The following marriage licenses were issued in Surry County:
– Justin Daniel Nunn, 27, of Carroll County, Virginia, to Carrie Savannah Rose Holder, 26, of Surry County.
– Hoyt Eli Bullington, 20, of Surry County to Allison Celesete Bruner, 20, of Surry County.
– Gordon Howard Reeves, 59, of Surry County to Joan Hall, 50, of Washington County, Virginia.
– Ronald Thomas Dapp, 63, of Surry County to Kelly Suzanne Hensley, 53, of Surry County.
– Ronald Edwards Hawks, 57, of Surry County to Brenda Mae Surratt, 58, of Surry County.
– Joshua Wayne Jolly, 27, of Wilkes County to Katherine Elise Smith, 26, of Wilkes County.
– Robert Seth Watson, 27, of Surry County to Maegan Lee Sydnor, 29, of Surry County.
– Cory Trent Goad, 45, of Surry County to Jana Gwyn Puckett, 44, of Patrick County, Virginia.
– Alton David Mathis II, 44, of Surry County to Kimberley Combs, 42, of Surry County.
– Dustin Harry Snow, 47, to Grayson County, Virginia, to Heather Denise Leonard, 43, of Grayson County.
– Stephen Banner Paul Griffin, 23, to Surry County to Alisha Cheyenne Billings, 26, of Surry County.
– Christopher Scott Matthews, 22, of Lexington County, South Carolina to Kelly Lynn House, 23, of Gwinnett County, Georgia.
– Daniel McClung Kerr, 32, of Surry County to Cherie Miranda Anderson, 35, of Surry County.
Seeing the sites with Surry 250
While war raged in Korea
On Memorial Day we remember those who have died in military service to this nation, its allies, and ideals. We think of rows of white marble crosses, cemeteries decorated with small fluttering flags. We think of the sacrifices made, our eyes welling with tears and our throats growing tight at the thought of the young men and women who pay the price for our collective freedoms.
They have made it possible for us to enjoy life in our hometowns. As they struggle in the hardships of the frontline, we move through a mundane world, complaining about price hikes, or how our favorite team lost the game. In America we are so insulated from the horrors of war it’s sometimes easy to forget the realities our service personnel deal with on a daily basis. We find out about their deaths days or weeks later.
The Korean War was a vicious conflict almost lost in a century of influential military actions and tremendous economic growth. But 70 years ago hundreds of young men and women from this region served in those unforgiving hills. Today we remember a few who never returned.
What began as a civil war between communist North Korea and the Democratic south soon boiled over into what many people saw as a proxy war between the USSR and the USA. The third major military engagement in 35 years, the Korean War raged in a land most knew little about.
All the while life continued on the home front. Here is a look at what was happening back home, here in Surry County, along with significant events related to the war.
June 25, 1950 – Soviet-backed North Korean soldiers invade the Western-allied Republic of Korea. The North Carolina congressional delegation unanimously supports President Harry Truman’s orders to deploy troops.
What began as a civil war between the Communist north and the Democratic south, soon boiled over into what many people saw as a proxy war between the USSR and the USA. The third major military engagement in 35 years, the Korean Conflict raged in a land most knew little about …. All the while, life continued on the home front.
August 1950 – The Central Telephone Company, based in Mount Airy, is granted permission to raise rates across the region from Mount Airy to Boonville, North Wilkesboro to Yadkinville.
The Bright Leaf Drive-In opens, dramatically changing the local teenage social scene.
A polio outbreak has shuttered Wythe County, Virginia, causing the town’s baseball team to withdraw from the Blue Ridge League. The Bassett, Virginia, team steps in as the deep-seeded rivalry between Mount Airy’s Graniteers and Elkin’s Blanketeers keeps fans riveted.
The Surry County Selective Service Board reopens its office in the courthouse. They ask all to “register immediately after their (18th) birthday” and those who are already registered to update their information if they have moved or married since.
The local National Guard heavy artillery unit, the 426th, is given a 30-notice for mobilization.
American is returning to the battlefield.
Surry County men were not part of the first call in the draft for the Korean conflict. There had been a delay in getting the office reactivated but would be expected to send draftees in the second call.
Some, however, were already there.
Sgt James Crouse, 21, Marine, killed Sept 26. – State Highway Patrolman JP Rhyne of Mount Airy knocked on Claude and Gladys Crouse’ door with news no parent wants to hear. The family home was just across the Alleghany County line in Ennice. He was the eldest of the Crouse’ four children, named for his grandfather, Jim Crouse, who lived at Fisher’s River near Lowgap on old Hwy 89. He’d already served three years in the Marines and reenlisted in November.
Crouse was the first Alleghany County soldier to die in Korea. More than 177,000 North Carolinians served in the war, with 784 killed and 201 listed as either prisoners of war or missing in action.
January 1951 – Mount Airy breaks ground for the Reeves Memorial Community Center.
The Surry County Chapter of the Gold Star Mothers is founded, an organization for mothers of soldiers killed in action. The Mount Airy News reported more than 50 county mothers were known to be eligible from World War II losses at the time.
Corp. Winfred Nelson Dawson, Jr., 18, Air Force, killed Jan. 1 – One of nine children born to Winfred and Nellie Dawson of Ararat, Virginia, he was part of the storied 335th Fighter Squadron.
August 1951 – Mount Airy’s First Baptist congregation launches a major building program.
Pvt. Samuel Carlise Hamlin, 21, Army, Killed Nov. 21 – Part of Gen. MacArthur’s 1st Cavalry, Hamlin was posthumously awarded the Silver Star “for gallantry in action” in the Chorwon region of Korea.
April 1953 – Surry authorities struggle to bring a rabies epidemic under control.
Pvt. Merlin Marshall, 21, Army Medic, Missing in Action April 18 – One of the region’s last casualties, Merlin was last seen attending his fallen comrades of the 7th Infantry Division. His remains were never recovered, and he was presumed dead the next year. The White Plains High School graduate is remembered in the National Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu where the names of nearly 30,000 military personnel Missing in Action or Lost at Sea are inscribed.
May 1, 1953 – Mount Airy’s Martin Memorial Hospital is destroyed by fire.
The war was fierce but stagnant much of the time as troops dug in to hold ground, often in brutally cold temperatures, sometimes as low as 25 degrees below zero. Hostilities dragged on until July 1953 when an armistice was signed, and an uneasy peace was reached.
Often called the Forgotten War, the war seems lost in history between the better-known WWII and Vietnam. It is time we remember. The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History has very little information about anything to do with the Korean War and those who served.
If you have photos, letters, mementos, or family stories about people who served in this war, consider contacting curator Amy Snyder. Such items can be scanned or recorded so future generations understand the price of freedom.
Kate Rauhauser-Smith is a volunteer for the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History with 22 years in journalism before joining the museum. She and her family moved to Mount Airy in 2005 from Pennsylvania where she was also involved with museums and history tours.
The following marriage licenses were issued in Surry County:
– Justin Daniel Nunn, 27, of Carroll County, Virginia, to Carrie Savannah Rose Holder, 26, of Surry County.
– Hoyt Eli Bullington, 20, of Surry County to Allison Celesete Bruner, 20, of Surry County.
– Gordon Howard Reeves, 59, of Surry County to Joan Hall, 50, of Washington County, Virginia.
– Ronald Thomas Dapp, 63, of Surry County to Kelly Suzanne Hensley, 53, of Surry County.
– Ronald Edwards Hawks, 57, of Surry County to Brenda Mae Surratt, 58, of Surry County.
– Joshua Wayne Jolly, 27, of Wilkes County to Katherine Elise Smith, 26, of Wilkes County.
– Robert Seth Watson, 27, of Surry County to Maegan Lee Sydnor, 29, of Surry County.
– Cory Trent Goad, 45, of Surry County to Jana Gwyn Puckett, 44, of Patrick County, Virginia.
– Alton David Mathis II, 44, of Surry County to Kimberley Combs, 42, of Surry County.
– Dustin Harry Snow, 47, to Grayson County, Virginia, to Heather Denise Leonard, 43, of Grayson County.
– Stephen Banner Paul Griffin, 23, to Surry County to Alisha Cheyenne Billings, 26, of Surry County.
– Christopher Scott Matthews, 22, of Lexington County, South Carolina to Kelly Lynn House, 23, of Gwinnett County, Georgia.
– Daniel McClung Kerr, 32, of Surry County to Cherie Miranda Anderson, 35, of Surry County.
The Surry 250 bus tours rambled on Saturday, rolling out of the Surry County Service Center in Dobson on a tour of historic homes and sites. It was a full house after the county made the tours free leading to a quick sell out of this ride, and the remaining tours as well.
A group of over twenty-five was treated to nice weather for the tour that is among activities for the county’s sestercentennial. Tour Guide Marion Venable was on hand to lead the group and provide her own expertise.
There are still lecture series events to be held including:
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.
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.
There will be additional coverage in Tuesday’s edition of the Mount Airy News.
Most varities of corn require a growing season of 90 days and should be planted early in June to assure a harvest by mid-August. You can choose from Golden Queen, Silver Queen, Kandy Corn, Early Sunglow, Butterfruit, How-Sweet-It-Is, Chief and Golden Bantam. Sow at least three rows for pollination from bees and wind. Make sure the three rows are the same variety. Sow seeds in furrows about four inches deep. Sow seed four per hill and 10 to 12 inches apart. Spread a layer of peat moss in the furrow and sow corn seed on top of the peat moss. Apply another layer of peat moss on top of the seed. Apply an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food and hill up soil on both sides of the furrow. Tamp down top of the row with the hoe blade for good contact with the soil. Allow enough room between rows to cultivate and control weeds and keep soil hilled up for support from the wind and storms. You will need room between rows over a 90-day period to control Japanese beetles and ear worms as the season progresses. Side dress the corn with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food every three weeks. When corn sprouts, thin to two plants per hill. Keep soil hilled up to the corn as it continues to grow week by week. Add some calcium carbonate (powdered lime) when corn gets a foot tall and hill soil over the lime.
Planting in June will keep garden in tune
All crops that love warm weather will thrive and survive in the warmth of the June garden plot soil. All vegetables will respond quickly to the warm days and nights. Set out tomato plants every week in small numbers for as long as plants are available and healthy. A four pack a week will extend the tomato harvest all summer long. Try as many different varities as you can find for a varied harvest. One of the best attributes of an abundant harvest of tomatoes is the opportunity to share their bounty with others.
Peppers are as tropical to the garden plot as vegetables can get. June is the absolute best time to set out pepper plants. Set out sweet bells such as California Wonder, Big Bertha, Keystone, Candy Apple, Great Stuff and Parks Whopper II, as well as Candy Bell, and least we forget, the famous Door Knob! Set the sweet bells out this week on a warm June day. Keep hot pepper varities a distance away from sweet bell peppers. Set peppers at least two feet apart. Stake and cage them for extra support and protection from thunderstorms and strong winds. Keep soiled hilled up around pepper plants for extra support and feed every three weeks with Garden-Tone or Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Water every week when rain is not in the forecast. Apply calcium carbonate when peppers reach one foot tall.
Lima beans also need warm days and nights to produce a mid-summer harvest. You can choose from Fordhook 242, Henderson Bush, Thurogreen and Dixie Butterpea. Sow lima beans in a furrow about three or four inches deep. Place peat moss in bottom of the furrow and sow seeds on top of the peat moss. Place peat moss on top of the seed and apply an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill up soil on both sides of the furrow and tamp down soil on top of the hilled up soil for good contact with the soil. Feed the lima beans every three weeks with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill up the soil on both sides of the row after feeding with Plant-Tone. Water top of row each week if no rain is in the forecast.
Setting out a full row of tomato plants
The main harvest of tomato plants should be set out in the next few days for a bountiful harvest. There are so very many to choose from including Big Boy, Better Bow, Early Girl, Oregon Spring, Marglobe, Rutgers, Homestead, Beefy Boy, Beefsteak, Mortgage Lifter, Parks Whopper, Cherokee Purple, Mountain Pride, Roma, Yellow Jubilee. Plant tomato plants in a furrow five or six inches deep. Add a layer of peat moss and a handful of Black Kow composted cow manure to the furrow, and then mix in an application of Tomato-Tone organic tomato food. Set the tomato plant and add another handful of peat moss before hilling up soil all around the tomato plant. When tomato plants are well established in about three weeks, apply Vigaro tomato food with enriched calcium on each side of the tomato row and hill up the Vigaro on each side of the row to cover it up. Every three weeks apply a layer of Tomato-Tone organic tomato food. Hill up soil on each side of the row after applying Tomato-Tone. When the plants reach one foot tall, apply calcium carbonate on each side o the row and pull up soil up on each side of tomatoes to cover the lime. Water around the base of the tomato plants with water wand in spray mode when there is no rain.
Adjustable water wand-a good investment
With warmer days and nights and some days without any raindrops in the forecast, an adjustable water wand is a good investment. A wand will pay rich dividends and boost production in the garden plot. They cost around $12 to $14 and have adjustable settings of spray, shower, mist and an off and on switch. Never drag the hose with the wand attached because you could break the spring attachment on the wand.
End of May brings fireflies
There are a few flickers of yellow in the backyard and on the edge of the garden plot as we get close to the end of May. As June makes its way to the scene, a few more warm evenings will bring an abundance of them. We hope this will be a bright and productive year for them. To really appreciate the glow of fireflies, you have to drive down a Surry County country lane where there is not much traffic and no street light. Stop, turn off the lights, and enjoy an extra special light show.
Get Japanese beetle traps ready
The nights and days are warming up and soon June will be here with the start of a few humid days and perhaps the arrival of the dastardly Japanese beetles as they make their appearance on lawns, rose bushes, grapevines and foliage of flowers and vegetables. We hope there will not be many this year. Now is the time to clean and prepare the traps and purchase a few baits and lures. As soon as you see the first beetles, place a trap away from where you see them to draw them to the traps. One advantage of beetle trap is to draw beetles away from garden, roses, grapevines and foliage and into the traps. If we have a large infestation, spray lightly with liquid Sevin. Use a glass cleaner spray bottle mixed with water and Sevin to apply a light mist. Kill beetles in the traps by boiling a pot of water, pour it in a bucket and dip the trap of beetles into the bucket of boiling water. Pour hot water and the beetles on the driveway to avoid killing grass on the lawn. Birds will eat beetles. Invest in a durable two-piece plastic trap with a screw on plastic container to catch beetles. Unlike the plastic bag traps that blow all over the place, the durable traps will last for years and you don’t have to replace those fragile bags or dispose of them.
The roses put on a show all during May and as we get ready to enter June, its time to feed them as they get ready for another round of blooms for summer. Pinch off spent blooms and feed the roses with an application of Rose-Tone organic rose food that you can purchase in four-pound bags with a plastic zip lock bag and loaded with an organic boost of nutrients to boost foliage. A little goes a long way.
Organic food for summer annuals
A four pound plastic bag of Flower-Tone organic flower food will provide flowers of all types a boost of vital nutrients. Apply several tablespoons in each container of annuals or perennials and stir into the medium. It is finely textured and absorbs and gives quick response. The zip block bags makes the food easy to apply. Feed the flowers once a month all summer long.
Late cucumbers should be planted now
To extend the cucumber harvest later into summer, a late row or bed should be planted within the next week. Best hot weather varities are Marketmore 76, Poinsett 76, Ashley, Long Green and Straight Eight.
Cooling off hanging baskets, pots
The flowers in hanging baskets, pots and containers are responding to the May afternoons. They quickly dry out in their containers as the sun heats up their pots as well as the soil inside them. Water them each evening before sunset and water until the water runs out the hole in the bottom of baskets and containers.
“Back seat driving.” A man was driving the car with his wife in the back seat. The car stalled on the railroad track. An Amtrak train was roaring toward the vehicle. The man’s wife screamed, “Go on, speed it up!” Her husband replied, “You’ve been driving all day from the back seat. I’ve got my end over the track, see what you can do with your end!”
The weather for the first weekend in June possibly will be sunny and hot, but there’s a 100% chance of pleasant sounds during the 50th annual Mount Airy Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddlers Convention.
In celebration of this milestone, a special concert is planned Thursday night to help kick off the convention that will feature competition both Friday and next Saturday when it concludes.
And free old-time and bluegrass workshops are offered from Tuesday to Friday, designed to perpetuate the area musical legacy for another 50 years or more through passing it on to younger generations.
The Mount Airy Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddlers Convention is held on the grounds of Veterans Memorial Park at 691 W. Lebanon St.
Established in 1972, it is dedicated to the two musical genres, along with dance, and traditionally is held on the first weekend in June — although the coronavirus forced its cancellation in 2020.
The event resumed in 2021 and gradually is recapturing its pre-pandemic stature based on attendance by the public and participation of musicians vying for cash prizes, trophies and ribbons in various competition categories.
“We’re about halfway there, I guess, three-quarters, something like that,” Veterans Memorial Park President Doug Joyner said this week of the convention’s recovery from COVID, judging by last year’s event and interest in the one upcoming.
Based on everything that’s happened, this year’s golden anniversary has special significance, Joyner added.
“It’s been going on a half-century,” he said of the convention, “and we’re glad that the park can be putting it on every year (now).”
Joyner hopes fans will come out and help celebrate the occasion.
The convention officially starts Friday at 7 p.m. and will resume next Saturday at 9:30 a.m. for a day-long slate.
However, there are always early arrivals who set up shop in camping areas at the park and provide music throughout the week.
The competition categories at the convention are open to both youth and adults, including old-time and bluegrass band, bluegrass and old-time fiddle, bluegrass and old-time (clawhammer) banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass, dobro, dulcimer, autoharp, folk song and dance.
In addition to the performances during the convention, many impromptu jam sessions typically can be found when circulating around the grounds — and one never knows who might be involved.
Members of the group Donna the Buffalo have been spotted over the years along with other notable musicians such as Dom Flemmons of The Carolina Chocolate Drops.
The special Thursday night concert to celebrate the convention’s 50th anniversary will feature The Junior Sisk Band on the main stage at the park.
It is scheduled for 7 p.m., with $20 wristband tickets for the performance to be sold at the gate.
The admission cost to the park to attend both Friday and Saturday sessions is a $10 wristband each day.
Joyner says interest is high among musicians, including many returning performers.
“These people, they like to pick and grin,” he said.
“They keep emailing about it,” Joyner related. “I got a phone call the other night from a guy in England.”
That individual wanted to attend the convention in June 2021, but was prevented from doing so by COVID travel restrictions.
Joyner said he also has been contacted by a band in Russia which might show up for the event.
While convention organizers don’t relish capitalizing on others’ misfortune, the Mount Airy gathering also stands to benefit from the apparent demise of an early spring event in Dobson, the Surry Old-Time Fiddlers Convention. It has been cancelled the last three years due to the coronavirus and other factors.
“I think it will help us,” Joyner said of that development, particularly among the old-time musicians the Dobson convention was geared toward who desire a performance outlet to fill the void.
Another highlight of the convention week will be the free workshops in both the old-time and bluegrass styles.
The sessions are scheduled Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the grandstand area at Veterans Memorial Park.
Workshops are to feature the fiddle, banjo, vocals, guitar, jams, dance and more, organizers say.
Participating instructors and bands will include Emily Spencer, Martha Spencer, Kirk Sutphin, Kevin Fore, Chester McMillian, Wes Clifton, Trish Fore, The Mustard Cutters Band, The Pilot Mountain Bobcats, Nancy and Bill Sluys, Darrius Flowers and others.
A number of award-winning performers from the Galax fiddlers convention and others are among their ranks.
The special week-long workshops are made possible by grants from the Grassroots Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, with additional funding provided by the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in honor of the convention’s 50th anniversary.
A complete schedule of workshops, jams and dances will be available at the park gate, according to organizers.
More information about the convention can be found at https://www.surryarts.org/mafiddlersconvention/index.html More information about the workshops can be found on page B12 of today’s paper.
The following divorces were granted in Surry County:
– Daniel Ray George and Catherine Leigh Luffman; granted on May 23.
– Thomas Wayne Mikels and Angela Weavil Mikels; granted on May 19.
– Robert Kevin Flippin and Sheila Kay Goins; granted on May 19.
– Christopher Gunter and Anna Hayes; granted on May 19.
– Douglas Lee Coble and Sherri Beth Coble; granted on May 19.
– Ronald Edward Hawks and Dawn Canipe Hawks; granted on May 19.
– Steven Woods and Nicole Woods; granted on May 19.
– Corrie McLain and Jessica P. McLain; granted on May 19.
– Samantha Jo Wall and Craig Junior Easter; granted on May 19.
– Kevin Ratermann and Jeannie Mae Raterman; granted on May 19.
– Sherry Burcham Southern and Rockie Lee Southern; granted on May 19.
– Susan Abbigail Endriga Cox and Garrett Leon Cox; granted on May 19.
– Ricky I. Holsclaw and Ashley L. Holsclaw; granted on May 19.
– Jose Luis Rodriguez Contreras and Lidia Antunez Grande; granted on May 19.
– Gavin Richard Hale and Kimberly Sue Hale; granted on May 19.
– Halston Levi Summers and Sarah Louise Summers; granted on May 19.
In remembrance of members of the armed forces who have fallen in service to the country, a grateful nation observes Memorial Day on the final Monday of May.
One Elkin resident and army veteran has taken extra steps to honor the fallen, having taken two Flights of Honor to Washington, D.C.
The Flights of Honor have been taking veterans on trips to see the memorials placed in their honor in the nation’s capitol since 2005. Originally the plan for Honor Flights was to get World War II veterans to the capital to see the new WWII memorial; now, that focus has expanded.
Elkin resident and retired Master Sergeant Paul Rusk, United States Air Force, was fortunate to go on two of the flights, first as a guardian and later as the honoree. The recent trip in April had roughly 90 people on it, totaling the veterans, guardians, and medical personnel.
A rainbow water cannon salute sent the flight on its way from Piedmont International Airport in Greensboro and welcomed the veterans at Reagan National upon their arrival. No strangers to a regimented schedule, veterans boarded four busses and barnstormed the memorials in short order.
The veterans’ caravan drove to visit the Iwo Jima memorial on route to the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Its distinctive design rises from the area surrounding it and creates quite an impression for those approaching from either direction.
“As the aircraft goes up – that’s the bomb burst,” he educated. The steel arcs in the sky evoke the ‘bomb bust’ maneuver of the Air Force Thunderbirds. However only three arcs are show, the missing fourth arc symbolized the “missing man” formation used in Air Force flyovers, especially poignant on this weekend.
He was particularly impressed with their visit to the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. They watched the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the changing of the guard. “I found significance in the weapon being on the opposite side of the solider is to keep intruders away from the tomb.”
For him, the Old Guard signified much about service, Rusk said that their high code of personal conduct and exacting standards set them apart, not just that “you can shave in the shine of their shoes.”
“The guys and gals of the old guard, they are great,” he reflected. The changing face of the military now means that there have been five women to earn the Tomb Guard Identification Badge of nearly 700 earned.
“They have women, because there was a lady who was doing the changing.” More roles have opened for women in what had been traditionally restricted combat roles, the Old Guard are an active unit. To think the women are any less capable though is folly, as he warns, “We have lady rangers they are just tough – dynamite comes in small packages you know.”
Rusk found on the Vietnam Memorial Wall his late first wife’s brother. “I knew he had done it, and I had found his name on the travelling wall, so I knew it was there, I just had to find it here. One of the volunteers at the wall, since I could not get down and do the rubbing, she did it for me.”
“Those are true heroes, those that are on the wall, and on Memorial Day we remember those heroes.”
Of the confusion many Americans have over Veterans versus Memorial Day, he offered, “Veterans Day is for all vets, regardless of if they are breathing or not; and Memorial Day is for the true heroes who are at Arlington and the national cemeteries scattered around the nation, and in private cemeteries.”
To memorialize the brave fallen soldiers, the United States erected memorials on the National Mall, with World War II being the last to open in 2004. On his recent visit, the veterans approached the memorial from the Pacific side, whereas when Rusk was the guardian, his group approached on a cold rainy November day from the European side.
On that day, “We had brass pouring out of the Pentagon to come over and commingle with the vets, they had all sorts of braids on their uniforms and scrambled eggs,” he said using a colloquial for the embellished designs of officers’ caps.
To have officers of different branches come down to visit with the vets meant a lot to the visitors.“It was good to see it, we had enlisted ranks through admirals and generals.”
Honor Flights were meant for those World War II vets in the first place, to get them to Washington, D.C., to see the memorial to their brave sacrifice, and those who did not return from that great conflict – before it is too late.
Of the three veterans under his charge he said, “As nasty of that weather was, I did not hear one word of complaint out of none of them. I figure that was a piece of cake compared to what they went through in WWII. My dad was Normandy and Battle of the Bulge, but we could never get him to talk about it. The WWII vets just didn’t, they saw some horrific (stuff).”
No stranger to the horrors of conflict himself, Rusk said of his time in Southeast Asia that there was barbarism on both sides and things happened no one wants to repeat. “There was crap that went on in the jungles on both sides. We tried to fight a guerilla war like we fought WWII, you can’t do that.”
He is grateful that attitudes have change in recent years and the perception and reception of Vietnam era veterans has changed, “from baby killers to heroes.”
After a term of service of 22 years and 22 days, August 1957 – August 1979, Master Sergeant Rusk called it a career when one last assignment to Berlin conflicted with the best interests of his family.
He encourages young people to consider the military and offers that the Air Force and Navy offer the best skills training for a non-combat role post military. In Army, he noted, you drill for ground combat; on a ship, the daily maintenance of the vessel translates directly to electrical or technical savvy much more easily than marksmanship.
He added with a chuckle, “It’s true you can ‘Join the Navy, and see the world,” and get a GI Bill. It’s great, as long as people aren’t shooting at you.”
Saturday morning, the gym at Millennium Charter Academy in Mount Airy was filled with students, parents, and others sharing laughter, hugs, memories, and a few tears.
Nearly 400 people were gathered there for the MCA Commencement Exercises, marking graduation for 19 seniors who had completed there time at the school.
The graduates reminisced, were told to hold onto and treasure every second of every memory they had created with their classmates and friends at the school by their peers, and were encouraged by keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Chris Lawson to go out into the world and become uncommon leaders by tethering themselves to truth, always do what is right, and to always act with compassion.
This was the fifth graduating class from the charter academy, a group of friends who had grown close over their years at the school. Despite their relatively small number, it was evident the students had already touched a lot of lives — the bleachers along both sides of the auditorium were mostly full, as was a small section of chairs set up in front of the stage. Some of the students cried, all smile and laughed, as they shared memories of their time at the school and encouraged one another to consider their graduation not an end, but just the beginning of a new adventure.
For full coverage of the graduation, see the Tuesday, May 31 edition of The Mount Airy News/.
Books available for check-out at the Mount Airy Public Library:
The Haunting of Leigh Harker – Darcy Coates
The Family Plot – Megan Collins
The Bookseller’s Secret – Michelle Gable
Labyrinth of Lies – Irene Hanon
Beneath a Starless Sky – Tessa Harris
The Vanished Days – Susanna Kearsley
Daughters of the Resistance – Lana Kortchik
A Little Christmas Spirit – Sheila Roberts
The Girl Behind the Wall – Mandy Robotham
The Secret of Snow – Viola Shipman
What Passes As Love – Trisha R. Thomas
The Attic on Queen Street – Karen White
What Happened to the Bennetts – Lisa Scottoline
The Pioneer Woman Cooks – Super Easy! – Ree Drummond
The Joy of Sweat – Sarah Everts
The Bomber Mafia – Malcolm Gladwell
The Quiet Zone – Stephen Kurczy
Until Proven Safe – Geoff Manaugh
The Secret of Life – Howard Markel
All Made Up – Ray Nudson
The Secret History of Food – Matt Siegal
The First 21 – How I Became Nikki Sixx – Nikki Sixx
Below the Edge of Darkness – Edith Widder
The summer programming is underway, lasting now through Aug. 8. Explore the theme of the week through stories, crafts, games and more. Spaces are limited for some events, call or come by to register to secure a spot. Call 336-789-5108. The schedule is:
• Monday at 6 p.m. – teens, ages 13-17;
• Tuesday at 2 p. m. – kids ages 8-12;
• Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. – Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3;
• Thursday at 9:30 a.m. – Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old;
• Thursday at 11 a.m. – Preschool Storytime – ages 4-5;
• Friday at 9 a.m. – Adults, age 18 and older;
• Friday at 1 p.m. – Family Movie Series, popcorn and water will be available. Feel free to bring your own snacks.
• June 11 at 2 p.m. Author Meet and Greet – Come by and meet Sarah McCoy and listen as she talks about her new book Mustique Island.
• July 21 at 4:30 p.m. Brightstar Children’s Theatre Presents “Treasure Island.” Get a crash course on this Robert Louis Stevenson classic tale of treasure, pirates and ocean adventure. For all ages.
Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.
Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.
Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.
The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m.
It’s Yoga Y’all – Yoga with Ms. Heather will be the third Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted.
Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m.
An Author Meet and Greet with Sarah McCoy, author of several novels, will take place on June 11 at 2 p.m. She will be talking about her new book, Mustique Island.
Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/
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.
A vintage car show, food truck rodeo and flower festival are among the activities planned Sunday at Miss Angel’s Farm to aid Trinity Episcopal Food Bank in Mount Airy.
The rain-or-shine event is being held in conjunction with Memorial Day, according to Angela Shur of the farm. It is scheduled Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Miss Angel’s Farm is located at 252 Heart Lane (formerly Quarter Horse Lane), which is west of Mount Airy near Interstate 77, off N.C. 89.
Admission will be free to the public, but those attending are asked to bring a canned or non-perishable food item to donate for the Trinity Episcopal bank.
There will be costs for food, beverages and other items once on the farm grounds.
The gathering is slated to feature vintage cars and hot rods from across the state, a variety of food trucks and pick-your-own flowers from rose, poppy and wildflower fields for an extra fee.
“Elvis and Frank Sinatra will be rocking the pavilion, so bring your lawn chairs,” according to an announcement about the festival mentioning another attraction featuring individuals portraying those entertainers.
At last report, food trucks scheduled to have a presence at the farm are Town Fork Mobile Kitchen (Japanese/hibachi), Dog House Hot Dogs, one offering pub fare/soul food, T’s Treats (desserts), a kettle corn outlet, King Tut’s Hot Dog Palace and Oink ‘N’ Moo (barbecue).
Shur said Trinity Episcopal Food Bank has faced difficulty maintaining its supplies, as have similar facilities in the area, and urged support for that cause.
DOBSON — Fifty students were awarded scholarships by the Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation College Scholarship Program during a ceremony that took place at the Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture & Enology on the campus of Surry Community College in Dobson recently
These scholarships, over a four-year period, will be contributing $766,000 to the educational pursuits of the scholars.
SCC President Dr. David Shockley welcomed the scholarship recipients, their families and friends along with school administrators from local high schools. SCC Foundation Executive Director Sheila Franklin introduced guest speaker Jewel Parker, who was a 2015 Armfield Scholarship recipient.
Parker spoke about the importance of education and her time as a student at Surry Community College and receiving the Armfield Scholarship, which helped her transfer to Appalachian State University to major in history with a minor in women’s studies. Parker went on to earn a master’s degree in history and is pursuing a doctorate degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
“The Armfield Scholarship allowed me to transfer to a university with my associate degree. I completed my general education requirements at Surry Community College,” Parker said. “Now, my educational aspirations are perhaps unique in the sense that I determined as a first-year student at Surry Community College that I wanted to go to graduate school.
“I’d say that most people probably do not determine that attending graduate school is something that they want to do until much later in their college education, but if the Armfields had never donated money and if I had never received a scholarship, I wouldn’t have had that cushion of having had my undergraduate degree paid for, and it would have made entering and financing a master’s program that much more difficult.”
Bedford Cannon, nephew of Edward M. Armfield and founding board member of the Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation, spoke on behalf of the Armfield Foundation Board of Directors. Mindy Oakley, executive director of the Armfield Foundation, announced a special award in honor of Bedford Cannon as he retires from the board.
The Bedford Cannon award is presented to the Armfield Scholar with the most outstanding scholarship application each year. It provides an additional $2,000 scholarship per academic year provided a 3.0 GPA is maintained. Kailey Myers of the Surry Early College High School was announced as the winner of the inaugural Bedford Cannon Award.
The 2022-2023 Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation College Scholars are:
Millennium Charter Academy: Max Oakely;
Mount Airy High School: Paxton Reece, Jessica Sawyers, Amelia Radford, Devyn Joyce, Saverio Lennon and Kylie Hollingsworth;
East Surry High School: Haley Chilton, Rose Craven, Megan Hutchens, Alyssa Johnson, Hannan Johnston, Citlali Martinez-Arellano and Samuel Whitt. Whitt also received the John C. McKenzie Award, which is named in honor of a respected employee of Mr. Armfield, is awarded to the top-ranked scholarship applicant from East Surry High School and includes an additional $1,000 scholarship per academic year;
North Surry High School: Callie Allen, Raegan Amos, Maleigha Brintle, Nydia Cabrera Cabrera, Madalyn Edwards, Ronald Hudson, Isabella Jones, Colby Mitchell and Jacey Ward;
Surry Central High School: Austin Cave, Brady Edmonds, Jacob Edmonds, Mia McMillen, Katelyn Patterson, Sebastian Sanchez Aguilar, Kennedy Smith, Jaylyn Templeton and Dante Watson;
Surry Early College High School of Design: Britza Chavez-Arellano, Nancy Garcia Villa, Abigail Garza, Jennifer Hernandez, Peyton Jones, Jacob Mills, Kailey Myers, Chloe Snow and Jonathan Williams;
Elkin High School: Addison Blackwelder, Laura Couch, Emerson Gonzalez, Luis Hernandez-Matul, Daniel Islas, Thomas McComb, Kayla Nguyen and James Owings;
Surry Community College: Jordyn Coe.
The Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Foundation has awarded $13.8 million in scholarships to students graduating from the public high schools in Surry County since 2005. Each year, scholarships are awarded for students at East Surry High School, North Surry High School, Surry Central High School, Mount Airy High School, Surry Early College High School, Elkin High School, and Millennium Charter Academy. Scholarships are given to students who will be attending four-year colleges and universities or Surry Community College, and to students at Surry Community College who will be transferring to a four-year school to complete their undergraduate degree.
Scholarships range in value from $3,600 per year for Surry Community College attendees to $12,500 per year for students attending higher-cost private colleges and universities. Scholarships are renewable for one additional year for Surry Community College students or students transferring from Surry Community College to a four-year institution, and for three additional years for students attending four-year schools immediately out of high school.
Fifty students were awarded scholarships by the Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation College Scholarship Program during a ceremony that took place at the Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture & Enology on the campus of Surry Community College in Dobson recently. These scholarships, over a four-year period, will be contributing $766,000 to the educational pursuits of the scholars. The Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation has awarded $13.8 million in scholarships to students graduating from the public schools in Surry County since 2005.
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.
Northern Regional Hospital received an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for spring 2022. This national distinction recognizes Northern Regional Hospital’s achievements in protecting patients from preventable harm and error in the hospital.
“I am honored to be part of the Northern Regional Team where providing safe care is at the forefront every day,” said Lynn Lambert, director of quality management at Northern Regional Hospital. “Patient safety is intentional with every encounter. Receiving a Leapfrog Grade ‘A’ is recognition that we can all be proud of.”
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries, and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.
“I am extremely proud of the entire NRH team of 1,000 caregivers. An ‘A’ grade confirms our efforts to deliver the highest quality of care and places NRH in the top tier of all hospitals in the United States. Job well done,” said Chris Lumsden, president and CEO of Northern Regional Hospital.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer reviewed, transparent, and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
“As our health care system continues to feel the strain of the pandemic, I thank the workforce and leadership of Northern Regional Hospital for sustained commitment to patient safety, day in and day out,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is an outstanding achievement, and one that is not possible without a 24/7 effort by the entire health care workforce to protect patients from harm. This community should be proud.”
To see Northern Regional Hospital’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter, Facebook, and via its newsletter.
The Surry County Community Corrections office is seeking information on the whereabouts of the following individuals:
• Michael David Haulsey, 42, a white male wanted on probation violations who is on probation for felony larceny and robbery with a dangerous weapon;
• Charles Zackery Floyd, 31, a white male wanted for failing to appear in court on probation violations who is on probation for two counts of larceny;
• Brandon Michael Foster, 37, a white male wanted on probation violations who is on probation for driving while impaired;
• Kimberly Marie Allen, 40, a white female wanted on probation violations who is on probation for possession of a schedule II controlled substance, resisting a public officer and larceny.
View all probation absconders on the internet at http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/opi and click on absconders. Anyone with information on any probation absconders should contact Crime Stoppers at 786-4000, county probation at 719-2705 or the Mount Airy Police Department at 786-3535.
America needs to start enforcing the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution as it is written, not as it has been obscenely misconstrued by the NRA and the firearm manufacturing lobby.
The first words are “a well regulated militia.” North Carolina has several well-regulated militias within its borders. You will find them at Camp LeJeune, Cherry Point MCAS, Seymour Johnson, AFB, and Ft. Bragg to name a few.
Just the ones that I mentioned probably have more assault weapons than the rest of North Carolina’s citizens, but in today’s environment that could well be argumentative. If you go to those well regulated militias you will find that those weapons are all under lock and key when they are not in use. Ammunition for those weapons are stored in a separate secure location. Large quantities are usually stored in explosive bunkers for safety.
All ammunition for assault weapons in the United States can be purchased by the assault weapon owners but should be delivered to the closest law enforcement location for secure storage, just like the militias. The ammunition should be kept by law enforcement in the owner’s name and they could come in and check it out in the amounts that they need for a purpose and the location where it is to be expended noted. The expension of large quantities should be observed, just like in the militias. The expended shells should be accounted for, just like it is in the militias.
Well regulated militias examine their members mentally, physically and morally before they are allowed to join. Those accepted are required to take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States in order to become members. They are then trained in the safety, maintenance and use of weapons of war.
Well regulated militias are much more than having an ID card and owning a bunch of weapons. I believe that governors, county commissioners, sheriffs, city mayors, city manager, police chiefs and others can and should regulate the ammunition for assault weapons and that it would not infringe on the right of the people to bear arms.
The example is the actions of the well regulated militias that has been necessary for the security of a free state and has kept it free time after time. Control the ammunition, just like the well regulated militias. This is written by a man that has qualified many times as an expert with several assault weapons and expended thousands of rounds through them as a member of a well regulated militia.
Our children and grandchildren need to be students at school not targets on an open range.
• A case involving the obtaining of property by false pretense surfaced Thursday, according to Mount Airy Police Department reports.
It concerns a known individual using a cell phone app to send money from the crime victim, Delma Ann Bryant of Lambsburg Road in Lambsburg, Virginia, to another person without permission, with the sum not listed. The location of the incident was an unspecified department/discount store at 1448 Edgewood Drive.
The crime constitutes a felony.
• Rodney Tyrone Travis, 48, of 509 Worth St., was jailed without privilege of bond Wednesday afternoon for allegedly violating a domestic-violence protective order. Travis was arrested after being encountered at that residence — also listed as the address of his ex-spouse, Kimberly Duncan — by a probation officer seeking to serve him with probation violations.
In checking for outstanding warrants against Travis during that process, he was found to be the subject of an active domestic-violence protective order taken out by Duncan and she was located there, making him in violation of that order.
Travis is scheduled to appear in Surry District Court on June 6.
• Police learned on May 19 that property valued at $2,090 had been stolen in a vehicle break-in at the residence of Lois Elizabeth Lingerfelt on West Oakdale Street, where her 2002 Buick LeSabre was entered after a window was pulled down. In addition, damage put at $500 was caused to the car’s fuel system due to sugar being poured into the gas tank.
The items taken included medical supplies, four comforter sets, Rocky work boots, miscellaneous winter clothing items, a large suitcase, Justin cowboy boots, a kerosene heater, a snow shovel, a toaster oven and miscellaneous dishes.
• Two people were jailed without privilege of bond on May 19 on assault charges. Erika Yaquelin Rosales Martinez, 32, of 115 Locust Ridge Trail, is accused of simple assault, while Walter Enoc Garcia Duarte, 41, of the same address, is charged with assault on a female.
The two were arrested after officers responded to a domestic disturbance at the residence, with both slated to be in District Court on June 27.
• Carie Pressnell Beck, 45, of 236 Woodbridge Drive, was charged with hit and run on May 19 after she was identified as the driver of a 2004 Toyota Sequoia that was involved in a collision on Rockford Street near Forrest Drive.
Beck failed to yield the right of way and the vehicle she was driving struck another in the left-front quarter panel, with Beck then leaving the scene, police records state.
The case is set for the June 13 District Court session.
• An incident involving both larceny and the obtaining of property by false pretense occurred at Walmart on May 16, when a known suspect stole merchandise from the store — listed as three LED (light emitting diode) strips with a total value of $74 — which a second known suspect later exchanged for a gift card of that sum.
No charges had been filed against the pair at last report.
• Rachel Nicole Chamberlain, 25, of 115 Bitting Ave., was served with a criminal summons for a larceny charge on May 16, which had been issued earlier that day with Elaine Janice Schlosser of Pittman Street listed as the complainant and no other details given.
Chamberlain is scheduled to appear in District Court on June 10.
The Mount Airy Men’s Shelter has been on Ann Simmons’ mind for many months. She has been trying to find the right piece of land or vacant building that she could convert into a homeless shelter for the men of the Mount Airy.
It is an area that has been identified as in need of attention for while women and children have the Shepherds House as their dedicated shelter, men have no such option.
“We got the idea for the shelter last summer. It was my son’s idea, given to him when he asked what he could do to give something back to the community. He came to me with it and really has a passion for it,” Simmons said.
“He asked me to pull it together for him and I have been fast and furious ever since then trying to get something to happen so these single men, who have no other decent place to go in Mount Airy, can find a place out of the weather — hot or cold — and someone who will follow through to get them the help they need. We will be those people.”
Getting the shelter off the ground though has not been easy. “We face many obstacles. Board members are needed, and funding streams need to be found. Getting the word out to the people of Mount Airy so they can help us.”
To aid in her efforts to get the Mount Airy Men’s Shelter launched, Simmons has organized the what she hopes will become an annual Summer Festival and Motorcycle Fundraiser. The event is to be held Saturday, June 11, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in Mount Airy.
“Our First Annual Fundraiser is to help with the expenses of getting the shelter ready to occupy. Moving some walls, adding some showers, and getting the kitchen together.”
“Along with these beautiful motorcycles on display and the scenic motorcycle ride, there will also be lots of great vendor booths and a raffle for a grill,” she said. “The kid’s area will feature a sack race, twisty balloon guy, giant slide, kids’ removable tattoos, water balloon toss, obstacle course, football toss, corn hole, rock and craft painting, ice cream, shaved ice, and kids’ hot dogs.”
“The event we will also have over 40 vendors, live music, BBQ sandwiches from Aunt Bea’s, dessert trucks, dance teams performing, and an awesome motorcycle ride with the CCI Paul Jr. Bikes on display,” Simmons said.
Santo Chessari Jr., aka “The Neil Diamond Guy,” will be there as a singer, performer, and DJ, with a little karaoke mixed in for good measure. Local singer Kinston Nichols of the Greyhound Sounds from North Surry High will also be on hand to entertain the crowd.
When it is cold outside, it is easy to think of those in need shivering under a bridge or taking refuge in a vacant building. However, during the summer months the need can be just as great as the daytime heat and humidity follow wherever one goes, and escape can feel impossible.
For that reason, Simmons wants to open a full-time shelter, as opposed to the emergency cold weather shelter she aided in opening this past winter.
Finding a location for the shelter did not remedy the challenges either. “We have a piece of land on West Lebanon we thought to purchase, however the cost of building materials is $150-$200 a square foot — that equals millions. It would be a long, long time before we could have a place.”
“I found, by the Grace of God, a medical building that we hope to purchase that is close to the hospital, medical ministries and the housing authority. Not to mention easy access to jobs for the men. We hope to buy them, or get donated, bicycles to get to work. “
Even without their own building, Mount Airy Men’s Shelter has been doing the work of helping those in need. “We have recently given away our 100th sleeping bag and backpack filled with essentials. We will use some of the money raised to re-stock the needed items for the homeless we encounter.”
For more information, visit: facebook.com/Mt.AiryNCMensShelter
The observance of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday will be accompanied by some changes in Mount Airy sanitation schedules.
This will include no yard waste collections that day. The next such pickups are scheduled for June 6.
Also, the commercial garbage routes normally run in the city on Monday are be serviced on Tuesday instead.
Another change involves the Monday industrial roll-off route, which also has been shifted to Tuesday.
City offices will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.
Dobson native Adam Marion will be honored by Stewart-Haas Racing and driver Aric Almirola at Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.
Army Private First Class Marion, a 2000 graduate of Surry Central High School, was serving in Iraq with the North Carolina National Guard in April 2008 when he was killed in action.
Almirola’s No. 10 car is customized with the stars and stripes of the U.S. flag, as well as a banner with Marion’s name at the top of the windshield. Adam’s parents, Pam and Donnie Marion, will be among those recognized prior to the May 29 race.
“I’m just so glad that we can do something to recognize him for all that he did for us; there’s truly no way to repay it,” said Joel Edmonds, who serves as Almirola’s spotter and has been involved in racing for three decades.
Edmonds grew up around Marion’s family and has been connected with them for most of his life. He said he still remembers where he was when the call came in about Adam.
“You know, there aren’t many people that live 26 years and accomplish as much as he did,” Edmonds said. “You look at all the good he did, and he’s still having that kind of impact so many years after.”
In addition to his military service, Marion was both a volunteer and a staff member at the Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina. According to the Children Center’s community relations coordinator Valerie Smith, the center operates two residential homes for youth in Surry and Yadkin counties, as well as youth, family, and behavior health programs and services for both youth and families in seven counties in Northwest North Carolina.
Beginning in 2009, the Pfc. Adam Marion Memorial Golf Tournament has been held in his memory to raise funds for the center. The tournament became an annual springtime event and has raised more than $1 million.
The 2022 tournament featured more than 260 golfers and saw contributions made by several local businesses.
Because of the impact Marion had and continues to have on the community, Edmonds said he’s been trying to get him featured by multiple race teams over the years.
“There are so many of these heroes that have passed, so I knew it was always going to be a longshot that we could get him recognized,” Edmonds said. “I realize I’m getting toward the end of my career in full-time racing, so it really makes me feel good to finally get it done for him. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and it finally worked out that this could happen for Adam at this time.
“I’m very grateful that Stewart-Haas Racing and Aric Almirola worked to get him on the car and honor him. You always hear people say never forget, and that’s so true. You never want to forget that people like Adam are the reason that we’re able to do anything.”
Almirola made an appearance on Fox’s “Racehub Live” on May 25 and said the following on the decision to honor Marion:
“My family came over from Cuba in 1966, and we are so grateful for our freedom here in this country and the men and women that fight for it. This weekend, Memorial Day weekend, [it’s] such an awesome opportunity to race and to honor the men and women that have made the ultimate sacrifice for us to have this freedom.”
When Edmonds heard the news that the race team approved his proposal, he said he immediately contacted Pam and Donnie to ensure they were okay with it.
“I just can’t imagine what strength it takes to put a smile on for all these tournaments, all these events,” Edmonds said. “I texted Donnie, and he replied two minutes later saying they would be honored. They didn’t know I’d been trying to do this for 10-12 years.
“I never did this for me, I just want people to know of Adam’s incredible life and sacrifice. Here we are 14 years later and he’s getting stuff accomplished that we can’t while we’re here.”
The Coca-Cola 600 takes place Sunday, May 29 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a scheduled 6 p.m. start time.
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.”
Earlier in May, Flat Rock Elementary’s fourth and fifth graders had an End of the Year Typing Competition.
With all of the typing lessons and all the fun typing games they completed during the school year, each student put their typing skills to the test, being scored on words per mintue as well as accuracy.
Fifth grader Chuck Wilson took the top spot recording 44 words per minute with 97% accuracy. Fourth grader Danielle Stevens was second at 39 words per minute with 96% accuracy while fourth grader Ryleigh Badgett was next at 28 words per minute with 99% accuracy.
Being crowned champion allows Chuck Wilson to move on to compete against the winner at Franklin Elementary School.
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The Thursday death of an inmate at the Surry County Detention Center was the second person to die in custody there within the past three months, and a report from the North Carolina Jail Inspector’s Office said nearly four hours had elapsed between the last supervision round and when the inmate was found in distress.
Fifty-year-old Timothy Norris Cox died in the jail at 6:48 a.m. Thursday, according to a Report of Inmate Death which Sheriff Steve C. Hiatt filed with the North Carolina Jail Inspector’s Office.
In a written statement released to the media on Thursday evening, the sheriff said that Cox “had a medical emergency.” Once detention staff members located the inmate they “immediately started emergency medical care. Surry County Emergency Medical Services was notified of the event by detention staff and arrived to assist a short time later,” he said, but Cox was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff did not indicate the nature of the medical emergency, what may have caused it, nor how long after the incident occurred before medical help was administered to Cox. However, the report he filed with the state said a detention official making supervision rounds found Cox in “distress” at 6:14 a.m., and that a medical professional in attendance at the scene pronounced him dead at 6:48 a.m.
That same report said the most recent supervision round prior to 6:14 was conducted at 2:19 a.m., nearly four hours earlier than when Cox was found in medical distress. There were 189 inmates housed at the center at the time of his death, according to Capt. Scott Hudson — it is rated for 125 inmates.
The report Hiatt made to the jail inspector listed the preliminary cause of death as “natural.” The state medical examiner will conduct an autopsy and make a final ruling on the cause of death, which may take several weeks pending results of toxicology tests.
In addition to the jail inspector’s office, the sheriff said he called in the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), as is protocol when an inmate dies. He said the SBI is conducting an investigation, and he referred all questions to that agency.
On Friday Angie Grube, public information director for the SBI, confirmed her agency had been called in, but that the agency does not comment on investigations. She said the case findings will be turned over to the District Attorney’s office. If that agency determines any laws were broken, it may file charges, otherwise the case files will remain closed to the public.
Thursday’s death follows by slightly less than three months the death of Ashley Michelle Hicks, 31, who died while in custody at the detention center on Feb. 27. Hicks had been arrested earlier that day on charges of failure to appear in court.
As with Thursday’s death, the sheriff said Hicks had suffered a “medical emergency,” that jail staff found her and administered emergency care until EMS officials arrived. Hicks was also pronounced dead at the scene, with the case turned over to the SBI. The results of that probe have not yet been released.
The report Hiatt’s office filed with the state jail inspector after Hicks’ death indicated she died of natural causes at 8:23 p.m. that day, little more than three hours after being committed to the jail, which took place at 5:05 p.m. In that case, a supervision round conducted at 7:05 p.m. found Hicks was okay, but one completed 35 minutes later found her in distress.
An inspection report by the jail inspector’s office after her death found “there were no deficiencies determined during the compliance investigation,” and said no additional action was required.
A request for her autopsy results made to the state medical examiner’s office on Friday was not immediately answered.
Cox, the inmate who died on Thursday, had been in jail since May 18, awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute a schedule I controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a schedule III substance, and felony probation violation.
As recently as April 30 he had been listed in the Mount Airy News’ Most Wanted column, being sought by the Surry County Community Corrections for probation violations. He was on probation at that time for a felony possession of a schedule II controlled substance conviction.
Four years earlier, he was arrested on multiple charges, including felony possession of heroin; felony possession of methamphetamine; and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Inflation may be giving people some trepidation every time they go to the grocery store, but area folks heading to the Post Office to renew their post office box may want to prepare themselves for some outright sticker shock.
That is because the cost of a post office box in Mount Airy and in Toast are doubling this year — even nearly tripling in some cases.
Phillip Easter, an officer with the Renfro Masonic Lodge, said that was his reaction.
“Our box is $116,” he said. “I went in and found a note saying our box payment comes due at the end of May….it’s going from $116 to $232.”
While that might not seem like a lot of money in pure dollars, he said it still hurts, particularly when you consider the percentage mark-up.
“We’re a non-profit. Every year I have to make a financial budget, I have to carry it in, read it, and it’s approved it,” he said of the process of spending the lodge’s limited funds.
“I get that other things are going up, I’m seeing that. Power, water, everything has gone up 10, 15, 20%. I understand that, but when you walk up and get a paper out of the box and there’s a 100% mark up, that’s what got me. That was a gut punch.”
He said postal officials really didn’t seem all that interested in explaining why the price was going up, either. After several attempts at getting someone to talk to about the rate hikes, Easter said he finally found a clerk at the local post office who would listen to him.
Still, she had no answers, according to Easter, other than to say ultimately the fault lay with “Mr. Biden.”
Another box holder, who rents a small box in Toast, said he was recently notified his annual box rate was nearly tripling, from $56 to $156.
What is even more maddening to Easter, he said, is the fact that it seems, at least in this region, to be affecting only Mount Airy and Toast. Costs for boxes in Dobson, Pilot Mountain, and across the border in Cana, Virginia, and Ararat, Virginia, are remaining the same.
Postal officials don’t seem eager to discuss the local increases. Locally, no one would answer attempts to gather more information. The only postal official who would respond to queries was Philip Bogenberger, who works in Charlotte. He would only respond to email questions, and even then he would not address specifically the rate hikes in Mount Airy and Toast.
“The price of a P.O. Box increases periodically to offset operational costs, and depends on the box’s size, payment period and whether its in a ‘competitive’ or ‘market dominant’ location. Boxes range from extra-large, which can accommodate multiple packages, to extra-small for letter mail and magazines. In between, there are small, medium and large boxes depending on what type of mail customers expect, how often they check it and daily volume. Payment options include a three-, six- and 12-month fee schedule,” was all he would say.
When queried further regarding why some boxes were doubling in price, how much notice patrons were given about the steep increases, or if non-profits could get any sort of discount, he replied simply “Please use the statement I provided as official comment from the Postal Service.”
Bogenberger did not return additional emails sent with further questions.
For his part, Easter thinks the size hikes, and the lack of answers regarding them, are what steam him.
“One hundred-percent mark-up, I just don’t…to me that’s price gauging. Everybody around us stayed the same, but Mount Airy and Toast had a 100% mark up. We’re paying for being Mayberry,” he said, believing the popularity of the city and demand for boxes is allowing the local rate hikes.
For now, he said the Masonic Lodge will stay with a post office box, but only for a limited time.
“Monday night, we decided we’re going to renew it for another six months, but we’re in the process of putting some type of reception box at the lodge the postman can put our mail in,” he said. Once that is up and operating, he said the lodge likely will not renew its box at the post office — nor will associated groups and lodges that share the building with the Renfro Lodge.
“Four different groups may put four different outside boxes there,” he said. “They’re free.”
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.
We are all in shock with the news of yet another mass shooting. This time in Uvalde, Texas. Then the news this morning (Wednesday, May 25) of a fight at a Circle K on Rockford Street that ended with someone dying from a gunshot wound.
What can we agree on? How do we react, or better act?
I think we can agree that more legislation is not the answer.
We have laws on the books that are not easy to enforce. It’s complicated.
We may have some agreement that background checks, sales of high-capacity magazines and the need for the average citizen to own a military style tactical weapon might be a small step in the right direction. However, the problem seems to be more personal.
It starts with us. Can we, as a member of society, slow down the anger? Anger fuels divisiveness. We seem to spend more time, as with our politics, throwing stones at the other political party in order to gain leverage. What would happen if we woke up every day looking for something positive to share and do — like Giving to Second Harvest Food Bank at Chick fil A. Wednesday, May 25? Making sure our children are taken to places such as Reeves Community Center, Surry Arts Council happenings, open air concerts on Market Street, the park, the library, activities in one of our 188 local churches and more?
Parents, you don’t have to repeat the failures and short comings of your past. You have the unique power to make positive change. In small ways at first, but the more you do, the more you learn and the better your life and those around you can be.
So I challenge you to act.
• Three people were jailed under large secured bonds this week after allegedly stealing building materials valued at $2,946 from the Lowe’s Home Improvement store on South Andy Griffith Parkway, according to Mount Airy Police Department reports.
In addition to taking that property Monday, listed as electrical wire and equipment, the trio attempted to steal more, arrest records state, with one of the three additionally charged with a felony drug violation and another inked to outstanding orders for arrest.
Rusty J. Carico, 34, of Germanton; Paul Michael Osborne Jr., 49, of Winston-Salem; and Crystal Powers Smith, 50, of Winston-Salem, are each accused of felonious larceny and attempted larceny, also a felony. Osborne further was found to be wanted on nine orders for arrest for failing to appear in court in both Forsyth and Davie counties which were filed last year and this year, and a felony larceny charge issued on April 24 by Guilford County authorities.
Smith additionally was charged Monday with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, identified as methamphetamine. Both she and Carico were confined in the Surry County Jail under a $10,000 secured bond and Osborne, $25,000 secured, with all three facing a June 6 appearance in District Court in Dobson.
• Thomas Austin Hollingsworth, 22, of 145 Justin Lane, turned himself in Tuesday at the police station on charges of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, a felony; assault on a female; and second-degree trespassing stemming from a Monday afternoon incident at the residence of Annah Maria Martinez on Lovill Street.
Hollingsworth is alleged to have cut Christopher Allen Roberts of Knob Drive with a blade, causing severe lacerations, and pushed Martinez. He was jailed without privilege of bond due to the domestic nature of one of the charges, with the case set for the June 20 session of Surry District Court.
• A Cut Above, a business in the 400 block of North Andy Griffith Parkway, was the scene of a break-in and larceny that was discovered last Thursday.
It involved a door being kicked in to gain entry, enabling the theft of an undisclosed sum of money from a cash register.
• A case involving identity theft and obtaining property by false pretense was reported on May 17, in which a known individual is said to have used the personal information of victim Randy Leon Moore of West Wilson Street to change Moore’s mailing address with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
This resulted in the theft of medication, police records state.
• Johnny Ray Gwyn, 53, listed as a Mount Airy homeless person, was held under a $10,,000 secured bond on May 17, when he was arrested as a fugitive from justice after being encountered by officers during a suspicious-person call at what was described as a parking drop/garage on Merita Street.
Gwyn was found to be wanted in Patrick County, Virginia, on an unspecified matter, and is scheduled to appear in Surry District Court next Tuesday.
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.
Mount Airy High School senior Sydney Seagraves officially signed her NCAA National Letter of Intent and will continue her academic and softball careers at Concord University.
“I’m really excited,” Seagraves said. “Up until a couple months ago I didn’t want to play in college, but I loved Concord and how it felt. It made me want to play softball again.
“I like how small the college is and how you get one-on-one with the professors, and also the coaches. The coaches know what they’re doing; they’re not super old, but not super young. It’s perfect because they can relate to you and help you.”
Seagraves’ ability to play collegiate softball was never a doubt for Mack Hodges, who coached her all four years of high school.
“To see her growth as a pitcher, a leader and a hitter has been fun to watch,” Hodges said. “She’s a natural leader on the softball field. She’s our best player and she’s willing to work as hard as anybody; that’s what you ask of your best players. She’s played third, first, pitched and she’d catch if we wanted her to. She would play anywhere that we needed her to play. She’s been a big part of what we do.”
Sydney began her journey in the sport with tee-ball before joining a 10U softball team at age 8. She initially started as a second baseman, but tried pitcher when her coached needed someone to step in.
“Ever since then I’ve been a pitcher,” she said.
She moved into the ranks of travel ball later and competed for such teams as the Drillers and Firecrackers. When Seagraves and her fellow class of 2022 members reached middle school, they quickly made history.
“The middle school hadn’t won a game in years, then my seventh grade year we finally won one,” Seagraves said. “It was the same with high school.”
The class of 2022 knew it had an uphill battle when they reached high school in the fall of 2018 since Mount Airy did not field a varsity softball team the previous spring. However, Seagraves said she knew there were a few good prospects that were coming with her from the middle school that wanted to help establish a program.
“We’ve struggled with numbers over the years for sure, but that senior group has been big,” Hodges said. “They’ve been around for four years, and they’ve battled through the fact that we’ve had to struggle with numbers and had to play with a lot of inexperienced players year after year. But, it never affected how they played and how hard they worked.”
The Lady Bears went winless in 2019, but only had two upperclassmen on the team and returned nearly everyone. The next season, Mount Airy picked up its first win in close to three years.
“Sydney’s sophomore year, the COVID year, we had a team that could’ve been a decent little group,” Hodges said. “We went and played at East Wilkes, and they’re always a pretty good team; Derrick [Hill] always does a great job. We go down there and beat them 1-0, and Sydney has a really good game pitching. That’s when I realized how special of a player she was and really started to see her growth.
“I remember she came off the field so excited and was like, “wait, we won?”
Unfortunately for the Bears, the season would be postponed less than 48 hours after the win before eventually being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2021 Granite Bears won their first three games for the program’s best start in more than a decade. Mount Airy was in a tough situation though as the regular season was shortened to a maximum of 14 games. The Bears were originally only supposed to play conference games, but only four of the six schools in the conference fielded softball teams.
“After last year, she kind of had some doubts about the future,” Hodges said. “I didn’t put any pressure on her. The biggest thing I told her was to keep her mind open and don’t shut the door completely, and just let her come back to it naturally. I think as she got closer to the time she realized how much she would miss it.
“She’s had a lot of big games for us this year, and has helped give us opportunities to win.”
Returning for her senior season helped open the door for Seagraves to find her college of choice, of which she is extremely grateful.
“I want to thank all my coaches and just everybody who’s helped me get to where I am, especially my mom and my dad,” Seagraves said.
Surry Central High School is hosting the Eagles Nest Basketball Camp June 6-9.
The camp is open to boys and girls that are rising third through ninth graders.
Daily camp is from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. with the gym open at 8 a.m. each day. Cost is $110 and includes a t-shirt if registered after May 31. The early bird rate for the camp is $100 if registered by May 31.
Each day campers will take part in skill stations, instruction from coaches, individual competitions – such as Knockout, Hot Shot, 1-on-1-on-1 and free throw shooting) and daily league games.
The camp is sponsored by the Surry Central Basketball Programs. Counselors include: coach Marty Behrens and varsity boys coaching staff, coach Mandy Holt and the varsity girls coaching staff, coaches from Central Middle School and players from the Golden Eagle basketball teams.
Gatorade, water and concessions will be available all week, and pizza will be available to order each morning at $2.50 a slice.
Championship games and an awards ceremony will be held Thursday, June 9 around 2 p.m.
Registration forms can be found at bit.ly/3lJQ3ac
If you have questions, email Coach Mandy Holt (holtma@surry.k12.nc.us) or call Surry Central High School at 336-386-8842
According to an old saying, rain is plentiful in April and flowers bloom in May because of all the water provided as a result — only Mother Nature didn’t get the memo this time around.
Not only did measurable rainfall occur during just eight of the 30 days last month, the total output was below the all-time April average for Mount Airy, based on a monthly statistical breakdown from F.G. Doggett Water Plant.
The area received 3.5 inches, falling short of that 3.95-inch norm for the fourth month of the year.
And a big chunk of this was measured for a single day, April 6, when .97 inches of rain was logged at the water plant, the city’s official weather-monitoring station.
For the year, precipitation is above average for Mount Airy, where weather records have been kept since 1924.
It stood at 16.44 inches as of April 30 — 1.42 inches, or 9.5%, above the all-time local average of 15.02 inches for that period.
April also was slightly cooler than usual — averaging 54.8, exactly one degree under the Mount Airy norm of 55.8 for that month.
This was aided by a temperature of 28 degrees on April 3, the low for the month, while at the other end of the spectrum, a 84-degree reading on April 26 took high-temperature honors.
The average high temperature last month was 70 degrees and the average low, 39.6.
Frost was noted on three days during April and fog on two.
Three Surry Arts Council Summer Concerts are slated for this week.
Fantasy Band will start off a music-filled weekend at the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Thursday. Holiday Band will play on Friday and Cassette Rewind will take the stage on Saturday. All three shows will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Fantasy is sometimes called “The Carolina’s most entertaining party band.” Whether it is beach music, motown, funk, soul, or smooth R&B, Fantasy does it all.
The Holiday Band blends soul, blues, funk, and Carolina beach music and has established itself as a premier entertainment package. The Holiday Band has played thousands of shows from Cincinnati, Ohio to Cozumel, Mexico, with the always-present theme “Keep The Music Alive.”
Born in the ‘80s and raised on radio, Cassette Rewind bills itself as “the ultimate authentic ‘80s experience.” Cassette Rewind provides dynamic performances of Prince, George Michael, Journey, Whitney Houston, and countless 1980s pop icons. Grab a Members Only jacket and put on some leg warmers because nothing’s going to stop folks from getting footloose and singing along.
Each concert will begin at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or annual pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be taken into the Amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to take a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.
Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org
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.
Mount Airy Police and Surry County EMS officials are on the scene of an apparent shooting near the Shell Station on Rockford Road, in front of Walmart.
Few details are available — Surry County Emergency Service is referring all questions regarding the incident to the Mount Airy Police Department, and requests for information from the police were not immediately answered. The Surry County EMS Portal gave no details, other than to say the call to the site was for “medical” reasons.
Police were on the scene for several hours Tuesday evening, with the parking lot cordoned off with yellow police tape, but as of 10 p.m. officials had released no information. Additional information will be published here, at mtairynews.com, as details become available.
RANDLEMAN — East Surry’s baseball season came to an end Friday in a fourth-round playoff game against the defending 2A State Champion, Randleman.
The Cardinals were held to just two hits in their first true playoff road game in six years, while the home Tigers had 10 hits – including a trio of home runs. East couldn’t convert when it chances to put runs on the board, and Randleman made the Cards pay for any mistakes.
Randleman advances to the Regional Championship for the third-straight postseason with a 10-0 win.
“I told the kids that we had to play just about a perfect game to have a chance. We didn’t, and they made us pay,” said East Surry coach Chad Freeman. “You tip your hat because they are the better team. There’s nothing else you can say about it really.”
Friday’s game marked East Surry’s fourth-consecutive appearance in the fourth round of the state playoffs, which is the second-longest active streak in the state among all classifications. The only team with more consecutive fourth-round appearances is Randleman, who competed in its 11th-straight in 2022. Since 2011, the Tigers have won two 2A State Titles and finished 2A State Runner-up three times.
“They’re so good and just relentless,” Freeman said. “One through nine, every single kid that they’ve got in the lineup takes great approaches and they don’t get fooled very often at the plate.”
Luke Brown and Anthony Ayers served as the Cards’ two pitchers against the Tigers (29-1). Brown faced 25 batters in 3.2 innings on the mound, allowing nine runs – including four earned runs – on eight hits, with five strikeouts and three walks. Ayers faced three batters to close the fourth inning and open the fifth, allowing one run on two hits.
“The score won’t show it, but Luke didn’t throw a bad game,” Freeman said, referencing costly fielding errors by the Cardinals that contributed to the five unearned runs. Freeman also mentioned the shallow outfield fence on the lines of Joe Brookshire field.
“With those first two home runs that put them up 4-0…I mean, they hit them well, but if we’re at our field or many other fields it’s at most a 1-0 lead,” Freeman said. [Luke] pitched well, it’s just that playing in this environment, at this field against this team was a different animal. They’re defending state champs for a reason, and they’re going to win states again.”
East Surry (24-2) put runners on base in the first, third and fifth innings. Leadoff Luke Bowman singled to start the game and was sacrificed over to second base, but was left on after a strikeout and a flyout.
In the third inning, Trey Armstrong was hit by a pitch and Folger Boaz rocked a double to move Armstrong to third with no outs. The Tigers met at the mound to regroup and it worked, as pitcher Drake Purvis struck the next three batters out.
Purvis, a sophomore left-handed pitcher committed to N.C. State, finished with nine strikeouts in five innings.
“Gotta give credit to Purvis,” Freeman said. “He buckled down when runners got on base, and we didn’t do what we needed to and execute in good situational approaches. That’s the difference between being in a game and still having a shot, to getting beat 10-0.”
Another Cardinal, Brett Clayton, was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning with one out. Randleman forced a double play to end the inning by catching a fly ball and getting the out at first.
East Surry finishes the year 24-2, and Freeman said the players have a lot to be proud of looking back on the season.
“The feeling right now stinks because you’re coming off of a loss, but I told the guys after the game not to let this game diminish what all we accomplished this season,” Freeman said. “I told them: ‘you bumped up to a new classification even though we’re still 1A size. We went 24-2. We made it to the fourth round against the defending 2A State Champions. It’s been one heck of a year.’
“I’m so thankful for the kids that I’ve got. They’re wonderful young men, competitive players and most importantly they’re good people. That makes it even easier and even better as a coach when you’ve got players that will play hard and love each other. It was a special season with a special group, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
East Surry had to come ready to play night in and night out, Freeman said, and added that was what pushed the team to get even better. He spoke of the “tremendous talent” in and around Surry County, and said it was evident by the close games the Cardinals had against the likes of North Surry, Forbush, Surry Central and West Stokes.
Following Friday’s game, Freeman gave a final salute to the Cardinal seniors: Bowman, Ayers, Armstrong, Peyton Inscore, Tristen Mason and Anthony Ward.
“You look back and these kids were sophomores when COVID hit, and several of them would’ve been part of a big run with that strong group that never got to play their senior season,” he said. “They took us on an amazing journey last year to a state championship appearance and played two tight games in the state finals.
“Then, they took us to a 24-2 season this year with a conference championship, a conference tournament championship and a fourth-round appearance – again, all while we are still pretty dang small and going against some pretty big and very good 2A teams. It’s a great group of kids, and I’m blessed to be their coach.
No. 1 Randleman faces No. 15 Community School of Davidson (17-6) in the West Regional Championship. The winner of the best 2-of-3 series in the West advances to the 2A State Championship Series to face the winner of the East’s No. 4 Whiteville (21-3) and No. 15 North Lenoir (19-8).
Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports
Mount Airy City Schools has been named Tyler Technologies 2022 Tyler Excellence Award Winner. This award recognizes the district’s success in implementing its Smart Bus initiative that deployed Traversa software from Tyler Technologies on all district buses.
“The district’s innovative approach to keeping students and staff safe and healthy through ridership tracking, route tracking, GPS, and more has allowed the district to safely transport students during a worldwide pandemic,” the school system said in announcing the award. “The technology’s ability to reduce costs and increase efficiency will impact students and the district for years to come.”
Superintendent Dr. Kim Morrison and Transportation Coordinator Jon Doss were invited to Indianapolis, Indiana to accept the award at Tyler Technology’s Connect 2022 Conference. The district earned this award based on its organizational efficiency and productivity, responsiveness, business value, innovation, relevance, and COVID-19 response.
Traversa software provides turn-by-turn navigation, pre-and post-trip vehicle inspections, and communicates ridership information to Powerschool. These enhanced pieces of technology have provided additional layers of safety measures to keep families and schools informed.
“Transportation Coordinator Jon Doss and Smart Bus Specialist Latasha Hudson have been critical in learning, implementing, and maintaining the program,” school officials said.
“The work that the bus drivers, data managers, Latasha, and I have done has built the foundation for the whole state of North Carolina,” Doss said. “The collaboration and problem-solving that the team has gone through will positively impact students across our state for years to come.”
“We are thankful for the Traversa software that has allowed us to have electronic seating charts, tracking of how long students ride buses, more efficient routes, turn-by-turn navigation for bus drivers, parent apps that showed when a child will arrive at home, and cameras that provided a safe way for students to travel during a difficult time,” Morrison said. “This tool has been amazing and will continue to give us great strategies for getting students to school safely, with shorter ride times and less buses on the road even as we gain more riders.”
Thanks to funding from the General Assembly, the city school system was able to pilot this technology and work closely with Tyler Technologies through all stages of implementation. Doss and Hudson were able to provide feedback that allowed improvements to be made to better serve the educational community. As the piloting district for this technology, numerous districts across the state along with members from the Department of Public Instruction visited the district to see how this technology might help others. Visitors were able to learn how to check students’ temperatures, create seating charts for social distancing and contact tracing, put modifications in place that shortened ride times for everyone, and how to create efficient ways to save on transportation costs.
District officials aren’t the only ones who appreciate the improvements. One driver noted, “I never want to go back to the old way, Traversa is fabulous.”
A parent who uses the Ride 360 app shared, “The app is an easy way to see when my child gets on and off the bus, where the bus is on the route, and if there are any unexpected delays.”
On May 5, Surry County Schools held its Annual Superintendent’s Art Contest at the Surry Community College Viticulture Center. Students in grades K-12 created pieces of artwork that could potentially be displayed outside Dr. Travis Reeve’s office.
Mountain Park Elementary School saw its students enter 14 pieces of artwork recently in the annual Superintendent’s Art Contest at the Surry Community College Viticulture Center in Dobson. Four of the entries earned honors at the show.
“The Farmhouse” by Gage Bell, in third grade, won the Superintendent’s choice award, the sole winner from all kindergarten through twelfth-grade entries.
Raygan Shores, in fourth grade, won first place for “Eye of the Dragon;” Shiloh Price won a second place award for “The Design;” and Syler Bryant won a third place prize for “Jelly Ocean!”
Rockford Elementary has chosen Kathie Scott as the 2021-2022 Bus Driver of the Year.
“In addition to driving a bus, ‘Ms. Kathie’ also serves as our lead custodian,” school officials said. “Kathie has developed positive relationships with the students, parents, staff, and the community. A staff member said, ‘She is always smiling, positive, and willing to help at all times.’
“Kathie is a dedicated employee, and her number one priority is the safety of all students. Rockford Elementary Schools is fortunate to have Kathie Scott as a Gator, bus driver, and lead custodian.”
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.”
Fire prevention is a worthwhile endeavor; and maintaining a top-notch fire department like we have in Mount Airy is a necessary and appropriate expense that should be borne by all city taxpayers. With that understanding, I read with interest the article “Fire-suppression grants to aid downtown housing” that appeared in the April 28 issue of The Mount Airy News.
The city’s newly developed initiative – creatively tagged the “Downtown Fire Suppression Life & Safety Grant Program” — is little more than an open spigot to steadily pour taxpayer-funded handouts (er, “grant awards”) into the wallets of select downtown business owners who choose to renovate the upper-floors of their buildings to create residential rental units. In a nutshell, the city will pay up to $35,000 of a portion of the each qualifying owner’s costs to install, as part of their new-construction or remodeling expenses, the sophisticated sprinkler system that is required, by code, for residential units.
The program was promoted as one designed to save and protect lives and historic property (make that lives and property within the Downtown Fire District only) while incentivizing downtown residential development. Using a combination of fear tactics and concessionary projections, the proposed program was quickly passed during the April 21 meeting of the city council — despite the fact that, at that meeting, nobody could say exactly how much money would ultimately be paid to business owners, which part of the budget would be used to fund the handouts, or whether or not there is an end date to this creatively marketed give-away program. Talk about fiscal mismanagement.
Fast forward two weeks: the proposed city budget for the next fiscal year was shared with city council members at the May 19 meeting; and, as reported in the May 21 issue of The Mount Airy News, $105,000 has been earmarked for the “grant” program. How was that arbitrary amount determined? Seems like three eligible owners have already applied for their full handout (3 x $35,000 = $105,000).
More importantly, given the propensity of the city to simply ignore its own budgeted numbers when those numbers prove inconvenient, taxpayers can expect the initial $105,000 to grow exponentially as more and more prospective landlords demand their piece of the promised pie. The Downtown Fire District includes more than 100 properties. Assuming, very conservatively, an average “grant award” of only half the allowed maximum to eligible applicants, the city is primed to give away $875,000 to 50 business owners, $1.3 million to 75 owners, $1.75 million to 100 owners, and so on.
Why should hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of city tax dollars be given to scores of downtown business owners to help them cover their code-compliance costs when they decide to voluntarily improve their property in order to make more money from rental income?
City officials justified this latest corporate welfare caper by touting the increased tax benefits that will come to the city. That may be so – but only if you define a good investment as waiting multiple decades to fully recover the total amount of money forked over.
Business owners – both within and without the Downtown Fire District — should shoulder their own costs for ensuring that their facilities meet or exceed all code requirements appropriate for their stated use and necessary to protect themselves and others from fire and other hazards. Rather than tossing cash at these owners, city officials should have encouraged them to do what they’d tell the rest of us to do – go to a bank and take out a loan!
• Three people have been jailed for possession of a stolen vehicle in Mount Airy, with one also charged with an additional felony involving drugs, according to city police reports.
This occurred on May 15 at what is specified in arrest records as The Hollows Motel location on South Andy Griffith Parkway in reference to the investigation of a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado pickup taken from David Pierce of Winston-Salem.
Those charged with the theft are Rainy Morgan Lowery, 28, of High Point; Eric Conan Lockhart, 39, of Archdale; and Nickolas Lee Rodgers, 25, listed as homeless. Lockhart further is accused of possession of methamphetamine due to a crystal-like substance being found during his arrest.
Lockhart was confined in the Surry County Jail under a $12,000 secured bond, with Lowery and Rodgers each held under a $7,500 secured bond. All three are scheduled to appear in District Court in Dobson on June 13.
• Francisco Hervert Rivera, 31, of 352 Hadley St., was charged with speed competition last Tuesday after he allegedly was observed racing against someone in another vehicle while behind the wheel of a 2012 Ford Mustang in the vicinity of Forrest Drive.
Both vehicles are said to have reached speeds of 90 miles per hour along U.S. 601-South before stopping in the parking lot of the Sheetz convenience store, where Rivera was charged. No arrest report has been issued for the other driver involved, with Rivera slated to be in Surry District Court on June 27.
• A counterfeit $100 bill was passed by two unknown suspects at the Speedway convenience store on West Pine Street on May 15, when they used it to buy miscellaneous goods including food items and received $24 in change. If located, they can be charged with obtaining property by false pretense, which is a felony.
• Damage to city property was discovered on May 15 at Riverside Park, where restroom fixtures were spray-painted. The damage was put at $400, which targeted the interior of restroom stalls along with toilets and the exterior of the building. This is the latest in a series of vandalism incidents occurring at the park in recent months.
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.”
GREENSBORO — Millennium Charter and Mount Airy took part in the 1A State Championship Track and Field Meet on May 21.
The meet, held at N.C. A&T University’s Marcus T. Johnson Track inside Truist Stadium, featured four three individuals and one relay team from local 1A schools. Another local relay team qualified for the state meet, but was unable to compete.
Results are listed below by school.
Team points were accumulated for each school’s top-8 individual finish: 10 points for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth and one point fewer through eighth place.
Millennium’s 4×800-meter relay team was the school’s second-ever state qualifier in outdoor track. One of the relay team members, junior Ava Utt, was the school’s first state qualifier in 2021. She was also the school’s first medalist by taking bronze in high jump last year.
Utt was part of girls 4×800 relay team that also featured Lion sophomore Clara Minix, as well as freshmen River Edge and Ruby Hoerter. The girls finished No. 11 in the race with a time of 12:00.42.
The Granite Bears had four state qualifiers in the boys competition: three individuals and one relay team.
Mount Airy’s 4×100 relay team of Mario Revels, Connor Burrell, Caleb Reid and Tyler Mason qualified by finishing fourth in the 1A West Regional Championship, but wasn’t able to compete at states due to an injury.
The three individual state qualifiers all finished just off the podium in their respective events.
Sophomore Deric Dandy competed in his first state championship meet and took fifth in the discus throw. Dandy’s best mark was 134-04.
Sophomores Blake Hawks and Caden Ratcliff also finished fifth in their respective events. Hawks competed in the triple jump as a freshman and finished No. 6 with a mark of 40-03.25. He improved to 41-02.00 in 2022 to finished fifth.
Ratcliff competed in the 800 meters as both a freshman and a sophomore. He took the No. 15 spot in 2021 with a time of 2:22.70, and improved to No. 5 with a time of 2:05.53 in 2022. The top-5 finishes in this year’s race were separated by less than six seconds.
Mount Airy’s boys were tied for No. 20 as a team with 12 points.
Members of the Surry Homeschool Basketball program are set to compete in North Carolina’s 2022 Home Educators All-Star Game.
Both the Surry Runnin’ Patriots boys and girls teams compete in the North Carolinians for Home Education Athletic Commission (NCHEAC). The NCHEAC East-West All-Star Game is scheduled for May 27 and will take place at Salem Baptist Christian School in Winston-Salem.
Four members of the Runnin’ Patriots will compete in the all-star game: Joshua Bunke will represent the boys team, and the trio of Faith McClary, Lindsay Cooper and Karlie Effler will represent the girls.
The Runnin’ Pats will team with other players from the NCHEAC’s Western Conference, which includes teams from Forsyth, South Guilford, Cabarrus and South Charlotte. The NCHEAC East features teams from Wilmington, North Wake, Rocky Mount/Wilson, South Wake and Wake Forest.
Joshua Bunke was named All-Conference for the third year in a row in 2022. He was also named to the All-Tournament team at the Triad Baptist Christmas Tournament.
For the season, Bunke averaged 17.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. He shot 83% from the free throw line and led the Patriots’ attack with leadership on and off the court.
Josh achieved the 1,000 point milestone last year, and finished his career with 1,905 points.
Faith McClary, an excellent shooter herself, changed roles this year and became primarily a distributor as she repeated on the All-Conference team.
McClary ran the Lady Pats’ offense and worked constantly to get other players involved. She scored 204 points on the year while also dishing out 86 assists.
Faith will continue her basketball career at Bob Jones University in the fall.
In addition to being a repeat All-Conference selection, Lindsay was selected as conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
Cooper usually drew the toughest defensive assignment and led the team in steals with 111. As good defense often turns into offense, Cooper also scored 314 points, assisted on 101 baskets and had five double-doubles.
Another repeat All-Conference selection, Effler is a versatile and creative scorer that can also get teammates involved.
She finished the year with 465 points and 113 assists. Often drawing the other team’s best defender, Karlie still managed to score consistently as an excellent outside shooter who can also drive to the basket, score in close and draw fouls.
Karlie is a 1,000 point scorer, having achieved this feat during last season.
She is also a lockdown defender who also surpassed 100 steals during the 2022 season.
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.
Shoals Elementary recognizes April leaders of the month. The attribute for April was collaboration.
“These students showed their leadership skills by demonstrating this attribute in class and around the campus,” school officials said.
GREENSBORO — Four local student-athletes won gold medals at the 2A State Championship Track and Field Meet.
East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central competed in the 2A Championship Meet on May 20 hosted at N.C. A&T University’s Marcus T. Johnson Track inside Truist Stadium.
Two of the local state champs hail from East Surry, while North Surry and Surry Central and each had one. The three schools combined to have 12 state qualifiers.
Results are listed below by school.
Team points were accumulated for each school’s top-8 individual finish: 10 points for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth and one point fewer through eighth place.
Senior Clara Willard and sophomore Isaac Vaden swept the 2A Discus Throw Championships.
Willard competed in the 2021 1A Discus Championship and finished No. 11 with a mark of 79-01 feet. She jumped to the top 2A spot in 2022 with a championship throw of 118-09 feet. Willard tied Camden County’s Kennedy Lighty for the No. 1 spot, but won the tiebreaker with her second-longest throw.
Clara is just the third female state champion in outdoor track in East Surry history. She joins Suzanne Shelton, who won the 1A 1,600-meter Run Title in 1994, and Maya Bennett, who won the 1A High Jump Title in 2003.
Willard’s 10 championship points put East Surry tied for No. 25 in the team standings.
Like Willard, Vaden had a huge leap from last year’s 1A championship to this year’s 2A meet. Vaden finished No. 15 of 16 competitors in 2021 with a throw of 95-01. He left no doubts this season by throwing a championship distance of 145-01 – which won the 2A title by more than eight feet.
Vaden is the first male outdoor track state champion in East Surry history.
Also competing in the state championship for East Surry was senior Cooper Motsinger. Motsinger finished No. 6 in the 3,200 meters with a time of 10:27.20.
Vaden and Motsinger’s 13 points helped East Surry finish tied for No. 17 in the team competition.
Ella Riggs competed in her first outdoor track championship this year as a freshman.
Riggs took part in shot put and finished just off the podium in fifth place. Her throw of 34-08.50 was less than two feet behind the fourth-place finish, and she was the only freshman to finish in the top-8.
Riggs’ four points helped the Lady Greyhounds finish tied for No. 41 as a team.
Junior Jared Hiatt was the only local male competitor to compete in two different events at the state championship. He competed in long jump at the 2021 2A State Championship, but competed in both long jump and high jump at this year’s meet.
Hiatt captured the Long Jump State Championship with a final mark of 22-10.75. He narrowly defeated the defending 2A State Champion and the highest seed coming into this year’s championship, Terry Hayes of Wilkes Central, by 1.5 inches.
Hiatt wins his second overall state championship and first in outdoor track; he previously won the 2021-22 Indoor Track State Championship for long jump.
Jared is the second outdoor track state champion in North Surry history, joining 2018 2A Shot Put Champion Ryan Eldridge.
In addition to his gold medal in long jump, Hiatt won a bronze medal in high jump with a leap of 6-04. There was a three-way tie for second place in the event, and the final order was decided based on number of attempts needed to clear a mark.
Hiatt’s 15 points helped the Greyhound boys finish No. 15 as a team.
Golden Eagle senior Mia McMillen was one of only two local competitors, male or female, to compete in four events at the state championship level. She was also the only local athlete competing in their third outdoor track state championship meet.
McMillen had two finishes on the podium on Friday, including a gold-medal performance in the 300 hurdles with a time of 45.08 seconds. Her championship win comes after two second-place finishes in the event as a freshman and a junior (no state championship was held in 2020).
Surry Central girls have now won a total of 25 outdoor track state championships since 1990; 20 individual titles and five relay titles. Mia wins the school’s first outdoor track championship since Sarah Brown won the pole vault title in 2019.
Like Hiatt at North Surry, McMillen added a bronze medal to go with her gold. Mia took third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.16, which was .09 seconds behind second place.
McMillen had two other finishes just outside the top-4. She finished fifth in long jump with a mark of 17-06.50, actually tying for fourth in distance but dropping to fifth due to number of attempts, and sixth in the 4×200 relay at 1:48.48 with teammates Aylin Rodriguez, Ella Priddy and Ivy Toney.
Toney, a sophomore, joined McMillen as the only other local competitor to compete in four events at the state meet. Also making multiple appearances at the state meet were Lady Eagle teammates: Priddy with three, Rodriguez with two, Madelyn Wilmoth with two and Yeira Munoz with two.
Toney, Munoz and Cassie Snead competed in individual events for the Lady Eagles. Snead was No. 9 in discus with a mark of 100-01.00, Toney took the No. 10 spot in pole vault with a mark of 7-06 and Munoz was No. 13 in the 3,200 meters with a time of 14:30.13.
Central’s 4×400 and 4×800 relay teams each finished sixth.
Wilmoth, Rodriguez, Toney and Priddy finished the 4×400 in 4:23.35, and the team of Wilmoth, Toney, Munoz and Priddy finished the 4×800 in 10:45.63.
Surry Central’s girls had the highest team finish of any local school. The Lady Eagles racked up 29 points to finish No. 8 of more than 50 teams.
Two Surry Central boys competed at the state championship as well: sophomore Ignacio Morales and freshman Allen Huffman. Both boys were competing in the outdoor track championship for the first time.
Morales took part in the 3,200 meters and finished third with a time of 10:05.43. He was the only sophomore to finish in the top-8.
Huffman competed in the 300 hurdles and finished No. 15 with a time of 44.82.
Surry Central’s boys tied for No. 31 in the team standings with six points.
© 2018 The Mount Airy News