Author: Scott D. Yost

A national settlement reached last week in the lawsuit filed by governments across the country against opioid makers and distributors such as Johnson & Johnson will mean a payout to Guilford County. 

If you watch Anderson Cooper or other TV shows in prime time, you’ve probably noticed new commercials – very dark ones – that address the dangers of opioid addiction and the fact that it can happen to people from all walks of life.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has set a public hearing for Thursday, August 5 to listen to input on potential changes to the county’s gun ordinances.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is extending an interesting program it began earlier this year to battle COVID-19.  On Thursday, July 22, the department announced that it is nearly doubling the number of sites in its coronavirus wastewater surveillance program.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said that, when the commissioners’ districts in Guilford County are redrawn in the coming months, he’s going to do all he can to see to it that those lines are fairly drawn. 

Downtown High Point will have those events and more this summer and fall because Forward High Point – the nonprofit that’s headed up a successful downtown revitalization effort in that city – is now focusing on packing the next several months with exciting downtown events for residents in the region.

Oak Ridge Town Councilmember George McClellan recently announced that he is “98 percent” sure he’ll be running for the District 3 Guilford County commissioners seat next year – which may be a good indication that current Republican District 3 Commissioner Justin Conrad won’t run. 

the city’s third annual “Summer Jubilee Back-to-school Celebration and Backpack Giveaway” on Saturday, July 31, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at and around the High Point Public Library.

 Guilford County Parks staff and Pleasant Garden firefighters will distribute the helmets at no charge during the bike rodeo at Hagan-Stone Park at 5920 Hagan-Stone Park Road in Pleasant Garden, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday, July 23.

For 84 days this summer, six motorcycle riders traveling 22,300 miles across America are visiting cities and law enforcement departments to honor the men and women who’ve given their lives in the line of duty. 

On Friday, July 23, the riders will arrive in Greensboro.

A lot of Greensboro businesses are struggling due to the pandemic. However, thanks to a new program from the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, hard times won’t mean having to give up membership in that organization.

Brand new High Point City Manager Tasha Logan Ford plans to hold a press conference on Thursday, July 22 at 3:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the High Point Municipal Building at 211 S. Hamilton St.  This will be a good chance for local media and residents to get to know the city’s new manager. 

Starting on Thursday, July 22, the High Point Human Relations Commission will host a series of housing security workshops that are meant to “evaluate the feasibility of the City of High Point becoming a Fair Housing Assistance Program.”

at the Board of Commissioners’ Thursday, July 15 meeting was a different one: When is a call center not a call center? The agenda called for the board to approve $1.8 million to hire two companies to run a call center for handling calls regarding COVID-19 vaccinations.  Many people in the meeting room had the same question that night.  The county used to get a great number of calls for vaccination appointments, but now those calls have died down – so, why spend $1.8 million for a call center?

Any time government alters gun laws, it gets a reaction. There’s no doubt that many gun advocates and gun opponents in Guilford County will want to provide input on the Board of Commissioners’ next move in that regard. 

The State of North Carolina is working hard to see that COVID-19 is eradicated from the health facilities and congregate living facilities that it runs.  This week, state health officials reported that, as of July 1, 77 percent of staff at state-operated health care facilities have been fully vaccinated.

You may not be able to make it to Dollywood this summer, but, if you’re a Dolly Parton fan with kids, you won’t want to miss what the High Point Public Library has in store this weekend. On Saturday, July 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the library will host a sign-up event for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library at the High Point Library’s North Main Street location with the group Karen K. and the Jitterbugs performing songs by Dolly and other singers.

Former High Point Economic Development Corp. President Loren Hill knows a lot about economic development, but he knows absolutely nothing about retirement. 

Everything related to education has been a major challenge over the last year and a half, but now, in the summer recess, one education-oriented group is holding a virtual annual conference meant to boost spirits and provide some problem-solving going into the 2021-2022 school year.

Over the last two decades, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners has had some very lively discussions about disparity in county policies and hiring practices – and now the board is set to tackle those issues once again in the July heat.   The afternoon work session will also be used to help the board figure out how to spend millions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief money that’s been coming to the county and will continue to come in the future. The Board of Commissioners has scheduled the work session for Thursday, July 15 at 2:30 p.m. in the Blue Room – a much-used meeting room on the first floor of the Old Guilford County Court House in downtown Greensboro.

If you want to see what’s happened to the former Guilford County Prison Farm – which dropped “Prison” from the name about seven years ago – well, Saturday, July 17 is a good chance to do so.

On Thursday, July 15,  Magnolia Manor Senior Care Solutions, with the help of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, will celebrate the grand opening of Magnolia Manor @ Sedgefield, a new “micro-assisted” senior-living community in Sedgefield.

Even though the masks are off and the COVID-19 numbers are getting much better, Guilford County government is about to approve $1.8 million for private sector companies to operate a vaccine call center on the county’s behalf. 

A few years ago, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and the Greensboro City Council fought like cats and dogs over animal services – which the city pays the county to provide. 

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, and ask not for whom the tax collector comes for either – because the tax collector is coming for you.  Each July, to the chagrin of property owners across the county, the Guilford County Tax Department sends out its bills.  This week, the department is mailing out the 2021 property tax bills. 

Guilford County and the City of Greensboro are ready to extend a very longstanding maintenance and enhancement agreement for the 800 MHz radio system used by both city and county emergency responders.  On Thursday, July 15, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve a new contract meant to help keep the emergency radio system well maintained and up to date.

First-floor office space in downtown Greensboro often comes at a premium, but don’t tell that to Guilford County government which has let nearly one-half of the ground floor of the county’s most central building go unused for about two decades. 

The year 2022 may still seem like it’s a long way off right now, but, already, candidates are eyeing next year’s election and deciding whether or not to run.  Outspoken Oak Ridge Town Council Member George McClellan has been giving that question a lot of thought and it’s clear now that voters living in Guilford County Commissioner District 3 can expect to see his name on the ballot.

Social Security numbers. Bank account numbers.  Dates of birth. Driver’s license numbers. Customers of the Bank of Oak Ridge have had all that information exposed due to a security breach.  Hackers have hit the bank and unknown or undisclosed numbers of customers have had key data stolen. 

People are walking around without masks, and family members are hugging each other again – but that doesn’t mean that the state’s regular COVID-19 updates have come to a halt.  On Thursday, July 8, state health officials, in the form of a coronavirus update, sent a reminder the COVID-19 is still out there.

After the past year and a half, no one should doubt that the local, state and federal governments love them and are working to see them through the end of the pandemic.  The head-spinning number of assistance programs has kept many people above water – and, on Thursday, July 8, Guilford County officials wanted to make sure citizens were aware of a new county program that will help those in dire straits.

Beth David Synagogue, at 804 Winview Dr., has held a book sale for the past 17 years, and, this year, the synagogue will put on the sale from Sunday, August 22  until Tuesday, August 24.  

On Thursday, July 8, Guilford County’s building at 1100 E. Wendover Ave. – used to provide various public health services – was shut down due to a dead body found at a bus stop in front of the building.

If you live in the Deep River area of High Point and you want to get books and other materials from the High Point Library, things are about to get a lot easier for you thanks to some federal grant money the library received. The $22,500 grant is being used for the purchase and installation of electronic lockers at Deep River Recreation Center at 1525 Skeet Club Road.  Those boxes will be used to serve library customers in the northeastern section of High Point.  That part of the city is growing rapidly and library officials want to make sure the city’s library services keep pace.

It looks like it takes more than a very outside chance at a cool million to lure many people in the state into getting vaccinated for COVID-19.  According to information from state health officials, as of Tuesday, July 6, 43 percent of the state’s total population had been fully vaccinated, and 53 percent of those 18 and over had been. 

In all the excitement when the Guilford County Board of Commissioners adopted a $600-plus million budget a few weeks ago, virtually no one noticed a round of last-minute additions of community organizations that – though you almost certainly didn’t know it – will now get some of your county tax dollars this year. These allocations were nowhere to be found in the budget Guilford County Manager Mike Halford’s recommended in May.

If you live in one of Guilford County’s towns and cities and you don’t pay your property taxes – well, the people coming to collect that money from you will be the same familiar faces for another three years.  The Guilford County Tax Department has reached an agreement with the county’s municipalities that call for the department to collect property taxes for them, and, in return, the county gets to keep a slice of the pie.

In High Point, former Economic Development Corp. President Loren Hill stepped down at the end of 2020, and city leaders have been finding new leadership to head up those efforts. On Tuesday, July 6, Hill’s replacement – High Point Economic Development Director Sandy Dunbeck – announced another piece of that leadership puzzle was in place:  Sarah Stevenson, from High Point’s Office of Communication and Public Engagement, has now joined the economic development team as the economic development manager for the city. 

Piedmont Triad Airport Authority – a seven-member board that oversees the airport’s operations – has decided to go back to in-person meetings.

Guilford County Schools got approval from county voters for $300 million in bond money in November 2020 and the Board of Commissioners just funded the schools for the 2021-2022 fiscal year with a record increase.  However, already, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston and several other commissioners are talking about the need to put a $1.6 billion school bond referendum on the ballot next year.

The Town of Oak Ridge North Carolina just expanded.  The Town Council recently approved the voluntary annexation of 62 properties whose owners had requested that their land and homes become part of the town.

If you ever suspect that economic development incentives are a present for a company that’s already decided to come to an area, rather than a carrot to entice them to come – well, here’s some new evidence to back you up on that.

While some teenagers have been spending their time away from school by playing Fortnite and hitting the swimming pool, one group of dedicated area youth have been learning about the ins and outs of law enforcement by attending the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office Youth Academy.

If you’ve thought about running for office for a while and you feel like you’re ready to toss your hat in the ring, then Guilford County’s Thursday, July 1 announcement should be of great interest to you.

The candidate filing period for eligible municipal elections begins Friday, July 2 at high noon.  Those eligible elections do not include the Greensboro City Council elections which have been delayed until March 2022.

On Sunday, July 4th, after about a year and four months of a pandemic, High Point is putting on its traditional celebration – a day with music, fireworks and more.

NCCARE360, a statewide coordinated care network connecting people to local services and resources, announced this week that NCServes – North Carolina’s network of public, private and non­profit organizations helping military families – is merging resources with NCCARE360 this summer.

On Thursday, July 1, Guilford County gave public notice of several upcoming lease contracts the county intends to enter into or renew in the near future.  The Guilford County Board of Commissioners expects to authorize the one-year leases at its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 5.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners passed a 2021-2022 budget in June and now the board is going into the summer doldrums of Guilford County government – where typically the board doesn’t do much meaningful work until late summer. 

The Guilford County Planning Board will hold a meeting with a quasi-judicial evidentiary hearing on Thursday, July 15 at 6 p.m. to consider a Special Use Permit to operate a special events venue on the west side of North Church Street. 

This is the 14th annual Fireworks Extravaganza at the park, which is at 3441 Northeast Park Dr. in Gibsonville. The fireworks are scheduled to start at about 9:30 p.m.