Author: Scott D. Yost

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, former High Point City Councilmember Jason Ewing threw his hat – and the rest of himself too – into the District 6 Guilford County Board of Commissioners race to vie for the seat that’s now held by Republican Commissioner Hank Henning.

Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston, fresh off the success of helping get a $15-an-hour minimum wage for school bus drivers and other county employees, is now calling for a $1 billion school bond referendum to be placed on the ballot for the 2020 election.

Summerfield recently held a Town Council meeting to swear in a new mayor – former Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes – and that meeting was meant to be the start of a new era of peace and tranquility in the small town north of Greensboro that’s been fighting like cats and dogs for over three years.

Guilford County Commissioner Alan Branson said on Wednesday, Dec. 11 that he planned to file to run again for the District 4 commissioners seat he now holds – and on Thursday, Dec. 12, he made good on that promise.

Two well-known Greensboro citizens reportedly are planning to enter Guilford County Commissioner races according to two commissioners who aren’t running again in 2020.

In a move that could have dramatic implications for Guilford County government for years to come, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Jeff Phillips and Commissioner Hank Henning have decided not to file to run again for the seats they hold on that board.

Everyone expects to see deals on electronics and appliances at this time of year – but you might not expect to see a get-it-while-you-can deal on swimming passes for Guilford County aquatic centers – better known as pools.

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) and Triad Local First announced that they’ll be offering free trolley rides through the heart of the city’s downtown on Saturday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 21.

It’s the time of year when people are extra nice and are often donating their time and money for good causes – so it should come as no surprise that volunteers in High Point plan to transform two older basketball courts at Southside Recreation Center, at 401 Taylor Avenue in High Point, into new multi-sport courts for the enjoyment of the kids in the surrounding community.

North Elm Street in Greensboro will be smokin’ on Wednesday, Dec. 11.Starting at 4 p.m., and lasting well into the evening, the new Smohk’d restaurant will be holding its official ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony followed by what the promoters are promising to be “a huge party.”

The International Civil Rights Center & Museum (ICRCM) is closing out 2019 with a bang.On Saturday, Dec. 14, the museum in downtown Greensboro will host a poetry reading and book signing with Jacinta V. White, the author of “Resurrecting the Bones,” a book of poems. That will start at 2:30 p.m. with a poetry reading.

Cone Health has applied to the State of North Carolina to make a planned new medical center in Greensboro even larger.Cone’s new request to the state includes permission for a $7.5-million outpatient medical oncology and rehabilitation services addition to a satellite emergency department campus now under construction in Greensboro.

If you want to steal a car, you should probably steal an inconspicuous one.  However that bit of knowledge was apparently lost on a thief or thieves who, on Saturday, Dec. 7, stole an ambulance from Wesley Long Hospital in Greensboro.

For many in High Point this year, the high point of December will be what happens on Saturday, Dec. 7, when the season of love and happiness transforms that city’s downtown – or, really its “uptowne” – into a magical winter wonderland.

Guilford County government has decided to stop worrying about a lawsuit from the Greensboro News & Record and three other area newspapers and finally move forward with the next phases of a plan to implement a new method of public notice – posting electronic notices on the county’s website – for a wide variety of legally required announcements.

There was some good news for the local economy on Thursday, Dec. 5, just in time for Christmas: NC Secretary of Commerce Tony Copeland, speaking at the O. Henry Hotel in Greensboro on behalf of NC Gov. Roy Cooper, announced that Sunlight Batteries – a Greek battery maker – will open a manufacturing plant in east Greensboro, an area of the city where people have been asking for new jobs and more economic development for a long time.

It’s official. Guilford County Commissioner Jeff Phillips once again has “Chairman” in front of his name. The Board of Commissioners gave Phillips that honor on a unanimous vote of 8-to-0 at the board’s Thursday, Dec. 5 meeting. The board also made Commissioner Alan Perdue vice chairman on a 7-to-1 vote.

On Thursday, Dec. 5, the county commissioners meeting room in the Old Guilford County Court House was decked out for Christmas – and there was plenty of Christmas cheer to go around after the board unanimously approved spending $800,000 in county funds to raise the pay of school bus drivers.

This week, Republican Michelle Bardsley filed to run for the District 5 Board of Education seat that if she wins would allow her a good deal of say in how area public schools are run. The District 5 seat is currently held by Democrat Darlene Garrett.

State health leaders and others are getting together for a summit to address infant mortality in North Carolina.

The J. H. Adams Inn in High Point has had a lot of special guests over the years, but, on Saturday, Dec. 7, the hotel will have an extra-special guest: The one and only Santa Claus, who, as one can imagine, is immensely busy this time of year.

In what may be the shortest candidacy in Guilford County history, High Point University faculty member Joe Blosser, who filed to run as a Democrat in the Guilford County Board of Commissioners District 6 race, is no longer a candidate due to a little known election law that he and many others weren’t aware of.

Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen must enjoy the job.

The 2020 Guilford County District 4 commissioners race got some life on Monday, Dec. 2, when former Democratic Guilford County Commissioner Kirk Perkins filed to regain the seat he lost in 2012. 

Mental Health issues and depression often come to the forefront during the holiday season, but now a surprise player, Facebook, is helping out with that cause, and one local non-profit – Mental Health Greensboro – is hoping that Facebook’s sudden generosity will spur local citizens to give money to combat mental health problems in Guilford County. 

On Monday, Dec. 2, Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston filed to run for the District 8 commissioners seat he now holds. He said he wants to serve another four years to continue helping the constituents that he’s already served for over two decades.

Guilford County has received the results of its audit for the 2018-2019 fiscal year that closed out on June 30, and the auditors have found no major problems with the county’s operations or finances.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners is holding a closed session at the end of the board’s Thursday, Dec. 5 meeting, “For the purpose of consulting with the county attorney and to consider certain personnel matters regarding the board’s direct reports.”

The board has released its meeting calendar for 2020 – a calendar that includes a two-day retreat on Monday, Feb. 24 and Tuesday, Feb. 25, only one meeting in January and one in July, and a special meeting on Monday morning, Dec. 7 to swear in local elected officials who win in the November 2020 election.

A new afternoon locally based and highly interactive television talk show is coming to the airways of Guilford County and the surrounding counties.   The show, which premieres on Monday, Dec. 2 on WFMY, will be hosted by popular local weatherman Eric Chilton.

It wasn’t quite Stephen F. Austin University beating number one Duke, but on Saturday, Nov. 30, the UNC-Greensboro Spartans basketball team pulled off a big upset by going into the home arena of the Georgetown Hoyas and handing the storied Big East program a 66-61 loss.

There’s nothing quite like a relaxing day at the pool or enjoying a round of golf, but, starting on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020, those and some other activities at Guilford County parks will cost a little more.

Guilford County voters have completely lost their sense of humor.At least, that appears to be the case based on the near total lack of humor those voters displayed when given the opportunity to write in votes in races in the Tuesday, Nov. 5 election.

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, the Guilford County Planning Board will consider several rezoning requests as well as a “special use permit” request that would mean changes for four properties in the county. The board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Blue Room of the Old Guilford County Court House in downtown Greensboro.

The Civil Rights Museum is holding a special Thanksgiving program on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 3 p.m. called “A Civil-Rights Thanksgiving— American Constitutional Resurrection (and the Unrepentant Redeemed).” According to promotional literature for the event, it will help people “more fully understand who we are and why we might be able to enjoy a grateful day of reflections.”

The results are now in from the Tuesday, Nov. 5 election in Guilford County, but the results of the county’s Thursday, Nov. 21 election aren’t yet known – and, in fact, it’s likely that those results will never ever be released by the Guilford County Board of Elections.

Cold weather brings happy thoughts of the holiday season to many, but for some – those who may not be able to afford to keep the heat on – it can be a scary time of year.

Summerfield Mayor-to-be BJ Barnes hasn’t even been sworn in yet, but he already has his plan for getting Summerfield Town Council meetings under control. 

There’s a saying, “There’s no harm in asking,” and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners seems to adhere to that belief because the commissioners have collectively decided to ask the State of North Carolina to give Guilford County $2 million since the state forced the county to spend that amount on new voting machines.

Say Yes Guilford is taking steps to raise its public profile and let citizens know that the organization is back on its feet.

Guilford County Commissioner Jeff Phillips will serve as the chairman of the Board of Commissioners for 2020 according to several sources on that board. The board will elect its next chairman at the first meeting in December and Phillips will serve for the following 12 months in that role – during what, by all accounts, will be a critical year for Guilford County government and one in which the county will face a great many of challenges.

Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston is calling for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to give nearly $6 million of county money to Guilford County Schools in the middle of the budget year in order to raise school bus driver pay, address other salary concerns and fund more repairs in the schools.

Normally, if an airline makes a splash with an aircraft, that’s a very bad thing.However, on Friday, Nov. 22, United Airlines did its best to make a big, positive public relations splash at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA). At the event, the airline debuted the “first-of-its-kind” CRJ-550 Aircraft and conducted tours of the plane that will now serve the PTIA/Chicago route.

At a Thursday, Nov. 21 work session, Guilford County Board of Elections Director Charlie Collicutt put on a demonstration of new voting machines that county voters will be using in 2020. At a second meeting, held right after the demonstration, the Board of Commissioners voted to purchase the new machines for roughly $2.2 million.

Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) has been recognized by the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) with a first-place award for the best Overall Marketing Program in 2019 for small airports in North America. The council is a prominent airport industry advocacy and trade organization.

High Point University faculty member Joe Blosser, a Democrat, has announced that he is running for the seat now held by Republican Guilford County Commissioner Hank Henning.

The High Point Public Library at 901 N. Main St. will host an event with the hip name of “Holiday Stroll @ the Library” from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The stroll will include festivities inside and outside the library, and all that fun will be followed by a tree-lighting ceremony from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The Guilford County Board of Elections has called an “emergency meeting” for Wednesday, Nov. 20, to conduct a second recount for the High Point City Council Ward 6 race. The current results stand at a six-vote difference – 838 to 832 – with candidate Michael Holmes in the lead over current Ward 6 Councilmember Jason Ewing.

While the price of some colleges is skyrocketing, the Guilford County Citizens’ Academy is still providing an in-depth course in county government for the low, low price of zero dollars and zero cents.