Monday, March 23rd, 2026

Author: Scott D. Yost

About Scott D. Yost

Here are my most recent posts

Arrest Made In 2023 Infant Murder Case After Two-Year Investigation

More than two years after a 5-month-old child died in Brown Summit, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest and filed murder charges in the case.

According to Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers, deputies were first called to a home on Hickory Court on the night of Dec. 8, 2023, for a reported cardiac arrest involving an infant.

When deputies arrived, Guilford County Emergency Services personnel were already on the scene performing life-saving efforts on the child. The infant was taken to a local hospital but was later pronounced dead…

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Data Hunt Begins On Corporate Landlords Buying Up Guilford County Homes  

There’s a growing concern in Guilford County that doesn’t fit neatly into partisan politics, easy solutions or even clear definitions – and that’s exactly why local officials say it’s time to slow down, collect some real data and then figure out what’s actually going on.

At the center of that current effort is Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen and his office, which is working with other county staff, planners and outside researchers to understand better how many homes in the county are being bought and owned by corporations – and what impact that might be having on local communities….

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County Leaders Take Budget Show On The Road With Five Town Halls

Guilford County residents will soon have multiple chances to weigh in as to how their tax dollars are spent – and what kind of county they want to live in after all that money is spent to reshape “livability” in the county.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners just announced a series of five public meetings in April that will combine traditional budget town halls with broader discussions about the county’s long-term strategic vision. It’s an important time for residents to offer feedback because the commissioners are currently weighing how much extra property tax revenue to take from property owners when the new budget is approved in June….

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Potential Measles Exposure Reported At Greensboro Wendy’s

Guilford County health officials are warning residents about a potential measles exposure after a confirmed case passed through Greensboro earlier this month.

According to Guilford County Division of Public Health, an out-of-state individual who tested positive for measles visited a Wendy’s at 2221 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on Friday, March 13, between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. Anyone who was at that location during that time may have been exposed…

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Did Guilford County Voters Approve An Infinite Amount Of Borrowing Authority?

Two-third bonds are confusing, and many people don’t fully understand these special types of after-the-fact bonds. However, local government leaders across the state – not just in Guilford County – understand that financial vehicle very well, because it can be a useful tool when officials need to find money for projects that might not win voter approval.

All of this is why voters who approve large bond referendums need to understand exactly what they’re voting on…

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Two-Thirds Bonds For County Projects Won’t Steal School Money

There’s been a lot of talk on social media lately claiming that Guilford County is planning to take money away from school bond funding to pay for new county buildings and a massive, consultant-recommended, countywide renovation and capital project.

If county staff and commissioners move forward with the project – or even major parts of it – the county will need to take on more debt. However, that debt would be on top of, rather than in place of, the more than $3 billion in school bond debt the county is already taking on to fund school projects….

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Guilford County Commercial Property Values To Be Released

Guilford County’s long-anticipated 2026 revaluation continues to unfold – and now the focus is shifting from homeowners to business owners.

As of noon on Tuesday, March 17, the county hadn’t yet released updated tax values for commercial, or business, properties. However, Guilford County Tax Director Ben Chavis told the Rhino Times on Tuesday morning that those values are expected to go live later today….

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Appeals Of New Sky-High Property Values Going Swimmingly

The tax values for Guilford County properties came out about a month ago, and while many homeowners were stunned by the Tax Department’s new appraisals – in some cases jumping as much as two-and-a-half times higher than in the 2022 revaluation – the early appeal process appears to be moving along relatively smoothly.

So far, as of Tuesday, March 17, there have been just under 5,000 residential property owners who’ve called or written in to challenge their values….

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SWAT Team Nabs Suspect With Long List Of Charges

A multi-agency law enforcement effort resulted in the arrest of a 22-year-old man wanted for a lengthy list of criminal charges after authorities located him at a residence in neighboring Forsyth County.

According to a press release issued Monday, March 16 by the Greensboro Police Department, officers with the department’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team worked alongside agents from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal…

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County Backs Regional Water Plan As Growth Pressures Mount

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners is expected to lend its formal support this week to a regional water planning effort that local leaders say will be critical to managing the Piedmont Triad’s rapid growth in the coming decades.

At their Thursday, March 19 meeting, the commissioners are scheduled to adopt a resolution backing a newly completed Master Planning Study by the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority (PTRWA)…

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Downtown Greensboro, Inc. CEO Zack Matheny Steps Down

Downtown Greensboro, Inc. (DGI) President and CEO Zack Matheny announced this week that he will step down from his position after leading the downtown development organization for just over a decade.

Matheny has served as the head of DGI since 2015 – during a period when that nonprofit group expanded its programs and increased its role in organizing major downtown events and initiatives….

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One Department Is Putting the “Green” in Greensboro

The Trump administration thinks that “green” is a four-letter word; however, for the City of Greensboro and one department in particular, nothing could be further from the truth.

According to a newly released annual report from the city’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience, Greensboro officials spent much of 2025 pushing forward with…

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Greensboro Fire Department By The Numbers

If you want to understand what Greensboro firefighters actually do in a year, the numbers tell the story pretty well.

In fiscal 2024–2025, the Greensboro Fire Department responded to 41,313 incidents, saved more than $221 million in property and answered nearly 25,000 medical calls. Firefighters also tested more than 15,000 fire hydrants, educated over 25,000 children and installed hundreds of smoke alarms across the city…

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Guilford County Government Isn’t Out Of Money Yet

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has been spending money like crazy in recent years, but the good news is that they are not running out largely due to the big rise in tax bills property owners saw after the 2022 revaluation, when the board decided to keep the tax rate the same even though that meant people’s tax bills would go up 25, 30, or 35 percent or so….

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Asheboro Names Former Greensboro City Attorney Top Legal Eagle

The City of Asheboro has announced that Thomas D. Carruthers will become the city’s new city attorney beginning April 6 – bringing more than two decades of legal experience to the growing Randolph County city. That experience includes years advising municipalities across North Carolina and previously serving as city attorney for Greensboro….

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Page Expands Lead Over Berger After Provisional Ballots Counted

What began as one of the closest elections in North Carolina political history has now shifted slightly – though the outcome still isn’t officially final.

In addition to being one of the closest races in history, it’s also one of the most important.

After provisional ballots were reviewed and counted on Friday, March 6, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page (pictured above with Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers)…

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Commissioners Celebrate Grimsley Football’s Perfect Season

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners took a break from budgets, tax debates and policy discussions on Thursday night, March 5, to recognize one of the state’s most successful high school athletic programs – the Grimsley High School football team.

The meeting at the Old Guilford County Court House included a special presentation honoring…

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Taxpayers Send Loud And Clear Message To Commissioners

The meeting room in the Old Guilford County Court House was packed on Thursday night, March 5, as Guilford County residents turned out in very large numbers to deliver a blunt message to county leaders – don’t turn soaring property values into soaring tax bills.

The crowd began gathering well before the meeting of the Guilford County Board of…

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Senator Thom Tillis Rakes Kristi Noem Over The Coals

In a remarkable exchange on Capitol Hill this week, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis delivered a blistering critique of Kristi Noem during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Tuesday, March 3.

The hearing, which stretched for hours and focused largely on immigration enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security’s recent controversies, became notable when Tillis – a Republican – unloaded some of the harshest criticism of the day on a member of his own party’s administration…

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Two Votes Separate Berger And Page In Stunning Senate Primary

Never think that your single vote doesn’t matter.

In the Republican primary for North Carolina Senate District 26 this week, longtime Senate leader Phil Berger trails Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page by just two votes – an almost unbelievably narrow margin that could ultimately be decided by a handful of ballots once the official canvass and any recount are completed…

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How To File A Property Tax Appeal In Guilford County

Property owners across Guilford County are beginning to receive their 2026 reappraisal notices, and for many residents the new assessed values are significantly higher than in the previous cycle. Those values will be used to calculate property taxes once commissioners set the new tax rate later this year….

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State Lawmakers Eye Property Tax Relief As Home Values Soar

As homeowners across Guilford County open their 2026 revaluation notices and see sharply higher home values, state lawmakers in Raleigh are taking a closer look at whether North Carolina’s property tax relief system needs an overhaul.

A bill filed in the North Carolina General Assembly – House Bill 432 in the 2025-26 session…

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Christian School Teacher Charged Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor

Guilford County Sheriff’s Office investigators have arrested a 56-year-old Greensboro man on multiple felony charges related to the alleged sexual exploitation of a minor.

Sheriff Danny Rogers announced on Friday, Feb. 27 that on Monday, Feb. 23, Child Crimes Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Investigative Unit began investigating a…

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City To Host Black Balloon Day To Honor Overdose Victims

The City of Greensboro will host a “Black Balloon Day” event on Friday, March 6, from 4 to 6 p.m. at LeBauer Park, located at 208 N. Davie St., to honor lives lost to overdose and to support families that have been impacted by substance use.

A press release from the city states that the event is being organized by the city’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) team in partnership with the Guilford County Division…

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Tillman Says Revenue Neutral Tax Rate Should Be “On The Table”

Commissioner Pat Tillman told the Rhino Times he believes Guilford County commissioners should seriously consider adopting a revenue neutral tax rate in the wake of the sharply higher 2026 property revaluation – and he also said he thinks he may already have four votes lined up to try.

Tillman, a Republican member of the nine-member board, said he’s been flooded with calls, emails and texts from concerned residents since the new property values were released…

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Another Inmate Dies In Guilford County Jail

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is investigating another in-custody death at the county’s detention facilities – the latest in what appears to be a growing number of jail deaths over the last year.

The Sherrif’s Office announced on Monday, February, 23 that Scott Alan Fanter, died in the early morning hours after experiencing what authorities described as a medical condition while in custody at the Guilford County Detention Center in High Point….

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City To Hold Community Budget Sessions In March

The City of Greensboro will host a series of Community Budget Sessions beginning Thursday, March 5, giving residents a chance to learn how the city’s annual budget is developed before it’s adopted.

If you want to learn where all your hard-earned tax money goes and what it’s used for, this is your chance to learn a little about that and also a chance to offer some input…

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City Names Chris Schultheis Interim Greensboro Police Chief As Thompson Retires

With City of Greensboro Police Chief John Thompson set to retire at the end of February, the city has announced that Assistant Chief Chris Schultheis will step in as interim chief.

According to the city’s press release posted Friday afternoon, Schultheis will assume the role of Interim Chief of the Greensboro Police Department effective Friday, February 27…

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See How Your New Property Values Compare

Many Guilford County homeowners were stunned when the new 2026 revaluation numbers went live.

Some properties jumped far more than the 40 to 45 percent average increase county officials had previously projected. Some properties spot checked by the Rhino Times included homes that more than doubled in value compared to 2022.

Since those new numbers were posted, county officials say they’ve heard from a lot of concerned residents…

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Some Guilford County Homes See Values More Than Double In 2026 Revaluation (Check Your New Home Value Here)

When the Rhino Times warned people that their housing values could go up by 50 percent or more in the new revaluation, it turns out that warning wasn’t anywhere near strong enough for a lot of homeowners in the county.

County tax officials have previously told the Board of Commissioners that overall property values were expected to rise roughly 40 to 45 percent on average compared to the 2022 revaluation…

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State Officials Warn Of Rising Measles Cases – 22 Since December

Everything old is new again. 

While measles had basically become a thing of the past for the US, now there’s growing concern over the rapid rise in cases and that has North Carolina health officials very worried.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday, Feb. 17 that there have been 22 confirmed measles cases in North Carolina since late December 2025 – and state health…

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County Plans $4.5M School Resource Officer Pact

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners plans to enter into a new $4.445 million agreement to provide School Resource Officers in local schools – a multi-year pact that would continue the county’s financial commitment to placing deputies in public school buildings across Guilford County.

The proposed interlocal agreement between the county and the Guilford County Board of Education would cover 16 School Resource Officers along with supervisory support over a three-year period….

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Hold On To Your Hats Tuesday – Housing Values Unveiled

If you’re a Guilford County homeowner and you don’t enjoy financial shocks, you might want to sit down before you log on to your computer on Tuesday, February 17.

That’s the day that the Guilford County Tax Department will post the new 2026 residential property values online.

At the same time, the county will begin mailing letters to every residential property owner stating the new assessed value of their home….

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County To Hold Ribbon Cutting For No-Cost Naloxone Vending Machine In High Point

When people first started putting erasers on the other end of pencils there was a huge debate about whether it was a good idea or not because many thought it would encourage people – especially school kids – to be less vigilant about mistakes.  However, when it comes to issues like deaths by drug overdose or infection, Guilford County health officials want to make sure that one mistake doesn’t mean the loss of a life….

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Sheriff’s Office Seeks New Answers In 2024 Homicide Of 16-Year-Old

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is again asking for the public’s help in an ongoing homicide investigation stemming from a fatal shooting in McLeansville in October of 2024.

In a press release issued Thursday, Feb. 12, Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers said the case remains active and ongoing.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded on Oct. 21, 2024, at about 6 a.m. to a 911 call reporting an “unknown problem, man down” at 4925 Harvest Road in McLeansville….

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Greensboro Chamber Gets New Board Chair

The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce announced a change in leadership this week, with Geoff Foster officially stepping into the role of chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors during the organization’s Annual Celebration.

The event was held at Topgolf Greensboro and it brought together business and community leaders in an attempt to reflect on the past year of business life in Greensboro and look ahead to the future….

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County Cuts Ribbon On Long-Awaited Lees Chapel Recovery Center

Guilford County officials will gather Thursday afternoon to officially cut the ribbon on a project that’s been years in the making – the Reverend Prince Edward Graves Recovery and Treatment Center at 1411 Lees Chapel Rd.

The ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 12 at 4 p.m., with county leaders hosting a ribbon-cutting and open house at the newly renovated facility….

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Ailing Downtown Greensboro Needs More Than A Few Extra Cops

A string of abrupt downtown Greensboro business closings has touched off an unusually public bout of anxiety and media coverage regarding the state of Greensboro’s center city – and it has also produced a predictable response from city leaders: a reassuring press release.

On Thursday night, February 6, the City of Greensboro sent out a press release announcing that the Greensboro Police Department had “increased downtown patrol presence” through its Center City Resource Team – the unit that’s assigned to downtown…

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Voters Won’t Get A Say On County’s $572 Million Plan

When it came to approving $2 billion in school bond funding in recent years and a total debt with interest of well over $3 billion, the voters of the county got to decide.  But when it comes to the next massive funding plan – a $572 million capital improvement plan that means tearing down the Truist Bank Building and building a new county government complex with a sky bridge connected to the Old Guilford County Court house – there are no plans to put the funding up to a vote of county residents….

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City Asks Residents To Report Remaining Snow And Ice

City of Greensboro crews are continuing round-the-clock work following the last two major winter weather events, and now efforts are focused on clearing the remaining snow and ice from roads and catching up on solid waste and recycling collection.

Road clearing operations are still underway…

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Triad Business Journal To Drop Print Edition

The Triad Business Journal announced this week that it will end its print edition and move to an all-digital format – marking another significant moment in the long, slow retreat of printed newspapers in the Triad.

The change is scheduled to take effect this summer and it will leave the Triad Business Journal as a digital-only publication after more than a quarter of a century in print…

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County Heads To High Point To Honor Sit-Ins

n Thursday night, Feb. 4, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting in High Point, and the first item on the agenda will be symbolic – the adoption of a resolution honoring the Civil Rights Movement and commemorating both the Greensboro and High Point sit-ins of 1960.

The Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins at the F.W. Woolworth store on South Elm Street are…

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County Gets A Midyear Financial Checkup In High Point

n Thursday, Feb. 4, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting in High Point – something the board tries to do once a year since it’s the county’s second-largest city – and they’ll be doing so just after reaching an important milestone in the county’s fiscal calendar.

The end of December marked the halfway point of the county’s fiscal year, which began July 1, and county budget staff have now released their formal midyear Budget Performance Report….

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Everybody Still Loves Ray – And Now He’s Headed Back Home

Former Guilford County Commissioner Ray Trapp has taken a new job that brings him back to the Triad and back into a role centered on community, relationships and long-term impact.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Triad announced this week that Trapp has been named vice president of advancement – a senior leadership position that will focus on fundraising and development, brand management, and communications as the organization pushes forward with an ambitious regional expansion across High Point, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Asheboro and the surrounding communities…

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