Robbery
victims told, ‘Turn it over or die’
Three arrested in connection
with holdup
By JERRY
LANKFORD
Record Editor
Two men and a woman have
been charged in connection with a North Wilkesboro armed robbery. Jeffrey Jerome McDougald, 21, was arrested
by the Wilkes sheriff’s deputies Tommy Gambill and Larry Foster at a residence
in Sherwood Forest off Mountain View Road on Saturday, said North Wilkesboro
Police Det. Ann Williams. Rosanna Lynn
Marley, 21, 1062 North Hoots Road, Lot 7, Ronda, was arrested last Tuesday by
Williams at the North Wilkesboro Police Department. Shaharn Forlek Dock, 28, of Hillhaven Apartments was arrested
last Tuesday by Williams, with the assistance of Det. Derek Wiles, Assistant
Police Chief Butch Holland and North Wilkesboro patrol officers at the Intake
Center at the Wilkes County Courthouse in Wilkesboro. All three were charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon,
Williams said, adding that all three have criminal records. Bonds of $25,000 each were set for McDougald
and Dock. Marley’s bond was set at $1,500, Williams said. The arrests came in connection with a
robbery, which occurred on Dec. 21.
Williams said that victim
Luis Miguel Landero reported that two men and a woman came to the residence of
Juan Zamora on Byrd Ridge Road (where Landero was at) and asked for a ride to
Hillhaven Apartments on 6th Street in North Wilkesboro. “Once they were there, (Landero) said they
pulled in behind the apartments and a man approached them with a gun and
said, ‘Turn it over or die,’” Williams
said. Landero and Zamora handed the
armed man items including gold jewelry and cash and then left the scene,
according to the North Wilkesboro Police Department report. Williams said she has contacted the victims
and told them of the arrests. “They were
happy about it,” Williams said. Although
none of the stolen items had been recovered as of Monday, Williams said no more
arrests are expected in connection with the investigation. “We’ve got everybody who was involved in the
robbery,” Williams said. “We feel pretty good about it. Some of them you can’t
solve.”
Drunk drivers
beware
Law enforcement plans to step
up patrols for New Year’s Eve
By JERRY
LANKFORD
Record Editor
New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration — and for some that means
consuming alcoholic beverages. But, if
you drink and drive in Wilkes County, chances are you’ll be caught. Sgt. V.C. Whitley, of the Wilkes office of
the N.C. Highway Patrol, says troopers will be out in force this week, trying
to keep the roadways safe. “We’ll
probably have some checking stations here and there. We’re still working on the
Booze It and Lose It campaign,” Whitley said.
Troopers will also continue patrols in areas more prone for traffic
accidents and conducting “line patrols” on U.S. 421. “All the barrels up now on 421 and we have four lanes of traffic
from county line to county line,” Whitley said. New Year’s Eve has typically been one of the most dangerous times
of the year in regards to drunk drivers. But, some try to ensure the safety of partygoers as well as motorists
they may meet on the road, Whitley said.
“A lot of places have packages where people can stay put if they drink,”
Whitley said. “The use of designated drivers also seems to be becoming more popular.” Police officers in Wilkesboro and North
Wilkesboro, along with Wilkes sheriff’s deputies, will be watching drivers more
closely on New Year’s Eve. “We’re going to be very aware of the drivers
that night,” said North Wilkesboro Police Chief Randy Rhodes. “We’ll also have
extra patrol officers on duty.” Rhodes
added, “We would encourage that anyone who wants to drink to celebrate the New
Year, stay home or let a designated driver drive. We’d like to see all families
have a safe New Year. We don’t want to see alcohol destroy any family’s hopes
for the new year.” Although being
involved in an accident would be the worse case scenario, being stopped driving
drunk isn’t a pleasant experience.
Field tests are conducted on any suspicious drivers. If an officer
believes the driver is drunk, they are arrested and charged with driving while
impaired and requested to take a toxilizer test, Whitley said. If it is determined that the driver’s
blood-alcohol tests at .08 or higher, the person is considered legally drunk. The suspect is also taken to the
magistrate’s office where officials there determine probable cause for the
charge, Whitley said. “They
automatically lose their license until they get to court,” Whitley said. “If
they are found guilty, they lose their license for a year, automatically.” Driving classes are also required before
licenses are reinstated. And that’s
just for a first DWI offense. In North
Carolina, first-time DWI offenders pay at least $9,640 in legal fees, court
costs and fines, according to state officials.
Donation from
North Wilkesboro music store
recognized by Library of Congress
By JERRY
LANKFORD
Record Editor
Mike Palmer said he didn’t know that the donation of a set of guitar
strings would get him recognition of the Library of Congress. This week, however, Palmer, the co-owner of
Minton Music & Pawn on Main Street, North Wilkesboro, received a letter
from the American Folklife Center thanking him for the gift. It wasn’t a random donation that Palmer
made, but rather for a specific instrument — a guitar once owned by American
balladeer Burl Ives. The donation came
from a conversation Palmer had with musician Lucy Allen of South Carolina, who
once lived in this area. Allen has
worked extensively with folklore groups in both North Carolina and South
Carolina. Two weeks ago, Palmer said,
Allen was at the music store and mentioned that she was headed to Washington,
D.C. When Palmer asked why, she said she was going to the American Folklife
Center and would have a chance to “touch” Ives classical Hauser guitar. Ives
donated the guitar to the center in 1989, six years before his death in 1995. Allen went on to tell Palmer that most of
the instruments that she has ever seen exhibited as historic or cultural
displays had “dead strings.” Palmer had
a simple solution. “I said to Lucy, ‘Well, why don’t you take a set of strings
for it?’” He picked out a set of Augustine
Blue nylon strings for Ives’ old guitar.
Allen reported back to
Palmer that she restrung the guitar and even had a chance to play a few songs
on the instrument. Palmer wasn’t expecting
anything other than the satisfaction of contributing to the sound of the
historic instrument. Instead, he
received a letter from the American Folklore Center of the Library of Congress. The letter, dated Dec. 23, states: “Dear Mr. Palmer, We at the Archive of Folk
Culture of the American Folklife Center wish to thank you for your generous donation
of the set of Augustine Blue nylon strings for our Burl Ives Guitar. Lucy Allen
conveyed the strings to us, and placed them on Burl’s guitar just today, and it
is a great improvement. Prior to this, the strings had not been changed since
Burl last played the guitar in a concert here in 1989. “Our visitors and researchers enjoy using
Burl’s guitar to try out a new song they’ve found here in the Archive, or to
play an old familiar one on a celebrity’s instrument. I know that they, in
particular, will appreciate having the new strings.” The letter went on to state, “If Burl were alive, he would thank
you, too. We hope someday soon you can make a trip to hear your strings singing
on Burl’s lovely Hauser guitar.”
The correspondence was
signed by Folklife Specialist Jennifer A. Cutting. Palmer said he was glad to make the donation. “Anything we can do to help with music, I
want to be a part of it,” he said.
Retired educator Paul W. Gregory, 90, dies
Paul William Gregory,
90, a longtime Wilkes County educator, died Monday morning, Dec. 29. Gregory, of Mountain View Road, Hays, was
the widower of Ruth Dare Proffit Gregory. He died at Avante Nursing and Rehabilitation
Center in Wilkesboro. Funeral services
will be held Wednesday, Dec. 31, at 11 a.m., at Mountain View Baptist Church in
Hays with the Rev. Julius Blevins and the Rev. Van Proffit officiating. The
body will be placed in the church at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be at Mountlawn Memorial Park. Gregory was born Jan. 24, 1913, in Wilkes
County to John Franklin and Mary Lou Shepherd Gregory. After graduating from
Appalachian State Teachers College in Boone, in 1934, Gregory taught school and
coached girls’ basketball at Mineral Springs High School in Winston-Salem. He was then hired by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco
Company to sell tobacco products in the New York and New Jersey areas, which he
did for the next 12 years. In 1947,
Gregory was hired as the principal at the Mountain View School in Hays. During the next 30 years, he served as a
respected educator in Wilkes County as a teacher and a principal. During the early years of school
consolidation, Gregory became the North Wilkes District principal, supervising
North Wilkes High School and its feeder elementary schools. After district
principalships were abolished by the board of education, Gregory completed his
career with Wilkes County Schools by remaining principal at North Wilkes High
School until his retirement in 1976.
Gregory was a member of the Mountain View Baptist Church, where he
served as deacon and Sunday school teacher. He was also director of music at
the church for 53 years — a position that he cherished. Gregory was preceded in death by his wife of
63 years, Ruth Proffit Gregory who died in 2001; one grandson, Rick Gregory;
six sisters, Elma Adams, Ruth Key, Vergie Johnson, Belva Byrd, Ina Handy, Ennis
Wood; one brother, Lester Gregory; as well as his parents.
He is survived by:
One son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Richard Brent and Lynda Ray Gregory of
Charlotte;
One grandson, Tom Russell of Charlotte;
One sister and her husband, Oma Jean and Jack Martin of Courtland, Va.
He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
The family received friends at Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home in North
Wilkesboro on Tuesday evening.
Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to Mountain View
Baptist Church, P O Box 47, Hays, NC 28635.
COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS
Wilkes County Health Department to offer Smoking
Cessation Classes. The Wilkes
County Health Department will offer a smoking cessation program beginning in
January. The program consists of four
one-hour sessions and is free of charge.
For more information about the program or to register, please call
651-7478.
We apologize for the change in the Wellness
Center’s Pre Natal schedule: Due to
low attendance for our November Pre Natal class, we are unable to offer it at
this time. We do plan on offering this
class again in January and will provide more information on this class in December. Thank you and we apologize for the change.
January 3, 2004 — 7:30 p.m. – The Fairview
Ruritan Club, Galax, VA presents
IIIrd Tyme Out and special guests Honi Deaton & Dream. Admission: $12 for adults, children under 12
admitted free. Concessions
available. For more information or
advanced tickets call 276-238-0376 or visit our website: www.BluegrassInGalax.com.
Blue Ridge Opportunity Commission, Inc.
(BROC) will hold its BROC Executive
Committee Meeting on Thursday, January 8, 2004 at 6:30 p.m. at the BROC Wilkes
Office in Wilkesboro, NC. Please call
Wilkes Office at 667-7174, Ashe Office at 384-4543 or Alleghany Office at
372-7284 for additional information.
TOPS — Take off pounds sensibly. Join
us every Monday at 5 p.m. at St. John’s Church Education Building located on
C.C. Wright School Road. For more information, call Margaret at 696-2442.
A child passenger safety seat check by Certified child safety technicians takes place the third Wednesday of
each month between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. at the Wilkes County Health Department.
No appointment is necessary. You must check in with the front desk
receptionist. For more information, call 651-7478.
