Author: Scott D. Yost

at one residence in High Point, the situation was horrific rather than festive. According to a press release from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department, officers called to a scene near the intersection of NC-62 and North Main Street in High Point found a double stabbing.

One thing that the coronavirus certainly does is generate a lot of statistics for people to absorb, and this week, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) expanded the corona-virus categories that it displays. The day before Thanksgiving, NCDHHS added – to its web-based data “dashboard” – COVID-19 vaccine data for the booster doses.

Summerfield Mayor BJ Barnes said this week that he’s exasperated by the negativity that’s constantly coming from former Summerfield Mayor Gail Dunham and other well-known critics of the town’s current leadership.

One of the promises Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers made when he ran for that office in 2018 is that he would work toward CALEA accreditation for the Sheriff’s Department – and, just in time for the 2021 holiday season, the department has earned that honor. 

the town of Summerfield found out this week that the threat of spread remains and the virus isn’t taking a break for the holidays. On Saturday, Nov. 20, the town held a holiday tree-lighting ceremony – and town officials were alarmed to find out soon after that town employees working the event had the coronavirus.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said this week that Guilford County’s school system needs every penny of the proposed $1.7 billion school bond referendum that he and many others want to see on the ballot in March of 2022. 

There’s a lot of aggravation that comes with trying to get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas at a time of a pandemic and supply shortages, so the last thing anyone needs is the problem of having tainted water in their house. 

Guilford County Attorney Mark Payne is stepping down from that job at the end of the year. 

At a commissioners meeting on Thursday, Nov. 18, the board discussed putting $1.7 billion on the ballot for voters to decide – though the actual amount of the school bond referendum is still up in the air. Now the board wants to hear from the people.  On Friday, Nov. 19, the county announced a public hearing on Thursday, Dec. 2 for that purpose.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners didn’t have to think very long at all before rejecting a request from the Town of Summerfield to establish an Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). 

Anyone who reads the local news knows that Guilford County government just filled one of its assistant manager spots by nabbing the long-time director of the Forsyth County Department of Social Services. 

Over the past year and a half, there’s been a lot of federal money coming into local governments, and on Wednesday, Nov.17, the City of High Point announced nearly $20 million in new funds through a grant from the US Department of Transportation meant to make walking and biking paths safer and promote economic development in the city.

New Assistant Guilford County Manager Victor Isler – one of two new assistant county managers that Guilford County Manager Mike Halford just hired – comes with extremely high praise from his former boss – Forsyth County Manager Dudley Watts.

In the US, there are a lot of adults who simply do not wish to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and there are also a lot of adults who really, really don’t want their kids vaccinated.

One of Guilford County’s two brand spanking new assistant managers is Erris Dunston, who’s racked up more than two decades of local government experience in her career, including, most recently, a five-year stretch with the City of Wilmington as assistant city manager.

On Monday, Nov. 15, Guilford County announced that it had hired not one, but two, new assistant county managers – Erris Dunston, a city administrator from Wilmington, and Victor Isler, the social services director from Forsyth County.

Less than one hour after the Guilford County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to rescind the mask mandate put in place in August, Guilford County government sent out a press release reminding county residents that, while the county-wide mask mandate was gone, the pandemic was not.

On Monday, Nov. 15 at 6:07 p.m., the Guilford County Board of Commissioners took an action that’s been looked forward to for months by many in the county.  The board voted quickly and unanimously to do away with the mandate requiring that masks be worn while indoors at public places in Guilford County.  

Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen is offering advice: Don’t leave your keys in your car, even when your car is in your driveway.

Wednesday, Nov. 17, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department is holding a virtual class meant to teach citizens how to stay safe.

On Friday, Nov. 12, Oak Ridge Town Councilmember George McClellan said he was throwing his hat into the ring and seeking enough votes to allow him to hold the same seat Conrad has held for eight years.

Elections are important everywhere. However, in recent years, a good number of residents of Summerfield have believed that the very future of their town is on the line each time the voters go into the polls to elect their leaders. In the election earlier this month, those who want to see more growth in that town of about 11,000 people were considered the winners.

Right now, everyone is – by law and under threat of financial penalty – required to wear a mask when indoors in a public place in Guilford County.   That, however, looks like it will change on Monday, Nov. 15, when the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to discuss the matter and possibly vote to remove the mandate.

It turns out that that group – and county citizens – will not have to exist under a confusing state of separate Guilford County Board of Education and Guilford County Board of Commissioners districts for the next decade.  On Tuesday, Nov. 9, the school board voted 8 to 1 to approve the same district lines the county commissioners approved on Thursday, Nov. 4.

In what is a disappointment to many conservatives in Guilford County, Justin Conrad will not make a run for a third term on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners – at least not next year.

This year, on Thursday, Nov. 11, High Point University (HPU) will continue its yearly tradition of honoring veterans and donating American flags to local nonprofits, schools and government buildings.

Guilford County commissioners, county officials, and many people who follow local politics were caught off guard this weekend when the Guilford County Board of Education voted not to approve the same district lines that the Guilford County Board of Commissioners voted to approve at its Thursday, Nov. 4 meeting.

On Saturday, Dec. 4, the High Point Public Library will host “Holiday Time @the Market” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  It will be held at the library at 901 N. Main St. in downtown High Point.

RPM Wood Finishes Group – a collective of furniture industry companies in the wood and fabric coating, finishing and repair business – expects to invest nearly $20 million into a new facility in Guilford County and also create more than 50 new jobs.

The 2022 election is a year away, but already the Guilford County Board of Commissioners at-large race looks like it could turn out to be extremely interesting.   Quite a few contenders are expected to compete for the single at-large seat on the board, and sources say two of those who will get into the race are Democratic at-large County Commissioner Kay Cashion and former Republican Commissioner Alan Branson.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners announced on Friday, Nov 5 that the board has scheduled a public hearing to hear both sides of a controversial request from the Town of Summerfield to establish an Extra Territorial Jurisdiction along a section of the town’s border. 

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be calming down and now many people who could use the virus as an excuse not to visit family members during the holidays will have to start traveling to see them again this holiday season.

Aircraft repair and service company TAT Piedmont – a subsidiary of TAT Technologies Ltd. – is planning a new facility in Guilford County that will mean $13.8 million in capital investment and 85 new full-time jobs. 

$1.7 billion. That’s the amount that school officials would like to see on Guilford County’s ballot in 2022. 

On Thursday, Nov. 4, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners officially adopted a new district map that the commissioners and Guilford County Board of Education are expected to use for the next 10 years. 

  If you’re a fan of bouncing up and down on a trampoline, you’ll be glad to hear that Altitude Trampoline Park in Greensboro is holding its ribbon-cutting and grand-opening next week. The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 12 at 10 a.m. while the grand opening will be the following day, on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 11  a.m.  Both events are at 2268 Golden Gate Dr. in Golden Gate Shopping Center.

It’s rare that the Guilford County Board of Commissioners calls off a scheduled work session and it is extremely rare for the board to do so at the last minute.   However, that’s what happened on Thursday, Nov. 4 with a late afternoon work session meant to assess the status and needs of the county’s facilities and planned county construction projects.

Some of the same people who didn’t want a COVID-19 vaccine for themselves probably won’t want it for their children either. However, on Wednesday, Nov. 3 state health officials sent out formal notice of the availability of the vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 and provided details on how to get your kids vaccinated.

Guilford County government is just about to take a new look at your property to see how much it’s worth – to see how much the county can collect in taxes on it – and, on Thursday, Nov. 4, you’ll have a chance to share your views on the process if you want.  The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing that evening “to receive public comment regarding the 2022 Schedule of Values,” which includes the guidelines, timeline, standards and rules that will pertain to Guilford County’s 2022 real property tax revaluation.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston, working with fellow commissioners and state legislators, has drawn a new, county commissioner district map that the Board of Commissioners is expected to adopt at its Thursday, Nov. 4 meeting. 

Guilford County sent out public notice of a Monday, Nov. 15 meeting where the removal of the mandate will be considered and likely approved.

The City of High Point is holding its next Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Event on Saturday, Nov. 6.

With new construction taking place all over Guilford County and open space being whittled down, a longstanding “Voluntary Agricultural District” program is working in the background to help see that at least some rural space is preserved.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners met virtually at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Based on the discussion, all indications are that the mandate will be lifted on Monday, Nov. 15 when the commissioners meet as the Guilford County Board of Health. (The Board of Commissioners became the county’s Board of Health about eight years ago when the commissioners voted the previous Board of Health out of existence.)

Guilford County Board of Commissioners has just called a special afternoon work session for Thursday, Nov. 4 to get a handle on the county’s capital projects and needs.

Small town municipal elections in non-presidential contest years can often turn out to be pretty low-energy affairs. However, in the Town of Summerfield – where many people see the future of the town as on the line – there’s a whole lot going on as the residents cast their votes for mayor and town councilmembers.

The COVID-19 pandemic got the State of North Carolina focused on putting out disease information to the public through a daily, easy to understand, “Dashboard”-style presentation of new data.

Guilford County’s two courthouses rely on an electronic audiovisual system to present evidence and perform other functions, and now the systems in both the Greensboro and High Point courthouses are set to be upgraded.  The Guilford County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve the move at its Thursday, Nov. 4 meeting.

On Thursday, Nov. 4, Guilford County government is expected to approve a grant to help improve the environment in eastern Guilford County through streambank restoration. 

Greensboro-based Guerrilla RF, a wireless semiconductor provider, has announced its expansion into a 50,000-square-foot facility at 2000 Pisgah Church Road.  The growth will mean $6 million in new investment and 50 new jobs for area workers.