Fifth-Wheel Hitch Stolen

A thief was probably sweating after taking an item from the back of a man's pickup last week. That's because the item in question was a fifth-wheel hitch. Rickey Weaver told sheriff deputies he'd gone out of town for the weekend, and when he returned Wednesday, the hitch was gone from the back of his Ford F-150, which had set in the driveway of his Traphill home over the weekend. The missing hitch is described as a "Reese" model ,and included the truck rail and installation kit. It was valued at almost 13-hundred dollars. Deputies have no suspects at this time.

Tools Stolen

A local business believes an ex-employee is responsible for the recent theft of more than five thousand dollars worth of tools. The theft was reported Thursday by Ron Burchette, the owner of Burchette Hardwood. After the man left employment at the business, his ex-wife called Burchette and said there were a bunch of tools around her house that she didn't know where came from. He believes the man took the tools a few at a time between February and the day he was fired. Deputies are waiting until the ex-wife gives consent to search the house in Elkin, to match the tools she found with the ones Burchette reported stolen. The missing tools include an Edge brand hand held sander valued at 14-hundred-50 dollars, three spot nailers valued at 675-dollars, A DeWalt chop saw and a power jack, each worth nearly 300-dollars, and at least eight other tools. The unidentified man has not been arrested so far.

Lenoir Man's Arrest May Clear Several Cases

Wilkes county sheriff deputies have arrested a man believed to have broken into several cars and a garage early this morning. 33-year old Jerry Tarlton of Lenoir was arrested after a business owner caught him breaking into several cars at 109 Crews Road about 3:30 this morning. Four unlocked vehicles had been entered, and deputies recovered all of the property that had been taken from them, including two CD players, various tools and a video camera, together worth about 900-dollars. Tarlton told the deputy he had just stopped to go to the bathroom, and had only gotten in a couple of cars. Interestingly, the back of his pickup was loaded down with a number of weed eaters and chainsaws. He claimed they belonged to his boss.

The truth came out a few minutes later. As one deputy arrived at the jail with Tarlton, another was taking a report of a break in at a garage in Moravian Falls, not far from where Tarlton had been picked up. A weed eater, a leaf blower, a TV/DVD player and other items worth a total 15-hundred dollars had been taken. The stolen items are believed to be among the mess Tarlton had in the back of the pickup. There have been several thefts of yard tools around the county recently; given the number of such items found in the pickup, this arrest may solve several cases. The pickup has been impounded so a full inventory of the items can be done.

Anyone Notice It's Been Dry?

Gov. Mike Easley on Thursday said the most serious levels of drought have spread from the western part of the state into the Piedmont, and he has expanded his directive to state agencies in the region to stop various non-essential uses of water. Twenty-seven counties are in either severe or extreme drought, the third and fourth levels of a five-category national drought monitoring system.

"The good news is that we are seeing some rain and spot showers that are typical for the summer in North Carolina," Easley said. "But the problem is the rainfall is so sporadic that most of the state is bone dry. Until we receive several days of consistent rainfall, residents need to conserve water."

Ninety-four counties in North Carolina are now classified as experiencing some form of drought -- either moderate, severe or extreme. Wilkes is presently in the moderate drought category, according to the Palmer Drought Index.

A lot of people are usually getting ready this time of year to apply fertilizer, whether its to their yard or to hay and pasture crops. But the North Carolina Department of Agriculture is warning this year, you should not apply fertilizer. The reason is the drought. Agronomists say not only is it a waste of money because of the absence of moisture, but the left over fertilizer on the ground and the grass can be poisonous to livestock using it for feed. High levels of nitrates can kill cattle.

Even in the yard, fertilizing before the drought conditions have eased is nothing more than a waste of money, because grass will not come out of its summer dormancy as early as usual due to the drought stress. It will take more than a few heavy rains to ease the drought enough to matter, in either situation.

Kidnapped? No, Taken.

For the second time in two days, sheriff deputies have had to deal with a woman who overreacted when Department of Social Service case workers took her children. This mother decided to file a missing persons report. She was at the jail already, and told the deputy a DSS worker had kidnapped her children. The children had been taken because of a court order to do so, and when the deputy reminded the woman of this fact, she "became disruptive and uncooperative." Finally, the deputy gave the woman two choices: calm down, get in the car and leave the jail parking lot, or be arrested. At this the woman "became even more uncooperative." One can only imagine.

38-year old Mary Absher of North Wilkesboro was arrested for filing a false report and resting the orders of the deputy. Her car was towed off, and her children remain in the care of DSS.

Bridge Collapse Sparks Memories

The images and stories of Wednesday's I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minn. are like a flashback to people in Surry County. On February 23, 1975, a steel bridge that crossed the Yadkin River at Siloam, N.C. was struck by a car, causing the bridge to fall. On that foggy night, many drivers didn't know the bridge was gone and drove off into the river.

Today, one out of every three North Carolina bridges have the same deficiency rating as the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota. It's a concern among transportation officials, engineers and lawmakers, but the man in charge of North Carolina's roads and bridges says you are safe on the state's 17,000-plus bridges. "We do regular inspections," Department of Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett said. "We are not concerned with immediate safety of any of them."

A state Society of Civil Engineers study shows one-third of North Carolina's bridges are structurally deficient. "It just means it's not designed to carry the current load we have today," Society of Civil Engineers member David Peterson said. "A lot of the bridges we have today are over 50 years old." A Triple-A study also finds that North Carolina has the worst bridges in the southeast and is the 11th worst nationwide.

Teen Driver in High-Speed Police Chase

Sheriff deputies working a recent traffic checkpoint had to chase down a driver who didn't want to stop. It happened early yesterday morning. According to the deputy, a small station wagon turned around at the Knottville Fire Department rather than going through the checkpoint. The deputy turned on his emergency lights and started to follow the car, which sped up and tried to get away. The two cars sped up Highway 268 from Airport Road to Johnson Road, speeds sometimes reaching 80 miles an hour. The deputy says the driver crossed the center line several times. Then, just as quickly as it started, the chase was over. The 16-year old driving the car, Devin Wood, just pulled over on the side of the road and stopped. He was charged with fleeing and eluding and failing to stop for the blue lights. The deputy called his parents and explained what had happened, and they came and took the boy and the car home.

Boomer Woman Busts Up Java Joe's

A 20-year old Boomer woman is charged with several crimes after she allegedly tore up a Lenoir coffee shop yesterday. Latoya Lichelle Parker is said to have shattered a mahogany front door at Java Joes before turning over chairs and tables. Parker is also alleged to have busted coffee mugs and coffee bean jars, among other things. Parker has been charged with forcible trespass, breaking and entering and injury to real property. Damage at the café was estimated to be more than $8,400.

According to an employee, Parker came in just before the café opened, demanding to see an owner. She is then alleged to have started destroying property. Instead of calling an owner, the employee called 911. The incident did not end at the coffee house. While in the Magistrate’s Office for processing, Parker went into a rage once more, allegedly running headfirst into a window. Officers had to physically restrain Parker, who broke the window on impact. Officers suspect substance abuse led to her behavior.

Whitley Jailed for Threats on Potts; Admits Being at Fire Scene

Randall Whitley has been arrested again for an incident involving Timothy Potts, and statements Whitley made during his arrest may reopen the investigation into the fire at his home. After receiving a report from a detective still working the shooting of Potts last week, and from Potts himself, that Whitley was threatening Potts, a deputy pulled Whitley over Tuesday afternoon on River Street, near the Red Carpet Inn.

The deputy says Whitley reeked of alcohol, but refused any field sobriety or Breathalyzer tests. He said he had been drinking -- the normal claim of two or three beers -- and deputies seized a case of beer from the car, along with one open can. Whitley had been at the Red Cross earlier, seeking assistance after the fire that destroyed his mobile home over the weekend. Officials there said he was drunk when they dealt with him, as well. When deputies got Whitley to jail, he refused yet another breath test, and told them he'd just take the DUI. He was charged with that, intimidating a witness, driving on a revoked license, no insurance, and a fictitious tag.

As he was being locked up, Whitley told a deputy he had been at his house the evening it burned looking for the gun he allegedly threw at Potts when it jammed after he shot Potts. The gun, according to public records, has not been found. By placing himself at a scene during the time he earlier told a fire investigator he was not there, Whitley has introduced doubt into the conclusion that there wasn't any human involvement in the fire.

Man Who Made Oscar Meyer Famous Dies in Wilkesboro

Jerry Ringlien, best known as creator of the "My Bologna Has a First Name" campaign, died of a heart attack Monday here in Wilkesboro. He was 77.

Mr. Ringlien worked at Oscar Mayer for 23 years, rising to VP-marketing. During that time he worked on the "I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener" campaign, and later revived the popular "Wienermobile."