Type I ambulances are mounted on a truck-style chassis, while Type III ambulances are mounted on a cut-a-way van chassis according to custom ambulance manufacturer Braun Ambulances.

Emergency Services Director Eric Southern made his budget proposal for fiscal year 2022-23 this past week before the county commissioners.

In the hot seat for the first-time last week was Eric Southern who oversees emergency services for Surry County. “I can confirm, this is an uncomfortable seat,” he said before making his first budget proposal to the board of county commissioners.

Still in his first year as director, Southern is no stranger to mechanisms of county government. He knows the end game with budgeting. “The bottom line is to save the taxpayers money.”

His department is one of service and its three branches Emergency Management, Fire Marshal’s Office, and EMS all have the laser focused goal of public safety in mind. To do what is required means his team needs the right vehicles, equipment, and training.

You cannot provide first aid when you cannot access the patients, so an improvement to county ambulances is needed. The Type I ambulance with power lift system is what Southern would like to see the county invest in.

In certain environments, the county is relying on equipment arriving on scene with the local volunteer fire department or rescue squad. “We are a rural county; we have to go off road. There have been times we had to load a patient on a pickup truck and bring them to the ambulance because the ambulance can’t get there.”

This could lead to a lack of availability should multiple incidents happen at the same time. The county and volunteer fire departments have a mandate to send a response to all alarm calls, when the bell goes off – an engine is rolling. Two fires in Bannertown at the same time may explain why you see a White Plains fire engine outside their fire district, they are providing redundant coverage for community protection.

“Through the years we rely on the squads to bring their ambulance, again that’s a volunteer service, so we started to look at what we could do if we don’t have that,” he said.

The Type I ambulance would be a pronounced change for the county. They are beefier with a sturdier frame, elongated nose, and improved suspension over the in-use Type III ambulances. Their 4×4 suspension would allow for crews to reach areas previous models could not.

Power lift systems are the improvement over power stretchers that the county now uses. Ever mindful of the budget the board noted those stretchers had already dropped workers comp claims due to back injuries from this department dramatically. Five of eleven ambulances now have power lift, Southern would like to retrofit the remainder.

Instead of the battery-operated scissor lifting stretchers, the power lift does the work “so (the crew) doesn’t have to pick them up and put them in the truck. It saves backs, we have people of different heights and sizes, so people must adjust for that.”

Patient and crew safety are of concern, so a longer nose may protect the cab from deer strike, as would the addition of grill guards. “We had a deer strike about three years ago and it rolled up the hood – it pushed the windshield in but didn’t break. Stokes and Yadkin say these grill guards work and they get a lot more strikes than we do.”

“We use Type III, the engine is a little bit into the cab area, and have a shorter front end,” Southern explained of the difference. “The box sits on the chassis itself and this led to complaints over the years.”

“It’s a box, on a frame with four bolts. No suspension, no ride system, and we do long distance transport so to Charlotte Mecklenburg, or Winston-Salem – you know the conditions of the roads. I got a “Y’all are great, this is not a complaint, but…” letter just the other day, because the ride was bad.”

A rough ride adds to anxiety for the passengers Southern noted, something they have enough of already. He wants the riders to feel more comfortable on long rides, but of late the need for the long-distance patient transport has fallen off.

“Thankfully right now we have been able to use other services. Before whenever we had transports for Hugh Chatham of Northern Regional, we were the primary services. If they had one, we took it.” Atrium and Novant have each been staffing an ambulance in the county and can take over some transport roles. “Those long-distance transports for the last almost month and a half, we have not done.”

Northern Regional also recently received approval from the commissioners to apply for their own ambulance franchise under a five-year charter. The move to allow for such charter was given strong support from County Manager Chris Knopf and Southern.

Northern would then be responsible for transporting their own patients for discharge or in transfer between hospitals. Commissioner Eddie Harris noted that bringing Northern Regional’s ambulance service online was no doubt “going to alleviate pressure on (the county’s) service.”

Southern agreed and recounted to the board again, as he had in February, how the hot time is 5 p.m. That is when discharges from hospitals put patients in motion, and the freeing up of beds creates opening for transfers. He said his crews were running transports and transfers until the pre-dawn hours and that has taken a toll on his crews.

Other highlights from within the budget are replacing end of life fire protection suits, “they do have a shelf life.” The new suits will be good to go for twenty years he said.

To be the prepared means to train for all situations. Improved training dummies can now “hook up to a heart monitor, generate a heart rhythm, even hear breathing – it really adds to the realism.”

The Marshal’s office needed gas monitors in the mobile data terminals – replacing ones that have aged out. The gas monitors support the department with carbon monoxide alarms and the mobile data terminals they use for inspection reports.

The county’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and final budget approvals will be forthcoming.

Stephanie Lackey inducted into honor society

Library book sale kicks off Wednesday

Mount Airy officials have taken action to stimulate the development of more housing downtown, but one commissioner worries that this could bring “unintended consequences” with parking availability.

The key part of the plan involves the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners’ approval of a Downtown Fire-Suppression Life and Safety Grant program in a 5-0 vote last Thursday night.

In a related move, the board also decided unanimously to amend a city ordinance to require that a sophisticated type of sprinkler system be installed for applicable residential occupancies.

The motivation for the fire-suppression grant initiative is a recognition that the economic future of Mount Airy’s central business district hinges on both commercial and residential development, City Stan Farmer said in presenting the plan.

Such growth requires significant commitments of private investment for building rehabilitation and construction. This presents a particular challenge with fire-suppression requirements for older structures, of which downtown Mount Airy has its share, Farmer reminded.

The offering of incentive grants is designed to help offset the expenses involved with that, not only stimulating additional investment in properties downtown but protecting what’s already there in terms of its historic character. This will reduce the chances of a major fire destroying multiple buildings located side by side — perhaps an entire block.

“Cooking fires are the number one cause of fires in our city and I think I’ve told you that many times,” Mount Airy Fire Chief Zane Poindexter said in recommending the requirement for NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 13R sprinkler systems at a minimum downtown to the commissioners.

“We want to be proactive and get out in front of this,” Poindexter said of having mechanisms in place to prevent a cooking fire from spreading.

Most importantly, the city manager emphasized, public safety downtown will be greatly improved through the grant program he said will go into effect at some point after the municipality’s next fiscal year begins on July 1.

The maximum grant sum will be $35,000 per applicant, with eligibility requirements listing projects involving both new construction or remodeling of existing buildings, including cases in which water lines must be expanded to serve multiple structures.

Grants also will be available for installation of building sprinkler systems for projects with existing access to a water line.

Farmer explained that the fire-suppression grants will be offered for both downtown residential projects and building rehabilitation involving no housing units.

In reference to mandating the NFPA 13R sprinkler systems in the Downtown Fire District for residences, Poindexter explained that previous regulations called for NFPA 13D systems.

Unlike NFPA 13R, those systems do not provide alarms or alerts to the Fire Department, nor are there hydrant requirements. NFPA 13D is designed primarily for one- and two-family residences and townhomes, while the NFPA 13R type is intended for larger commercial residential spaces.

Poindexter said there a few cases downtown in which sprinklers would not be required for residential occupancy, such as buildings having adequate exits or firewalls in place.

The sprinkler change — and the grant program— apply only to the Downtown Fire District, which is slightly less in scope than the Municipal Service District long in place there.

No budget figure has been specified so far for the grant program, but Farmer plans to have it paid for through an annual allocation that will vary from year to year based on funding availability. The money will come from either the city’s general revenue fund or its separate water-sewer fund.

Receiving a grant requires a review process, including a pre-application procedure with city staff members to confirm eligibility.

A committee, including a local engineer, architect or contractor along with the fire chief and others, will make recommendations on grant awards, which also require a public hearing.

Two persons who are part of the downtown Mount Airy fabric voiced support for both actions during a public hearing preceding the pair of unanimous votes.

Main Street Coordinator Lizzie Morrison of the group Mount Airy Downtown Inc. applauded the new sprinkler system requirement as a way to protect life and valued property. This will help avoid a loss of historic architecture and longtime businesses which “would create a hole in the heart of the community,” Morrison said.

Downtown Mount Airy now has a tax base of $55 million and growing, she pointed out, which would be threatened otherwise.

“We are all aware of the lack of proper fire breaks between buildings and an almost-universal lack of sprinkler systems downtown,” Morrison said.

Longtime downtown businessman Gene Rees also spoke in favor of the grant program, but in the interest of full disclosure advised that he did not intend to apply.

“The economics of it does make sense — it’s well-thought-out,” the downtown property owner and merchant said of the grant program during the hearing. “It’s important that we have some assistance for property owners to prevent a catastrophic loss.”

Rees referred to a fire that destroyed multiple buildings in Georgetown, South Carolina.

In the mid-1980s, three were lost to a blaze in downtown Mount Airy — leaving a space where the municipal parking lot between Brannock and Hiatt Furniture and Old North State Winery now exists.

While calling the grant program “a great idea,” Commissioner Tom Koch wondered about the impact on another part of the downtown infrastructure.

“If we put a lot of apartments upstairs, where are they going to park?” Koch said of the residents involved. He said they likely will choose spaces along North Main Street to the detriment of businesses, which could do as much harm as good to the downtown area.

Koch said he can’t envision someone lugging bags of groceries up a hill from an off-street parking lot.

Farmer responded that the main focus now is on safety.

“I agree with the fire suppression,” Koch said.

Mount Airy has long been known as the Granite City — but increasingly is becoming Mural City, including one now being painted downtown of native son Andy Griffith.

And it won’t be just one image of the actor who brought fame to his hometown while portraying the sheriff of Mayberry, but the many faces of Griffith which will grace a wall of Surrey Bank and Trust on Moore Avenue.

When complete, the display is to feature Griffith from his early days as a performer, the role on “The Andy Griffith Show” and how he appeared in his later years starring on the “Matlock” television series.

“Instead of one picture, we’re doing five to fill the wall,” artist Brian Lewis of Greensboro— who prefers to be known as “JEKS” — said Tuesday while busily at work on the mural.

JEKS is well-known locally for having previously painted a large mural of late local singer Melva Houston on another wall downtown, in an alleyway beside Thirsty Souls Community Brewing on Market Street. It was completed in 2020.

Not only does the new Andy mural depict him, it highlights another familiar sight.

“Pilot Mountain is superimposed in the background,” JEKS said. “I felt like Pilot Mountain and Andy Griffith are the two real iconic images in this area, and I wanted to include them both.”

The work has required the use of a bucket lift at times.

Local residents and other Andy Griffith fans might recall that a mural to honor him was announced last September — eyed for the south wall of the Brannock and Hiatt Furniture Co. building on North Main Street, facing a public parking lot.

This was a $50,000 project, a cost to be split between the group Mount Airy Downtown Inc. and the local Tourism Development Authority.

However, that location had to be abandoned, Main Street Coordinator Lizzie Morrison of the downtown group advised Tuesday.

“The mural (project) was moved from Main Street after several months of exploring all options for preparation for the larger wall,” Morrison explained. “It was too expensive to ready that wall for paint.” The mural would have occupied a space there nearly 100 feet wide and more than 30 feet high.

This resulted in the new location on the Moore Avenue side of the Surrey Bank and Trust building.

“As with any big project, sometimes we have to pivot from the original plan to make it work,” the Main Street coordinator added.

Those who have seen the mural progress at its alternate location are pleased by what is taking shape, based on social media and other comments.

“They wanted a tribute to Andy,” JEKS said of the project sponsors, “so I just kind of came up with a composite” reflecting the different time frames in Griffith’s life.

Part of JEKS’ inspiration seems rooted in his own longtime appreciation of “The Andy Griffith Show.”

“It used to be on my grandfather’s TV all the time,” the artist said, with that enjoyment further including a pastime frequently enjoyed by the program’s main characters. “We were fishermen, too.”

Work began last week on the mural, and the artist hopes to complete it next week.

Morrison, the Main Street coordinator, indicated Tuesday that due to a smaller wall being involved, the project’s financial scope was lowered proportionately.

“We are using the rest of the $50,000 budget to build a pocket park complete with plaza space and two sitting walls,” she related regarding the change, which offers additional benefits.

“This new location has convenient parking across the street in the municipal lot and allows for people to take photos with the mural without cars impeding the view.”

It also helps accomplish a goal of using public art to get people moving through the downtown district on side streets and parking lots, as opposed to parking and staying on North Main Street, the coordinator believes.

Similar to the one of Melva Houston, the Andy mural is meant to highlight “a real Mount Airy person,” which Morrison says exceeds the Mayberry mystique that draws so many folks to town from near and far.

“The photos used for the design span his career beyond ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ but I am sure fans of the show will make it a must-see stop on their visits.”

Morrison pointed out that the downtown area now has 20 murals, metal and brick sculptures, painted instruments, barn quilts and a new peace park on Market Street, “all of which honor the spirit of the people of Mount Airy.”

One notable recent addition was a mural of The Easter Brothers gospel bluegrass group in a downtown rest area which was dedicated last year.

“Mount Airy Downtown Inc. is passionate about telling our Mount Airy story through public art,” Morrison emphasized.

Preparations for the next budget year for the county resumed Tuesday night with the county commissioners hearing from the five county rescue squads, Surry Community College and the three public school systems. Each presentation is a chance to look at the year that was, and the plans for each group.

The big news of the evening was that $1.75 million in funds Mount Airy City Schools asked for has been satisfied and can be removed from their budget request.

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt sent an email to Dr. Kim Morrison of Mount Airy City Schools Tuesday with news from Raleigh that will have a lasting impact. She announced that the Needs-Based School Capital Fund in the amount of $1,750,822 to be used for the renovation of the CTE building at Mount Airy High School has been approved.

Compared to some of the other grant requests from this area, the CTE renovations were on the smaller end of the spectrum. Surry County Schools sent in one application for each of the three high schools with those grant amounts reaching nearly $40 million apiece. CTE improvements will include modifications to the building to achieve Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards.

In her opening, Morrison asked the board to consider a local business who over the past six years has grown from a $17 million to a $28 million company while attracting 5% of the market share. At the same time this business has brought in outside funding topping $4 million, hired top talent, and been a steady pillar of the community. She said any medium size business that produced such results would be seen as a success, and of course she is describing Mount Airy City Schools.

Morrison offered praise to her staff and teachers for helping students to reach first in the state in Math 1 and Math 3, and fourth in state overall in end of grade testing. The system is double digits above the state average in academic achievement and 100% of Mount Airy City teachers have been growing children where they are expected, or higher, “so to us that means the whole team wins. They’ve done such a great job.”

She went on the call the schools “the hub of the Mount Airy community” that are producing graduates at a high rate. They are working harder now with local business partners and programs such as Surry Yadkin Works to retain graduates here in Surry County. The system has grown its workforce credential program, “at a time when some places would not take interns, we have been able to move forward with 164 credentials last year and over 100 students and internships.”

Even during the pandemic workforce development continues to be a prioritize. The ‘next gen’ program has 38 paid interns, “many of those are going straight into the workforce after they finish their internship. Our CTE interns are around 86, one fourth of those are paid. The apprenticeship part of Surry Yadkin Works is what we were missing from our internships,” and have helped place three students into apprenticeship this year at Northern Regional Hospital.

New programs added recently include entrepreneurship, health science, aviation science, and a construction program she hopes will be moving to a full-time status this year. The system was able to bring in $2 million in outside money this year from 40 local businesses to offset the needs of these new programs.

She touted a dual language program that has doubled its capacity in recent years, which she considers as another workforce development program because over one fourth of every class will graduate fluent in at least two languages. Local industry partners need Spanish speakers, but also with so many partnerships with China, a Chinese language program has become popular. There are students travelling from out of county specifically for these language and workforce programs.

Successes outlined; Morrison walked the commissioner through some of the needs her system has. “I took care of the CTE funding, you can take care of all this.” Her system needs include in part a new used truck for maintenance at the high school, a new truck “as you know is not $20,000.”

A new roof is needed on the concession stand at the football field and the auditorium, as well as a new stage, “We can’t repair the stage if we can’t repair the roof, so we bundled them. We are paying for HVAC replacement, so we need the roof to be able to support it.” Safety and facility upgrades are needed to add door latches for instances of school lockdowns, lighting improvements in gyms, and a purchase of a floor scrubber.

There are still places where carpet removal and replacement are needed, and that may lead to discovery of asbestos. “Abatement, we don’t like to talk about abatement, but as you know we got the state to cover 80% of abatement. There are some rooms we haven’t gone into, and at the state level, when you find asbestos during renovations the state will help with 80% of the cost.”

Blue Bear Café and media center need some cosmetic improvements, and Morrison also added a minibus and van to the budget to get groups to competitions and such. Paving and repair of track surfaces will require half funding as Audra Chilton was able to get these repairs added onto an approved list of ESSER items.

The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief injected $193 million of pandemic relief funds to public schools and has help to offset some big needs such as paving, HVAC, athletic facility upgrades, and equipment need. This plan will yield the district $700,000 in savings, “We are very thankful those are coming from ESSER money, but those funds are coming to an end.”

Challenges facing the school system include inflationary costs, the exponential growth of retiree benefits, and an increase to the state minimum wage that will translate to $270,000 in additional wages. Morrison also detailed a few of the long-term projects facing the district as well such as repair or replacement of geothermal loops at the high school – which she says has been a recurring repair cost.

A discussion was had about prioritization of future projects with Chairman Bill Goins asking about the priorities list when he saw roof repair listed after a vape monitoring system. Could that be correct, he asked?

“Yes, student safety to us is more important. It is hugely important, (vaping) is our number one offense at the high and middle school.” Commissioner Mark Marion agreed saying his daughter has told him tales of vaping – she is in sixth grade.

“We think we can really cut it down; it is a safety issue and an addiction issue for kids.” She noted Davie County has reported a 50% drop in vaping since instituting a monitoring system, and that they estimate Mount Airy City Schools usage at 30%.

“It is one of the top things in the state that kids are addicted to it, and then they can’t get off it even if they want to if they start in middle school. So, we are trying to keep them from starting.”

Mount Airy has become one of the few localities in North Carolina to receive grant assistance for a summer adventure camp program for local youths which, among other activities, will include a trip to the beach.

This involves a $175,000 21st Century Community Learning Center Summer Mini-Grant awarded to the Reeves Community Foundation from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The local foundation is a charitable arm of Mount Airy Parks and Recreation and is one of 14 agencies selected for what local officials consider a unique grant opportunity.

The funding will support a summer camp program spearheaded by local recreation officials on the heels of a highly successful session in 2021.

It is open to 60 rising sixth graders to rising ninth graders in the community, for which the grant will be used to promote learning and enrichment opportunities.

The Parks and Recreation Department wants to target this age group, whose members are at an impressionable time in their lives.

“This is definitely their formative years,” Parks and Recreation Director Peter Raymer said Monday regarding a segment of society with which local officials want to build positive relationships for the future.

On behalf of the Reeves Community Center Foundation, the city recreation staff will be operating the camp in partnership with other local agencies.

The foundation will buy all equipment and supplies and contract with Mount Airy Parks and Recreation, Mount Airy City Schools, Surry Health and Nutrition Center, N.C. Cooperative Extension and the Surry Arts Council to provide a well-rounded summer slate.

“This is a free camp for participants, so there is no fee to register,” Raymer said.

Persons interested can stop by the community center and fill out a form. Priority will be given to returning campers and next, students of city campuses. After that, any remaining space will be open to youths at large who fit into the specified grade range.

The role of the summer camp initiative has great significance when considering what the youthful participants might be engaged in otherwise during their leisure time in between school terms, Raymer added.

This doesn’t mean they would be doing bad things, but maybe just sitting at home watching television, playing video games or otherwise captivated by electronic pursuits.

Meanwhile, the camp — to begin on June 13 — will be focused on outdoor recreation activities, fitness and arts involvement, while also being fun.

“There is an education component as well,” Raymer said, with career exploration and North Carolina history included.

One of the program’s goals is keeping students’ minds in a learning mode so they can pick up where they left off when classes resume.

“Every Friday we’ll have Field Trip Friday,” Raymer said, which will involve visits to state parks in the area including Pilot Mountain, Hanging Rock and New River Trail State Park in Virginia.

A highlight of the program will be a trip to the beach on July 25 to cap off the summer camp, with the exact coastal destination yet to be determined.

“We are still trying to make a final decision on that,” Raymer said Monday. “We might try to go to Atlantic Beach once again.”

In 2021, this involved a three-night stay filled with activities including side trips to Fort Macon State Park, the N.C. Aquarium and a barrier island where wild horses roam.

“Last year’s beach trip went very, very smoothly,” Raymer said of an excursion that marked the first time some of the youths had journeyed to the coast — thus creating a lifetime of memories for them.

Mount Airy officials considered that visit extremely valuable, including Commissioner Jon Cawley, who accompanied the group as one of the adult chaperones.

“It changed a number of lives,” Cawley said during a recent city government planning retreat.

“The summer of 2021 was one of the most-impactful summers in the history of Reeves Community Center and Mount Airy Parks and Recreation,” Raymer and Assistant City Manager Darren Lewis (then recreation director) concurred in a statement.

Lewis says a “huge shout-out” is due Raymer for his help in preparing the grant application.

“We are excited about this opportunity.”

They bear different names and eye-catching colors while sharing a common chorus: “We want your vote!” — the campaign signs of candidates for various offices now dotting yards, intersections and seemingly every roadside in Surry County.

Although the political posters are studies in clutter at some locations — ahead of a May 17 primary — a set of regulations governs their display in state rights of way, which the N.C. Department of Transportation is monitoring.

Authorities are empowered to remove any signs that violate an applicable general statute, create safety hazards for travelers or interfere with maintenance operations, the agency has announced.

Department of Transportation employees may take down any signs that are illegally placed within the state right of way, as time permits, officials say. The signs are normally taken to local maintenance offices where they are stored until claimed.

Meanwhile, another set of enforcement eyes is provided by the Mount Airy Police Department.

“That falls under our purview,” Police Chief Dale Watson said of monitoring improperly placed signs.

North Carolina General Statute 136-32 allows political signs, if properly placed, to exist in state rights of way — however, candidates or their supporters must adhere to certain rules and restrictions:

• Whoever places a sign is required to get the permission of any property owner of a residence, business or religious institution fronting the right of way where a sign would be placed;

• No sign can be closer than 3 feet from the edge of the pavement of the road;

• A sign must not obscure motorist visibility at an intersection;

• No sign can be higher than 42 inches above the edge of the pavement;

• Signs are limited in size to six square feet (864 square inches);

• No sign is permitted in the right of way of a limited-access highway such as an interstate;

• A sign can’t obscure or replace another sign.

If anyone else removes or vandalizes a sign, they could be subject to a Class 3 misdemeanor citation from law enforcement.

Signs are permitted during the period beginning on the 30th day before the start date of “one-stop” early voting — which is this Thursday.

Chief Watson said his department did note some violations when the 2022 campaign season first got under way.

Some were put up too early, based on the prescribed allowance date. “And a lot of them were (improperly) in the right of way,” Watson said of the distance rule.

Everyone now seems to be in compliance, after becoming accustomed to the regulations, the police chief indicated.

“They follow the basic guidelines for where and how to put them up and the time parameters.”

The display period for campaign signs officially ends on the 10th day after the primary.

Signs still in the right of way after May 27 will be in violation of state law, and the N.C. Department of Transportation is authorized to remove and dispose of them.

In Surry County there are concerns about the 2020 elections that have been stoked anew and paired with rhetoric so strong it is making national headlines.

Last Monday a group of eight people expressed concerns found during a door-to-door canvass they are doing using voter logs from 2020. They told the county commissioners they were finding and hearing repeated claims of voter fraud and wanted to bring the matter before the board for their attention.

The complaints are summarized as voter registration irregularities, vote totals that do not match expected population counts, voting machine fears, a desire to move back to a paper ballot, as well as an absentee ballot that never arrived. The group also wants what it is calling a forensic audit done of the 2020 election to include a full inspection of all voting equipment.

Reuters news service reported over the weekend that Surry County Republican Party chair Keith Senter, “told elections director Michella Huff that he would ensure she lost her job if she refused his demand to access the county’s vote tabulators, the North Carolina State Board of Elections said in written responses to questions from Reuters,” the news service wrote. “Senter was ‘aggressive, threatening, and hostile,’ in two meetings with Huff, the state elections board said, citing witness accounts.”

“We just had a difference of opinion,” Huff said Monday of those two meetings in March with Senter about his concerns and desire to look inside voting machines. “That’s just not how it works in North Carolina.”

She gave Senter and Dr. Douglas Franks paths for recourse if they found errors in the canvass, and that her office would investigate immediately any voter challenge forms. She also advised them that any claims of fraud would need to be addressed by the state board of elections.

Senter said he was told by Huff’s office that an audit had been done, but he countered only a recount had been done. If there were wrong data, counting the same data sets again would yield no difference.

“If you line up ten apples, and five of them are wood, you still have ten apples, but five of them are false. It’s the same with votes, you can count votes over and over, and get the same result. What if five of them are fraudulent?”

Mark Payne, a lawyer hired by Surry County, presented the following to the Board of Elections on April 20, “To date, the only specific request/demand presented is a demand for a ‘forensic audit.’ It should be noted here that there is no legal definition of a ‘forensic audit’ and because of the colloquial use of this term on a national level, at this time the request is vague.”

There is a common thread of mistrust in voting machines that pervade arguments of election fraud. An elected county official said they were told a microchip or modem inside was rumored to have been a culprit for election results. “There was a problem with the internet connections, that’s what I’ve heard Mike Lindell say,” canvasser Suzanne Richards said. Lindell is the CEO of My Pillow Inc., and also a well-known conservative activitist who has insisted President Trump did not lose the 2020 presidential election.

“Voting machines and systems used in North Carolina are secure and have been certified to federal and state standards. They may not, under state law, be connected to the internet, and do not contain modems despite rampant misinformation otherwise,” Huff said in response.

“No election system or voting system in North Carolina has ever been the target of a successful cyberattack. Every piece of voting equipment is tested before every election, and the results are audited afterwards. Bipartisan teams participate in every step of the process, and the public can observe pre-election testing and post-election audits. We are happy to provide additional information on these topics if parties wish,” she wrote Thursday.

There has been a request to access the voting machine by the canvassers, to which Payne offers, “Under NC elections law, it is neither lawful nor appropriate to allow anyone other than authorized elections staff to have physical access to the machines.”

He said the law prohibits it and allowing such access would void the warranty on the machines, which would lead to decertification of some, or all, of the county’s voting machines. “This will expose the commissioners and the taxpayers to significant financial loss to purchase new voting machines or recertifying current machines.”

Kevin Shinault pointed to what he referred to as “statistical improbabilities, and statistical impossibilities.” He said in Surry County that, “everybody over the age of 80 is registered to vote, that’s a statistical impossibility if you know math.”

Huff replied, “We would ask where the information about voters over age 80 and the methodology used in this claim. Claims like this often arise from comparing registered voters of a certain age with the voting age population in a county as reported by the US Census Bureau for a different period of time. Comparing these data is not statistically or mathematically sound.”

John Bose summarized it this way, “I know the heat is on, but I make a plea for you to have courage. We do not have faith in the elections process.” He, with other speakers, offered stories of veterans, freedom, and sacrifice to set a tone before dispensing serious claims of voter fraud.

“When we got there for training they started with a video, and it was nothing but graves of men who had died for someone like me,” Shannon Senter said. She mentioned the sacrifice of her own ancestors which gave her the right to speak to the board.

“They sacrificed, and I don’t ever want to forget that. That’s what gives me freedom. I thought about my grandbaby and what I’ll say to him when he is living in tyranny 20 years from now and don’t have the freedoms that I have.”

“What I would like to address is the door-to-door canvassing that is currently occurring,” Huff went on. “We, the Board of Elections, and staff want to remind voters that we would never go door-to-door seeking information from voters about any election business. These people are not election officials. We would ask any voter to ask the canvasser to verify their identity and their organization.”

The canvassers told the board that they had data driven stops and were not simply going door to door. Furthermore, they said the occasional citizen may have offered up who they voted for in 2020, but that was not asked nor was it their mission to find that out.

“Most people have thanked us and said this is long overdue,” Paula Stanley explained of her canvassing experience.

Gayle Norman echoed that, “I went down a different route, but the end result was the same. We have older people who are saying the voted in person when our logs show a mail-in/absentee ballot.”

“To date, we have not received any evidence or specifics regarding this second-hand account, so we have no way to verify it or respond,” said Huff.

A specific complaint from a travelling nurse who requested twice and never received her absentee ballot while out of state did get Huff’s attention. “My vote was taken away, I’m mad,” Ms. Bose told the commissioners. A United States Air Force veteran, she said she tracked her absentee ballot request online and when she saw her first ballot never arrived, requested another – which also did not arrive.

To have not been able to cast a vote is understandably upsetting, especially to a veteran of the armed services. “We are concerned if she requested a ballot, was eligible, and didn’t receive one. To our knowledge, no one has reached out to the county board of elections about this issue,” Huff said.

Huff went on, “My number one goal and focus is the current election we are actively working on each day and night. I want to ensure all voters of Surry County that security of election equipment is a high priority for this office and any claim regarding the validity of our equipment is taken seriously.

“I do not want voters of Surry County to walk out of a precinct without casting their ballot after they have checked in and received a ballot due to misinformation about the voting tabulators. If any voter would like to call our office concerning any process in casting their ballot, I encourage them to call our office.”

In previous budget years the Surry County Sheriff’s Office has prioritized hiring, but Chief Deputy Paul Barker told the commissioners this year that one of the main focuses for the upcoming budget was going to be on equipment needs and vehicles.

One problem area for Sheriff Steve Hiatt and his team is one that is also a sore spot for other law enforcement agencies across the state: patrol cars. Finding them, securing them, and getting them delivered in a timely manner is an ongoing problem. The county is five patrol cars short from the current budget year already.

In the next budget year, which begins July 1, the Sheriff’s Office is looking for a total of 13 new vehicles: one for animal control, one for the Narcotics Division, one SWAT van, and ten pursuit rated patrol cars. These ten additional patrol cars are in addition to the five patrol cars that were budgeted and approved for this budget year, but never arrived to join Hiatt’s fleet.

With five still outstanding, next year’s order of ten is in addition to those that have not arrived. Rhonda Nix of the county’s finance office said one or two of those cars may yet arrive. The county is securing budget room next year for an additional ten proactively.

Cars that are budgeted for but do not arrive do not go against their budget, the county does not pay for items not delivered. Those funds are not the sheriff’s to do with as he sees fit however and cannot be spent freely because the cars did not arrive.

“We’re seeing what you’re seeing on a daily basis when you’re going to stores and trying to buy things. We’re seeing that in the law enforcement realm, we are trying to order law enforcement equipment, and it doesn’t matter what it is, the extensive delays times are astronomical,” Barker told the board.

Nix said the Sheriff’s Association was also having trouble acquiring new vehicles. The Chief Deputy added, “I will tell you this, when State Highway Patrol goes to order 2,400 cars, you know as well as I do who is going to get the preference. You got Winston-Salem might order 200 at a time, so of course that’s an additional thing we fight against.”

Buying a new car or truck these days can be a big of a hassle, even for Jane Q. Citizen. “You can’t even buy a pickup truck,” Commissioner Mark Marion observed. This is why so many county vehicles find second and third lives. The SWAT van that is being requested in the new budget replaces a late 1990s vehicle that Emergency Services surplused out.

Supply chain problems are keeping the patrol vehicles that the county wants from arriving, and expectations have already been adapted. “It has been a real struggle; we even changed the wording to “pursuit rated vehicles.” I can’t ask for Charger or Durango, it’s basically whatever we get.”

The county uses a lease program that Nix said, “if not for the supply chain issues, this is a good idea.” She said a three-year leasing plan is good because: it keeps the miles down, rotation of the vehicles is safer for deputies, there is less down time waiting for repairs on older cars, and the vehicles hold more equity upon trade in.

A need for speed is what comes to mind when thinking about an officer in hot pursuit. While it is true that police pursuit vehicles are meant to be faster than those they are chasing, they also have better shocks, brakes, suspension, and acceleration than a stock vehicle found on a car lot. “You can definitely tell the difference when you drive it,” Sheriff Steve Hiatt added.

All deputies are required to be in pursuit rated vehicles, the board was assured. There are members of the Sheriff’s Office not in pursuit rated cars, but they have jobs that ought not find them in a high-speed chase racing down US 52 at over 125 mph.

Commissioner Van Tucker asked, “What’s the difference between a car going 140 or say 124 mph? In the time we’re waiting for a Charger, can’t be buy something else?” In short, there are other cars besides those listed that qualify including the Ford Interceptor and the Chevy Tahoe, the latter was said to have been far too expensive for consideration.

“We’re not just talking about chases; we are talking about emergency traffic. Which if you’re in Mount Airy and you get a call for a domestic violence, that office is going to run emergency traffic, 10-18, to Lowgap. We need to give the deputies equipment that is adequate to do the job.

“As your chief deputy, if it were my sister in a domestic situation, if I was the resident, I would want the officer in the most capable vehicle possible. We’re not talking about Maserati or stuff like that. We want them to have the equipment adequate to do the job.”

Getting the car does not mean the problems are over, they are just getting cars marked up and on the road that were asked for two years ago. Also, “We have a van that we are ready to put on the road for detention. We have it, it’s leased, it’s striped up, but I’m missing the cage.” The protective cage that separates driver from passengers is a critical element, “it’s been on order for eight months.”

Having a car that can get there fast is great, the new budget wants to make sure when deputies arrive on scene, they can document the incident. The desire is, “To create a safe space for the officer, and can help keep the county away from legal issues,” Barker said.

“One video can make all the difference in the world,” he said when it comes to protecting deputies, the department, and the county from potential lawsuits. With camera footage the “he said — she said” element of the interaction can be eliminated.

Having that equipment standard, and in working order, will ultimately make the difference. There are six on-board cameras that have reached the end of the line, the board was advised. Another local department was changing their cameras and sent an email out announcing they had extra parts. “We scooped them up and did some in-house repairs to keep those cameras operational.”

Replacing those cameras that have aged out will once again provide an extra layer of security for the officer, the citizen, and the county. Chief Deputy Barker told the commissioners there is “a need and also the want to have in-car cameras operational in all patrol cars.”

Overlooked and taken for granted, it surrounds us in our daily lives. Often viewed as a messy and potentially stinky or costly necessity, it keeps us healthy and promotes cleanliness — plumbing!

Indoor plumbing in the United States is a relatively new innovation. Here in Mount Airy, it took many years and set-backs to give us the water quantity and quality we have today.

Water is a finite resource; the fresh water on Earth today is the same water the dinosaurs drank millions of years ago. The water cycle recycles the fresh water across and above the surface of the Earth; it evaporates, condensates, and precipitates.

Water is also one of the few substances that can exist in the three states of matter; solid as ice, liquid as water, and gas as water vapor. Earth is 75% water and of that percentage only about 3% of it is potable. Aquifers are a water bearing layer of rock sandwiched between other rock layers that are watertight and under pressure. When a well is dug, it taps into an aquifer and the unequal pressure forces the water to the surface. There are six artesian wells in the Lambsburg, Virginia, area. Springs on the other hand are naturally occurring instances of water rising to the surface and one such local spring is White Sulphur Springs.

Before the implementation of plumbing, early settlers would gather water from wells, ponds, or streams to use for cooking, cleaning, and bathing. Often, people would get sick from stagnant water due to the buildup of bacteria.

When nature called, the closest tree or quickly dug hole did the trick. Later, outhouses were developed. Always located downwind from the house and away from water sources, the outhouse gave shelter, privacy, and cleanliness for people to do their business. To wipe, people would use corn cobs, lambs ear, or the trusty pages out of an old magazine before rolls of toilet paper as we know it were invented.

The extent of indoor plumbing at this point was a chamber pot, which had to be emptied every day. It took many years for all homes in the United States to get indoor plumbing, and many homes in rural areas were still using outhouses well into the late 1900s.

A dependable supply system for water in Mount Airy took years to establish; a city sitting atop granite made for a challenge. In 1903, the city purchased water from a deep well owned by the Rucker-Witt Tobacco Company. Soon it was discovered it could not sufficiently supply water to the city and in 1904 construction began on a town well. This well could not meet the needs of the community as well, so a watershed (a land area that channels water from rain and snow to moving bodies of water such as creeks, streams, and rivers that eventually makes it to outflow points like reservoirs, bays, and the ocean) located on Creasey’s Branch, was chosen.

A dam was built at the location and a pipe line was laid to carry the water to a holding tank in town. This worked until 1910 and a new dam location, at Tumbling Rock Branch, was chosen to supply water. In 1913, the first water filter plant was built. Due to substantial drought during the 1920s, the city decided to tap water from Lovills Creek to add to the water supply, since it was the best source of water.

The City of Mount Airy operates two surface water treatment facilities. Operation at S.L Spencer Water Treatment Plant began in the late 1920s and is located along Lovills Creek. Operation at Doggett Water Plant began in 1970 and is located along Stewarts Creek, the largest water source for Mount Airy. There are 200 miles of water lines and 150 miles of sewer lines in the city.

When you walk down the street, take a walk along the Greenway, cook, do laundry, or go to the restroom, consider the pipes running beneath and how they bring fresh, local, clean water to you.

Justyn Kissam is originally from Winston-Salem and now lives in Mount Airy. She works at the Surry Arts Council.

An annual tradition is back — perhaps bigger and better than ever before.

Thursday, the Mount Airy News held its Readers Choice Award luncheon at Cross Creek Country Club, recognizing local businesses and professionals who were chosen as among the best in their respective fields by Mount Airy News readers.

More than 100 people gathered for the awards lunch to recognize dozens of area businesses chosen by Mount Airy News readers as their favorite enterprises in the Greater Mount Airy and Surry County area.

“When you say you have won a Mountie, you have really won something,” Regional Publisher Sandy Hurley said to those in attendance. The Mounties, as the awards are called, go to the individuals or businesses voted among the top at what they do. Hurley told the gathering more than 20,000 votes were cast in this year’s tally.

Representatives of many of the award winners, as well as the primary sponsors of the event — Carport Central, Cibirix, Northern Regional Hospital, J’s HVAC Unlimited LLC, West Ridge Insurance, Carolina Roofing, and Dr. John Gravitte, DDS —were on hand not only to receive their awards, but to comment on what their business does, and what the awards meant to them.

Of course, being the first Mounties awards ceremony in two years because of the coronavirus pandemic, was on the minds of many who spoke.

“Not too long ago, we gathered like this and we had no idea we would hear the word ‘COVID’…we’d hear the word ‘pivot,’ that we’d hear the word “remote,’” Hurley told the crowd of business owners and managers. But, she said, those phrases and principles have dominated the business world over the past two years. However, many area businesses were able to pivot, where able to adapt, and last week’s gathering was a celebration of that.

Chris Lumsden, CEO of Northern Regional Hospital, spoke of how the concept of togetherness kept hospital staff focused on the task at hand, even when the facility was setting record highs for the number of patients, while staffers were many times out with COVID-19.

“When times got tough, the team really stuck together,” he said of the hospital’s 1,000 caregivers.

Whether fighting through a pandemic, or in more normal times, the hospital official said one thing he believes is critical to the success of any business is investing in its people. He said over the past year, the hospital has invested $275.000 in its employees and other members of the community, helping them to afford training and certification in various medical fields.

“That is very important,” he said. “With the labor shortage, it is important to grow our workforce.”

Jeffrey Trenter of Carport Central and Cibirix, said he believes his companies received so many reader votes because his company has a guiding philosophy: “We just try to do the right thing.”

That has led his business to significant growth, to the point that it does far more than carports, with many commercial and residential projects. With Cibirix, he said the marketing firm can help businesses grow their online presence.

Sandra Matthews of West Ridge Insurance in Pilot Mountain said being recognized at the Mounties was a thrill.

“We are honored,” she said. “We are just honored to be recognized.”

Nathan Gough, of J’s HVAC Unlimited of Mount Airy, said one of the hallmarks of his company is that they are “Committed to doing what’s right,” and that running a successful business is about more than just generating revenue.

Amanda Fretwell, with Dr. John L. Gravitte, DDS, PA, said Dr. Gravitte has been serving the Mount Airy community for 18 years, with his annual free dental clinic, along with working with the schools. Being able to “give back’ is something that is important to him and his staff.

For a full list of winners, see the special Best of the Best section inside today’s Mount Airy News.

Celebration was afoot and the television cameras were set up Friday in Dobson for the unveiling of the Hungry for History road marker denoting this as the official home of the sonker. The tasty pie-cobbler hybrid that could has been making the most of available fruits and, for some, the sweet potato going back to colonial times.

Now a historical marker adorns the grounds of the Historic Courthouse in Dobson from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation that carries with it the weight of having been verified by professional historians. They call theirs the gold standard of historical markers, so some proof was needed to the sonker heritage claim.

A heaping of thanks needs to be given to Abbi Freeman for her dedication to the project. Craig Distl with the Surry County Tourism office, called her an unsung hero of the process who “really sunk her teeth into the Sonker Trail.” She conducted interviews, did research, and provided the documentation to get the grant from the Pomeroy Foundation.

A member of Mount Airy High Class of 2017, and a student at Appalachian State. Freeman is majoring in English secondary education, with a minor in recreation management. Student teaching awaits her in the fall.

“Abbi also helped grow the trail, she pounded the pavement and brought on board The Tilted Ladder and Prudence McCabe Confections. She made a difference, and her impact carries over to Friday’s dedication,” Distl said.

Jenny Smith from the Mount Airy visitors center explained, “We were excited to have Abbi work as an intern specifically with the tourism partnership of Surry County and the Sonker Trail. During her internship she added partners on to the trail, also did the grant work for this historical marker. We are thrilled to have received the grant and are excited to be part of this event and the unveiling of the marker.”

Freeman smiled on Friday as some of the spotlight landed on her unexpectedly. Of her work in growing the Sonker Trail she said, “It does a wonder for local businesses, and you know we love small business.”

This sort of recognition for food may seem odd, Lisa Turney of Horne Creek Farm noted that when she began her career as a museum profession, “food and food culture did not receive the recognition they get today. They make up an important part of who we are, how we connect, what we value, and how we express ourselves.”

“A catalyst and an anchor for our memories, food has the ability to snap us back in time to remember some of life’s sweetest and most cherished memories.” She asked the crowd about associating the smell of fresh baked pie with mom and grandma.

She was also sure everyone had an experience with making a homemade dish for a loved one who is ill, or a neighbor who has experienced a loss in their family. “It’s a southern tradition, a means of connecting, showing love, and of expressing compassion.”

Food is a connector that can bring people together because no matter where you go, when you make a homemade recipe, doing so says a lot about you she, added and quoted James Beard, “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”

Horne Creek Farm hosts Christmas by Lamplight and they serve sonker, She said when giving a brief talk in 2019 on the origin of the dish she drew a strong objection. “Immediately a man raised his hand and said rather emphatically, ‘I think you’re wrong on that, it originated in Yadkin County.’”

“You know something is pretty special when two counties lay claim to it. I didn’t think quickly enough, but upon reflection the fact remains that Yadkin County was split from parts of Surry County. So, I think we can say with great certainty the sonker originated in Surry County.”

President of the Surry County Historical Society Dr. Annette Ayers called it, “an original farm to table food for the rural population since they had access to all the ingredients on their own land.” She added sonker is found in a Martha Washington cookbook that credited the recipe to her Scotch-Irish cook. From Virginia, the English and Scotch-Irish settled this area and brought with them customs and recipes among which sonker is believed to have followed.

The Society has sponsored the Sonker Festival at Edwards – Franklin house for 40 years before a two-year absence due to the lingering pandemic. On Oct. 1, the tradition will resume with the 41st Sonker Festival. A return to doing what they love will be a proper anniversary gift to mark the group’s 50th anniversary year.

County Commissioner Eddie Harris mentioned keeping the traditions of the past alive via sonker. “We’re proud today to honor all our ancestors that continued the tradition from Scotland, Ireland, England to bring this dish to our county. We are proud to continue this tradition. Surry County loves it history, and we want to honor our history today.”

The marker is a fitting honor that now is among the more than 1,700 other road markers and plaques the Pomeroy Foundation has sponsored. Their letter to Surry County said the sonker now finds itself “among a select group from across the United States.”

For the second time in as many weeks, Mount Airy officials have popped the cork on a debate surrounding potential alcohol availability in a public rest area downtown — but with no clear consensus emerging.

When the city council met Thursday night, Commissioner Jon Cawley sought to have it rescind an ordinance change made on April 7 allowing more downtown businesses to operate outside dining areas, coupled with the possible serving of wine and beer.

The board broadened wording to include food and beverage establishments along with restaurants, which was earlier the case.

Cawley, who voted “no” in that 4-1 decision, has since charged that this opens the door for alcohol use in Jack A. Loftis Plaza downtown. It is a rest area containing bathrooms, tables and chairs — overseen by a mural of the Easter Brothers gospel bluegrass group.

He said other board members either didn’t realize the full implications of their decision paving the way for this, or else were aware and wanted to sneak the rules change through in a manner that avoided transparency.

Others on the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners — and Mayor Ron Niland — took issue with Cawley’s assessment Thursday night, when the end result was to continue discussion on the matter to its next meeting in early May.

“I resent the insinuations that we as board members don’t do our homework on what we vote for,” Commissioner Steve Yokeley said in response to public comments by Cawley since the previous session.

The board’s Marie Wood offered similar statements.

“I did my research on this ordinance,” Wood said of the change in language approved two weeks earlier, “and I feel good about my vote.”

She said the addition of food and beverage establishments to the mix will allow 10 more businesses to utilize the downtown outdoor dining provision that originated in 2015.

Wood also questioned Cawley’s attempt to rescind the April 7 action, saying she could recall someone on the board once complaining that if certain commissioners didn’t like a decision they could bring it up again until they got their way.

“Jon, that was you,” Wood said.

Word “plaza” a sticking point

Cawley explained Thursday night that the reason for requesting the recension then was because of his understanding that rules require such actions to occur in the next meeting after a vote. He added that this route should be taken rather than waiting to see the impacts of the outside dining/alcohol measure.

The North Ward commissioner, who is running for mayor against Niland, said Thursday night that other city officials seemed to know the intent of the April 7 vote. That was to set the stage for a wine shop and boutique next door to Jack A. Loftis Plaza, known as Uncorked, to serve alcoholic beverages in a portion of the rest area, according to Cawley.

“One of my questions is, why didn’t I (know)?”

In apparently countering comments by Commissioner Wood, Cawley also said he had seen campaign signs supporting transparency in city government — implying this sentiment was not playing out in reality.

The mayor responded that all city government decisions are openly made in council chambers of the Municipal Building, and he is not aware of any occurring elsewhere.

Cawley, meanwhile, sought to illuminate his position on the changed ordinance, focusing on concern about “plazas” being included among outside service areas along with sidewalks in front of establishments and alleyways.

“I have no issue whatsoever with the ordinance except for the word plaza,” Cawley said, due to its implications for the public rest area.

As the debate wore on, Commissioner Tom Koch offered what appeared to be a compromise.

He suggested banning alcohol in Jack A. Loftis Plaza, including erecting signage saying violators will be subject to a $500 fine.

This would allow food and beverage establishments to do business while not “taking advantage of city property,” Koch reasoned.

However, Commissioner Joe Zalescik questioned the need for such signage, pointing out that it already is illegal for someone to walk down North Main Street carrying an open container of beer. That applies to other public spaces such as the downtown rest area, Zalescik said.

Yokeley also cited wording in the amended ordinance stating that city property may not be encroached upon, which he said would pertain to Jack A. Loftis Plaza.

“So I don’t see it as an issue,” he said of Cawley’s call for rescinding the previous decision out of concerns that space would accommodate a beer and wine garden.

Yokeley said he didn’t believe Uncorked would be able to do what Cawley suspects, cutting a hole into its wall adjoining the plaza for a serving window. Instead, the business is planning to add a back deck, based on the discussion.

While city Planning Director Andy Goodall had indicated at the April 7 meeting that such a building modification would permit adult beverage use in the Loftis plaza, this was clarified Thursday night. It would require the granting of an easement by the city, according to Goodall.

Procedural questions about how to address the matter seemed to permeate the meeting, from which City Attorney Hugh Campbell was absent and unavailable for legal guidance.

For example, it was mentioned that Koch’s suggestion to ban alcohol from the rest area might require a public hearing before it could be implemented. This led Cawley to ask why a hearing wasn’t needed before the April 7 action.

Thursday night’s discussion ended with the mayor deciding that the matter should be addressed at the next meeting, allowing it to be fully explored.

“Since this is a change in a public space,” Niland said of the possible regulation, “it needs to at least be put on an agenda for discussion.”

He added, “I’m going to rule this a moot discussion at this point.”

DOBSON — After court challenges and delays that resulted in a March primary date being shifted to May 17, in-person early voting for that election finally will begin Thursday at four locations across Surry County.

• A Mount Airy site at the Surry County Government Center on State Street behind Arby’s;

• The Surry Board of Elections headquarters at 915 E. Atkins St. in Dobson;

• In Pilot Mountain at the town rescue squad building at 615 E. U.S. 52-Bypass in the former Howell Funeral Home location;

• The Elkin Rescue Squad building on North Bridge Street.

Early voting hours at all four locations will be 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, with the service to end on May 14, the Saturday before the actual primary day.

No Sunday hours are included on the schedule.

Republican and Democratic candidates for various local, state and federal offices are on the ballot — predominantly GOP office-seekers — along with those for four positions in the non-partisan Mount Airy municipal election which are on tap for city voters.

Unaffiliated voters in North Carolina can choose whatever party ballot they wish for primary election participation.

Surry County Director of Elections Michella Huff reminded Friday that the upcoming one-stop early voting/same-day registration process — along with allowing registered voters to get a head start — provides a break for others who missed Friday’s regular registration deadline.

They can register during the early voting period at one of the four Surry locations and immediately cast a ballot at that same site. However, those who did not register by Friday’s deadline will not be allowed to vote on the primary day itself.

Same-day registrants must prove their residency by displaying either a North Carolina driver’s license, a photo ID issued by a government agency, a copy of a current utility bill or a current college photo ID card along with proof of campus habitation.

The procedure includes a set of safeguards, according to Huff.

“Within two days of the individual registering, we will verify the registrant’s license or Social Security number, update the voter registration database, search for duplicate registrations and begin to verify the registrant’s address by mail,” the elections director explained.

Huff added that 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the general election on Nov. 8 are eligible to register and vote in the primary.

The elections official also wanted to remind local residents Friday that a paper ballot form will be involved this year, as was the case for the last voting cycle.

Voters will place their completed ballots into a tabulator. Once inserted, they have successfully cast their ballots as part of a process designed to be efficient, reliable and safe.

“Security of election equipment is a high priority for this office and any claim regarding the validity of our equipment is taken seriously,” Huff advised.

“To that note, our machines were certified for use on a federal and state level and are safe to cast their ballot in again this election year.”

Meanwhile, the absentee ballot by mail process is continuing in Surry.

No excuse is required for voting using that method, but all absentee requests must be submitted on an official state form — available on the Surry County Board of Elections website or by calling its office. Elections personnel cannot accept handwritten informal requests.

Would-be voters can mail signed completed official request forms to the office or hand-deliver them there.

May 10 is the last day for residents to request that an absentee ballot be mailed to them.

“Our office looks forward to offering all ways to vote, either absentee by mail or in person at one-stop (sites) or on Election Day, May 17,” Huff mentioned.

For the second year in a row, Mount Airy City Schools has been awarded the 21st Century Community Learning Center Summer Mini-Grant. This year’s competitive grant totals $154,000 and is federally funded through the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

This has helped the city school system to provide free kindergarten through eighth grade after-school programming as well as free summer enrichment experiences to students in the community over the past five years. These summer sessions include free transportation, free meals, and high-energy activities that keep students engaged with school four days a week for seven hours.

These funds will directly support the district’s efforts to improve the literacy skills of students through its STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) framework. Plans have been made to continue the partnerships formed during last summer’s popular Blue Bear Bus program. The bus will travel across four community sites this summer on a Monday through Thursday schedule showcasing a weekly agenda of literacy infused STEAM activities. Weeks of operation and themes for the summer are:

• Week of June 13 – Ready, Set, Grow!

• Week of June 20 – STEAM into Summer!

• Week of June 27- RED, WHITE and BLUE!

• Week of July 11- Ocean Week

• Week of July 18 – Fun Fitness

• Week of July 25- Reach for the Stars!

This project will provide access and opportunities for students to get excited about reading rich literature that shows them mirrors (seeing themselves in stories), windows (seeing into others’ worlds and gaining an understanding of the multicultural world), and sliding glass doors (allowing readers to walk into a story) paired with hands-on STEAM activities.

“We are excited to serve our families again through the innovative use of our Blue Bear Bus team of educators and support staff,” said Project Director Penny Willard. “They will facilitate learning with our students and families this summer with the goal of keeping rigorous summer learning alive. Our team is currently planning around a diverse array of weekly themes to inspire our students with creative learning that develops them as lifelong readers, creators, designers, problem solvers, and innovators.”

Every child visiting the bus will walk away with new books to develop their own home library where families can support the love of reading. Research has shown that reading aloud to children may serve as the single most important activity to build knowledge to support a child’s ability to read (Reading Rockets, 2022). This project will also help allow Mount Airy City Schools to deepen its partnership with Reeves Community Center. Reeves works to provide swimming lessons for students of all ages and abilities.

Students and families will also have the opportunity to engage in field trips with the bus team. Educators are excited to take learning on the road and into the real world by visiting Kaleideum North, the Greensboro Science Center, and Dan Nicholas Park.

Families are invited to join the district for these experiences and to strengthen the school-to-family partnerships that enrich the educational opportunities for students. The district realizes the importance of family involvement and knows the impact of dedicated summer investment on a child’s success.

The rental business of a local commercial laundry service has been acquired by Alsco Uniforms, a large company with a national and international presence based in Salt Lake City.

Professional Rental Service (PRS) is located at 220 Frederick St. in Mount Airy, long owned by local businessman Gene Rees. It specializes in uniform rentals along with supplying items such as linens, mats, towels and mops and operating a new and used clothing store.

The business is listed as having been established in 2001 and before the acquisition by Alsco, employed 40-plus people, Rees said Thursday.

Unlike other takeovers of smaller operations by larger entities, he believes there was no net job loss among that force.

“They hired all our route associates, our delivery team,” Rees said of Alsco.

“We wanted to do it when we could protect our employees,” the local businessman said regarding any potential layoffs resulting from the sale which could have been offset by the strong labor market existing now.

“There were some who just retired,” Rees said in explaining the end result of no actual losses.

Age was a factor in the move, involving both Rees and folks in top positions at Professional Rental Service in their 70s.

“The biggest reason, I was born in 1951,” he said. “(It was) in recognition of my age.”

Rees said now seemed to be the time to sell in order to ensure a smooth transition, rather than waiting for an illness among key management, for example, which might have undermined that.

He had indicated in mid-March that the rental business was being sold, coming on the heels of him being approached from outside about acquiring the operation.

“An option to sell a company is always out there in this industry,” Rees said of the uniform-rental sector, adding that he talked with other larger companies that were potential buyers before deciding on Alsco. “We felt their culture matched our culture.”

Rees said the transaction included the business accounts of Professional Rental Service, but not its building on Frederick Street or equipment. “Not one piece.”

That structure is being provided rent-free to Alsco for three months to help with the transition, along with a management team for the same period.

After being finalized, the acquisition recently was announced by James Gutheim and Associates, a firm in Encino, California, which served as the financial adviser for the transaction.

Terms of the sale have not been disclosed.

Alsco (which stands for American Linen Supply Co.) is a private, family owned operation that has been in business since 1889.

It employs more than 20,000 people in locations worldwide, according to online sources.

Alsco’s core function includes providing linen- and uniform-rental services to customers that include restaurants, health-care organizations, automotive industries and other industrial facilities.

It continues to be managed, owned and operated by members of the original founder and owner’s (George A. Steiner) family, Kevin and Robert Steiner.

Alsco is considered a trailblazer in the laundering and delivery of ready-to-wear uniforms.

It should have been a fun February Friday morning at North Surry High as the night before the Lady Greyhounds basketball team defeated Southwestern Randolph 59-49 in their second-round playoff game to advance to the next round.

However, staff members who were first on campus the next morning caught a whiff of something right away that was amiss. A fuel leak in the boiler room had sent hundreds of gallons of fuel oil right down the drain. A drain that runs under the parking lot and empties out on the banks above the practice football field near Stewarts Creek.

Had the staffs’ noses not worked, the Doggett Water Plant was also an early canary sounding the alarm as they were detecting higher levels of fluorocarbons in the water than should have been there.

In recounting the incident on Monday, Surry County Schools Superintendent Dr. Travis Reeves said it had been their goal to get word as soon as it was clear there was no danger. Parents were scared upon hearing emergency crews were at the school, and then heard of a chemical or fuel spill. He expressed empathy for the anxiety the situation may have caused parents.

On that Thursday evening in February it rained the better part of an inch, and it was this rain that exacerbated the problem. “Had we not had that rain, I do not think the oil would have reached Stewarts Creek,” he told the county commissioners Monday. He mentioned being thankful the spill did not happen over the weekend when it may have gone unnoticed.

The day before the leak there had been a problem at North Surry where four boilers fed by a 20,000-gallon fuel tank heat the school. A hose connects the boiler system to a 100-gallon reservoir tank in the boiler room itself, and a drain is in the floor for any spillage.

Reeves described the system as designed “to make sure that when the boilers shut down that the fuel doesn’t go back into the big tank and make sure we have constant pressure, otherwise we have air in the lines and we’d be sending folks over there all the time to refire the boiler.”

“We had a pump malfunction the day prior, so we added a temporary pump and a temporary hose, and the temporary hose got a hole overnight. We are not sure why a hole came in the hose overnight; but it did.”

In the end though, it is human nature to look for the root cause of this spill. Something happened somewhere along the line, “Was it a substandard replacement part? A substandard repair?” Commissioner Van Tucker asked.

With a pressure rating of 225 pounds of pressure, Reeves was baffled as to how the hose could have failed since “there was really no pressure on the hose itself,” he said Monday.

A sample of the tubing in question was presented to the county commissioners for visual inspection, with Tucker adding, “I notice it says made in China and reinforced. It wasn’t reinforced nearly enough Dr. Reeves.” The insurance company has dispatched a forensics investigator to assess the tube, pipe, and hose for just such a defect as Tucker may have been alluding.

The commissioner went one step further by asking Reeves if he felt there was any chance that this had not been an accident, but rather an act of vandalism. Reeves answered in the negative, Tucker though seemed to have some lingering questions about the situation and was keen to allow an investigation to continue.

Reeves said Thursday morning that the investigators had questions about the “down pressure” on the six-inch replacement hose “that was right off the truck. We keep a length of it on the truck, so it was new, and it has a life expectancy of 8-12 months.”

Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, the maximum insurance payout is $50,000 which would pay for only part of the response and cleanup bill presented by Ultimate Towing & Recovery of more than $233,000.

Surry County has submitted their own invoice to the school system for $4,079 for their Haz Mat response to the fuel spill.

Dr. Reeves came to the board armed with a plan to reallocate money already appropriated to completed projects that wound up coming in under budget.

“This is not your fault, not our fault, but we need to pay it.” Tucker suggested the board approve Dr. Reeves’ reallocation of $34,000 to be put immediately toward the outstanding cleanup total, “without appropriating any more money to this problem until we have time for… the investigation to run its course.”

Commissioner Eddie Harris was clear, “This business needs to get paid.” The commissioners agreed to reallocate the money Reeves asked for but then hold off for up to 30 days any further disbursement from the board until the insurance company has completed its work.

Harris went on to remind the board of a similar fuel spill caused by a leak in the boiler room at Elkin High that spilled into the Big Elkin Creek. Elkin has since converted to natural gas, ironically a process that is soon to get underway at North Surry High.

Frontier Natural Gas has been extending its service area, “We are going to connect on to the line that Franklin is already on.” Reeves also said Surry Central has made its transition to natural gas with East Surry still to have its conversion to natural gas.

That’s too little too late for Reeves and the commissioners as they stare down a quarter million-dollar expense no one saw coming. The bottom line for the fuel cleanup, environmental impact, and labor for Ultimate Recovery’s employees totals $233,575.

Dirt that was tainted with fuel oil had to be transported to Asheboro to be cleansed at a cost of $15,342. Usage of dump trucks to haul that dirt for 388 hours cost $45,784. When factoring in backhoes, skid steers and the rest of the equipment that number doubles.

To hire a geologist to be on site for reporting and sampling during the process cost $7,500. Approximately $45,000 was spent on labor for the contracted cleanup crew.

Reeves explained another large line item, “They call them pigs, but they are the round white objects that go across the top of the water on the creeks. We had several of those between the high school and the water plant.”

288 booms were used to float atop water at a cost of $256 a piece making this the single largest line item from the cleanup at $73,728.

Mount Airy is hoping once again to tap into federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for what one city official calls “much-needed infrastructure” work involving municipal water and wastewater operations.

This locality previously was designated to receive $3.2 million — in 2021 — from the American Rescue Plan Act as part of a $350 billion financial aid package approved for all states and localities as a COVID-19 relief measure.

Plans recently were announced to use the bulk of that money for major building and equipment needs at various city facilities, with 16 local non-profit groups also vying for a share of the $3.2 million.

Apart from that round of funding is another pool of American Rescue Plan Act money to aid local water and sewer systems such as those in Mount Airy.

This includes $77.6 million allocated for planning projects and $54.1 million for construction grants that can be used for construction of water and sewer rehabilitation projects — with Mount Airy eyeing both.

“These potential funds are totally separate from the ARPA funds previously granted to the city of Mount Airy,” Public Works Director Mitch Williams advised in a city government memo regarding the initial $3.2 million allocation.

Five resolutions were approved unanimously by the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners on April 7 which will be part of the application process for ARPA funding. And the board was expected to approve another Thursday night related to the city wastewater-treatment plant located off U.S. 52-South.

Williams said during a planning retreat in late March that much work is needed at that facility, which was constructed in 1966 and upgraded in 1991 in increase its capacity.

In conjunction with the ARPA grant-application process, a list of projected capital expenditure requests was prepared involving the wastewater-treatment plan. Needs exceeding $1.1 million are included for just the next, 2022-23, fiscal year that begins on July 1.

The largest item noted is $1 million for replacing an influent pump station. For the next 10 years, projects are listed with a total price tag of $9.2 million.

Two other construction grants are being sought by Mount Airy, for water system improvement and sewer system improvement projects. “If awarded, these grants will go toward construction of existing rehabilitation projects,” the public works director advised.

The city recently hired two engineering firms to assist in applying for both the American Rescue Plan Act planning and construction grants.

Those related to the planning element include water and sewer condition assessments and a preliminary engineering report for wastewater-treatment plant upgrades.

The deadline for submitting the grants for ARPA assistance is May 2, with funding possibly approved either this summer or fall.

“Hopefully, the ARPA (and other) applications will be successful and some much-needed infrastructure work in the distribution system, water plant and wastewater plant will be completed in the near future,” states the text of a PowerPoint presentation Williams made during the retreat.

An annual tradition is back.

Thursday, the Mount Airy News held its Readers Choice Award luncheon at Cross Creek Country Club, recognizing local businesses and professionals who were chosen as among the best in their field by Mount Airy News readers.

We’ll have a complete rundown of the winners, along with a special section honoring them, along with plenty more photos, in Sunday’s edition of the paper. Until then, here’s a glimpse at some of the festivities.

Nearly a year after finding the body of a Mount Airy man who died from an apparent drug overdose, authorities have arrested a Pilot Mountain man and charged him with second degree murder in the case.

Surry County Sheriff Steve C. Hiatt said Justin Neil Sydenstricker, 33, of 190 Eastridge Place, Pilot Mountain, was arrested and charged in the case. At the time of his arrest, Sydenstricker was already in custody in the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center on an unrelated murder charge.

The sheriff said that on May 2, 2021, his office received a call “in reference to an unattended death.” When patrol deputies arrived on the scene at 300 Snody Road, Mount Airy, they found the body of 29-year-old Adam Casey Marshall. The sheriff said he died of “an apparent overdose.”

Detectives with the sheriff’s office have been investigating the death ever since, culminating in what the sheriff said was an indictment, then arrest, on a second degree murder charge against Sydenstricker

“This incident is still an active investigation, but during the investigation detectives identified Mr. Sydenstricker as the individual who supplied the narcotics to Mr. Marshall that contributed to his death,” Hiatt said in a written statement regarding the arrest. “Mr. Sydenstricker was served the indictment as he was already being held in Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center for a murder charge out of Winston-Salem.

Because this is still an active case, Hiatt said no other information would be released at this time.

There were a lot of smiles on display Thursday at East Surry High School as the Special Olympics returned to the field. The pandemic caused the same havoc to these games as it has in so many other events of note over the past two years. That was of no matter as the parade of athletes hit the track to some rather raucous cheering for so early in the morning.

Like the Olympic Games, the Special Olympics had opening ceremonies with presentation of the colors form East Surry JROTC, speeches from Surry County Schools Superintendent Dr. Travis Reeves and Chairman of the Surry County Board of Commissioners Bill Goins, and the oath of the athletes. Each school was announced and entered the football field as a group. There was a group for individual competitors as well as not every athlete is of school age.

When the torch entered the stadium flanked by Sheriff Steve Hiatt and a large contingent from the Surry County Sheriff’s Office the excitement grew. The flame lit, the oaths offered, it was game time.

Game time is not a wholly inappropriate way to describe the variety for the athletes. Games from soft ball toss, wheelchair races, and race walking were happening on the field and track simultaneously.

Daniel White is the local organizer, and a member of Surry parks and recreation staff, who emceed the morning as well as handling dance contests between cheerleaders and the PTA. He announced the dance off was a two-way tie.

Some of the youngest competitors were across the field near the visitors seating area where there was a spirited tug of war going on, while another young man did his best Evander Holyfield impression while bopping and boxing with an inflatable penguin.

Whatever the activity, location, or age group there was a contagious joy to the event that was not sullied by cloudy skies. There was “the thrill of victory,” what was missing from these games was “the agony of defeat.” It has no place amongst these Olympians who were winners already, but some took home additional hardware at days end, nonetheless.

Commissioner Mark Marion pointed out that people may not often think of all age groups participating in Special Olympics, but he said they were all kids at heart on this day. That was easy to see when adults, teachers, the superintendent, and county big wigs were tapping their toes to Earth, Wind, and Fire’s September, or struggling with the cupid shuffle – they got an A for the effort.

Marion included himself among the kids at heart and echoed the exact words of his colleague Commissioner Larry Johnson, that this was one of the best days of the year, something he looks forward to. He has his own personal connections to the Games as he has a family member in competition and Johnson Granite is one of the many corporate sponsors.

The sponsors and the volunteers were an army, with East Surry High students in red t-shirts identifying themselves as ‘buddies.’ Kassi Hiatt, a red shirted buddy herself, explained the buddies were paired with an athlete to travel through the day with them. They were given encouragement during the opening ceremony to help their athlete have fun and make great memories.

Students from inside East Surry were coming out to cheer on the athletes as well, one teacher mentioned his class finished what they needed to do, so he was bringing them down to cheer on the Olympians. “I’m on my sixth trip already,” he said as he hurried behind his students.

Bill Goins spent a long time in public education, and he told the crowd that in his days in school administration the visits to see his exceptional students would often be a bright spot in his day. “I spent 28 years in education and 17 in administration. The highlight of my day often was to go see my exceptional students. I knew I could get a smile or a hug if I was having a bad day,” he told the crowd.

It was not necessary to have a family member competing to feel the sense of happiness and joy that permeated David H. Diamont Stadium. Special was a word used a lot Thursday, but it did not lose its luster or prove to be anything but true – the games and the athletes were indeed special, and winners all.

Frontier Natural Gas is picking up where it left off two years ago by recently launching a project to extend its lines in the Toast area.

The expansion path is heading up South Franklin Road to the N.C. 89 (West Pine Street) intersection, then will proceed in both directions along that route.

“It is going from there to North Surry High School,” company spokeswoman Taylor Younger said of the area to be covered by the expansion on N.C. 89-West.

New lines will be installed toward the east to the U.S. 52 bridge that crosses N.C. 89, added Younger, who is in the engineering division of the natural gas supplier headquartered in Elkin.

The distance is to cover a total of about four miles of new lines, but Younger did not know the potential number of businesses, residences and other entities that will be able to tap on to them as a result.

Construction crews have been vigorously at work in recent days along South Franklin Road north of the spot where a 2020 line expansion was halted near Franklin Elementary School.

That project was done primarily to meet energy needs of Faith Baptist Church, which had burned in 2018 and led to a rebuilding effort.

Additional natural gas expansion by Frontier occurred then in the Pineview area to the south behind the Dollar Tree store on U.S. 601. This provided the opportunity for commercial and residential properties in the densely populated area to access service via the new infrastructure.

The main motivation for the extension most recently undertaken by Frontier Natural Gas is to serve North Surry High School, where a leak of fuel oil — the school’s present heating source — occurred in February.

“They are a fairly big user,” Younger said of the school’s energy consumption, calling North Surry “the anchor” for the line-expansion project.

“We will be saving them money,” she said of the switch to natural gas.

The project will increase the footprint of Frontier Natural Gas in Surry County, where it already has about 135 miles of main lines serving around 1,400 customers.

Another Frontier official has said that in the first year after a line project in Surry, the hookup rate ranges from about 20 to 25 percent in the territory involved and gradually builds to around 35 percent.

Frontier also serves residential, commercial, and municipal customers in Yadkin, Wilkes, Watauga, Ashe, and Warren counties, with some manufacturers said to prefer that energy source.

This was reflected by a move in 2014 to supply natural gas to Westwood Industrial Park in Mount Airy through a partnership with the city and county governments.

At a time when there is a push toward green energy sources and away from fossil fuels, natural gas remains a viable alternative, Younger said.

“In the industry, people consider natural gas sort of a bridge to green energy.”

The Jack A. Loftis Plaza was so named 11 years ago this month to honor a former Mount Airy mayor who’d been instrumental in developing a rest area there which provided the first public bathroom facilities downtown.

Over the years, the spot on the lower end of North Main Street has been visited frequently by Mayberry tourists and locals alike, also containing tables and chairs covered by awnings where they can enjoy food while escaping the sun.

One recent enhancement there involved the dedication in 2021 of a mural depicting the popular Easter Brothers gospel bluegrass group that hailed from this area, whose three principals are now deceased as is Loftis.

But a member of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners is concerned that another addition would detract from the vibe of the plaza, an adult beverage consumption area he says is possible under action taken earlier this month.

The board voted 4-1 on April 7 in favor of an ordinance change that was touted as a way to allow more downtown businesses to operate outdoor dining sections, which has been sought in response to the pandemic.

However, existing rules required those places to be restaurants in order to take advantage of a concept first approved in 2015 — so on April 7 the council majority broadened that to include “food and beverage establishments.”

Now Commissioner Jon Cawley is bothered that this change somehow could allow a wine shop and boutique on the north side of Jack A. Loftis Plaza — known as Uncorked — to serve alcoholic beverages in at least a portion of the rest area.

Cawley, the lone council member to vote against the ordinance amendment, also was the only one to direct pointed questions toward city Planning Director Andy Goodall over its implications of allowing more spaces for alcohol consumption by businesses downtown.

In exchanges with Cawley, Uncorked was actually cited as an example by Goodall during the April 7 meeting concerning establishments that might be affected.

Outdoor serving areas can exist in specially designated spaces adjoining such businesses — including sidewalks, plazas and public alleys — with at least 5 feet of space required for an “unobstructed pedestrian corridor,” under city ordinances.

“And as long as they do that they can use that plaza,” Cawley said of Uncorked’s potential to expand to the rest area.

Outside serving sections can include tables and chairs, but those areas can’t exceed 25% of the total seating capacity of the mother establishment.

Based on the April 7 discussion, Uncorked would not be able to use the plaza as its building is presently configured, but could through upfits of the structure as a result of the ordinance change.

Cawley’s understanding is that this could include modifying the intervening wall to add a serving window facing the plaza, where the Easter Brothers mural graces the opposite wall.

Measurements reportedly have been seen taking place at the site to do just that, according to the councilman.

Yauna Martin, an owner of Uncorked, said Tuesday afternoon that the business presently has no plans for such a facility.

“Right now I just think we’re not going to do anything,” she advised. “And we’ll see what the future holds.”

Cawley is of the opinion that the April 7 action occurred without the full knowledge of either the commissioners supporting it or the public at large.

“I don’t believe there was a board member there who understood the ramifications,” he said. “I think the decision was made without factoring in everybody’s good-sense opinions.”

On the other hand, “it may have all four of them understood completely if it was going to become a wine and beer garden,” said Cawley, who expressed general concern at the meeting about permitting more spaces for alcohol consumption.

Despite what fellow council members knew or didn’t know, he is troubled by the rapid manner in which the vote played out and a possible lack of transparency.

“I asked some questions and I was the only one that did,” the North Ward commissioner — a candidate for mayor in a May 17 primary — added regarding the April 7 debate on the matter that was handled relatively expediently.

“When the goal is a 5-0 vote in a 30-minute meeting, you’re not going to get a lot of discussion.”

The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners is holding its next meeting Thursday night, when Cawley hopes to rectify the situation.

“I’m going to ask the other commissioners to rescind the vote,” he explained.

Aside from any other concerns about the issue, Cawley thinks that if alcohol consumption does transpire in Jack A. Loftis Plaza, a facility intended for the general public, it will detract from Mount Airy’s small-town Mayberry image.

“Mayberry doesn’t need wine and beer,” he said of that mystique.

The Pilot Mountain Civic Club named Carolyn Boyles as the 2021 Citizen of The Year. At a recent meeting, Mayor Evan Cockerham presented her with this award stating she is “integral to this club, this community and the very history of Pilot Mountain.”

She is no stranger to the community as she is a lifelong resident and taught in the Surry County School System for more than 40 years; serving at Shoals Elementary and Pilot Mountain Middle schools before her retirement in 2011. She was honored with the Teacher of The Year award at both schools during her tenure. She received her bachelor’s degree from High Point University and her Masters and Education Specialist degrees from Appalachian State University. She was included in the first edition (as well as two additional editions) of “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” and was featured in “Great Women of the 21st Century.”She is well-respected and admired by her former students as she is frequently recognized by them when they see her. She always takes time to reconnect and ask about their families and current activities.

As a leader and pillar of our community, she served as a commissioner in Pilot Mountain town for 23 years and as Mayor Pro-Tem for a number of years. In addition, she served on multiple town boards including the planning board and the TDA.

She is a lifetime member of the First Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School, served as a deacon, church clerk, and member of the Women’s Missionary Union. Many families especially appreciate the care she provided as a teacher in the nursery on Sundays. She also served on multiple committees to further the development of the church ministry.

She can be seen at every Red Cross blood drive, thanking the donors and serving refreshments.

She is an avid genealogist having researched and published a book titled “Early Days of Pilot Mountain, N. C. – A History and Genealogy.” Not surprising, with her love of history and genealogy, she is a member of the National Education Association, North Carolina Association of Educators, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution: Jonathan Hunt Chapter, Surry County Genealogy Association, Genealogy Society of Rockingham and Stokes Counties and the Mount Airy Regional Museum of History where she serves as a docent.

She enjoys reading, playing bridge, participating in exercise and yoga classes at the Armfield Civic and Recreation Center, and is a former golfer. She is a world-wide traveler having visited more than 100 countries. She is an adventurous cook who enjoys trying new recipes and sharing with friends and family. She even prepared apple strudel with the head chef during a Rhine River cruise to Germany.

Her spirit of public service is unwavering. She exemplifies the ideals of a citizen by volunteering her time for worthy community or civic causes to improve the quality of life for those in our community. She is a role model who inspires other club members to invest their time and talents in service-oriented activities. When community needs are identified, she is the first to step up and assist in any way possible as evidenced by Mayfest planning committee, the Surry Community College scholarship program, and many unexpected emergent needs in our community.

“As an elected official, Carolyn is someone I look up to and admire,” Mayor Cockerham said. “As a young leader in the community, I am grateful for her support and know her counsel and wisdom are available. When I think of well-rounded individuals, I think of Carolyn, when I think of people who have had a lasting impact, I think of Carolyn. When I think of people who made this community what it is today, Carolyn is in a class of her own.”

Mount Airy City Schools will be putting on a Community Peacefest Monday, which organizers say will be a way to focus on the need for world peace, as well as celebrate the diversity Mount Airy and its school system enjoys.

Polly Long, who is the city schools’ coordinator of workforce initiatives as well as the leader of youth services for the Rotary Club of Mount Airy, said this year’s event is an expansion of the Multicultural Arts Festival the school system held in May of 2021.

“We were very excited about what we did last year, that had never been done before,” she said of the event, which included groups of students putting on displays representing different countries.

“We are a very diverse school system, we have a lot of diversity in our community,” she said. “We were thrilled at the amount of people who came, we were particularly excited that people started to come in their ethnic clothes.”

So, school officials decided to do something similar, but with a Rotary-inspired twist.

“World peace is the cornerstone of Rotary clubs,” Long said, and there were grant opportunities for Rotary Clubs to use to build peace parks, “A real place where people could go, where they could think about world peace.”

The club, along with the school, was able to secure a grant to help build a peace park on Market Street, site of last year’s art festival and where the Mount Airy Downtown and Main Street programs use for many of their festivals and activities.

While there is no place large enough for a park there, Long said they used the grant to develop a couple of “pocket parks,” with a plaque, rose bushes and peace posts at two of the corners of the parking lot.

Long explained peace poles are similar to short totem poles, with children’s work wrapped around the poles, depicting what peace means to the children who created the artwork.

As planning for the event and the peace parks came together, Russia invaded Ukraine.

“Suddenly, before our eyes on television every night we are seeing the horrors of war, and we realize there is not peace in our world,” she said, making next week’s gathering all the more poignant.

Part of the event will include booths or tents set up by student groups, showing what they have discovered and learned about their chosen land — among the displays, she said, will be ones on China, Nigeria, Mexico, Columbia, and the American territory of Puerto Rico.

“Students have developed their own little talks, will lead discussions on what all these customs are…what they wear.”

The idea behind highlighting other lands, Long said, is simple: “The more we know about each other, the more we know about other countries, we realize there are more similarities than differences between people.”

And last, she said, the event will feature a Rotary tent, where the group will be collecting money to be sent to relief efforts in Ukraine.

“We kept thinking, if only we could do something for the people in Ukraine. This is not going to change their lives…but this is something we can do, it is at least a public awareness opportunity. We’re excited about the children being involved. We hope people will listen to the children as they talk about peace.

“We starting working on it in the fall,” she said of the idea of a second festival. “In the fall we didn’t know about the peace park. We added the peace park, but we didn’t know about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Each layered on top of the other, and that is where we are today.”

In addition to students from throughout the city school system, other groups will be on hand, including Living Rhythm, an African drum group sponsored by the Surry Arts Council, a Chinese lion dancer, and Mariachi dancers, thanks to the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.

“This is truly one of these festivals that reaches a lot of areas…It is truly community collaboration,” she said.

The festival gets underway at 5 p.m. on Market Street on Monday, April 25, and is expected to last until 8 p.m.

The unveiling of a sign unique to Surry County will take place Friday, April 22 at 10 a.m. on the lawn of the Historic Courthouse, 114 W. Atkins St., in Dobson. The famous sonker, a Surry County delicacy, will receive its well-deserved nod for its historical significance when its “Hungry for History” road marker is displayed for the first time during a ceremony on the Kapp Street side of the courthouse square.

Launched in 2021 to help communities highlight their distinctive favorite foods, the Hungry for History grant program commemorates the role regional food specialties have played in defining American culture and forging community identity.

During the first grant round, the Pomeroy Foundation awarded funding for a variety of prepared dishes including Surry County’s very own sonker. The inaugural class also includes salt potatoes in Syracuse, New York.; Michigan hot dogs in Plattsburgh, New York; beef on weck in West Seneca, New York; buckwheat cakes in Kingwood, West Virginia; barbecued chicken in Lansing, New York; chocolate jumbles in Esperance, New York; and chicken brissil in Greenville, Alabama.

The origins of its name date back to Surry County’s early settlers. The word sonker comes from the Scottish dialect and originally referred to a small, grassy knoll that could have been used as a seat. The meaning evolved to describe a seat made from bundles of hay or straw. Many suspect the irregular dough covering the bumpy filling reminded cooks of a knoll or saddle, prompting the term.

Another school of thought says the dessert derived its name from the word “sunk” because the crust of a sonker sinks into the fruit filling. After being passed down through decades of rural Carolina dialect, perhaps sunker became sonker.

Although it is hard to say for sure where the name came from, it is much easier to say what it is: delicious.

Sonker is best described as a hybrid between a cobbler and a deep-dish pie. Generations of Surry County residents have handed down recipes and tweaked them to suit their personal tastes, family preference, and the available ingredients of the time.

The result of blending fruit and unshaped dough, often sweetened with sugar or molasses, and an occasional spice of the cook’s preference is the sonker itself. It can be accompanied by a dip or glaze made of cream, sugar or molasses, and a few drops of vanilla extract.

Variations in crust abound with some recipes calling for a pie-like crust, while others call for a breadcrumb topping. Other cooks make theirs in a pot on the stove, with a crust that is more akin to dumplings.

Using fruits such as blackberries, peaches, raspberries, strawberries, apricots, huckleberries, and apples it is believed folks made sonker stretch the usage of their fruit in tough times, or to utilize fruit that is toward the end of its ripeness. That “waste not” conservatism is still a hallmark of the people of Surry County who hate to see food go to waste and have the tupperware to prove it.

“Communities are incredibly proud of the cherished local dishes their regions are known for. We’re pleased to provide this opportunity to recognize and celebrate those foods with Hungry for History roadside markers,” Deryn Pomeroy, trustee at the Pomeroy Foundation, said.

To qualify for the Hungry for History grant program, the regional food specialty must be a prepared, ready-to-eat dish that originated before 1960 and is comprised of at least two ingredients.

The dish must still be available to eat today and have historical significance to the surrounding community. All applications must also include primary source documentation that proves the food’s authenticity and significance to the region. Such primary sources may not settle any long-standing debate on the crust, however.

“We look forward to helping communities across the country celebrate their unique – and delicious – regional food specialties that are part of the fabric of our collective identities and heritage,” Pomeroy said.

The ceremony will include a brief history of the sonker provided by the Surry County Historical Society, a review of the Surry County Sonker Trail, acknowledgment of those who have helped develop the trail and what the sonker has meant to the county in terms of tourism and exposure. Following this will be the unveiling of the sign, along with sonker samples provided by The Harvest Grill at Shelton Vineyards.

For anyone planning to attend the ceremony, a canopy and chairs will be setup for comfort, and parking will be provided around the Courthouse Square and diagonally across from the Historic Courthouse and Business 601/Main Street in the County parking lot at the Judicial Center.

In an ironic twist of fate, a man known as an unlikely hiker has become a likely advocate for a sock brand produced by a Mount Airy company.

The Farm to Feet line of Nester Hosiery has signed through-hiker and author Derick Lugo as a brand ambassador, which will include wearing and promoting its socks.

Lugo is the author of a book called “The Unlikely Thru-Hiker: An Appalachian Trail Journey,” which documents his journey on the trek of about 2,200 miles linking Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mount Katahdin in Maine.

The native New Yorker embarked on the Appalachian Trail in 2012 with no previous camping or hiking experience.

Lugo became known as Mr. Fabulous during the long-distance hike.

His latest adventure began last week when Lugo set out to through-hike another challenging course, with through-hike referring to traversing established end-to-end or long-distance trails with continuous footsteps in one direction in a straight shot.

He now is hiking the Continental Divide Trail, which spans 3,028 miles between the U.S. borders with Chihuahua, Mexico, and Alberta, Canada.

The way in which the local Farm to Feet brand enters the picture involves the fact that Lugo is wearing its socks during the hike. It began on April 12 with plans to complete the journey in mid-September.

In addition to donning the locally produced socks during his through-hike of the Continental Divide Trail this summer. Lugo will provide content, product feedback and appear at events on behalf of the brand.

This is expected to be a major boost for the local company, according to Matt Brucker, who became general manager of Nester Hosiery brands, including Farm to Feet, earlier this year.

“Derick has a magnetic personality and as anyone who has ever met him knows, he’s passionate about hiking and storytelling – a perfect match for Farm to Feet,” Brucker said in a statement.

Lugo is equally enthusiastic about the partnership.

“I had no idea how important socks were before my through-hike,” he said in a statement. “Having socks that dry quickly, are comfortable and durable is essential, and Farm to Feet checks all those boxes and I look fly in them.”

Lugo will be participating in the Continental Divide Trail Coalition’s Trail Days in Silver City, New Mexico, this weekend, when that organization celebrates its 10-year anniversary.

The public can monitor his progress on the trail by visiting www.dericklugo.com and following him on Instagram (@dericklugo), Twitter (@derick_lugo) and Facebook (@TheUnlikelyThru-Hiker).

Farm to Feet, promoted as a maker of 100-percent American socks, turns out that footwear in its sustainability focused facility in Mount Airy said to employ the highest-level knitting techniques possible.

The brand prides itself on turning out the most-comfortable and feature-rich socks available under the belief that socks are meant for the outdoors. It also is committed to improving the outdoor recreational experience and advocating for the protection of wild places, according to a company announcement regarding its pairing with Lugo.

Easter, no matter when it falls, marks the coming of spring and has been celebrated with exuberance for centuries. Many bits of farm wisdom revolve around “the signs” and Easter is an important milepost in the signs.

Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox which means the earliest it can happen is March 22 and the latest is April 25 in any given year — prime planting time for a number of garden staples.

The Herbalist Almanac of 1931, from the Dault and Lucy Sawyers homeplace in Shoalsm advised under the heading, “When to Plant, Harvest, etc. By the Moon and Moon Signs” that the lucky days for April that year were the second and third which were noted to be the best days to marry that month. That was Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

“Plant Irish potatoes, bed sweet potatoes, put out onion sets, sow onion seeds, beets, turnips, carrots, parsnips radishes, artichokes and peanuts on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 13th and 14th,” it continued. Soil was considered to be the most fertile on Good Friday according to wide-spread folk wisdom of the time.

Although the region had members of the Jewish faith, and, presumably, other non-Christian religious faiths from Colonial times, the vast majority of people across Surry, Stokes, Carroll in Virginia, and other counties of the area identified as some form of Christian. The earliest newspapers we have from the region give a great deal of ink to Easter folklore and religious reporting.

As Holy Week approached, newspapers of the region carried reporting on special worship services, commercial sales, community events, and outings.

In the early- to mid-20th century the churches of Mount Airy coordinated union Good Friday services, moving between churches from one year to the next and all the pastors taking a role in the three-hour services. In April 1943, when so many local men and women were engaged in the Second World War, the words spoken from the cross were presented as lessons on pardon, human care, loneliness, and human need.

Easter Sunday, of course, was, and still is, a heavily attended church service. The Elkin Times ran an article on April 15, 1897 about the Moravian tradition of musicians greeting Easter morn with brass instruments calling worshippers to the cemetery in the chill dark hours to commemorate the empty tomb. “The procedure of the service is so timed,” it read, “that the musico-prayerful (sic) rejoicing reaches its highest expression just as the sun rises.”

Other denominations tended to have quieter and later services with everyone wearing their literal ‘Sunday Best.’ Many letters and news articles from the 1800s through the 1950s indicate Easter services involved more music or other changes to the usual Sunday services.

“Rev. G.M. Burcham preached to 800 people at the Rock House on the Brushies, five miles from Jonesville last Sunday,” reported The Elkin Times April, 22, 1897. Though we find such reports over several years, we can’t find clear explanations of what this place was or where it was.

The holiday drew adult children to celebrate with family whether they were traveling in from a new home in Greensboro or Tennessee or coming from Salem Academy or Fort Bragg. Such trips were often noted in the Mount Airy News or Elkin Tribune.

If Holy Week involved more-than-usual time in church, Easter Monday took a turn to the secular. The Danville Reporter noted in 1909 a Stokes County superstition that working on Easter Monday would mean the loss of a cow so folks played with determination.

“Easter Monday promises to be more largely observed this year than usual in this part of the state,” reported the Twin-City Sentinel on April 9, 1914. “The events in different parts of the country will bring the people together for a day of social intercourse and can hardly fail to do good in that it will make the people realize more fully their oneness and engender a spirit of good fellowship.”

Kate Rauhauser-Smith is a local freelance writer, researcher, and genealogist.

In the hot seat for the first-time last week was Eric Southern who oversees emergency services for Surry County. “I can confirm, this is an uncomfortable seat,” he said before making his first budget proposal to the board of county commissioners.

Still in his first year as director, Southern is no stranger to mechanisms of county government. He knows the end game with budgeting. “The bottom line is to save the taxpayers money.”

His department is one of service and its three branches Emergency Management, Fire Marshal’s Office, and EMS all have the laser focused goal of public safety in mind. To do what is required means his team needs the right vehicles, equipment, and training.

You cannot provide first aid when you cannot access the patients, so an improvement to county ambulances is needed. The Type I ambulance with power lift system is what Southern would like to see the county invest in.

In certain environments, the county is relying on equipment arriving on scene with the local volunteer fire department or rescue squad. “We are a rural county; we have to go off road. There have been times we had to load a patient on a pickup truck and bring them to the ambulance because the ambulance can’t get there.”

This could lead to a lack of availability should multiple incidents happen at the same time. The county and volunteer fire departments have a mandate to send a response to all alarm calls, when the bell goes off – an engine is rolling. Two fires in Bannertown at the same time may explain why you see a White Plains fire engine outside their fire district, they are providing redundant coverage for community protection.

“Through the years we rely on the squads to bring their ambulance, again that’s a volunteer service, so we started to look at what we could do if we don’t have that,” he said.

The Type I ambulance would be a pronounced change for the county. They are beefier with a sturdier frame, elongated nose, and improved suspension over the in-use Type III ambulances. Their 4×4 suspension would allow for crews to reach areas previous models could not.

Power lift systems are the improvement over power stretchers that the county now uses. Ever mindful of the budget the board noted those stretchers had already dropped workers comp claims due to back injuries from this department dramatically. Five of eleven ambulances now have power lift, Southern would like to retrofit the remainder.

Instead of the battery-operated scissor lifting stretchers, the power lift does the work “so (the crew) doesn’t have to pick them up and put them in the truck. It saves backs, we have people of different heights and sizes, so people must adjust for that.”

Patient and crew safety are of concern, so a longer nose may protect the cab from deer strike, as would the addition of grill guards. “We had a deer strike about three years ago and it rolled up the hood – it pushed the windshield in but didn’t break. Stokes and Yadkin say these grill guards work and they get a lot more strikes than we do.”

“We use Type III, the engine is a little bit into the cab area, and have a shorter front end,” Southern explained of the difference. “The box sits on the chassis itself and this led to complaints over the years.”

“It’s a box, on a frame with four bolts. No suspension, no ride system, and we do long distance transport so to Charlotte Mecklenburg, or Winston-Salem – you know the conditions of the roads. I got a “Y’all are great, this is not a complaint, but…” letter just the other day, because the ride was bad.”

A rough ride adds to anxiety for the passengers Southern noted, something they have enough of already. He wants the riders to feel more comfortable on long rides, but of late the need for the long-distance patient transport has fallen off.

“Thankfully right now we have been able to use other services. Before whenever we had transports for Hugh Chatham of Northern Regional, we were the primary services. If they had one, we took it.” Atrium and Novant have each been staffing an ambulance in the county and can take over some transport roles. “Those long-distance transports for the last almost month and a half, we have not done.”

Northern Regional also recently received approval from the commissioners to apply for their own ambulance franchise under a five-year charter. The move to allow for such charter was given strong support from County Manager Chris Knopf and Southern.

Northern would then be responsible for transporting their own patients for discharge or in transfer between hospitals. Commissioner Eddie Harris noted that bringing Northern Regional’s ambulance service online was no doubt “going to alleviate pressure on (the county’s) service.”

Southern agreed and recounted to the board again, as he had in February, how the hot time is 5 p.m. That is when discharges from hospitals put patients in motion, and the freeing up of beds creates opening for transfers. He said his crews were running transports and transfers until the pre-dawn hours and that has taken a toll on his crews.

Other highlights from within the budget are replacing end of life fire protection suits, “they do have a shelf life.” The new suits will be good to go for twenty years he said.

To be the prepared means to train for all situations. Improved training dummies can now “hook up to a heart monitor, generate a heart rhythm, even hear breathing – it really adds to the realism.”

The Marshal’s office needed gas monitors in the mobile data terminals – replacing ones that have aged out. The gas monitors support the department with carbon monoxide alarms and the mobile data terminals they use for inspection reports.

The county’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and final budget approvals will be forthcoming.

Spring cleaning is not just something to do around the house or yard, but also along local roadsides plagued by litter — which are being targeted by an annual program now under way in Mount Airy.

This involves the Community Clean-Up Campaign sponsored by the Mount Airy Parks and Recreation Department, Mount Airy Appearance Commission and Reeves Community Center Foundation.

It began Saturday and will run through April 30 in conjunction with the North Carolina Statewide Community Cleanup Campaign operating during the same period.

“This is a cleanup campaign in which a family, civic group, Sunday school class, business or any other group of people wanting to make a difference can claim a street to clean to help keep our community clean, attractive and inviting,” Appearance Commission Chairman Allen Burton explained.

A few streets already have been secured, but organizers say there are many more areas that can use a cleanup crew. Streets may be claimed by contacting Cathy Cloukey or Peter Raymer at Reeves Community Center (336-786-8313), who also can help provide trash bags.

“Currently, we need several more groups to chip in on the effort to match last year’s campaign of 20 streets,” Raymer advised Thursday afternoon.

Along with the group efforts that will be involved, there is a pride factor coupled with the campaign which city organizers hope will add a bit of motivation for individuals to tackle litter.

They are challenging residents to clean up a street in the city limits, with each participate encouraged to in turn challenge at least one friend, family member or co-worker to do the same.

Interested persons can call Cloukey or Luke Danley at the community center to reserve a street and identify a friend who is being challenged.

Also, as part of the two-week effort, a Mount Airy hashtag (#) trashtag challenge is encouraging participants to take before-and-after photos of areas cleaned up for posting.

“To help spread the word, we ask that everyone use social media and the #mountairytrashtag hashtag to challenge others to participate” and post photos, Mount Airy Parks and Recreation announced.

To get the ball rolling, on March 23 members of the Mount Airy Appearance Commission and city Parks and Recreation staff filled 57 bags of trash and collected two couches along Hamburg Street from H.B. Rowe Environmental Park to Mount Airy Middle School.

They logged two trailer loads during that effort, with Raymer mentioning that it is amazing how little time it takes to fill up one bag.

“If you, your family, co-workers, business, Sunday School group, service organization or anyone else would like to make a positive difference in our community by spending a couple hours in the sun, getting exercise and making your neighborhood and community cleaner and more inviting, please sign up by calling Reeves Community Center,” the Mount Airy Parks and Recreation announcement urged.

A member of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners says budget misstatements he made during a public forum involve a simple error, while others believe this reveals a disturbing lack of familiarity with city finances.

In outlining how he wanted to keep property taxes low while providing good services to citizens during a meet-the-candidates event last Monday night, At-Large Commissioner Joe Zalescik erroneously referred to Mount Airy having a $30 million budget.

Zalescik also mentioned during the heavily attended event at the Historic Earle Theatre and Old-Time Music Heritage Hall that the municipal spending plan is funded by $15 million in property tax revenues — also incorrect.

Mount Airy’s adjusted general fund budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which ends on June 30, totals $17.2 million, with property taxes projected at $7.3 million, according to figures from city Finance Director Pam Stone. The budget totalled $14.9 million when approved last year, with some spending additions occurring since.

Revenues come from other sources along with property taxes to fill out the general fund package, which is separate from a water-sewer budget of $6.5 million that is financed by user fees.

None of this adds up to a $30 million budget and $15 million in property taxes.

“It was my error to say $15 million,” Zalescik said Thursday afternoon. “All I would say is I made a minor mistake.”

The at-large commissioner, who has been in office for only about seven months — when he was appointed by the city council — chalked up the errors to the kind of verbal miscues one can make while speaking to a large audience.

“The $15 million was in my head the entire time,” Zalescik explained regarding the actual (unadjusted) budget total and its property tax portion. “And I really meant to say $7.5 million” for the latter, in round figures.

Since he assumed the at-large seat only last September — to fill a vacancy created when former Commissioner Ron Niland was appointed mayor — Zalescik further pointed out that he has not actually voted on a city budget. This usually occurs each June.

Zalescik said the message he was seeking to convey at the forum is that half of the general fund budget is supported by property tax revenues. “The point is, I would like for taxes to be lower.”

Although Zalescik presently is the city’s at-large commissioner, he is running for a South Ward seat now held by Steve Yokeley — who is in turn seeking Zalescik’s slot. This relates to a quirk in which the person winning the at-large race will serve only two years of Niland’s unexpired term while the South Ward victor will win a full four-year term.

Yokeley is a longtime councilman only wishing to serve two more years, while Zalescik desires a full term — which is contingent on both winning.

Zalescik is facing Gene Clark and Phil Thacker in a May 17 primary, with the two top vote-getters to square off in the November general election.

The comments at Monday night’s event raised the tentacles of another council candidate in a different race, John Pritchard.

Pritchard is campaigning for a North Ward seat in a contest also including Joanna Refvem, former city school board member Teresa Davis Leiva and Chad Hutchens. (Hutchens is a sergeant with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office working in a school resource officer capacity who incorrectly was listed as formerly serving as a Board of Education member in a previous article.)

Although he is not an opponent of Zalescik, Pritchard — due to his reputation as a city government “watchdog” — said he was compelled to come forward with a response to Zalescik’s statements.

“My first thought was not to comment because I didn’t have a dog in the match for the South Ward, but since I’m the budget watchdog I guess I do,” Pritchard advised.

“I’m concerned that Joe Zalescik may have a serious lack of basic knowledge about our city finances,” added Pritchard, who pointed out that Zalescik made the erroneous budget statements twice during Monday’s event. This was “an alarming difference” compared to the correct figures, in Pritchard’s view.

“I’m concerned because our board is now working on next year’s budget,” he mentioned, which Zalescik will have input on and vote for in June.

“It’s always good to serve, but being a good commissioner requires a basic understanding of our city finances.”

“That ain’t peanuts, Joe”

The budget figures voiced by Zalescik also drew a reaction from another local resident closely monitoring city government activities, Rebecca Harmon, who expressed her thoughts in a letter to the editor published Friday.

“Fiscal responsibility by commissioners requires a basic knowledge of the city budget,” Harmon wrote. “I strongly urge the city council to require all new commissioners – whether appointed (as Zalescik was) or elected – to familiarize themselves with the budget and budget process.”

Zalescik said Thursday that the wrong budget figures he gave do not detract from his worthiness to serve as a commissioner. Zalescik formerly was a member of the Mount Airy Planning Board and logged 35 years of local government experience in New Jersey, where he lived before moving to Mount Airy about three years ago.

Online postings by citizens to newspaper articles in which he is mentioned sometimes take aim at Zalescik’s “Yankee” background and ownership of a local business called Station 1978 Firehouse Peanuts.

Harmon referenced the latter in her comments taking issue with the faulty budget figures presented.

“Those numbers are off by about 100 percent — and that ain’t peanuts, Joe,” she wrote.

Zalescik acknowledged that everybody makes mistakes, and there are certain detractors in town who are going to jump all over any such misstep.

“They’re looking for anything to criticize me.”

It is a great invitation to “Start exploring North Carolina – one step at a time” on the website for the North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Pair that with the classic from Lao Tzu, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and you may be on to something, a couple million somethings in fact.

Approximated at 2,112,000 steps the North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea trail is not for the faint of heart. Not to say that it is an impossible trek, but in 2021 only 25 completed the route. Two have accomplished the task already this year so do not surrender all hope at the trailhead, it can be done.

An official part of the state parks system, the trail traverses 1,175 miles that can be completed on foot, bike, saddle, and two sections via paddle. The MTS trail changes its composition and revises its route as new sections are completed.

Segment 6 of MTS in Surry County is a mixture of established trails and footpaths with markings to direct hikers. The segment also takes a stroll through downtown Elkin, then “heads east, following the Yadkin River, past farms, and forests to the historic village of Rockford.” MTS then connects with the existing Corridor Trail to enter Pilot Mountain State Park.

Two new sections were officially designated in Surry County in March. “Staff and volunteers worked exceptionally hard to acquire easements and construct the segments,” said Daniel White, director of Surry County Parks & Recreation.

The new sections have been opened off NC Highway 268 near Elkin one near Friendship Motor Speedway, while a second portion links Carolina Heritage Vineyard & Winery to the Burch Station River Access on Highway 268.

The Surry County Board of Commissioners recently approved a request from Parks & Recreation to purchase and deploy a 52-foot prefabricated aluminum foot bridge over Highway 268 near the Wayne Farms Feed mill.

“The bridge will span a small creek on Wayne Farm’s land about 3/4 mile west of the Mitchell River and just south of 268,” Segment 6 Task Force leader Bob Hillyer said.

“There is currently 3/4 mile of trail on Spice Farms which is directly across from the Wayne Farm Feed mill on 268. The bridge will allow the MST to cross from Spice Farms and connect with our current trail head on near the Friendship speedway and Gentry Road.”

White from Parks & Recreation added the bridge, “will be across the road from New Grace Baptist Church in the woods.”

The community in each region makes or renews the trails, and efforts are managed by crew leaders such as Hillyer. These Task Force Leaders are only one component of the squad when it comes to trail management as it takes scores of volunteers on teams across the state.

These teams will tackle new trail construction or maintenance of existing trails; the local leader determines the plan of action. Only a willingness to help is needed to volunteer with the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, although they said training will be required to operate a chainsaw even if it already feels like an extra appendage.

Each year, as new trail opens, the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail adjust the current route to incorporate new trails and maintain a fully interactive map online to monitor changes.

With more than 700 miles of footpath completed and the addition of temporary routes on backroads and bicycle paths, hikers can blaze a trail from Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains right through to Jockey’s Ridge on the Outer Banks.

Hikers may also choose to customize their route by taking to paddle with two alternative route options: 27.5 miles on the Yadkin River paddle trail between Elkin and Pilot Mountain State Park, and the much longer 170-mile Neuse River Paddle Route on the coastal plain.

The goal is to complete a continuous off-road trail across North Carolina, more than half the planned length is now successfully on natural surface or greenway trail, unpaved forest roads, or beach. Friends estimate they are opening around 15 miles of new trail every year.

It can take time to determine the correct path for the trails, and then acquire the land or the easements to allow for passage. The planned bridge is an example of the easements needed from private landowners, Wayne Farms had to give permission for the land they own to be used both by the county and the hikers.

Local communities help connect the trail through links to greenways and urban trails while land trusts help acquire land as needed. As MTS comes out of the high country’s state parks and national forests it passes through more privately owned land, so trusts or easements may be needed to connect new sections.

“We’d like to thank the property owners who provided the easements and worked with the county to turn this idea into reality,” White said. Wayne Farms, Duke Energy and Carolina Heritage Vineyard & Winery donated easements to the cause.

“This trail is something that will be enjoyed by all for generations to come,” noted Matthew Wooten, Dobson Complex manager for Wayne Farms LLC. “Partnering with Surry County on this important project has been a pleasure and something we were very excited to help with.”

September will mark 45 years since Howard Lee spoke about an idea that could “help us know a little more about ourselves and help us understand our neighbors a little better.”

Thanks to thousands of volunteer hours the trail continues evolving still today. Lee noted, “I didn’t really even think it would ever really come into being. I’m really just elated and flattered to have it take on a life of its own.”

DOBSON — For the benefit of those who might not have heard, an election is upcoming in Surry County and some key dates are looming for that.

These include the regular voter-registration deadline for the May 17 primary, which is next Friday, while one-stop early absentee voting will begin on April 28.

Meanwhile, the absentee ballot by mail process already is under way, having begun on March 28.

Concerning the voter-registration part of the equation, forms must be postmarked or delivered in person by 5 p.m. next Friday to the Surry County Board of Elections office at 915 E. Atkins St. in Dobson. Regular hours there are 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

That Friday deadline applies to those who intend to cast ballots on Primary Day, and not during the early voting period when someone can register and cast a ballot during the same visit.

Registration forms may be sent by fax or email attachment, but an original must be received in the Dobson office no later than 5 p.m. on April 27, according to a recent schedule update from Surry Director of Elections Michella Huff.

Generally, persons who have voted in recent elections have active registration, but one may check his or her status at the board’s website. The elections office can be contacted at 336-401-8225.

Citizens also may register to vote or update their registration using the website.

Next Friday additionally is listed as the last day to change one’s party affiliation before the May 17 primary, when citizens may cast ballots for candidates only if they are affiliated with the party those candidates represent. For example, a person registered as a Democrat can’t vote in a GOP primary, although unaffiliated voters may.

An exception is the Mount Airy municipal election, which is non-partisan.

In most cases with local offices that will be on the May 17 ballot, only Republican candidates are involved and no Democrats at all, thus giving the primary added significance.

Whoever wins then effectively will be the victor due to no Democratic opposition in the November general election, unless there is a successful challenge by an unaffiliated — which is being pursued in a small number of cases — or write-in candidate.

A number of state and federal elected offices also will be affected by the primary in addition to local ones, with a sample ballot available on the Surry Board of Elections website.

Four early voting locations will be in operation across the county beginning at 8 a.m. on April 28, which theoretically allows citizens to cast ballots ahead of the regular election date to avoid crowds or if they have something else planned that day,

These include the Surry Board of Elections in Dobson, a Mount Airy site at the Surry County Government Center on State Street behind Arby’s, in Pilot Mountain at the town rescue squad building at 615 E. U.S. 52-Bypass in the former Howell Funeral Home location and in Elkin at the rescue squad on North Bridge Street.

At one time earlier this year, there was a chance only one site would be involved, with the issue subsequently settled by the state elections board that approved all four.

While persons can register to vote and cast ballots on the same day during one-stop early absentee voting, they will not be able to do on Primary Day itself, to which next Friday’s regular registration deadline applies.

Voters will not be asked to show a photo ID in order to cast a ballot.

Early voting will be offered from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays during the one-stop period, which ends on May 14. No Sunday hours are on the schedule.

Huff indicated Thursday that the absentee ballot by mail process, which has drawn controversy in other areas of the country, is proceeding well in Surry County.

No excuse is required for voting absentee by mail, but all absentee requests must be submitted on an official state form, available on the Surry County Board of Elections website or by calling its office. Elections personnel cannot accept handwritten informal requests.

Would-be voters can mail signed completed official request forms to the office or hand-deliver them there.

May 10 is the last day for residents to request that an absentee ballot be mailed to them.

“We have mailed out 149 ballots (per requests received) and have 26 returned to date,” Huff advised Thursday afternoon, adding that this is “much less” than the last local primary in 2020, a presidential election year.

At the comparable time for the primary held in March of that year, 1,059 ballots had been mailed in Surry.

The transparency of the local process includes the first absentee ballot meeting of the elections board, next Tuesday at 5 p.m., being open to the public. It will be held in the conference room of the Surry County Service Center (the elections office) in Dobson.

It also will be offered via the Zoom online platform, for which the link can be obtained by calling the elections office Monday, Huff mentioned.

The purpose of it and similar meetings set in the coming weeks is to approve an absentee report for ballots received as part of the tabulation procedure.

Also Thursday, Huff wanted to let voters know that local elections personnel perform daily, weekly, monthly, bi-annual and annual list-maintenance efforts for the registration database.

That involves checking for duplicates and the removal of deceased voters and felons.

Additionally in North Carolina, counties communicate with this data to help in the maintenance of voter-registration rolls, according to the local director.

Voter roll list maintenance is important because it ensures ineligible voters are not included on poll books, reduces the possibility for error and decreases the opportunity for fraud, Huff explained.

Mount Airy officials are mulling a list of projects proposed for funding from the municipality’s share of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money, which total $2.9 million.

It mainly is eyed for major building and equipment needs in a list compiled by City Manager Stan Farmer, containing 18 line items altogether.

The $3.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding designated for Mount Airy was included in a $350 billion financial aid package approved last year for all 50 states at the statewide and local levels as a relief measure in response to COVID-19.

In addition to the $2.9 million eyed for city government projects, requests for ARPA funding were solicited earlier this year from local non-profit organizations to support various efforts.

That resulted in 16 different groups submitting requests for $2.4 million altogether, meaning some tough decisions are facing Mount Airy officials.

The biggest single expense on the city government’s to-do list is $400,000 for the indoor pool HVAC/air system at Reeves Community Center, new pickleball and multi-use courts at Riverside Park ($200,000), building repairs ($89,000) and bridge repairs on the Emily B. Taylor section of the Granite City Greenway ($100,000). It was completed about 20 years ago.

“That has been a need,” Farmer said of the bridge repairs during a recent budget planning retreat at which potential uses of the federal funding were discussed.

A big-ticket item, $470,000, targets City Hall, where building repairs are envisioned along with seal coating and striping of parking lots.

Farmer disclosed Wednesday that this does not include a proposal made last fall to upgrade the communications capabilities of council chambers, where the city commissioners meet.

It included possible high-tech additions such as multiple projectors, large wall-mounted and drop-down display screens, new microphones with integrated speakers, digital mixing equipment, ceiling tile speakers, new camera equipment, video-audio transmitters/receivers and more.

The expense was put at well over $100,000, which officials have said could be paid for with the federal funding since the upgrades would allow the public to better monitor meeting proceedings from homes in times of pandemic.

But Farmer advised Wednesday that he and Assistant City Manager Darren Lewis had reviewed the proposal “and do not recommend that costly scope of work.”

Instead, Lewis has launched a video improvement project involving an install which will happen soon within the present budget year, according to the city manager.

“We are not recommending audio improvements now,” Farmer added. “Our investigation revealed that if the public speaks into a microphone provided in chamber then the public listening at home, etc. can hear the proceedings just fine.”

Also on the list for consideration are building repairs and a street sweeper replacement at the city Public Works Building ($392,000), along with building repairs for the library, police station and the Mount Airy Fire Department, further proposed for new radios (a total of $612,000).

Fire Chief Zane Poindexter said the radios would update models now used, allowing better communications among department personnel.

The Surry Arts Council, meanwhile, is proposed for $265,000 worth of building repairs/restroom upgrades at its building and other restrooms for an amphitheater nearby.

“Those bathrooms are embarrassing over there,” Farmer said of the Surry Arts Council building.

“Probably we need two sets of bathrooms,” Mayor Ron Niland said of those proposed, since persons attending concerts at the amphitheater now must use facilities in the nearby Municipal Building and library which are inadequate for mass gatherings.

Commissioner Tom Koch questioned the Surry Arts Council funding proposal, pointing out that it has received hefty building-related sums from the city in recent years in addition to a yearly $87,500 allocation to support its general operations.

“I applaud Tanya, she’s incredible,” Koch said of council Executive Director Tanya Jones. “But we have to look at the big picture,” which could include examining the $87,500 appropriation, he added.

Farmer responded that the proposed expenditures on the list reflect the fact that the municipality owns the structures involved.

Koch also questioned another item included, $210,000 eyed for repaving/striping of the Franklin Street public parking lot downtown.

The North Ward commissioner suggested that parking lot needs should be funding through a special Municipal Service District tax levied on downtown properties to provide facilities benefiting all, including lots, rather than funding from the city.

Another $50,000 is proposed for wayfinding signage downtown to better guide visitors, although local travel/tourism revenues could be the best source for such items, based on discussion at the meeting.

Farmer also is proposing that $125,000 be aside for fire-suppression grants to provide for sprinklers and related needs in cases where the upper floors of downtown buildings are developed for housing, a proposal earlier floated.

Looking at the federal funding available and factoring in the requests from non-profits, Lewis, the assistant city manager, said further studies must be done before final decisions are made.

“We will have to prioritize some needs.”

There is still plenty of time for that, according to the discussion, since rules say the ARPA money must be spent by December 2026.

Creating a safe place for artists in Mount Airy was Donna Jackson’s goal, she called it a dream in her heart from God. The Blue House Art Studio was her creation and a gift to special needs artists of Mount Airy and their families.

Wendy Tatman made the announcement this week that Blue House is ceasing operations. After many years and a countless number of smiles, things happened quickly from the phone call last Thursday to the final dyeing of Easter eggs tomorrow with the result a sad one: the doors are closing on this artists’ space for good.

“We received a call from the Gilmer Smith Foundation informing us that the Blue House itself will be put up for sale,” Tatman said. “We do not yet know further details, but it seems that we will soon be displaced.”

To her students, volunteers, and supporters she broke the news as gently as possible. “This is a difficult letter to write, and it may be a difficult letter to read. Here is the bottom line first: the Blue House Art Studio is closing, and it is doing so much faster than any of us anticipated. “

“The Gilmer Smith Foundation has put the Blue House building up for sale and the Art Studio Board sees no other option other than to ‘dissolve’ our Blue House Art Studio. We had hoped to hold classes through the end of April, but the necessity of disposing of all our supplies and furniture makes that too difficult.”

“We are sad to learn the Blue House Teaching Studio will be closing. The studio has meant so much to its students and their families,” Melissa Hiatt, director of the United Fund of Surry said. “It is certainly a loss to our United Fund family.”

Founded in 2004 by Donna Jackson as a safe space for her son Ben, she told Wanda Stark in 2013 that it came to her in a dream where she saw Ben opening the door to his own gallery to welcome her in. “I woke up that morning and I told my husband ‘I now know what I have to do. God has put this dream in my heart.”

Jackson’s son John III said he heard the tales “about all of the hard work she and many others put into that place to make it shine.” He acknowledged the closure as, “The end of an era.”

“The Blue House has provided a safe haven that fostered artistic growth and nurtured their special population of students to proudly display their works of art,” Hiatt remarked. Blue House is one of the 26 member agencies which are assisted in their goals by the United Fund of Surry. “We are thankful for the years of service the Blue House has given to our community.”

Tatman said the interpersonal connections she has made over the year will be hard to replace. “Very hard, I will miss my students. I will miss the connections, and I hope we will retain those connections.” She will be hosting her students for a final picnic at her home in May, a chance to connect and remember fun times with her students.

She also is hopeful that art education need not end for the students either or hopes to work something out. “We are working with Rosie and Lee Bolin at the Groovy Gallery in hopes of arranging some art class opportunities there for any of our students who would like to try.”

In the short term though, some of the students may find they have no safe space to create and therefore may do so at home. She does not want supplies to go to waste, “All students are invited to bring a box to class and gather art supplies that you would use at home.”

The process of getting the studio out of the Blue House is a truncated one. Tatman said she in unclear of the timeframe she must exit but will rent a dumpster and hire helpers as needed to “finish this rather giant job.” Staff, volunteers, and board who wish to reclaim any items contributed over the years are welcome to take those.

Non-profit groups are subject to rules when they shut down so any specific grants issued or funds remaining when the studio closes will be given to United Fund or the Webb-Midkiff Foundation. Some specific items such as sculptures by Bill Maxwell will be offered back to their families.

The remaining sundries of the office will then be offered to the sister organizations under the umbrella of The United Fund. Tables, chairs, and even a stand-up piano will be looking for new homes with other non-profits before going to the landfill.

“It has been a joy to work with all of you and a delight to get to know you. We all treasure the friendships and memories we have made together,” Tatman said in the letter to students.

“On behalf of our founder, Donna Jackson, and all the teachers and board members and volunteers who have worked at Blue House Art Studio and Gallery Group over the years, we thank you for your amazing support and help and belief in our vision.”

Thirteen candidates are seeking four different council seats in Mount Airy, but they share some common ground including seeing a need for affordable housing and more economic development/jobs locally.

“Housing is a concern,” said Joanna Refvem, one of four people vying for a North Ward seat on the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners now held by Jon Cawley, who is running for mayor.

That sentiment was echoed by many of the 13 office seekers gathered Monday night on the stage of the Historic Earle Theatre and Old-Time Music Heritage Hall downtown for a meet-the-candidates event. It drew a crowd to the auditorium that is mostly a venue for movies and musical performances.

Not only does the city need affordable housing, at-large council candidate Tonda Phillips said from the perspective of a real estate professional, but help for those who aren’t able to acquire a home at all.

“The city also should support homeless shelters,” Phillips said during the forum co-sponsored by the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce and the group Mount Airy Downtown Inc.

Further concerns about housing were expressed by present At-Large Commissioner Joe Zalescik, who is running for the South Ward seat of longtime incumbent Steve Yokeley, who is campaigning for Zalescik’s post as part of a switcheroo agreed to by both.

Zalescik referred to the fact that the city government owns nearly 1,000 acres of property, both within and outside the municipality. “Yes, the city has a lot of land,” he said, “and we need to use some of that land for housing young people.”

The format for Monday night’s candidates — billed as an introduction of them to voters — differed from others in which office seekers have responded to prepared questions on relevant issues along with ones from audience members.

Each was simply given four minutes to detail his or her background and experience in addition to campaign platforms/visions for Mount Airy, the ways in which each believes the city is on the right path and the ways it is on the wrong path.

Candidates were grouped by the respective offices at stake in the city’s non-partisan election this year, venturing one by one to a podium to make their case to voters.

• Along with Cawley, the mayoral candidates include Ron Niland, the man now holding that post, and Teresa Lewis, a former at-large commissioner.

• Running against Refvem in the North Ward are John Pritchard and two former city school board members, Teresa Davis Leiva and Chad Hutchens.

• The South Ward candidates, along with Zalescik, are Gene Clark and Phil Thacker, who also has served on the school board.

• Joining Yokeley and Phillips in the at-large race is former twice-elected Mayor Deborah Cochran.

Monday night’s gathering was a prelude to a May 17 primary that will narrow the field to two candidates for each office who will square off in the November general election.

“Status quo must go”

Most of them had good things to say about the present condition of Mount Airy as it relates to city government decisions. These include its recreation programs and facilities such as the Granite City Greenway, arts and cultural offerings and a thriving downtown targeted for efforts to make it more pedestrian friendly through a master plan update.

Yet during his time at the podium, Clark pointed to the elephant in the room: The fact that 13 people are running for public office (believed to be a record for an election in Mount Airy) means citizens want change.

“The status quo has got to go,” Clark added.

He has long been a critic of city government efforts to redevelop former Spencer’s textile mill property it bought in 2014, which have been shaky at times — what Clark referred to Monday night as “boondoggles we’ve had in the last few years.”

The South Ward candidate was among others mentioning a need for better-paying employment opportunities in town.

They included Pritchard, who cited Mount Airy’s lack of “solid real jobs (that) give our young people the confidence to marry, buy a home and raise a family” and said he would vote to “go all out for new full-time jobs” locally.

“That keeps young people here and attracts new people.”

Pritchard framed his content around the theme of “what about us?” in terms of steps the city government should be taking to help the people.

He says other smaller communities in North Carolina have managed to attract major economic-development projects, including China Grove where Macy’s is building a distribution center and creating 2,800 jobs.

Pritchard attacked claims that this community lacks suitable buildings for businesses and a labor force.

“I say head to Winston about 7 a.m. and see our workforce leaving town.”

Pritchard said the city should make some of its land available for businesses by giving it to them at discount prices or even free, arguing that Mount Airy’s population must grow to avoid straining existing citizens.

Leiva, one of Pritchard’s opponents, also referred to the jobs issue in her comments, especially as it relates to younger people leaving town due to lack of opportunities.

Though she has deep roots in the community, Leiva moved away after graduating from college due to a lack of activities for young people but later returned.

While that has changed, more such activities are needed, said Leiva, who believes local officials should concentrate on economic development.

Thacker agreed. “I think we need to seek opportunities to provide new jobs.”

Mayoral candidate Lewis also mentioned a need for economic-development efforts along with more affordable housing.

“If I am elected mayor, I will be an agent of change,” said the longtime local businesswoman who in 1987 founded what is now the WorkForce Unlimited staffing agency employing thousands of people in three states.

Cawley also said the mayor can play a key role in luring new business by being the face of the community.

“Somebody has to tell the story — the story of what Mount Airy is — I think that’s what the job of the mayor is,” he remarked.

“We have a story to tell,” Niland concurred, also referring to plans to address economic development through a shell building concept. “I have the energy and drive to tell our story.”

He further said that downtown housing and entertainment are helping to attract the “national talent” companies seek.

Multiple candidates expressed concerns about Mount Airy’s property tax rate, which is now 60 cents per $100 of assessed valuation due to a 25% increase approved in 2018, up from 48 cents.

“The top of the list, of course, is we need to reduce taxes,” Thacker said of his main goals if elected.

Cochran, as a former commissioner and mayor, says she has experience in doing just that,

“Everybody talks about cutting taxes — we actually did it,” Cochran said of how city officials slashed the rate from 63 to 48 cents during her tenure.

The former mayor also mentioned her efforts to bring jobs to town, including making a trip to Arkansas in a successful venture to lure a company that is one of the top local employers.

Zalescik expressed a desire to keep taxes low while seeking grants and other outside funding sources to support growth and not standing in the way of progress.

Some of the candidates used their time to highlight additional concerns, including Yokeley, whose goals encompass a need to improve the city’s aging water-sewer infrastructure, as do those of Phillips, and provide support for the police and fire departments.

“I am not running against anything or anybody,” Yokeley said, but to help Mount Airy.

In addition to concerns about police and fire operations, which are both understaffed, Phillips referred to the need to attack a related problem, drug abuse.

The Rotary Club of Mount Airy, of which she is president, has launched initiatives targeting that problem, she said. “This is just the beginning — we also can do more.”

Some candidates mainly expressed what they would bring to the table as elected officials.

Refvem said one of the main attributes she can offer is the ability to listen to citizens, based on her work as a licensed counselor for both youths and adults:

“What do you care about — what keeps you up at night?”

“I’m seeking this office because I have a passion for helping others,” said Hutchens, who along with previously serving on the Mount Airy Board of Education is a sergeant with the Surry County’s Sheriff’s Office involved with its school resource officer program.

“Community service should be done for the right reasons,” he commented in remarks directed toward citizens. “The bottom line is I care about Mount Airy and I care about working for you.”

A little more than two weeks ago, many of us got news we’ve all become familiar with, a tornado watch alert from the National Weather Service. That tornado watch turned into a tornado warning and an EF-2 tornado with winds reaching up to 122 miles per hour touched down outside of Hillsville, Virginia, in neighboring Carroll County, Virginia.

Like many families in the area that night, mine gathered in front of the television to watch the weather reports as we made plans about what to do if the power went out, roads were blocked, or a tornado actually touched down. Afterwards as I stayed awake listening to the wind snapping off branches outside, it hit me that tornado season had truly started.

Surry County actually ranks below average nationally in tornado occurrences, but we still have tornadic activity and a tornado season. Though spring is our official tornado season, they can happen any time of year. Surry specifically has a bit of history with late summer and fall tornados.

The tornado that touched down last month wasn’t the biggest we’ve ever had, nor was it the most powerful, the farthest traveled, or most destructive. But, to put it in perspective we didn’t begin keeping records of tornadoes until 1950 in the state of North Carolina (as well as much of the US). So, as we look back on the storm’s histories that have earned those accolades, recording weather history like this is still relatively new. I may not reference the biggest or strongest tornado that has ever occurred, but I can surely speak of the ones that we were able to record.

The only pre-database recorded tornado I could find for this area occurred in 1897. This particular twister hit the Mount Airy Furniture Co. which once resided where South Street is now. O. H. Yokley Sr. even recalled, “I remember that day; we had a privy (outhouse) next door to the packing room, and the storm blew it to the top of Bannertown Hill-about a mile and a half from here.”

Surry County is not prone to seeing very large tornados. EF-0 (40-72 mph winds) and EF-1 (73-112 mph winds) are the most frequent. The 2011 tornado that touched down in Cana, Virginia and destroyed a gas station on the side of U.S. 52 was an EF-0. Another local example of a small tornado is the 2010 twister that touched down on Highway 89 north of Raven Knob Boy Scout Camp that took down trees and caused minor structural damage.

One of the most memorable EF-1s happened in February 2016 when the community of Ararat, Virginia, just a few miles over the state line, was hit and hundreds of downed trees on the road along with multiple destroyed buildings were reported.

We every once in a while get an EF-2 (113-157 mph winds) like we did last month. Another example is the 2013 tornado that touched down in neighboring Stokes County on May 24, 2017, and left more than 900 homes without power. The September 2004 tornado in Henry County, Virginia (north of Martinsville) was also an EF-2 and arguably caused the most monetary damage of any tornado within this area, racking up $53.8 million worth of property damage to the city as it wrecked dozens of cars, hit a factory, and then barreled into a residential area.

EF-3 tornados (158 – 206 mph winds) are more of a rarity for the area. The closest ones we have had were three in the Winston-Salem area between 1985-1989, but the most historic happened an hour east in Rockingham County on March 20, 1998. This particular tornado was one of ten to drop in the state that day, and at roughly half a mile wide it traveled twelve miles reaching wind speeds of 170 miles per hour destroying 500-600 homes, countless businesses, and killing two people while injuring dozens more.

No reported deaths have been recorded due to a tornado in Surry County from what I’ve found, but we did have an out of season November twister in 1992 that resulted in 13 people being injured which set the record for the most injuries due to a tornado event.

There have been more than 40 reported tornados in Surry County since 1950 when we started truly keeping records, countless more before that, and all of our neighbors in surrounding counties have shared the same fate. The one thing they have always all had in common? They all thought it would never happen to them.

During the historic 1998 Rockingham County tornado their fire chief, Jake Hundley, was reported saying “The size and the magnitude of that tornado was just unexperienced around here. Nobody had ever seen anything that big.”

It’s an important time to remember that we may not have these events often, but they are a part of our history, and they can happen in our communities. So, the next time you get those National Weather Service alerts about tornados remember your history and stay safe.

Strike up the band and dust off the bunting because the sestercentennial events surrounding Surry 250 are preparing to resume after a prolonged pause due to COVID-19.

A full slate of activities for the 250th anniversary of the founding of Surry County was laid out and began last August with the launch event at Historic Courthouse Square in Dobson.

“We’re going to celebrate today,” Mark Marion of the Surry County Board of Commissioners said at the launch. “Surry County deserves it because we’ve been here a long time.”

A long time indeed from the meeting of the colonial assembly in Tryon Palace in 1770 that laid the groundwork for the final establishment of Surry County on April 1, 1771. Math skills have not been thrown away because of the pandemic, the sestercentennial had already been delayed from its initially proposed launch in the spring of 2020 that would have culminated with the actual 250th anniversary.

On what was described as a beautiful August day, the crowds gathered in Dobson to enjoy live performances by musicians, view displays by local community organizations, and see the sealing of an above ground time capsule.

These glimpses into the past can still draw much attention as evidenced by the excitement in Richmond last December over the discovery of not one, but two, time capsules under the former statue of the confederate general that had been erected in 1890.

Revolutionary War re-enactors arrived in Dobson for the event as well and Commissioner Eddie Harris, one of many history buffs in county government, heard the call for minutemen and arrived at the event with musket and tri-cornered hat.

Now, the long global nightmare of the pandemic has entered a new phase, one where personal choice is driving many decisions. Those who have wanted to have received their vaccines, some of the more vulnerable have had their second booster.

It is time to resume the plans to honor what U.S. House Representative Virginia Foxx called “fine traditions” at the launch. To that end, the bus tours and lecture series previously planned are resuming as well.

The lecture series returns first with “Surry Land Grants and Early Architecture” at 6:30 p.m on Thursday, April 21, at the Surry County Service Center, 915 East Atkins Street, Dobson. The lecture is being presented by architectural historian Laura A.W. Phillips and Marion Venable, a local historian who has had a strong hand in the Surry 250 plans.

Following will be “Surry’s Natural Heritage – NC Trail Days” in cooperation with the Elkin Valley Trails Association and presented by the Elkin Public Library to be held on Friday, June 3, at 4 p.m. Ken Bridle, ecologist/botanist with the Piedmont Land Conservancy will be speaking at the library, 111 North Front Street, Elkin.

Also in June, “Native Americans of the Yadkin Valley” will be presented by Dr. Andrew Gurstelle, professor at Wake Forest University. The lecture will also be held at the Surry County Service Center on Thursday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m.

The last lecture of 2022 will be held Friday, Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m. with “Surry County’s Traditional Music Legacy” in cooperation with the Surry Arts Council. Paul Brown, musician, producer, radio host, and retired NPR reporter will be delivering the talk at the Earle Theatre, 142 North Main Street, Mount Airy.

One final lecture of the Surry 250 series is “Meshack Franklin – Western NC planter – Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of His Birth” which will be presented Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 at 3 p.m. with presenter Rodney Pell, a retired Surry County educator. The event will be held at Edwards-Franklin House, 4132 Haystack Road, Mount Airy.

The Franklin – Edwards house is named in part for Meshack Franklin who married Mildred Edwards, and whose father Gideon built the home circa 1799. Franklin represented Surry County in the US House of Representatives for four terms.

If a lecture series is not your cup of tea, take a field trip courtesy of Black Tie Bus Charters Inc. who will be logging the miles behind the wheel of the Surry 250 bus tours. Tours depart from Surry County Service Center in Dobson and will leave promptly at 10 a.m., participants re asked to arrive by 9:45 a.m.

The cost of $25 per person will include a lunch. The tours are each scheduled from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

On Saturday, May 28 Marion Venable will be the tour guide as the bus departs for the historical sites of Dobson and Northwestern Surry.

Keep on rolling to Elkin on Saturday, June 25 when local historian Jason Couch takes over as the tour guide for the sites in and around Elkin.

Venable reclaims the tour guide role for the final run through the historic sites of Eastern Surry County on Saturday, August 27.

More information can be found at: facebook.com/surry250.

Folks gathered at a court in Mount Airy’s Riverside Park appeared to be preparing to play tennis while taking advantage of a warm April day.

They certainly looked the part, wearing shorts, T-shirts and sneakers along with visors to shield their eyes from the noonday sun while trying to hit a familiar-looking yellow ball.

Wait! Those weren’t tennis rackets they were pulling out of their carrying cases at all, but something that more resembled oversized ping pong mallets instead.

And though the activity was similar to tennis — including volleying the ball back and forth over a net — that was not the game they were playing on the court.

What it was, was pickleball.

Yes pickleball, which made a casual observer even more confused because there definitely were no dills, sours or sweets and no bread and butter pickles to be found anywhere on the premises — not even a gherkin.

Similar to the observations of Andy Griffith in his monologue, “What It Was, Was Football,” about a naive man who accidentally happens upon a gridiron where a game is unfolding, the curious spectator at Riverside Park was witnessing a growing phenomenon.

It’s all part of what Mount Airy Parks and Recreation Director Peter Raymer portrayed as a “pickleball explosion” locally during a recent presentation to the city council, which he said is the fastest-growing sport in America.

Pickleball combines elements of badminton, ping pong and tennis, according to the presentation, whereby two or four players use the solid paddles to hit a “pickleball” — much like a wiffle ball — over the net.

One distinct difference between tennis and pickleball involves a lined-off area existing in front of the net on both sides where players aren’t allowed to be during a game — so there’s no charging the net to slam the ball into an opponent’s midst, as occurs with tennis.

That non-volley zone is commonly called the “kitchen,” but again, one that sadly contains no pickles, not even the sliced-up kind for a hamburger.

Research revealed that the name of the sport, by the way, originated with one of the men who created the game on the West Coast in 1965, whose family dog was called Pickles.

Fortunately at Riverside Park that day, the absence of tasty pickles also was accompanied by no canines being present to trip up the players.

The city parks and recreation director reported that pickleball has been embraced by the senior population because it is a lower-impact activity and presumably due to a compressed court that involves less movement than tennis or badminton.

According to Raymer, the big “dill” about pickleball (his words) is that it is a simple game, one easy to learn and which promotes fun and social interaction while also being a great form of exercise.

“And it’s a cheap sport that people can do,” Mayor Ron Niland said, not requiring expensive equipment.

Not only is pickleball being enjoyed locally at Riverside Park, three indoor courts with portable nets were set up in the gymnasium at Reeves Community Center to accommodate a growing legion of enthusiasts.

To better meet the demand in the face of limited playing areas, the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners voted in March to launch a pickleball expansion project with an estimated cost of $200,750.

That was done at the urging of Commissioner Jon Cawley, an avid pickleball player as are other city officials.

“This is just something that needs to happen,” Cawley said in making a motion to approve the project. “I think this is really important.”

The parks and recreation director called that development “huge for our community.”

Plans for the expansion are to involve converting a basketball court adjacent to the existing pickleball space at Riverside Park into three additional courts for the new sport. The three already there were provided four years ago through a Disney Play Spaces grant to Mount Airy and are positioned near the basketball court in an area between a playground and skate park.

Hoops fans needn’t worry about the transition, since a new stand-alone basketball/multi-purpose court facility will be built in a field between a park picnic shelter and a convenience store at the corner of Riverside Drive and East Pine Street.

The projected expenses include resurfacing, fencing and equipment such as nets and goals for the new basketball area.

Money from the city’s $3.2 million share of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to help communities recover from COVID has been designated for the expansion.

However, Assistant City Manager Darren Lewis, former recreation director, is hoping leftover funds from a state grant awarded in connection with an upcoming greenway extension nearby can be used for the pickleball project.

While seniors are said to be the biggest age group enthralled with pickleball, it is increasingly being embraced by what Raymer described as a “youth invasion.”

That was evident at Riverside Park last week when Emily Bradley of Mount Airy arrived at the courts.

“I really just started playing,” said the young mom of four, adding that she got involved at the urging of a family member.

Bradley, who played tennis in high school, said pickleball is easier than that traditional sport.

Her children also love to play pickleball, which translates to an enjoyable activity for the entire family.

“I didn’t realize it was such a big deal for the elderly, who come out in the morning,” Bradley said of the participation by seniors, some who are in their 80s.

The existing space also is heavily used at times later in the day, she mentioned, saying one must choose an optimum time to play. “If we come after school, we have to wait for a court.”

Both Bradley and her playing partner that day, sister-in-law Sarah Bradley, are excited about Mount Airy officials’ decision to expand the pickleball facilities.

“They need to,” Sarah said.

Temperatures in the lower 40s Saturday morning, punctuated by a stiff wind, didn’t keep crowds away from Mount Airy’s annual Easter egg hunt.

Areas of the Granite City Greenway were invaded by legions of kids wielding baskets who seemingly combed every inch of ground in search of plastic eggs filled with goodies.

“I would guess easily 300 total,” Mount Airy Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Cloukey said of the event for which families began assembling well before its scheduled 10 a.m. start time.

They weren’t gathered in one spot, but at four different points along the greenway including behind the Roses shopping center, at Tharrington Park, at Veterans Memorial Park and an area behind Big Lots.

Cloukey and other city recreation staff members manned the location near Roses, where intrepid egg hunters eagerly anticipated the command to begin their quest.

“I would say at least 100 at that site,” she said of the number there.

Though the locales were different, the dynamics were the same for the hunt organized by Mount Airy Parks and Recreation with the help of longtime sponsor Carport Central, which donated 6,000 multi-colored eggs for the occasion also offering special prizes.

Kids scurried to explore nearly every blade of grass to gather the eggs, as adults accompanying them struggled to keep pace.

They seemed to relish the event as much as the youths.

That included Kent Moser of Mount Airy, who was there with his young grandson, Kyler Moser.

It was fun to spend some quality time with him during the event, Moser agreed, and overall “to see these kids enjoy it as much as they do.”

Mount Airy officials are hiring an Asheville law firm to pursue foreclosures on land where unsafe houses were torn down at taxpayer expense — a decision that didn’t come easy.

A vigorous debate preceded the city council’s 4-1 vote Thursday afternoon to have the Kania firm launch aggressive legal proceedings for six different sites in town representing demolition costs totalling $33,332 — accumulated during a span of nearly 10 years.

Instances of Mount Airy ordering the razing of dilapidated structures after owners failed to bring them up to code are a common occurrence. This has been accompanied by liens being filed on the land left behind which requires those expenses to be paid if and when it is sold — but often the property just sits there and the city doesn’t recoup its losses.

Thursday’s vote means that for the first time, the city government is going the extra — arguably drastic — step of proceeding with foreclosures to take ownership of parcels involved.

That will force sales of property from which the municipality can reap the proceeds, Mayor Ron Niland explained.

The locations involved are 335 Price St., 719 Worth St., 417 Nelson Hill Road, 140 Laurel Lane, 2261 Wards Gap Road and 2129 N. Main St.

But concerns were expressed Thursday afternoon by members of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners about the costs surrounding foreclosures — although the majority did eventually decide to go that route.

After the board had opted during a previous meeting to explore this, City Attorney Hugh Campbell solicited bids from legal firms, with the one in Asheville emerging as the favorite.

“It specializes in local government foreclosures,” said Campbell, who mentioned that Kania handles such proceedings for Surry County, which results in auctions of affected property to the highest bidders on the courthouse steps.

“For the most part it’s fixed pricing,” the city attorney said of Kania’s charges for services — unlike some firms that bill according to hourly rates. “I thought that would be the best alternative for the city to use.”

The expense for a foreclosure case will range from around $3,000 to $5,000, according to Campbell.

However, Commissioner Jon Cawley said under his calculations — using a long list of itemized charges for services including sending demand/pre-foreclosure letters to property owners, title searches and filing court complaints for auctions — the city could pay $4,100 per case.

“What we’re going to be doing here is creating a large debt for the taxpayers,” predicted Cawley, who cast the dissenting vote Thursday not to forge the agreement with the Asheville firm. He based that on the money already owed to the municipality in addition to paying Kania.

Cawley said he would prefer to see collection proceedings undertaken by the city staff.

“I don’t think there is anything that says you have to be a lawyer to send a letter,” he remarked. “I won’t be supporting us using a law firm.”

But Campbell responded that the foreclosure services require a licensed attorney, and he does not handle such cases.

Meanwhile, city Finance Director Pam Stone said her department has mounted efforts to collect the money owed.

“We have tried, I’ll say that,” Stone added, saying all means available have been used.

“At one time we had one that we garnished some wages on,” she said of expenses for a site where a house had been demolished. “We have collected on one or two.”

Commissioner Tom Koch also expressed concerns about the legal fees to the city escalating once the Kania firm is engaged, saying he wanted to avoid a “blank check” situation.

“Attorneys don’t always have the best reputation,” observed Koch, who said he would like to see a $4,100 maximum per foreclosure.

This led to further debate about whether Mount Airy should see how Kania does with one case and proceed from there with the others, but council members were told that a single foreclosure could take four to six months to complete.

“I think we need to go with all six and see how that goes,” Commissioner Steve Yokeley said of efforts to collect the debts.

“At least we get something back,” he reasoned. “I don’t think we need to wait four to six months.”

Yokeley mentioned that there is an added expense of land sitting vacant while producing no property tax revenues, which also can impact the values of neighboring homes depending on its condition.

The process opens the door for new houses to be built, Mayor Niland said.

And even if it can’t achieve a suitable sale price, the city government would be better off donating the property to the local Habitat for Humanity organization than what is occurring now, Yokeley contended. “I don’t think we need to sit on these properties.”

In subsequently agreeing to hire the Asheville law firm, Mount Airy officials say they will monitor the progress of cases as they wind their way through the system.

The process culminates with a judge granting a foreclosure judgment allowing an auction to occur.

A Mount Airy man was being held in the Surry County Jail Friday on 12 break-in, larceny and property damage charges stemming from three separate incidents in the city recently.

Eight on those charges filed against Quincey Monroe Johnson, 35, 0f 332 Eleanor Ave., involve a March 29 break-in at Running River Laundromat in the 1300 block of South Main Street near the Chase N Charli restaurant.

The crime, for which Johnson emerged as a suspect early on in the investigation, resulted in major property damage and the theft of an undisclosed sum of money from coin-operated devices. Police records indicate that damage put at $5,950 resulted, mostly to a Maytag washing machine and a claw machine.

Damage also occurred to a dryer door, a door lock, four LED strip lights and a glass window to a shed.

Johnson, who was arrested Thursday on all 12 charges, is accused of six counts of injury to personal property in the laundromat case along with two counts of breaking and entering a coin-operated machine.

He also is charged with larceny for allegedly stealing face masks Thursday at Dollar General on North Renfro Street, which police say were recovered on Johnson’s person when he was arrested on North Main Street near Virginia Street, but had been used, requiring restitution.

The incident at Dollar General led to Johnson also being served with outstanding warrants on two felonies in addition to the misdemeanor charges resulting from the laundromat case.

Those felonies include breaking and entering of a motor vehicle and larceny after breaking and entering, relating to a crime discovered on March 31 at Jantec Sign Group on South Main Street, where items were stolen from the bed of a GMC pickup and inside the vehicle.

Johnson attempted to do the same elsewhere on the premises, according to police records, leading to a further charge of misdemeanor attempting to break and enter a motor vehicle.

He is incarcerated under a combined secured bond of $25,000 for the dozen total charges. Johnson is facing appearances in Surry District Court on Monday of this week, April 18 and June 13.

Mount Airy officials are banning through truck traffic on a local street where busy conditions have resulted from a nearby expansion at Northern Regional Hospital.

This situation along West Haymore Street was triggered by the October closing of a section of Worth Street running alongside the hospital to accommodate $11 million in various construction projects, with work ongoing since.

That closing approved by the city council forced traffic normally using Worth between Rockford and South South Streets onto other connecting routes nearby, including West Haymore — the next street up from Worth.

Residents there have expressed concerns about the increased traffic resulting which is said to not always heed the posted 25 mph speed limit, with another complicating factor accompanying the presence of Andrews Street. It is a side street that runs into West Haymore, forming a Y-intersection.

However, surveys by the Mount Airy Police Department produced a recommendation by Chief Dale Watson last month that a three-way-stop configuration which had been requested for that intersection not be implemented as a way to slow down vehicles.

Speed bumps and a stoplight at West Haymore and Rockford also have been rejected.

But the idea of banning through truck traffic along West Haymore did gain traction, a move that was expected to be approved by the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners during a meeting Thursday afternoon. It was a response to neighborhood safety concerns, a city resolution voted on then states.

Plans called for “no through truck” signage to be installed at each end of West Haymore Street in conjunction with Thursday’s decision.

The truck ban is being applauded by Mark Morency, who lives on that street and has vigorously sought relief for the conditions posed by the increased traffic flow.

“That’s a positive to help with the bigger trucks,” Morency said Wednesday.

After the police chief made his recommendation in March, Morency continued to press the issue with Commissioner Steve Yokeley. This led to a meeting last week in the Municipal Building attended by Morency, Yokeley, Mayor Ron Niland, City Manager Stan Farmer and Watson.

The change involving trucks entered the discussion among city officials, which was embraced by the police chief as way to alleviate some of the traffic concerns.

“I told them I get semis up and down my road,” said Morency, who has made many observations there due to working from home.

Other tweaks also could be occurring on the street, he added, based on the discussion among local officials.

“I think they’re going to do some kind of calming,” Morency said of addressing the traffic situation by possibly painting lines on the street or installing curbing.

The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 Thursday afternoon to change the City Code of Ordinances to allow more downtown businesses to have outdoor dining areas — including sales of alcoholic beverages.

A demand for this surfaced when the coronavirus struck and related restrictions on indoor dining were imposed.

In illustrating that, city planning officials say that after outdoor dining at downtown restaurants was first approved in April 2015 — allowing this on public sidewalks/alleys — only two permits were issued afterward.

“Since the onset of COVID-19, staff and (the group) Mount Airy Downtown Inc. have fielded more requests for outdoor dining areas than in the previous five years combined,” a Planning Department memo states.

However, those requests have not been permitted due to existing language among the relevant municipal ordinances requiring the affected businesses to meet the qualifying definition of a restaurant — which the majority of commissioners agreed to alter Thursday.

“The primary change is to move from the definition of a restaurant to a food and beverage establishment,” Planning Director Andy Goodall explained at the meeting.

It was included among ordinance amendments that further will include the addition of “plazas” as usable public spaces for outdoor dining and the ability to expand that onto adjacent property with owners’ permission.

Mayor Ron Niland pointed out that the changes will benefit downtown businesses, especially should another pandemic strike.

However, not everyone was on board with the ordinance amendments, including Commissioner Jon Cawley, who voted against the proposal.

Cawley questioned Goodall at length on the plan, centering mainly on the implications for alcohol use.

“Will there be outdoor alcohol, too?” Cawley asked. “Are we going to create new spaces for more drinking?”

The planning director acknowledged that this could well be the case.

“They can also have alcohol in a designated area,” Goodall replied of food and beverage establishments,

Cawley wondered how this will be different than what goes on in the Market Street Arts and Entertainment District downtown, where alcoholic beverages may be consumed outside during the months when the district is in operation.

Goodall responded that only a small space generally will be available for that due to Thursday’s change — the area directly in front of a business — rather than an entire street.

An outdoor dining area must be associated with an operating food/beverage establishment under the ordinance changes.

The adage that the gears of government move slowly is a common complaint. For some though the gears have moved too fast and now will leave other gears and axles stationary, with some residents as well.

Last Monday, two citizens spoke at the meeting of the Surry County Board of Commissioners. Scott Needham and Rachel Collins, both commissioners themselves from Pilot Mountain, were there to speak as individuals and not representatives of the town. They did so knowing what many others did not, the end is near.

They both rose with articulated arguments against Surry County’s decision to exit PART, the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, which oversees intercounty commuter transportation for ten counties in this area.

“The need for rural public transportation has historically been linked with providing mobility and accessibility to essential employment, goods, and services for older adults, low income, and persons with disability. I believe it is an important amenity to people and new companies coming to our town,” Collins offered.

Unbeknownst to speakers of previous meetings who rose to offer similar objections, what Commissioner Eddie Harris once called a “divorce” is much closer to its completion than its beginning.

PART Route 6 will cease operation after Friday, June 30 — the federally funded park and ride lots in King and Mount Airy, along with the dual lots in Pilot Mountain will sit idle.

There may be a glimmer of hope for the King lot, but for ones in Pilot Mountain and Mount Airy, if the county no longer wishes to levy the car rental tax, and has previously rejected a fee atop car registration to cover the county’s contribution — there is no recourse.

“We had found out very recently in the last couple of weeks,” Collins confirmed Wednesday. “I received an email from PART because I was a rider in the past. It stated on that email that it was the end of June.”

A date not chosen arbitrarily, rather one that coincides with the end of the fiscal year to make for a quick end to a divorce almost no one saw coming.

Launched in 2005, PART was meant to alleviate the strain of excess cars on the road, provide ease of access to those who lack a vehicle or license, and to help with the inflated cost of gas. Needham himself reminded that during the George W. Bush years when the program launched, “gas prices were high then, we thought. They are really high now.”

A discussion in earnest on the transportation authority began back in the fall when a grant application from PART reached the commissioners. The board was asked to give their approval for PART to apply for more federal dollars to expand the bus services along Route 6, The Surry County Express.

The board declined to give their permission for the grant application to move forward, and then began a discussion on the county’s participation in the authority. The board noted a drop in ridership, an add on sales tax on rental cars, and that moving citizens out of the county for work may be hurting local economies as reasons to not spend more federal dollars on a service they felt was not as successful as it once had been.

They sought guidance, which the county attorney in conjunction with legal counsel from PART communicated. In response, PART wrote a resolution pleading the board reconsider exiting the authority and sent their emissary, Scott Rhine, to the Feb. 21 board meeting. The resulting question and answer session did not change minds, and the board moved forward.

PART quietly released the following in early March:

“On Feb. 21, 2022, the Surry County Board of County Commissioners took action at their scheduled Board of County Commissioners meeting by unanimous vote to withdraw their membership from the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART). The County has requested that their membership be removed from PART by June 30, 2022.

“This release is an initial public notification that PART Express Route 6 service will no longer be operating, effective: July 1, 2022….

“The decision of the Surry County Board of County Commissioners to withdraw their membership from PART directly impacts the PART Territorial Jurisdiction and restricts PART from operating PART Express service in Surry County.” It is that language that is the nail in the coffin for Route 6.

A common objection to PART was that ridership numbers had declined significantly over the last years, but Needham told the board he spoke to Rhine since the board’s vote to exit and was told that ridership numbers are increasing. Collins suggested that the best way to improve ridership is to offer more stops, a point Rhine made weeks earlier.

On sending workers off to other counties for work, Needham countered, “I have heard that maybe we are shipping our employees out of the county, if that is so — those employees are then taking those dollars and bringing it home to Surry County where they improve their property which we get the benefit with property tax. Also, they spend that money here in our county which employs people here.”

“This happened so quickly,” Collins pointed out. “By canceling you are taking away opportunities, not only for low income and those with no driver’s license, but any other citizen in our town. We are offering a service to these constituents now that they may not be able to get anywhere else.”

She went on to note that citizens’ federal tax dollars are going to continue to fund PART whether Surry County is a member or not. “We do not want to lose out to Greensboro and High Point. We are going to be paying for a service we no longer get.”

“Our citizens in town limits pay double taxes, so I would argue that we pay a lot to the county for services we don’t use. I’m not arguing that,” she continued. “I don’t have school aged children, yet my taxes go to the school system.”

Needham seized on the point of taxation, “My tax rates aren’t going to get any lower, and no one else here’s taxes are going to get lower by us not having that service, but we won’t have the service.

For Collins, it is more than dollars and cents and was a highly personal affair as she recounted utilizing the service for access to cancer treatment in Winston-Salem. “From November 2019 – April 2021, I was undergoing chemo. I personally was glad the PART bus was there.

“The bus stopped right in front of the cancer center, so I had the ability to go to my treatments and if someone was picking me up, I didn’t have to burden them to chauffeur me both ways. The busses were clean, well maintained and ran on time.”

“While you may have not personally never have needed public transportation, or wanted to use it, there are many in our area that do.”

The Granite City Greenway in Mount Airy is a popular venue for walkers, cyclists and runners, and on Saturday the list also will include legions of kids and families joined by a special long-eared guest.

This will unfold during an annual Easter egg hunt organized by Mount Airy Parks and Recreation scheduled to begin promptly at 10 a.m.

The city greenway system was selected to host the free event for the second year in a row after more than 350 people attended the first hunt there in 2021.

Seven different areas will be set aside for the seeking of plastic eggs filled with goodies, which have been donated by Carport Central.

For planning purposes, those interested in attending are being asked to acknowledge that intent in advance.

“We’d like for everyone to call ahead and reserve their spot,” Parks and Recreation Director Peter Raymer said in reference to the starting points, “so we can get kind of an equal amount at each location.” This can be done at 336-786-8313.

Among the entry points are the area behind the Lowes Foods/Roses shopping center, Tharrington Park and at Veterans Memorial Park.

The layout will include some locations where participants can go either right or left on the greenway, Raymer said.

Basket giveaways are planned at the hunt, which also will feature a customary appearance by the Easter Bunny.

The friendly rabbit is to be available to meet kids and pose for photos.

Members of the Parks and Recreation staff will oversee the event sponsored by Carport Central, a regular supporter of the city Easter egg hunt.

It was long conducted at Westwood Park, where huge crowds gathered around the softball fields, but after six straight years there the event was cancelled in 2020 as the coronavirus stranglehold began.

The change in location to the Granite City Greenway last year was a response to COVID-19, aimed at allowing participants to be more socially distanced while yet enjoying the thrill of the hunt.

Organizers decided to maintain the same setup for 2022.

“It went very well last year and was a big hit,” Raymer said.

Details are coming into focus on the grisly accident that occurred Tuesday morning on southbound US-52.

A West Virginia man was killed early Tuesday morning when a tractor-trailer travelling southbound collided with the rollback tow truck on site to assist his disabled vehicle.

Jeff Vickers was killed in the crash. Surry County Emergency Management Director Eric Southern informed the passenger and the tow truck driver were able to jump out of the way ahead of the collision.

Vickers had called for assistance from a local towing company after having a flat tire. The tow company reported that given the angle and position of the vehicle, their tow truck was partially in the roadway while on site assisting, when the wreck occurred.

According to Sgt. F.A. Pipes of the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Vickers was atop the rollback truck bed while the tow truck driver and Vickers’ wife were on the ground.

The Highway Patrol report states a car carrier travelling southbound on US 52 “ran up the rollback ramp and hit Mr. Vickers who was standing outside his car, on top of the rollback bed.”

A truck driver who was first on the scene, but did not witness the accident, told The Mount Airy News, “The wrecker appeared to be sitting angled in the slow lane with the bed raised and maybe 1/3 of the bed over the white line pointed toward the shoulder.”

Based on his observation of the scene, “the semi apparently hit the wrecker directly in the rear but due to the angle of the wrecker, the semi used the bed of the wreckers as a ramp. It launched the semi into the air at an angle, causing the semi to go airborne and land on the driver’s side and skidded maybe 300 feet.

“The impact dislodged the disabled pickup and launched it another 30 feet into the woods. Cars were scattered and demolished everywhere both on US 52 and the road beneath with no occupants.”

There must have been a heightened sense of panic to the scene he said “looked like a war zone” as more vehicles than were involved in the collision littered the roadway, “Finally we realized that the semi was a car hauler, thank God.”

All the while there was a panicked search for Vickers, “(She) was frantically screaming for Jeff. Several of us searched all around for him but only later he was found under the semi cab with only a limb visible.”

The two-vehicle crash happened around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to officials.

The tractor-trailer was hauling vehicles, and multiple vehicles it was carrying ended up on the highway during the collision. The tow truck driver was not injured.

US 52 had reopened in both directions by mid-afternoon, after being closed for much of the morning. Even the northbound lanes were closed for a period of time, as authorities brought in equipment to clear the wreckage in the southbound lanes.

Southern of Emergency Management confirmed Wednesday that there was an amount of diesel fuel that leaked, but that it was contained.

Despite other news outlet’s reporting, The Mount Airy News has not been able to confirm if any charges are pending.

They deal with different areas in the public safety realm, but Mount Airy’s fire and police chiefs share a common need: more manpower.

In what could be considered two tales of the same city, Fire Chief Zane Poindexter is seeking the creation of more full-time positions for his department while Police Chief Dale Watson is concerned with filling vacant jobs already existing.

No slots have been added in the Mount Airy Fire Department for more than 15 years, Poindexter said during a city government planning retreat in late March when both he and Watson updated their respective operations along with other department heads.

Since then, major annexations occurred which increased the territory covered while not boosting personnel.

Of the more than 40 employees in the department, 37 are devoted to fire suppression — but only 20 of those are full-time firefighters, with the part-timers limited to 36 hours per month.

Push comes to shove at times with having enough personnel available during a fire, Poindexter said, which can be a factor with a two-in, two-out policy of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

It requires two firefighters to enter a burning building together to monitor each other’s whereabouts while extinguishing a blaze or rescuing someone, and two others outside to act in case the first two are endangered.

While OSHA rules do allow for a “ready rescue” by fewer personnel if a someone inside can be easily reached, generally “that’s a risk we’re not going to take,” Poindexter said of acting with less than the prescribed number.

Another problem occurs with having enough people to operate the city’s ladder truck in a safe manner. “That is a two-man job,” the chief said.

“We’re going to need more full-time staffing,” Poindexter said in looking ahead.

The fire official is not seeking to add 10 employees in a single year, for example, indicating that the need should be met on a gradual basis.

Keeping jobs filled in the department was a major problem until 2018, when raises were granted to bring Mount Airy firefighters’ pay to the statewide average in response to heavy turnover.

Though sporadic vacancies have occurred since, “it wasn’t the revolving door it had been,” Poindexter said in follow-up comments last Thursday.

The personnel numbers aren’t thought to be putting citizens or their property at risk, but one key area that can be impacted by this is the city’s fire-suppression rating, which affects their pocketbooks with insurance costs.

Mount Airy was notified last month that a Class 3 rating for its coverage district was being maintained, as certified by the N.C. Department of Insurance/Office of the State Fire Marshal after a strenuous evaluation process.

“It’s been a three since 1997,” Poindexter said of the ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating by which that entity classifies all fire departments in the country according to their suppression capabilities.

Poindexter has called Class 3 “a really good grade for a department our size.”

However, Mount Airy slipped to a score of 70.97 during its most recent evaluation, near the bottom end of the Class 3 scale that requires ones of 70 to 79.99. Its last grade from the process in 2014 was 72.3.

“Manpower is where we take the biggest hit,” the fire chief said regarding the certification procedure.

If Mount Airy’s fire rating drops to the next level, it would have a drastic impact on the cost of insuring both homes and businesses, but especially the latter due to the higher value of covering equipment or other assets involved.

Poindexter calculated one example in which a business in the city would face a $362 increase in annual insurance costs under the next-lowest rating (that would be a Class 4, with higher numbers meaning less proficiency and Class 1 the best available).

Both Mount Airy’s fire and police chiefs are devoting more attention to personnel recruitment and retention to stabilize their ranks.

During the planning retreat, Chief Watson mentioned that a departmental meeting recently was held among police personnel aimed at identifying “who we are and where we want to be,” he said.

“We’re focused on tomorrow,” Watson added.

One of the goals of the Mount Airy Police Department along those lines is to become fully staffed, the chief said, a condition that has eluded it in recent years.

At full strength, the department has 42 sworn officers and 15 non-sworn employees.

It presently has five vacancies in the Patrol Division, four in communications and two in the Criminal Investigations Division.

Meanwhile the workload of criminal cases and traffic accidents handled by the department remains high, including more than 800 in the latter category last year.

In outlining recruitment challenges, the police chief says his department encounters difficulty in hiring younger people of “Generation Z” — born in 1997 and after.

Those individuals generally prefer shorter-term jobs, with only a small percentage desiring to work more than five years for the same employer, according to Watson.

And once officers come aboard, some discover that a law enforcement career is not what they expected, he said, such as requiring much paperwork and unique stresses.

The chief pointed out that one recruit started work on the same day that an officer-involved shooting occurred within the department, which apparently proved to be more than he could handle. That officer never came back for a second day.

COVID and social unrest also have complicated the equation in the past couple of years, Watson said. “The police paradigm is constantly changing.”

To meet the personnel challenges through increased recruitment and retention, the chief said incentives for training and education will be pursued along with a succession strategy. It is aimed at preparing replacements to step in to key positions when resignations or retirements occur to maintain the level of service to the public.

It’s that time of year again — when Mount Airy residents get the opportunity to clear out attics, garages or basements and dispose of items that city sanitation crews normally don’t collect.

This spring, that annual two-week window initially will run from April 18-22, and pick up again the next Monday, April 25, before ending on April 29.

The special cleanup service is available citywide each year for residential properties only.

During those two weeks, crews will pick up these items in addition to regular trash collections:

• Tires, with a limit of 12 per residence (with or without rims)

• Building materials (generated by homeowners)

• Loose leaves (which normally are picked up only from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31)

• Limbs exceeding 3 inches in diameter (which must be separated from smaller-diameter brush)

• Old gas grills (without fuel cylinders)

Residents are asked to place extra items at the curb beside trash carts on their regular collection days.

Due to environmental regulations, city personnel cannot collect paint, pesticides, herbicides, solvents or chemicals. However, Surry County holds an annual event at Veterans Memorial Park (typically in the fall) when those substances are accepted.

Citizens are being asked to take certain steps in order the make the process run smoothly, Mount Airy Sanitation Supervisor Russell Jarrell said Tuesday.

One thing he mentioned was the importance of separating television sets from tires and not mixing those with the general debris being discarded. “Because we have to collect them separate,” Jarrell explained regarding the grouping of those items during the disposal process by municipal crews.

Another request to residents involves making sure not to pile items underneath utility lines due to the clearance needed for a truck used to pick up materials.

“This will make it a little easier on us,” the sanitation supervisor said, along with speeding up collections.

Jarrell also mentioned a third area that tends to cause problems, related to the disposal of building material that sometimes is piled up in a haphazard fashion by residential customers.

“We want to ask that they stack it neatly at the curb,” Jarrell said, as opposed to being strewn about.

“It just makes it harder to pick up,” he added regarding that scenario.

City officials are hoping this spring’s cleanup goes better than in 2021, when an equipment malfunction delayed pickups of the unusual items. “It was terrible,” Jarrell recalled Tuesday.

This involved a grapple truck — which contains a flexible crane that aids the retrieval of bulky objects such as sofas — going down on the first day of the cleanup period.

That led the municipality to contract with a local company, R & J Tree Service, which is equipped with a grapple truck, to supplement city sanitation crews’ efforts.

Despite the problems, 285 tons of trash/debris were transported to the landfill, more than any other recent year, according to a breakdown from Jarrell.

In addition, 401 rimless automobile tires were picked up along with 70 on rims, 38 appliances, 74 TV sets/computer monitors, 239 mattresses, 296 pieces of upholstered furniture, four bicycles, 111 tons of brush and 15 tons of leaves.

The list further included three upright pianos, three lawn mowers and five pieces of exercise equipment, among other unusual items.

The Surry County Board of Commissioners Monday were advised that there have been positive developments regarding county properties for sale. With the deed to J. J. Jones High School being transferred Monday, the acceptance of an upset bid on properties on Rawley Avenue, and the opening of upset bids on Westfield Elementary — the county may soon have three fewer properties on its ledger.

First, the property at 130 Rawley Ave. has been a topic of conversation going back to 2020. That process is at its conclusion now as the upset bidding process for the building and adjoining parking lot has been completed.

Commissioner Van Tucker expressed interest in finding out who the bidder was, and after the board approved the bid Tate & Son Plumbing Group was revealed to have been the winning party with a bid of $280,000.

Currently under lease by PQA Healthcare through September 2023, the building was appraised at $250,000 with its total tax value estimated at $405,410.

In January, the commissioners accepted an opening bid of $200,000 for the Rawley Avenue property and opened a period of upset bidding in which any other party may offer a higher amount and be considered the highest bidder.

Over the course of two months, Assistant to the County Manager Nathan Walls took several upset bids until the winning bid was secured. County Attorney Ed Woltz asked what the board intended to do with the county owned property such as office furniture and medical equipment that was not included in the surplus auction.

It was decided that consistency in the handling of surplus property was important, and the commissioner declined to take action on those items until such time as the current tenant’s lease is up. At that time, the board would seem most likely to enter those items into another surplus items auction.

The next surplus property which may be on the move is the old Westfield School. The board was made aware than an offer has been made by an unidentified individual who has placed a 5% bid deposit, or $7,500 down payment, against their offer of $150,000 for Westfield. The property was appraised at $243,000 and has a full tax value of $299,320.

County Manager Chris Knopf advised the board that if they approve this offer, it will open a period of upset bidding. As was the case with Rawley Avenue, this can take a matter of time and the price can change significantly once interested parties begin their bidding.

“Because the process has been started, you are not painting yourself into a corner. You never have to finally approve any sale,” Woltz reminded the board that they will have final approval, so if the offers are not to the county’s liking, they may all be rejected. The board accepted the offer and has opened the upset bid process.

– As mentioned, LaShene Lowe was in attendance as the board approved the historic title transfer of the former J. J. Jones High School to The African American Historical and Genealogical Society of Surry County.

– The board finalized the transfer of surplus property to the Westfield Baptist Church of artifacts from the former Westfield Elementary. Commissioner Tucker had been keeping the board abreast on this project and was keen to see the artifacts preserved for posterity.

– Daniel White of parks and recreation asked the board, and was approved, to wipe clean the slate of back fees from 2012- 2020 for shelter rentals. As the department is changing to a new software system and has done due diligence in collection, waving $2,595 allows for a full transition to the new system.

– LT Consulting was issued an additional $5,000 in funding from the board for the services of Bill Powell in oversight on school construction projects.

– Four positions were created under Mark Willis and the Substance Abuse Recovery Team. The posts are Intervention Team Coordinator, Intervention Team Peer Support Specialist, Recovery to Work Business Advisor, and Research and Program Support Specialist.

Willis has previously laid out the long-term spending plan for the opioid settlement money the county will receive. However, zero county dollars were requested for these four positions through the end of the fiscal year 2023.

Also on Monday, the board made a bevy of appointments and reappointments, as follows:

– Commissioner Larry Johnson was requested to join the YVEDDI board for another term, the board concurred.

– The board accepted the nominates of Neil Atkins, Elaine Habenicht, Daniel Poindexter, and Lindsay Moose to the Surry County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council.

– The county tax administrator’s two-year term expires at the end of June; the board approved another two-year term through June 2024 for Penny Harrison.

– An inspector was approved to join the North Carolina Building Inspectors Association’s Damage Assessment Response Team (DART).

– On inspectors, Assistant County Manager Sandy Snow introduced to the board the new lead county building inspector Keith Kiger. He has been with the county since 2019 but is new in this role. “I look forward to a bright future and I see Surry County blooming, growing, and most of all keeping everyone safe,” he said.

Commissioner Eddie Harris gave compliments to Kiger for the good reports he has heard coming from the inspections department, and said he has confidence in Kiger’s ability to lead the department.

Recognized for achieving the highest rank in Scouting, two new Eagle Scouts came before the county commissioners Monday evening for acknowledgment from the board.

Sam Gordon and Ethan Smith of Troop 553 received their honors and then addressed the crowd to give some explanation as to what they did for the service component of earning the rank.

Smith told the commissioners that a flagpole area was in disrepair at the White Plains Ruritan Club. It had been struck by a vehicle and needed a touch of TLC.

“I poured a concrete base and foundation to put both the granite benches that were previously there, and the granite border around it. As well as added new lights, and some darker gravel to show off the granite border a bit better,” Smith said. “This will help with future flag ceremonies, it will look better for people to have a picnic, and it will also help with cleaning.”

Commissioner Larry Johnson informed the repairs “look great.”

Gordon built planter boxes for the Helping Hands Foundation of Mount Airy. “I used 55-gallon barrels, we cut them open and made planters out of them so they would be reusable. We put them out front of Helping Hands Foundation so they can have reusable planters to grow vegetables, they can have flowers and it would make it more inviting for those who need food.

“If they needed help, they can go into Helping Hands and it be more welcoming – they wouldn’t have to be so nervous,” he explained of his service project.

Chairman Bill Goins expressed his satisfaction at seeing another set of Eagles come through the meeting and restated his long-term support for scouting and emphasized the significance of achieving Eagle Scout.

Not to be outdone on this evening, two teams from Surry County competed recently at the Northwest Regional Library’s Quiz Bowl event and represented themselves well.

The team from Mount Airy High School took first place and the team from North Surry High School took home second place.

The Mount Airy High School team includes Abby Moser, Andrew Myers, Tyler Utt, Angel Rivera, Nicholas Calvillo-Solis, Chris Lim, and adviser Rod Hosking.

The North Surry High team includes Sky Estrada, Max Barnard, Nathan Lattimore, Walker York, Colby Callaway, Colby Mitchell, Will Danley, and coach Amanda Smith.

Coach Smith said the contest is fun for the students and is as much about how fast you can recall and react as it is to know random trivia facts.

“Its so much more than just a library,” Chairman Goins said after the awards were handed out.

The stars aligned for such kind words as Anna Nichols of the Northwest Regional Library was in attendance on the evening to let the commissioners know that this is National Library Week. The theme of library week this year is, “My library connects me to ___.”

Among her favorite responses are that the library connects people to: hotspots, gardening, community/connections, and her personal favorite answer – the world.

“Think about it, little Surry County connected to the world through the library.”

Mount Airy Elks Lodge No. 261 have a commitment to giving back to the community. After being constrained by the pandemic from their normal slate of in-person events, the group is now getting back into the swing of things.

Last week, Lodge No. 261 was at it again as they presented a check to the Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina, a repeated target of giving from the Elks. The Beacon Grant of the Elks National Foundation was awarded to the Children’s Center for $1,650.

“Over the last eight years the Mount Airy Elks Motorcycle Committee has used the Beacon Grant to support the Children’s Center of Surry and Yadkin counties,” Elks local secretary Mark Alderman explained of the grant’s goal. “Each year the Lodge received $3,500 to support the Children’s Centers by purchasing school supplies, coats, clothing, shoes, and other necessities for all the children. Also, making sure they have a good Christmas.

“They take them out on outings such as bowling, movies, and usually a meal at Thirteen Bones along with the counselors and staff. Last year, due to the pandemic they were only able to donate monetarily,” he went on. “This year after purchasing the needed items for all the children, and with the continuing aftermath of the pandemic, we closed out the grant with a monetary donation of $1,650.”

The Elks National Foundation is the charitable arm of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and has a budget for program services in the 2021-22 fiscal year totaling $36.4 million. Their Community Investment Program (CIP) totals $14.9 million of the Elks overall charitable budget. Among the CIP grants issued by the National Foundation include the Spotlight Grant, Gratitude Grant, Impact Grant, Freedom Grant, and the Beacon Grant.

This year the Lodge received more than $ 7,500 in grant monies to provide for the community. The Gratitude Grant of $2,000 was split between three organizations the Maranatha Homeless Outreach Ministries, St. Andrew Lutheran Outreach Ministries and The Helping Hands of Surry these organizations provide meals and necessities to the homeless and needy throughout our community and surrounding area.

Local Elks Lodges can use the Gratitude Grants as they see fit. As they are the reward from the foundation for every Lodge that meets the National President’s per-member goal for giving. Alderman mentioned the phrase, “Elks care, Elks share,” and this grant bears that out: They can do more locally because their local members anted up when called upon to do so.

The Spotlight Grant of $2,000 was recently donated monetarily to the Mount Airy Men’s Shelter. Spotlight is appropriately named as the Elks denote that grant should be used to highlight an issue of concern for the community. As homelessness, and specifically the needs of homeless men, are issues that need attention the Elks targeted the newly formed shelter to shine the spotlight on the group, and the core issue of homelessness.

“The Elks are a very patriotic organization and have a solemn pledge that as long as there are veterans the Elks will never forget them,” Alderman said. His lodge has various programs that support veterans, around Veterans Day they have a have a free potluck meal for any veteran that comes. “The last two years the lodge has been involved in Fishing with Veterans Program where we invite veterans on a fishing outing at Cedar Springs Fish Farm, the lodge pays their fishing fees and provides them with a boxed lunch purchased from Aunt Bea’s.

“The lodge also supports The Veterans Home in Salisbury, visiting them at Easter and Christmas and recently purchased a 40-inch TV for the soon-to-open Veterans Home in Kernersville. The North Carolina Elks Association members provides TV’s, supplies, necessities, and handicap vans for all the North Carolina Veterans Homes,” Alderman said of the Elks’ focus on veterans.

Their Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in Chicago May 30, where three North Carolina youth will be one of 72 boys and girls competing for the National Title. Alderman also noted the Elks scholarship program give out significant amounts to students, totaling more than $4.5 million last year. “So, you see why Elks standout in communities all across the country.”

© 2018 The Mount Airy News