Reckless Driver Hits Utility Pole, Runs Off
A high-speed crash caused a large traffic backup yesterday evening, but surprisingly, no one was hurt. The Highway patrol reports Eduardo Ibarra was traveling northbound on Highway 115 near Broadway about 60 miles an hour and lost control as he tried to round a curve where the limit is 45. Ibarra smashed into a utility pole, then jumped out of the car and ran from the scene. He was captured a short time later, though, and jailed on charges of reckless driving, hit-and-run, and driving on a revoked license.

Stolen Car Found
Sheriff Deputies have located a car reported stolen from the side of Old Highway 60 near Clingman on Sunday. Yesterday, a deputy stopped the 1996 Ford Contour on US 421 near Highway 115. He arrested Roberto Perez Gonzalez on a charge of possession of stolen property. Gonzalez told the deputy the car had been loaned to him on Saturday by a woman who then left in another car.

C-Store Owner Shoots at Burglar
A Wilkes convenience store owner who has been one of the victims in a recent rash of break-ins took matters into his own hands when someone broke out his front window last night. Sheriff Deputies say Ralph Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Citgo on West Highway 421, took three shots at a man who had just smashed the front window and was trying to climb into the store. The man was not hit, and ran from the area. Johnson tells deputies he didn’t get a good look at the guy, except that he was a white male. That fits at least part of the description of a burglar who has broken into several C-stores and stolen cigarettes.

Stolen Stuff Isn't Funny, But...
It’s hard not to laugh at this case, in spite of the victim’s misfortune. A Roaring River woman reported Wednesday evening that someone came into her yard and took two items. She says the last time she was sure the items were there was on Tuesday about lunch time. So what was stolen? A 30-inch cement giraffe and a pink folding lawn chair.

Man Arrested, Loaded Pistol Found in Car Seat
A wanted felon was captured this week by an alert sheriff’s deputy. Corey Denny was seen by the deputy as he turned into the Shell parking lot at the Highway 268/18 Intersection near Elkin. The deputy says Denny walked up to him after getting out of his car, and smelled of alcohol, but did not appear to be drunk. However, the deputy knew Denny had no driver’s license, and was wanted for trespassing and injury to personal property. After he cuffed Denny, the deputy went to secure his car, and saw a 38-special in plain view on the front seat. Turns out the gun was loaded. So far, there have not been any charges filed in relation to the gun.

Death Investigation
The death of a North Wilkesboro man this week is under investigation. Sheriff Deputies say his wife found 34-year old Douglas Poteat’s body about 5:30 Tuesday evening. Although Poteat had multiple health problems, an autopsy was requested. The results of the autopsy aren’t back yet. The case remains under investigation, with no statement in police reports about whether they consider it suspicious or not.

Regional News:

Black Churches Vandalized
Members of some Winston-Salem churches are on edge after a series of unsolved break-ins.

Church leaders at Hanes Memorial CME Church said vandals have struck three times this year, with the most recent incident occurring last week.

They said doors were destroyed but nothing was stolen. Several thousand dollars of damage was done, however.

Golar Memorial AME Zion church was also vandalized last week.

Judge Finds Break-In
A vacationing District Court Judge was the victim of a break-in Monday afternoon or evening. Judge Mitch McClean says he arrived home from vacation to find his basement door broken and standing open. No other doors in the house were damaged, because the judge had set his right-hand garage door to be able to be opened by hand, so a family member could keep an eye on the house while he was gone. Judge McClean was unable to determine if anything was missing, but nonetheless has offered a reward for information in the break-in. Anyone who may have seen the burglar in the 22-hundred block of Meadowood Lane between 4 and 9 Labor Day evening is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 667-89-00, or Wilkesboro Police at 667-72-77.

Historic Courthouse Flower Bed Damaged
Someone drove over the flower bed and historical area behind the old Courthouse in Wilkesboro, causing extensive damage. But police don’t have many clues in the case, in part because it wasn’t reported until several days after it happened. Sometime between Tuesday and Friday of last week, what appears to be a dually pickup, or at least something with two pairs of tires, apparently backed into the flower bed, which means the vehicle was going the wrong way on the one way street. Wilkesboro police investigating the property damage call say the vehicle was carrying quite a bit of weight, judging from the tire tracks, and that the tires were fairly narrow for dual wheels.

Domestic Violence
Domestic situations are among the most volatile one law enforcement officers respond to. A sheriff deputy asked to monitor a man who was moving out of his girlfriend’s home nearly got caught in the middle of the fight that ended with the girlfriend being arrested. Deputy S.T. Roberts says 38-year old Robin Shoaf took a running start and punched 23-year old Timothy Ray Hall in the back of the head as he loaded his stuff from the house to the car yesterday afternoon (Wednesday). When he walked up to Shoaf after that, Deputy Roberts says she tried to pull away from him several times as he placed her under arrest. He ended up having to not only cuff her, but secure her using an arm bar, before he could get her under control and take her to jail. She faces charges domestic abuse and resisting arrest.

Wilkes Quilt Show This Weekend
The Wilkes County Quilters Guild is holding its annual Quilt Show tomorrow and Saturday. It’s at Lewis Fork Baptist Church, which is about 10 miles west of Wal-Mart on 421. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.

The theme for this year's show is "Quilted Treasures.” Along with several vendors, there will be a quilt in a frame and guild members will be doing hand quilting demonstrations throughout the show. It runs from 9 to 6 tomorrow and 9 to 4 Saturday.

Regional News

Blowing Rock Logging Proposal Nixed, Alternate In Works
Federal officials say a new plan will be devised for a logging proposal near Blowing Rock that has drawn intense public opposition.

Forestry officials got more than 1,200 comments from the public, with most against cutting trees on 231 acres in Pisgah National Forest.

Opponents of the plan said the cutting would ruin views that attract tourists and destroy some ancient trees.

District Ranger Joy Malone said officials "clearly heard the importance people place on the scenic views of the forest from around Blowing Rock."

Malone said she asked her staff to develop an alternate plan.

More Teens Have Never Smoked
An increasing number of North Carolina teenagers have never smoked a cigarette, according to a survey of tobacco use by young people.

The 2005 N.C. Youth Tobacco Survey found that 74.2 percent of middle school students and 45.7 percent of high school students said they had never smoked. That's up from 64.9 percent of middle schoolers and 35.8 percent of high schoolers in 2001.

The findings, from a survey of 6,000 students at 177 North Carolina schools, were released Tuesday by the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund.

N.C. Colleges: Better, Worse
A nationwide study released today says North Carolina is doing better at preparing students for college and keeping them enrolled. But it is also doing worse at making post-secondary education affordable.

The report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education comes just a few weeks after a state think tank criticized near-annual tuition increases in the University of North Carolina system.

U-N-C spokeswoman Joni Worthington defended the system's efforts to provide financial aid to students who need it. She noted that a task force is expected to report later this fall a four-year plan on tuition rates.

The nationwide report card flunks most states when it comes to college affordability.

No Decision Yet on Sexually-Oriented Business Rules
The one-year moratorium on sexually-oriented businesses in Wilkes County will last another month, after a decision last night by county commissioners to extend it. The moratorium was scheduled to end today. It was put in place after a Statesville topless club owner started looking into opening a club in Wilkes.

An ordinance to regulate such businesses had been in the works since last fall. The commission agenda for last night listed the ordinance as a possible action item, but commissioners unanimously agreed to extend the moratorium on the advice of County Attorney Gary Triplett. He told them there were a few loose ends – things they may wish to consider that would make the ordinance both more restrictive and easier to defend in court.

The proposal is much more restrictive than similar ordinances already in effect in Ashe and Watauga counties. It places a 2-thousand foot – or nearly one-half mile – buffer around homes, schools and churches. In the other counties, the closets a sexually-oriented business can be to a home is 600 feet – about three blocks. Because of how homes, schools and churches are scattered throughout Wilkes County, the half-mile buffer ends up limiting the businesses to four areas – all of them near adjacent county lines.

Local Medical Supply Firm Sells
A medical supply company with a location in North Wilkesboro has been bought by a Michigan firm. Lovell Medical announced last week the purchase by Arcadia Resources, a company that markets home-care staffing services as well as medical supplies. According to a news release announcing the sale, Lovell generates about 3-million dollars a year in revenue. The sale includes Lovell Medical Supply locations in North Wilkesboro, Elkin, Mount Airy and Statesville.

New Bus Service for Wilkes, Beyond
There’s a new, four times a day bus service through Wilkesboro. The route starts in Greensboro and runs to Boone in the morning, then retraces the route. In the afternoon, the bus repeats the cycle. In the morning, a rider can be in Boone by 8:30 a.m. and to Greensboro by 11:45. The bus departs Greensboro at 3, reaching Wilkesboro shortly after 5 and Boone about 6. It passes through about 7:30 p.m. on the return leg. It runs seven days a week. It also makes stops at both Winston-Salem hospitals, making it a convenient way to get back and forth for medical care.

A round-trip ticket for the full ride costs only 10-dollars for students. So far, ridership has been light, but PART, the agency that’s running the route, has just started getting the word out. The route follows one abandoned by Greyhound as unprofitable.

Convenience Store Break-In, More Smokes Stolen
Another Wilkes county convenience store is the victim of a smash-and-grab burglary. Early yesterday morning, a newspaper carrier saw a broken window at Parsons Quick Stop in Roaring River, and called 9-1-1. A sheriff deputy found about 40 loose packs of cigarettes stolen from above the counter. A storage cabinet below the counter that holds cartons of smokes was open, but the store owner said nothing had been taken from it. He also said it appeared nothing else in the store had been touched. There are no suspects so far. It’s the third such theft in the past few weeks.

Grocery Store Break-In, Few Smokes Stolen
A Traphill grocery store owner is a bit more fortunate in some ways. Sometime between 8 Tuesday night and 6:30 yesterday morning, a person who was apparently trying to steal cigarettes threw a brick through the plate glass front window at Dockery’s Grocery. Deputies found an empty cigarette carton outside the store, but owner Larry Gamble says he believes only a pack or two were actually stolen. He still has a 550-dollar window to replace, but isn’t out the several hundreds of dollars worth of smokes stolen from convenience stores recently.

Moravian Falls Gas Drive-Off
A quick-thinking clerk was able to get the tag number of the person who drove off from Moravian Mart without paying for almost 50-dollars in gas Monday morning. The clerk says a red truck pulled up and pumped 47-50 worth of gas, then sped off. When deputies went to the home of the North Wilkesboro person who owns the vehicle matching the tag number, a family member said the man no longer lived at the house, but that he did drive a small red pickup truck. So far, he has not been arrested.

Stolen Car Update
A correction from the Sheriff’s office on a story we reported yesterday on 3WC news. The license tag number of a stolen Ford Contour was listed on the original report incorrectly. The correct number, on a teal 1996 Ford Contour, is North Carolina T-Y-X 39-79. The car was stolen from alongside Old Highway 60 near Clingman Sunday afternoon. Neighbors reported a white man, about 6-feet tall with long dark hair was near the car minutes before the car was taken.

Man Claims Guns Stolen
A Hays man says someone stole two guns from his home, and he thinks he knows who. Joel Johnston told sheriff deputies that sometime between noon Labor Day and early Tuesday, a .22 rifle and .22 handgun were stolen from the house. Although he has given deputies the name of a person he believes may have taken the guns, they have not listed that person as an official suspect. There was no evidence of a break-in, and Mr. Johnston told deputies only family members and the person he identified had been in the house.


Regional News

AME Church in Winston-Salem Broken Into -- Again
Police are investigating a church break-in at a church in Winston-Salem that has been victimized in the past. The incident occurred last week at Golar AME Zion Church. It was the third time break-in at the church in the past two years. Nothing was stolen from the church, but the damage will cost about one-thousand dollars to repair.

Yadkin County Jail Plans Move Forward
Plans for a new jail in Yadkin County are getting underway this week, after a split county board voted Tuesday to hire a consultant. Following a lengthy debate, commissioners voted to hire Steve Allen to help with the site selection, design and other planning that will be necessary for a new jail. The county will pay Allen’s company, about nine-thousand dollars.

The current jail is more than 40 years old - and it is showing its age. On Aug. 3, its 29 inmates were transferred to jails in other counties after temperatures inside reached more than 100 degrees and some inmates showed signs of heat stroke. Before the evacuation, about 15 other inmates were already being held in other counties because of a lack of space in Yadkin's jail. It has only 24 beds and is not equipped to house women.

Closing the jail, in addition to the overcrowding, has cost the county more than $50,000 over the past month. Jails in other counties charge $45 a day to house an inmate.

Judge to Governor: You Broke the Law
A Superior Court judge has ruled Governor Mike Easley and others violated the constitution in 2001 by intercepting $225 million headed for state pension funds to help cover a budget shortfall.

Easley has defended taking the state's contributions to the pension funds, saying it was his legal duty to balance a budget that was off by $850 million. Some of the money was repaid by the end of the 2001, but $130 million is outstanding.

Fourteen current and former state workers sued, arguing that the decision hindered the financial soundness of the pension plan.

After hearing oral arguments in February, Superior Court Judge Joseph John agreed yesterday that the Easley administration and other state officials violated a state constitution provision requiring that retirement funds be used only for their intended purpose.

Domestic Violence
Sheriff Deputies have arrested two people for alleged assaults on others over the weekend.

On Friday afternoon, deputies arrested Carla Ruth Byrd for assaulting her girlfriend and a relative. Deputies say as they arrived, they saw Byrd she kick and hit both women. Although no alcohol-related charges have been filed, deputies say alcohol did play a part in the incident.

A North Wilkesboro man was arrested last (Monday) night for beating on his wife and son with a vacuum cleaner wand. Deputies say the woman told them Juan Galeas had been drinking before the incident.

Mailbox Bombings, Vandalism
Deputies are investigating a rash of recent mailbox bombings and vandalism

On Saturday, improvised explosive devices went off in the mailbox at two homes on Mulberry Road. Deputies say the pipe bombs were found by the mail carrier, and that they exploded between the time the carrier found them and deputies arrived. The explosives are described as being plastic bottles filled with tacks and unfired 22-caliber blanks. They have been confined in the Hazardous Devices Unit bus during the investigation, which is continuing.

Roman candles were the explosive of choice Thursday night, as three mailboxes were scorched along Old Highway 60 in Millers Creek. Neighbors say they heard a loud boom about 9:30 Thursday night, and the scorched mailboxes were reported early Friday afternoon. There are no suspects.

Around midday Monday, two Traphill-area residents called deputies to report their mailboxes had been vandalized. In one case, the vandals damaged an entire row of mailboxes and stole one of them; in the other, deputies say it appeared the mailbox had been ripped off its post.

Thief Grabs $288 from Woman's Purse
A North Wilkesboro woman is almost 300-dollars poorer today, simply because she went to work this weekend. Kristin Palmer tells Wilkesboro Police she was working at Mayflower Restaurant on Saturday, and when she pulled her purse from under the front counter at the end of her shift, she discovered 288-dollars in cash had been taken from the purse. So far, there are no suspects.

Stolen Car
Sheriff Deputies are on the lookout for a stolen car. A Hamptonville woman reported her 1996 Ford Contour was stolen while she was working Sunday afternoon at a chicken house along Old Highway 60 near Clingman. Neighbors say they saw a man less than 50 feet form the car not long before the theft was reported. They describe him as a white man with dark shoulder length hair, about 6-feet tall. Deputies do not have a clothing description for the man, or a name. The teal 1996 Ford Contour has North Carolina license plate T V X 39-79.

Stolen Pickup Recovered
Good news for one person whose pickup was stolen recently. The pickup was apparently abandoned by the thieves near a North Wilkesboro home Friday night. The homeowner called 9-1-1 after he had to move the truck to get onto his property. Deputies recovered the truck, along with nearly 300-dollars worth of roofing supplies and tools. Although the owner now has the truck back, the case remains under investigation, with no suspects identified so far.

Radio Shack Bomb Threat
Wilkesboro Police are looking to a disgruntled customer as a possible suspect in the bomb threat that forced the evacuation of Radio Shack and adjacent businesses on Friday. Just after noon, the store manager call 9-1-1, about 10 minutes after someone called him saying there was a bomb in the store. Authorities got everyone out safely, and found no bomb. The manager told police he had had a small dispute with a man over a cell phone less than an hour earlier. The man bought a small item and paid with cash, and the store has no security cameras, so police don’t know who he was. They are subpoenaing records from the store’s phone company to trace the call.

Labor Day Weekend Hme Break-Ins
Sheriff Deputies are investigating two large home break-ins reported over the weekend.

The first was reported Friday afternoon. A thief broke into a home on Mulberry Pine Lane and stole over one-thousand dollars worth of fishing equipment. The items were stored in the basement according to the owner, but the burglar broke in through the front door. Nothing from the house was missing. The owner, James Ward, told deputies he hadn’t been in the basement since June. The case is listed as under investigation.

Neighbors discovered a break-in Sunday afternoon at a home on Gabriels Way. Nearly 20-thousand dollars worth of appliances, home furnishings and electronics were taken. Neighbors gave deputies the tag number of a pickup that was seen in the area shortly before the burglary was discovered, and deputies have spoken to the occupants of that truck, but have yet to make an arrest. The list of items stolen may grow after the homeowners, a Florida couple, arrive and inventory the house.

Flooding Rains Possible
Some flooding is possible as moderate to heavy rain storms creep through our area tonight. A cold front is stalled over the top of the area, and showers and thunderstorms are likely to move repeatedly over the same areas much of the evening. Remember, if water is covering the road, turn around, don’t drown. You don’t know, especially at night, whether the road surface is still there.


Regional News

NC Couple Dies in VA Plane Crash
State police said a North Carolina man and woman were killed when their small plane crashed in Pittsylvania County, Virginia on Monday.

The man and woman were trying to return to Smith Mountain Lake Airport when their plane came apart, authorities said.

Their names haven't been released.

September: Ready NC Month
Gov. Mike Easley has proclaimed September as "Ready North Carolina" month to encourage citizens, businesses and schools to take steps to prepare themselves for natural disasters and other emergencies.

The governor's proclamation coincides with National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and held each September to encourage Americans to prepare for emergencies.

In the last five years North Carolina has experienced nearly 200 tornadoes, more than 3,000 severe thunderstorms, 15 tropical storms or hurricanes as well as blizzards, ice storms and heat waves. During these weather events, officials said it's imperative that citizens are prepared to evacuate or survive in their homes without power and other utilities.

Waterfall Plunge Causes Critical Injuries
A 39-year old Ferguson man is reported in critical condition, after falling down a waterfall near his home Saturday afternoon. Jeremy Allen Page was found at the bottom of Bucks Falls, about 20 minutes after he fell an estimated 70 feet. Page suffered a severe head injury, along with a broken back, along with his right arm and leg, and some broken ribs.

Rescuers from Ferguson and the Wilkes Rescue Squad had to strap Page into a stokes basket and carry him about a quarter mile to a waiting ambulance. He was airlifted to Carolina’s Medical Center in Charlotte from a landing area set up at the Ferguson Fire Department.

Bucks Falls is along Pumpkin Creek, about a mile and a half from Highway 268, off the unpaved part of Pumpkin Creek Road. Page is in intensive care, but is expected to recover.

Drug Connection?
Authorities are looking at whether there is a drug connection to the recent theft of tires and wheels worth 18-hundred dollars. Tonya Shumate reports she came home from working night shift at Wilkes Senior Village last Wednesday to find that a set of tires and rims that had been on a Ford Explorer were gone. She tells law enforcement there is a lot of activity on her road that she believes is drug-related. There have been no arrests in the case.

Generator Stolen -- Who Knows When?
Although a stolen generator has turned up at a local pawn shop, so far authorities have not made any arrests. The property owner, who lives in Georgia, said she came to check on the property last week and found that the storage building had been pried open and the generator stolen. She found it at the pawn shop, where the manager says it had been for over a month. He is checking records to find who pawned the generator, and is holding it during the investigation.


Regional News


NC Man to Run Across Sahara Desert
A North Carolina man will be one of the stars of a new movie from actor Matt Damon's production company. But Charlie Engel of Summerfield won't exactly enjoy the experience.

He and two others are planning to run across the Sahara Desert. The 43-year-old and his companions will attempt to run 50 miles a day in one of the world's most extreme climates. The 4,000 mile journey will take 80 days.

Landis Police Chief Resigns
The police chief of Landis has resigned. Chief Charles Childers was arrested about two weeks ago on felony child pornography charges.

Landis town administrator Reed Linn says Childers submitted a resignation letter Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint, Childers used the Internet to distribute child pornography across state lines. It also said he tried persuade someone he thought was an underage girl to meet with him for sexual activity. Authorities said that person is actually an undercover agent with the Michigan Attorney General's Office.

Childers faces a possible sentence of between 5 and 30 years in prison. He worked for the Landis Police Department for more than 25 years.

Ernesto Water Flowing to Sea
The overflowing Northeast Cape Fear River began to recede from rural North Carolina communities Monday, although forecasters said the waterway probably won't be back to normal levels until the end of the week.

About 140 people have been evacuated in Duplin and Pender counties, where the Cape Fear had swelled over its banks by about 6 feet, officials said. The water was beginning to drain Monday as the river purged itself of Tropical Storm Ernesto's rainfall.

No injuries were reported.

Unregulated Phone Service
BellSouth is asking state regulators to give up their oversight of the company. It wants to be able to set rates and service areas without restrictions or public hearings.

The arm of the state Utilities Commission that represents consumers intends to fight BellSouth's request, which was filed Thursday.

Atlanta-based BellSouth is North Carolina's largest provider of local telephone service. It's the first local phone-service company in the state to seek freedom from all price and service quality controls. BellSouth officials said regulation is no longer needed because its customers have choices that didn't exist decades ago when its services were regulated as a monopoly.