Wild Week in Wilkes

They call it the Wild Week in Wilkes. But an event that starts Sunday is really an evangelism tool for area Christians.



Tom LeGrand, youth minister at Wilkesboro Baptist Church, scheduled well-known inspirational speaker Craig Tackett and Inlightened Ministries to come to Wilkes in hopes of drawing youth from here and surrounding areas together to have fun while learning about Biblical teachings.



“I really want everyone to come to this event,” LeGrand told the Record. “It’s going to be a wonderful experience in which no one is going to walk away empty handed.”



Tackett travels with Inlightened Ministries, which is a ministry directed toward students. Tackett has a fun, energetic personality that attracts people of all ages allowing him to communicate God’s Word to today’s generation via a modern approach. He is humorous and captivating, but, most importantly, he is Biblical and relevant.



Inlightened Ministries came to Wilkesboro Baptist Church last February, and was a hit. During the day the members of Inlightened Ministry were seen out in the community - everywhere from schools to restaurants to the Wilkes Community College tennis courts. Again, this year they plan to be seen out and about…especially in some of the schools. At night the group was busy delivering its energetic message; every night the church was packed with the young and older alike. Many other youth groups from around the county attended as well.



Considering the large number of attendees last year, LeGrand and other youth ministers opted to collaborate and hold this year’s youth rally at the Walker Center.

Splat! -- Again

For the second time in recent months, a Wiles property owner reports someone has vandalized their property with a paint ball gun. Earlier this year, it was the trailer of an over-the-road truck parked for the night at a Wilkes home, which was peppered with bright pink paint balls. Earlier this week, it was a house that was targeted. Elkin resident Katie Darnell reported the vandalism Monday morning. A crime report lists no damage to the house.

Close, but No Cigar

A Wilkes man reports someone who intended to steal his guns wasn't successful. Gilmer Dean Stoker of Elkin tells sheriff deputies he came home from work Monday afternoon and found someone had opened the front door of his house. It didn't appear there was any damage to the outside door, but when Stoker got inside, he found two gun cabinets had evidence of someone trying to pry them open. The cabinets stood up to the attempt though, and the burglar was nowhere around when Stoker arrived home. Deputies have no suspects.

Debit Card Fraud Questioned

A Wilkes couple isn't sure how a fraudulent charge got on their debit card, so they're asking sheriff deputies to check it out. Ronnie and Tammy Treadaway say they noticed a monthly charge showing up recently for a little over 30 dollars a month to a Florida company. The statement shows the debits going to SDR Debit Card Visa Key Card Benefits, which is one of those programs banks often hawk when you call their customer service line, or try to add to cards when you sing up. The Treadaways say they did not ever agree to such a service, and police have obtained the phone number of the Florida company to follow-up with them and verify the claim. As many people can testify, the sales pitches used to market these kinds of services can be pretty tricky to keep from saying yes at the wrong time.

A Little Less Noise Pollution

It looks like at least for a little while, there will be one less car on the roads of Wilkes with a driver that's overly generous with sharing their music. A North Wilkesboro woman tells sheriff deputies she and family members went to Florida last week, and when they returned home Monday she found her van door broken open and a powerful amplifier stolen. The amp, a White Phantom model, was 12-hundred-50 watts, more than enough to share the tunes with several adjacent cars at stoplights. A neighbor questioned by deputies says she saw nothing out of the ordinary during the time the woman was gone.

School Computer Equipment Stolen

A teacher at West Wilkes High School reports some computer equipment was stolen from his classroom over the long holiday weekend. Chris Talbert says he was at the school on Saturday, doing some computerized student testing. He returned the computer to his classroom and locked up about noon Saturday. Monday morning, he returned to school to do some more testing, and found a classroom window open with a chair sitting underneath it, and the computer equipment gone. The thief took a Dell laptop and a hand-held PC, along with two USB flash drives and another encrypted flash drive that's part of the testing program.



Deputies recovered a partial footprint from the char by the window, and some fingerprints from the outside of the window. As they were investigating, deputies found out there was also a group of young men playing basketball in the school gym Saturday afternoon without school permission. Deputies are still working out who those boys were, and will question them as they identify them. So far, no suspect names have been listed.

Big Oops

A moment of forgetfulness may have cost a Wilkes woman several thousand dollars. Tonya Higgins was at a suntan parlor in Millers Creek Monday evening. She tells deputies when she got out of the tanning bed, she neglected to pick up a ring she'd laid on a shelf in the room. It's a diamond ring with a white gold band -- apparently a fairly good-size diamond, although the report doesn't say, because it's worth 45-hundred dollars. She left the tanning place, and when she came back later to get the ring it was gone. The attendant told her only one other person had been in the tanning bed room since she'd been there. Deputies are trying to catch up to that person and talk with them.

Stolen, or Just Borrowed Too Long?

Car stolen, thief found. That's the bottom line on a recent car theft in Wilkes county. Linda Cox, who lives in Ronda, reported the car missing Monday evening, a couple of hours after it had disappeared. She tells sheriff deputies she had been letting her son, 34-year old Michael Lee Swaim, stay with her for a few days. She said he'd driven off in her car, a 2005 blue Kia Spectra, and hadn't returned. A deputy issued a felony warrant concerning the car theft, and it was broadcast to other deputies. A short time later, another deputy on patrol saw the car on Highway 268 North, and pulled it over in the Wachovia parking lot. Michael Swaim was behind the wheel. He was arrested without incident and charged with felony theft, as well as driving without a license. The car was returned, undamaged, to his mother.

Generator Missing

Fortunately there isn't an ice storm coming or something, as a Wilkes man finds himself suddenly without his generator. Actually, it's a fairly small generator, and it was taken from the construction site at North Wilkes High School. Alvin Cody reported the generator missing Monday morning. He says only eight people have a key to the location where the generator, a 7-and-a-half horsepower Troy-Bilt, was stored. He mentioned it was possible one of his employees borrowed the generator over the weekend. Deputies list the case as still under investigation.

Illegally Honest

Honesty is a good thing, but when what you're doing is illegal, it probably won't helpyou much in court. A sheriff's deputy stopped a Wilkes man Sunday evening in the Country Square Mobile Home Park, as the deputy was in the area following up on a person wanted in Alexander county, who was thought to be in the area. The deputy says 22-year old Eduardo Maya-Cortez approached him driving a 2000 Ford Explorer, as he was driving on Country Square Drive. When he walked up to the S-U-V, the deputy saw Maya-Cortez had an open beer in his hand, and he admitted he was driving without a license. The deputy took Maya-Cortez into custody without incident.