‘Cruisin’ with Honor’ to benefit veterans dinner efforts

The engines on these cars were as shining and sparkling as the factory-clean bodies.

Even a military vehicle was dressed up and on display.

A long line of pristine classic autos awaiting cruise-in fans Saturday.

Cruisin’ with Honor vehicles display powerful engines and sleek bodies.

Muscle cars were a favorite.

Even a few watercraft were on display.

In addition to the cars on display at the cruise-in, food vendors were popular Saturday.

Cruisin’ with Honor featured motorcycles as well as cars and trucks.

Car owners were proud of their cars, including the engines on display here.

Veterans and other volunteers were on hand to help with the Saturday event.

Cruisin’ with Honor was held on Saturday at the National Guard Armory in Mount Airy, with a good number of autos and an even better crowd of spectators turning out for the event. Money raised during the cruise-in will be used to pay for providing a meal for area veterans after Veteran’s Day ceremonies later this year.

Farm hosting event to aid food bank

Steve Driver died in April 2020, but his presence is still greatly felt in Mount Airy’s tight-knit running and cycling community, which was evident during an event this week at Riverside Park.

About 90 people gathered Wednesday afternoon at the park’s northern end near the starting point of the Granite City Greenway system there to dedicate an archway in Driver’s memory.

This was deemed an appropriate gesture to honor a man considered the best runner in Mount Airy history, who competed in about 40 marathons during his career — grueling long-distance races of 26.2 miles — including the 2019 Boston Marathon.

And Driver probably logged more miles on the local greenway system than anyone else, according to Assistant City Manager Darren Lewis, who also is the former director of Mount Airy Parks and Recreation and a longtime runner himself.

In addition, Driver was known as one of the best bicyclists in the community.

“He was probably one of the most-active individuals we have ever known,” Lewis said of Driver’s stature in local recreation circles. In a 2019 interview, Lewis had even gone so far as to refer to Driver as “a legend.”

His life that was so inspirational to many ended at age 71 on April 16, 2020, when Driver was fatally injured in a cycling accident. At the time, Kim Felts Ross, his niece, found some solace in the fact that her uncle had died doing something he loved.

Yet Driver’s spirit has continued to live on among his fellow runners and cyclists, friends and family members — many of whom ventured to Riverside Park Wednesday to witness the arch dedication.

And after the brief program attendees cycled, ran and walked the greenway in remembrance of Steve Driver.

“Some of the runners and cyclists had spoken to me about doing something in his memory,” Lewis said of efforts that led up to this week’s dedication of the arch.

Other options had been suggested, such as buying a metal park bench in tribute to Driver through an ongoing program in which donations can be made to name that and other fixtures such as picnic tables in honor or memory of someone.

“We felt like a bench would not do him justice,” Lewis said of what prompted the archway gesture ultimately decided upon by local recreation advocates, given Driver ‘s active life during which much of the sitting he did was aboard a bicycle.

“He was one of the least-sedentary people (around).”

Steve Driver was defined by more than just his individual sporting achievements, however.

He also was known for helping other people get started with their running careers, including a young lady present Wednesday, Teresa Grey, whom he had met while running on the greenway.

As he did with legions of others, Driver supplied Grey with tips about the sport and she later became a marathon runner herself.

“He helped so many of us,” Lewis recalled during Wednesday’s observance. “That was just the person that he was.”

Driver also played a key role in coordinating the quality running events held locally along with serving in a leadership capacity with Reeves Community Center and aiding a center foundation that provides scholarships for underprivileged students in the area.

“He had no idea how much he had affected other people,” Driver’s widow Judy said Wednesday when given the ceremonial honor of unveiling a plaque mounted on a brick support for the archway which bears his name.

“This arch is dedicated in memory of Steve W. Driver, Oct. 26, 1948-April 16, 2020,” its inscription states. “Forever in our hearts, always in our thoughts.”

“Steve would have been so surprised,” Judy Driver remarked while surveying the crowd gathered Wednesday afternoon to celebrate his life and continuing influence.

“He was an amazing man,” Lewis said.

Mount Airy City Schools recently announced its Teachers of the Year and Employees of the Year at each school, while the district has named its Beginning Teacher of the Year, Bus Driver of the Year, Central Office Employee of the Year, Career and Education Teacher of the Year, Exceptional Children’s Teacher of the Year, School Nutrition Employee of the Year and Manager of the Year.

District, school leaders, and school board members joined forces to create a prize patrol that traveled to the individual schools and and office to surprise each employee with the announcement and flowers. Students and peers alike joined in with cheers on the pop-up celebrations that took place across the district.

Roger Pilson was the first employee to be surprised. In the bus parking lot following his morning route, he learned he had been named Mount Airy City Schools Bus Driver of the Year.

Transportation Coordinator Jon Doss mentioned that “Roger is a friend, co-worker, and team player. He is an on-time driver who cares about all of his students and works to be in tune with the students assigned to his route. This led him to notice one of his students needed medical assistance and was ultimately credited with saving the child’s life.”

B.H. Tharrington Primary School named second-grade teacher Kelly Johnson its Teacher of the Year and teaching assistant Jackie Gonzalez as Employee of the Year. Teresa Phillips was surprised during lunch as the district’s School Nutrition Employee of the Year.

Johnson’s nomination noted, “Kelly’s commitment and work with others in the school is remarkable. She is committed to providing her students with the love and attention they need in order for each of them to reach their full potential.”

Gonzalez’s nomination included, ”As a first-year teacher assistant, Jackie has performed like a seasoned veteran. Working in one of the most challenging areas of education, Jackie comes in each day with energy, enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and love in her heart for all students.”

School Nutrition Director Celena Watson stated, “Teresa Jane is one of our newest school nutrition staff members, but has done an outstanding job….She is a food service cashier and absolutely loves her job and all her students. She is an amazing lunch lady and we are proud she is part of our team.”

J.J. Jones Intermediate School named third-grade teacher Melissa Martin as Teacher of the Year and finance officer Ronalda Parries as Employee of the Year.

Martin’s peers noted, “Melissa has an excellent knowledge of the curriculum and works hard to differentiate all lessons to meet the needs of her students. She enjoys creating digital activities for students and shares her creations with her colleagues. She builds and maintains strong relationships with her students by attending games, competitions, and recitals.”

Parries’ peers shared, “Ronalda not only does her job well, but she takes on tasks to help the school grow and improve. Ronalda is incredibly hard-working, super organized, and wears so many hats for Jones while working behind the scenes.”

Mount Airy Middle School named exceptional children’s teacher Amanda Sechrist as its Teacher of the Year and school counselor Kelly Anders as Employee of the Year. Amanda Sechrist also earned the district’s EC Teacher of the Year. Sabrina Moore was recognized as being Mount Airy City Schools Beginning Teacher of the Year while Vickie Bowman was honored with School Nutrition Manager of the Year.

Sechrist’s peers shared, “Amanda is extremely deserving of this honor. She wears many hats well and pours love and encouragement into students throughout the school. She is also a huge support for many of our staff members as she is always encouraging and offering assistance.”

Exceptional Children’s Director Scott Dollyhite added, “Amanda has proven to be an invaluable asset for the district throughout the entirety of her career. Her compassion and empathy for the students that she serves are readily evident and allow her to connect with kids in an extraordinary way. Amanda is more than deserving of all of the accolades that have come her way.”

Anders’ fellow educators noted, “Kelly goes above and beyond every single day. She is constantly checking on students and teachers. Not only does she care and support students through counseling, but she does our innovation schedule and helps students with missing work.”

Penny Willard, director of innovative programming, supports beginning teachers and shared, “We are honored to have Mrs. Moore represent our beginning teachers’ group for the upcoming school year. She is committed to her own professional growth and understands that by investing in herself, she is ultimately investing in our students. As a new educator, Mrs. Moore already exhibits the mindset of a lifelong learner and a reflective practitioner that will continue to serve many generations of our Mount Airy City Schools learners.”

Watson noted, “Vickie is a wonderful cafeteria manager and does a great job leading her staff, preparing meals, and serving students. She is always going the extra mile. She will be retiring at the end of May and we will miss her but wish her the very best.”

Mount Airy High School named exceptional teacher Abby Gallimore its Teacher of the Year and teaching assistant Jennifer Gentry as Employee of the Year. Greg Taylor, Trade and Industrial Education teacher, was named Mount Airy City Schools CTE Teacher of the Year.

Peers of Gallimore included in their nomination, “Mrs. Gallimore goes above and beyond for her students every day. Her passion, performance, and commitment to her students and teaching assistants is inspirational. The impact she has on the lives of others is truly a privilege to witness.”

Gentry’s peers stated, “Jennifer works incredibly hard to ensure the success of our OCS students and the Blue Bear Cafe. She perseveres through adversity with poise and grace. She maintains high expectations for her students and pushes them to be their best.”

Taylor’s CTE colleagues mentioned, “Greg Taylor is a father figure to his students. He teaches them how to do woodwork and how to be good, productive people in society. He has used his craft to guide and empower so many students over the years.”

Finance department employee Amy Sawyers was named the Central Office Employee of the Year.

Superintendent Dr. Kim Morrison noted, “Amy Sawyers is an outstanding employee and it is easy to see why her peers voted her Employee of the Year. She has worked for the district for many years meeting and greeting all new employees and helping them navigate their way in our district. She goes above and beyond to help make sure all staff members are paid on time as well as helping them navigate the payroll system. Amy supports our staff every day which makes our staff prepared and ready to care for our children.”

In addition to these recognitions, the district surprised an administrator earlier in 2022. In March, Chelsy Payne, Jones Intermediate School principal, was named Mount Airy City Schools Principal of the Year.

Superintendent Morrison shared, “Chelsy Payne has done an amazing job during a difficult couple of years of pandemic challenges. She brings a joy and enthusiasm to her job that radiates out to her staff and students.”

The Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery was in the Partner Spotlight of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration last month for being “prevention rock stars in their community.”

To be honored in the spotlight is no small feat, Charlotte Reeves, community outreach coordinator for the county, said. “I think this is an important milestone, because they are recognizing that work has begun in our county. I am extremely proud of this award because it takes a lot of work and coordination to get to this point.”

Established by Congress in 1992, the administrative was created to provide leadership, support programs, and devote resources to help guide national policy towards action based on the knowledge that “behavioral health is essential to health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover.”

When citing the good work of the Surry County team, the agency pointed to the goal of creating a continuum of care that “eliminates impediments for those seeking treatment and recovery.” Programs such as Ride the Road to Recovery are among the most visible of those services. It offers transportation to the doctor, to treatment, or to court so not having a ride need not be a roadblock to recovery — it can be removed as an impediment.

The Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery was credited for its recent implementation of the “Talk, They Hear You” campaign messaging via postings on social media, podcasts, and in outreach columns in the newspaper. Also, for hosting trainings throughout the community, including a first staff training at Pilot Mountain Middle school, and Surry Central High School’s Addiction Awareness Week.

The “Talk, They Hear You” campaign aims to reduce underage drinking and other substance use among youths by providing care givers with information and resources they need to address these issues with children early and often.

Parents have a significant influence in their children’s decision to experiment with alcohol and drugs. The program materials tell parents, “Although it may not seem like it, when parents talk about underage drinking and substance use, their children do hear them.”

“Talk, They Hear You” was originally focused on helping parents with children ages 9–15 to prevent young people from starting to drink. However, research suggests the chances that children will try alcohol or other drugs increases as they get older.

“Around age 9, children begin thinking alcohol may not be just for adults. By the time they are seniors, almost 70% of high school students will have tried alcohol, half will have taken an illegal drug, and more than 20% will have used a prescription drug for a nonmedical purpose,” according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“Research shows that if we can prevent or delay the onset of alcohol or substance use until after the age of 25, adult substance use disorder is significantly reduced,” Reeves said. “In other words, 90% of people with adult substance use disorder started alcohol or substance use as an adolescent.” The program has since expanded its resources to include tools to help them continue having underage drinking and substance use prevention conversations beyond age 15.

“Talk, They Hear You” aims to increase parental awareness of the prevalence as well as the risk of underage drinking or substance use. By equipping parents with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to prevent such behaviors, they also hope to increase parents’ actions to intervene in underage drinking and substance use.

“Parents’ Night Out” educational sessions were added to inform parents and caregivers about the realities of underage drinking and drug use. The goal is to prepare parents and loved ones to talk with kids about these issues that are often difficult to bring up organically.

Reeves led the first of these Night Out events at Pilot Middle School in May. She met with parents to discuss why their child may start to abuse, such as stress from grades, fitting in, or appearances and their desire to escape these through use of substances.

In the age range 11 – 18 kids are susceptible to peer pressure and with the addition of social media and “influencers” there are more avenues for these types of pressure to reach kids. Part of her Night Out messaging had to do with parents showing an interest in what their kids are doing and clearly expressing their disapproval of underage drinking or drug use to counteract those influences.

Parents were encouraged to have regular talks about drugs and alcohol, rather have than have “the talk.” Too much can be missed or glossed over if parents try to cram it all into one made for television heart-to-heart talk.

During these more regular talks parents are encouraged to not employ scare tactics, Reeves said the science can be scary enough. “Rather than scaring your children, tell them that alcohol and other drugs are bad for their growing brain and can make them sick,” she said. Leaning into facts and science can also show kids that parents can be a trusted source on these issues.

She reminded the attendees that transitions from middle to high school and then to college can be tricky for children of any age. Adding in the pandemic presented new challenges as well and Reeves asked the parents if they had noticed any changes during the past two years.

Parents have tools at their disposal to help have these talks with their children such as the “Talk, They Hear You” mobile app that provides practice scenarios. It can be used a resource to prepare and provides conversation “starters,” goals, possible reactions, “closers,” and other helpful information like statistics on the prevalence of underage drinking and other drug use.

To spread the message to a wider audience the All-Stars Prevention Group held a community event at Veteran’s Park called Vincent’s Legacy: Kindness Day. Reeves said, “We go to these community events mostly for youth and offer kid friendly activities, like face painting, to start a conversation with their parents. We share information with them about our office, The All-Stars Prevention Group, and ‘Talk, They Hear You.’

“We discuss the importance of starting the conversation with your youth early and having the conversation often,” she explained. “We also encourage and discuss the importance of parental involvement in an adolescent’s life.”

“Anywhere we can get to parents is where we will be. It all starts with the parents. The biggest protective factor for a young person is a loving and caring relationship with at least one parent or caregiver.”

The All-Stars Prevention Group are volunteers that aid with community events. They are parents, people in recovery, and just folks in our community that want to help. “We could not do it without them,” Reeves said.

ARARAT, Va. — When history is tarnished it can be difficult to undo — but at least highway markers denoting notable locations mustn’t suffer the same fate, based on a recent makeover in Ararat.

Concerned about the appearance of the sign greeting travelers crossing the Virginia-North Carolina border on Route 773, also known as Ararat Highway (N.C. 104/Riverside Drive when approaching from the Tar Heel State), Patrick County resident Ronnie Haynes took action.

The marker involved is one of the familiar fixtures bearing texts of black lettering against a silver background with a distinctive shape. But the one at the Virginia-North Carolina line was becoming noticeable perhaps because of its unsightly appearance.

So Haynes, the president of the J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust group that maintains that site just up the road from the state line, removed, fixed and painted the Patrick County historical marker.

Its wording informs passersby about the county’s formation in 1790 from neighboring Henry County, and that Gen. Stuart was born there.

The marker at the state line is one of 12 such historical signs scattered across Patrick County, including one on Route 773 at the Stuart birthplace.

Others are located at additional entry points to the county along with markers drawing attention to the presence of landmarks such as Reynolds Homestead, Fairy Stone State Park and even the location of a former frontier fort.

The markers in Patrick are among more than 2,500 presently erected in Virginia to highlight people, places and events of regional, statewide or national significance.

Virginia’s historical marker program is the oldest such effort in the nation, dating to 1927 when a handful of signs appeared between Richmond and Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home.

“All these historical markers need cleaning,” said Tom Bishop, who also is associated with the Stuart birthplace, pointing to the value of ongoing maintenance.

The signs tend to become corroded and coated with pollination and other residue — with some in better condition than others, Bishop said regarding what he has observed on travels throughout Virginia.

Calling in the Marines always has been a viable option where military matters are concerned, and that will be the case this coming Monday when Mount Airy holds its annual Memorial Day observance.

City Manager Stan Farmer will be guest speaker for the 10 a.m. event at the Mount Airy War Memorial on the corner of South Main and Rockford streets. It will include a traditional slate of patriotic music, a wreath placement and other activities appropriately paying tribute to America’s military personnel who have died in service to their country.

Farmer won’t be speaking on his usual role with budgetary and other governmental matters, but from the perspective of a veteran who served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune and on the island of Okinawa in Japan.

“I think it’s a good thing that we have an honorable man serving as manager who served his country as a Marine,” Mayor Ron Niland said Wednesday in discussing the role of Farmer, who started his job as city manager in January.

“And I think it is very fitting that he has been asked to speak at this event,” Niland added of this choice by program organizers. “It’s kind of a neat thing that they would ask him.”

The mayor also will be on Monday’s program, including calling it to order, reading a special municipal proclamation in recognition of the solemn holiday and serving as emcee.

“It’s an honor to be able to speak on behalf of Mount Airy and read a proclamation that honors not only those who have served, but Memorial Day also honors those who have passed,” said Niland. He has become a regular part of recent Memorial Day programs here.

Niland’s late father, Francis “Frank” Niland, served with the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict.

Another highlight of Monday’s program will be the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by local student Cassidy Mills, who also did so during the 2021 Memorial Day service in Mount Airy which was attended by about 125 people.

The schedule for Monday’s program will include:

• The call to order by Niland;

• A raising of the American flag by the Mount Airy Honor Guard;

• Cassidy Mills’ rendering of the national anthem;

• A group recital of the Pledge of Allegiance;

• An invocation delivered by Pastor D.M. Dalton, president of the Mount Airy Ministerial Association;

• The reading of the proclamation by the mayor;

• The keynote address by City Manager/Marine veteran Farmer;

• The placing of the wreath by the city Honor Guard;

• A flag-folding ceremony by the North Surry High School Air Force Junior ROTC led by Lt. Col. Corby Myles, USAF (Ret.), senior aerospace science instructor, and featuring cadets Lukcus Hawks, Garrett Keller, Trent Stanley and Ethan Seals;

• A rifle volley salute by members of two local Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Honor Guard units, from Mount Airy VFW Post 2019 and Pilot Mountain Post 9436;

• The playing of “Taps” by the two VFW groups.

Organizers are urging everyone to attend Monday’s program to recognize, honor and remember military men and women protecting the country today and in the past.

With the launch of a new budget season in Mount Airy has come the revelation that a consultant who was being paid $100,000 per year to provide financial advice to the city government is no longer engaged.

Mount Airy’s relationship with Doug Carter of DEC Associates Inc. in Charlotte dates to 2018, when Carter came aboard on a contractual basis to advise the municipality on matters including its redevelopment of the former Spencer’s industrial property downtown.

The services for which Carter has received $100,000 annually more recently involved helping the city plan financially for long-range capital (major building- and equipment-related) needs 10 years into the future. In March 2019 these had a $24 million price tag.

But that involvement officially has ended, according to Mayor Ron Niland.

“Doug is no longer under contract with the city,” Niland said Wednesday.

This included Carter not being relied on in the recent preparation of the city’s proposed budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year that begins on July 1.

That coincides with Mount Airy’s hiring of City Manager Stan Farmer late last year to replace Barbara Jones after she retired effective Oct. 1 with 12 years spent as manager and 30 years with city governmental overall.

Farmer joined the staff on Jan. 31 equipped with a long list of credentials, including a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in public administration from Appalachian State University. Farmer additionally holds a master’s of executive public leadership degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.

He also attended a municipal administration program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the ICMA (International City/County Management Association) Senior Executive Leadership Institute at the University of Virginia.

“Doug did his job and Stan has picked up from there,” Mayor Niland said Wednesday. “At this point Doug has performed his contractual work and Stan has worked with the staff.”

Niland said Carter completed his tasks for the city last year and based on that doubts he was paid any money for the present 2021-22 fiscal year that ends on June 30. “I’m not sure.”

However, a check Wednesday with city Finance Director Pam Stone revealed that DEC Associates Inc. had indeed been paid $17,500 during that period for the agreement involving financial planning for the city’s capital needs.

“This completed all of the contracts we had with DEC,” Stone added.

The relationship had been a source of some controversy as to whether Carter earned what he was being paid — at a compensation level exceeding that of full-time municipal department heads.

This was evident at a meeting in the winter of 2019, when Commissioner Jon Cawley offered comments along those lines.

“I still have not seen $100,000 in value for this expense,” Cawley, who earlier had voted against engaging the adviser, said in reference to what Carter was getting from Mount Airy.

The veteran city commissioner also questioned the value of a specific piece of advice from Carter about a need to identify ways to fund long-range capital needs, including borrowing money or tapping into a city fund balance, or surplus.

“He said we have to make choices about our expenses and revenues — news flash!” Cawley said sarcastically.

Then-Commissioner Jim Armbrister also complained about Carter apparently lacking a thorough understanding of Mount Airy’s budget and speaking only in generalities, despite being paid $100,000 for his financial-adviser expertise.

Mayor Niland said Wednesday that the fact the city government depended so heavily on Carter’s involvement before Farmer entered the picture was not a reflection on the qualifications of previous personnel.

“I think the situation was different (then),” Niland explained regarding unique funding issues the city faced at the time, which included dealing with COVID-19 effects.

A Mount Airy man is dead today from a gunshot wound, and another city man is jailed, charged with his death, after a Tuesday evening fight broke out in the parking lot of a local convenience store.

Jesus Daniel Montoya Magallanes, 34, of Erie Lane in Mount Airy, was apparently shot during the altercation, which occurred around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Circle K Mart at 2227 Rockford Street. According to a statement released by the city police department, officers arrived on the scene after fielding calls about “several subjects fighting in the parking lot.” When officers arrived, they found Magallanes lying in the parking lot, suffering from the gunshot wound. Surry County Emergency Service officials transported him to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Hospital in Winston-Salem, where he died from his wounds.

According to a release from the police department, authorities arrested Eduardo Cabrera-Cano, 22, also of Mount Airy — no address given — and charged him with murder. Cabrera-Cano was jailed at the Surry County Detention Center, where he remains incarcerated with no bond.

Few details are being released by officials. On Tuesday night Surry County Emergency Service referred all questions regarding the incident to the Mount Airy Police Department. The police released a short statement by email this morning, but there is no indication of what caused the fight, how many individuals were involved, nor if additional arrests might follow.

Police were on the scene throughout much of the night, with the parking lot cordoned off with yellow police tape as authorities pieced together what happened and gathered evidence. Additional information will be published here, at mtairynews.com, as details become available.

Consultants typically don’t work for free, with their expertise often provided at a high price to governmental units engaging them — which is not the case with Bryan Grote.

Grote is a principal and co-founder of Mercator Advisors, LLC, a registered financial advisory firm that offers consulting services for various infrastructure, transportation and other projects.

But a role he has played in downtown Mount Airy, especially recent efforts to transform the former Spencer’s textile complex for new uses including a hotel and convention center now planned there, was on a strictly volunteer basis.

“People don’t realize how many thousands of hours that Bryan has donated to the city behind the scenes — donated,” Mayor Ron Niland emphasized last Thursday night when Grote’s contributions were recognized during a meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners.

This included leading an RFP (request for proposals) process that attracted the hotel developers, along with assisting with financial and other aspects of the Spencer’s project, Niland said. “He is truly a hero to this city.”

Grote also has lent his skills to many other projects in the central business district and serves as president of the governing board for the group Mount Airy Downtown Inc.

“He is committed to looking to the future of Mount Airy and is a vital part of revitalization in the downtown area,” the mayor said.

Earlier this year, Grote was named a Main Street Champion during a 2022 statewide conference. This was in recognition of his service to Mount Airy within the framework of the North Carolina Main Street program operated through the Department of Commerce to help communities develop thriving downtown areas.

And Thursday night, Grote found himself in the limelight at City Hall, where Mayor Niland presented Grote with a medal and certificate of appreciation for his volunteer work on behalf of the municipality.

When offered a chance to make remarks afterward, Grote modestly reminded that four other local residents had been named state Main Street Champions over the years, including Gene Rees, Jennie Lowry, Phil Marsh and Ted Ashby.

“We have a lot of great volunteers here for great organizations,” Grote added. “I just want to say hats off to all of the volunteers that help keep the wheels moving.”

The Surry Early College graduation was held Friday evening in the gym on the campus of Surry County Community College.

The Early College graduating class was not the largest class that will cross a stage in the coming weeks, however there was still an impressive amount of both scholarship dollars and certifications for these graduates. Graduates from the class of 2021-2022 received scholarship offers totaling $3,937,455.

Principal Colby Beamer advised that assembled friends and family that a four-year college or university is on the horizon for 43 of the graduates. Many students are staying in state and in the UNC system.

Community college is the chosen path for eleven of the graduates with several staying local to attend Surry Community College while nine of the graduates are planning to enter the workforce directly.

One student, Evelin Lara, took the road less traveled and will be joining the armed forces after graduation.

Today’s students are being given opportunities that graduating classes of decades past did not have. They are also not feeling the same firm push toward the four-year college system that had been identified for many years as the best path to future success and to improve one’s station in life.

Beamer reported these students took advantage of these opportunities with 43 of the graduates receiving not only their high school diploma but also an associate degree in arts, science, general education, and fine arts. Also, two graduates will receive their applied associates degree in science.

“It’s not often you can go get a post-secondary higher education degree before you get your high school diploma. What a wonderful opportunity this is,” Surry Community College President Dr. David Shockley said.

Fourteen graduates will earn diplomas or certifications in various applied degree programs such as accounting/finance, firefighter, mechatronics, automotive technology, community Spanish interpreter, and business administration.

“I’m here to tell you that is not normal, that is something very, very special,” Shockley said of the graduates before handing out recognition to Beamer and the teachers at the Early College for achieving a 100% graduation rate on behalf of the board of trustees of Surry Community College. Recognizing the Early College for this success, he said, “is becoming an annual thing.”

He told the crowd what it takes to get such an honor. “It’s pretty easy, perfection. It’s not excellence, it is perfection – you have to achieve a 100% either a test taking grade, or if it’s in a credential program… you have to have 100% students pass that examination of the first attempt. If it is an inspection or an audit, you have to receive a perfect score in order to get a resolution.”

Britza Chavez-Arellano was the Senior Speaker who noted that the pandemic slowed down life and made it feel like time stopped. She said however that “with time stopping we learned new things: who we are, who our real friends are, understood true resilience, learned how to properly procrastinate. The most important thing I learned how precious time is. This is such a treasurable moment in time for all of us.”

“I have already seen such a beautiful fire in our graduation class. We are successful in our own ways, and I am so proud of all of us. I may not personally know what you had to go through to be here today, but I am so happy to see you all here.” She went on to note how surreal it feels to be graduating and encouraged her fellow graduates to, “keep that fire burning, no matter what the cost.”

The Super Senior Speaker was Matthew Gillespie who jokingly warned the crowd that Beamer gave him no guidelines for his speech. The first draft he threw out because he had written a speech that he thought was not relevant anymore. “Then I realized we are all here because we have done that. I don’t need to tell you what you already know and have.”

Instead, he laid out the three most important things the graduates are taking with them with the diplomas and certifications being the least among them. Those documents are nothing more than “a bond of trust” from the institution that the graduates have the knowledge and skills needed. Documents and diplomas “can only get you in the door of where you want to go, it will take the other resources to get you there.”

Possession of the actual knowledge and skills from the Early College will be the second thing graduates carry on. Covid made these kids grow up a little faster and “the perseverance you have shown to get here will be something you have to call upon in the real world to succeed,” he told the crowd.

Interpersonal connections round out what the graduates take with them, and he encouraged his fellow graduates to keep learning and make new friends in college for those going that route. He encouraged students to stay in touch with one another and their teachers for they may make valuable allies later down the road.

Senior Class President Nancy Garcia-Villa gave the farewell address to the students in which she reminisced about the past 12 years and her own struggles. “I’ve heard numerous times that an education is not only the key to success, but also the answer to so many of our world’s problems.

“But, when states care more about our test scores than the mental and physical wellbeing; when teachers and staff are underpaid, and schools are severely underfunded to the point where you don’t have proper facilities or enough textbooks; when you have to continuously fight for institutions to be diverse, global, and inclusive because those spaces were not always welcome ones for all; when students of color are already branded by expectation of failure before they can even try; and when I spoke up about issues that students like me experienced and was invalidated by the people I trusted, I couldn’t help but wonder if school and an education was truly the solution.

“But I do see its promise and I call upon people in power to act whether they are school authorities or policy makers, I call on them to act. … I ask for your help on dismantling the issues that are deeply rooted and injustices in our education system. Give us the resources that we need to learn and create safe and inclusive spaces where students of all backgrounds and needs can flourish.”

Garcia-Villa, bound for UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall, also thanked those who helped get her there, naming several teachers who helped along the way.

“I want to recognize the new immigrants who walked miles in the blazing heat so we could walk across this stage today. And those who fought their way across turbulent rivers, so we can fight for a better future. Our immigrant families came here with nothing – they gave us everything. That isn’t magic – its innovation, its resilience.”

Farm animals, tractors seemingly of every make and model, antique agricultural equipment and bales of hay aren’t commonly seen in downtown Mount Airy — but for one special day those attractions and more were highlighted there.

Mayberry Farm Fest returned to the central business district Saturday after a two-year absence forced by the coronavirus, and despite hot weather North Main Street was filled with people who got a unique taste of rural life in an urban setting.

Along with numerous tractors — which kicked off the two-day event with a Friday night parade — and an array of animals in a petting zoo, those attending were treated to live entertainment featuring traditional mountain sounds, unique vendors and demonstrations. That included the opportunity to watch corn being ground the old-timey way.

The emphasis, of course, was on sheer enjoyment — including by many families with young kids attending, along with older folks snapping photos of tractors and other displays who seemed to be reminiscing about their former lives down on the farm.

Yet there also was an educational element sprouted by Mayberry Farm Fest — now in its 16th year — rooted in one of the event’s goals of keeping history and this area’s rich agricultural traditions alive.

That wasn’t lost on Bryan Howard of Rural Hall while watching his young son Cayden pour a container of shelled corn into an antique Fairbanks-Morse grinder, from 1919. Then Cayden inserted the ground corn into a nearby grain sifter further reminiscent of yesteryear to complete the process as the old machinery chugged along.

The working equipment was part of a display by Hal’s Old-Time Cornmeal, which also has exhibited at other locations including Horne Creek Living Historical Farm in Pinnacle.

“It teaches about history,” the elder Howard said of such activities offered by Farm Fest, which illustrate how food is produced, not just appearing magically on store shelves. “For me it’s real important.”

The same dynamic was evident Saturday among the legions of kids who experienced various animals up close and personal, courtesy of HDK Ranch of Jonesville.

It set up shop along Franklin Street for what looked to be one of the most-popular venues at the festival, where ponies, a chicken, alpacas, baby goats and bunnies, a mini-pig and even a miniature donkey named Molly were on hand.

HDK ranch employee Mary Brown, who was attending Mayberry Farm Fest for the first time, remarked about the thrill that can occur when a child directly interacts with an animal rather than just seeing one on a screen or in a book.

“I think it educates them and it does bring joy to these kids,” Brown said while observing the smiles. “They get to see animals they wouldn’t have a chance to see otherwise.”

Jamie Burchette of Sparta said it was great to have such an event where youths, including his small son, could pet animals and look at tractors — appropriate for a child wearing a John Deere cap.

Among a wide array of vendors lining North Main Street Saturday were ones offering items such as honey, tomato and flowering plants and blueberry products.

Meanwhile, Mayberry Farm Fest provided a chance for organizations such as Surry County Master Gardeners to greet the public and distribute information about their programs.

A watermelon seed-spitting contest additionally was scheduled Saturday as part of the day-long event spearheaded by the Downtown Business Association.

“It’s nice,” Burchette said.

Outgoing Fire Marshal Doug Jones was honored Monday at the Surry County Resource Center in Mount Airy for 39 years of service to the county and its citizens. He had been similarly honored at a county commissioner meeting in February, but that was no reason not to heap a little more praise onto a deserving public servant.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey was on hand as were all five county commissioners, members of the county emergency service, and county staff to honor Jones.

“In recognition for the highest designation of appreciation for your years of service to the people of the State of North Carolina and Surry County. I want to thank you for all you have done for the fire service over the years,” Causey said.

“I want to thank God for making me a public servant in the Fire Marshal’s office,” Jones said in his remarks. “For allowing me the opportunity to help people when they need it the most. God proved to me many times that I was where I needed to be and doing what I needed to be doing.”

Jones said in the fire marshal’s office, they deal with people on one of the worst days of their lives. Both the good days and the bad days “take a toll on us.” To that end, he wanted to thank his wife Jan and kids Emily and Drew for their patience with him over the years.

“I want to thank them for all the support for all those years. I want to apologize for leaving many family dinners, movies, holiday get-togethers, and for missing those important events in their life because I received a call.”

In thanking his staff over the years, he wisely decided not to call anyone by name so that he would not leave anyone out. For his staff, the secretaries, and assistant fire marshals he owes a debt of thanks for, “working their tails for me.”

Whenever he was away or out of town, he said having such a strong staff and assistant chiefs meant he could rest easy. “They were all dependable and dedicated to the job. I never had to worry about anything when I was out of the county because I knew they had my back. I knew they had it covered.”

Surry County Emergency Service Director Eric Southern presented to Jones a shadowbox on behalf of the county that held a variety of patches and badges that reflect his lengthy career.

Commissioner Causey also had the treat of being able to present checks to Elkin Emergency Rescue Squad and the Mountain Park Rescue Squad for $5,000 each. This was part of a larger $250,000 contribution made by the N.C. Surplus Lines Association to help firefighters and rescue squads in North Carolina.

Rescue squads who had the smallest amount of funding were targeted for these grants, and it is needed badly. “It is an honor for me to personally present these surplus lines checks, courtesy of the NCSLA,” Causey said. “This money will help needy emergency units better respond to critical lifesaving situations.”

“Your rescue squads and volunteer fire departments who got this funding are some of the lowest funded in the whole state.” To the Elkin squad he said, “I believe the total funding for the county and the city combined was under $60,000. We know that it is well needed, and you will put that to good use. You can use it for bills, or whatever you need to, there is a lot of flexibility.”

A previous round of grants from Blue Cross targeted low funded volunteer fire departments, but the rescue squads got left out. Along with Mountain Park, the Wilkes County Rescue Squad and Alleghany Rescue Squad are also among the 17 rescue squads statewide to be receiving targeted grant money from the fund.

“We appreciate you being here, and the money coming to these rescue squads and fire departments, I know, is much appreciate by them,” Surry County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bill Goins said.

Causey and Surry County Commissioner Van Tucker each gave a gentle ribbing to Jones and reminded him that the county has plenty of job openings, should he want to go for an even 40 years of service.

Mount Airy City Schools is partnering with the company Grads Give to reach out to Mount Airy High School alumni, offering them a chance to keep up with what is happening at the high school as well as chances to support some of those efforts.

And the first project the city school system is tackling is the construction of a memorial to honor alumni who have served in the armed forces.

“We are holding a kick-off fundraiser for the memorial on Memorial Day,” said Carrie Venable, executive officer of communications for the city schools.

She said Randy Moore, a city board of education member, came up with the idea and the entire school board quickly supported the plan. Garrett Howlett, a career and technical teacher at the school, developed the design.

The memorial will be built on school grounds, at the corner of N. South Street and Orchard Street.

“Our goal is to have it built by next Memorial Day,” she said, with the fundraising effort for the money needed to build the memorial to officially begin on May 30, this year’s Memorial Day, at 9 a.m. “We don’t want to interrupt other Memorial Day plans going on. This ceremony will be a brief introduction to it.”

The fundraising goal for the memorial is $50,000 and, according to a new alumni page on the city school’s website — https://mountairyhighschool.gradsgive.org/ – the effort is already 30% of the way there.

While the monument is timely given its kick-off on the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, this will be far from the only effort the school system will undertake in its new effort to build stronger relations with alumni.

“We want to connect with the graduates,” she said. “In the day of social media, you’d think it would be easy. But connecting with graduates takes a lot of legwork…many of them have moved, changed their name, many of their parents have moved. This group (Grads Give), does the legwork for us. We’ll be able to keep our alumni connected to what’s going on.”

She said the school system could use stronger alumni relations to provide graduates a chance to come back to the school as speakers or in other roles. Partnerships with graduates have already been important to the school system.

“Our Richard Childress racing partnership has been a huge asset,” she said. That, according to Venable, was a city school graduate, Eric Warren, working at Childress and getting the NASCAR team involved with working with students from his alma mater.

“We want to stay connected with our alumni, to help our students grow and prepare for what lies ahead.” Using real-world partnerships through alumni is one way of doing that.

Besides the military, she said another group of alumni she would like to reach out to are those in the medical field who have come through he COVID-19 pandemic. “This is a group definitely deserving of recognition,” she said.

As for the first project, she said the Memorial Day gathering will be a brief ceremony, where a temporary structure or fixture will be erected that shows what the finished project will look like. She said the display will even include a QR code people can use in order to donate to the effort.

Those wishing to donate can do so through the alumni page on the website.

“They can make a one-time give, a monthly, annual, whatever works best for them, whatever they would like to do,” Venable said.

DOBSON — The political signs recently infiltrating local roadways promoting candidates for this week’s primary election now are disappearing from the landscape as quickly and quietly as they came.

This includes ones placed at locations serving as voting precincts on Tuesday, which have been proactively and unceremoniously uprooted in the wake of the last ballots being cast.

“Our take-down staff removed signs today from Election Day precincts that were located on church and school property,” Surry County Director of Elections Michella Huff advised Wednesday night — about 24 hours after the totals for various races were reported.

Those items haven’t wound up in some political memorabilia graveyard, but are being stored temporarily in Dobson, Huff added.

“We have placed all signs collected behind the Board of Elections office against the outside of our building, where they will remain for 10 days, ” Huff explained in reference to the board’s headquarters at 915 E. Atkins St. in the Surry County Service Center.

Candidates and/or supporters can retrieve their respective signs until 5 p.m. next Friday, according to the elections official.

Any campaign signs or banners remaining after that date are to be thrown away.

That 10-day window observed by the Board of Elections also will be accompanied by signs being removed elsewhere in the county — if candidates/supporters obey the law.

The display period for campaign signs officially ends on the 10th day after the primary, which is May 27.

Signs still in the right of way after that time will be in violation of state law, and the N.C. Department of Transportation is authorized to remove and dispose of them, based on a set of guidelines issued last month by the agency. Those still in place then are considered abandoned.

Yet the upcoming deadline doesn’t mean the end of campaign signs this year, which are expected to make a reappearance ahead of the general election in November — involving cases where candidacies remain viable after the primary — and effectively recycled.

Wednesday at North Surry High School five seniors showed off in the Senior Art Exhibit.

Lanee’ Kyle, Jacey Ward, Danielle Ayers, Bella Jones, and Emily Keith each displayed a variety of their creations from their time at North Surry High where Jennifer Draughn is the art teacher

Some students were able to take a break from their normal studies to go to the media center and see the art on display. “I took my Spanish 1 students and they had an assignment. They had to compare the student’s art with a famous Spanish artist they have studied — Pablo Picasso. So it’s been a cool thing,” Hope Ward said.

More art from the Senior Art Exhibit here courtesy of Hope Ward from North Surry High.

Often History, with a capital H, is seen as highly academic. We, as humans, often overlook or dismiss day to day activities as historical; we discard little moments like fool’s gold to make way for the 24 karat events that are televised, tweeted, posted, and spread in mass media without truly seeing that these little experiences sometimes shine brighter.

Through the years, The Mount Airy News has documented the big and the small detailing the life of its readers and beyond. Vintage copies of the newspaper are treasure chests of local history. Some copies have small sections titled “Looking Back” that detail events from 25 and 50 years ago, much like the “Our History” columns do today. Here are some findings from the 1972 May issues.

Originally published May 16, 1947, 25 years ago in 1972, and 75 years ago this month, one blurb read: “Joe Dobson has sold his café business, operated as Main Street Grill to Neil Hennis and Lum Robertson who are now in charge of the place. Dobson is now spending this week catching up on fishing in the local stream.” With no Facebook to check in on our friends, local residents were informed via the newspaper. Social gatherings and events were shared in print, just as we do today. In an issue published on May 2, 1972, an observation was noted that on May 4, 1922 “Miss Fulton, Hedrick, and Bacon of the high school faculty and Mrs. Moorefield and children are camping at White Sulphur Springs.” A simple camping trip that is now 100 years was immortalized in print. Friends and family used this information to plan visits and outings. Granted this is much slower than our instant messaging now but it still got the job done.

Sometimes the news was so shocking that it was published outside the local sector. On May 23, 1947, a piece was entered about Sheffield, England. “Entering a dentist’s office to have a tooth pulled, George Henry Davison, 60, was given an anesthetic. He woke up a few minutes later with his teeth intact and found the dentist dead. He had suffered a heart attack.” After 25 years this type of story was still in favor to be printed.

Another story, originally printed on May 4, 1922, and is now 100 years old communicated that “The brick building on Moore Avenue formerly occupied by Billie Kings Cleaning and Pressing Business has been leased by J.L Banner and turned into an ice cream factory.” Now, if that’s not newsworthy, I don’t know what is.

So many other stories and community events have been recorded for all to see. If you ever find yourself wanting to step back in time and see what everyday folks in our area were interested in all you need to do is browse the newspaper archives, most of which are available online.

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

On final approach and coming in for a landing soon at the Mount Airy/Surry County Airport will be the second installment of an event organizers hope will be a long-term addition to the local landscape.

Tamsen Beroth and Speedology Lifestyle Solutions, LLC are returning on Saturday, June 11 for the 2nd Annual Mount Airy/Surry County Airport Auto Show with the show vehicles directly on the tarmac of the airport while it remains open to air traffic.

Just as last year, the event is meant to be a family friendly destination for car enthusiasts of all stripes to come together and enjoy a common interest. Whether muscle cars, street racing, import, domestic, high-end performance, classic restorations, motorcycle, or even something unique – all will be welcome to show and view as planes come and go.

To combat some of the heat and humidity of the mid-day, she has moved her event forward an hour, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. “It’s not a ‘You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.’ If people are having a good time and enjoying themselves, we can stay longer,” she said.

There will be contests and trophies for the show cars including Best in Show and People’s Choice. The trophies are being made by Mount Airy High students in the Career & Tech Education (CTE) program under Garrett Howlett.

Beroth offered special thanks to Olivia Sikes, director of CTE, and Kevin Joyce, coordinator for Learning Enhancement and Global Partnerships, for helping bring the schools in on the project.

The price has been reduced from the previous show, it is $20 per show car which includes the fees for all the people in that car. General admission will be $5 each for those who are not showing. A rain date has been set that will not be needed, thanks to the power of positive thinking, for the following Saturday, June 18.

Knowing no such event is complete without the eats, the fly in auto show will be featuring food trucks including Cilantro & Tacos and Lobster Dogs. The Dapper Bean coffee truck and Opie’s Candy Store are also slated to be in attendance.

Beroth remembers the fun of going to auto shows in her youth, and her desire is to land some of that magic at the airport. The host location for the event was chosen again to accommodate take-offs and landings during the auto show and to highlight an often-overlooked economic driver for the area.

On the last attempt, the auto show was mired by hit or miss precipitation that kept some from coming to the event, and certainly reduced the numbers of takeoffs and landings.

However, when the sun popped through it was time to take to the skies. When the rumble announced an engine had fired up, quickly a line of folks formed next to the runway to watch the single engine prop plane take off.

For many, they only see the Mount Airy/Surry County airport on the way in and out of town, so to be on the tarmac and a stone’s throw from a taxiing plane was indeed a deviation from the norm. The engine powered up further and the plane accelerated down the runway before lifting gently off the ground and entering the troposphere to the delight of kids and the young at heart below.

Returning for another trip is Mayberry4Paws as the community partner for the event, and Beroth is thrilled to be supporting them again. She loves to give back and has a soft spot for animals, “Can someone benefit from it? Animals, babies, kids – anyone who can’t take care of themselves, I’m all for it.”

One of many animal rescue groups in the county, Mayberry4Paws is a local non-profit whose goal is to underwrite the expenses of spaying and neutering animals with the end goal of reducing the number of animals entering the shelter. To increase the likelihood of a successful rehoming, they also work to ensure that pets who enter rescue programs are going to ones that are reputable.

The auto show has been a learning process she said, and lessons learned from the first attempt are guiding some new practices this time around. “We are going to have a better system for cars coming in, and for those who are here to watch or to show their cars.”

Those who are there to view only will go down the road to the left of the terminal and hangars to find the parking area set back from main gate. Last year, Beroth and her team shuttled those who needed a lift to and from the parking area. “We got some gas-powered golf carts this year, so we don’t run out of juice going up and down the hill” to the parking area.

She said there will also be an expedited ticketing system where folks can purchase tickets beforehand to skip the line at the gate, another way she is seeking to improve the experience. Even the sharp looking flyer for this year’s event will feature a QR code that can ease in the purchase of tickets even more.

As the sestercentennial rolls along, the Surry 250 bus tour is preparing to tour the historic sites of Dobson and Northwestern Surry County.

In a newly announced change, Nathan Walls of the county manager’s office advised that the bus fare for the remaining three Surry 250 tours will be waived. A free lunch will still be provided, so the time has never been better to get on the bus and see the sights of Surry County from the cool confines of a tour bus.

“People are watching the dollars right now,” Marion Venable of the Surry County Historical Society said, “so this is wonderful that the county will help cover the cost.”

The date for the next tour is Saturday, May 28 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Arrival is 9:45 a.m. Buses will leave at 10 a.m.

Local historian Venable will be the tour guide for this event, and she advised tour stops for the Dobson and Northwestern Surry County leg of the tour include homes and sites around the historic Dobson downtown as well as the Allison tree.

She said other stops will include the Bartholomew Hodges home that was built in 1805 as well as a stop at Kapp’s Mill for a talk on its history and the loss of the dam.

A stop will be made to see the work being done at Isaac’s Mill before visiting the Edwards-Franklin House and Flat Top Primitive Church. “If time allows,” Venable said there may be some impromptu stops along the way. The tour will make its final stop at the Charlie Tucker house from 1914 which Emma Jean Tucker helped to restore.

All tours are to be provided by Black Tie Bus Charters and each will depart from the Surry County Service Center, 915 East Atkins Street in Dobson.

The sestercentennial celebration marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the county and had been on hold due to COVID-19. Due to rescheduling, it is technically no longer the sestercentennial but that will not stop the festivities.

There are still several events on the docket for the Surry 250 including two more bus tours and three more lecture series events.

Surry’s Natural Heritage – NC Trail Days, will be a presentation made in cooperation with the Elkin Valley Trails Association on Friday, June 3 at 4 p.m. The event will be held at the Elkin Public Library, 111 North Front Street, in Elkin, and is presented by Ken Bridle, ecologist/botanist with the Piedmont Land Conservancy.

Next will be a lecture on Native Americans of the Yadkin Valley to be held on Thursday, June 16 at 6:30 p.m. The Surry County Service Center, 915 East Atkins Street, Dobson will be the location for this lecture series event that is presented by professor Dr. Andrew Gurstelle of Wake Forest University.

Surry 250 will be taking it to the streets again with a bus tour of Elkin sites on Saturday, June 25 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This time the tour guide will be local historian Jason Couch.

Following the jaunt around Elkin, the bus tour will then tour Eastern Surry County historical sites on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Venable will return as the tour guide for this final bus tour of the Surry 250 series.

The 250th anniversary of the founding of the county will wind down on Friday, Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m. with the last of the lecture series events. Rounding out the lecture series is a presentation by Paul Brown, a musician, producer, radio host, and retired NPR reporter entitled “Surry County’s Traditional Music Legacy” in cooperation with the Surry Arts Council.

Hosting the final event will be the Historic Earle Theatre located at 142 North Main Street, Mount Airy.

More information can be obtained by visiting https://www.facebook.com/surry250.

— Update: As of Tuesday evening, the Surry 250 official Facebook page announced: “The bus tour for this Saturday, May 28 for Dobson/Northwestern Surry County has no more seats! Please sign up for the Elkin bus tour, scheduled for Saturday, June 25!”

In times of inflation and other economic uncertainty, at least there’s good news on the home front: Mount Airy residents are facing no property tax or utility rate increases in the next fiscal year.

The proposed general fund budget for 2022-23 totaling $18,437,250 — unveiled Thursday night by City Manager Stan Farmer — is actually about 24% higher than that adopted last June for the present fiscal year, $14.9 million, which ends on June 30.

And it is % higher than the adjusted spending plan for this year totaling $17,232,929 at last report, which includes additions made since the budget was adopted initially.

Despite this, municipal property owners will continue to be taxed at the rate of 60 cents per $100 of assessed valuation next year, under the latest plan, which is expected to produce revenues of $7.5 million.

“A large percentage of the revenue increase is due to the American Rescue Plan Act funding,” the city manager explained Thursday night when reading his budget message during a meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners.

The city was allocated about $3.2 million from that source in 2021 through legislative action in Washington designed to help states and localities recover from COVID, and must be reflected in the overall municipal budget even though local funding isn’t involved.

“This will enhance the services that the city will provide and will significantly impact our community through improvements to city-owned facilities,” added Farmer. He came to work in January after the retirement of Mount Airy’s longtime manager, Barbara Jones, and is involved in his first Mount Airy budget preparations.

Earlier this spring, Farmer had released a list of projects targeted for the federal funding mainly including major building and equipment needs. These total nearly $3 million, according to a revised breakdown presented Thursday night containing 19 line items altogether.

Among those proposed expenditures are projects in the city Parks and Recreation Department. These include $413,000 for the indoor pool HVAC/air system at Reeves Community Center, new pickleball and multi-use courts at Riverside Park ($200,000), building repairs ($91,000), bridge repairs on the Emily B. Taylor section of the Granite City Greenway ($100,000) and mowers/trailers ($32,000).

Another big-ticket item, $490,000, targets City Hall, constructed in the late 1970s, where needs include building repairs and seal coating and striping of parking lots.

Money also is recommended for fire-suppression grants to stimulate housing development in downtown buildings, with $105,000 earmarked for that purpose.

The budget proposes using $128,500 from Mount Airy’s fund balance, or savings, to finance the American Rescue Plan Act-designated projects.

Full-time municipal employees are recommended to receive a $1,500 raise for the next fiscal year.

Along with its general fund budget, Mount Airy maintains a separate budget for its water-sewer operations — which are supported by user fees under an enterprise fund arrangement.

The water-sewer budget for 2022-23 totals $7,409,750.

Each year, the city government allocates money to outside agencies that, while not part of the municipality, are considered to play vital roles in the community.

Last year this included $87,500 for the Surry Arts Council, $103,650 to the Mount Airy Public Library, $10,000 for Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, $7,500 to the Mount Airy Rescue Squad and $10,000 for Mount Airy-Surry County Airport, a total of $218,650.

For 2022-23, this category has a new look from a budgetary standpoint, with only the rescue squad ($7,500) and airport ($20,000) in the mix.

In lieu of a special appropriation, $206,996 is proposed for much-needed repairs to the Andy Griffith Playhouse, which houses the Surry Arts Council, and $197,322 for the library under the same scenario. Both buildings are owned by the municipality although the council and library operations are not under the city umbrella.

No discussion was held on the preliminary budget Thursday night among the commissioners.

A public hearing on it is scheduled for the board’s next meeting on June 2 at 6 p.m. It was mentioned Thursday night that citizens can review the proposed budget at the Municipal Building.

The commissioners typically adopt the annual spending package sometime during June.

“And I look forward to the rest of the process,” Farmer said.

The Surry Early College graduation was held Friday evening in the gym on the campus of Surry County Community College.

This will not be the largest class that will cross a stage in the coming weeks, however there was still an impressive amount of both scholarship dollars and certifications for these graduates.

Principal Colby Beamer broke down some of the information on this graduating class of 65 students. A four year college or university is on the horizon for 43 of the graduates. Many students are staying in state and in the UNC system, SUNY-Albany was one of the further away college destinations to be found.

Community college is the path for 11 of the graduates with several staying local to attend Surry Community College. Nine of the graduates are planning on entering the workforce directly and are carrying with them certifications in areas like firefighting, mechatronics, information technology, and paralegal tech.

Evelin Lara took the road less traveled these days, and will be joining the Marines.

“All those credentials, that’s not normal,” Surry Community College president Dr. David Shockley said before honoring the students and staff of the Early College for again achieving a 100% graduation rate. “This is becoming an annual tradition.”

Britza Chavez-Arellano was the Senior Speaker and Matthew Gillespie was the “Super Senior Speaker” leaving the Early College with 97 college credit hours.

Senior Class President Nancy Garcia-Villa gave the farewell address to the students where she recounted troubling experiences that influenced her. She also noted those who struggled mightily to get to the United States so that she may be standing on the stage.

More complete coverage of the commencement ceremony and speeches will be found in Tuesday’s Mount Airy News.

DOBSON — Unlike some other Republican primary victors Tuesday, incumbent Surry County Clerk of Court Neil Brendle doesn’t have to worry about Democratic Party opposition come November.

That’s because no candidates of that party filed for the office, leaving the victor of the three-way GOP primary as the person who will occupy it for the next four years through 2026: Brendle, who now is completing his first term.

“It’s just a blessing, I tell you,” he said Wednesday while at his post in Dobson, after reflecting on the primary outcome that was settled Tuesday night.

Based on unofficial results, Brendle received 3,166 votes, 43.63 percent of the total, compared to 2,232 for Teresa O’Dell (30.76 percent) and 1,859 for Melissa Marion Welch (25.62 percent).

O’Dell was a previous clerk who served one four-year term before being ousted in a Republican primary in 2018, while Welch also has many years of experience as a clerk’s office employee.

“I’ve been blessed,” the incumbent added in discussing factors affecting this year’s race. “I really thank God more than anything.”

Brendle, 45, also credits support of family members and friends for playing a role during the campaign, along with those he leads in Dobson.

“I’ve got a great staff,” he said. “That’s one reason why I worked so hard to get re-elected.”

Brendle said he was impressed by the positive tone of the clerk of court race overall, with “amazing” camaraderie shown among both his supporters and those of other candidates. “It was really a great atmosphere.”

Citing the rigors of the political process along with meeting the day-to-day demands of overseeing local court operations along the way, Brendle says he is now focused on resuming a normal routine.

“I’m looking forward to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

This includes being part of a challenging transition involving a transformation of court operations across North Carolina to a paperless system. Brendle will be serving on a technology committee comprised of a small number of clerks around the state to help implement the change.

Court processes will become more streamlined and efficient as a result, he has said.

Along with its own vehicle fleet, the Mount Airy Rescue Squad is now housing one from another agency at its headquarters on Frederick Street — a simple gesture that will pay big dividends for area hospitals and patients.

This involves a partnership forged between the rescue squad and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist AirCare in Winston-Salem.

Although the term “AirCare” is being used, the squad won’t be accommodating one of the helicopters for which the air ambulance program is best known, but aiding its ground-based Critical Care Transport Service instead.

For the first time ever, that program now has a full-time ambulance and crew stationed in Surry — available to transport area patients who require treatment at larger facilities including Wake Forest Baptist Health or hospitals in Durham or Charlotte.

This service not only will benefit hospitals in this county but others in Wilkes and Alleghany counties and also in Virginia.

Meanwhile, it will free up ambulances of the Surry Emergency Medical Service to respond to active emergency calls rather than being tied up with out-of-county transports from hospitals.

Based on comments at Tuesday’s gathering, this is resulting from county officials relinquishing a longtime franchise role that required such trips to be undertaken by the EMS, and allowing Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist AirCare to take on that task.

“This keeps our trucks in the county running 911 calls,” Surry Director of Emergency Services Eric Southern explained Tuesday.

A grand opening to celebrate the new partnership was held Tuesday at the squad headquarters, featuring a ribbon cutting, with about 25 representatives of both it and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist AirCare attending along with other interested parties. The arrangement actually began on March 1.

“They were looking for a location,” squad Assistant Chief Corey Scearce said of AirCare officials’ desire to maintain its unit locally.

The squad had an open bay at its facility, so the partnership worked out all around, Scearce added.

While the sparkling new AirCare ambulance based at the Mount Airy Rescue Squad isn’t meant to be deployed for emergency calls, its presence in this strategic point in the region will reduce times needed to reach and transport hospital patients. That could result in lives being saved, officials say.

The new arrangement also is more economical, reducing trips that normally might be made from Winston-Salem to outlying areas and back — to which the unit housed in Mount Airy can more quickly respond.

“It’s made a huge impact in the region,” AirCare Assistant Program Manager Mack Tolbert said during Tuesday’s event.

In one recent two-week period, the vehicle logged 2,500 miles.

The ground-transport ambulance — a Ford F-450 model costing $280,000 — is equipped with four-wheel drive to better negotiate snowy mountain roads that could be encountered during its various runs to pick up patients in far-flung sections.

Steve Scott, a local businessman who has been a member of the squad’s governing board for 25 years and now serves as its president, praised the win-win situation represented by its agreement with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist AirCare.

“This is wonderful,” Scott said Tuesday.

Three seats on the Surry County Board of County Commissioners were up for grabs on election night with Chairman Bill Goins, Vice Chairman Eddie Harris, and Commissioner Mark Marion all mounting successful defenses of their seats from challengers.

Put away the patriotic bunting and yard signs because the campaign season for Harris and Goins is now complete, neither have a Democratic challenger for their seat in the general election. Marion will face off against Ken Badgett, one of only three Democrats running for local office, in the fall.

There were races of note to be found up and down the ballot, but it was the sizeable field for the United States Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Richard Burr that undoubtedly was the biggest draw across the state. In Surry County 7,345 votes were cast in that Senate race. Rep. Virginia Foxx’s victory against her challenger brought in a total of 7,357 votes by comparison.

Locally, it was Commissioner Eddie Harris who had the big win last night with 5,853 votes over Elkin’s Tessa Saeli with 1,220. It is noteworthy that he brought in the most votes of any candidate in either party across the county – Rep. Foxx was next with 5,664, North Carolina House Representative Sarah Stevens with 5,494, and Rep. Ted Budd with 4,094.

Such a large vote total for Harris, yielding 82.75% of the vote, is a sign that his message of conservatism resonates with the people in his district who continue to send him back to Dobson as their representative.

There has been talk about Harris running for office at a higher level, but he gave a diplomatic response that while he has been approached, he has no current plans, adding that he would not discount anything and was keeping an open mind.

Now though, Surry County remains his focus, “I am happy just being a plain ole simple working man county commissioner.” For allowing him the chance represent them again, he thanked his constituents for the “overwhelming vote of confidence. I’ll never let you down.”

Chairman Bill Goins retained his seat garnering a total of 4,094 votes. Second place Steven Odum brought in 1,671 and Walter D. Harris 1,330. “It’s kind of tough when you’re in a three-person race,” he said by phone Wednesday, “but my hat is off to all the people who supported me and worked for me. Also, to the people working the polls.”

Commissioner Mark Marion admitted Wednesday that he had been feeling some heat of late. “I was nervous, I was a little anxious to see how the citizens would respond. We sent a clear message though,” he said alluding to the recent pressures that have been building on the board from the right flank of their own party.

Marion held off Landon Tolbert with 4,674 votes to 2,444. “I wish him nothing but the best, he’s a fine young man. I admire his courage and I thank him for running a clean race,” Marion said.

Previously Marion and Goins had each expressed a desire to depart the board of commissioners after this, what will be their second terms each. Goins said that “right now” he has no plans to run for office again, “I’m confident we’re going to have some good people to step up” and run for the board of commissioners in the future.

Marion spoke similarly post primary, saying that he currently has no plans to run again but, “Who knows what the future holds for Surry County?” He left the door propped open ever so slightly for another run saying if in four years he is needed, “Why wouldn’t I want to?”

A breakdown of the vote totals for these three races show that the Surry GOP was able to turn out around a third of their registered voters. County board of elections figures last updated May 16 show an estimate of 21,643 registered Republicans in the county. Democrats have a registered 10,148, while 14,987 are shown as registered Independents, and 215 Libertarians.

While the city council makeup won’t officially be determined until a Nov. 8 general election, the situation through this week’s primaries ensures the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners will welcome at least two new faces — and possibly a third.

With his last-place finish Tuesday in a South Ward race also involving Phil Thacker and Gene Clark, present At-Large Commissioner Joe Zalescik will be off the board at year’s end. Under the city’s non-partisan system, only the top two candidates in a primary advance to the general election.

Unofficial totals showed Zalescik, who was appointed to the at-large seat only last September to fill a vacancy, with 377 votes. He was seeking the South Ward position now held by Steve Yokeley, who was running for the at-large post.

As the candidate filing period for the primary got under way, Zalescik and Yokeley agreed to run for each other’s seats. This was due to a desire by Yokeley to possibly serve only a short time, which winning the at-large seat would allow since that involves filling an unexpired term of only two years.

On the other hand, the South Ward winner will have a full four-year term, which Zalescik sought.

But that was derailed by Thacker, a former longtime member of the Mount Airy Board of Education, who won Tuesday’s South Ward primary with 892 votes, 51 percent of those cast, and Clark. The latter’s 466 were good for second place and a ballot spot in November.

Meanwhile, Chad Hutchens won a primary for a North Ward seat on the council now held by Commissioner Jon Cawley, who opted to run for mayor this year instead of defend the office he has held since 2008. Cawley finished second in a mayoral primary Tuesday and will square off against the primary winner, Mayor Ron Niland, this fall.

Hutchens, 45, amassed 539 votes, edging out city government “watchdog” John Pritchard, who received 486. Farther down the ballot were a former city school board member, Teresa Davis Leiva, with 417 votes, and Joanna Refvem (an even 300).

The possible third element in the council shakeup involves Yokeley, who was first elected to the board in 2009. He finished second in a three-person primary for the at-large seat won by Deborah Cochran, a popular former radio personality locally who previously served as mayor and at-large commissioner and now works in the educational field.

Cochran, 60, drew 787 votes Tuesday (44 percent of the total cast), with Yokeley getting 524 and Tonda Phillips, 466.

Yokeley now will face Cochran in November in the race to become the city’s at-large representative.

Thacker believes his primary victory resulted from basic values.

“During this election, I have tried to stress the importance to be honest, to be conservative with our money (budget), have a positive attitude and treat everyone with respect,” he commented Wednesday.

“Of course, I am very pleased with the outcome of the election,” added Thacker, 67, who is retired from Renfro Corp., with which he worked in an engineering capacity. “I am blessed from all of the support I received.”

He reiterated Wednesday one of his goals voiced during the campaign in addition to exemplifying conservatism and honesty. “We also need to seek opportunities to establish new jobs.”

Thacker advised that in advancing toward the general election “I want to continue talking with the community, learning about the needs and the direction of Mount Airy.”

He mentioned that “it was great seeing so many voters out yesterday at our primary.”

Deborah Cochran’s successful election showing on Tuesday stemmed from genuine concerns for rank-and-file working folks expressed during the campaign and the need to keep taxes low as possible, she believes, a hallmark of hers during previous city government service.

“I think my views resonated with voters due to my history and experience,” Cochran asserted.

“The USA is nation of inflation, and I wonder how most people are surviving — grocery inflation is real,” she added. “Taxpayers live within their means and now more than ever government, on every level, must do the same.”

In looking ahead to the general election, “I will continue to be an advocate for citizens,” Cochran pledged.

The at-large primary winner had issued a general statement Tuesday night in which she thanked local native and Grammy-winning singer Donna Fargo for a role she played in the campaign on Cochran’s behalf.

“I would like to thank the voters for taking it to the streets and showing their strong support and continued confidence in me during the primary,” it reads. “I would like to thank my good friend, Donna Fargo, for recording radio commercials.”

Cochran also referred to Fargo’s signature hit single recorded in the 1970s, “The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA.”

“We both agree Mount Airy is the best hometown in the whole USA,” Cochran remarked.

Chad Hutchens is a career law enforcement professional who now is a sergeant with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, heading its school resource officer unit.

“I think that the key to our success during the primary was what we will continue to do and that is to be a part of our community,” Hutchens listed as a factor behind the strong showing on Tuesday from his perspective and that of supporters.

“We feel that our citizens want representation from those that are involved and a part of our great community,” he added. “We will continue to be involved and engaged with the citizens.”

In proceeding toward the general election, his campaign will maintain “our focus and vision of fiscal responsibility, community and economic development and representing the citizens of Mount Airy and city employees,” Hutchens mentioned.

Ron Niland said Wednesday that no magic formula or secret ingredients were responsible for his victory in Mount Airy’s mayoral primary, just a simple focus.

“I tried to run a very positive, forward-thinking campaign,” Niland said of Tuesday’s outcome in which he received 811 votes to defeat two challengers, North Ward Commissioner Jon Cawley (695) and former At-Large Commissioner Teresa Lewis (291).

This was the just preliminary for the main event, however, the November general election in which Niland and Cawley will go head to head.

Under the municipality’s non-partisan election system, a primary is held when three or more candidates seek a particular office, which narrows the field to the two top vote-getters.

“I was pleased with the results,” Niland — who had been appointed mayor in 2021 to fill the seat previously held by David Rowe — said of Tuesday’s primary and receiving 45 percent of the votes, “and look forward to November and hopefully we can win (then).”

The primary figures are technically unofficial at this point, awaiting a canvass.

With the tendencies of primaries to spread out the balloting — among three candidates in this case — a different dynamic is in play when the contest boils down to two.

Niland said he has “no idea” how the support garnered by Lewis affected that for either him or Cawley, but said his outlook moving ahead doesn’t change — “just positive.”

His emphasis on the positive could be viewed as a response to Cawley going on the offensive against Niland in the latter stages of the campaign.

This included being openly critical of the mayor’s handling of a recent 4-1 vote by the commissioners effectively allowing more outside dining and drinking of alcoholic beverages downtown, and an apparent memory lapse by the mayor during that process.

Niland declined Wednesday to address whatever negative or other role this might have played during early voting and at the five city polling stations on Tuesday.

“I’m not into that…to that side of it,” he responded. “I just want to serve my community with honor and integrity.”

The mayor did say he believed his experience in government, including being a former city manager in Mount Airy and serving as a consultant to other municipalities, played a role.

He further indicated that setting forth a vision for Mount Airy — evidenced by his formation of committees by that name to explore the future of economic development and other key areas locally — seems to have struck a chord with citizens.

The ultimate goal involves taking steps to make a great city even better and maximizing its potential, he explained Wednesday.

While on the campaign trail, Niland listed the two most important issues facing Mount Airy as housing and economic development. “How we deal with these will affect how we live, work and play going forward,” he predicted.

Niland added Wednesday that he appreciates everyone’s support and those who voted in the election overall, even if not for him.

When asked how his focus might change for the November showdown, the mayor said “it doesn’t at all.”

Cawley could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Primary season usually does not provide a lot of drama, and apart from the 11th Congressional District’s upset, this primary stayed true to form. There were three seats on the Surry County Board of County Commissioners up for grabs last night with Chairman Bill Goins, Vice Chairman Eddie Harris, and Commissioner Mark Marion all mounting successful defenses of their seats from challengers.

Put away the patriotic bunting and yard signs because the campaign season for Harris and Goins is now complete, neither have a Democratic challenger for their seat in the general election. Marion will face off against Ken Badgett, one of only three Democrats running for local office, in the fall.

There were races of note to be found up and down the ballot, but it was the sizeable field for the United States Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Richard Burr that undoubtedly was the biggest draw across the state. In Surry County 7,345 votes were cast in that Senate race. Rep. Virginia Foxx’s victory against her challenger brought in a total of 7,357 votes by comparison.

Locally, it was Commissioner Eddie Harris who had the big win last night with 5,853 votes over Elkin’s Tessa Saeli with 1,220. It is noteworthy that he brought in the most votes of any candidate in either party across the county – Rep. Foxx was next with 5,664, North Carolina House Representative Sarah Stevens with 5,494, and Rep. Ted Budd with 4,094.

Such a large vote total for Harris, yielding 82.75% of the vote, is a sign that his message of conservatism resonates with the people in his district who continue to send him back to Dobson as their representative.

There has been talk about Harris running for office at a higher level, but he gave a diplomatic response that while he has been approached, he has no current plans, adding that he would not discount anything and was keeping an open mind.

Now though, Surry County remains his focus. For allowing him the chance represent them again, he thanked his constituents for the “overwhelming vote of confidence,” adding “I’ll never let you down.”

Chairman Bill Goins retained his seat garnering a total of 4,094 votes. Second place Steven Odum brought in 1,671 and Walter D. Harris 1,330. “It’s kind of tough when you’re in a three-person race,” he said by phone Wednesday, “but my hat is off to all the people who supported me and worked for me. Also, to the people working the polls.”

Commissioner Mark Marion admitted Wednesday that he had been feeling some heat of late. “I was nervous, I was a little anxious to see how the citizens would respond. We sent a clear message though,” he said alluding to the recent pressures that have been building on the board from the right flank of their own party.

Marion held off Landon Tolbert with 4,674 votes to 2,444. “I wish him nothing but the best, he’s a fine young man. I admire his courage and I thank him for running a clean race,” Marion said.

Previously Marion and Goins had each expressed a desire to depart the board of commissioners after this, what will be their second terms each. Goins said that “right now” he has no plans to run for office again, “I’m confident we’re going to have some good people to step up” and run for the board of commissioners in the future.

Marion spoke similarly post primary, saying that he currently has no plans to run again but, “Who knows what the future hold for Surry County?” He left the door propped open for another run saying if in four years he is needed, “Why wouldn’t I want to?”

A breakdown of the vote totals for these three races show that the Surry GOP was able to turn out around a third of their registered voters. County board of elections figures last updated May 16 show an estimate of 21,643 registered Republicans in the county. Democrats have a registered 10,148, while 14,987 are shown as registered Independents, and 215 Libertarians.

Two Surry County Board of Commissioners races were decided Tuesday, while a third saw an incumbent claim the GOP nomination in preparation for the fall election.

Incumbent Bill Goins won a decisive victory over two challengers for the Mount Airy District seat on the county board. While this was technically a primary race, the winner takes the seat because there are no other opponents in the fall election.

Goins claimed 4,094 — or 57.7% — of the votes cast in the race. Steven R. Odum received 1,671 votes and Walter D. Harris managed 1,330 votes.

In the South District seat primary, incumbent Eddie Harris claimed an even more impressive victory, with 5,853, or 82.75% of the vote, to 1,220 by Tessa Saeli. Again, with no fall opposition for Harris, his primary victory means he will serve another term on the board.

Incumbent Mark Marion easily won his primary as well, outdistancing Landon Tolbert 4,674 to 2,444. However, Marion will face another contest for the seat when he squares off with Democrat Ken Badgett in the fall. Badgett had no opposition for the Democratic nod.

Even though it was a spring primary, the Surry County Clerk of Circuit Court race was decided Tuesday night, with incumbent Neil Brendle returning to office for a second term.

Because no candidates from any other political party filed to run for the seat, Tuesday’s primary was, in essence, the deciding election for the seat.

Brendle garnered 43.63% of the vote in a three-way run-off, pitting him against the former clerk he ousted in the 2018 Republican primary — Teresa O’Dell — and Melissa Marion Welch. O’Dell received 2,232 votes and Welch totaled 1,859.

This year’s race was far less close than in 2018, when the situation was reversed. In that race, Brendle finished just 205 votes ahead of O’Dell, who had held the seat for one term at that time. He went on to defeat Kim Goings, the Democratic nominee, in the fall that year.

Mayor Ron Niland and City Commissioner Jon Cawley will be squaring off for the mayoral post in November, after both men advanced from Tuesday’s primary.

In the non-partisan city elections, when there are three or more candidates for a post, the city holds a primary, with the top two finishers in each such race advancing to the fall general election. This year, each of the municipal seats up for grabs — the mayor’s post, as well as the at-large, North Ward, and South Ward seats, had at least three candidates.

In the mayor’s race, with all of the county’s precincts reporting, incumbent Niland led the way with 811 votes, followed by Cawley at 695. Former commissioner Teresa Lewis finished third with 291 votes.

In the at-large runoff, former mayor Deborah Cochran received the most votes with 787. Commissioner Steve Yokeley was next with 524, meaning he and Cochran will square off in November. Tonda Phillips was third with 466 votes.

Phillip Thacker led the way in the South Ward race with 892 votes, while Gene Clark was a distant second at 466 and Commissioner Joe Zalescik was eliminated with his third place showing of 377 votes.

The most crowded of the city races, the North Ward, saw Chad Hutchens, with 539 votes, and John Pritchard, with 486, survive for the fall race. Eliminated were Teresa Davis Leiva, who had 417 votes, and Joanna Refvem, with 300 votes.

Additional coverage of the four Mount Airy races will appear in the Thursday print edition of The Mount Airy News and online.

Nursing and teaching are two professions that are born from a similar strand of DNA, it takes a certain type of person to want to go into a field serving others. Dena Cave was born in Surry County, and it is there that she continues to make a significant contribution to the lives of the students at Surry Central High School, their families, and the community.

A graduate of Surry Central herself back in the days of the first Gulf War, she has been a nurse for 30 years. In the latest chapter of her life story, she has spent the past 14 years teaching Health Science at Surry Central. “Health science is an elective for students who want to pursue a career in healthcare,” Cave explained.

Recently, Surry Central held “Addiction Awareness Week” and in this one-week campaign tackled head on an issue that is plaguing not just Surry County, but the nation. Charlotte Reeves of the county’s substance abuse prevention office said Cave’s efforts were unlike any other she had seen in a public school and that she is “really amazing.” Reeves aided in the week by talking to students about substance abuse and the adolescent brain and said people such as Cave need more credit than they receive.

Cave explained, “The idea for this week was inspired by many things. As a nurse, I have seen how people can be physically affected by drugs. As a Christian, I have seen how a person’s spiritual health can be affected. And as a teacher, I see every day how this epidemic is affecting the mental health of not only the addicts but the people who love them — their children. And in turn, they become caught up in a cycle of substance abuse.”

During the week, there were guest speakers, contests, and classroom activities to educate and inform students by reading addiction stories, information on how to get help, and resources available in Surry County for an opportunity for life-long recovery.

“We have a couple of different contests: Essay, chalk art, and poster. Our essay prompt was substance abuse and its consequences on our society,” she said. “We narrowed it down to the top ten for the judges to review, but it was still very difficult. The essay was not judged on grammar or spelling, but on how the student described the impact of substance abuse and its consequences.”

“Some did leave tears in the judge’s eyes. Most of the students wrote about how they personally had been affected — mother, father, sister, or brother addicted to substances.”

Surry Central took a hard hit with the passing of Noah Lowe from an overdose in 2020. “Noah was one of my students. I cared for him. He was one of the most intelligent students that I had ever taught. But Noah could not overcome his addiction,” Cave said.

“His mother Carey spoke to our students during our week. You could hear a pin drop in our gym. Many of the upperclassmen knew Noah, had a class with him, and maybe even partied with him. Hearing her story hit hard. I have since had several students talk about how powerful it was to hear her tell her side as a mom.”

Madison Freeman told her side of the story as a child living amongst substance abuse for the winning essay “Drugs Create Monsters.” With earnestness that exceeds her youth, she recalled the feelings she had about the abuse happening around her and its destructive power within her own family.

It follows in its entirety with the permission of Madison:

“Drugs come in all forms and can sneak into a person’s life without them realizing the addiction behind it. An addiction all starts with eagerness and peer pressure to try something new. Most of the time nobody wants to talk about the consequences and real-life events that are going on in their community or even their personal life. While growing up I personally struggled with feeling guilty for being the blame for my father’s addiction to drugs. So, I want to encourage people to talk to somebody even if it’s an anonymous online counselor or someone who is experiencing the same thing as you.

“My father was an addict to several substances, which caused him to do dangerous things to himself and even his family. Although he started out with opioids, he increasingly turned to stronger substances such as meth. I watched my father turn from a strong hard worker to someone I didn’t even recognize. I tried to protect my two younger siblings from the horrible person he was becoming. He did several things that I would say changed my life forever, especially in the perspective of how I viewed men and how they treated women. I was never able to have a good relationship with my father and it hurts to see other people being so close to their father.

“I am proud of my mother for being strong and being able to get herself and her children away from the monster he had become. I pray every day that he would get away from the horrible things he was doing and put his family through. I pray that nobody has to deal with this in their lifetime. This is why I am such a strong advocate for raising awareness of substance abuse and all the things that go along with it. If you or someone you love is dealing with an addiction you can call the National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357, they can provide you with the assistance you need to get through your addiction.”

The Yadkin Valley Railroad line, which counts Surry County in its territory, has been awarded state funding for infrastructure improvements, officials in Raleigh have announced.

Yadkin Valley was tapped for $762,538 — targeting bridge improvements, switch upgrades and mainline track improvements, which officials indicate will occur in Surry, Stokes, Forsyth and Wilkes counties where the rail company has a presence.

The local entity is among 13 short-line railroads around the state which will be improving their rail infrastructure thanks to the matching grant funds involved totaling nearly $11 million. Together, these projects will upgrade more than 12 miles of railroad track and 35 bridges in North Carolina.

A call to Yadkin Valley Railroad headquarters in Rural Hall Monday produced no elaboration regarding specific locations in Surry which are to be improved.

Also benefiting from the round of grant funding is the N.C. State Ports Authority. It will make dock rail improvements at the Port of Wilmington using $825,000 of the funding awarded as part of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement program.

Established in 2013 by the N.C. General Assembly, it supports rail infrastructure health, safety and performance throughout the state, enabling the DOT to partner with rail companies on improvement projects to effectively move freight.

This arrangement helps railroads efficiently meet customer needs in cost-effective ways while preparing them for growing service demands and partnerships with new businesses and industries.

The grants will be matched with railroad investments to generate more than $21.7 million in rail infrastructure improvements statewide.

Besides Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County Railroad is the closest line to this area to be awarded funding, $73,125 for track alignment improvements and track and crosstie upgrades in Catawba, Burke and Caldwell counties.

Yadkin Valley Railroad has a long history in this area, according to information on its parent company’s website.

The operation includes two lines originating in Rural Hall for a total distance of 93 miles. The first runs to North Wilkesboro and was completed in August 1890 as part of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Co.

The second line to Mount Airy was constructed by the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway in June 1888. Both lines became part of Southern Railway Co. in the late 1800s.

Since 1994, Yadkin Valley Railroad has been operated by Gulf and Ohio Railways Inc.

Using 10 locomotives, the Yadkin Valley line hauls 11,500 carloads annually. Commodities include poultry feed ingredients, wood products, steel, plastics, propane, ethanol and rail car storage.

An interchange is made with Norfolk Southern in Winston-Salem.

The area rail company has “transload” facilities in Rural Hall and Crutchfield in close proximity to major highways such as Interstate 77 and U.S. 52, with capabilities of handling products ranging from liquids and plastics to steel and lumber.

Word spread quickly last week that a group had been added to the county commissioners’ agenda for a presentation on election integrity. The guest list drew attention, but it was the message that carried the evening Monday in place of the big names.

Prof. David Clements, John Bowes, and Mark Cooke spoke to the commissioners and a packed house where citizens and media members alike were turned away because of overcapacity.

It was an evening that saw women livestreaming their walk to the courthouse, a crowd lingering outside afterward to hear speakers, and a contingent of deputies in the hallways and staircases.

Maybe the new sonker sign got them distracted as Mike Lindell, Dr. Douglas Frank, and Gen. Mike Flynn were among names dropped as potential speakers who were not to be seen.

The 2020 election is still at the heart of the matter with speakers at commissioners’ meetings recently laying out their concerns over election machines, voter registration, and voting day/polling place data that do not pass their smell test.

The desire to take a look under the hood of voting machines was part of a pair of discussions county elections chair Michella Huff had with county GOP chair Keith Senter and Dr. Frank in March. The county and state board of elections have weighed in on this subject with a consistent answer: no.

Huff said by phone last month that she advised what the paths to recourse were for challenging voter registration locally, or for filing a claim of voter fraud with the state. That answer remains an insufficient one for those who have concerns about their right to vote being infringed upon or lessened by the addition of what they consider tainted or illegal votes.

John Bowes told the board a canvassing of Surry County voters began in April where a volunteer group visited 525 homes and conducted 417 in-person interviews. They would explain they were verifying the information on the North Carolina voter rolls in an unofficial capacity.

He reported they found 170 issues on these visits with the largest instance of error being what is known as ghost registration. In these cases, the logs show a voter at an address where they do not live and may not have for some time.

What he claims are ineligible ballots accounted for 52 and a common occurrence was for a previous owner to still vote in their prior county. He offered an example of a resident who had moved to Wilkesboro and yet still voted in Surry County.

Logbooks showed a voting method that did not match what the voter said they did in 18 instances, the group asserted. Ten vacant lots did not need further explanation, but he would like an explanation about the two votes associated with a mailbox on Park Avenue that he says would mean voters are in the river.

Finally, the lost or added ballot category finds residents who say they voted but no vote was logged, or vice versa. This is the category his wife found herself in, she had requested absentee ballots that never found her, even though the state said they had been sent.

He said, “Surry is not immune to problems, I heard people say not here, not in Surry County, well that is obviously not the case and I venture to say we are going to find a lot more.”

Professor David Clements roused the crowd to hoots and hollers, and more than a few amens when he quoted from Proverbs on accurate weights and measures. He spoke at some length about voting machines and their supposed ability to access the internet while discussing different manufacturers’ products and practices.

North Carolina does not use Dominion voting machines, videos showing off some inconsistencies in what their CEO was saying brought little to clarification to the subject.

Clements though was able to relate the issues to a lack of trust between the people and the voting system. “You have to take their word for it,” he said about elections clerk’s claims of no modems inside voting machines. “That’s a myth that they don’t connect to the internet, they are so accessible to the internet it’s ridiculous,” he claimed.

“Anytime we have a standoff to prove it happened in (Otero County, New Mexico), you’ll get threats from attorney, secretary of state, the state election board, and a threat they will have to decommission the machines, and then buy new ones.”

The voting machines have built in security flaws that make them vulnerable to manipulation such as USB slot drives, he claimed. He also noted some machines can turn themselves on, yet leave the screen off, and clerks would never know.

“No matter how you want to shake this, there is evidence everywhere and the question is: Should we have trust in the system? This is really the issue before you all is do you have the lawful authority” to order inspection of the machines or any recourse on these complaints. “You do, under state statute 163.”

Chairman Bill Goins had to ask the crowd for silence as he spoke on just that, “I have asked people in this room, ‘Have you read statute 163?’ and they will say, “No, but you can do this.” How do you know if you haven’t read it?”

“This isn’t about constituents having to convince you, you’re going to have to convince them that this is a trustworthy process,” Clements said. “You are going to feel a lot of pressure from legal, from the state elections board, from the top down and I pray that you are going to feel an equal amount of righteous pressure from your constituents.”

“This is an easy job if you don’t have to sit in one of these seats. This board doesn’t always agree with each other, but on this issue, there is solidarity among the five members of the board.

“As we have referenced on several occasions the North Carolina general statutes guide us on what we can and cannot do in regard to elections. It is the law that governs elections of this state, and until it is changed, it is the law we go by.”

With a city government-imposed deadline looming Wednesday for owners of unsafe commercial buildings in Mount Airy to either repair or demolish the structures, a snag has occurred regarding the possible sale of one.

That is what’s commonly referred to as the former Koozies location at 455 Franklin St., a dilapidated unsafe building once housing a private club by that name which has long been on the radar screen of local building codes personnel.

In February, it was targeted for enforcement action by the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners, along with the former Mittman Paint and Body Shop at 109 S. South St. and the so-called “red building” at 600 W. Pine St. beside Worth Honda.

The commissioners voted 4-1 to give the respective owners of the sites 90 days to either repair or demolish the structures, which includes vacating any occupants or personal property.

It the wake of February’s vote, the vacant Mittman body shop property was auctioned on April 1, which made the timing of its fate uncertain given the change of ownership.

Meanwhile, the Koozies site also reached the auction block on April 28, which produced a high bid of $165,000 from an unnamed New York party.

But that potential purchase has fallen through, according to Dale Fulk, an auctioneer with Rogers Realty and Auction Co. who conducted the sale.

“The highest bidder didn’t work out,” Fulk said Monday.

While Fulk didn’t elaborate, Commissioner Joe Zalescik, who attended the April 28 auction — although Mayor Ron Niland has disclosed the city government was not officially involved — said it was his understanding the prospective new owner was unaware of the demolition mandate.

Razing the structure, which the city could do on its own based on the wording of its 90-day ultimatum, has a potential price tag of hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to previous discussion.

Fulk simply said Monday that “he (the New York bidder) is not moving forward, so we are moving forward.”

The auctioneer explained that a possible deal now is being eyed with the second-highest bidder, also unnamed, who he said is local. The bidding on April 28 came down to two serious bidders, Fulk said.

“We’re in a negotiating process,” he added Monday, indicating that this includes the present owner, National Decon Holdings, LLC, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. “As of right now, we’re still kind of in limbo.”

Fulk says the process is moving forward, “but going slow.”

This includes getting more information from the city and its codes enforcement officer, Chuck Morris.

In the meantime, it is not known how the present situation with the Koozies building will affect the 90-day deadline for remediation action expiring Wednesday.

Mount Airy officials have said that failure to meet that deadline could result in the municipality itself ordering the razing and then taking ownership of the property through court action to help recoup the cost of this.

Despite signage prohibiting occupancy, two fires have occurred inside the Koozies structure in recent months which have been linked to homeless persons living there.

A large, four-story building stands on the corner of North Main and East Oak Street in downtown Mount Airy, at 252 North Main Street. The building has occupied this corner for more than a century and has withstood all the changes that have occurred on the streets surrounding it.

Now known as the Main Oak building, and constructed sometime between 1905 and 1910, it has gone through countless renovations and changes, yet still retains many of its original details, such as its arched windows on the upper floor and its iconic, large storefront windows.

One of its early incarnations was as the F. L. Smith Hardware store. With the town of Mount Airy in boom and various industries springing up, there was high demand in the town for building supplies. As such, hardware stores became ubiquitous along Main Street. F. L Smith Hardware benefited greatly from all this new industry. The building then changed hands to Holcomb Hardware, and then over to Midkiff Hardware.

Its owner, John H Midkiff knew the building well, having been a resident of Mount Airy for the previous 21 years, and was an employee of F. L. Smith Hardware. In this incarnation, the store sold everything from wagons to tobacco and farming supplies. Under John Midkiff’s ownership, the store expanded, adding on a large storage warehouse located at the rear of the store, and also installed a modern (for its era) sprinkler system on the four floors of the building, making it the first store in town to have this fire prevention method.

Along with the flourishing business that the building housed, it also saw its share of the darker side of life. During the 1920s, Dr Harvey R. Hege’s practice was located on the second floor of the building, with Holcomb Hardware below. The dentist had lived and practiced in Mount Airy for more than 25 years and was by all accounts had many connections to the community and was very well respected.

Dr. Hege also flourished professionally. With the addition of a new X-ray machine in his office, the Mount Airy News wrote in a 1921 article that “with this addition to his already modernly equipped office Dr. Hege can now boast of one of the most completely equipped dental parlors in the state.”

However, what the dentist would become notorious for was his involvement in the murder of Curry Thomas, a Virginia farmer, in 1936. Just one month before his death, Thomas had married his wife Elise, who had previously worked for Dr. Hege at his practice. When they received a package in the mail, the couple assumed it was a wedding present. Instead, when they opened it, they set off the bomb that was inside, killing Thomas and severely injuring Elise.

Clues from the crime scene eventually led investigators in northwestern North Carolina, and to Dr. Hege. The dentist owned the very same typewriter which police were able to work out had written the shipping label of the deadly package. It is also said that Dr. Hege went right downstairs from his office and bought the materials for the package from Midkiff Hardware.

Dr. Hege denied all involvement and claimed he was away fishing at the time the package was sent, but his alibi soon proved false, and he was arrested.

However, before the case was brought to trial, Dr. Hege committed suicide in jail.

Legend has it that this unassuming building was at one time home to Mount Airy’s only speakeasy. In order to gain access, visitors were said to have to make their way to the top floor via a freight elevator. Not a sophisticated piece of machinery by any standard, the elevator was operated by a rope which would start and stop it. Once the rope had hopefully been pulled at the right moment to get out onto the third floor, visitors would be greeted by a small hallway, with a door with a small slot in it at the end of the hall. If the person looking through this slot approved of you, you were let in.

The elevator was the only way in or out of this building, so one night, when a party in the speakeasy was in full swing, and the rope for the elevator came loose, stranding the elevator in the basement, the visitors had no exit. There was no phone on this floor, in keeping with the secrecy of speakeasy and the cover story of it being used for storage, so the party-goers resorted to opening a window and yelling into the street for help. Unfortunately, the late hour meant the only ones still out on the street were the same people they were hiding from; the cops. We don’t hear any stories of the speakeasy after this point, but we can guess what happened.

Today, the building still stands on its corner, watching the hustle and bustle of Main Street. While the stories about the building have largely faded away, the building remains solid and standing, a testament to its varied history.

Katherine “Kat” Jackson is an employee at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. Originally from Australia she now lives in Winston-Salem. She can be reached at the museum at 336-786-4478.

DOBSON — Hundreds of people will be “Running the Vines” next Saturday in pursuit of awards for top finishers, but the big winner stands to be recreation programs of Surry County and Mount Airy.

The event featuring 10K and 5K races long has been held on the grounds of Shelton Vineyards just outside Dobson — for more than 10 years. But just as those participating do from time to time, Running the Vines has had to catch a second wind after being affected by COVID-19.

This included the cancellation of the traditional springtime event in May 2020 and its postponement to September last year due to pandemic restrictions on large gatherings.

Running the Vines now is set to return to its normal schedule on the May 21 date and with renewed vigor, according to Mount Airy Assistant City Manager Darren Lewis, who previously served as recreation director.

“We have approximately 400 runners pre-registered with the goal of 500 runners by race day,” Lewis disclosed earlier this week. Sign-ups will be available until then.

Next Saturday’s schedule calls for the 10K (6.2-mile) race to start at 8 a.m. and the 5K (3.1 miles) is set for 8:15 a.m. A kids fun run is slated for 9:30, with the races to go on rain or shine.

One aspect that sets Running the Vines apart from similar events involves the setting, with both the 10K and 5K to start and finish at Shelton Vineyards, featuring views of it — hence the title of the gathering — and neighboring country farms.

The adult registration costs are $40 for the 5K run through race day and $45 for the 10K.

For those under 18, the fee is $25 through race day for the 5K and $30 for the 10K.

The cost for the kids half-mile fun run is $10.

A 5K Team Challenge also will be involved, with a minimum of five runners required.

The top-three overall male and female winners of the 5K and 10K and age division winners will receive custom awards and the 5K Team Challenge team winner a commemorative crystal team trophy. All those completing the 5K and 10K are to get a finisher’s medal.

Registration is available at runningthevines.itsyourrace.com, along with more information.

Next Saturday’s activities won’t just include the races, but live music and other activities throughout the day.

“Running the Vines” participants are invited to bring a chair or blanket, stick around and listen to Casey Noel at a bandshell on the grounds from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Scarlet Lemonade from 2 to 5 p.m. on the winery patio.

Hayrides through the vineyard, tours and tastings also will be part of the occasion, with food and beverages to be offered.

And from 6 to 9 p.m., the Shelton Vineyards Sunset Concert is to feature the Blackwater Band playing a mix of blues, country and contemporary hits.

Registered race participants age 21 and over will receive two complimentary tickets to the concert at packet pickup. Additional tickets can be bought in advance for $25 at www.sheltonvineyards.com or the day of the concert for $30.

Admission will be free for children 12 and younger.

“Running the Vines” is co-sponsored by Mount Airy Parks and Recreation and Surry County Parks and Recreation.

Lewis, the assistant city manager, pointed out that proceeds from the event will be shared with the Reeves Community Center Foundation and the Surry County Parks and Recreation Department.

This will assist with scholarships, programs, Special Olympics and health and wellness opportunities, Lewis added.

It was time for The United Fund of Surry to celebrate during their 2021-2022 Awards Luncheon that was recently held at The Barn at Heritage Farm. Executive Director Melissa Hiatt and representatives from among the organizations that make up the United Fund were in attendance and gladly took advantage of some catering from Mary Planer at This & That Catering.

Hiatt wanted all the credit for the United Fund’s work to start with her board of directors each of whom have a specific role to play in making the United Fund a continuing success. The board is comprised of: Brad Balentine, Jared Moser, Jayme Bryant, Jessica Montgomery, John Jonczak, Lenise Lynch, Mac Sammons, Merry Craig Boaz, Raleigh Scales, Sommer Coalson, and Taylor Clark.

The pandemic prevented the awards lunch from being held for the past two years, but Hiatt wanted to recognize those board members whose time on the board expired during COVID: Angie Cagle, Dale Badgett, Clay Nowlin, Dale Draughn, and Christopher Cook.

All the organizations under the umbrella of The United Fund of Surry were asked to stand with their group for a round of applause, the kicker was that you were asked to stay standing until all groups stood.

Hiatt opened the awards portion with a thank you to the marketing committee and board for supporting Downtown Rocks and Run which was held on August 14. She said more runners than ever came out to participate when 288 runners laced up their shoes for a good cause and brought in $23,421.34. The United Fund thanked Altec Industries for being the headline sponsor, and announced Saturday, August 13, as the next Downtown Rocks and Run.

Last October was the 14th annual Greater Granite Open Golf Tournament sponsored again by Altec. The tournament raised an additional $20,000 for the Unite Fund coffers.

John Tarn was given special thanks and a plaque for his work as campaign chair during a time of uncertainty. “We knew we needed a chairman that was not only knowledgeable about our community but engaged. When John was approached, he jumped right in to work with staff and offer his marketing knowledge when needed,” Ben Griffin said.

“Awards are our way of saying thank you, we couldn’t do what we do without every person in this room,” Hiatt said as she brought up some helpers to give out the awards. She listed off 23 organization which had “outstanding increases in giving from the last year’s campaign.” Businesses such as Renfro, Aprio, and Shenandoah Furniture were just a handful of those cited.

The Hometown Hero trophies were given to local businesses that “are truly our heroes. These businesses achieved 100% employee participation and had in increase in giving from last year,” Hiatt said. Carter Bank & Trust, Rogers Realty and Auction, Surry Friends of Youth, and Surry Medical Ministries were each so honored.

Annually The Chairman’s Award is given to a consistent workplace campaign or corporate donor. This year it was a tie between Altec and Surrey Bank & Trust. Surrey Bank & Trust has been a longtime sponsor of Rocks and Run as well as the golf tournament. The bank has also participated in a long-standing workplace campaign.

Altec was the title sponsor for two events this year, as noted, but it was their in-house campaign that really blew socks off with $60,000 raised. Hiatt noted Altec also has members of its staff to organize and run the golf tournament.

Not everyone conducts their campaign in the same way, some trot another path to raise money. The Pat Woltz Way to Glow Award this year was presented to Andy Hull on behalf of Surry Communications and staff. “When most of us are in our warm homes watching parades, the folks are down by the river on the Greenway setting up the Turkey Trot that is held each year.” Not only did she say this year’s event was a lot of fun, but she also said it has a good following of folks returning each year.

The Dave Green Achievement Award was named to honor a longtime supporter of the Renfro workplace campaign for 15 years. The recipients this year combined for well over 15 years of service, Robert and Cama Merritt accepted the award, and Vickie Harold accepted on behalf of her mother Sylvia Harold.

Created and presented for the first time this year is the new Volunteer Achievement Award given to an outstanding volunteer that has served one of the United Fund agencies and “has shown dedication to that member organization, the community, and the United Fund of Surry,” Hiatt explained. She also said multiple agencies and individuals nominated the very same person for the award.

“This individual stood out so much that we decided to name this award after them. They are very active with the Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina, Surry Medical Ministries, and serve on our county school board. These are only a few of this person’s contributions to the community.”

“It is my pleasure to present the First Terri Mosley Volunteer Achievement award to Dr. Terri Mosley.”

Agriculture is a tough business, accompanied by hard work, stress, weather crises and uncertain incomes at year’s end — but farmers develop a certain perseverance, which also is true of a local event honoring them.

The coronavirus has been another addition to that list of obstacles which caused the annual Mayberry Farm Fest to be cancelled for the past two years. But with a sense of resolve that would put any mule to shame, it is returning next weekend to the streets of downtown Mount Airy.

“It will be our first time back since COVID,” key organizer Gail Hiatt emphasized in detailing the resurrection of Mayberry Farm Fest for what she said will be its 16th year.

The two-day May 20-21 event is scheduled to feature farm animals including a petting zoo, pony rides and other attractions geared toward children, live music, interactive displays, demonstrations, antique tractors and other equipment, heritage and cultural exhibits, crafts and more.

All that will be on tap next Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., when North Main Street is closed to vehicular traffic between Pine Street and an area just south of Independence Boulevard near Brannock and Hiatt Furniture.

The entertainment lineup will begin with an open jam from 9 a.m. to noon, with The Unique Sound of the Mountains — Larry Sigmon and Martha Spencer, to play from 1 to 2 p.m.

A Danceworks performance is scheduled for 2 p.m., and Dancemix with Tracie will be on hand from 2:15 to 2:45 p.m.

Danceworks is to return at 2:50 p.m. with Gap Civil, an old-time and traditional country band from Sparta, slated to perform from 3 to 4 p.m.

A watermelon seed-spitting contest is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. and cakewalks at 3:45.

Festivities for this year’s celebration of agriculture will kick off Friday with a tractor parade down North Main Street, to begin at 6 p.m.

The parade typically has showcased a procession of 30 or more tractors of various models, some dating to the 1940s and 1950s.

Many owners involved have devoted much time and effort to restoring the tractors and want to show off the finished products in their hometown, said Hiatt, who is co-chairing Mayberry Farm Fest with Downtown Business Association President Phil Marsh.

They are excited about the resumption of the parade, usually accompanied by spectators lining both sides of the street.

This year’s tractor parade will be enhanced by the presence of the Tucker sisters, Carson Parry and Roe Roe, who will serve as its grand marshals, with a horse-drawn wagon to lead the procession.

Roe Roe was diagnosed with leukemia in November 2019 and recently completed chemotherapy treatments. Her big sister Carson Parry has been with Roe Roe every step of the way.

“Both of these girls are warriors and deserved to be celebrated,” says a Mount Airy Visitors Center announcement regarding their involvement.

A kids’ parade is scheduled after the main tractor parade, during which children are invited to ride their toy tractors/cars and bikes.

Many people were disappointed that Mayberry Farm Fest wasn’t held in 2021 as the pandemic was subsiding somewhat, but insurance restrictions did not allow this to happen, Hiatt explained.

They included many older farmers who have enjoyed attending over the years and appreciated the ways in which the event has perpetuated their way of life.

“A lot of our history seems to be dying out,” Hiatt said. “I think it (Mayberry Farm Fest) helps keep it alive.”

Despite the two-year interruption, efforts to bring the festival back have been seamless, according to Hiatt.

“It hasn’t been difficult at all — everybody, I think, was ready for it,” she said. “I think everybody else is more excited that we (organizers) are.”

In fact, more vendors are expected this year along with some new attractions, including participation by a ranch owner from Jonesville who is to “bring a lot of stuff this year” in terms of animals, according to Hiatt.

“It is just a fun weekend for the family.”

The Edwards-Franklin House has been around since 1799, but recently its storied history was put on hold by the pandemic — which is changing this weekend.

For the first time in three years, open house tours are scheduled today and Sunday to showcase the Surry County landmark located at 4132 Haystack Road west of Mount Airy. That site additionally has long hosted an annual sonker festival, which also was cancelled the past two falls due to COVID-19.

“We haven’t had anything since 2019,” said Dr. Annette Ayers, the president of the Surry Historical Society, which owns the property and sponsors activities there. This included the last sonker gathering that October and a Christmas observance soon after.

“That’s why we’re so excited about getting to have something,” Ayers added Thursday.

This “something” is the resumption of open house tours for the public which were suspended in both 2020 and 2021. These are scheduled today from 1 to 5 p.m. and Sunday during the same time.

“Everyone is welcome to this free event,” Ayers advised.

The Edwards-Franklin House was constructed in 1799 and is considered the finest example of its architecture in the Piedmont.

It was built by Gideon Edwards and later occupied by his son-in-law, Meshack Franklin, a member of Congress and a brother of North Carolina Gov. Jesse Franklin, who served in the 1820s. The house was bought in 1972 by the Surry County Historical Society and restored to its grandeur, featuring many unique architectural components.

The Edwards-Franklin House has been readied for visitation once again after no open house tours for the public the past two years.

“We had to go in, of course, and clean everything extensively,” Ayers said. The lawn and surrounding grounds also have been maintained in an immaculate condition — “all the plant beds have been weeded.”

The Surry Historical Society is hoping to have additional open house events throughout the coming summer, according to its president.

She says such activities provide a good opportunity for newcomers to the area to experience the Edwards-Franklin House for the first time, in light of the long shutdown, and guesses that some local residents also have never visited.

“We just hope the public takes advantage of this free event.”

Aside from a light consent agenda on the itinerary, the Surry County Board of County Commissioners have just one thing scheduled for its Monday night meeting.

But that item seems to be gaining considerable attention locally and possibly even nationally.

That one item is a talk on “Election Integrity” that is, according to an agenda provided by the county, to be presented by Mike Lindell, Prof. David Clements, John Bowes, Shannon Lauletta, Carol Snow, Dr. Christian McMasters and Dr. Douglas Frank. Those people are a combination of local and regional Republican Party officials, as well as individuals who have become known throughout the party for largely unsubstantiated claims there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election, or for their public opposition with mask mandates and other pandemic cautions.

However, no one with the county, nor with the local GOP, could confirm Lindell — known for his company My Pillow as well as his ardent belief the 2020 presidential election was somehow fraudulent — or any of the other people listed would actually be in attendance.

Monday’s gathering is part of the ongoing story involving county board of elections chairwoman Michella Huff and Surry County Republican Party Chair Keith Senter. Frank attended a contentious meeting between Huff and Senter and has met with each of the county commissioners to explain why he believes there were voting irregularities.

This time it will be recorded, live streamed, and will be available for any who are interested in hearing the theory from its source and then decide for themselves the merits thereof.

His theory has been presented already in other states, including testimony in a Kansas hearing last month. Their secretary of state, Republican Scott Schwab, issued a statement rebutting Frank’s theory, “These claims, without evidence, are based on supposition, conjecture, and misrepresentation of our state’s election data to apply theories regarding election activities in other states to Kansas,” Schwab wrote.

“This rhetoric has become destructive toward Kansas and the foundation of our republic. It has put our county election officers and volunteer poll workers in harm’s way and encouraged mistrust in our elections.”

North Carolina election officials are weighing in as well, ruing the fact that the board of commissioners is giving an outlet for public address for what they call “absurd and baseless theories”

“State and local elections officials across North Carolina are focused on the 2022 primary election,” read a statement released late Friday by Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Elections. “We have already served more than 437,000 voters who have exercised their right to vote. We encourage North Carolinians to vote early through 3 p.m. Saturday or from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at their assigned polling place, where bipartisan election officials will ensure their vote counts.

“It’s unfortunate for Surry County voters that these individuals are being given a platform to continue to spread disinformation about the 2020 general election, which has long been certified in North Carolina and across the United States,” the statement continued. “We respectfully ask the voters of Surry County to seek accurate information about elections from reliable sources, such as the Surry County Board of Elections and the State Board of Elections. Elections officials across the country – with different political affiliations – have reviewed the conspiracy theories spread by these individuals, and they are not credible. These individuals are doing nothing more than breeding distrust in our elections system, using absurd and baseless theories.

“Anyone with actual evidence of election irregularities should present it to the State Board’s Investigations Division or the law enforcement agency of their choice. A number of the individuals on the board’s agenda have been offered this opportunity, repeatedly, but have not provided any such evidence to authorities…For more information about the recounts, audits, and certification of the 2020 general election in North Carolina, please see here: https://www.ncsbe.gov/about-elections/election-security/post-election-procedures-and-audits/2020-election-certification.”

Kevin Shinault, a local official with the Surry County GOP, has been vocal at commissioners’ meetings speaking during the open forum on his concerns about 2020. He said Friday that since 2010 and the birth of the Tea Party movement, there have been many more eyes on the county and its functions.

Shinault spoke of his satisfaction with the county board of commissioners and their adherence to fiscal responsibility. For the past 15 years or so, he said, the county commissioners and board of elections have been doing a good job. “I would say 90% of the people I talk to think the commissioners do a great job in holding the fiscal line.”

That is not to say he is fully satisfied, and as a retired schoolteacher he trusts his gut and his eyes. The concerns he has will not just go away and feeling like he hits a wall makes him more confident he is approaching a hidden truth. For him, the math just isn’t there and the numbers do not add up. Registration rates he says are too high, and participation rates seem out of alignment with reality. “We know there is not widespread voter fraud in Surry County,” he said by phone Friday, “but there is some, there is enough – the voter rolls have to be cleaned up.”

“This is not a top-down thing,” he went on, “I know Michella Huff, I know her dad. I want it to be known we are not coming for her, the board, or the commissioners. The county has been doing a great job.”

Surry County resident Ken Badgett saw the agenda and said, “It appears that the board has allowed its usual ‘Open Forum’ to be hijacked by election conspiracy theorists with infamous reputations. These dangerous people do not represent the best interests of the citizens of Surry County.

“Our best interests are represented by the professional staff of the board of elections and by the hundreds of local residents who honestly conduct our elections as poll workers during each election year,” he wrote.

Monday night citizens can peel back the curtain and ensure they are hearing the whole story, from the source when Dr. Frank and associates make their presentation. For all the talk of media bias and skewed perspectives, Shinault is hopeful people will take the opportunity to hear the theory and make up their own minds – as he has.

Authorities have released the name and cause of death of a man found earlier this week dead while sitting on a lawnmower, and a second man — identified as a “person of interest” in the shooting, is now dead.

Deputies with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office initially responded in the case at 1:18 p.m. Monday to a house in the 600 block of Golf Course Road in Pilot Mountain. There they found Vincent Lee Bray, 65, dead from an apparent gunshot according to Surry County Sheriff Steve C. Hiatt.

Working with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, officials ruled the death a homicide, and identified Michael (Mike) Patrick Alford, 71, of 657 Golf Course Road, Pilot Mountain as “a person of interest,” the sheriff said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

“It appears that Mr. Bray and Mr. Alford had a history of disagreements dating back years,” the sheriff said. “Investigators interviewed Mr. Alford on May 9…in the evening hours pertaining to the incident. Mr. Alford abruptly concluded the interview with investigators and left walking from the Surry County Sheriff’s Office,” the sheriff said.

The next day Alford’s wife, Debra Alford, reported her husband missing, saying she had not spoken to him since his Monday night interview with the sheriff’s office.

On Wednesday, the sheriff said his office received a call about “a possible suicide incident” in the 400 block of Shoals Road, Pinnacle. There deputies arrived on the scene to find Michael Alford in an open field, dead from “an apparent self-inflected gunshot wound.”

The investigation is still active, the sheriff said, adding that no additional information will be released “at this time.”

A murder will take place this weekend on Jones School Road in Mount Airy — not really, just make-believe as part of a production to benefit the historic facility where it will be held.

This involves the staging of a play titled “Lights! Camera! Murder!” in L.H. Jones Auditorium on the grounds of the former Jones School and present community resource center in the northern part of town.

A local drama club, The Good Time Players, is putting on the production for which shows are scheduled Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Proceeds from the performances will benefit the J.J. Jones Alumni Association, which owns the former school auditorium that is now used for various community events. It operates separately from other parts of the old campus long owned by the county government, with the funds raised to go toward the ongoing maintenance of the auditorium.

“I am in the play,” Alumni Association President Nancy Bowman Williams said.

“Lights! Camera! Murder!” — described as a comedy murder mystery — has about 10 cast members altogether. The plot concerns the slaying of the leading man in a detective movie and efforts to unmask his killer. The story is set in the 1940s.

Tammy Denny of The Good Time Players Drama Club is the play’s director. That group is known for its staging of productions as fundraisers for worthy causes, with Denny involved for several years.

The doors open at 6 p.m. Friday for the first of the three “Lights! Camera! Murder!” presentations, with the play starting at 7 p.m. The audience will be seated at tables.

On Saturday night, the same schedule will be observed for a dinner theater event. “Saturday is a sellout,” Williams said of a 100-plate limit imposed by the caterer for the evening.

However, space will be found around the auditorium then for those who simply want to watch the play with no meal included. “We’re not going to turn anybody away,” the Alumni Association president said.

A matinee is planned Sunday afternoon, when the doors will open at 2 p.m. for a 3 o’clock show.

Organizers say a “dessert-theater” setup will be in place Friday night and Sunday afternoon, for which tickets were still available at last report.

The cost is $20 per person all three days, with those interested in attending asked to show up at the door.

Unlike some community theater productions that include several weeks of rehearsals, the local staging of “Lights! Camera! Murder!” has involved a much longer undertaking.

Rehearsals actually began in June 2021 for shows that originally were to be held much earlier than now.

“And COVID happened,” Williams explained.

Recent city government debates over outdoor dining/alcohol consumption in downtown Mount Airy are continuing with one councilman’s charges that Mayor Ron Niland has acted improperly regarding that issue.

This includes Niland’s handling of an attempt by Commissioner Jon Cawley — during an April 21 council meeting — to have an earlier vote by the group relaxing that activity rescinded. That was followed by the mayor later saying he didn’t recall key details about it during the commissioners’ last meeting a week ago.

A question has been left in Cawley’s mind about whether Niland deliberately circumvented a board vote on a related motion presented by Cawley on April 21, and what role the apparent memory lapse played.

“It was either incompetence or deceit,” the North Ward commissioner said Tuesday. “And neither one is acceptable.”

For his part, the mayor is defending his involvement surrounding the commissioners’ April 7 vote allowing any “food and beverage” establishment downtown to offer outside dining — including serving beer and wine — and that action’s aftermath.

“Everything I’ve done has been fair and open,” Niland said Tuesday afternoon.

And on Wednesday morning, the mayor addressed Cawley’s “incompetence or deceit” remarks in particular:

“I am saddened that my colleague would feel this way — and the comment is beneath the office he holds,” Niland countered.

He declined to elaborate on those criticisms at length.

“I refuse to comment further on these hateful accusations,” the mayor added. “I would not want to dignify those comments.”

This verbal barrage has come to a boil just days before Niland and Cawley square off in a primary election next Tuesday which features a three-way battle also including a former commissioner, Teresa Lewis. The two receiving the most votes then will go head to head in the general election in November.

But the seeds for the dispute were sown on April 7, when the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 — with Cawley dissenting — to expand opportunities for downtown businesses to offer outside dining/drinking, limited previously to restaurants.

His main bone of contention was the use of the word “plaza” numerous times in a revised city ordinance, which Cawley believes could allow alcohol consumption in Jack A. Loftis Plaza, a public rest area.

A wine shop called Uncorked is located next door to that facility, which was seen being marked with a tape measure that Cawley has said was done to prepare for a hole to be made in Uncorked’s wall to accommodate a serving window.

In seeking to have the April 7 action rescinded, or undone, when the board next met on April 21, Cawley expressed the belief that fellow commissioners weren’t fully aware of its implications — which some vehemently denied.

When Cawley made a motion on April 21 to rescind the decision, the mayor — who presides over council meetings — said the motion would have to be seconded in order for it to come to a vote.

However, Cawley says this was not required per new parliamentary procedure rules adopted by city officials several years ago, which don’t require seconds to motions. Under Robert’s Rules of Order, the longtime standard by which most governmental bodies operate including Mount Airy previously, a second would have been needed.

An air of confusion permeated the April 21 meeting, which City Attorney Hugh Campbell was absent from, with uncertainty expressed about exactly how to handle the rescinding attempt and an outright crackdown on drinking in public spaces suggested by Commissioner Tom Koch.

And when the next meeting rolled around last Thursday, Niland did not recall asking for a second on Cawley’s April 21 motion.

“Mayor, you called for a second on my motion,” Cawley replied in an authoritative tone.

Niland took an apologetic stance at last week’s meeting in his closing comments ending the session.

The mayor emphasized that he was not trying to be unfair to Cawley.

“If I made a mistake, I apologize,” Niland said. “It was not intentional.”

Fast-forwarding to this week, Cawley is of the opinion that Niland’s asking for a second on April was possibly an attempt by the mayor to avoid a vote on his motion.

“It kept the vote off the record,” Cawley said, explaining that this could become an issue down the road if problems result from expanding outside dining regulations — while knowing fully his motion would’ve been defeated.

The North Ward representative is particularly incensed that Niland seemed emphatic in his denial during last week’s meeting that the motion had been made and he called for the second.

“And he was wrong on both of them,” Cawley continued. “He says I didn’t make a motion — which I did — and he didn’t call for the second — which he did.”

Cawley said it is difficult for him to conceive that Niland expressed no recollection of such details regarding a matter that had been vigorously debated by the board.

Niland now is acknowledging that Cawley did indeed formally seek to have the April 7 decision undone on April 21. “I’m sure the motion took place.”

But the mayor denied any move on his part to keep a decision off the books, as Cawley is alleging.

“Nothing’s further from the truth,” Niland said Tuesday. “Absolutely not.”

The mayor also says that Cawley had every opportunity on April 21 to make the case that no second was needed for his motion and a subsequent vote.

Cawley said this week that he does not know exactly where Niland was coming from on the issue. “I can’t speak for his intentions.”

But the veteran councilman is concerned about how other city government business might be handled in the future, judging by recent events.

“The issue is now, how are we doing things?”

Some people tried to outrun the rain, some people tried to hide from the rain, and more than a few outsmarted the rain and brought an umbrella — a wise move. No one wanted to walk away because raindrops kept falling on their head. After having been uprooted by COVID last year, a little precipitation was not going to dampen the spirits of Budbreak.

Mother Nature had some plans for the day, she had earlier made Mayfest a damp affair, but the folks who wanted to come out to support Budbreak and sample the wares from local breweries and vineyards are a hearty sort. With cloudy skies that gave way to drizzle and at times more precipitation than some would have liked, organizer Bob Meinecke said the weather had “very little impact as we had people paying to come in as late as 5 p.m.”

Being so close to the event, Meinecke said it is hard for an accurate estimate to be made on the turnout or the proceeds. “Can’t really go there yet. Too many moving parts,” he said. When the dust settles though the results of Budbreak’s return to spring “should be in excess of $20,000.”

While it may fall short of the mark set last year, that is a haul the Rotarians will be happy to accept. When it comes to groups such as the Mount Airy Rotary, they will never achieve a magic donation number level where they say, “Enough, we’re done.”

Even a Budbreak that did not make as much as the last one is still a great success. People in this community will benefit from the hard work of the men and women who organized and staffed the event.

With the rain, it begs the question if this is the sort of event that may be better inside. The plan for the proposed Spencer’s Mill project downtown contains a visitor’s and convention center that seems like it would be tailor-made for an event such as Budbreak. The Greensboro Coliseum is an annual host to a similar beer and wine event, and the capacity of such a venue no doubt leads to some serious donations for the Animal Rescue and Foster Program, their charitable partner.

Meinecke said he did not think the new convention center would or should take the place of having Budbreak out in the open.

“It needs to remain as an outdoor event. We like our location and because we rely heavily on logistical help from Old North State, we don’t see moving to another location,” he said. Given the street fair atmosphere, the music pumping from the stage in the parking lot between Brannock & Hiattt and Old North State, and the added bonus of overflow dancers from the Cinco de Mayo festivities at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History there was a lot to take in.

Main Street in Mayberry took a short trip south of the border for a few minutes as the dancers formed a circle in traditional garb. Some in the crowd stopped in their tracks as they were unaware there was a Cinco de Mayo event ongoing as well. “Now, this is different,” Jon Rawls of Hickory said. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

From inside businesses faces popped out of doorways and necks craned for a view as the dancers began while a drummer beat the rhythm.

Old favorite breweries and wineries come back year after year, it is that continuity that Meinecke says many are looking for. Not one to play favorites with the vendors of the event he so carefully helped to organize, he diplomatically deflected when speaking of his favorite wine. “Because drinking pallets vary so much, we make sure there is a broad range to choose from. There is a slight leaning toward sweeter wines.”

The vendors kept the commemorative tasting glasses full, and some long lines at certain tables may have told the tale of which were the favorites. Sue Brownfield reported back that she sold lots of wine and had spoken to happy vendors.

Meinecke was upbeat as always in offering the report from this year’s Budbreak. “There is always lots of events to compete with. We stand out and by all account reached our expectations.”

The most crowded race facing city voters this spring is in the North Ward, where four candidates are seeking to fill the seat now held by mayoral candidate Jon Cawley. After the May 17 primary, the first- and second-place winners will then go head to head in the non-partisan municipal election next November. Each person in the race responded to the same set of questions designed to help voters learn about their backgrounds and positions on key issues to make informed choices. Listed in alphabetical order, the candidates and responses include those of:

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: I am Chad Hutchens, 45 years old, who has have been a sworn law enforcement officer for more than 24 years. I am presently a sergeant with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office in the School Resource Officer Division.

I have been employed with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office for about 22 years. Before that, I was an officer with the Mount Airy Police Department.

I obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University and a master’s degree in criminal justice/public administration degree from Liberty University. I received my Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) certification from Surry Community College in 1997. In January of 1998, I began as an officer with the Mount Airy Police Department. In July 1999, I was hired by the Surry County Sheriff’s office as a school resource officer and in May 2007, received my Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate. In July 2009, I was promoted to the Criminal Investigations Division as a detective.

In July 2014, I had the opportunity to return to the School Resource Officer Division of the Surry County Sheriff’s Office. In July 2019, I was promoted to sergeant of that unit. I serve as a liaison between the Surry County Schools and Surry County Sheriff’s Office. I encourage preventative measures for safety, instruct drug-awareness programs and lead a team of great officers.

In addition to having attended numerous schools at the federal, state and local levels, I have completed training in technology-facilitated crimes against children and protecting children online, presented by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

I have been a public service advocate involved with various organizations in our community. I have served with the Mount Airy Rescue Squad, Surry County Emergency Services, Surry County E-911 Communications, United Fund of Surry, Fraternal Order of Police and Boy Scouts of America. I have received the National Jefferson Award for my contributions through public and volunteer community service.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as a city commissioner?

Answer: I am running for city commissioner because the great citizens of Mount Airy have made a difference in my own life, and I know that we can continue to make a difference for all citizens in our community. As a public servant, I have had the opportunity to help and influence the lives of the citizens who we are so grateful to serve. I will continue to bring my passion and experience to help everyone within our great community.

I also am seeking office because I have a passion for helping others, and I was raised to believe that community service is a noble exercise of our freedom. However, I also believe that community service must be done for the right reasons. It should be viewed as a personal commitment to better our community, not as a means of personal gratification.

Educated in public administration, I understand the policy issues facing our city. As a public employee myself, I also understand the challenges of providing superior public service.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing Mount Airy and how will you address them?

Answer: (1) Economic development and (2) community development.

We should strive to promote Mount Airy and our city merchants. We must also balance business development with quality of life. Infrastructure is a subject matter that needs our attention. We should assess our needs and address the issues of aging and outdated water and sewer lines. Recreation is essential to the growth and development of our community. We need to ensure that we have adequate facilities for our citizens to safely enjoy and promote the health and well-being of everyone.

We need a citizens-driven approach to government. Citizens should be at the forefront, as they best understand our city’s dynamics, cultures and history. We need to have citizens involved in identifying issues and measuring performance. We should be encouraging citizen participation and working to develop partnerships among our citizens. Buy-in and participation are of great importance, as our citizens are the stakeholders of our community.

The bottom line is that I care about Mount Airy, and I care about working hard for you. The critical issues to you are those same issues that are important to me.

I will work to grow our community while also preserving our small-town charisma.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: I have developed many useful skills through my education and life experience as a law enforcement officer and community volunteer. I have experience ranging from policy regulations to strategic planning. I have a positive track record in leadership as both a volunteer and paid public service professional. I understand that there are different perspectives on issues in the city regarding regulations for financial and fiscal management. I have always been focused on those we serve and their families. I will always strive to represent the public’s best interests, and I am committed to that priority.

I genuinely love Mount Airy. I sincerely appreciate its beauty, charm, history, award-winning schools and all our city activities and events. I have been an active member of our community through volunteer public service and serving as a law enforcement professional.

I have been involved with the Mount Airy Rescue Squad for the past 27 years, with which I have served as a member, chief and now as a board member. I have the confidence and support of our great sheriff, Steve Hiatt, in serving as a sergeant supervising our School Resource Officer and DARE officer unit. I have served with numerous service organizations such as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association; the Boy Scouts of America, of which I am an Eagle Scout; and the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: My name is Teresa Davis Leiva. I am 37 years old. My husband, Carlos, is a software developer by profession and we have two children who attend Mount Airy City Schools. I grew up just outside the city limits in Sheltontown and graduated from Mount Airy High School in 2002. I work as an advocate for high-risk children at Jones Intermediate and Mount Airy Middle schools, and taught piano lessons from my home until the pandemic hit in 2020.

I’m also an active member of my church, serving as the children’s music conductor and an adviser in the Compassionate Service Program, providing care to those in need. I am a former school board member for Mount Airy City Schools, serving on an interim basis from July 2019 to Dec. 1 2020, through the start of the pandemic.

In my free time, I volunteer for multiple programs in our community, such as Surry Animal Rescue, where we foster cats and dogs (more than 150 fosters collectively) and assist with adoptions and fundraisers. I proudly serve as a board member of the Greater Mount Airy Ministry of Hospitality over The Shepherd’s House and Helping Hands Foundation of Surry County, and I am the president of the Board of Directors for The Redemption House-Surry, a long-term men’s recovery program located right outside the city in Toast.

As the adviser over the High School Interact Club, whose motto is “Service Above Self,” I work to cultivate the next generation of service-oriented individuals. Because of the scope of my community-based activities, I believe that I am in the best position to reflect the wants and needs of those who would be my constituents.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as a city commissioner?

Answer: I feel called to serve our community. I can’t change the world, the United States or even the entire state of North Carolina, but I can help to cultivate a thriving community here in Mount Airy. On a daily basis I work with children who will need jobs when they grow up, affordable housing and positive activities, and I would like to be in a position where I can do the most good for them and for all of us who live here.

This is my home, and I understand the history of Mount Airy because it is my history. We have a really wonderful town, with strong, kind individuals who deserve to be supported and to be heard. I want to be able to provide the opportunities for growth, while balancing a fiscally conservative approach and utilizing local networks as well as local partnerships to set us up for future success. I would like to support the continuance of responsible growth while maintaining the rich, vibrant history and culture we already have. Mount Airy is a great place to live, and I want to keep it that way.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing Mount Airy and how will you address them?

Answer: While there are some who would say jobs and housing are the two biggest issues, I would select workforce development and poverty as those I see a need to address. Jobs and housing both fall under these categories. Though proper workforce development and utilization of community programs that already exist, such as career and technical education programs, along with partnerships with the city and Surry Community College, Mount Airy City Schools, Surry County Schools, NexGen, etc. and proper marketing we can increase development, without necessarily spending money to fix problems.

As we build stronger partnerships and grow our workforce, we provide opportunities for those struggling with poverty to rise above their circumstances. A stronger workforce cultivates a stronger economy, which entices more housing developers and businesses to choose Mount Airy.

There are many other needs our community has, but I believe that once we have focused our efforts on these issues, we will have time and tools necessary to address the other needs plaguing our community. A stronger economy generates more sales for local businesses, more enticement for tourism and more opportunities to be able to recover from addiction, just to name a few of the needs we have here in Mount Airy. I would support the endeavors that grow our workforce and encourage the retention and success of our citizens.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: My experience of being a former school board member sets me apart from my opponents running for the North Ward seat. As someone who already learned how to work alongside elected officials overseeing all facets of a large-scale community program such as the educational system, I understand why it is important to be fiscally responsible and how to allocate funding appropriately.

This experience has taught me exactly why it is imperative that officials listen to their constituents, respect differing perspectives and be willing to adapt as the needs of the community change and grow. Through my experiences in multiple community programs, I know and work/volunteer alongside an amazing network of individuals here in Mount Airy who are already striving to decrease poverty, build houses, grow our economy and help with substance-abuse recovery, as well as those who are putting in the effort to provide wholesome activities through parks and recreation, downtown development and the vital network of public safety.

As the youngest candidate and the only candidate with school-age children, I would also bring the perspective of young families with me to this position. While we have some great city commissioners, there is no representation of young families, or diversity. My young, multicultural family sets me apart from my opponents and grants me a broader view of all the people we are striving to serve.

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: I’m a retired commercial banker and have lived here 30 years. I’m a senior citizen outside but only 39 inside, graduated from East Carolina University, where I studied business and economics, and have spent my entire career working with businesses large and small.

Before being transferred here I worked in other North Carolina towns, so between those places and here I’ve been involved with various chambers of commerce, Habitat, Rotary, Lions and other civic clubs, as well as Central Methodist Church. After retirement I started a management-recruiting business to locate banker candidates for other banks across the Southeast. I sold that business in 2021.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as a city commissioner?

Answer: I’m a candidate for city commissioner because I think our city should adjust its direction and priorities. I want to help that happen. Our downtown is the envy of others. We have unique tourism that has kept us going during tough spells. Record-setting city spending over the past nine years has created big improvements downtown and at Spencer’s. We hope they will repay us over time. That’s been a huge kickstart and it’s now time to take off the taxpayer-paid training wheels and have private developer money move that area forward. This is what the city promised originally, so let’s get back to that plan. We need to turn more attention to the rest of the town.

Most people know I’ve closely followed our city government for years, much like others might follow Duke/Carolina basketball. From speaking up at city forums to letters to the newspaper, I’ve shown citizens my long-term sincere interest in good stewardship of taxpayer monies. That’s what a commissioner should do. We’ve all seen lots of changes over the past few years and more will come. As your commissioner I’ll make sure those changes meet the common sense test and are the best ones for all citizens.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing Mount Airy and how will you address them?

Answer: Our two biggest issues are a lack of good-paying full-time jobs and our almost zero population growth.

We have surplus city water and land. Our workforce is great, but much of it commutes out of town daily. Our school system is strong, as is our community college. Cost of living is moderate. Quality of life is tops. We’ve got a lot to offer. Jobs and population are directly connected and new full-time jobs can solve both problems.

Macy’s chose China Grove for a distribution center with 2,800 jobs. Just one recent year in the state saw 157 new announcements and 19,700 new jobs. Seventy percent of that went to small towns in rural counties. We didn’t get a shot at Macy’s or the 157 new job announcements. I say we weren’t trying hard enough; it wasn’t the priority it should have been.

City expenses increase over time, but our population has stood still since 2010, so each citizen will pay more taxes — unless we grow. Tourism is frosting on the cake, but real jobs form the cake itself. Real jobs are what give young people the confidence and security to marry, buy homes and raise families. We need that.

As a commissioner I’ll work to have the right people, the right priorities and the right business-recruiting plans to let the world know we are the real thing and we have everything they could want in a new location

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: That’s an easy one for me.

I’ve attended 90 percent of city council meetings for many years. Most candidates don’t start attending meetings until they file for office. They’ll need a lot of on-the-job training, but I can make a meaningful contribution from day one.

Attending all those meetings taught me a great deal. I understand city operations and procedures. I know past and present issues, I know the city budget and I know business. I know Mount Airy.

My priorities are: solid full-time jobs to grow the city, fairness and openness with all citizens, common sense and good stewardship of taxpayer money to lower taxes.

I’ve spent years speaking up for the silent majority and I’m talking with lots of them on front porches as I campaign. Many recognize me from my longtime focus on city government. I’ve spoken countless times in the public forum portion of our city board meetings. I’ve written numerous letters to the newspaper. Most of you know who I am and what I stand for — now I’m asking you to show up for me at early voting that’s going on now and especially at the primary polls on May 17.

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: My family and I moved to Mount Airy in 1996. I became licensed as a school counselor in 1999 and as a licensed professional counselor in 2001. I have worked for Mount Airy City Schools and have had my own private practice. I have served as a board member for the United Fund of Surry and also as a committee member for Young Life of the Foothills. My husband, Bill, is an orthopaedic surgeon and joined Surry Orthopaedics in 1996. He later went on to form Blue Ridge Orthopaedics, and since then has been employed by Northern Regional Hospital.

All five of our children attended Mount Airy City Schools, and all graduated from Mount Airy High School. Each has gone on to complete a higher education and all have successful careers

I was born in England and raised in the United States, so as a naturalized U.S. citizen I take voting and civic responsibility quite seriously. Recently I was challenged by a friend to think about serving our city in an elected capacity. Running for city commissioner has so far proven to be interesting and informative. I have met with a number of city leaders, and I am extremely encouraged by the status and future of this community.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as a city commissioner?

Answer: I have always been interested in community development, and I have witnessed tremendous growth and progress in this city over the last 26 years. I would consider it an honor and a privilege to help navigate this great city forward to an even brighter future for all constituents. I believe that in order to be an effective leader, it is crucial to be available and accessible to respond to queries and concerns.

Not only do I commit to being approachable, I will also do the research necessary to fully understand all sides of pressing issues. Rather than pursuing my own agenda, I want to be a conduit by which the voices of the great people of Mount Airy are heard.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing Mount Airy and how will you address them?

Answer: Growth while retaining the inherent charm of the area is quite important. As an avid watcher of local real estate, it seems there is a shortage of available and affordable housing. As city commissioner, I would explore ways to alleviate this shortage, consulting with local Realtors and developers to understand barriers to more housing becoming available. As a homeowner I am keenly aware of a shortage of contractors to work on new or existing homes. Consulting with local educators to explore ways to encourage more people to enter the area of construction and development could prove helpful.

Secondly, aiding and promoting the development and improvement of our downtown area is crucial. I have attended a couple of the meetings where a consultant described ways to accomplish a myriad of goals to bolster our downtown, not only for local citizens but the many visitors we welcome each year. For instance, the Spencer’s buildings are a key project and opportunity for revitalization downtown. I am hopeful that this will bear fruit economically and also bring many more visitors to our community.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: I will dedicate myself to viewing issues from all sides. While I firmly believe that all my competitors are more than competent, I am confident I can bring a fresh approach to this public office. With my goal of being available to listen, and indeed my training professionally in listening well, I believe I would provide a level of accessibility that many I have spoken with say is vital.

This community has been extremely good to me and my family, and a chance to serve as city commissioner would be only a small token of my appreciation.

The weather was not cooperative, with heavy storms on Friday evening and rain off and on much of Saturday, but the annual Pilot Mountain Civic Club Mayfest returned this year, filling the streets with vendors and shoppers.

While the crowds might have been off from what organizers were hoping for as a result of the poor weather, thousands still made their way to Pilot Mountain for the three-day event.

Mayfest, the major annual fundraiser for the local Civic Club, is a popular gathering, where town residents, as well as visitors from all around the region, visit Pilot Mountain for live music, a variety of food booths, and a number of craft and other vendors.

The event, an unofficial beginning of summer for many, had been cancelled the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but folks seemed to enjoy this weekend’s event even through the stormy weather.

With spring time comes tourists returning during the warm season. As much as I love to see families enjoying Main Street, the visitors I most look forward to are actually the thousands of birds who stop by. Many of us enjoy seeing new birds at our feeders, like tiny warblers and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Blue Grosbeaks, and even Scarlet Tanagers.

More than a hundred species of birds migrate through and to our region every spring, and though we all enjoy seeing the new addition to our feeder or on a walk, watching these birds has a rich history in our community. Did you know that International Migratory Bird Day is celebrated every year on the second Saturday of May? This holiday is celebrated all throughout North and South America, and North Carolina is certainly no exception.

This region is important to migrating birds during both the spring and fall. During the spring, thousands of birds leave their winter homes, ranging from South America all the way up to the far southern states of the US, and head north, hoping to find plenty of food and a good nesting spot. During their fall migration, we see other types of birds migrating from the north to find warmer weather during the cool seasons.

These birds come through this region for many reasons. We are a part of a long-known migration route for many birds, and some use the mountains to help navigate. The mountains and waterways also provide lots of food and nesting opportunities, and even events such as storms bring them through the area.

The movements of these birds have been noted for hundreds of years in this region. More than 350 years ago, the Saura tribe was known to hunt migrating birds for food, tools, and to wear. Some of those birds you can still see today, such as Thrush (Swainson’s and Wood are both still popular here) or maybe even a Snow Goose if you are very lucky nowadays. Not all of the birds they would have observed are still around today, though, with the infamous passenger pigeon being the prime example.

Early European settlers also observed and hunted migrating birds, more than 250 years ago. Moravian settlers were recorded as being especially fascinated with “exotic” migrants such as the Whippoorwills, which “calls only at night;” a fascination many of us here still share. They also relied on migrating birds as a food source, such as wild geese and the passenger pigeon. They would go from hunting these passenger pigeons by the thousands each winter to witnessing their extinction. In the fall of 1760, men in Wachovia hunted 1,200-1,800 pigeons in a single hunt one night. Here in Surry County in 1842, a flock roosting over four square miles stayed 17 nights. By the late 1800s, they would be gone from North Carolina. By 1914, the last passenger pigeon, which was kept in the Cincinnati zoo, died and the species was gone forever.

Modern groups would soon follow in the footsteps of past bird migration observers, but with the hope of conserving species rather than for hunting. In 1902, the Audubon Society of North Carolina was founded, and during this time, bird watching became a popular hobby as concern for losing species grew. Soon after, with the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway here and a rising interest in parks, the Carolina Bird Club was founded in 1937. This initial club had members from all over the state, including Winston-Salem and surrounding communities, and they were dedicated to studying and conserving birds.

Bird watching is still a beloved hobby in this region, and the number of groups and opportunities has only grown. One of our most prominent groups is the Forsythe chapter of the Audubon Society, and they notably do migrating hawk counts every fall throughout the region, but the Pilot Mountain watch is a personal favorite. Every year, starting in September, counters will be out at Pilot, counting migrating hawks and birds of prey as they fly south. A few rare finds, such as Northern Harriers, have been seen, but broad-winged hawks are what we get the most of. Every year, thousands of these birds pass by Pilot, and with the local record being more than 10,000 passing by in a single day in 1993.

For centuries, the people of Surry County and the surrounding communities have watched these birds as they migrate through. Over the years, the intent has changed from hunting for nutrition to watching and conservation, but one thing hasn’t changed — we are simply fascinated with them. So, set up a backyard feeder or get out to a local park this spring (and fall) because you never know what new bird could be visiting.

Cassandra Johnson is the director of programs and education at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. She has been an avid bird-watcher for more than 10 years.

Three people are running for mayor of Mount Airy in the 2022 non-partisan municipal election, including Ron Niland, who was appointed to that post in 2021; present North Ward Commissioner Jon Cawley; and Teresa Lewis, a former at-large city commissioner.

The two top vote-getters in the primary on May 17 will square off in the Nov. 8 general election.

Each responded to the same set of questions designed to help voters learn about their backgrounds and positions on key issues to make informed choices.

Listed in alphabetical order, the candidates and responses include those of:

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: My name is Jon Cawley and I would like to be the mayor of Mount Airy.The most important thing to know about me is that my hope is found in Jesus. God’s love is unconditional. I am blessed and I believe you are as well. Please don’t define yourself as a victim, we are meant to be so much more.

Jill Rae and I have been married for 34 years and she remains the best person I know. She and I are thankful for our adult children (Kendall, Choppy and Antonia, Simon) and the lives they are building. They are other-centered.

As far as my educational background goes, here’s what matters: I was fortunate to get an athletic scholarship that kept me around school long enough to fall in love with learning. I still love to learn and want to pass that along to others. Be intentional in your life — thank a teacher today! My teachers often cared more about my future than I did, and I’m so glad I lived long enough to share the passion.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as mayor?

Answer: I want to be the mayor in order to tell our (Mount Airy’s) story.

Most of us learned who we are and where we are from by hearing stories about our family and community. As much as the world has changed, the need to hear the stories of how it has not changed.

Our children need to know and we all need to be reminded of the collective values that made us unique. Those who desire to be comfortable living in Mount Airy should want to be productive.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing Mount Airy and how will you address them?

Answer: Mount Airy shares all the challenges of any city in America.

The single biggest issue facing Mount Airy is leadership. It is the issue facing all facets of life in these United States.

The answers to the issues of opioids, housing, jobs, water, roads, staffing, education, taxes, race relations, equality, transparency, special interests or any other topic begin with leadership.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: My tenure as an elected official spans more than 14 years. My voting record shows a history of caring about people, desiring small government, keeping schools safe, lowering taxes and being informed, approachable and trustworthy.

All things considered, I am the best mayoral candidate.

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: My name is Teresa Lewis and I am 63 years old. My family has lived in Mount Airy for generations. I graduated from Surry Community College in 1978 with an associate in applied science degree in legal secretarial technology. In 1987, I founded my business, WorkForce Unlimited, and later our executive placement firm AREVO Group. For more than 36 years I have met a weekly payroll and continue to do so.

We now employ more than 10,000 individuals in three states and place hundreds of executives every year. Additionally, I am retired from my businesses and still am the majority owner. For two years, I served as the at-large commissioner on the Mount Airy city council.

Also, I am now on the board of directors of Northern Regional of Surry County. Over the years, I was chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Reeves Community Center board, Mount Airy Rescue Squad board and many others. Over the years I have been involved in many philanthropic causes in the community.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as mayor?

Answer: Being retired allows me the time necessary to serve our community as mayor. My history definitely qualifies me to hold that position and is well-documented.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing Mount Airy and how will you address them?

Answer: Taxes and related issues are at the top. As mayor, I will promote a reduction in taxes while keeping our present excellent service in place. As a city commissioner, I voted for lower taxes and was the deciding vote on curbside recycling. Also, I appeared before the North Carolina Legislature and saved our ABC taxes that help our local library, Police Department and others.

Allocation of property taxes will be reviewed, as our tax rate is higher than similar-size cities. Also, I want to ensure that taxes are being well-spent in addition to not being excessive. My priorities include a fair and equitable tax rate and an opportunity for all to have adequate housing.

As mayor, I would be an agent of change and collaborate with the city council to make the best decisions for the citizens.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: One of my greatest strengths is team leadership, as has been proven over the past 36 years. In my business, I have led a team of incredible employees to being recognized as one of the largest staffing firms in the region. It is my belief that my leadership skills, along with my business and government experience, uniquely qualify me as the best choice to serve as the mayor of Mount Airy.

Also, the fact that I have served in many leadership capacities and continue to do so, volunteer by giving time, talent and treasure to our local community as well as all local schools and charities certainly qualifies me as the best choice.

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: I am 67 years old and have lived in Mount Airy for more than 30 years. I graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in history and have a master’s degree from Appalachian State University in political science/public administration. I am a retired city manager, having served in five cities in North Carolina, and now am a consultant to small local governments in the state.

I served on the city commission beginning in December 2019 as commissioner at large. I then served as mayor pro tem from December 2019 until July of 2021, when elected by the board to serve as mayor, filling the remaining term of Mayor David Rowe.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as mayor?

Answer: I have had the privilege of serving as the mayor of the best small town in America. We are at the exciting crossroads of opportunity and vision. Many decisions have been made that have put us in a position to make us a first-class city that will still retain the charms of what we have been blessed to enjoy. I have invested much of my energy to the future of our city and have encouraged the next generation to see public service as rewarding and fun. I have the energy and passion for public service. I truly enjoy representing my community and telling our story.

The next several years are crucial to our future and will shape our community for generations to come. With my experience in local government and, knowing the background of issues facing us, we can forge the relationships needed to effectively move us forward.

I love the interaction with our citizens and visitors and hearing all the great stories and experiences they bring in making our city a great place to live. These encounters give me the wonderful opportunity to tout the characteristics to others that we experience by living in Mount Airy. I enjoy working with our business community and seeking ways to help it become stronger. I am one who loves representing our city at events and celebrations.

We have made great progress and I want to see that continue. I want to continue telling our story and expand on the possibilities to come.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing Mount Airy and how will you address them?

Answer: The two most important issues facing us are both related. They are housing and economic development. How we deal with these will affect how we live, work and play going forward.

The board and I are now working on economic development by the changes we are making in our downtown area. Most of the new investment the city has seen has been downtown. This is vital to our future. Changes in demographics and what our future holds will make what we do crucial. In speaking with our local industries these investments need to continue if they are to remain and expand here. We must create spaces and living facilities that our younger generation expect. Attracting talent that will enhance our community is vital for any vibrant and growing city.

Housing trends are ever changing, and we need to have housing that reflects those changes. The city needs to encourage exciting living communities by finding ways to make development easier and affordable. Quality high-density development will help keep our taxes low and allow us to continue the high level of excellent services we enjoy.

We must have vision and react quickly as trends dictate. A city must be growing if it is to remain vibrant. Attracting the next generation is essential, but these changes will serve all our residents of all ages by enhancing the quality of life. We can and will meet these challenges.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: Energy, passion, fairness and vision. I have the experience of serving in local government for more than 30 years and the knowledge to know how government at the local level functions. This background is invaluable as we deal with issues of service levels and cost containment. I also understand the business side of government.

None of that matters, however, without the vision of what we can become. I enjoy working with people in creating consensus of a vision moving forward. Being a leader requires the energy and passion for trying to get things accomplished when there is a diversity of thought. I enjoy the interactions of citizens, city staff and our board when we solve issues facing us. I have developed strong relationships with county and state leaders that are paying dividends. My strength is working to see everyone is heard and respected as decisions are made. I enjoy encouraging all to be part of their government and in turn, make us better as a community. I always try to represent our city with integrity and pride.

Being mayor is more than presiding at meetings and cutting ribbons. It takes the ability to lead our community and tell our story everywhere. I have tried to engage as many people as possible to help us to continue being the bright light we are to our county, state and country. Being mayor requires energy. I have that. It requires passion, I truly love to serve. Being kind is important. Vision with integrity is my promise moving forward.

The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History held several activites Sunday in honor of Cinco de Mayo over the weekend, in honor of the traditional Mexican holiday held on Thursday.

While Saturday’s overcast skies and rain made enjoying the celebration a bit dicey, museum officials and participants were up for the challenge, moving some of the event indoors.

Visitors, some entering the museum for the first time, went up to the third floor to see performances from both Ballet Folklorico and students from the museum’s Mexican Dance Bootcamp.

For those who could not make it in person, there are live stream videos available on the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History’s Facebook page.

Karl Singletary has a vision that he wants to bring to Mount Airy, a project he launched first in Asheville five years ago that he is now bringing to his hometown.

“I grew up on Virginia Street, I remember when drugs first got here 1981. I remember when crack first showed up,” he said with a knowing look. “Things won’t get better until we do something about it. I just want to see this place turned into a place that saves lives. It’s important that I give back, this is where my addiction started.”

New Hope New Beginnings will be a sober living transitional house located at the soon-to-be renovated multi-unit residence at 126 Rawley Avenue. It seeks to give men in recovery stability that will allow them to work a program with the security of continuity.

The home itself is an allegory of the potential hidden beneath. Comprised of eight units, a mixture of apartments and single bedroom dwellings, the goal is to totally renovate the interior of the home. Singletary gave a short tour Thursday in which some of the units seen were ready for tenants, others were a chaotic mess of trash and the belongings of past residents.

“The house is a really good example of transformation of those who live here. If we can take this house and transform it into a safe and supporting home, people can see that and maybe we can make these changes at a personal level,” said Jaime Edwards, of the county’s substance abuse office. He is making a video timeline of the project which will be shared with the community.

“We are looking for ten residents upstairs and ten downstairs, and then there are three apartments that we are going to turn into home living apartments,” he explained, “People are going to transition from the dorm to the apartments.”

The home needs a lot of work: new wiring, plumbing, and windows to go along with its new tenants. In a nod to the transformational theme, “The old windows, we’re going to turn them into a greenhouse for the backyard,” Singletary said. If inanimate windows can evolve into something new, he knows so too can the residents.

He said word they were coming to the neighborhood set off alarms. The concern of some was that the house would be a magnet for troublemakers. His project was met with a ‘not in my backyard’ response that is at times indicative of the uphill battle Surry County is facing when it comes to substance abuse.

What he wants the public to know is that this is meant to be the last stop for these men. When their time at New Hope New Beginnings is complete, they will have transitioned into a next chapter armed with a toolkit of skills, coping devices, and along with a solid stretch of sobriety to go with it.

He noted, “To bring people out of treatment or prison without getting them back into society and getting them back into the thought process of getting a job and making money, is a complete failure.”

People who leave treatment for drugs or alcohol are significantly more likely to relapse if they exit treatment without a plan including a place to live, and a support network. Often, that means a new place to live and a new support network.

This model can work. Singletary is a graduate of such a program before founding his own. After 30 years in addiction, and now seven clean, he has a lot of useful insight. He will be living at the home with the residents, albeit in separate quarters, as an accredited drug counselor and offer his wisdom of experiences with the struggle.

During active addition, people have had on blinders as they had but one goal: to satiate the urge. As the world kept turning for everyone else, they were stuck in a loop that prevented significant growth physically, mentally, or spiritually.

Filling those gaps in mental and spiritual health with something other than “a thing,” as Singletary said, is critical to their recovery. “Connections with the ministry, the spiritual aspect is very important because that’s where the strength comes from. You got to lean on some kind of faith because our best thinking is how we got here, so we have to allow other people to think for us for a while.”

It will take time; it takes time to fall into addiction and it similarly takes time to break it. This program will be making a commitment, up to two years, for these men to find their path. They will do so with guidance from Singletary and his hope is those who succeed and exit the program will be willing to help those who remain.

“Our hope is this can be the shining light on the hill that recovery works, and people get better, by setting a high level of service and expectations for ourselves, and those we serve,” said Edwards.

Some have trouble seeing addiction as anything but a personal shortcoming rather than the chronic and debilitating disease it is. Friends and family who have been put off by toxic behaviors may keep those in recovery at arm’s length for fear of being hurt again.

“A man once asked me, ‘Karl, what is the most powerful thing in this world? A mind, once you’ve made up your mind.’ So, we need to change the way people think, and the way they think about recovery and the way they think about drugs.

“Drugs aren’t the problem; it’s the way people think about drugs and what they use them for. It stopped being fun a long time ago. Drugs used us; we weren’t using drugs no more.

“We have to change the way people feel so they know drugs are not a medication, or a choice. We got to live on life’s terms, and we have to learn how to deal with that without the use of drugs or alcohol,” Singletary said.

He sees New Hope New Beginnings as a long term tool to help those in need. “We’re not trying to control people; we are just trying to provide a service. We’re not trying to have power; we are trying to empower people. It’s not about manipulation; we want to inspire.”

DOBSON — The primary election for Surry County clerk of court includes three candidates, who are all Republicans, with no Democrats having filed to run for that office this year.

One is incumbent Neil Brendle and the former clerk he defeated in a party primary in 2018, Teresa O’Dell, en route to overcoming a Democratic challenge in the November general election that year.

The third candidate in the 2022 race is Melissa Marion Welch, who has many years of experience as a clerk’s office employee.

The same set of questions was posed to all three, designed to help voters learn about their backgrounds and positions on key issues in order to make informed choices.

Listed in alphabetical order, the candidates and responses include those of:

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: My name is L. Neil Brendle, clerk of Superior Court for the county of Surry. I thank you for the opportunity to bring attention to the office.

I have served for the last four years in this capacity, am 45 years old and a resident of Dobson. I was appointed in December of 2000 as a magistrate judge for Judicial District 17-B, and served here in Surry for almost 17 years.

Additionally, I have worked many years in the grading, highway building and public utilities construction industries. I am a graduate of Gardner-Webb University, Surry Community College and have completed many hours of education at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

I am a follower of Jesus Christ and a conservative Republican individual rooted in the Constitution of our great nation. I have been a lifelong sportsman with a love of the outdoors and shooting sports. I am blessed to be a father of two bright, caring, loving daughters; husband to an incredibly supportive wife; and have five amazing dogs.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as clerk of court?

Answer: I was born and reared in Dobson, where my parents were public servants in differing capacities. I learned from a young age the value and reward of helping others. My mother was a town commissioner in Dobson for many years until her death. She operated the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles License Plate Agency in Dobson, and was perhaps my biggest influence in dealing with the public. No matter how difficult or time-consuming, each individual she dealt with was as important as the next.

My father served as a magistrate, a law enforcement officer with the state Department of Insurance and later owned a construction company where I worked for many years. Throughout high school and college, I was a coach and referee in youth sports, which laid the foundation for serving others. At the same time, I was working for my father long hours in adverse conditions at night and on holidays which made me appreciate the value of hard work.

I still draw upon the passion for public service and work ethic instilled in my youth every day. For the past almost 22 years I have had the opportunity to help people daily, and to be honest, I have received the greater blessing.

As a magistrate and now clerk of Superior Court I’ve honed and developed skills that no other candidate possesses. I’ve assembled a team of staff whose skills and assets rival and surpass any other workforce I have ever witnessed. My desire to continue to serve has nothing to do with a title, power or position; but solely the opportunity to lead and serve others without delay, provide equal and ease of access to justice and to utilize my skills helping others. My judicial experience equips me better than others. I have a passion and desire that is unparalleled.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing the clerk’s realm of responsibility and how will you address them?

Answer: The greatest challenge is also the largest challenge facing us since the unification of our court systems in the early 1960s. We are about to embark on the inevitable journey of modernization, by transforming our courts to a paperless system. This initiative by the N.C. Judicial Branch will have innumerable benefits, among them streamlining the court processes, increasing and easing access to the courts, improving efficiency and providing a continuity of service that is necessary as witnessed by interruptions such as the pandemic we just experienced.

I also serve as a member of a technology committee comprised of a small number of clerks across the state, which allows me to be a participant as well as stakeholder in implementing this change.

Secondly, the increased caseload we have seen is unprecedented. Our office has been phenomenal in dealing with the workload increase as well as reduction of backlog. In 2017, 58% of estates cases had not been compelled for filings. In 2019, just months after I took office, we had reduced that to 41%, and today I am proud to say we have reduced that to less than 19%.

While initially this accomplishment appears monumental, its value increases when you consider we had an overall annual increase of almost 300 case filings additionally in that category more than any year ever. This speaks volumes to the increase of efficiency of our staff. I also serve on a state clerk resource committee, and am committed to increasing the benefits our staff deserves, which will aid in the recruitment and retention of valued employees.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: Countless attorneys, self-represented litigants, judicial officials, law enforcement officers and many members of the public have stated the improvements of the environment at the Surry County clerk of Superior Court’s office since I took office. Our courts and services here are regarded as some of the most productive, efficient, secure and accurate anywhere. I have made many changes and program implementations that have produced profound benefits.

The improvement and development of interagency relations, cultivation of workforce and changes to the environment and atmosphere have been instrumental in improving productivity and efficiency. Also, the desire to be a good leader is imperative. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

Our staff includes some of the most skilled, knowledgeable, competent and kind individuals you will ever encounter. They are constantly provided and take advantage of training, cross-training and continuing education opportunities.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we were always open and provided access to the courts as required by our state Constitution. My background in human resource management, business administration and project management; my judicial experience; and unending desire to serve the public are all assets that elevate me as a choice for this office.

It’s difficult to summarize in a few words 25-plus years of experiences in these different areas, so I encourage anyone to reach out to me. My office door is always open, and one of the best parts of my job is the time spent meeting and talking with the public.

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: My name is Teresa O’Dell, age 60. I was proudly elected as Surry County’s first Republican clerk of court in 2014. I have 20 years of experience in the clerk’s office. I have served as an evening instructor at Surry Community College teaching about the court system and juvenile law. I also have been employed with the Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office and Adult Probation Office.

Having been born and raised in Surry County, I came from very simple beginnings. My parents are Gladys Hopkins and Elmer O’Dell. I graduated from Gardner-Webb University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. I attend Antioch Baptist Church in Mount Airy and have been a Christian since 1976. I built my first home at the age of 21 and my second home at the age 31.

A registered Republican since 2000, I am conservative and pro-life.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as clerk of court?

Answer: I want to continue serving the good citizens of Surry County. The court system requires a strong and experienced leader who is respected by attorneys, law enforcement and the general public. My door will always be open for conversation concerning the needs of the community. Trust, knowledge and good communication are the keys to a successful clerk’s office.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing the clerk’s realm of responsibility and how will you address them?

Answer: Number one, electing a clerk of court who knows how to run the office efficiently.

The second issue includes customer service, training and adding personnel to balance out the workloads. I want to be the elected clerk of court to train the next generation of deputy clerks.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: Having been the elected clerk of court, I have been on the job since Day One serving my constituents in estates, adoptions and criminal/civil filings. Every night I worked until 7 or 8 o’clock to check the work of 20 employees.

I am a proven leader with 20 years of experience in the clerk’s office and a faithful public servant for 30 years.

I am a specialist in helping people. For many years, I have been walking the extra mile to encourage people to succeed. A clerk can be many things to many people. She is a good listener, a voice for the elderly and victims of domestic violence. She is a protector of the law and procedure.

The judicial process must be productive and less stressful for those who are experiencing sessions of court for the first time. The experience must be positive. I will work closely with our resident Superior Court judge to address concerns. My goals will reflect a clerk’s office that maintains accurate records and excellent customer service.

This is one of the most important elections in our lifetime. The primary election will select your clerk of court for the next four years. There will be no general election for clerk. I am confident and prepared to return to that office.

I humbly ask for your vote.

Tell citizens a little about yourself.

Answer: I’m Melissa Marion Welch, am 41 and live in Dobson. I graduated from Surry Central High School, Surry Community College and Appalachian State University. I am married to Brandon Welch from Dobson and we have three daughters, Kendall, Dannie and Charlee. My father was Danny Marion of Shoals. My mother is Debbie Hawks Dezern, from Beulah, and my stepdad is Steve “Doc” Dezern from Dobson. My mother-in-law is Judy Johnson Welch, from Ararat, and my father-in-law was Charles Welch of Dobson.

I am a Christian and a member of Salem Baptist Church in Dobson. I am presently the children’s director and oversee areas that include Vacation Bible School, children and adult Sunday School, Upward Basketball and children’s activities throughout the year. I attend a weekly women’s Bible study and am now serving my second three-year term on the Salem Christian Academy school board.

Question: Why are you interested in serving as clerk of court?

Answer: The clerk’s office is part of my life. I grew up in this office. I was 22 years old when I started my career. During my career I got married, had children, built a home and lost a parent, all while working with coworkers that were as close to me as my family. I genuinely enjoyed my job. I enjoyed coming to work and processing all the job duties that I had to complete. I felt like my job mattered and I found joy in helping people.

I enjoy passing my knowledge on to the next generation of new employees. I want to retire from the clerk’s office. I want to finish the race that I started. I always thought I would decide closer to retirement whether I would like to run for clerk of court or not.

God’s timing is in His time and not ours. I have prayed and prayed for guidance and direction with my decision to run for office. I felt at peace after months of prayer when I decided to run and told my husband my decision. I truly believe this is where I am supposed to be. I know the knowledge and experience that I have gained over 18 years has prepared me for this role.

Question: What do you consider the two most important issues now facing the clerk’s realm of responsibility and how will you address them?

Answer: An issue I will address is customer service. Employees in the clerk’s office are public servants. Being a public servant can be difficult. Most people who visit to do business with the clerk’s office come in emotional and upset. Something has happened in their life such as a criminal charge, a death in the family, losing their home or kids and they bring that frustration in with them. The staff needs to understand this and be able to address each person with compassion and patience.

Many people do not understand completely what the clerk’s office can and cannot do. We do not have forms to fix every issue you have. We can still take the time to speak to you and explain our processes, leaving you with a better understanding. We work for you, the public. Customer service needs to be at the highest level possible.

Another issue is training. It is a necessity for the staff to be cross-trained in many different areas. Life happens and someone will need to be out for various reasons. You should not be sent away without being helped due to an absence of an employee.

The elected clerk needs to fill any vacancies in a timely manner and make sure the staff is fully trained. Training is mainly on the job. Classes are offered through NCAOC (the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts). I would ensure employees completed classes offered in their areas of work. I would encourage them to retake classes during their career to be refreshed on processes and because laws change.

Question: What makes you the best choice for the office you are seeking?

Answer: I began my career in the Surry County clerk’s office in December of 2002 as a deputy clerk. I have 18 years of experience, 12 years in Surry County and six years in Forsyth County. There are three levels of employment in the clerk’s office, deputy clerk, assistant clerk and the elected clerk. Each level has its own set of duties and responsibilities. I have held two out of the three positions.

While in Forsyth County I was promoted to an assistant clerk and supervised as many as 20 employees. I also worked directly under the elected clerk. I was able to learn things in Forsyth County that I would not have been able to as a deputy clerk in Surry. I want to bring the knowledge that I gained from Forsyth back to Surry County to implement services that are not presently being offered to attorneys and the public.

I have knowledge and experience in areas such as District and Superior civil proceedings, domestic violence, courtroom clerk, jury, small claims, adoptions, name changes, motor vehicle liens, legitimations, incompetency, foreclosures, head cashier, administration, payroll, benefits and time management.

While I was employed in Forsyth County, employees from Surry and Stokes would reach out to me for help. I was also contacted by attorneys from Surry County and the public for assistance. I am still being contacted at this time for help. I believe it is the right time for me to step out in faith and run to be your next clerk of Superior Court.

One would think that when a board votes 7-2 in favor of something, it’s a done deal — but a longtime local businessman has learned this is not the case regarding signage for a $2 million expansion project.

The issue surrounds the development of a new Frank Fleming Body Shop and Collision Center in a building once housing a Winn-Dixie supermarket on Merita Street in Mount Airy, which Fleming bought, located across U.S. 52 from Mayberry Mall.

Fleming is moving from his present location on Springs Road near radio stations WPAQ/WSYD just outside the city limits, where the body shop has been in operation since 1985.

Since it can be considered off the beaten path from a business standpoint, the owner says he has relied on word-of-mouth traffic and a reputation for doing good work to draw customers to the shop employing about 10 people.

In looking toward the future, Fleming now is expanding to the more-visible location along the U.S. 52 business corridor. But what should be a seamless move has become beset by city regulatory issues regarding an existing sign there which he wants to re-face.

“I started this project last summer and it’s been one battle after another,” Fleming, who is known for his distinguished career in modified racing along with being a businessman, said Friday.

Although the remnants of what once displayed the Winn-Dixie sign still occupy a spot in the parking lot — including two large poles extending into the air from a sturdy base — Fleming is prohibited from using those fixtures for a sign drawing attention to his enterprise.

This is despite a recent 7-2 decision by a group called the Mount Airy Zoning Board of Adjustment to approve that use, with updated sign rules in the municipality not allowing new ones more than 15 feet tall, Fleming said he was advised.

The proposal instead required at least a four-fifths “super-majority” vote, according to a city commissioner, Jon Cawley, who explained when bringing the matter to public attention during a meeting Thursday that one of 8-1 would have constituted that.

City Manager Stan Farmer said Friday this is required by state statute rather than a local mandate.

That left Fleming with only one recourse — to bring the matter to Surry County Superior Court for review. “I have appealed this,” he added Friday.

The sign issue reached the Mount Airy Zoning Board of Adjustment via a variance hardship request.

That involves “varying” from the strict wording of zoning regulations, which the business owner requested after unsuccessfully seeking a permit for using the sign there — initially being unaware such rules even existed.

The adjustment board is a powerful, quasi-judicial administrative body whose decisions affect private property rights to the same extent as court rulings.

It not only hears requests for variances, but special-use permits and appeals of decisions made by city planning staff members and the Mount Airy Historic Preservation Commission, regarding interpretations or enforcement of ordinances. The stated overriding purpose of the board is to enforce the meaning and spirit of city ordinances.

Seeking relief from that group came with a price. “I paid $400 for the hearing,” Fleming of the cost required to make his case for the sign variance. The appeal to Superior Court is costing another $200.

The matter as it stands now has left both Fleming and Commissioner Cawley scratching their heads.

“It don’t make sense to me,” Fleming said. “The sign is already there.”

In addition to the body shop, it would highlight an existing auto parts business on the Merita Street property and an Enterprise rental car outlet to be located there.

The sign needs to be somewhat towering in order for passersby to notice the businesses due to not being directly on the highway, which is why Winn-Dixie erected it in the first place, Fleming said.

One thing that troubles the veteran business owner is that in driving along other nearby areas of U.S. 52 and U.S. 601, he has noticed places with newer signs appearing to be taller than 15 feet.

Two carport businesses, one at the former Bright Leaf Drive-In site and another on the corner of Rockford Street and U.S. 52 near Northern Regional Hospital, were among ones he cited, along with an auto dealership and a car wash.

“My question is, why them and not me — somebody’s going to answer that,” Fleming said.

The body shop owner explained that he could just as easily have decided to launch the expansion elsewhere, including Winston-Salem, but chose his home community instead.

“I was born and raised right here in Mount Airy,” Fleming said. “I wanted to stay in town.”

He also pointed out that the former Winn-Dixie location was in a rundown state, including overgrown vegetation and a deteriorating parking lot he plans to have repaved.

“I’m spending close to $2 million on a property that was an eyesore in the community.”

Commissioner Cawley brought up the matter at a council meeting Thursday afternoon, which was not on the agenda but broached by Cawley near the end of the session when officials offered general comments.

“I want the record to show that I support him,” the North Ward board member commented in reference to Fleming, saying that also should be the case with the city government as a whole. “But anyway, I want the record to show that I am disappointed in the Board of Adjustment’s decision.”

Cawley also said he had ridden around town with Fleming and noticed about 30 other signs outside businesses which were of similar size and shape to that on the former Winn-Dixie site. Some are at new businesses and others involve signs that were refurbished, he related.

“Mount Airy has a reputation for being hard to deal with when it comes to bringing business to town,” Cawley said, “and it’s decisions like this that are making us live with that reputation.”

Mount Airy Planning Director Andy Goodall declined to weigh in on the sign matter Friday. “My apologies, but I cannot comment on the referenced case while it is in litigation,” he advised.

However, Elizabeth Martin, the chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, did offer insights Friday on its recent vote.

“I think most of the board was leaning toward not allowing the sign,” she said of the matter involving Fleming.

“But at the same time, Frank’s been around here (a long time) and he was trying to improve that part of town,” Martin added in reference to the seven board members who did vote in his favor.

The two dissenters mainly were concerned about appearance issues in light of updated ordinance requirements approved by the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners in 2016, including new height and area requirements to address that consideration with incoming signage.

Martin acknowledged the fact that the case can be taken up in Superior Court and possibly sent back to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a new look.

“The court reviews anything that we have done.”

© 2018 The Mount Airy News