street at the Brushy Mtn. Ruritan Park, and the third stage will be at Melody Square on 6th Street.
There are a number of other events happening at the same time. The Yadkin Valley chapter of the National Railway Historical Society will have an open house at the Black Station model railroad layout in conjunction with the holiday lighting ceremony. The hours are 5:30-9:30 p.m. Black Cat Station is the former Wilkes Art Gallery, at 800 Elizabeth Street, North Wilkesboro.
The Wilkes Art Gallery will host an Opening Reception for two new exhibits, and will partnering with Wilkes Smart Start to host ReindeerLand in the Gallery education center. Children can enter the Gallery through the lighted exterior stairwell to participate in holiday arts and crafts.

Foxx Commemorates 25th Anniversary of Vietnam Vets Memorial

The 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC is this weekend, and for only the fourth time ever, all 58-thousand, 256 names inscribed on the wall are being read aloud, one-by-one. Fifth District Representative Virginia Foxx took part in the name-reading last night, which included the name of PFC Larry Raymond Lambert, a native of Winston-Salem and member of the Marine Corps who was killed in Vietnam on September 11, 1966. PFC Lambert, 20, was killed in combat in Quang Nam province.

In a news release, Foxx said, “it is a true honor to read the names of PFC Lambert and others who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. The names on this wall are a memorial to the soldiers who paid the ultimate price and we must never forget their sacrifices.”

More than 2,000 volunteers will participate in the Reading of the Names at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. The 58,256 names will be read over the course of four days. It started at 3 yesterday afternoon.

Credit Card Theft Reported -- 8 Months Later

A Deep Gap man says he's lost over 16-hundred dollars to a credit card thief. Howard Green made the theft report yesterday, telling Wilkes deputies he noticed the theft clear back in February, and it had been going on for several months at that time. He believes his son, who is in a North Wilkesboro group home, may be the culprit. There's no explanation offered by he waited more than 8 months to make the report. Deputies continue their investigation.

Man Accused of Writing Numerous Hot Checks

Deputies are looking for a North Wilkesboro man who is accused of passing numerous bad checks on a closed account. 64-year old Billy Shane Williams allegedly wrote at least ten checks to the Millers Creek Market and West Park BP between October 18th and the 25th, according to a crime report released today. The total face amount of the checks is almost 900-dollars. Deputies list the case as still being under investigation, although warrants have been issued for Williams.