The North Carolina Living Historical Farm Committee Inc. will hold its annual Spring Heirloom Apple Tree Sale beginning Saturday, March 18 at Horne Creek farm in Pinnacle. (Submitted photo)

Trees are a great way to celebrate a birthday, holiday, anniversary, new birth, graduation, or as a means of employee recognition. In the words of the Arbor Day Foundation, “trees planted for you are an act of optimism and kindness, a labor of love, and a commitment to stewardship.” They’re also a gift that grows and keeps on giving.

Horne Creek Farm will celebrate the annual Arbor Day by selling fruit trees on March 18 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Horne Creek’s Southern Heritage Apple Orchard has plenty of varieties to choose from — Blacktwig, Winesap, Winter Jon, Virginia Beauty and multiple selections from the Limbertwig family are just a few available to purchase. Jason Bowen, the site’s horticulturist, will be onsite to provide information about what varieties are good for cooking, making apple butter, or cider.

The site will also be selling three varieties of heirloom peach trees — Elberta, Belle of Georgia, and Indian Cling — as well as Kieffer pear trees. Apple trees will be potted, while the peach and pear trees will be sold bare-root.

The cost of apple trees will be $22.50 each, while peach and pear trees will be $17.50 each. Payment can be made by credit card, debit card, check, or cash.

This program is sponsored by the site’s non-profit, the North Carolina Living Historical Farm Committee Inc. Money generated from the sale of the apple trees will support the upkeep of the Southern Heritage Apple Orchard, while the income from the sale of the peach trees will be used for the Hauser Orchard.

Horne Creek Living Historical Farm is located at 308 Horne Creek Farm Rd. in Pinnacle. To reach the site, take the Pinnacle Exit (#129) off US Hwy 52 and follow the state historic signs. For more information, call 336-325-2298.

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Cooke Trucking Company Inc. has purchased BCJ Trucking Inc., the firms announced recently.

While the purchase may result in some consolidated “back office” functions, Cooke officials say they do not expect any job losses as a result. In fact, the now-larger firm is still hiring.

“The acquisition will enhance Cooke’s competitive position in the marketplace,” said Jay Boaz, president of Cooke Trucking Company. He explained that while his company does local, regional and coast-to-coast trucking, BCJ was particularly strong as a regional trucking firm.

“We’re always looking at opportunities that make our existing portfolio better,” he said. “This particular opportunity, we probably looked at it for a year, maybe 18 months. They have a segment of business we liked, and it will diversify our portfolio a little further,” he said of BCJ’s regional trucking strength.

Prior to the purchase, Boaz said Cooke Trucking had around 130 employees, while BCJ had 50.

“Our goal is to keep everybody,” he said, adding that there is still room for more employees.

“We’re seeing more driver capacity in the market than we have seen in a while,” he said. “We will continue to hire, our goal is to grow…in all segments of the business.”

He said that despite some “back office” work being consolidated, the new, larger firm will keep both of its locations up and running.

Cooke Trucking was founded in 1958, while BCJ began operations in 1984. That the larger Cooke would purchase the smaller Mount Airy operation is no surprise, given that they are both located in the same city and have worked together at times.

“Cooke has worked well with BCJ throughout the years and most recently has partnered on several lanes and movements,” the company said in a statement announcing the purchase. “When considering the different lanes and established customer base, the acquisition further diversifies…(our) trucking portfolio.

“Cooke and BCJ will share best practices, synergies and will grow a broader footprint.”

“Our goal is to remain customer- and employee-focused while continuing to deliver best in class results and service,” said Boaz.

Though he is no longer around, the legacy of Benton Flippen continues to live on — which will include his induction into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame later this month.

Flippen was an old-time musician who grew up in Surry County and shared his talents for decades until passing away in June 2011 at the age of 90.

In addition to Flippen, other notables from the traditional music world will be enshrined on March 25 at the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, located at 100 E. Main St. in Wilkesboro. Included are Doyle Lawson, Willard Gayheart, The Cockman Family, L.W. Lambert, Barry Poss and Donnie Story.

The purpose of the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, which is part of the Wilkes Heritage Museum that will host the ceremony, is to showcase and preserve the rich musical heritage of the greater Blue Ridge Mountains area. It stretches from northern Georgia to northern Virginia.

Those selected for induction must have achieved acclaim as songwriters, master musicians, national or regional performers in any form of musical heritage who were either born in or near the Blue Ridge Mountain region. Or they can be folks who were active within the region for a substantial period of time and contributed to its music.

A selection committee made up of industry professionals from around the country goes through two rounds of voting to choose the winning candidates.

“An amazing musician”

Benton Flippen meets the Hall of Fame criteria on all counts, according to Tanya Jones, the executive director of the Surry Arts Council who dealt with him in various capacities. This included classes where Flippen imparted his musical knowledge to younger generations.

“He was absolutely an amazing musician,” Jones said of Flippen, who became best known for his fiddle playing but also was an accomplished five-string banjo player.

“Benton was extremely special to me — he worked closely with us for years.”

While performing with many family and regional musicians, Flippen is said to have developed his own fiddle and banjo styles, with unusual fingering patterns enabling him to be creative in his music and usually win the many band or fiddle contests he entered.

Jones mentioned that Flippen’s son donated his dad’s many trophies and other artifacts to the Surry Arts Council, which are on display at its Old-Time Music Heritage Hall.

At the time of his death in 2011, longtime observers remarked at how a particular fiddle tune, for example, might sound the same, but when Benton Flippen played it something was created like no other — compositions and recordings still enjoyed today.

“Benton was super-special,” the Surry Arts Council official added Tuesday.

Behind his enormous musical talent was a good, gentle individual, Jones said.

“Benton was just the kindest, sweetest man — he never uttered an unkind word about anyone.”

Even near the end of his life, Flippen would attend classes of the council’s ongoing Traditional Arts Programs every Thursday, when local musicians united with elementary and middle school students for instruction.

Flippen’s connection with Mount Airy radio station WPAQ illustrated his longevity, as he and his band, The Green Valley Boys, made history in 1948 when they became the station’s first performers on the day it hit the airwaves.

Nearly 60 years later after computer technology had greatly altered the way fans access music, Flippen performed for WPAQ’s first online streaming broadcast in 2007.

Station owner Kelly Epperson is scheduled to appear at the upcoming program at the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame on Flippen’s behalf for his posthumous induction on March 25.

“He was the one that got me interested in old-time music,” Epperson has said in recalling how he heard an album in the living room of his dad years before featuring Flippen playing the familiar tune “Lost Indian.”

“Even if you did not have much listening experience, you could tell it was Benton as soon as the bow was drawn across the strings,” the station owner has said.

The doors are scheduled to open at 6 p.m. for the induction program, with the ceremony beginning at 7 p.m.

“We still have some tickets available, but they’re going fast,” Wilkes Heritage Museum Director Jennifer Furr said Wednesday afternoon.

Tickets for the 15th-annual Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony can be bought over the phone at 336-667-3171 during normal business hours, in person at the Wilkes Heritage Museum during its normal hours of operation or obtained through the museum’s online gift shop.

Musical performances are scheduled throughout the evening, including by some of those being inducted, and the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame house band, Virginialina.

“Can a place be haunted?” was the question hovering over proceedings at a “Ghost Social” event hosted by Mount Airy Museum of Regional History — where the prevailing answer was “Yes.”

One tends to adopt a position on that issue depending on his or her own personal observations, the presence of tangible evidence or the degree of credibility they assign to accounts from others about their experiences.

“Are there really ghosts in haunted houses?” Terri Ingalls asked last Saturday night while hosting the Ghost Social program at the museum, the first in a two-part series to conclude on April 8. “Are they figments of someone’s imagination?”

One fact emerging from the weekend gathering was that those who believe in ghosts can whet their appetites with a treasure trove of supernatural activities linked to sites in Mount Airy.

In addition to the proverbial “haunted houses” that seem to populate every town, some well-known locations are included.

On that list are the Gertrude Smith House, the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce building where a bank once existed, Old North State Winery — and even the museum itself where several ghosts are thought to call home.

“From the day we opened, we knew Mr. Merritt was one of our permanent residents,” Ingalls said of the late W.E. Merritt. He operated a hardware store in the towering structure on North Main Street which later became the museum — site of a saloon in earlier days.

Based on investigations by psychics and mediums, the spirits of several individuals are said to roam the place, including a woman named Mary and a long-ago Mount Airy fire chief.

So a second-floor meeting room of the museum was an appropriate setting for last Saturday’s Ghost Social, billed as an occasion to “sit and enjoy treats while listening to ghostly folklore and tales.”

With another program scheduled for April 8, some welcome the series as a one-stop alternative to a regular ghost walk tour offered by the museum.

About 15 people attended last weekend’s event — enjoying coffee, tea and sweets on a cold Saturday night in a mostly dark room. This provided a welcome atmospheric touch given the subject matter highlighted for the benefit of listeners who didn’t require much convincing

Ingalls, a well-known storyteller who helps lead the regular ghost walking tour series, acknowledged that not all alleged hauntings are real.

These might simply be figments of someone’s imagination, as she suggested, or a routine, harmless occurrence that has been misconstrued — maybe just defying explanation.

And Ingalls was quick to mention that hoaxes also can be responsible. She cited a well-publicized ghost story in the Coon Ridge community of Carroll County, Virginia, many years ago, actually perpetrated by two boys, one standing on the shoulders of the other with a bedsheet draped over them.

On another occasion, supernatural phenomena supposedly had occurred at a church cemetery on Pine Ridge Road in Surry County, where there had “been a lot of stories about lights and sounds coming from this graveyard,” Ingalls related.

A “white apparition” there turned out to be, once again, a sheet.

Ingalls also mentioned that some apparent hauntings could have a scientific basis tied to physics in which some force of energy might attach itself to objects and places to leave a certain residue behind.

Cold spots also can signal a supernatural presence, although paranormal researchers have not identified the mechanism involved with this.

Object attachment is one of the theories surrounding ghosts inhabiting the museum, which contains many artifacts owned by area residents in the past. A feeling of being watched by someone has been reported among museum visitors, also a common haunting trait, according to Ingalls.

“Is this an attempt at immortality — who knows?”

Mount Airy Museum of Regional History isn’t alone in harboring ghost stories.

Ingalls also mentioned the Gertrude Smith House, a Victorian-style structure once occupied by Smith, who had been an interior decorator in New York City and continued her career in Mount Airy before dying in 1981. It is now a museum filled with artwork and antiques.

Despite Smith’s death, “she has not left that house,” Ingalls said, explaining that she knows this firsthand from doing research there. Rude behavior and lingering too long at certain locations can subject one to the former inhabitant’s displeasure.

“She is still there — trust me on that one,” Ingalls said firmly.

The chamber headquarters in the heart of downtown Mount Airy also was mentioned Saturday night, when audience members were allowed to toss in their own ghostly experiences.

Joe Zalescik, a former member of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners, mentioned that he had such an encounter while recently doing some cleaning work on the lower level of that structure.

This is on top of other sightings there including the ghostly appearance of an early president of the bank and the sounds of money being counted.

The basement of Old North State Winery additionally was mentioned Saturday night as a ghostly hot spot.

Another local site associated with supernatural goings-on is the Riverside Drive area near the Ararat River.

That location has a colorful history dating to the time when the colonies were fighting for their independence from British rule and patriots were engaged in arresting Tories, or British sympathizers, seizing their wealth in the process.

One man targeted supposedly had buried his valuables, which is not the end of the story.

“People who live in that area will tell you they often see a man dressed in Revolutionary-era clothing walking with a shovel,” Ingalls said, as if looking to dig up those items.

Then there is a story of “Still Face” a man who lived in the historic village of Rockford who disappeared without a trace. “The body of Still Face was never found,” Ingalls recounted, but his dog is said to howl mournfully over the lost master.

Other ghost stories are connected to the familiar settings that have been the focal points of many a horror movie or mystery story.

“There are many haunted houses in Mount Airy,” Ingalls assured.

A slave supposedly was killed at one no longer standing, where a pool of blood appeared on the porch whenever it rained.

There are tales of lights being seen inside an old home even with no electrical service and lightbulbs, a house where an unusual number of accidents have befallen children, the smell of pipe tobacco at one place even though no one is smoking or the aroma of cologne, among others.

Yet not every situation is scary or terrifying in nature. Ingalls offered the example of some local parents with a young daughter who wanted to know the history of the older home they had bought, including names of its long-ago residents.

The purpose of their query was to identify a ghostly elderly woman who told comforting stories to the child while seated in a rocking chair, Ingalls added.

“They wanted to know who she was so they could thank her.”

Two Mount Airy men have been charged with multiple offenses after a high-speed chase that reached speeds of 130 mph and included authorities from Surry County, Carroll County, Virginia, and Hillsville, Virginia. Eventually the two abandoned their vehicle — which had been stolen from a rental car agency in Greensboro — and were later caught after a foot chase.

Marquis Anthony Whitlock, 37, of Mount Airy, and Zachary Brian Willis, 35, also of Mount Airy, were each arrested in Carroll County and charged with multiple offenses.

According to Carroll County Sheriff Kevin A. Kemp, his office’s dispatch center received a call from Surry County reporting the Surry County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit was in pursuit of a white Chevrolet SUV northbound on Interstate 77 approaching the Virginia-North Carolina state line. Surry County Communications stated the pursuit was initiated after deputies identified the driver as being a wanted fugitive in their jurisdiction, as well as the vehicle being reported as stolen.

Carroll deputies responded to intercept and take over the pursuit, Kemp said, and while en route Surry Communications advised the suspect vehicle had reached speeds of 130 mph when approaching Virginia. Between Exit 1 near Lambsburg, Virginia, and Exit 8 at Fancy Gap, Virginia,

Carroll County Sheriff’s Office deputies took lead of the pursuit with Surry County assisting. Carroll authorities asked the Hillsville Police Department to set up spike strips at the 12-mile marker of I-77, Kemp said.

The suspect vehicle exited I-77 before then, at Exit 8 at Fancy Gap, driving back to U.S. 52 South, before swinging up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, traveling north towards Roanoke, Virginia. Kemp said it then quickly exited the Parkway onto Lightning Ridge Road, where U.S. Park Service Rangers had an unrelated vehicle stopped.

The stolen vehicle continued on Lightning Ridge and turned south onto Elk Spur Road. Before reaching the end of Elk Spur, the vehicle exited into a housing development.

“After making several turns in the development, the vehicle came to a dead end and four occupants exited the vehicle,” Kemp said.

Three of the suspects, two men and a woman, fled on foot, while the fourth immediately surrendered.

Using a sheriff’s office tracking dog, authorities found Whitlock hiding in a small creek, where he was taken into custody without further incident. Willis, along with the female who fled, were located by a Virginia State Police tracking dog.

Kemp said Willis, who he said was the driver of the stolen vehicle, was charged with felony eluding, possession of stolen property, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of drug paraphernalia, reckless driving, for not having a driver’s license, and for being a fugitive from justice.

The sheriff said Whitlock was charged with possession of a Schedule II drug and with being a fugitive from justice. Both were transported to the Carroll County Magistrate’s Office, and at the conclusion of a bond hearing, both were held without bond pending arraignment in Carroll County General District Court. He said he anticipated additional charges in North Carolina, where Whitlock was already wanted on narcotic charges and Whitlock was wanted on probation violation charges.

The sheriff did not identify either of the females. He said in a written statement the one who fled was taken into custody, but then released after his office learned she was wanted in North Carolina, but for in-state pick-up only. He did not say if either of the women were charged in relation to the chase. He also said the chase and subsequent arrests occurred on Feb. 9, but did not explain why his office kept the information private until releasing it Wednesday.

For those running food establishments, working as a food vendor, or organization events in Virginia, the Patrick C Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a lunch and learn on Wednesday April 19 “Food Safety & Sanitation for Temporary Food Establishments.”

This lunch and learn will be led by Virginia Department of Health inspectors on the proper set-ups, signage and sanitation procedures for temporary food vendors who set up food trucks or food tents at events and festivals.

“This free event is to help inform and keep everyone safe while we kick into gear all of our events and festivals which have food vendors,” chamber officials said.

Visit the chamber’s website at www.patrickchamber.com or call the office 276-694-6012 to register or find out more information about the Food Safety and Sanitation for temporary food establishments held.

The Morris Family Band will perform at the Historic Earle Theatre on Friday, March 17 with Thirsty Souls Community Brewing on hand for the St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

The Morris Family Band is comprised of five members of the Morris family from Davidson County: Aaron Morris, Debbie Morris, Jessica Morris, Joshua Morris, and Jacob Morris. For more than two decades, the Morris Family Band has delighted area residents with its Irish-American sounds during St. Patrick’s Day festivals, at local cafés, and in shows at regional amphitheaters. All Morris family members are trained with most string instruments, which comes in handy for the family’s distinct, Celtic style guitars, violins, flutes, whistles, cello, mandolin.

The Morris children grew up learning the Suzuki method of playing stringed instruments in professional classes and from their parents at home. Eventually, the family started jamming at home, then at live shows in the area. The family continued playing shows on a consistent basis, up until the children started going off to school. With most of the children scattered about the East Coast, the full family band now plays most of its shows over the holidays, especially on St. Patrick’s Day.

The show on March 17 begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street, or at the door. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

A Mount Airy man has been incarcerated this week under an unusually large bond — $64,000 secured — on multiple felony counts of forgery, identity theft and uttering charges, according to city police.

The State Employees Credit Union branch on South Franklin Road is among the victims of crimes allegedly perpetrated by Bradley Shane Collins, 31, of 2046 McBride Road.

Collins is accused in connection with two separate incidents involving the credit union, one that had been reported last month and another during the fall.

The first came to light on Oct. 12 involving fraud/identity theft, whereby checks drawn from a closed account were altered to make them appear valid. The checks then were passed at the credit union in order to obtain an undisclosed sum of money from the institution.

Then on Feb. 3, police were told that local resident Charles Brandon Atkins of Chadwick Lane had been victimized.

Atkins’ Social Security number was used to again defraud State Employees Credit Union of an unspecified sum of funds. It was not immediately known how Collins had acquired Atkins’ Social Security number.

An investigation by Mount Airy police implicated Collins and six felony charges subsequently were filed against him, including two counts each of forgery of an instrument, uttering (tendering) a forged instrument and identity theft.

Those charges were issued on March 5 and Collins was served with outstanding warrants on the violations after city officers encountered him Sunday during a traffic stop of a 2017 Subaru Legacy at 800 W. Pine St.

Collins was held in the Surry County Jail under the large secured bond and is scheduled to appear in District Court next Monday.

His criminal history includes being convicted of a similar felonious crime, obtaining property by false pretense, in 2018 — along with felony drug and break-in charges. State correctional records indicate that Collins received a suspended prison sentence on those violations and was placed on probation.

He later violated probation and served a three-month active term from July to October 2020, according to correctional records.

Trees are a great way to celebrate a birthday, holiday, anniversary, new birth, graduation, or as a means of employee recognition. In the words of the Arbor Day Foundation, “trees planted for you are an act of optimism and kindness, a labor of love, and a commitment to stewardship.” They’re also a gift that grows and keeps on giving.

Horne Creek Farm will celebrate the annual Arbor Day by selling fruit trees on March 18 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Horne Creek’s Southern Heritage Apple Orchard has plenty of varieties to choose from — Blacktwig, Winesap, Winter Jon, Virginia Beauty and multiple selections from the Limbertwig family are just a few available to purchase. Jason Bowen, the site’s horticulturist, will be onsite to provide information about what varieties are good for cooking, making apple butter, or cider.

The site will also be selling three varieties of heirloom peach trees — Elberta, Belle of Georgia, and Indian Cling — as well as Kieffer pear trees. Apple trees will be potted, while the peach and pear trees will be sold bare-root.

The cost of apple trees will be $22.50 each, while peach and pear trees will be $17.50 each. Payment can be made by credit card, debit card, check, or cash.

This program is sponsored by the site’s non-profit, the North Carolina Living Historical Farm Committee Inc. Money generated from the sale of the apple trees will support the upkeep of the Southern Heritage Apple Orchard, while the income from the sale of the peach trees will be used for the Hauser Orchard.

Horne Creek Living Historical Farm is located at 308 Horne Creek Farm Rd. in Pinnacle. To reach the site, take the Pinnacle Exit (#129) off US Hwy 52 and follow the state historic signs. For more information, call 336-325-2298.

As warmer weather approaches, the students at BH Tharrington Primary School have a new playground to enjoy thanks to a collaborative effort of parents, local community groups, Surry County Government, Mount Airy City Schools, and Mount Airy City Government.

The vision for the project started in 2021 as two members of the BHT Parent Lighthouse Team, Christina Plitt and Jillian Roach, noticed that the playground at the front of the school had aged and was in need of replacement.

“Our children started kindergarten at Tharrington at the height of the pandemic. Recess was the main part of the day where they could run around outside unmasked and socialize with friends,” noted the two. This experience drove home the importance of playgrounds to the social emotional learning of these young kids. “We wanted to be able to use our time and resources to benefit the children of Tharrington and the surrounding community after their lives had been so disrupted by the pandemic,” both said.

The BHT Parent Lighthouse Team and the Mount Airy Junior Women’s Club partnered to apply for several grants to fund the project.

“We were so fortunate that several key players offered their support of the project including grant writing advice from Penny Willard, director of innovative programming with Mount Airy City Schools and playground construction advice from Darren Lewis, assistant city manager with Mount Airy City,” added Roach.

In July 2022, The Mount Airy Junior Women’s Club learned the group was granted $25,000 toward the playground project. This grant nearly covered the costs of the main playground structure.

“This grant was the exact catalyst that we needed to make our vision a reality,” Plitt said. The BHT Parent Lighthouse Team set out to raise the additional funds needed to cover the delivery and installation of the main playground structure. In the fall, the group held a successful t-shirt fundraiser that netted $3,655 toward the project and in October, Tharrington families rallied together to win a participation challenge at the 5K On The Greenway.

While this funding would cover the costs of the main playground unit, the groups fell short of being able to fund the initial vision of replacing the entire front playground at the school.

Phillip Brown, deputy superintendent, announced that Mount Airy City Schools would match the funds raised by the groups to cover the costs of a new swing set and merry go round spinner. Stan Farmer and Lewis from the City of Mount Airy identified ways that the city could alleviate costs of the project by using public works staff to demolish and remove the existing structure and prepare the grounds for the new playground.

“This project would not have been possible without the help of so many people including Invest In Surry, The City of Mount Airy, the BHT Parent Lighthouse Team, The Mount Airy Junior Women’s Club, Emily Hardy, Phillip Brown, Darren Lewis, Stan Farmer, Lizzie Morrison, Penny Willard, Scott Dollyhite, Sandy George, and Bryan Cox,” said Roach.

While the students of Tharrington went home for Christmas break, public works staff were hard at work getting the area ready for the new playground. “The children eagerly watched each day as the playground was being constructed and asked ‘when can we play?’” said Principal Emily Hardy.

By February, the mulch had been spread and Principal Hardy was able to make the announcement that the new playground was open and ready to be used. “On the day I announced that the tape was being removed and the playground was open, celebrations could be heard all over the school. This playground will be a memorable part of our campus for years to come and I thank all of those advocates who made this project a reality for our students.”

“This playground highlights so much of what we love about Mount Airy,” said Plitt and Roach. “This project was only possible because people from all over the community from different organizations rallied together to meet the needs of our children. In so many different ways, people supported this project to provide the kids at Tharrington and the surrounding neighborhoods with a safer, more accessible place to play.”

A few teachers and faculty members in the Mount Airy City School system found a unique way to begin their spring break on Friday — by winning a major award, or in this case, the Superintendent’s Award.

On Friday morning, the student body gathered in the auditorium for a production sponsored by the Surry Arts Council. Just when the lights were dimmed and Principal Jason Dorsett was about to introduce the show, he changed course and made a surprise announcement that Superintendent Dr. Kim Morrison was present and had special news to share.

“For the first time in history, we have not lied to get all recipients to a location to receive this award,” she joked with those in attendance.

Dr. Morrision then called Bryan Hayes, Kelly Holder, Courtney Howlett, and Cody Spicer to come forward and stand on stage, where they were presented with the Superintendent’s Award. This drew great applause and excitement from the crowd which immediately turned to “awww’s” as family members of each recipient appeared from behind the curtain.

“We invited special guests to help give you your award,” she said, going on to explain why this year’s recipients had been selected. “Teaching high school mathematics is not for the faint of heart. In a subject that frightens many students, and adults, these teachers take difficult content and teach it in ways where students are able to learn it and learn it well. We’ve closed the gap in mathematics over the last six years which has led us to being in the top 5% of all high schools for mathematics in recent years and two years ago the top in the district in Math 1 and Math 3.”

She then shared more about the individual teachers and the extra effort, time, and energy they each put into their craft of teaching along with the numerous extracurricular activities in which they participated and led. She closed the recognition by saying, “These individuals are a true team. They show up for one another, their students, and Mount Airy High School.”

Reflecting on the award given annually, Dr. Morrison added, “We applaud educators every day for going above and beyond for children. The mathematics department at Mount Airy High School represents what is right about educators in our public schools and shines a light on the immense amount of energy and effort needed to grow students. Thanks to all educators and especially this department as they receive this year’s Superintendent Award.”

Earlier this year, officials with the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce said the organization’s public policy committee had plans to become more active with programs that could better inform chamber members of public and business issues.

The committee is getting off to a hot start in its plans, with one of the top officials in the North Carolina office of Rural Economic Development slated to be in town in April.

Assistant Secretary for Rural Economic Development Kenny Flowers, is scheduled to be in Mount Airy on April 3 to talk about issues and challenges facing rural communities in the state, and what his office is doing to help them. The gathering is set to take place at the White Sulpher Springs Event Venue, and is the first in the group’s new Chamber Lecture Series.

“This is a series of events that bring local and state government leaders to you,” the committee said in a recent announcement about the upcoming lecture. “Learn more about government policies, operations and processes, hear updates of the current state of government and plans for the future, and find answers to your questions. This event series can benefit any and all residents and business owners/operators.”

The committee, whose new leadership and members took office in January, signaled early on it wanted to take a more active role in chamber events.

“The public policy committee is looking at doing town hall-type forums, maybe bring in county commissioners, city commissioners, people from parks and rec, planning… to do a larger, more fluid open forum,” Jordon Edwards said of other potential events the committee was considering. Edwards, the chamber events director, made her comments in January while discussing the upcoming State of the County address given by Surry County Manager Chris Knopf. That meeting was held Feb. 9.

“Public policy has never been on the forefront of the (chamber’s) committees, as far as what they did in the community,” said Tonda Phillips, chair of the chamber’s public policy committee, in late January.

At the time, she said, her particular interest was in helping the local business community learn more about what public policies might directly affect businesses in Mount Airy and Surry County.

Chamber officials see Farmer’s upcoming talk as part of that effort.

“In …(his) role he provides guidance for the department in its efforts to support rural communities and help foster rural prosperity. Kenny leads a team of community and economic development specialists that help communities make the preparations and infrastructure investments needed to attract business and industry, and spur economic growth,” they said of the upcoming talk.

The event is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 p.m. and will include light appetizers and a free beverage. The cost is $30 for chamber members and $35 for non-members. The chamber is also still accepting sponsors for the event.

To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit https://members.mtairyncchamber.org/events/details/chamber-lecture-series-kenny-flowers-apr-2023-1829

Several East Surry High School JROTC students placed in the top three positions of competition during a three-position air rifle match hosted by Davie County High School Army JROTC earlier this year.

The Cadets fired air rifles at 10 targets about the size of an Oreo cookie from 10 meters away. Each Cadet shoots from three different positions — prone, kneeling and standing.

Davie County High School won the meet but several East Surry students brought home honors.

Skylar Turney took second place and Colby Stowers took third place overall. Cadet Dustin Gifford took first place in the kneeling position earning himself and East Surry High School its first rifle trophy.

East Surry Rifle Coach, Col. (retired) Robert Sentell said, “I’m very proud of the team for the progress they made this year. Last year we were just participating to learn and gain experience in this sport but this year we made huge strides in becoming more competitive,” he said of the team’s second year in existence. “I also want to thank Davie County High School JROTC for inviting us to shoot. The experience we gain from these matches are invaluable to our growth as a rifle team.” East Surry also competes in the National Air Rifle League where the team finished with a record of 4-3 this season.

• A Mount Airy woman has been charged with hit and run stemming from an incident last Thursday on Merita Street, according to city police reports.

Flora Elizabeth Scott, 30, of 295 Brushy Fork Lane, is alleged to have struck two wooden patio fence posts in a parking area at 755 Merita St. near Gravely Street while operating a 2008 Infiniti QX56 and fled the scene. No damage figure was listed.

An investigation linked Scott to the collision and she subsequently went to the police station to be cited. Scott is scheduled to appear in Surry District Court on April 17.

• The SQRL Fuel Station building in Westwood Shopping Center on West Lebanon Street was broken into on March 4 through a secured front door. Nothing was listed as stolen, but $200 in damage occurred to a glass door panel.

• Meghan Nicole Thompson, 34, listed as homeless, was charged with injury to real property on Feb. 26 after officers investigated a suspicious-person call on West Pine Street near Bluemont Road, which is adjacent to the Emily B. Taylor Greenway.

No details were supplied regarding the damage charge, but Thompson has been banned from all municipal property as a result in addition to facing a March 27 appearance in District Court.

• Nancy Boyd Harris, 59, listed as homeless, was jailed for an alleged domestic violence protective order violation on Feb. 25 after officers responded to Starlite Motel in reference to a domestic disturbance. Harris was found to have violated the order by being in contact with Haley Rochelle Harris, police records state.

She is scheduled to be in District Court on April 3.

In connection with the same domestic disturbance call to Starlite Motel, and the investigation of a vehicle crash incident, Stacy Alexander Foley, 46, who resides there, was found in possession of stolen property and displaying a fictitious registration plate, according to police records.

The arrest report indicates that Foley also is facing those charges in Patrick County, Virginia, which were issued on Feb. 25.

He is awaiting a May 11 court date in Dobson.

A public hearing is scheduled Thursday night on a request to rezone property at the northern end of town to allow a metal recycling center.

Two different addresses are involved in the proposal, 124 Tumbling Rock Drive and 139 Tumbling Rock Drive, the latter being the site of an existing concrete plant known as Cemex. The tract in question totals 16.3 acres altogether, located just west of North Andy Griffith Parkway.

Mount Airy officials have been asked to change the zoning of the site from B-4 (the city’s Highway Business District classification) to the M-1 (Industrial District) zone.

Citizens have a chance to weigh in on the request during Thursday’s public hearing, scheduled during a 6 p.m. meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners.

Norma Hiatt of Mount Airy is listed as the owner of the property, while Devon Byrd is the person who applied for the rezoning request.

Byrd is associated with a business called Factory Direct Metal Buildings, LLC at 2167 S. Andy Griffith Parkway, with city Planning Department documents showing that also as the name of the project targeting 124 Tumbling Rock Drive for the recycling facility.

The change also would make the existing concrete plant at 139 Tumbling Rock Drive a conforming use of that property through the M-1 (Industrial) rezoning, city planning documents indicate.

There is already a 265-acre industrial-zoned district just north of the two parcels where the change is sought, which also are surrounded by properties zoned B-4 (Highway Business) and conditional-use B-3 (Neighborhood Business).

City planners say the rezoning request is consistent with the high-density future land-use category in the City of Mount Airy Comprehensive Plan, a guide for growth in all sections of town.

The Mount Airy Planning Board, an advisory group to the commissioners, reviewed the proposal by Byrd on Feb. 27, and voted 5-0 to recommend the rezoning.

No one spoke against the measure then, which can occur in such cases due to neighboring property owners being notified about potential zoning changes as part of the city government’s transparency process.

Access to natural gas increasingly is being made available in the local area through several recent line-extension projects to provide that energy source for businesses and homes along with church and school users.

“We have quite a bit of growth in Mount Airy,” Taylor Younger of Frontier Natural Gas said last week.

Most recently, Frontier construction crews have completed a main line extension in the area of Snowhill Drive and Welch Road, located just off U.S. 52 near the Lowe’s/Food Lion shopping center.

That was done to serve Mount Airy First Church Of The Brethren at 161 Welch Road and its fellowship building, Younger explained.

The installation of such a line offers connection opportunities for others in its path.

“We also have a few projects we completed recently that we are currently accepting applications for to serve customers along the route,” added Younger, who works in an engineering services capacity with Frontier Natural Gas.

The company is based in Elkin and serves Surry and five other counties where it builds natural gas pipelines.

“We completed a main extension on South Franklin Road and Highway 89 to serve North Surry High School,” Younger advised regarding another key effort undertaken recently.

Major local companies also have been on Frontier’s radar screen, including an expansion project of late in a different part of town.

“We completed a main extension from Smith Lane to Welcome Baptist Church Road to Reeves Mill Road to serve Altec and Pike,” Younger mentioned, which is in the Bannertown area.

The expansion to North Surry High School was launched about a year ago, triggered by a fuel oil leak at the campus in February 2022 which prompted school officials to switch to natural gas as its heating source.

As a major user, the campus was called the “anchor” for an overall line-extension project in both directions along N.C. 89 from its intersection with Franklin Road.

It stretched to North Surry toward the west and eastward to the U.S. 52 bridge crossing N.C. 89. About four miles of new lines were included altogether.

In 2020, Frontier had expanded its reach to the Franklin Elementary School area to meet energy needs of nearby Faith Baptist Church, which had burned in 2018 and led to a rebuilding effort. The line was halted at that point before being extended northward toward N.C. 89 last year for the North Surry connection.

“We have several other small main extensions coming up,” Younger mentioned last week.

She pointed out that potential new users can determine if they are in or near the service territory of Frontier Natural Gas by consulting its website at https://www.frontiernaturalgas.com/natural-gas-conversion/service-area/

Despite attacks on it and other fossil sources by “green energy” advocates, natural gas is considered a vital alternative to other types.

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

Natural gas produces less carbon monoxide than other types of major energy, making it the cleanest, safest, most cost-effective, efficient way to heat a home or business, according to information on the Frontier website.

The gas flows to a home or business through a system of underground pipelines with no tanks to monitor, no waiting for delivery trucks, no risk of storms interrupting service and no worries about running out of fuel, it adds.

The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History is offering its Ukrainian Pysanky Easter Egg workshop on Saturday.

Pysanky is the Ukrainian word for Easter Egg and this workshop is all about using the traditional Batik method of dying, which includes using primitive tools, beeswax, and dye to beautifully decorate eggs.

The museum’s only class this spring will be held on Saturday, March 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the museum. During this workshop, participants will get to learn the history behind egg dying, create their own unique designs for their egg, and even learn how to preserve it for it to last. This workshop is beginner level, so no experience is needed. This can be a delicate craft so organizers ask that participants be at least 12 years old.

The cost for this workshop is $20 for museum members and $35 for non-members. Space for this class is limited, so organizers encourage those interested to visit the museum website and sign up.

Slowly she read, reciting name after name, under the picnic shelter on a warm afternoon, sunlight occasionally peeking out from behind clouds.

All around, dozens of people watched and listened, many holding candles, some emotional, others exchanging whispers or knowing glances.

And still she read, pausing for a second or two after each name.

Wendy Odum called name after name, fighting emotion at times, eventually reading the names of 115 different people, mostly from Surry County, some from Stokes County. And every one of the people — including Odum’s daughter — had passed away, claimed by drug overdoses.

The solemn ceremony was held at Riverside Park in Mount Airy on Monday, known as Black Balloon Day. Every year, March 6 is set aside to remember and honor those who have been lost to the drug epidemic gripping America. This year, Odum and The Birches Foundation decided to hold a public gathering in Mount Airy, where participants held black balloons and candles, some even sharing their own stories of loss with those assembled.

That was the case with Odum, who said she lost her daughter, Jessica Stanley, on Aug. 23, 2018.

She said her daughter took a “pressed pill” that day, one that was made to look just like medication one might purchase from a pharmacy. Odum said she doesn’t know if Stanley thought she was taking an opioid pill without realizing it was laced with fentanyl, or if she know fentanyl was inside but didn’t realize how much. All she does know is that her daughter took the pill, and it killed her. Stanley’s use of pills, her mom said, was part of an opioid addiction which started with legal use of needed prescription pills.

That loss, she said, moved her to change careers and devote herself to working in the world of drug abuse prevention and care of those already suffering from drug abuse. By the spring of 2019, The Birches Foundation was born, with Odum serving as executive director.

Odum described the organization as one that focuses on harm reduction.

“We primarily work directly with people affected by substance abuse disorder and the opioid epidemic,” she said. That means supplying drug users with Narcan, the brand name of a drug called Naloxone. The drug is used widely now by those in the field of EMS and law enforcement — a single dose can rapidly arrest and even reverse the effects of opioid drug overdoses, sometimes the difference between life and death.

The organization also supplies “medical-grade” supplies to those suffering from substance abuse disorder, to help cut down on the potential spread of disease and sickness from the drug use.

“Harm reduction is a hard thing for a lot of people to wrap their heads around,” she said. “It really is an effort to minimize sickness and death in a population who are at risk for both.” She said people sometimes think such efforts are “supporting or enabling drug use, (but) that’s not it at all…we don’t promote drug use. None of us like drug use. I hate it. I hate drugs, but I love people….Our focus has been to prevent death in people who are using substances.”

She said what others in her field have repeated often in recent years as the opioid epidemic has ravaged the county, the region, and across the United States — that solving the nation’s growing drug use problem is about meeting people at different points in their lives. In some cases, drug prevention efforts do the job, keeping individuals from getting started down the path of illegal drug use. In others, it is about treatment and getting them off drugs. At the other end of the spectrum, she said, it is about saving a drug user’s life, keeping them from additional harm, while hopefully getting them into a program that can give long-term treatment to get off of drug dependency, or as she said, “Trying to push people back toward help.”

For those needing harm-reduction services, Odum said change comes slowly. First, she explained that many drug users simply don’t trust her agency, believing that perhaps they are working with or part of law enforcement.

“Some question whether we’re the police.” She said many of those who need her agency’s help already feel stigmatized by society, and they find it difficult to believe someone is reaching out to help them without any moral judgment about their drug use.

But that’s what the Birches Foundation does, she said, in both Surry and Stokes counties. Of the 115 names she read Monday, Odum said probably 90% of them were from those two counties, and about 85% of them had died within the past three years. The actual numbers show the loss is even more dire.

“I’d estimate there have been at least 200 deaths,” in those three years, she said. But, some families of those lost opted not to participate, asking that their loved-ones’ name not be read aloud. Odum said those were personal decisions, made by families often still trying to come to grips with their loss, and she supports however they decide to grieve.

While her agency focuses on harm reduction, she said Birches works closely with other agencies, helping to guide those it serves into contact with people and organizations who can help them ease back toward long-term help and, hopefully, eventually getting off the drug use.

“We are just one spoke in the wheel of outreach and support,” she said. “We serve Surry and Stokes County. There’s a lot of people in our area with needs, and we do the harm reduction piece. We help people with referrals to treatment, we have great relationships with other agencies. We really work to build that. It’s so important for the people that we serve.”

It’s that service, Odum said, that she hopes will make lists like those read Monday much shorter in future gatherings — and hopefully make those lists go away altogether.

For more information on The Birches Foundation visit the group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/birchesfoundation/

For more information about the Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recover, visit https://www.surrycountycares.com/

An updated timetable for a major bridge-replacement project on US 52 near Pilot Mountain shows that it is now set for 2024, rather than just a few months away.

The construction of two new bridges over Toms Creek — one on the northbound portion of the four-lane highway and the other on the southbound side — had been slated to begin this summer under earlier plans by the N.C. Department of Transportation.

However, that has been pushed back, according to an area DOT official.

The bridge-replacement project for Toms Creek is now scheduled to be let for contract in January of next year, Division 11 Engineer Michael Poe advised this week.

“Our project team is currently in the process of finalizing right-of-way plans so that we may begin right-of-way acquisition in the near future,” added Poe, whose Division 11 district is based in North Wilkesboro and includes Surry and seven other area counties.

The delayed timeline mirrors a situation that has affected other major highway work in this area with original construction dates disrupted by COVID-19 and funding issues.

That also has included a “superstreet” project along the U.S. 601 (Rockford Street) business corridor in Mount Airy from U.S. 52 to Forrest Drive being rescheduled from this year until sometime after July 1, 2024.

A $3.6 million price tag earlier was given for the work near Pilot Mountain, including both state and federal funding, which apparently has risen since.

The eventual replacement of the bridges over Toms Creek will be a lengthy and intensive process.

Plans call for a temporary bridge to be built in the center median between the bridges and used as a detour.

Northbound traffic will be routed onto the detour bridge while the new northbound bridge (No. 122) is built. Southbound traffic is to be routed onto the detour bridge while the new southbound one (No. 126) is constructed.

The detour bridge will be removed after both new bridges are complete.​

Construction will take 18 to 24 months.

United Fund of Surry officials have announced the 2024 Funding Process and Framework for Community Wide Investments of the United Fund of Surry

For the 2024 Community-Wide Investment Process, “Keep It Local Surry” United Fund of Surry County is continuing its support of non-profit partners who are looking to work collaboratively with other stakeholders throughout Surry County in order to move from transactional service delivery towards transformational outcomes for their clients.

“United Fund of Surry is evolving from being solely a ‘funding’ organization to a ‘community impact’ organization focused on community-level strategies to achieve lasting change for our residents,” said Executive Director Melissa Hiatt. “We continue to engage with diverse partners (nonprofits, businesses, government, schools, neighborhoods, and faith-based organizations) to identify collaborative solutions that will result in positive change for Surry County.”

For community wide investments there are four focus areas: youth and family, seniors, crisis intervention and medical intervention.

Agencies applying for new membership and first time funding must complete a Letter of Intent by March 31, to Melissa Hiatt, Attention LOI-2024, PO Box 409, Mount Airy, NC 27030 or Email with Subject Line: LOI- 2024 to Office@unitedfundofsurry.org.

All applicants must submit a complete funding application and agency agreement. Both items as well as requested supporting documents shall be submitted before the 5 p.m. deadline on March 31. For more information, visit

http://www.unitedfundofsurry.org/apply-for

• Damages totaling $27,000 have been caused by a felony hit and run driver to multiple utility poles, a vehicle and a building of Globe Tobacco Lofts, according to Mount Airy Police Department reports.

The incident occurred the night of March 3 on South Main Street near Bank Street, where a 2015 Dodge Dart, headed southeast, crossed the centerline due to unknown circumstances and travelled in the wrong lane until leaving the roadway to the left and striking a utility pole.

It continued moving and left the pavement to the right, striking another pole and then a third while going in the same direction before coming to rest after hitting the Globe building at 838 S. Main.

Police records say the driver, Rorlontee Zakell Lewis Leake, 20, of 136 Chestnut Ridge Road, fled on foot from the scene, where the vehicle was left with damages of $12,000; the brick structure; $10,000; and the three Duke Energy poles, $5,000. The owner of the car was identified as Angel Marie Tate, with addresses in both King and Tobaccoville, who is listed as a victim.

Warrants filed for charges stemming from the incident subsequently were served on Leake, including felony hit and run involving injury and driving while licensed revoked. Leake was released from the Surry County Jail last Saturday after a $2,500 secured bond was posted and is scheduled to appear in Surry District Court on both March 27 and June 2.

• The Coin Laundry Inc. business on Merita Street off U.S. 52-North was the scene of a crime discovered Tuesday, which involved an attempt to enter a bill-changing machine by grinding its locking mechanism. This resulted in $200 being stolen, police records state.

• A $5,000 utility trailer owned by local businessman Gene Rees of Marion Street was discovered stolen on Feb. 3 from a location on Marion Street at Park Avenue. The 2014-model unit is described as an open trailer, black in color. A $15 Master padlock securing it was cut to effect the theft.

• A break-in and larceny was discovered on March 2 at Bridals and More, a business in the 700 block of West Pine Street where entry was gained after a hole was cut in a wall.

This enabled the theft of an undisclosed sum of money along with property valued at $4,356, including five plus-size dresses, 167 pieces of assorted fake jewelry and three size 2 and 4 dresses.

• Heather Lynn Scott, 45, listed as homeless, was jailed on charges including interfering with an electronic monitoring device, larceny and possession of drug paraphernalia on Feb. 26 after officers encountered her during a suspicious-person incident at 645 W. Pine St.

She was found to be the subject of outstanding warrants for the monitoring device and larceny charges which had been filed on Dec. 6 through the Community Corrections unit of the N.C. Department of Public Safety. A routine search during her arrest turned up drug paraphernalia, which led to that charge.

Scott was confined in the Surry County Jail under a $3,300 secured bond and slated for a March 20 appearance in District Court.

The city of Mount Airy is accepting requests for proposals from companies or organizations to provide hauling and handling services for recyclable materials collected in town.

That could mean glass once again being welcomed into the municipal recycling program, which began excluding that commodity in January.

Mount Airy’s present contract with a company to collect and process single-stream recyclables such as paper and plastics that are picked up by city sanitation personnel expires on July 1.

That agreement was forged with Foothills Sanitation and Recycling, a Wilkesboro company that was bought in 2022 by GFL (Green For Life) Environmental, which took over Foothills’ accounts.

The city recently began soliciting requests for proposals on the open market from companies interested in accepting recyclables for a new five-year contract.

Whereas Mount Airy once reaped revenues from those materials, changes in market conditions have forced it to now pay for city recyclables to be collected — presently a cost of $60 per ton.

Mount Airy Public Works Director Mitch Williams does not know how many entities might submit proposals before a deadline of March 24 at 5 p.m.

But he said that this could open the door for glass to once again be part of the mix.

“After we get the proposals in, we are going to approach them about recycling glass,” Williams said of the selection process among companies involved.

“We’ll see how that works out,” the public works director said of negotiations.

The city’s request for proposals specifies that items to be picked up include “but are not limited to” newspaper, mixed paper, corrugated containers/cardboard boxes, aluminum containers, steel containers, plastic bottles and other plastics.

Mount Airy’s recyclable materials handler contract calls for the company or organization chosen to pick up the single-stream recyclables (meaning these are lumped together at the source rather than being separated) for transport to a materials recovery facility.

City recyclables are collected bi-weekly in 96-gallon carts by a side-loader truck and taken to a transfer station on Riverside Drive, unloaded from the recycling truck and pushed into 53-foot semi-truck trailers by a Bobcat loader.

Mount Airy’s recycling program averages about 650 tons of materials annually.

Should the city’s present materials hauler and handler, GFL, receive a contract renewal, the return of glass is unlikely due to its position on accepting that material.

“They have deemed it not worth it — there’s no market for it,” Williams related, saying that the municipality’s hands are tied by such policies of the service provider for the collection process.

“It’s their property at that time,” the public works director explained.

“We hope it will change,” he said of the glass restriction.

City officials have advised sanitation customers to put glass items such as bottles and jars into regular trash containers so as to avoid having to pay extra for that material to be hauled by the company contracted for the $60-per-ton sum.

Checks with various sources differ as to the present marketability of recycled glass. A representative of one company with a presence in North Carolina recently told The Mount Airy News that some entities just don’t want to deal with glass, its market value notwithstanding.

Weight is a factor with glass, which is heavier compared to items such as cardboard and plastic and can cause compactor trucks to become burdened along with problems from breakage. Such issues have caused some communities to phase out glass, according to media reports.

Meadowview Magnet Middle School recently announced Lauren Murphy as the 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year. She teaches agricultural science at Meadowview Magnet. She was recognized by Principal Colby Beamer and Assistant Principal Ashley Newman.

“I am so very appreciative for the opportunity to represent Meadowview Magnet Middle School as the Teacher of the Year,” she said of achieving the honor. “The teachers at Meadowview are nothing short of amazing, so having been selected makes me feel both privileged and humbled. At Meadowview I feel inspired by administration and my fellow teachers to be innovative in my teaching, help students make cross-curricular connections and become lifelong learners, and foster the leadership abilities of all students.

“As an Agricultural Science teacher, I value getting to educate the next generation about how agriculture impacts their lives and I am grateful for the support that the staff continue to provide and the enthusiasm they show for the future of agricultural education at Meadowview.”

Mount Airy is gearing up to honor one of the area’s most famous daughters. Donna Fargo is getting the mural treatment in downtown Mount Airy, with work tentatively scheduled to start in May.

To help cover costs, organizers are holding “A Bedazzling Hometown Fan Experience” featuring a fashion show and auction on Sunday, March 26 at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History at 2 p.m. Due to heavy interest in the auction and high demand for tickets, organizers said they decided to add a second show at 4 p.m.

There will be Donna Fargo items in the show that many have never seen before. Ann Vaughn, one of the organizers, said the museum has several items and artifacts that have not been on display. Fargo is also sending items from her own collection to be displayed and some to be auctioned.

The event is a fundraiser to collect money for the mural by Triad artist JEKS which is going to be placed on the wall in the alley outside Walker’s Soda Fountain, at 175 N. Main Street in Mount Airy, facing the painted Coca-Cola ad on the opposite alley wall.

Tickets for the show are $20 per person and may be purchased at the museum, the Mount Airy Visitors Center, and F. Rees Ladies Upstairs. Donations for the mural are being accepted at the First Community Bank on Independence Boulevard, organizers said the tellers are aware of the collection.

Direct donations can also be sent to Donna Fargo Mural Committee, 566 Crossingham Road, Mount Airy, 27030. A QR code link has been included on the group’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/donnafargomural

Both Fargo and JEKS will be on hand during July 4 for the parade where they will serve as co-grand marshals. If the timing and weather work out, the dedication of the Fargo mural would be held then as well, Vaughn said.

For the “fashionista event” at the museum mannequins will display several of Fargo’s clothing items and there will be a fashion show with upwards of 20 Donna Fargo models showing off some of her dresses “and never before seen memorabilia.”

There is to be an online auction from March 20-26 on a variety of donated items from local businesses, autographed memorabilia, and Donna Fargo items that were made famous by Fargo, such as her red sweater from the cover of the album “Because of You.” Fargo offered inside information and said it is called the Marilyn Monroe sweater because her winking image adorns the sweater — it is just not seen on the CD cover; you heard it here first.

She explained some of her older CDs can be hard to find so she tracked down a copy of album “Fargo Country” and included it along with the t-shirt reading “#1 Fargo” from that album cover. A business savvy and multi-talented woman she knew, “adding the CD will make that more valuable.”

This is after all a fundraiser to raise the dollars needed to fund the project from Greensboro muralist JEKS, who has become almost as well known locally as he is in the Piedmont Triad and points beyond. Vaughn said his talent is becoming well-known and that Fargo deserves the best.

His unique skill in taking an array of photos to create a one-of-a-kind art installation already brings folks to Melva’s Alley where local music legend Melva Huston is honored; and, of course, the smiling visages of Andy Griffith greets drives along Renfro Street.

These art installations are essentially one-time costs that will continue to delight tourists while increasing awareness and appreciation for Fargo while she can appreciate the art and the adulation.

For JEKS this is the first collaboration he has done with a living subject and he and Fargo have had discussions on the design. Fargo said, “We submitted some photos and he found some on his own. I trust him totally and he’s come up with a good design with the CD cover picture in the front center. It’s colorful and very nice.”

Fargo said she is sending a variety of items to the auction above just her clothing items, including a full set of books and packages of her greeting cards. Ever a writer, she said she has more than 2,000 greeting cards in print from the same publisher as her books. “I was writing songs and working the road and I said to Stan that I thought I might like to write some greeting cards.”

The rest is history and she said her cards can be found in Cracker Barrel locations, card shops, and high-end truck stops across the county. One of the organizers, Donna Hiatt, provided a sampling of beautifully designed cards on heavy paper stock with the words of Mount Airy’s own troubadour on the inside to be shown here.

For those wondering if it’s too late in life to try something Fargo says go for it. “I didn’t start writing until after I graduated from college and started teaching in Southern California. I majored in English and psychology; I was trying to figure out my own dysfunction.”

“My brother knew I wanted to be a singer, but I was bashful. So, he found a company that was looking for a girl to sing demos for them, so I did. I went and took two demos I made at WPAQ, and he listened to them and said I was country, so I said OK,” she recalled.

That man was Stan Silver who became her longtime manager and producer, and she said “one true love.”

It was he who taught her to play the guitar. “I asked him to teach me how to play if I’m not a pain and it doesn’t take too long. I figured I could write my own songs. He taught me and I wrote, I studied the songs on the radio to figure out what about them I liked and then I started writing.”

“It was 1972 and ‘Happiest Girl in the Whole USA’ was No. 1 and I was still teaching. I was offered a gig in Las Vegas to open for Roy Clark,” she said. She knew this could be her chance to leave teaching and chase her dream, “but we were in the middle of exams. I had to get to Vegas, but I wanted to grade my own exams, so I did before I resigned, and we were on the road until about 2006.”

Fargo has had a variety of health challenges from a MS diagnosis in the late ’70s and two recent strokes, but she said that staying active makes helps her. “It is good to be busy and it’s good to be busy doing what you love.”

Fargo said after her husband died in 2021 that, “I was just devastated and didn’t have any music in me. I was walking through the hall and my hand opened a cabinet door and pulled out a little bag.”

“I had no mind of this, it just happened, and something had me open that door. Stan and I had gone into the studio at different times and recorded songs I had been writing. In that little bag were masters and finished versions of six of my songs. I listened to them, and they were perfect, it was like something took over me and I knew I had to put that CD out for the people who had always followed me and been asking when I was gonna put new music out.”

While the songs were her creations, finding them felt like divine providence to her. “I didn’t know how I was going to get through that grief thing, so I knew that was a supernatural experience of me opening that door and pulling out those songs, it instantly changed my attitude and gave me something to focus on to get out of the pit of depression.”

“It wasn’t a mind thing, this was a God thing and it did so much for me, I thought wow God really does love us. It was like God and Stan got together to save my life,” Fargo said. She released those six songs along with a spoken word track including a “special message” at the end of her latest CD “All Because of You.”

Fargo said, “”I just like to write and as I evolved, I have tried to share things in my books that I have learned. When I find that I am satisfied with the truth I’m about to tell, that’s a good time to share it, I think.”

About her last book “Everything is Possible with God” she said she had mixed feelings. “I thought, hmm, everything is possible with God and here I am in the depths of despair. So, I pulled some things out and put some more serious things I’d written since Stan died… finally I said everything is possible with God, but everything is not guaranteed.”

Fargo said growing up she had a wish. “One of my childhood dreams was to be happy and when I look back now I think ‘That’s interesting, you wanted to be happy and you grew to write the song Happiest Girl in the Whole USA.’”

Her smash number one hit in 1972 caught the eye of one Tanya Tucker, as legend has it. Husband Stan had demoed the album for Tucker and her agent, and they wanted the song, “but not the singer,” Fargo said. “Well, that wasn’t available to them. I was writing for me.”

“Donna Fargo is part of history, our history, and she’s still here,” Hiatt said. “If the younger generation got to know her for what she is and her writing, for her music, for her Christian humanity, the world will be a better place.”

“She has been synonymous with the song ‘Happiest Girl in USA.’ She is positive with everything she does and has written many self-help books that are as current today as when she wrote them,” Ann Vaughn said.

“Everyone needs the chance to make contact with Donna Fargo. It will definitely brighten their look at life and their attitude. I guarantee come July 4 that Mount Airy is going to be the happiest hometown in the USA.”

Monday the Surry County Board of County Commissioners discussed how to continue improving broadband internet access to the remainder of the county. There are still parts of the county including areas in Beulah, Mountain Park, State Road, and Shoals that have been identified as still in need of greater access.

Residents of rural parts of the state have been benefiting from the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Program that funds deployment of broadband within underserved of unserved areas of rural or economically distressed counties.

The 2019 program became a recurring state-funded grant program and the North Carolina General Assembly set aside $350 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for GREAT Grants in 2021 to fund it.

GREAT Grants has already helped take high-speed internet to thousands of North Carolinians, businesses and farms in the most rural and remote areas of the state where companies may find it cost prohibitive to take time to lay broadband to places where few live or are remote and hard to reach.

For these residents, it could be some time before the last miles of cable can be laid to offer broadband internet access. To fight that, last year the county commissioners approved a broadband fund of $309,627 as a potential financial match for any successful GREAT Grant application.

Surry County had four to apply — Brightspeed, Charter Communications, Surry Communications, and Zitel. Surry County Manager Chris Knopf advised the board at their Sept. 6 meeting that Zitel had been awarded a grant for $372,175.50 that would require a county match of $159,503.78 what was paid out from Invest in Surry’s broadband line item.

When GREAT Grants were issued in rural counties for, as Knopf called it last year, a “final miles” broadband expansion project. The commissioners were told that an application that carried with it the promise of a percentage of local match would make the application more appealing to the committee making the decision.

Now the N.C. Department of Information Technology recently announced it has an additional $80 million that will be awarded under this program. They will review again applications that were previously unsuccessful to potentially award one or more of those, including Brightspeed, Charter Communications, and Surry Communications.

Denise Brown of the county finance office wrote that applications are weighted and applicants receive points for county partnerships so the commissioners must decide if they want to provide a financial match to any additional GREAT Grant application that may be approved by the state.

Knopf on Monday night advised, “We are following up to see if the board has any appetite for matches if there are any requests, but I am not recommending one way or the other.”

Getting the last parts of the country set up for fiber internet has been a goal for county leaders as it will help residents in a variety of ways. “As far as getting fiber internet to rural areas and places that don’t have it, or it would be years and years (before they do), it’s one of the best things we’ve done for families, kids, and economic development,” Chairman Eddie Harris said.

There was no action needed by the board at that time, just an understanding that the fund has been depleted and if one of those providers applies for and is approved for a GREAT Grant, the funds would need to be made available for the local match.

“This is some of the best money we can spend, and I would support moving funds to GREAT Grants,” Harris told his colleagues on the board.

Funds from Invest in Surry were also granted to Surry Communications in July to deploy broadband into places it was not reaching, but they could not reach everyone. That is why the state set up the GREAT program in the first place, to find the gaps in broadband and provide financial incentives to internet providers of any size to come in and bridge those gaps thereby removing the lack of access as an impediment to high-speed internet.

Educators, economists, and politicians agree that access to broadband internet is an essential tool for school aged children.“Access to high-speed internet is crucial in today’s economy. Not only does it connect business to each other and customers, it allows our small businesses to compete on a national level. It also opens Surry County as a place to live and work from home if a person so desires,” the Surry Economic Development Partnership said.

Thor is a hammer-wielding god in Norse mythology associated with thunder, strength and the protection of mankind — and while a local K-9 officer with that name lacks a hammer, he’s performed many heroic deeds just the same.

After seven years of service to citizens ranging from detecting dangerous illegal narcotics to tracking people, the Mount Airy Police Department has announced that its version of Thor has retired.

The city police dog, of the Malinois breed, not only spent that time protecting Mount Airy, but aided state and federal investigations in other jurisdictions of North Carolina, according to information from Chief Dale Watson.

During the police K-9 Thor’s career, he assisted in hundreds of drug-related arrests and also tracked and located seven individuals, based on a summary of his activities compiled at the police station.

The animal was trained in the detection of narcotics, tracking, article searches, suspect apprehension and handler protection.

Thor completed his initial law enforcement canine training certification alongside Jerry Hatmaker, a city officer and dog handler with the department, at Tarheel Canine Training Inc. based in Sanford.

Human counterparts must undergo specialized instruction in order to know how to best handle their canine partners, including caring for them away from the job.

“Their partnership in law enforcement began in October 2015 and continued through May 2021 as they were assigned to the Mount Airy Police Department’s Patrol Division,” states the summary of Thor’s career with Hatmaker.

In May 2021, Thor was assigned to Justin McLamb, another city officer and canine handler, and the two attended Southern Police Canine Inc., located in Nashville, North Carolina, to certify their new partnership.

Thor remained with McLamb until the K-9 member’s retirement last month, initially in the department’s Patrol Division and through their later reassignment to the Narcotics Division.

In addition to his other tasks, Thor participated in many police canine demonstrations for the public and multiple school systems, where at the end of each appearance he would enjoy getting his ears scratched by the viewers.

After capping off what the department described as “a very successful career,” Thor has come full circle in being adopted by his original handler, Sgt. Hatmaker.

“The Mount Airy Police Department would like to wish K-9 Thor a happy retirement and a big thank you for his service to our community and the citizens of the city of Mount Airy,” says a statement issued Wednesday.

“He’s a beautiful dog,” Chief Watson said.

The Mount Airy Police Department has no immediate plans to obtain another canine now that Thor has “hung up his hammer.”

“But our goal is to replace him at some point with a multi-purpose dog,” Watson said Friday.

With Thor’s retirement, the department has four other K-9 officers it can press into service.

Cost is an issue with adding such a dog, with Watson putting that expense at $15,000.

A support group, Friends of the Mount Airy Police Department, has assisted in acquiring every K-9 member serving with the force over the years, he said.

Two Mount Airy City School teachers recently earned the title of National Board Certified Teacher, while a third teacher renewed her certified status.

Bryan Hayes and Cody Spicer each earned the certification, while Chelsy Payne renewed her certification

Hayes graduated from Appalachian State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics, secondary education. Hayes began his educational career in 2006 at North Brunswick High School and joined Mount Airy High School in 2014. Hayes was named the school’s 2016-2017 Teacher of the Year. He is teaching AP calculus and is a member of the school improvement team. He has also served as the varsity men’s basketball coach for five years. He is married to Alex Hayes, and they have one child, Ledger.

Spicer also graduated from Appalachian State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics, secondary education. Spicer joined Mount Airy High School in the spring of 2014 and has also served on the improvement team. He teaches math i, math ii, and math III. Spicer is married to Hannah Spicer, and they have one child, Troy.

Both Hayes and Spicer have completed the five-year North Carolina High School Mathematics Master Teacher Fellows Program. This program allowed them to deepen their understanding of mathematics and mathematics teaching while gaining experience leading and mentoring students and educators.

Payne attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where she earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education. Her educational career began in 2009 as a teacher at Ogden Elementary School in Wilmington. In 2012, she completed her Master of Arts in education which focused on reading education through East Carolina University and became a teacher at BH Tharrington Primary School.

In 2017, she received her graduate certificate in school leadership through Appalachian State University and her National Board Certification. Payne served as the curriculum facilitator at Tharrington Primary from 2016 to 2019 when she accepted the role of principal at Jones Intermediate School. Payne was named the 2021-2022 city schools Principal of the Year and is pursuing a doctorate in education. She is married to Tyler Payne and they have two children, TJ and Tennyson.

With an additional 486 teachers in the state earning this endorsement, North Carolina continues to lead the nation in numbers of teachers who have earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. North Carolina also ranks first nationally in the percentage of all teachers who have earned board certification, with nearly one quarter (23%) of all teachers in the state holding the certification.

“I am thankful for Mount Airy City Schools and their support of teacher growth,” Haynes said. “I appreciate the love and support from my wife, Alex, my parents, and my colleagues at Mount Airy High School.”

Spicer acknowledged the requirements of such a long-term commitment. “I want to thank Mount Airy City Schools, my coworkers, and my NCSU cohort for their support in helping me achieve this certification. I also want to thank my wife and family for their continued support throughout the process and for allowing me to dedicate so much time and energy elsewhere.”

While her roles have changed over the years, her dedication has not. Payne stated “Even though I am no longer serving as a classroom teacher, I am proud to have been able to renew my National Board Teaching Credentials. As an educational leader, it is a priority for me to also be a lifelong learner.”

“We are extremely proud of Mr. Hayes, Mrs. Payne, and Mr. Spicer and their dedication to the education profession,” said Penny Willard, director of innovative programming and NBCT support for the district. “The opportunity to become a National Board Certified Teacher requires individuals to become highly reflective practitioners who are willing to challenge themselves for the betterment of our amazing students. Our district looks forward to supporting additional educators as they navigate the National Board Certified journey.”

Surry County Board of Elections Director Michella Huff said the county has completed the audit of the Special Election for Town of Dobson Commissioner. The audit of the ballots took place Friday morning in Dobson and was conducted by a team of bi-partisan election officials.

The audit team tallied the voted for all early voting ballots and election day ballots. The totals for each candidate tallied matched the results tapes from the DS200 tabulators, Huff said by email Friday.

The most commonly observed issue with ballots from Dobson’s Special Election were “under votes.” In this re-run of the November race there were three candidates, J. Wayne Atkins, Walter White, and John Jonczak, vying for two open seats on the board.

Voters were instructed to make two selections. An under vote signifies that the voter only made one choice for commissioner. Huff indicated there were 58 total instances of under voting, 28 in early voting and 30 on election day.

Interested parties can watch the whole process and hear the ballots and the candidates chosen called out one by one, the voter’s name is private. As the ballots were read one by one, the candidate who received the vote was named and the audit team made a notation on a notepad. They would then intermittently compare the running tally of the audit team to one another to look for errors in real time.

Huff included a link to the video of the audit, which is available at: https://bit.ly/2023handtoeyeaudit

Dobson Town Clerk Erica Parker said earlier this week that commissioners Atkins and White, both incumbents who ultimately defended their seats, will be sworn in at the next Town of Dobson Board of Commissioners meeting on March 23 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall in Dobson.

The Corn Growers Association of North Carolina will be conducting a referendum for the assessment of corn sold to first purchasers in North Carolina on March 14.

Voting will take place at county extension offices during regular business hours.

The current assessment is 1.25 cents per bushel, and the association is proposing to change the assessment to 0.30% of settlement. This will bring the association’s assessment in line with other row crop assessments across North Carolina.

If the association realizes an increase in funds they will be applied to an endowed chair position at NC State University for the Extension Cropping Specialist-Corn position.

”This endowment will ensure the position will be filled with the highest qualified candidates in perpetuity,” officials with the growers association said. “Additionally, any increase in revenue will cover the increased cost of conducting research which benefits all North Carolina corn producers.”

The votes will collected and tabulated by NC State University and results published by North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

The Corn Growers Association of North Carolina is governed by an all-volunteer board of farmers and industry representatives. The association is committed to promoting production agriculture, funding research that benefits corn growers across the state, and representing all the state’s farmers nationally and internationally.

The former Westfield Elementary School had been sitting on the county surplus property list while the county was waiting for the right offer from a suitable new owner.

On Monday evening, the Surry County Board of County Commissioners agreed unanimously to sell the former school site for $150,000 to Fresh Start Ministry, which is leasing a space for worship in Pilot Mountain.

At the end of January, the county received the offer for the buildings and land at 6631 Westfield Rd. The board gave its approval then to begin the upset bidding process. Fresh Start Ministry’s bid for the school and its land, not including the recycling center nor the remaining personal effects on the school grounds, was held for ten days to allow any other party to offer a higher bid.

There were no additional bids and the board agreed to accept the offer to sell the school to the church. County Manager Chris Knopf told the board in presenting this bid that the tax value for the site is $229,320 which includes the recycling center.

Danny Golding attends Fresh Start Ministry and is a former student of Westfield Elementary School. He said Wednesday that the purchase of the site was something of a homecoming for him, “We’d been looking for something like this.”

He said he saw the for-sale sign at the school and mentioned it to Pastor Ricky Sisk who told him to investigate it. When the paperwork goes through, Golding said the idea is to move the whole church to its permanent home. “Hopefully it’s our last move.”

The buildings are in decent shape, he said, but of course some remodeling will be needed. Post renovation he thinks the gym will be the worship hall, but they may need to use the cafeteria space in the interim. Getting the sports fields operational again is another goal for the church.

Golding said those in the congregation who know of the purchase are excited and the rest are in for a nice surprise on Sunday. There is no timetable on when the sale will be complete, or renovations will commence.

County Attorney Ed Woltz presented an unusual wrinkle in the proceedings when he told the board that during a title exam of the Westfield School property, they found other deeds attached to the land.

“We learned that a 3.8 acre portion was deeded in 1929, one-third to the Stokes Board of Education and the rest to the Surry Board of Education for what appears to be a ball field,” he said.

“We spoke to the Stokes school board attorney Fred Johnson, and he couldn’t figure out why that happened,” Woltz added.

The solution has already been identified and executed he said. “Stokes Board of Education agreed to quick claim their interest in the property. If the sale (of Westfield to the church) is approved, we would need to engage a surveyor to see what is going to the church, divide off the county recycling center…. And I understand (Planning Director) Marty Needham has a surveyor who can do this efficiently.”

There were only a handful of offers on the school site including a bid in early 2022 that was also for $150,000 that the board accepted and moved into the upset bidding period. One meeting after accepting the bid, the board was told that offer had been pulled by the bidding party due to anticipated costs of dealing with remediation at the school. That bidding party was not identified to the public.

In June the board turned down an offer from John and Beverly Shelton of $102,000 for the property. The board thanked them for the offer but Commissioner Larry Johnson and then Vice Chair Harris expressed they felt the site could fetch a greater offer. In July, Woltz brought the same offer to the board with an explanation from the bidder that the buildings on the land had depreciated in value and theirs’ was a fair offer. The board took no action on that request at that time.

Commissioner Van Tucker has the Westfield site in his district hence Chairman Harris asked for his input. “It’s my opinion after putting the property up for surplus and after going through the upset bidding process… I think we should accept this offer.”

The board was never under an obligation to accept that bid after the upset period was over as Woltz has educated during past discussions on the sale of county owned land. It was their prerogative to walk away at any point even after the upset period if the board felt they could get a better return from the sale.

Tucker said he wishes the group all the best in the endeavors and the board expressed satisfaction that the property would still be of use. Harris said he hopes the church is successful in their mission, “I hope they bring a lot of people to the Lord.”

United Fund of Surry will be holding a day of fun on Saturday, April 1 at the Barn at Heritage Farm, including an adult Easter Egg hunt along with field day activities where teams of four can compete to win prizes.

“You and your team are encouraged to dress alike so that folks will know who’s who and who to root for, so get your team of four together, the entrance fee $200 per team,” said Melissa Hiatt, executive director of United Fund of Surry. “Best of all, you’ll be helping to support the vital work of 25 agencies who serve the people of Surry County.”

Tickets for spectators are $25. Each ticket will include a hot dog lunch with all the fixings, chips along with beer, wine, or water.

All tickets must be purchased in advance. Those attending must be age 21 or older, and no pets are allowed. The event gets underway at 11 a.m. at the Barn at Heritage Farm, 152 Heritage Farm Ln, in Dobson, and lasts until 3 p.m.

United Fund of Surry is also seeking sponsors for the event from area businesses and individuals. Sponsorships range from $100 to $2,000, with different levels offering different levels of exposure for the sponsors. For more information, visit www.unitedfundofsurry.org

Members of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at Surry Community College recently led an initiative to create Valentine’s Day cards for senior residents at Cypress Valley Skilled Nursing Facility in Reidsville.

In total, PTK members created 100 Valentine’s Day cards to be distributed to the residents. The project was proposed by incoming chapter treasurer, Jennah Weaver, whose father is the administrator at Cypress Valley Skilled Nursing Facility.

The cards were designed by incoming chapter president Sydney Presa. The cards include a black and white design for coloring and a sweet surprise added by chapter members.

“Too often these precious members of our community feel lonely and forgotten,” said Surry Community College’s PTK Chapter Co-advisor Dr. Kathleen D. Fowler. “We just wanted to help brighten the holiday for them.”

Mike Weaver, administrator of the Cypress Valley Skilled Nursing Facility, responded: “Thank you very much for the Valentines’ Day cards. I have had many residents and families of residents tell me how much they loved them and how thoughtful they were. Thank you all for remembering the residents during this holiday and showing that they are loved and still thought about. I am still receiving ‘Thank You’s’ from residents nearly two weeks after Valentine’s Day.”

Area residents desiring to know more about their family trees have a golden opportunity to do so during an upcoming event at Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, which is free and open to the public.

That information and more will be on tap during the eighth-annual Ancestor Fair, Family History and Genealogy Swap Meet scheduled for March 18 at the facility on North Main Street downtown.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, a variety of resources will be available on the museum’s third floor during what is usually a well-attended gathering.

Once again this will include free access to various online databases of family tree information via volunteers manning laptop computers, according to Esther Johnson, president of the Surry Genealogical Association. It is sponsoring the event along with the museum, which organizers say is geared toward anyone interested in genealogy.

“We will have people there to look up people’s families on Ancestry (.com), on FamilySearch (.org), on Findagrave (.com) — all different kinds of Web pages that they can look for them,” Johnson said Wednesday of a regular feature of the event.

“And it’s all free,” she reminded.

Genealogy has been declared the second-most-popular hobby in America, behind gardening, which in addition to Internet resources often is pursued by folks trading information back and forth.

“People can bring whatever genealogy (materials) they have to share with others,” museum Curator of Collections Amy Snyder said Wednesday, which typically includes written histories of various family lines.

This can allow participants to make connections and find new family information they might have been unaware of previously.

The Ancestor Fair, Family History and Genealogy Swap Meet also will include other informational resources and opportunities for related groups to spread their messages.

Folks connected with a history or genealogy organization are invited to attend and set up for the swap meet to advertise a group and sell any of its books, maps or other items.

All authors also may attend and sell their books.

Snyder said a woman who has tackled the subject of the Rev. Bob Childress is expected to be there. Childress was a mountain minister from Ararat, Virginia, known for building stone churches along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the first half of the 20th century.

Both laptops and browsers are welcome at the event, which Snyder said is part of the overall mission of Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.

“We are encouraging people to look into their family histories and trace their roots and share it with other people,” she said.

• A Mount Airy woman has become the victim of a scam in which she paid someone to do work who then stole the money, according to city police reports.

Jodi Lynne Holloway reported the crime Monday, which had occurred at her residence on Myers Drive off Wards Gap Road.

An unknown suspect is said to have deceived Holloway into paying for the work that never occurred. An undisclosed sum of money was taken in the incident that was undergoing further investigation at last report.

• A break-in occurred Monday at Chile Rojo Mexican Cuisine on Newsome Street, where police records indicate entry was gained via a drive-through window that received $100 in damage along with a cash register damaged to the tune of the same figure.

An unspecified sum of cash was stolen from the restaurant along with a $30 lockbox, black in color.

• Britney Michelle Hazelwood, 23, of 568 Pell Lane in Claudville, Virginia, was charged with driving while impaired on the night of Feb. 22 after officers investigated a traffic crash that records indicate occurred on Springs Road near Jackson Road involving a 2005 Dodge Caravan she was operating.

Testing revealed the Virginia woman to have a blood alcohol content of 0.22%, nearly three times the legal limit for getting behind the wheel.

Hazelwood was confined in the Surry County Jail under a $500 secured bond, with arrest records also stating that she was to be held at that facility “until picked up by her ride.” Hazelwood is scheduled to be in Surry District Court on April 17.

• Police were told on Feb. 14 that a utility trailer valued at $1,500 had been stolen from a parking lot at Simmons Nissan on Rockford Street.

The victim of the crime is listed as Wesley Galasetti Simmons of Asheville. The Currahee trailer is described as green in color.

While being excited about an upcoming community cleanup campaign offering non-profits $7 per bag of trash collected, city officials want to find some way to keep motorists from littering in the first place.

“This is an issue in Mount Airy that we need to solve — and it is one of the easiest issues for us to solve,” Mayor Jon Cawley said during the last meeting of the city council in regard to public awareness and other measures that might make a difference.

For now, though, there’s the annual roadside cleanup campaign held locally, which Assistant City Manager Darren Lewis says was launched a few years ago as an appearance initiative.

It is a municipal government effort whereby the office of the mayor, Parks and Recreation Department and Mount Airy Appearance Commission are attempting to tackle the problem of litter in partnership with the county government and N.C. Department of Transportation.

Any individual, group or business can help by volunteering to clean a street during the week of March 19-26, according to information presented by Lewis. There is a fun aspect involved in which citizens are urged to challenge a friend or co-worker to sign up for a street to be cleaned.

Lewis added that this once-a-year campaign is in addition to regular street cleanups by the two Rotary clubs in town “which do a great job.”

The Appearance Commission is identifying roadways needing the most attention, with the assistant city manager compiling a list and making assignments to the different participants for the community cleanup to begin on March 19.

Lewis can be reached at 336-648-8361 or emailed at dlewis@mountairy.org to get names put on the list and identify the friend or group being challenged.

Lewis mentioned that as part of the effort, trash bags will be provided by the DOT and Surry County will pay $7 for each one filled with litter collected by any non-profit groups seeking to be involved as a fundraiser.

“They need to technically reach out to the county,” he said of the advance notification required for groups to reap that reward.

Among those eligible are civic clubs, athletic teams and church groups, according to discussion at the city commissioners’ meeting last Thursday night.

Would-be participants in the $7-per-bag campaign are advised to contact the Surry County Planning Department to identify themselves and initiate operations.

Requests can be submitted to Local Ordinance Officer Doug Hall at 336-401-8359 or 336-401-8300; (fax) 336-401-8354; or (email) halld@co.surry.nc.us based on information provided by Lewis.

Organizations with non-profit (501c3) status are asked to provide documentation of this, along with identifying the road, location, date and time when the litter pickup will be conducted and an estimate on how many people will be involved.

An address for county payment to the non-profit organization also is to be provided up-front.

Litter bags, signs and safety vests to aid participants can be obtained at the DOT Division of Highway Maintenance facility at 703 Prison Camp Road, Dobson. Representatives of participating organizations can call ahead at 336-386-8273 to the facility, where state personnel can assist in determining the quantities of supplies needed for an operation.

The local ordinance officer additionally can assist in estimating equipment needs and supplying directions to the DOT facility.

DOT personnel also will provide instructions on how best to deploy the signs and locate the most-appropriate collection points to leave the filled bags.

Once a cleanup is conducted, participants can contact the Surry Planning Department to supply collection locations, which the ordinance officer then will visit to count the bags and later contact the DOT for pickups of the litter.

“Treating the symptoms”

“If we can tackle this effort as a whole, I think we can make a big dent,” Lewis said during the council meeting concerning the community coming together for that.

He said this is important to aid both tourism and upcoming local events.

However, council members say a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to litter is needed.

“Right now we’re doing pharmaceutical things,” Mayor Cawley commented regarding roadside cleanup efforts. “We’re treating the symptoms.”

Although being quick to say he doesn’t want to point the finger at young people for the problem, the mayor suggested that teens be required to pick up litter as a community service before obtaining their learner’s permits.

He believes the lessons they were taught would spill over to society as a whole and greatly reduce future litter.

“We do have to tackle our litter problem,” Commissioner Chad Hutchens agreed.

Hutchens, a member of the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, says he has witnessed bad conditions firsthand from spending much time on local roadways.

“We do have to figure this out,” the North Ward commissioner said, encouraging citizens in the meantime “to be part of the solution” by getting involved in the litter campaign.

The protracted race for the two open seats on the Town of Dobson Board of Commissioners concluded when polls closed at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, and while the numbers were a little different, the result was the same as when the election took place the first time, with two incumbents holding their seats.

In a three-way race for two open seats incumbents Walter White (143 votes) and J. Wayne Atkins (120 votes) will keep their seats. Local business owner John Jonczak came in third place (73 votes) and there were four write-in votes for a grand total of 340 votes in the Special Election.

Last year the contest ended with a similar result with Atkins and White flip-flopping their general election finish this time though. In a four-way race last November, it was Atkins 184, White 167, Jonczak 159, Sharon Gates-Hodges 106, and three write-in votes tallying 619 total votes.

Surry County Board of Elections Director Michella Huff said things went smoothly. “In-person voting went well. It was a steady Election Day and we were pleased with the turnout for a special election with one contest in the ballot.”

Next the county will conduct a post-election hand-to-eye sample audit on Friday at 11 a.m. in rooms B and C of the Surry County Service Center.

“The sample audit count is a test to ensure voting equipment read the voter’s choices accurately. It compares the machine counts with hand-to-eye counts conducted by elections officials in randomly selected voting sites,” she said. As per procedure the state board of elections randomly selected what sites would be subject to audit.

“NCSBE randomly selected Election Day and Onestop voting precincts for the hand-to-eye sample audit that will occur March 10,” Huff wrote Wednesday.

The process is meant to be thorough and transparent. “This will essentially be a full election hand count to compare to machine count. This is open to the public and will be held in the training room of the Surry County Service Center, next to the Board of Elections Office.”

The hand-to-eye counts required for this process are not recounts, although they are similar processes, Huff said. “Selected ballots are hand-counted by a bipartisan team of trained volunteers. The hand-counted results are compared to the tabulated results and any variances are noted.”

Such variances may include instances when the write-in oval was not filled in, but a candidate’s name was written in, or the machine did not count a choice that was represented by check marks that was poorly shaded. The county sends the machine counts and hand counts to the state along with an explanation of any discrepancies.

Then the county will hold its canvass on Friday, March 17, at 11 a.m. in a public meeting. Huff explained, “Canvass is the official process of determining the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, resulting in the authentication of the official election results. In every county, the canvass meeting when the results are certified is 10 days after Election Day and the canvass meeting is open to the public. “

“We did not have any provisional ballots to consider for our supplemental absentee meeting that was scheduled for March 16; that meeting is cancelled,” she said.

The special election was a first for Huff who said, “This election was very different for our office, we are used to 23 Election Day precincts so having only one physical election day precinct and it being located in the room attached to our office was unusually serene.”

Town of Dobson Town Clerk Erica Parker said that Atkins and White will be sworn in at the next regular meeting of the board.

Gentry Middle School eighth grade students recently finished a major unit that incorporated a research project on a famous historical figure, creating a speech and presenting their projects for the school’s wax museum.

“This year we had support from a grant from the Surry County Schools Educational Foundation to purchase biographies for the research part of the project,” school officials said of the program. “The entire project takes a little over a month to complete but students learn many valuable skills through the unit.

“The night of the wax museum, donation cups were set up at each exhibit to collect money which is going to helping students in need go on the Washington, D.C., trip. The English language arts classes competed to see who could raise the most money with Cole Casstevens’ Core 3 bringing in the most with over $400. The entire night was a huge success bringing in over $2,100.”

Copeland Elementary School recently named its Teacher and Teaching Assistant of the year.

Jessica Simmons, who teachers second grade, was selected as the teacher of the year. Rita Johnson was recognized as the Teaching Assistant of the year.

“Both of these ladies go above and beyond daily to ensure students are learning and cared for,” school officials said in making the announcement.

Some Sheltontown residents are dusting off their yellow protest signs and getting ready for another fight against development along the Sauratown Scenic Byway.

After last year’s bout against a rezoning application from Teramore Development LLC to construct a new Dollar General location brought out robust opposition, some residents thought the matter settled.

Now Gammons Auto at 3250 Westfield Road is reportedly under contract, and it has set off alarms anew.

Heather Moore of Moore’s General Store was one advocate for controlled growth along the byway and is a major supporter of a plan to place an “overlay” district along the byway that would help guide decisions on non-residential uses to protect “the rural character and natural environment of the area…and ensure compatibility with neighboring properties.”

The county’s development code is under review and until the county holds public hearings for input, the overlay is still just an idea. The process will be completed within the next six weeks officials said, but in the interim residents of the area have become alarmed by what they consider a late hour land grab before a potential regulation change.

“They are trying to slip it in and keep it in administrative mode at this point so there can be no hearing or public input,” Moore explained of the potential sale. Once the overlay district is in place approval for zoning changes may be harder to obtain, so Moore wondered if the sale of Gammons Auto is trying to beat the regulation change under the wire.

Last summer after the dust settled from the battle between Sheltontown residents against a rezoning request from Teramore Development LLC. to rezone a residential tract to make way for new Dollar General at the corner of Quaker Road and Westfield Road, Moore made a request.

She asked the county to keep her in the loop when any permits or zoning requests were made for a certain group of sites that residents had noted may be potential targets of Teramore Development LLC. Late last week she said she got a call from a county official alerting her that Gammons Auto was under contract and a site development meeting had been requested.

“The planning department informed me that Joe Strickland requested a site plan meeting,” she said Monday. Strickland is part of the group that has been building Dollar Generals in the area over the past several years including on Beulah Church Road, Cook School Road, Zephyr Road, and Mount View Drive.

In September Angela Leonard was one of the few Surry County residents who spoke to the county commissioners raising questions about the fairness of changing zoning rules along the byway seemingly at the request of a handful of businesses who were opposed to Dollar General.

Some may have painted her point of view as being pro-business, but to her it was more an issue of free will and liberty, “My family owns land in that area, and it is zoned commercial. My parents started a business there in 1985 and retired in 2015. They bought this land and worked two jobs and did anything and everything they had to do. They poured their soul, heart, sweat, everything into this land and business.”

She said her parents want to pass the land onto the next generation, but “My question is if we decide to do another business there, are we going to have to get permission of the citizens of the community? Is this not America, the land of the free where you’re supposed to be able to do what you want on your land?”

“I understand the rezoning and stuff like that,” she explained noting the Sheltontown example but wondered if it would stop there. “Now they’re wanting to hold up even permits.”

“If you’re already zoned, I don’t understand that. I don’t understand why a person who has worked, or as a family, and I have worked there ever since I could, I don’t understand why we would have to get permission to do so,” Leonard said.

Part of her argument is that the land belongs to her family so should not she and her family have the ultimate say in what become of Gammons Auto Sales? “My parents can no longer be in there, but in the future if we decided to do anything, is that not our right? Is it not our right to build or produce a company or business on our land?”

There has been no rezoning application from Gammons Auto, the family, or the potential buyer of the land but the overall debate comes down to personal liberty as it applies to land rights versus the subjectivity of what is in the greater good for the community.

For Moore and the proponents of the Scenic Byway Overlay, protecting the character of the land as close to what it is now is what they feel is best for residents, tourists, and the future of the county. Keeping discount retailers off the scenic byway was the main goal and it will enhance the experience for those travelling the byway who are not coming here for the box stores, she said.

Capitalism though thrives on a need for competition, and Leonard said that more competition is good for business as it was for her parents. She said during the Dollar General fight last year that she didn’t know if folks feared competition but that, “business is a gamble, you don’t know. We could have gone belly up, every business is like that. That’s just part of it, you know.”

It was said during that debate that Dollar General and Teramore Development LLC were waging an assault on the rural way of life to which Leonard countered, “I feel there is a not-so-silent assault on me and my family because we have land over there. We cannot put two tires on that pavement before a neighbor is over there wanting to know what we’re doing, why we’re here on our own land, and why we’re doing this or that.”

She went on to say that if the residents of the area could hold that much sway over development choices for businesses that it may be only a matter of time before adding a garage or deck onto one’s home may need permission as well.

Moore said Monday that she has been in contact with members of the county commissioners and that those in opposition to potential development will attend the next board meeting in force.

She said members of her group were given assurances Teramore Development LLC was taking their sites off Sheltontown. Strickland’s involvement in the land purchase has led her to believe that is no longer the case. “We had been told over and over that Teramore was going to leave Sheltontown alone. So, who was lying?”

City residents have been appointed to advisory boards in Mount Airy which are involved with two key facets of local life: history and death.

This included three new members for the Mount Airy Historic Preservation Commission and one for the city Cemetery Trustees Board. The appointments occurred during a meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners last Thursday night.

Those approved for the preservation group are Martha Truskolaski, Norman Schultz and Pamela Hairston.

Their appointments were necessitated by three other individuals no longer being eligible to serve with it or resigning.

Truskolaski was named to fill the unexpired term of Chris Bastin, to run until June 30 of this year.

Schultz was appointed to serve out the remaining term of Carroll Hooker which ends on June 30, 2024.

Hairston was approved for a three-year term to expire on Feb. 28, 2026.

The Mount Airy Historic Preservation Commission is a nine-member citizen board appointed by the commissioners, whose members must be qualified based on interest or experience in history, architecture, archaeology or related fields

It advises the commissioners on historic landmark and property designations and functions as a design review board for proposed changes to the exterior of such properties and structures.

Once a building receives a local designation, for example, any change to its exterior must be approved by the Historic Preservation Commission with the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness before work may begin.

Design guidelines adopted by the commission for use in regulating such alterations ensure the integrity of local landmarks is preserved for future generations, under the stated goal of that group.

Emily Loftis was tapped as a new member for the cemetery board.

She will be filling the unexpired term of Ivy Sheppard, which ends on March 1, 2024.

Sheppard is no longer able to serve on the Cemetery Trustees Board due to her work schedule, city documents state.

It is a five-member group that oversees the municipal-owned Oakdale Cemetery, a 22-acre facility situated along North Main Street which contains more than 6,000 burial sites.

For more than eight months, the traffic flow through downtown Mount Airy has been greatly hampered by the closing of a lane along North Main Street due to a building collapse — a situation that is about to change.

City Manager Stan Farmer says a barricade blocking one of North Main’s two lanes in front of the Main-Oak Emporium structure since the incident must be removed by April 1.

“We need our street back,” Farmer said.

The roof and parts of the walls in the upper floors of the historic building on the corner of West Oak and North Main streets partially collapsed on July 5, sending a cascade of bricks and other debris onto the pavement below.

That incident not only prompted the barrier being placed in front of the Main-Oak site to block off the lane of North Main — which is a one-way street — but the closing of East Oak Street at the corner to allow crews to raze part of the building.

Both closings have remained in place for months with no end in sight until Farmer’s announcement about the requirement for North Main Street to be fully operational after April 1.

That has proven to be a hardship for both motorists and stores in the vicinity of the barricade, which in addition to blocking the lane of travel includes sight-distance issues.

“It’s just hard for people to reach us,” said Jennie Lowry, owner of the Olde Mill Music store near the Main-Oak corner. “I just think people bypass us sometimes.”

Martha Truskolaski, owner of the Spotted Moon gift shop nearby, echoed those sentiments Monday.

“It certainly has had a major impact on those businesses that are directly in front of or close to (the collapse),” Truskolaski said. “It’s caused a lot of confusion.”

Along with the problems posed to commerce in Mount Airy’s central business district, the Spotted Moon owner is glad that the April 1 directive has been issued to the Main-Oak Building developers for another reason.

“It did affect our festivals,” Truskolaski said of downtown events such as the annual Autumn Leaves gathering held downtown in October.

Farmer, the city manager, also mentioned upcoming activities as one reason for issuing the April 1 deadline. Although he chuckled when reminded that this date is April Fools’ Day, no special significance has been attached to it in reference to the barricade-removal deadline.

In February, Farmer had disclosed that the rebuilding project for the Main-Oak structure had reached a key point with repair plans being delivered to the county building inspector.

The approval of those engineering and other documents was required before a building permit could be issued to launch work that the city manager hoped could begin this month.

Farmer, who has monitored the situation closely since the July 5 collapse, said near the end of last week that the building permit had yet to be obtained.

But he said work can still be done on the structure despite the barricade no longer being in place after April 1.

There has been no announcement about when East Oak Street will reopen.

Short-term rental housing has been proposed for the portion of the Main-Oak Building in question.

A state of emergency for the COVID pandemic has formally — and finally — been lifted for Mount Airy which was imposed in 2020.

“It just seems like we need to come out from under it some time,” Mayor Jon Cawley said when announcing the dropping of that status last Thursday night during a city council meeting.

“And it has been three years,” Cawley added. The emergency status officially ended Thursday at 6 p.m.

Former Mayor David Rowe had declared the state of emergency within the municipal limits on March 17, 2020, as the coronavirus raged throughout the country.

It included measures such as restricting access to city facilities and the closing of public restrooms, among others. For example, all business contacts with municipal departments were to be managed by telephone, email or by appointment to reduce exposure to sickness, and minimize necessary cleaning and sanitizing.

Water bills also could be paid only through a drive-through window at the Municipal Building, and access to the Mount Airy Police Department was limited to the front lobby area, except in emergency situations.

Restrictions gradually eased and some of those originally imposed might seem laughable judging by the situation today when few local residents now even wear facemasks in public. This once was a given at a time when some restaurants or stores were closed.

Mayor Cawley acknowledged that in view of such progress, the city government is a bit late in lifting the official state of emergency. He pointed out that the Biden administration previously had done so, announcing on Jan. 30 that public health emergency and national emergency declarations will end on May 11.

California did so at the end of February, while North Carolina’s state of emergency was lifted in August by Gov. Roy Cooper.

Both Cawley and Commissioner Tom Koch agreed that citizens now know what they need to do to protect themselves from the disease.

“State of caution” remains

Despite terminating the state of emergency in the city, Mayor Cawley mentioned that residents should still take precautions against COVID, which continues to be an issue in some workplaces and elsewhere.

Surry County as a whole is presently listed with a COVID community threat level of “medium” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, along with a cluster of five other Northwest North Carolina counties. These include Alleghany, Stokes, Yadkin, Forsyth and Davie.

With the exception of four counties in the central part of the state with the same status, the remaining 90 counties in North Carolina are listed at the “low” threat level.

Under the medium level, persons who are at great risk of getting “very sick” should wear a high-quality mask or respirator when indoors in public, according to the CDC.

In addition, those who have household or social contact with someone at high risk for getting very sick should consider self-testing to detect infection before contact, and consider wearing high-quality masks when indoors with them, the federal agency recommends.

The winner of the 2022-2023 District Spelling Bee was Benjamin Albiston, an eighth grade student at Mount Airy Middle School.

The runner-up of the 2022-2023 MACS District Spelling Bee was Nathan Haynes, a seventh grade student at Mount Airy Middle School.

Benjamin moved on to represent the district in the Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee.

They were among students from JJ Jones Intermediate and Mount Airy Middle School who took part in the Mount Airy City Schools District Spelling Bee recently.

Students competed in more than 10 rounds of spelling to see who the winner and runner-up would be for the 2022-2023 Mount Airy City Schools District Spelling Bee. Twelve students earned a spot at the district bee after competing at their school’s grade-level bees earlier this year.

Eighth-grade English/language arts teacher Tobey Mitchell was recently named Teacher of the Year at Central Middle School.

“He brings literature to life and students love to be part of his classes,” school officials said in making the selection. “He is instrumental in helping students achieve success every day.”

The Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery announced Monday that its All-Stars Prevention Group has applied for non-profit status. Charlotte Reeves, outreach coordinator for the Office of Substance Abuse Recovery, said the group would make the transition from a wholly county funded operation to a non-profit this year.

The All-Stars Prevention Group is a group developed by the Office of Substance Abuse Recovery to engage community members to join in on collective efforts to combat substance abuse. Its members seek to promote emotional health and wellness, prevent or delay the onset of and complications from substance abuse and mental illness, and identify and respond to emerging behavioral health issues.

Furthermore, the group will be applying for a federal grant called “Drug Free Communities” (DFC) to aid in its outreach and education efforts. “The purpose of this grant is to focus on reducing the youth vaping, marijuana, and alcohol use,” Reeves said Monday.

“Recognizing that local problems need local solutions, DFC-funded coalitions engage multiple sectors of the community and employ a variety of environmental strategies to address local substance use problems,” the CDC said.

These coalitions aid local communities in finding solutions that help youth at risk for substance use by recognizing that “the majority of our nation’s youth choose not to use substances,” according to the program information.

As demonstrated by independent evaluations the CDC said the DFC Support Program significantly reduces substance use amongst youth, which is the target population nationally and locally. The Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery and the All-Stars are often found in schools or at community events spreading information on prevention techniques to stop substance use disorder before it can start.

The DFC program is aimed at mobilizing community leaders to identify and respond to the drug problems unique to their community and change local community environmental conditions tied to substance use.

It is required that the DFC bring together stakeholders from across 12 sectors of the community from healthcare, law enforcement, education, faith based groups, civic organizations, local/state agencies, and everyday citizens to address local youth substance use.

More than 700 community coalitions across the country receive funding up to $125,000 per year to strengthen collaboration among local partners and create an infrastructure that reduces youth substance use.

Last year the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control granted more than $12.4 million to 99 new Drug-Free Community Coalitions to prevent and reduce substance use in youth.

A total of 745 community coalitions across all 50 states received more than $93 million in grant funding through the Drug-Free Communities Support Program in the last fiscal year according to federal data.

The Drug-Free Communities Support Program is the nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent and reduce substance use among youth. It was founded in 1997 to provide grants to community coalitions, “To strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use.”

One of the conditions for the grant is that the organization receiving it be a 501c3 nonprofit, which the Surry County office is not as it is a county agency. The All-Starts Prevention group seeking nonprofit status will open them up to new avenues of funding that would not have otherwise been available like the DFC grant.

According to the Drug Free Communities Support Program 2021 Evaluation, “Since the program’s inception, the past 30-day prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and prescription drug misuse has declined significantly among middle school and high school aged youth. That report said an estimated 60 million, or 1 in 5 Americans, lived in a community with a DFC coalition.

The Dobson Church of Christ recently marked its 10th anniversary, with special music, prayer, and both the former and present ministers of the church speaking.

The church’s former minister, Ralph Sproles, and current minister, Scott Meadows, both spoke about the past and future for the church. The worship service included special music and singing as well, and ended with a large prayer circle thanking God for His faithfulness along with blessings for the future ahead.

The church enjoyed a potluck dinner after the service.

The Board of Directors of Surrey Bancorp (Pink Sheets: SRYB) has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 12 cents (per share on the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on April 10 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 17.

Ted Ashby, CEO of Surrey Bancorp, said the dividend was based on the company’s current operating results, “its strong financial condition and a commitment to delivering shareholder value.”

Surrey Bancorp is the bank holding company for Surrey Bank & Trust and is located at 145 North Renfro Street, Mount Airy. The bank operates full service branch offices at 145 North Renfro Street, and 2050 Rockford Street and a limited service branch at 1280 West Pine Street, all in Mount Airy. Full-service branch offices are also located at 653 South Key Street in Pilot Mountain, 393 CC Camp Road in Elkin and 1096 Main Street in North Wilkesboro and 940 Woodland Drive in Stuart, Virginia.

Surrey Bank & Trust can be found online at www.surreybank.com.

Life in the backcountry and foothills of North Carolina was hard. Most carved their living out of the land daily, toiling despite weather, aliments, or resources.

The common narrative of early North Carolina is of a man providing for his family; his wife and 2.5 kids. The women and children are seen as afterthoughts, only serving as supporting characters to the male storyline.

If we dive deeper we can see that history is not so black and white and that the fairer sex was heartier and more resilient than previously given credit for. In celebration of Women’s History Month take a deeper look into their lives.

Women settlers in Surry County braved the wilderness with their families to create a life. Finding fertile land, water, and space to hold livestock was of the utmost importance. Once settled, men secured their holdings and hunted for food, and women served as the keepers of the home, an extensive job.

These women were not only caretakers and cooks but also seamstresses, gardeners, healers, weavers, candle makers, farm hands and so much more. They worked from sun up to sun down to keep the household together.

On top of all this work, women had little to no rights. During this period women could not vote nor hold public office, had no money or wealth, could be subject to abuse with no justice, and legally had to identify with their husbands. Widows and unmarried women had more rights and privileges than that of the family wife.

It wasn’t until 1868 that women were allowed to own their property as they had as a single woman, with the assent of their husbands of course. The Married Women’s Property Act of 1870 secured women’s wages or inheritance as their own without the discretion of a male counterpart.

In 1920 the 19th amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote. This, however, did not give African-American women the same rights, state laws still restricted Black Americans from voting via poll taxes and literary tests. It wasn’t until the 1960s that women gained the right to open bank accounts.

Colonial women carried the knowledge of their ancestors to this new world creating a diversified culture like no other. Surrounded by frontier and unknown foliage, these women often learned from the matriarchal native populations as to the makeup and usage of their new homesteads. They were not afraid to get their hands dirty, while still staying demure for the society in which they lived.

These silent stars built a society and a new country that could have never been without them. North Carolina and Surry County are full of inspirational stories of women who persevered, stood tall, and carved out a remarkable life. Stop by the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History and learn some of their stories. Happy Women’s History Month.

Emily Morgan is the guest services manager at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. She and her family live in Westfield. She can be reached at eamorgan@northcarolinamuseum.org or by calling 336-786-4478 x229

“The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” was not playing in council chambers — but lyrics from Donna Fargo’s signature song were recited Thursday night when plans for a mural honoring the local music legend were presented.

It will be joining other murals in downtown Mount Airy depicting entertainment figures with ties to the city, including Andy Griffith, Melva Houston and The Easter Brothers.

“She so deserves it,” Ann Vaughn said of the giant artwork of Fargo envisioned for a wall of the Walker’s Soda Fountain building on North Main Street, the former location of Lamm Drug. It is being spearheaded by the Donna Fargo Mural Committee chaired by Vaughn, a close friend of Fargo’s, and includes about 18 fans altogether.

Fargo hails from the Slate Mountain community and graduated from Mount Airy High School in 1958, when she was known as Yvonne Vaughn and a member of the school cheerleading squad.

After attending what was then High Point College, Fargo migrated west to study at the University of Southern California and became a high school teacher after receiving her degree. She performed at local venues in California before heading to Phoenix, which coincided with the name change to Donna Fargo and the recording of her first single.

In 1973, Fargo won a Grammy for “The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA.” She also has received awards from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association while churning out other hit songs including “Funny Face” and hosting her own syndicated television series.

More recently, Fargo recorded a new CD, “All Because of You,” and also has authored books over the years.

“We know how special she is,” Vaughn said of Fargo’s many admirers. “We know what she’s accomplished.”

“The real deal”

“This wonderful lady has never let that status go to her head,” the committee chair said during her presentation at the commissioners meeting on the mural to honor the acclaimed singer and songwriter.

“She has always remembered her roots,” Vaughn added. “For those of us who know her, she is the real deal.”

Fargo further has been a positive role model while battling serious medical conditions, with Vaughn describing the singer as a genuine person who is “as beautiful on the inside as she is out.”

At one point Thursday, the presenter read the opening passage from Fargo’s famous song which highlights that cheery personality:

“Shine on me sunshine,

Walk with me world, it’s a skippidy doo da day.

I’m the happiest girl in the whole U.S.A.”

The idea of having a mural painted as a lasting tribute to Fargo seemed to be a no-brainer, Vaughn indicated, given that other hometown celebrities such as Griffith and Houston are being immortalized in this way.

“We thought certainly we should have a mural for Donna Fargo,” she said.

In pursuing that project, the Donna Fargo Mural Committee turned to the artist known as “JEKS,” who painted the Houston and Griffith images that have been well-received.

“We know the quality of what this mural will be,” Vaughn said of the one to honor Fargo.

The committee leader related that JEKS — a Greensboro resident whose real name is Brian Lewis — was “honored and thrilled” to be selected for the project and has talked with Fargo since, representing a first for him:

“He advised that he had never spoken to a live subject of all the murals he had done.”

JEKS has developed a rendering of the mural, which includes images of Donna Fargo spanning her career and a centerpiece with Fargo’s face as it appears on the latest CD cover. An American flag is shown in the background.

“We all know Donna is a red, white and blue lady — she loves her country,” Vaughn explained.

JEKS could start work on the Fargo display in late March and be done in a matter of days, judging by the Griffith mural on Moore Avenue taking about a week to complete, according to discussion at Thursday night’s meeting.

Plans call for it to be officially dedicated in July, when Fargo and JEKS are expected to be co-grand marshals of the city’s annual Independence Day parade.

Unlike other projects local officials are briefed on at meetings, no governmental funding is being requested for the Fargo mural from the committee.

“We decided we did not want to go to the city or the county or the TDA (Tourism Development Authority) with our hand out until we do some things ourselves,” Vaughn said of the funding aspect.

The mural itself has a price tag of $20,000 to $25,000, with other expenses also to be involved such as preparing the wall for the painting, lighting, landscaping and maintenance. Horizon Equipment Rentals is donating the use of lift equipment that will be needed by JEKS.

Vaughn reported that multiple fundraising events are planned for the mural project, including the Star-Spangled Donna Fargo Fashionista on March 26 at Mount Airy Museum of Regional History .

It will involve a fashion show featuring more than 20 Fargo look-a-like models, costumes of the singer and never-seen memorabilia. There also will be silent and live auctions featuring signed Donna Fargo items and music by John Rees, a former member of her band.

Another fundraiser will be a talent contest at Mount Airy High School set for April 22, in addition to a gospel event at Slate Mountain Baptist Church — where Fargo was a member of the choir.

Vaughn said the March 26 performance will be especially well attended, which signals success for the fundraising efforts overall and deep support among the public for the mural layout prepared — along with the person behind that.

“I think all Donna’s fans are happy,” said Vaughn — perhaps even matching the elation of “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.”

RALEIGH — Plans are underway for new bridges at three different locations in Surry County, based on actions during a recent meeting of the N.C. Board of Transportation in Raleigh.

Included is a project targeting U.S. 52 near Pilot Mountain, where bridges on both the northbound and southbound portions crossing over Toms Creek are to be replaced.

The recent meeting by the state Board of Transportation included the approval of funding for specific federal-aid projects, including the bridge work at Toms Creek for which a total $3.6 million price tag has been reported.

State officials say that $922,000 previously was approved for those replacements for preliminary engineering costs, with more funds deemed needed to cover such expenses that have or will exceed the earlier-authorized budget.

Information trickling from a board meeting in February meeting shows an additional figure of $200,000, including $160,000 from the federal government and $40,000 in state funding.

Construction of the two bridges was scheduled to begin this summer, according to an earlier project timeline, but it is not known if that stills hold true because of the DOT recently delaying many major projects due to COVID and funding issues.

The construction will take 18 to 24 months to complete once started.

Plans call for a temporary bridge to be built in the center median between the two bridges over Toms Creek and used as a detour.

Northbound traffic will be routed onto the detour bridge while the new northbound bridge (No. 122) is built. Southbound traffic is to be routed onto the detour bridge while the new southbound bridge (No. 126) is constructed.

The detour bridge will be removed after both new bridges are complete.​

Also during its recent meeting, the N.C. Board of Transportation OK’d preliminary right-of-way plans for two other bridge replacements in Surry County.

One is the bridge on Red Brush Road (SR 1350) over Stewarts Creek.

The other is a bridge that crosses the Mitchell River on Zephyr-Mountain Park Road (SR 1315).

Preliminary right-of-way plans are a mechanism to ensure sufficient space for the construction, design, drainage and control of access involved with the bridge-replacements.

That step will lead to the approval of final plans.

No timetables were listed for the Red Brush Road and Zephyr-Mountain Park Road bridge replacements.

​​The N.C. Board of Transportation is composed of 20 people from across the state. Each member represents a specific transportation division or is an at-large, statewide member. The boards work with the state secretary of transportation and team to make decisions about road priorities.

The Surry County Economic Development Commission (EDP) has tapped an industry development official from Henderson County as the new president of the local organization.

Blake Moyer has been chosen to head the Surry County EDP, according to statement released by Surry County Manager Chris Knopf and EDC chairman Peter Pequeno.

“Moyer brings to the position a well-rounded base of economic development and local government experience,” the two said in their statement.

“We are excited that Blake will be leading the economic development efforts of Surry County,” Pequeno said. “Our community is poised to grow, and we believe he is the ideal person to facilitate that growth.”

“We rely on the EDP to develop and implement strategies for business growth and new job creation in our community,” Knopf said. “We look forward to working with Blake to bring more private sector investment to our county through existing business growth, entrepreneurship, and new business attraction.”

On Friday, Moyer said there were several reasons, both professional and personal, which led him to seek and then accept the EDP post.

“The board has a well-rounded and high-quality vision of what they’re trying to do, a vision that I identify with it,” he said. “I found I really want to be part of that. Surry County has a lot of good assets to attain that vision…I can hopefully help and be a small part of the community achieving success.”

Moyer, who is slated to start in Surry County on March 22, has been the director of industry relations for the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development in Hendersonville for about a year, having assumed that post April 11.

Prior to that he spent nearly three years with the city of Burlington, first as a community engagement intern, then progressing to the position of project manager for the city’s economic development department. There he was selected by the Triad Business Journal as one of its “20 in their 20s” officials recognized for making significant contributions to the triad region while still in their 20s.

“Blake Moyer has become well-versed in economic development practices and standards through his experiences with the Henderson County Partnership and Burlington Economic Development,” the Surry County partnership said in announcing his appointment. “In his most recent position as director of industry relations, he led efforts to retain and grow existing businesses in Henderson County.”

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Methodist University and a master’s degree from UNC-Greensboro. He is on the board of the North Carolina Economic Development Association and chairs the emerging executives committee.

“I am honored to be selected as the next president of the Surry County Economic Development Partnership,” he said of his appointment. “Surry County has significant economic development assets including a strong business base, vibrant communities, growing entrepreneurial companies, thriving outdoor economy, and an unmatched quality of life.”

Moyer said he is looking forward to taking up the vision of the local EDP, to “achieve goals over the next few years that help everybody in the community.” He said he believes among the biggest challenges will be to “Recruit and retain quality jobs in the community, and for those jobs to be for the people there in Surry County.”

He said one of the factors that made the Surry County EDP attractive to him was its commitment to a wide range of economic development goals, “From helping out large manufacturers to small businesses on Main Street…I think that’s a good way to go about things.”

Moyer said he believes one factor in Surry County’s favor, in terms of attracting new business, is the fact that it can provide a good workforce from its residents as well as draw from nearby communities.

“You’re not just pulling from Surry County folks, but you’re pulling from a region. It’s a good place to work and do commerce.”

Personally, he said he found the job enticing because he and his wife, Courtney, enjoy outdoor activities and visiting wineries and breweries. As a youth growing up in Burlington, he said he and his high school friends would often take off on the weekends, spending the days in state parks hiking and camping. Pilot Mountain, as well as Hanging Rock State Park in neighboring Stokes County, was among their favorite spots.

Moyer is filling the seat left vacant when Todd Tucker, long-time EDP president, resigned in November to accept a position in Cary with Aqua America, a water and sewer services utility company.

© 2018 The Mount Airy News