Author: Scott D. Yost

One of the hardest jobs in the world is Human Resources director and one of the absolutely very hardest jobs is Human Resources director for Guilford County government, where, among other things, your job is to settle disputes between the roughly 3,000 county employees.

A dental building donated to Guilford County a decade and a half ago by a husband and wife owned dental practice is having a more positive impact each year as the county uses it to provide dental services to kids whose families otherwise might not be able to afford those services.

Those who follow Guilford County politics remember what a long, drawn out, contentious, convoluted dispute Guilford County had for years and years with Alamance County over the border between the two counties. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is providing Guilford County with a $150,000 grant to enhance women’s health, which fits in well with the county’s current priority of providing more support to women before and after giving birth. 

Every city and town in Guilford County gets a portion of the sales tax revenue collected within the county each year except for one – Stokesdale – and, despite a recent push to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to see that change, the town isn’t going to get any of that money this year either…

Guilford County Commissioner Pat Tillman had an interesting question at a recent work session of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners where the board was discussing several important Sheriff’s Department issues, such as officer pay and the…

he High Point Library has two new events coming up later this month that should prove very popular – a book discussion for the mind and, a few days later, a health discussion for the heart…

If you are walking or driving around Greensboro and see someone who looks like a giant ant, or like someone who just got off the slopes at Aspen but forgot his or her skis, don’t worry – everything’s OK.  It’s just that,

Usually when people think of dogs and the Super Bowl, they think of the Puppy Bowl Halftime Show that has run on different channels during halftime of the big game.

On Monday, Feb. 12 at 11 a.m., High Point University President Nido Qubein will have a couple of important announcements – one involving a very generous financial gift to the school and another, not coincidently, the name of the university’s new School of Entrepreneurship.

In recent years, Guilford County government has run through security directors like Taylor Swift used to run through boyfriends – and, now that Taylor seems to be on stable romantic footing for once – Guilford County is hoping that its new security director will turn out to be a keeper as well.

Guilford County is just days away from plunging the county into a new level of debt thanks to the sale of the remaining portion of the $300 million in school bonds approved by voters in a November 2020 referendum.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has been talking about establishing a safe secure place where pregnant women and women with young kids could recover from substance abuse and, when the board met on Thursday, Feb. 1, the commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with the creation of a Women With Children Recovery Center at Gibson Park in High Point.

It should come as no surprise that during Black History Month there are a lot of events happening that explore black history. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced on Tuesday, Feb. 6, the launch of a new Child Behavioral Health dashboard that’s meant to make it easier for the department, state behavioral health providers, policymakers and others to “identify and address gaps and disparities in behavioral health services for children.”

There’s a reason a street in downtown Greensboro has the interesting name “February One Place” – and it’s because that was the date of the start of the Sit-in Movement at the Greensboro Woolworth’s lunch counter that  ran from February 1, 1960, until July 5 of that year and sparked a widespread civil rights movement.

 On Friday, Jan. 26, callers were dismayed to realize that many, many calls to numbers in Guilford County government weren’t working and residents who needed help from places like social services or the Guilford County Tax Department couldn’t get through.

Most people spend time reading their iPhones and iPads these days.

In early March of 2023, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners took the unprecedented step – after a long closed session – of voting unanimously to terminate a $24 million construction contract with Samet Corp. to demolish the old Guilford County jail and nearby Otto Zenke Building in downtown Greensboro, and build a new Sheriff’s Department headquarters and adjoining parking lot.

Julie Smith, Guilford County government’s public relations manager, isn’t thought to be in danger.

Guilford County government has spent a ton of money over the last few years and plans on borrowing a lot more to spend in the future.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners have been very, very good to county employees over the last two years – improving existing benefits, adding new ones, allowing for more time off and less restrictive work conditions – and reimplementing retirement benefits that were done away with years ago to cut costs.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has been talking about demolishing the Old Guilford County Jail In Downtown Greensboro for well over a decade and, this month, it’s finally going to happen. 

Nearly a year after the first attempt to build a new Guilford County Sheriff’s Department headquarters came to a screeching halt, the county is back on track with the project. 

There always seems to be a lot of good news coming out of High Point University (HPU), where the students are known for being treated very well by the school – and also known for the way they give back to the surrounding community.

Guilford County Schools gets funding from Guilford County government, as well as the state and federal governments along with various grant money.

If you’re driving by Greensboro’s Apple Store on the morning of Friday, Feb. 2, don’t be surprised if you see a long line of people waiting outside. 

Guilford County government has just posted notice that it has begun seeking requests for funding from community non-profits and economic development organizations.  

On Tuesday morning, Jan. 23, Guilford County Sheriff’s deputies responded to gunshots heard on Glenville Drive in Whitsett and found a 70-year-old woman had been shot.

These days, there is way too much tragic news of shootings coming out of Greensboro and High Point, but there’s also been an unfortunate amount of gun violence taking place outside of Guilford County’s two largest cities.

Everyone knows what happens to the best laid plans of women and men, but that hasn’t stopped the City of High Point from putting together a highly ambitious plan that’s meant to guide the city’s development for the next two decades.

Recently many people trying to phone Guilford County government have been unable to connect.

It’s not fun to get tased by a Guilford County Sheriff’s Department officer.

For several years, Guilford County Emergency Services has been helping the City of Burlington get that city’s Emergency Services Department (EMS) up and running and has provided help while that’s taken place. 

Two well-known Guilford County residents are going to be honored by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners at the board’s Thursday, Feb. 1 meeting after being chosen to receive the state’s Dogwood Award – an honor that’s presented “to citizens working to improve the health, safety and well-being of their fellow North Carolinians.”

For about a year, a lot of economists and financial experts have been predicting a recession.

High Point University is inviting all members of the community to its campus for a slew of free cultural events that will be taking place this winter and spring with a variety of art, music, theater performances and more – along with a good number of distinguished speakers who’ll visit the campus.

There seems to be a lot of development in Guilford County and a pretty healthy real estate market buzzing right now.

The global COVID-19 pandemic is over and most of the people who caught it during the first wave recovered long ago.

The High Point Rockers announced this week that manager Jamie Keefe and his staff will return for the 2024 season.

Guilford County government is waging an ongoing battle against substance abuse and homelessness, and, to that end, county officials announced on Thursday, Jan. 25 that it’s seeking a firm to renovate a county-owned former nursing home that county leaders want to turn into a residential recovery center in Greensboro.

The City of High Point and Keep High Point Beautiful are hosting the seventh annual Winter Wipeout litter cleanup campaign, which once again this year will focus on cleaning up litter from the city’s roadways, intersections and other high-traffic areas.

In an era where funding Guilford County Schools’ operations and school debt takes just nearly half of the Guilford County budget each year, and the school system has about $2 billion dollars in voter-approved bond money on tap for construction and repairs, it’s easy to forget that, when you go into a convenience store and buy a lottery ticket, you’re funding yet another revenue stream that’s being used to help out the county’s schools.

The Guilford County Animal Resource Center – the fancy name for what everyone calls the animal shelter – took in 7,502 animals in fiscal year 2022-2023, which ran from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 and is the last fiscal year with complete data. 

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is proposing to increase safety at the railroad crossing of the North Carolina Railroad/Norfolk Southern Railway line at Hilltop Road in Greensboro by building a bridge over the tracks for use by drivers, bikers and pedestrians.

The purpose of the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department is to protect and serve the people of Guilford County and make sure that laws are upheld.

There are over 3,100 counties in the United States of America, but only a small portion of them have a AAA bond rating from all three major rating agencies – Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings.

The Good Book says ask and you shall receive, and, while it doesn’t always work like that with local government, sometimes it does work and sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease. 

North Carolina hasn’t been offering the option for expanded Medicaid long, but state health officials stated on Monday, Jan. 22, that they are already seeing a big influx of users taking advantage of the option, especially young adults and those who live in rural communities.

You might not be able to fight city hall, but you certainly can offer your input on major county projects.