An online poll conducted by a Wilkes county candidate for the North Carolina House indicates respondents believe job recruitment to be the most important issue their representative in Raleigh can address. In a news release, Larry Pendry says half chose job recruitment, while 22-percent viewed making government accountable as the most important issue. Health care followed at 17-percent, and the environment beat education in importance, scoring 8-percent to education funding’s 2-percent. The poll was conducted among an undisclosed number of people who chose to answer the questions on Pendry’s campaign web site, and cannot be considered statistically reliable.
A crash yesterday afternoon in Wilkes injured a Watauga motorcycle rider. Wilkes County dispatchers confirm the wreck was reported about 2:35 pm on 421 near the Lewis Fork Bridge. 45-year old Beth Cramer of Watauga apparently hit the rear of a stopped car and was thrown from the motorcycle, according to local officials. The highway patrol report on the wreck is incomplete, according to the local patrol office, so it’s not clear if the car stopped suddenly or what actually happened to cause the wreck. Cramer was airlifted to Baptist Medical Center. The name of the person in the other vehicle is not available, but we do know she was not transported anywhere by EMS.
Wilkes county schools have announced a new program that’s being tried at schools in the northern part of the county, which is ment to help children who are new to the United States. Dr. Wanda Hutchinson said in a news release that North High, North Middle, and Mulberry Elementary were picked for the pilot because those are the schools where more immigrant students have enrolled int he past year. The program is being funded through a mix of local and federal funding. The pilot is small, having only one teacher, whose salary is funded locally. He goes to each of the schools on a rotating basis.
Denise Daniels, who is Wilkes County Schools ESL director, told the Journal-Patriot many school systems have so-called “newcomer” programs, but this one is being customized for Wilkes County’s needs. Students learn a new language faster in a low stress environment, she said, citing recent studies on the problem. Having consistency among the three schools will be key to the program’s success, she said.