Crime Stoppers telethon planned for this weekend
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on November 11, 2005 1:45 PM
The 20th annual Goldsboro-Wayne County Crime Stoppers telethon will be held Saturday and Sunday to raise money for rewards for those who help law authorities arrest criminal suspects.
The telethon will air on PACC-TV10, or Time Warner Cable Channel 10, from 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday.
The telethon will feature music videos performed by local organizations, groups, churches, businesses, citizens and law-enforcement officers. Videos from the past 19 years will be shown along with this year's new videos.
New videos listed by Crime Stoppers include those by Northeast Elementary School, Rosewood Elementary School, Spring Creek High School Future Business Leaders Club, Charles B. Aycock High School Distributive Education Club, Potter's Clay Ministries, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the Crime Stoppers board of directors and Blake Price, the little singing cowboy. A complete list of the videos appears in today's News-Argus.
Anyone can see a video by making a $25 pledge by calling 921-6646 or stopping at Parker Advertising at East Ash and North Claiborne streets during the telethon. Volunteers will take the calls.
A copy of all new videos will be given to anyone who makes a $50 pledge.
Crime Stoppers, an international organization, encourages citizens to give information about crimes without identifying themselves. Cash rewards are offered to callers whose information leads to the arrests of suspects of felony crimes. The donations are the agency's main source of income for the year.
The Goldsboro-Wayne County Crime Stoppers program was established in 1982. The conviction rate of those arrested after these anonymous calls stands at 99 percent, officials said.
The local organization has won many regional and international productivity awards because of confidential telephone tips.
"Crime Stoppers is designed to help make our country safer and a better place to life," said Goldsboro police Sgt. Dot Ardes, the local law-enforcement coordinator. "The organization is totally dependent on private donations of individuals, professional associations, merchants and civic and social groups."