BIG TALKER TOP STORIES

Authorities in New Hanover County continue to look into an apparent murder suicide that took place over the weekend. Thirty seven year old Joseph Rouse is believed to have caused the death of his forty two year old girlfriend Kimberly Hill. Authorities say Rouse was found dead on I One Forty after he allegedly jumped from an overpass on Highway Seventeen. His death caused traffic to be shut down for a few hours beginning around three thirty Saturday afternoon. A family member of Rouses girlfriend was at the scene of the incident and led police to the her home in the Providence Park Apartments where  Hill's body was discovered. Her body has been sent to the state medical examiers office when an autopsy will be conducted to find the cause of her death.

In Sports, The Pender High School football team will be playing for the state championship this week. The Patriots defeated Southwest Onlsow on Friday night twenty eight, seventeen to advance to the Class One Double A State Finals. The State Championship is scheduled for this upcoming Friday night at seven thirty in Chapel Hill. Wallace Rose Hill will also play for the Class One title after defeating Plymouth thirty eight zip.

North Carolina Democrat Senator Hagan will join President Obama today during his visit to Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston Salem. Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from Winston Salem will not be taking part in today's events. Senator Hagan will be with the President as he tours two biotech classrooms, speaks with students, teachers and business leaders and delivers remarks on the economy. She also greet the President on the tarmac upon his arrival at the airport in Greensboro.

As frigid temperatures continue to grip the region this holiday season, law enforcement agenices are you encouraging you to keep in contact with elderly family members and nearby neighbors. Sheriff Jon Ingram from Brunswick County says just a quick phone call can go a long way. Fire officials also say, when people must use space heaters and fireplaces to stay warm, the risk of household fires increases, as well as the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, try to keep dogs and cats indoors during the winter, especially when it’s really cold.

Health officials are encouraging you and your families to get the seasonly flu vaccine. They say you can reduce the spread of influenza, by practicing the Three C’s: stay Clean by properly washing your hands frequently, Cover, cover your cough and sneeze  and Contain, which means you should contain your germs by staying home if you are sick. People at high risk of serious influenza complications, including young children; pregnant women; people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease; and people sixtty five years and older should make getting vaccinated a priority

Newly elected officials Brian Berger and Rick Catlin will officially be sworn in during todays Commissioners meeting in New Hanover County. Catlin will be sworn in by Judge Sandra Ray Criner and Berger will take the oath of office as administered by State Representative Carolyn Justice. The two new members on the board are replacing outgoing commissioners Bill Caster and Bobby Greer.

A number of events are going on this weekend to get you into the holiday spirit.
The drama department at Cape Fear Community College will be putting on four performances of a Charlie Brown Christmas inside the McLeod building at its Downtown campus. Showtimes are tonight at eight o'clock, with two shows on Saturday at three pm and eight pm and on Sunday at three as well. For more details log onto cfcc dot edu.
The town of Oak Island will hold its annual tree lighting tonight at six pm at Middleton Park. Entertainment will begin just after five o'clock. The twenty fourth Annual Christmas by the Sea Festival Parade will be on Saturday, beginning at two pm. The parade route is two miles extending down Oak Island Drive to McGlamery Street.
Airlie gardens will also continue their annual enchanted airlie holiday event this weekend as well. Tickets must be purchased in advance either at the Airlie Garden Service Center or on the web at airliegardens dot org. Enchanted Airlie will be held each and every Friday and Saturday night leading up to Christmas.
The annual Holiday Parade here in Wilmington will take place on Sunday beginning at five o'clock The parade will begin at the intersection of North Front and Walnut streets.
The Poplar Grove plantation will hold their thirtieth annual Christmas Open House on Sunday from noon till five PM. There will be plenty of activities for the kids at the Plantation located on HIghway Seventeen in Scotts Hill, right at the New Hanover, Pender County line.  For details log onto the web at poplar grove dot com.
and through December twenty first, the Cape Fear Model Railroad Society will join the holiday festivities and bring the largest showcase of trains in the state to the twenty six thousand square foot warehouse behind Stein Mart in Hanover Center on Oleander Drive. Showtimes are on Fridays from six till nine pm and on Saturdays from two to five. Two final performances will be held on Monday and Tuesday, December twentieth and twenty first.

As holiday shoppers begin to lick their lips for all the great deals that will hit retail stores over the next week or so, law enforcement agencies are offering a number of tips to stay safe this years. They say anyone paying with cash should look closely at any bills they get as change before leaving the register to check for counterfeit money. Officers will be increasing patrols at major shopping centers. Shoppers should lock their doors, store their bags in their trunks and not keep any valuables visible through windows. Also be sure to guard your credit card information closely.

The Cape Fear Chapter of the American Red Cross is seeking new Facebook friends this holiday season with a goal to reach twenty five hundred friends that Like their page by the end of the year. The disaster relief organization uses Facebook and other social media tools to communicate messages during times of disaster, share safety and preparedness tips, promote blood drives and as a mechanism to interact with community members. The initiative is being launched to help promote awareness of the vital programs, services and information offered by the Red Cross.

Crews from the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority will be begin to flush the water system this weekend improve water quality in the area. Beginning this Sunday night, the Utility Authority will begin its comprehensive drinking water system flushing in the Downtown area. Flushing of these lines will occur this upcoming Sunday night through Thursday morning between the hours of nine pm and seven a.m. During these hours, customers in the flushing area may experience decreased water pressure and discolored water. You should refrain from washing clothes and minimize their use of water during these times. Additional areas are also scheduled to be flushed. For more info, you can log onto the web at cfpua dot org.

Later on tonight, The City of Wilmington will hold their Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony on at Riverfront Park. Holiday entertainment will begin at five forty five followed by the lighting of the tree at around six twenty.  Santa will arrive shortly thereafter and will be available for children to visit at no cost. The view across the river to the Battleship will also provide added enjoyment as the Battleship will also coordinate a special lighting at their site in conjunction with the tree lighting. The tree lighting was moved to Riverfront Park from the Worlds Oldest Living Christmas tree this year due to ongoing work at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant.

The town of Wrightsville Beach will also hold their twenty seventh annual holdiay flotilla over the weekend as well. The festivities kick off on Friday night at five thirty with a tree lighting ceremony at Wrightsville Beach Park. The holiday launch party will follow at the Blockade Runner. Then on Saturday, the festival in the Park will be held at Wrightsville Beach from ten am till four pm. The lighted boat parade and fireworks are expected to attract some fifty thousand people to beach town and is scheduled to being at around six o'clock Saturday night.

The Boardwalk Makeover Group will also hold their Second Annual Christmas by the Sea held on the Boardwalk in Carolina Beach. The annual seasonal event begins with the Lighting of the Boardwalk on Friday night at seven thirty, following the Lighting at the Lake. The kickoff event will feature live music, an arts and crafts show, a live nativity and many more fun family activities.

 Airlie gardens will also launch their sixth annual enchanted airlie holiday event this weekend as well. Each year, the glittering landscape of lighted oaks and twinkling displays provides and holiday fantasy for those in the area. Tickets must be purchased in advance either at the Airlie Garden Service Center or on the web at airliegardens dot org. Enchanted Airlie will be held each and every Friday and Saturday night leading up to Christmas.

Over ninety dads, step-dads, granddads and other important males have planned to attend Codington Elementary Schools Watch Dog event scheduled for this evening at six pm at the school on Carolina Beach Road. The Watch Dogs program helps schools build positive involvement of fathers and father-figures in a students’ life. The school and the Codington PTA will have a pizza dinner followed by a presentation as an introduction to the program tonight. For more info on this WatchDog program you can call Principal Budd Dingwall at seven, nine, zero, two, two, three, six.

The leader of the State Highway Patrol is helping to launch a campaign to urge motorists to avoid impaired and reckless driving during the holidays. Commander Michael Gilchrist will help start the Tie One On ribbon campaign in a ceremony scheduled for today at the Highway Patrol Training Academy in Raleigh. The intiative is being sponsored by the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  The campaign encourages drivers to tie a red ribbon to their vehicles between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day to symbolize their pledge to drive safe and sober throughout the holidays.

As we approach the holiday season across the country, you should remember that November is reocgnized as Military Family Appreciation Month. According to the latest report by the Office of Army Demographics, fifty eight percent of Soldiers are married, and another six point seven percent are single with children. This will be the tenth consecutive year in which thousands of our service members and their military families will be separated during the holidays. Students at one local elementary school have been working to help make the holidays a little brighter for veterans. Students at Parsley Elementary School have created over six hundred greeting cards during their lessons with the school counselor, Sarah Marion. Today, the cards will be delivered to the Battleship North Carolina. Then will then be distributed to veterans throughout the Carolinas and in Virginia.

Sheriff Ed McMahon has added bicycles to the Patrol Division at the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office has purchased ten bikes from Two Wheeler Dealer and incorporated them into various components of the Patrol Division. The bikes will be used for community policing, area schools, parks, festivals, and other special events that require law enforcement presence. The bikes will allow the law enforcement agency to cut down on the amount of Deputies needed for special events due to the fact that two Deputies can cover more area on bikes than four Deputies on foot.

Round Two of the State Playoffs in High School Football picks up tonight with a few teams from the area in action. In Class Three A, South Brunswick will play at home and take on Southern Wayne. In Class Two A, East Bladen plays at South Columbus and in class one double A, East Columbus takes on Pender. All of tonights games will kickoff at seven thirty. Its going to be a cold one there tonight, so make sure your bundle up.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation has received fifty thousand dollars to build three rain gardens at schools along the coast. The Wal-Mart Foundation's State Giving Program gave the grant to the non-profit group. The schools will be chosen this month, and the federation will work with one hundred fifty students over the coming school year to plan, build and plant rain gardens, which will filter runoff and reduce flooding around the schools.

About two hundred students and chapter advisors from across the state are expected to participate in the Twenty Eighth Annual Students Against Destructive Decisions conference in Raleigh. The three day conference will feature a variety of workshops for students and advisors. Group activities will be held to promote highway safety and to reduce teen involvement with alcohol, other drugs, violence, teen pregnancy and other challenges they may face.

A dedication ceremony for the Fisher Memorial Garden will be held at UNCW this afternoon. The majority of the funding for the garden project was provided by UNCW benefactors Herbert and Sylvia Fisher, both of whom graduated from the school. The garden, located near the Clock Tower on campus, is a place in which to remember and honor students, faculty and staff who have passed away during their time on campus.

Law enforcement agencies here in New Hanover County are preparing for a big day Saturday at the State Port. The Navy's newest destroyer, the USS Gravely will be officially commissioned during a ceremony tomorrow morning. Everyone attending the commissioning should use Shipyard Boulevard to enter the State Port. Law enforcement officers will direct motorists to the parking areas for the event. Burnett Boulevard will be closed to through traffic tomorrow from seven a.m. until around two o'clock in the afternoon. Yesterday, sailors had lunch with a veterans group in Carolina Beach.