Author: Scott D. Yost

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has handed out a whole lot of federal grant money in recent months, but the board has many more millions to go before they exhaust the $104 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding…

Eight organizations across North Carolina will soon have more money to increase their substance abuse recovery services and to support those afflicted with the problem.

In these days of skyrocketing inflation, “free” isn’t a word you hear often enough, but that’s the cost – zero dollars and zero cents – of an upcoming concert by the US Air Force Heritage of America Concert Band at the High Point Theatre…

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Communicable Disease Branch Corrections Team is working to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, jails and detention centers around the state.

At the Guilford County Board of Commissioners’ Thursday, Oct. 6 meeting, the commissioners plan to honor a man whose name is well remembered by longtime county employees and other residents – former Guilford County Manager Willie Best.

A generous new grant to the state of North Carolina should go a long way toward helping those with disabilities find the work they desire…

Unlike Guilford County’s State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic – which went on and on and on – the State of Emergency that county officials declared for Hurricane Ian only lasted a couple of days

Greensboro and Guilford County weren’t hit as hard as some other places by Hurricane Ian, but there was plenty of damage, and a lot of people are hiring contractors to make repairs…

It’s rare for the West Nile virus to be deadly, but health officials from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) have just announced the state’s first death in 2022 associated with the West Nile Virus…

The GreenHill Center for North Carolina Arts has big plans for its fall calendar at the gallery and studios – with presentations of artist talks, a variety of First Friday entertainment and a whole lot of artmaking fun for both kids and adults…

On Friday morning, Sept. 30, Guilford County leaders declared a State of Emergency that went into effect at noon on Friday due to the expectation of bad weather and weather-related problems from the remnants of Hurricane Ian.

When former Guilford County Manager Marty Lawing resigned from Guilford County government and later took a job as the city manager of Fort Myers Florida, he may have thought he was escaping from drama.

Guilford County isn’t going to see the same damage Florida saw as a result of Hurricane Ian; however, state officials are warning all state residents that they should take steps to prepare.

This summer, an interested buyer – Greensboro Batting Center Inc.– offered Guilford County $100,000 for the former Monticello Community Center’s land and structures…

If you think there are a lot of anti-vaxxers among human beings, you might not be surprised to learn that virtually no raccoons come in to get their rabies vaccinations each year.

On Tuesday, Sept. 27, a group of Guilford County commissioners met with Greensboro and High Point City Council members in the first ever meeting of the Guilford County Task Force On Homelessness…

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners met on Wednesday, Sept. 28 to address some issues related to funding for housing programs, and, at the very end of the meeting, a homeless man wanted to have his say too…

This week, a new poll from High Point University found out something that’s not likely to surprise anyone. Namely, people aren’t happy with things and aren’t big fans of current political leadership…

If you own a company that does that kind of work and you wish to apply, bids will be taken by the Purchasing Department at 201 S. Greene St. until 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20…

The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority held its September meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 27 and heard some mixed results regarding airport passenger traffic at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA)…

Earlier this month, Sedalia Mayor Howard Morgan spoke before the Board of Commissioners in a work session and, unlike just about every other town or group who made a request that day, the board didn’t vote to hand over any money to Sedalia.

Sedalia, just like the other small towns in the county, will likely end up with some of the $104 million the county has been giving away. However Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said after the work session that he and other commissioners didn’t feel the town’s plans for the money were well developed enough at this point.

The Guilford County Health and Human Services Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28 and, when they do, there will be plenty to talk about.

The High Point Public Library, High Point X Design and Sherwin-Williams are joining forces to host a community-wide art project at the High Point Farmers Market that will put some furniture scraps and related items to new use. The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 9 a.m. until noon at the High Point Farmers Market,  which is held at the High Point Public Library at 901 N. Main St. and runs each Saturday from mid-April through October from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Hounds Town USA – a  national doggie daycare and boarding franchise – is celebrating the opening of a new location at 123 S. Walnut Circle in Greensboro with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

Anyone who hasn’t been out to a Guilford County park since before the pandemic will likely notice a world of difference between then and now if they do venture out there.

Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) Executive Director Kevin Baker said that PTIA has plans to extend a runway as well. However, he added, it’s a very involved project that will be a long time coming.

On Thursday, Sept. 22, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce announced its congratulations for the eight minority business owners that graduated from the Scale to Excel program.

It’s that time of year again – grape picking time or “The Big Pick,” as it has been named by county officials. This year, the event will take place on two Saturdays – September 24 and October 1, from 9 a.m. to noon. Everyone is invited. However, minors have to be accompanied by an adult, and registration is required prior to the event.

The county is transferring security duties for the Guilford County Behavioral Health Center at 931 Third St. in Greensboro from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department to the Guilford County Security Department.

The White House staff in Washington must have something of a crush on Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston.  For the second time this month, Alston is heading to Washington, DC, for an event at the White House. 

The politics of former Republican Guilford County Commissioner Alan Branson and current Democratic Commissioner Kay Cashion are as different as night and day. However, as the two both vie for the only at-large seat on the Board of Commissioners, they still get along swimmingly.

the High Point Theater is hosting a global film festival. The 25th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival will be held on Thursday, Sept. 22 and Friday, Sept. 23. 

Guilford County government is planning to assemble a major task force of county, city, and state officials to finally come up with a wholistic, coordinated solution meant to help alleviate the persistent problem of homelessness in the county.  

Repair your screen windows and empty your birdbath frequently – the number of cases of the West Nile Virus in North Carolina is double the usual number. That’s the message that state health officials put out on Monday, Sept.19.

At the Board of Commissioners Thursday, Sept. 15 meeting, a large number of appointments were announced that demonstrate the board is taking part more and more in county matters at the national level.

Before the start of a Tuesday, Sept. 13 meeting of the Summerfield Town Council,  Teresa Perryman – who’s a former Town Council member but is still active in the town’s affairs – placed a small voice recorder on the table used by the Town Council members so she could get a high-quality recording of the proceedings. 

Eventually, Guilford County will run out of American Rescue Plan (ARP) money. However, at an afternoon work session on Thursday, Sept. 15, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners was still giving that ARP money out at a wicked pace with votes to fund requested projects such as workforce readiness initiatives, youth wellness programs, support for the homeless and arts initiatives.

This summer, Guilford County got some very unwelcome air quality test results from the Guilford County jail in downtown Greensboro.  Those tests showed the presence of mold in the jail – and other tests found the same problem in the basement of the county’s building at 201 S. Greene St. in Greensboro. The county has been dealing with the problem and, at the Thursday, Sept. 15 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, the board voted to approve about a cool million that the county needs to address the problem.

Here’s one more welcome sign that life in Greensboro is getting back to normal after the pandemic that sent things into a tailspin for over two years. A local favorite weekly entertainment event –Thursday night Jazz at the O. Henry Hotel – is back after its long pandemic hiatus. Performances each Thursday will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Social Lobby of the hotel.

If you live in the High Point area and notice that the water level in Piedmont Lake is not what it should be this fall, well it’s not the result of global warming or alien activity, but instead, it’s something that the City of High Point is doing on purpose.

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the first-ever Carolina Core Real Estate Summit was held at the Wicker Civic and Conference Center in Sanford, North Carolina. The Economic Development Summit included a wide variety of people involved with development.

In March, the Guilford County Planning Department voted unanimously to approve the closure of Groundhog Trace running southeast from Raccoon Run to the ending cul-de-sac of Groundhog Trace.  But it’s the Guilford County Board of Commissioners who’ll get the final word after holding a public hearing due to the appeal from those who don’t want the road closed. The board will hear the matter at its Thursday, Sept.15 meeting.

Usually when people turn 100, they’re no longer active in their profession, however, Curtis Kennedy is anything but usual.   He recently celebrated his 100th birthday, but Kennedy – an original fire commissioner for the McLeansville Fire Department when it began in 1951 – still plays an active role as a fire commissioner for the department. On Thursday, Sept. 15, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners plans to honor the energetic centenarian. 

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston has received a very special invitation.  Joe Biden, the president of the United States, has asked Alston to come to Washington, DC, for the event celebrating the passage and the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act.