News Index

Your Hometown Christian Radio Station. WWWC Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Thursday
Sep202007

Soda Machine Break-In

Once again, a burglar has damaged a soft drink machine outside a local convenience store. Deputies don't know who broke into the Pepsi machine outside the Run-In on Highway 421 West overnight, but when the clerk arrived for her shift this morning, she found the machine standing wide open. The coin box was empty -- based on the number of cans of soda gone, an estimate of 50-dollars in cash was given as the loss. The damage to the machine will cost Pepsi about 150-dollars to repair. There's no way to know at this point if the case is connected to a similar break-in about a week ago, as there are no suspects in each case. Both remain under investigation.

Thursday
Sep202007

Gunfire Damages Ronda Garage

Sheriff deputies are looking for a man they want to question in connection to shots being fired that hit a Ronda man's garage. Rex Younger found the damage to the garage earlier this week, and brought the bullet that caused it to the sheriff's office. He told them he has had some problems with this sort of property damage before, and believes a former associate is to blame. He gave deputies the name of that man, which they are not releasing at this time due to the ongoing investigation. Younger tells deputies he did not hear or see the incident happen, and his neighbors tell him they have not seen the other man in the area. Deputies are increasing patrols in the area at his request.

Thursday
Sep202007

Deputy Hurt Making Arrest

Law enforcement officers county-wide rushed to the aid of one of their own last night. A deputy trying to make an arrest near the intersection of Boomer Road and Highway 18 was injured in a scuffle, causing an officer-in-trouble call to go out. Dispatchers confirm the deputy was taken by ambulance to Wilkes Regional Medical Center. Unconfirmed reports indicate he had said something about not being able to see, which could mean he had been forced to use pepper spray during the confrontation and gotten some in his own eyes. The nature of the original call, and details about what happened, have not yet been released by the sheriff's office.

Thursday
Sep202007

Trout Rivers Face Restricitons

State officials have announced limits affecting anglers in two Wilkes county rivers. The rivers are included in a designation of 18 areas statewide where limits on trout fishing will be in place. According to a news release form the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, the waters are designated for delayed harvest beginning Oct. 1. Under delayed-harvest rules, no fish can be taken from these waters between Oct. 1 and June 6, 2008. No natural baits are allowed, and anglers can use only single-hook, artificial lures.
In Wilkes County, the East Prong of Roaring River, from the mouth of Bullhead Creek downstream to Stone Mountain State Park boundary line is included in the designation. Stone Mountain Creek from the falls at the Alleghany County line to its confluence with East Prong of Roaring River and Bullhead Creek is also affected byt the limitations.

Thursday
Sep202007

Truck Rollover Closes US 421

An 18-wheeler overturned in Wilkes county last night, blocking traffic on highway 421 for hours. Wilkes County rescue personnel still aren’t sure what caused the 18-wheeler to flip, about 5pm yesterday. The driver was airlifted to Charlotte Regional Medical Center with a potential head injury. His current condition is not available.
The truck was carrying hazardous chemicals, which spilled onto the highway, forcing the closure of 421. While authorities were able to open up southbound lanes, northbound lanes did not reopen until after 11 p.m. A wrecker will be moving the 18-wheeler off the roadway this morning. Emergency management personnel cleared the scene before midnight, but a hazardous materials squad was on scene cleaning up the roadways several hours longer.

Wednesday
Sep192007

A Moment of Forgetfulness, $175 of Loss

A Wilkes man mistakenly left his credit card behind when making a purchase at a local store, and now he's paying for the gaffe. Timothy Baugess was shopping a week ago Saturday and left the card behind, after getting some gas for his mower. He realized a while later that the card was gone, but waited until yesterday to report it to the sheriff's office. Baugess says he called the store and was told they hadn't seen the card, but when he called the bank, he found t out the card had been used at the store just 20 minutes after he left. Whoever used it bought gas and got 100-dollars back in cash. Two more purchases were made at the store the same day. Baugess took it up with the store manager, who discussed the matter with the cashier that day. Although she denied involvement, she has been written up in the past for violating the store's credit card policies. Deputies have been trying to make contact with her since the crime was reported yesterday. She faces possible charges of forgery, obtaining property by false pretense, and theft of a credit card.

Wednesday
Sep192007

Laptop Computer Stolen

Wilkes sheriff deputies are looking for two people to question, in connection with the disappearance of a laptop computer from a rural North Wilkesboro man's home yesterday. Jimmy Porter, who's an insurance agent for Humana Insurance and works from home, says the thieves entered his house sometime over the weekend through a front door, which has a broken lock. The only item taken from the house was his business computer, a Dell laptop worth about 14-hundred dollars. Porter gave deputies the names of two people he believed knew about the broken door and about where he stored the computer. One is a 21-year old woman, and the other is her boyfriend, who lives a short distance from Porter's house. Their names have not been released so far, and deputies say the investigation continues.

Wednesday
Sep192007

Woman Says Ex Stole Money

Sheriff deputies are sorting out the claims of a rural Wilkesboro woman who called them to her house Monday afternoon reporting a significant amount of money had been taken. According to the crime report, 45-year old Susan Vannoy accuses her ex-boyfriend of taking the money. It and her jewelry were kept in a box in her closet, Vannoy said. She last saw the box on September 8th, when she says she re-arranged some of the jewelry in it. The money, 4-thousand dollars, was there at the time. She had reason to be back in the box Sunday, and says the cash was missing at that time, but the jewelry, worth 15-hundred dollars, was still there.

According to Vannoy, the ex-boyfriend has charged items on her credit card without permission a number of times, but every time she confronted him, he'd pay the money back. She also alleges her car went missing a couple of months ago, about the same time he told her he'd been reactivated into the military and was leaving for Iraq. Somehow, she says she found out he had volunteered to re-enlist, had gone to Missouri for training, and was back in Hickory early this month working in the recruiting office. The deputy's call to the recruiting office found no one there with the man's name, and in fact, the Army had no listing of anyone serving anywhere with his last name, at least with the spelling reported. Given the nature of the accusation, we're withholding his name until such time as charges are filed.

Wednesday
Sep192007

Couple Arrested in Domestic Spat

Wilkesboro police arrested a couple whose domestic problems escalated into a physical fight Monday evening. The story of what happened is basically the same form both people except for a couple of details that make quite a bit of difference legally. The two have been separated for about six months. Officers were called to the woman's home about 10 Monday night, when she said her husband had come over, called her, and threatened the couple's children if she didn't come outside and talk to him. He was driving a pickup truck at the time, and she says he tried to get out when she came outside, and she fought with him to keep him from getting out of the truck, scratching him in the process.

He says she's the one who had made the phone call asking him to come over. They agree as to the particulars of how he came to have several scratches on his arm. Who called whom is important, because there is apparently a court order barring him from coming to the house. Steve Baker was arrested and charged with domestic trespass. Officers report there was no visible injury to Lisa Baker, except for some old bruises she claimed he had caused a few days earlier. She was also arrested, and charged with assault. Both charges are misdemeanors, so they were released after being booked on the charges.

Wednesday
Sep192007

Store, Robbed Last Week, Burglarized Yesterday

The Wilkes business that was robbed on Friday has been the victim of another crime. This time, deputies says someone burglarized the Country Square Fresh Produce Store south of Wilkesboro. they were alerted by an alarm going off at the store about 5:30 yesterday morning, but by the time a deputy arrived, the burglar was gone. Whoever it was was pretty careful to conceal clues, as the molding had been taken off a window in the front door, and the pane of glass carefully removed and put on the ground next to the door. Investigators were unable to recover any usable fingerprints from the glass. The thief stole 110 packs of cigarettes, along with about 50-dollars in change and paper money from the register. There are presently no suspects, but deputies continue their investigation.