Author: Scott D. Yost

Former Guilford County Commissioner Steve Arnold has passed away. 

Coy Williard – a former chairman of the High Point Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and a member of many other local committees and groups – will be honored on Saturday night, April 29 at the High Point Rockers baseball game at an event in the city that’s been designated as “Coy Williard Night.”

The most powerful Guilford County leader, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston, who almost always gets his way, told the Rhino Times this week that there’s absolutely no way he will support a property tax increase this year. 

With recent announcements of major aeronautics companies choosing to come to Piedmont Triad International Airport’s (PTIA’s) megasite – and several more prospects thought to be in the pipeline – the airport is really living up to its promise of becoming a huge economic development hub and job creator for Guilford County.  

On Wednesday, April 26, movie goers in all 16 theaters at the Regal Greensboro Grande movie theater at Friendly Shopping Center got quite a mass scare – and it wasn’t just those movie goers who were watching horror movies.

When it rains, it pours: New business and new jobs continue to come to Guilford County at a fast clip. 

It would be an overstatement to say that the Tuesday, April 25 joint committee meeting between Guilford County commissioners and the school board members was contentious.

High Point University has been very active in conducting a lot of interesting state polls recently and the newest one provides some insights into how state residents view climate change.

For about a quarter of a century, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston has been visibly displeased with the county’s efforts to conduct more business with Minority and Women Business Enterprises (MWBE).  

Anytime you spend a couple of billion dollars building, renovating and repairing school buildings, there’s going to be some disagreement as to how that money should be allocated.  

Guilford County Commissioner Kay Cashion made an interesting bit of county history at the Board of Commissioners’ Thursday, April 20 meeting – but it wasn’t for something she said.

There are a good deal of aerospace companies currently interested in the 1,000-acre megasite at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA), and, at the Guilford County Board of Commissioners’ Thursday, April 20 meeting, the board approved over $300,000 in incentives to bring one of those companies – Marshall USA LLC – to the site.

If you enjoy tasty seafood and you want to support a good cause – well, you can indulge both of those proclivities this weekend when former Guilford County Commissioner Justin Conrad and a lot of others put on an oyster roast to help in the fight against cancer. 

Nobody enjoys getting to the airport for a trip and finding out that Homeland Security or some other government agency has put you on the No Fly List.  

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – and that’s what Guilford County government is doing after a colossal train wreck of a $20 million-plus project that came to a screeching halt on Thursday, March 2, due to “irreconcilable differences” between Samet Corporation, the construction company, and the county.  

If you want to eat some good authentic Korean kimchi, but you don’t have the time or the money to fly to Seoul and buy it – well, this weekend you’re in luck. 

The High Point Public Library is known for extending its community programs far beyond reading and books, and this month the library will host two events that deal with promoting very different kinds of growth. There will be one on plant growth – the Spring Sprouts Spectacular program, and one on growing businesses: “Simple Steps” For Business Startups.”

After more than a quarter century of keeping Guilford County residents safe, you might think that former Guilford County Sherriff BJ Barnes would be content to lean back in his patio chair at Sunset Beach, kick his legs over the railing and spend his day absorbing the refreshing sea air. You might think that, but you would be wrong if you did.

As local history has shown time and time again, the rash of shootings in Greensboro and Guilford County doesn’t slow down during religious holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter – and this year, on Good Friday, there was another shooting.

One of the nation’s largest tour dog acts is heading to High Point, and the show should have area dog lovers wagging their tails in the seats. Chris Perondi’s Stunt Dog Experience is coming to the High Point Theatre on Saturday, April 15 with both an afternoon and evening show.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners doesn’t run Guilford County Schools, but the board does provide the school system with a tremendous amount of money each year – so the commissioners typically keep a close eye on how the school board is operating.

City Planning Director Sue Schwartz will be the featured speaker at the April 13 meeting of Greensboro’s Human Rights Commission. At the meeting, she intends to discuss the “relationship between establishing industry in the city and family housing development.”

Republican Bill Goebel, who was named to the District 3 Board of Education seat on Tuesday, April 4 – to the surprise of everyone with the exception of six Democratic school board members, Goebel’s wife and some top school staff who were in on the ploy – explained this week why he didn’t tell anyone beforehand about the stunning surprise move the Democratic majority was about to make.

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Department has made an arrest in an arson case the department has been investigating for over a month. On Thursday, April 6, Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers announced the arrest for an arson event that took place on Friday, February 24 of this year.

Time flies and the year of 2045 is now just around the corner.

If sitting around drinking coffee and talking about the junk vehicle in your neighbor’s yard or about how high he keeps his grass, well, the City of Greensboro has an event for you. The city’s Code Compliance Division is sponsoring “Coffee and Codes” from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Monday, April 10.

It was obvious to anyone at the Tuesday, April 4, Guilford County Board of Education meeting that teacher Michael Logan was extremely upset when the six Democrats on the board ignored him – the choice of the local Republican party – and, suddenly, with no warning, put their own handpicked person – Bill Goebel – into the vacant District 3 seat instead.

After the six Democrats on the Guilford County Board of Education voted to appoint their choice – Bill Goebel – to the vacant District 3 seat, rather than the choice of the Guilford County Republican Party – longtime teacher Michael Logan – state Rep. Jon Hardister said a lot of angry people have very good reasons to sue the school board.

April is National County Government Month and Guilford County will celebrate by showcasing the ways in which the county empowers residents to live well and thrive.

If you want to work off those extra winter/pandemic pounds, the City of Greensboro’s Parks and Recreation Department – in a joint effort with the YMCA of Greensboro – is offering free outdoor fitness classes from April to October this year.

April is Autism Awareness Month and many local entities – like Piedmont Triad International Airport and Guilford County government – are taking steps to promote awareness of the condition. This week, the High Point Public Library announced that it is also planning several programs and other activities in order to join in the effort.

The Greensboro City Council isn’t going to adopt a resolution calling this week “Traffic Detour Week” in the city; however, as local drivers can attest, there’s been a whole lot of road work going on in Greensboro lately and those efforts will continue full steam ahead from April 4 to April 11 as work crews engage in what are largely resurfacing projects.

Guilford County government is receiving a new funding allocation in the amount of $578,805 that will be used to help low-income households in Guilford County pay their water bills.

Having a good amount of greenspace and open space in Guilford County improves the quality of life...

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan has included Greensboro in a national effort to conserve water during April of this year and now she’s challenging all city residents to participate.

The Health Division of the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services would like nothing better than to get county residents out into the fresh air and walking long distances to improve their health.

Schools in North Carolina are used to grading the students who attend, but a recent High Point University poll gave people across the state a chance to turn the tables and grade the schools. The schools came away with passing grade – a C – but a middling grade isn’t much to get excited about when it comes to something as crucial as educating children.

It’s that time of year again – time for the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department’s Youth Academy, which is now enrolling the next group of potential future officers.

On Friday, March 31 at 10 a.m., single game tickets for the High Point Rockers were put up for sale with an interesting pricing twist: Every ticket was discounted at a rate determined by the temperature at 7 a.m.

According to additional promotional literature from the county, the event promises to be a “fun-filled day of adoptable dogs and education on heartworms.”

Delta Air Lines, Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) and various local organizations that support people with intellectual and developmental challenges, are holding a special event at PTIA this weekend to help make it easier for those with autism to fly.

Like other Sheriff’s Departments across the state, on Wednesday, March 29, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department ceased issuing handgun permits, immediately stopped processing the permits in progress, and informed people that they wouldn’t get back the application fee they had been charged.