Man Claims MIstaken Identity

A Wilkesboro man says he was minding his own business, talking with some friends in the old K-Mart parking lot, when someone jumped out of a car, ran across the parking lot, decked him, ran back to the car and sped off -- all without saying a word. 19-year old Johnsie Royal tells police he thinks the other man mistook him for somebody else. The attack happened early in the morning, and Royal did not have enough light to get a full description of the man. His friends say it happened too quickly for them to see much either. None of them knew the man. Officers say they have no leads or suspects at this time.

Two Assaults Reported In a Short Time

A disagreement over a child led to one woman being injured and another in jail. Deputies were called to Ethyl Martin's home on Red White and Blue Road Monday afternoon. Heather Ross, who is 26, had gotten mad when she was told to bring a child back to Martin's house. According to Martin, Ross knocked her to the ground and bit her several times. The deputy says the bite marks were visible, but did not break the skin.

Deputies say this incident is tied to other assault cases. One happened a few minutes after the original call, just behind Martin's home. This time, a 60-year old woman and a 16-year old girl are accused of assaulting one another. Each of them says the other started it, and each has one witness to the fight that backs up her story. Deputies said Alexandria Cowan, the teen, had ripped clothing and several scratches, while Betty Phifer had no visible injuries other than the lenses being knocked out of her glasses. Both were told the process for taking out a warrant on the other person, and both say they will do so.

State to Ask for Drought Aid

Gov. Mike Easley said yesterday that he will ask U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns for a federal disaster declaration for farmers hit by prolonged dry weather. That would allow them to apply for low-interest emergency relief loans.
Easley said that almost all of North Carolina’s 100 counties may be affected by the request.
Officials with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Farm Service Agency are finishing a survey of crop-loss data to establish which counties should be included.
Once the farm-service agency certifies data on crop losses, Easley will ask Johanns to provide federal disaster aid for farmers in counties that have at least one covered crop that is yielding 30 percent or more below normal.
State officials said this week that one of the largest expected corn crops in decades has been reduced to the lowest yield since 2002. Hay production has also been reduced to 2002 levels.

So Just How Did That Trailer Get There Upside Down?

Nobody's really sure how a utility trailer ended up being upside down in the middle of the road along old Highway 60 East yesterday morning, but deputies were able to tell pretty quickly who it belongs to. The deputy was flagged down by a motorist as Red White and Blue Road and Highway 268 about 6:45am yesterday. When he called the owner, Carl Rose and Son Paving, they didn't even know yet the trailer was missing. It suffered minor damage to the hitch and a brake light. The man whose house the trailer was in front of says he goes out to get his paper about 5:30 in the morning, and didn't notice the trailer then. He also says he didn't hear anything unusual between 5:30 and when the deputy knocked on his door about 7:15. The case is listed as an attempted larceny, and is under investigation.

Son, You Shouldn't Be Using That Card...

A Wilkes woman says her son has been using her debit card without permission, and run up a more than 600-dollar bill. Helen Hawthorn reported the crime yesterday, although she says it's been happening for the past three weeks. When she made the report, she brought bank statements showing the unauthorized transactions, and a statement from the boy admitting to the crime. His name is not being released by the sheriff's office because of his age, but deputies indicate charges are being pursued through the juvenile court system.

Lowes Hardware Scammed Repeatedly

Wilkesboro Police are working a scam pulled against a local retail, in a case that may tie to others across the area. According to store security personnel at Lowes hardware, 51-year old Talmadge Coley of Winston-Salem and a group of friends have made returns on items they'd never purchased in the first place. Coley was caught Monday trying to do it again at the Wilkesboro Lowes. His name was flagged on the computer, because he had no-receipt refunds several times in July. So store employees turned him down on returning the items, which he then turned around and walked out with, putting them in the trunk of his Mercedes. A videotape of the incident shows one of Coley's accomplices going throughout the store, picking up about 15-hundred dollars worth of merchandise. The man then rolled the cart to the return desk and left it for Coley to walk in moments later and try to get the refund. Store security say not only has the same group hit the Wilkesboro store several times, but a number of North Carlina stores have reported the same problem. Tecases remain under investigation.

C-Store Burglary

A convenience store in Hays has been broken into, and it was done using a method that was employed frequently earlier this year. Deputies released the report of the crime, which happened on Friday, yesterday. Matthew Billings tells deputies he came to work Friday morning to find a hole had been bashed in the store's outside wall. The thief got away with beer and cigarettes totaling about 15-hundred dollars. In the burglary, the thief caused about 400-dollars damage to the building, and had cut the phone wires. Billings told investigators a man who lives near the store said not long ago it would be easy to break into the store that way. He only knows the man's first name, and not his address. The case remains under investigation.

Dry Conditions Prompt Burn Ban

The dry conditions have many counties considering mandatory water restrictions, as some officials said voluntary restrictions aren't working. Seventy-five percent of North Carolina is under severe or extreme drought conditions, with the driest weather in the mountains.
Meanwhile, the state has banned all open burning. The ban took effect at noon Tuesday and applies to all previously issued burn permits. No new permits will be issued, a condition that will last indefinitely. Gary Wood of the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources said the fires are burning out of control because there's no moisture. Wood said fires that erupted up to five weeks ago are igniting again.
The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources says more than 40 wildfires started Monday alone, affecting more than 370 acres across the state. National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Orrock says the state needs 15 to 25 inches of rain in the next few months to help ease drought conditions. But he says the chance of that happening is only about 30 percent.

Wilkes Men Hurt in I-77 Wreck

Two brothers from Wilkesboro were airlifted to the hospital after a crash yesterday on Interstate 77 in Huntersville. Authorities said a cement truck rear-ended a pickup truck, and the truck slammed into the tractor trailer in front of it near exit 23/Gilead Road. The two men in the pickup truck, 60-year-old Bill Ellis and 55-year-old Glenn Ellis, had to be flown to Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries. Meanwhile, I-77 southbound had to be shut down for about two hours while officers investigated and crews cleaned up the wreckage.

Troopers said roughly 10 minutes before the horrible wreck there was a minor crash on the side of the road that brought traffic to a standstill. They said while the tractor trailer and the green pickup were stopped, the driver of the cement truck was looking at the accident scene and didn’t stop. Rescuers had to cut the brothers out of the pickup. The men were pinned under the tractor trailer, and the bed of the tractor trailer was actually over the steering wheel.

The driver of the cement truck has been charged with reckless driving and failure to reduce his speed

Burn Ban In Effect

Open burning has been banned indefinitely in North Carolina due to a combination of heat and drought.
The ban applies to all previously issued burn permits. Statewide, more than 40 wildfires started on Monday. Officials say the state needs 15 to 25 inches of rain in the next few months to help ease drought conditions.