Roy Carter on Gas Prices

What should the country do about high gas prices? It's a question Roy Carter hopes he is called up on to answer, as he's running for the fifth-district congressional seat currently held by Virginia Foxx. The candidates differ sharply on when the current pricing problems got their start, Foxx holding the Republican line that it happened in 1995 when then-President Clinton banned drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Carter, as might be expected from a person in the Democratic Party, says it started later than that:Carter's comments came during yesterday's Focus on the Foothills broadcast. We'll have additional comments from Roy Carter on Monday, and Virginia Foxx's regular appearance on Focus is scheduled for next Thursday.

Man Sought for Multiple Thefts from Employer

Arrest warrants have been issued for a man accused of stealing more that 15-thousand dollars from his employer by letting people take products out of the store without paying. It's an investigation that has been going on since May. 50-year old Earl Williams of Union Grove was accused by his employers, the owners of the Run-In store on River Street, of sacking up items for a number of people and letting them walk out without paying for the items. It was enough that the store's inventory was starting to show a discrepancy, and that the owners were able to track it down to happening during the nights Johnson worked third shift. When confronted with a videotape that showed him doing it four times in the same night, Johnson confessed to what was on the tape, but nothing more. However, a review of the security tapes from 24 consecutive shifts, which was completed recently, showed the same thing happening on 18 nights, sometimes more than once a night. In the intervening time, Johnson has had his phone disconnected, and WIlkesboro Police have enlisted the help of the sheriff's department to server arrest warrants for the additional charges. Anyone who knows Earl Johnson's whereabouts is asked to call police at 667-72-77 or the Sheriff's office at 903-76-00.

Roaring River Home Broken Into

A Wilkes man discovered on his return from work Wednesday that his house had been broken into while he was away. Darren Jordan tells deputies he got home Wednesday afternoon about 4pm, and found the front door glass of his Roaring River house broken. . He went in the house befor calling deputies, and found his dog closed up in one of the roms. Several items of jewelry had been taken from a back bedroom inside a jewelry stand. A digital camera was taken from a room next to that bedroom that had been converted to an office space. The stolen jewelry includes three gold rope chains worth a total of 600-dollars, while the Kodak digital camera was valued at 200-dollars. While Jordan was unable to offer names of any suspects, he did tell deputies a burgundy Dodge min-van crusing the area recently, and says it stood out to him because the van has gold wheels. The case is still under investigation.

Drought News is Good

For the first time in two and a half months, there are some areas of North Carolina that are not in any level of drought. But in Wilkes county, the heavy rains from the remnants of Fay will take another week to show up in official drought statistics. According to numbers released yesterday, just over 4-percent of North Carolina has no drought conditions -- four counties in the south central part of the state. The other good news measure is that none of the state is in the worst drought category -- the arrival of the Fay-induced rains over the weekend to our southwest was enough to erase months of exceptional drought. However Wilkes county remains in the second-worst category, along with a huge swath of the western end of the state. That's because the rainfall totals are cut off each week at 7am Tuesday for the report issued on Thursday, and most of our rain fell after that time.

Break-In Reported at Pleasant Valley Church

Someone has stolen more than a thousand dollars worth of tools and supplies from inside the building being constructed next to Pleasant Valley Baptist Church. Pastor Jerry Harris made the discovery yesterday morning. He says several rolls of copper wire were stolen, along with a hammer drill, two power saws, a number of pliers, hammers and a four foot level. Each of those items had some sort of distinguishing mark or characteristic, which Pastor Harris relayed to Wilkesboro police. While it's unknown right now who the thief might have been, there was a unique identifying feature left behind -- we're withholding that so the police and the criminal remain the only people who know it. The neighbors across the street were gone at the time the burglary is believed to have happened -- from Saturday afternoon through mid-morning yesterday. But Harris told police he would check with them anyway, to see if they'd seen someone casing the church or anything else out of place. The incident remains under investigation.

NC Highway Patrol to Increase Patrols for Holiday

The Labor Day holiday weekend marks the end of a busy summer vacation travel season and heavy traffic is expected statewide this year. Speed is the leading cause of traffic deaths on the state’s highways. Troopers will be cracking down on speeders and aggressive drivers during the holiday weekend. There will be an increased presence of Troopers on all interstates in North Carolina. Last year, there were 1,189 crashes, 584 injuries and 19 fatalities investigated by the Highway Patrol statewide during the holiday period. The Highway Patrol will also join other law enforcement agencies at “Click-It or Ticket” seatbelt checkpoints across the state throughout the week, and troopers will be participating in the nationwide Combined Accident Reduction Effort. “C.A.R.E.” is a coordinated effort of Highway Patrol and state police agencies. These high visibility patrols are designed to prevent crashes and ensure voluntary compliance with the motor vehicle laws.

Fay-INduced Rains Help, But Won't Ease Drought Status Much This Week

All that rain we've received from Tropical Depression Fay is helping river and lake levels in the area, at least in the short term. The Reddies River, which was down to 14 cubic feet per second over the dam at North WIlkesboro Monday, was gushing more than 2-thousand-300 cubic feet per second yesterday. North Wilkesboro officials say that doesn't mean the water restrictions are over, though. They want to see the river flow stabilize above 20 cubic feet per second before lifting the restrictions. An official told the Journal-Patriot they don't want to be dropping and re-instating the restrictions over and over, so as to avoid confusion and frustration for town residents and the water systems served by North Wilkesboro. However, at least for the time being the rainfall should avoid the need to purchase Wilkesboro water, a happening that had seemed more and more likely with each passing day until Fay came to the area.At W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir, water is flowing in at more than 2-thousand cubic feet per second. WIth the flood gates at the dam set to minimum flow of 127 cubic feet of water per second, the reservoir has risen to 2½ feet below normal. The reservoir should be at full pool or over by Friday.The best news of it all is that with several days of slow to moderate rain, the water has had a chance to soak into the parched ground, rather than running off and being lost as it would have if the five-plus inches had arrived in one day. New drought information from the federal government is due out later today, but the Fay-induced rains are not likely to affect the county's D-3 drought status, because the cutoff for rainfall reports each week is on Tuesday morning.

Several Saws Stolen

A Wilkes man says he wasn't going to report the theft of several saws from his home recently, but was prompted to do so when he saw one of them sitting on the counter in a local pawn shop. Alan Shepherd says the saws were stolen around the first of the month. Yesterday, he went into the pawn shop and saw one of them, a Black and Decker chop saw, for sale. The pawn shop owner told him two young white males had brought in the saw. Deputies are following up with the pawn shop owner to find out who those people are. The other saws stolen included a DeWalt Super Saw, A Tile & Ceramic saw, and a circular saw. Together, the four stolen saws are worth nearly 500-dollars.

Home Invasion Nets Robbers $2,800

Wilkes sheriff deputies are investigating a home invasion that happened early this morning on Highway 16 North. Shortly after midnight, deputies received the call from Ernesto Trejo-Villeda and Genman Villeda, who said four Hispanic men had burst into their home at gunpoint, hit Enresto over the head with a crowbar, and stolen a total of 28-hundred dollars in cash from them. The men fled in a black, 1990's model Chevy truck with a black camper top. He believed they were headed out of the county. Ernesto told deputies he heard one of the men referred to as Angel, and that man was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Two others were wearing red t-shirts, and the last man was in a white t-shirt, according to the crime report. Although deputies broadcast a description of the men and the pickup, they have not been seen since. The case remains under investigation.

Linda Marley Had Sought Protection Order Before Her Death

A search of court records indicates the woman who was killed Saturday had asked for a domestic restraining order against her husband. In her request, she said that he had threatened to shoot and kill her. As we're reported previously, Terry Crit Marley is recovering from a severe knife wound at Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he is listed in fair condition.
Marley's estranged wife, Linda Diane Marley, 46, was found in her yard in the 400 block of Old Lankford Road about 12:30 a.m., said Capt. Steve Cabe of the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office. She had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges have been filed. Cabe said that investigators are talking to officials in the district attorney's office about possible charges.
The Wintson-Salem Journal reports court records show that Linda Marley filed a complaint May 31 in which she said that her husband had been released from jail on bond, went to her home and started arguing. He had threatened to kill her, shoot her, and beat her to death, she wrote. "This goes on every time he gets drunk," she wrote in her complaint. "In the past he has beat me, stoned me, choked me, hit me with a plate that cut my arm open. Has pulled guns and knives on me." She said he had threatened to commit suicide if she didn't stay with him.
A judge granted a temporary domestic protection order that required Terry Marley to stay at least 250 feet from her and to surrender any firearms he owned. The case was dismissed June 9 when neither showed up for the trial date in District Court.