Author: Scott D. Yost

Chase Clark, a Southwest Guilford High School student, will receive an annual Humanitarian Award at the High Point City Council meeting next month. 

If you have kids and are having trouble paying your heating or power bill – or even keeping your fireplace stocked with wood – a big sum of money is on its way to Guilford County to address that need.

City of High Point officials had been hoping to service the city’s waste collection routes on Tuesday Jan. 18 – albeit on a delayed bases. However, on Tuesday, the city announced that, due to the amount of snow and ice remaining on the roads after last weekend’s storm, the service wouldn’t start up until one day later. Currently, the city plans to resume trash collection services on Wednesday, Jan. 19.

Former Guilford County Emergency Management Division Director Don Campbell left Guilford County government in October of last year to take a job with the state as the chief of staff for NC Emergency Management.  That meant Campbell would be protecting people on a much larger scale, and, on Saturday, Jan. 15, Campbell got his first statewide exposure in front of North Carolina residents thanks to the winter storm that wreaked havoc on much of the state.

On Monday afternoon, Jan. 17, city officials announced that High Point will be operating on a two-hour delay Tuesday.  That will include the opening of City of High Point facilities and waste collection operations.

Guilford County Commissioner Carolyn Coleman said this week that she is disturbed by what she claims is a racially unfair work environment at the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART).

Both Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston want to do what they can to prevent evictions and fight homelessness in the area.

On Friday night, Jan. 14, the City of High Point announced the ways that it’s preparing for the winter weather forecasted for Sunday, Jan.16. 

Guilford County has been in a perpetual State of Emergency for nearly two years due to COVID-19 and now an approaching winter storm has created what is essentially a double State of Emergency.

There’s been a lot of discussion at the state and national level lately about – in light of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots being highly encouraged – whether those who’ve previously been considered “fully vaccinated” should be considered so anymore.

Thursday evening, Jan. 13, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners voted to approve another mask mandate to go into effect immediately that applies to everyone in the county when they are indoors at a public place such as a store, restaurant or entertainment venue.

On Thursday, Jan. 13, the department published its “Olmstead Plan” – “designed to assist people with disabilities who receive or are eligible for publicly-funded services to reside in and experience the full benefit of being part of day-to-day life in communities alongside those without disabilities.”

county health officials are continuing to press ahead on the county’s effort to convince those who’ve held off on getting vaccinated to get the shots – since county officials want everyone eligible to get vaccinated.

On Wednesday, Jan. 12, Guilford County government announced that it had teamed up with two more partners to offer new COVID-19 testing options for those in Guilford County who need to know whether they’ve been infected or not.

The latest to formally announce his candidacy for the seat that represents much of northwest Guilford County is longtime Summerfield resident Dan Suter, who describes himself in a press release as a “conservative, Christian Patriot whose personal mission is to ‘positively impact the lives of others.’”

On Tuesday, Jan. 11, the  Board of Commissioners announced that, in order to “ensure the safety of our community and staff in light of the surge in COVID-19 Positivity Rates in Guilford County,” the next regular meeting of the board – which will be on Thursday, Jan. 20 at 5:30 p.m. – will be virtual.  

At the Thursday, Jan. 6 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, Guilford County Health Director Dr. Iulia Vann announced that the county was preparing “kits” for businesses that to help those establishments enforce the mask mandate.  Van said that new assistant Guilford County Manager Victor Isler had been working on the project.

On Tuesday, Jan. 11, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston announced that he’ll meet with Smith High School Principal Melvin Marshall, take a tour of the high school and discuss the school’s repair and renovation needs.

On Thursday, Jan.13, that could change when the Guilford County Board of Commissioners meets in its role as the Gulford County Board of Public Health.  Many people know there’s a mask mandate but have some questions as to exactly what the rules are for unincorporated Guilford County – and what those rules could soon be for everyone in the county.

On Monday, Jan.10, Guilford County government announced the meeting dates in 2022 for the Guilford County Animal Services Advisory Board, which oversees animal shelter and animal control services in the county.  At each meeting, the board conducts their business in the open, and, usually at the beginning of each meeting, allows for public comment.

On Friday, Jan. 7, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) put out a press release stating that it was “adding another tool to help keep state students in the classroom” – a Test-to-Stay strategy.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners only allowed 10 “speakers from the floor” at the board’s completely virtual Jan. 6 regular meeting – but that was enough for the public to get its message across to the commissioners. 

People in Guilford County are clamoring for coronavirus tests and, on Thursday, Jan. 6, the Guilford County Department of Public Health announced a new COVID-19 testing clinic that will open on Saturday, Jan. 8 in cooperation with Cone Health, MAKO Medical and the City of Greensboro.

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan and other city officials were taken aback on Thursday evening, Jan. 6, when Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston launched into a tirade at a commissioners meeting. 

This year the Guilford County Tax Department is posting the new value of your house, building or other property online based on the 2022 revaluation. Guilford County Tax Director Ben Chavis said this week that the new tax values for property in the county will be posted on or around Tuesday, Feb. 15.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners, on the eve of their first Jan. 6, 2022 meeting, announced a last-minute change.   Rather than be held in the commissioners meeting room in the Old Guilford County Court House, the meeting will be held virtually and participation will be online rather than in person.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioner’s Skip Alston used his powers as the county’s leader to implement a new mask mandate in unincorporated Guilford County.  

  For county employees that duty often comes down to the county manager or department heads.  However, a select group of key county officials answers directly to the Board of Commissioners.  The board hires and fires them, and, as it will do on January 6, decides what their salaries will be.

On Monday evening, Jan. 3, High Point Mayor Jay Wagner weighed in with a reminder of what High Point residents and county residents could do to stem the spread of the disease.

In a highly controversial move, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston announced at a 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 4 press conference that he was implementing a new mask mandate for unincorporated parts of Guilford County as well as for the towns in Guilford County that have agreed to go along with it. 

On Monday, Jan. 3, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, which is also the Guilford County Board of Health, has called a special meeting in its role as the health board, “to consider implementing a proposed Board of Health rule related to the reinstatement of mandates regarding face masks and face coverings as result of the surge in COVID-19 infections; with a proposed effective date of 1/13/22; and to transact any other necessary business.”

County leaders, city and town mayors, and area health officials went into emergency mode on Monday, Jan 3.  Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston held an extended virtual meeting that included all of the city and town mayors in Guilford County.  Alston said after the meeting that the seriousness of the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had spurred the need for the meeting at which a new mask mandate was a key topic of discussion.

This week, Guilford County Commissioner James Upchurch said that he’s completely opposed to another mask mandate.  Upchurch, who voted against the mandate last summer, added that he doesn’t believe a majority of the board will go along with another mandate –  even if positivity rates stay way over that 5 percent mark that county health officials consider so important. 

“Happy New Year,” Stephens’ post stated. “I am opening up a new Ziggy’s on April 1, 2022.  It’s going to be the most amazing space I’ve had to date for my third generation of Ziggy’s.”

On Thursday, Dec. 30, Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers put out a press release announcing the newest batch of men and women who got promotions that will go into effect on Sunday, Jan. 2.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston – who was a big advocate of a countywide mask mandate in the battle against COVID-19 earlier this year – said this week that he’s setting up a meeting with county health officials and others to see if the mask mandate should be adopted once again.

The 2021 holiday season is an excellent time to put off things until 2022. However, Guilford County government didn’t put off its effort to convince county voters that they need to approve a $1.7 billion school bond referendum that will appear on the ballot in the 2022 primary election currently set for May 17. 

The Guilford County Planning Board will get its start on 2022 when it holds its first meeting of the year on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. at the NC Cooperative Extension-Agricultural Center in Greensboro. 

heading into the New Year, Guilford County has named a new interim director for social services.

The High Point Fire Department and other area departments, including Greensboro’s, are setting a hotel on fire and using the blaze for a joint training exercise on Wednesday, Dec. 29.

The New Year – 2022 for those keeping count – is just a few days away and most people are forming their New Year’s resolutions in regard to the things they want to change and goals they want to accomplish in the coming 12 months. 

For most people, Christmas is a time to think about family, candy canes, presents and sugar plums; however, county tax officials have their minds on something else completely – making sure everyone lists their taxable possessions so the county gets all the money it has coming to it.

Anglers take note: Guilford County government is announcing that Gibson Park won’t be stocked with trout this winter due to – ironically – too much water at a key state hatchery.

Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA), which is viewed not just as a place to fly in and out of but also as a key economic engine for the region, has in recent years been one of the real bright spots when it comes to local economic development. 

Democratic candidate for Guilford County Sheriff Ed Melvin is making an interesting pledge as part of his campaign. Melvin said this week that, if he‘s elected sheriff, he will offer to re-hire all of the Sheriff’s Department employees who were fired without cause by current Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers.

However, the work is extremely important and, from time to time, the political battles to grab that office turn out to be very interesting.  Next year, the race will include a Democratic primary, now that Democrat Lu-Ann Wilkinson has declared her candidacy for Guilford County clerk of Superior Court.

One thing COVID-19 restrictions did – with many people meeting remotely and schooling remotely – is put an emphasis on the broadband internet problems. 

A post on the Guilford County Democratic Party’s Facebook page had some local Republican leaders up in arms this week. 

The department’s “2020-2021 North Carolina Safer Syringe Initiative Annual Report” found that providing clean syringes to addicts helps programs serve more users – and likely saves lives. 

On Friday, Dec. 17, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office made public the results of a month-long multi-jurisdictional investigation that ended with eight search warrants and the recovery of about $800,000 worth of stolen goods in time to get those items back to their rightful owners for the New Year.