The North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction is seeking information on the whereabouts of the following individuals:

• Bobby Keith Jessup, Jr., 42, a white male wanted on a post-release warrant who is on supervision for felony possession of methamphetamine and use/possession of drug paraphernalia;

• Abraham Gilbert Burns, 41, a white male wanted on a post-release warrant who is on supervision for felony assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, two counts of felony larceny of a motor vehicle, felony speeding to elude arrest, two counts of resisting arrest and reckless driving;

• Janie Lennette Waller, 40, a black female wanted on probation violations who is on probation for larceny, possession of schedule II and VI controlled substances and use/possession of drug paraphernalia;

• Tommy Darnell Heath, 57, a white male wanted on probation violations who is on probation for seven counts of felony breaking and entering motor vehicles.

View all probation absconders on the internet at http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/opi and click on absconders. Anyone with information on any probation absconders should contact Crime Stoppers at 786-4000, county probation at 719-2705, or the Mount Airy Police Department at 786-3535.

Gardening changes with the season

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The late Betty Lynn was known to millions of “The Andy Griffith Show” fans as the long-suffering, sweet-hearted girlfriend of Deputy Barney Fife.

Over the decades since the show left the air, many of those fans got the chance to meet her — Lynn was a frequent guest at Mayberry-themed festivals and fairs around the country and a regular visitor to Mount Airy’s Mayberry Days. After moving to Mount Airy in 2007, she became a fixture in Andy Griffith’s hometown, not only attending Mayberry Days each year but later making regular appearances at The Andy Griffith Museum to meet with fans and sign autographs.

Lynn, who passed away Oct. 16, was a favorite among the show’s fans, because she cared about them and showed it — often spending time chatting with them, getting to know them, even recalling them in chance meetings years later.

Her fans will soon have the opportunity to get to know her better, to learn about her childhood, her early career, her Mayberry years, and what she was doing in the years after “The Andy Griffith Show,” with the publication of her autobiography, “Becoming Thelma Lou: My Journey to Hollywood, Mayberry, and Beyond.”

The hardback book, coming in at more than 300 pages, will officially be released Aug. 29 — which would have been her 96th birthday. The Surry Arts Council will be observing the day with a book release event at The Andy Griffith Museum.

“We will be having drawings for Betty Lynn memorabilia ranging from a purse, hat, jewelry, sunglasses, and other treasures from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.,” said Tanya Jones, executive director of the Surry Arts Council. Jones. A close friend of Lynn’s who wrote the Forward in the book, Jones said copies of the book will be on sale beginning that day. “The first 50 books sold will include a bookmark autographed by Betty,” she said. The museum will be selling the books at $40 each.

While Betty died last autumn, two men who helped her compile and write the book — Jim Clark of Nashville, Tennessee, and Tim McAbee, of Sevierville, Tennessee — recently said they believe her fans will enjoy the work.

“I think people in Mount Airy especially will like it,” Clark said. A writer and co-founder of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watcher’s Club, Clark has been a life-long fan of the show and grew to know Lynn well over the years. “The book has got a lot about Mount Airy toward the end, when she moved to Mount Airy. She loved living there, she has so many nice things to say about the people of Mount Airy.”

McAbee, a concert and event promoter who has been involved in organizing many of “The Andy Griffith Show” cast reunions over the years, said he believes fans will come away from the book with a greater appreciation for the vast career Lynn had apart from “The Andy Griffith Show.”

“I think being in the USO, and some of the conditions she traveled in and performed in, as a young lady right out of high school,” are among the revelations in the book he said stands out in his memory. “She was in the China-Burma-Indian theater (during World War 2). Even though she wasn’t on the front lines, the travel was terrible, being the lone female, she was in tough conditions. I never really gave that much thought until I heard her describe that.”

That period of her life, just after she turned 18, was a sometimes-harrowing experience. She and some of her USO colleagues traveled into remote areas to entertain and visit with soldiers in hospitals. That often meant sleeping on torn, filthy mattresses on floors, traversing rugged countryside, and dodging Japanese soldier encampments to get to the remote soldier hospitals.

Another part of her story that stands out for McAbee is the expansive career she had prior to landing the role of Thelma Lou.

“It’s amazing the career she had during the Golden Years of Hollywood, the people she worked with, the films she was in, long before ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’ I think that will surprise a lot of readers, all the things she did.”

McAbee said he first met Lynn while attending the Jan. 19, 2000 ceremony unveiling the Hollywood Walk of Fame star dedicated to Don Knotts.

“That’s where I really started to get to know her,” he said. He invited her to several of the Mayberry cast reunions he was producing at Pigeon Forge, and over time he was struck with the stories of her career and her experience in the entertainment industry.

“It was the downtime during those shows we got to hang out and I really got to know her. On my part, that was the impetus for the book. I encouraged her to share some of those stories, some of her memories.”

Once she gave her approval for the idea, McAbee said he began recording many of those talks, and the two of them turned to Clark to help, because of his writing and publishing background.

“Betty and I both just admire him so much, his knowledge involving the show…he was the first person we brought on board to help us with the book.”

From there, it was a matter of sporadic meetings with Lynn, recording her memories for the nearly two-decade long project.

Clark, whose friendship with Lynn dates to when he met her while she was involved with the 1986 Return To Mayberry movie, acknowledged that was a long time for a single book to be under production.

“It was very much a Mayberry pace,” he said with a laugh. “We took our time with it. She was busy doing other things, we were busy, we just kind of worked it in when we could. There was a lot of ebb and flow to our process.”

There were periods, he said, when she was less interested, and interviews would stop for while. McAbee said the 2006 death of Don Knotts affected her deeply, halting work on the project for a couple of years. Still, they always returned to doing interviews and transcribing the recordings.

Then, in 2020, he said Lynn told them the time for compiling information was over, so the writing began in earnest.

“It was pretty much done before it was started,” Clark said of the writing process. “Betty has such a great memory for details about her life…she is such a great storyteller….we didn’t change much of anything other than organizing and doing the things you need to do when you change from spoken word to written word. It really is her telling her story.”

“The process went right up until she passed,” McAbee said.

As Clark was writing and organizing, any loose ends or questions that came up they were able to get Mount Airy resident and photographer Hobart Jones to slip over to see her, with a recorder in hand, to ask her a few questions, allowing Clark to finish the manuscript before she died.

“Fortunately, we got it all written and she got a chance to look at the manuscript and approve before she passed away in October,” Clark said.

While she didn’t see the final product, Clark said the cover photo is one that Lynn often said was among her favorites. All totaled, the book spanning her life includes 140 pictures — some from her childhood, others from her USO services and pre-Andy Griffith career, and many others taken by Hobart Jones and others in more recent years.

“We view the book as one final gift from her to her fans,” Clark said. “I hope people enjoy it, maybe learn some things they didn’t know, see some things they hadn’t seen.”

“Becoming Thelma Lou: My Journey to Hollywood, Mayberry, and Beyond“ will remain on sale at The Andy Griffith Museum after the Aug. 29 launch party. It will also be available, in both hardback and soft cover editions, at Weaver’s Department Store (https://www.weaversdepartmentstore.com/index.php) and at other retailers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, and others.

It’s always special when former classmates who shared a unique period in history get together, and an upcoming reunion of J.J. Jones High School graduates in Mount Airy will have added significance.

This will include a number of activities centered around the auditorium of the former all-black campus on Sept. 2, including the official unveiling of a plaque commemorating the site’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places last year.

The Jones alumni normally would have held a reunion in 2021 as part of an every-other-year meeting schedule, but that gathering was cancelled due to lingering issues with the coronavirus.

So the historic commemoration is planned for Sept. 2 to kick off a weekend of reunion activities for those who attended J.J. Jones. The school served African-American students in this area from 1936 to 1966, when it closed due to integration.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing with getting on the National Register,” said Edward McDaniels, a local resident who graduated from J.J. Jones High and serves on a reunion committee.

In honor of that occasion, Sept. 2 will be Family and Community Day on the grounds, according to J J Jones High School Alumni President Nancy Bowman Williams (Class of 1965).

The alumni group owns the auditorium, with other parts of the former campus long held by the Surry County government and leased to an agency operating a resource center that includes various agencies

Reunion organizers say the public at large is invited to Family and Community Day, which will give everyone the chance to celebrate the National Register status and the J.J. Jones heritage overall.

“This is for the community,” said McDaniels, who believes it is important for youth to be involved.

Old pictures and other mementos typically are displayed during each reunion, which once again also will include the wrapping of a maypole with colorful ribbons.

“That was a traditional activity at the school every year,” Williams explained.

While no specific times for the Sept. 2 slate of activities could be obtained from reunion planners Wednesday, these are expected to get under way around mid- to late afternoon and continue through the early evening.

The gathering also will include a fish fry at a cost of $12 per person.

Planners also are excited about the possible attendance on Sept. 2 of the oldest-living graduate of J.J. Jones High School, Sadie George, a member of its inaugural commencement Class of 1941.

George still lives in Mount Airy and is believed to be around 100 years old.

“She is the last one of them,” McDaniels said of that pioneering group of grads.

“We’re hoping that she can be there for the unveiling of the plaque,” Williams said of George.

Up to 150 former Jones students are expected to be present for the reunion weekend as a whole.

A dangerous building in Mount Airy that’s attracted much attention from city officials in recent months is now in the hands of a local business with some definite plans for the property.

“Bobby Koehler has purchased the Koozies building with the intention of taking it down,” Mayor Ron Niland said Wednesday of the latest development involving the controversial structure at 455 Franklin St., calling this “a major update.”

The disclosure of its acquisition is coming less than three weeks after the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners voted to seek proposals from contractors to tear down the structure. It is in violation of city building codes and considered a major public safety threat due to fears it might collapse in the street.

In February, the commissioners had voted to give the then-owner of the building, National Decon Holdings in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, 90 days to either repair the structure or have it razed. The company took no action to remedy the situation, based on information presented at the Aug. 4 meeting when the demolition directive was issued.

But the purchase by Koehler — the owner of Ultimate Towing and Recovery in Mount Airy, which is part of J&E Properties of North Carolina based on Park Drive, the official buyer of the Koozies building — has injected a new wrinkle.

“It’s going to change everything,” Mayor Niland said, “where we are and what goes forward.”

This is coinciding with Koehler’s acquisition of a site that formerly was a Quality Mills facility and in more recent years housed a private nightclub known as Koozies. “He just bought the property this week,” Niland added Wednesday.

In more recent years, the structure fell into major disrepair and since last fall had been the site of two fires linked to occupation by homeless persons.

Its purchase by Koehler means the Koozies building’s days are numbered.

“He’s already got a permit to take it down,” said Niland, who didn’t know when the demolition will commence.

The mayor believes the forceful position taken by city officials prompted National Decon Holdings to facilitate the sale of the Franklin Street property. “I think they finally saw the light.”

City Manager Stan Farmer agreed.

“The council deserves credit for taking the action in February,” he said Wednesday.

Niland said the fact the site is now in local hands also represents a good situation in light of plans by Koehler to raze the building “and turn it into something productive for the city.”

What that might be was unclear Wednesday.

“I don’t know that he has any plans yet,” the mayor said of Koehler’s vision for the open land to be left behind.

Koehler could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The mayor also said he did not know the purchase price for the property.

However, county tax records indicate that this sum is $54,000. The total taxable value of the property is listed as $115,520. This apparent bargain is misleading given the fact that the “privilege” of owning it comes with the expected hefty price tag of the tear-down.

Koehler previously bought another nearby building deemed unfit for occupancy, the old Mittman Paint and Body Shop at 109 S. South St. It was one of three included in the city’s 90-day ultimatum in February, along with the Koozies site and what is referred to in municipal documents as the “red building” at 600 W. Pine St. beside Worth Honda.

The Ultimate Towing and Recovery owner submitted the highest bid of $38,000 for the Mittman property during a public auction on April 1.

That building has remained standing since, with plans reportedly in the works by the new owner to mitigate that situation.

One member has left the Mount Airy Library Board and been replaced by another, with a third person reappointed to that group.

The terms of both Emily Loftis and Mike Marion expired earlier this summer, with Loftis expressing interest in serving another with that board. It is a city advisory group that oversees the operation of the local public library that is part of a regional system.

Marion, meanwhile, elected not to seek reappointment although he was eligible to do so.

Loftis was reappointed to another three-year term during a meeting last Thursday night of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners, which approves members for the Library Board and other city advisory groups. It will expire on June 30, 2025.

David Crawford was named to replace Marion and appointed for a three-year term to run during the same period.

Crawford has been active with the Friends of the Mount Airy Public Library support organization, including volunteering his time to assist with used-book sales it holds during the year to fund library needs.

Mount Airy moved to 3-0 on the season with a 6-0 win over North Surry.

The shutout is Mount Airy’s first of the year after posting wins of 6-1 and 4-2 during the first week of the season. The nonconference match is North Surry’s second of the season, with the Hounds previously defeating West Stokes 2-0.

“North Surry soccer is kind of rebuilding right now,” said Greyhound coach Kevin Shore. “We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, just not a lot of juniors and seniors. We’re still getting our chemistry together, and definitely have some things to figure out, but I know we’ll get it all together as the season progresses.”

The Greyhounds started six freshman against the veteran Granite Bears, who have 10 seniors and are coming off a 26-1 season. Though, Mount Airy isn’t immune to growing pains of their own.

“We were in way too big a hurry tonight,” said Bears coach Will Hurley. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that we were possessing the ball as much as we were, but we have got to slow down and play our game when we get close to their goal.”

Mount Airy attempted 37 total shots during Tuesday’s match. However, the Bears only scored two goals in the opening 40 minutes and both came in the first 10 minutes of play.

This was partly due to Greyhound keeper Josh Garcia, who came away with north of 15 saves in the game.

“Without Josh back there, we may’ve been scored on eight or nine times in the first half,” Shore said. “He played a heck of a game tonight. He really did.”

While some of the shots that weren’t scored were blocked by Garcia, whose efforts Hurley called, “exceptional,” most of Mount Airy’s first-half shots were off frame.

“I’m happy with how we’re playing, I’m just not thrilled with how we’re finishing,” Hurley said.

In the season opener against West Stokes, Shore said North Surry did well to control possession while winning most of the 50-50 balls. Goals from Jimmy Burnette and Edgar Vasquez lifted the Hounds to victory in that match.

Against Mount Airy, the possession split was closer to 75-25 in favor of the Bears. North did well to keep Mount Airy, a team that scored 156 goals in 2021, from running up the score early, but could only hold on so long.

“We weathered the storm for a pretty long time,” Shore said. “Our kids didn’t do bad at all, they were just up against a really talented veteran team. Those early goals, for instance, were just good plays on the ball. It’s one of those things where we just have to just acknowledge they made a good play and move on.

“It is humbling to play a game like this early on and find out you aren’t as good as you think you are. We’ve got some personalities we’re going to manage, and we’re going to take this chance to grow as a team.”

Mount Airy’s Gavin Guerrero scored two goals within the first 10 minutes of the match. He netted the first by curving a corner kick past the keeper, then scored the second on an assist from Elkin Lopez.

North Surry then held Mount Airy scoreless for the remainder of the first half. The Hounds tried different combinations of lineups as they tried to find the best options for different scenarios, but one cornerstone of the defense was Hector Hernandez – one of the team’s only seniors.

“Hector will help fill the gap left by Jair,” Shore said of 2022 Greyhound graduate Jair Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a four-year member of the varsity soccer team, spending his last few years on defense, that is continuing his soccer career at the collegiate level.

“Hector is only going to get better as the season progresses. He’s got great anticipation, great footwork and a great presence for not being the biggest guy on the field. It’s going to take us a few games to get our feet under us, but he’s one of those returning guys that’s going to help us a lot.”

As efficient as the Hounds’ defense was throughout the latter part of the first half, fatigue set in during the second. Guerrero took advantage and scored his third goal in the 48th minute. Then, the floodgates opened.

Mount Airy’s experienced midfield kept pressure on North’s defense for most of the second half. Hurley applauded midfielders Saeed Saavedra and Vicente Gomez for their play in the game, calling them, “phenomenal.”

The Bears’ accuracy improved for the second half. Of 11 shots in the half: five were saved, four were scored on only two were off target.

“We’re getting there, I may just be impatient. I’m not sure,” Hurley said. “We’re trying different things and attempting to break some bad habits. The quicker we can, the better off we will be in the long run.”

Breaking some of those habits is something Hurley would like to see progress with over the next three games, which will be a trio of rematches from the Bears first three games of the year.

“This time around I would love to see us have better finishing early on,” he said. “I’d just like to see us possess the ball and slow it down in front of the goal. We don’t have to hurry up, panic and kick it over.”

For North Surry, Shore said cohesion and respect are the team’s two biggest focal points moving forward through nonconference play.

“Our leadership needs to work within the team,” Shore said. “It’s almost difficult to put into words, but I need players to be players and coaches to be coaches. I get that having that many freshman join upperclassmen isn’t easy, but that’s just going to take time to adjust to.

“Our goal this year is to be able to compete in every match, and we’re not quite where we want to be just yet.”

Goals: Gavin Guerrero (MA) from Elkin Lopez assist 2’, Gavin Guerrero (MA) from Elkin Lopez assist 9’ | Gavin Guerrero (MA) from Adrian Rodriguez assist 48’, Vicente Gomez 56’, Elkin Lopez from Brayden James assist 74’, Elkin Lopez 76’

• A Mount Airy man has been arrested as a fugitive from justice wanted in Georgia and jailed under an $80,000 secured bond, according to city police reports.

Michael Shane Dodd, 40, of 1710 S. Main St., No. 14, who was taken into custody last Thursday in a parking lot at 182 W. Pine St., was found to be the subject of an outstanding warrant from that state on an unspecified matter, apparently including the theft of a vehicle, according to local arrest records.

Dodd also was charged at the time of his apprehension with two felonies, possession of a stolen motor vehicle (a 2017 Ford Explorer valued at $22,000), owned by Janice Robertson of Clarkesville, Georgia, and possession of a firearm by a felon, identified as a handgun.

The suspect is slated to appear in Surry District Court on Monday.

• Michael Andrew Marshall, 38, of 130 Rocky Lane, was jailed under a $20,000 secured bond last Thursday afternoon on two counts of assault on a government official and resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer.

Marshall was encountered by authorities on Worth Street near South Main Street in reference to a suspicious-person investigation, during which he allegedly swung a closed fist at Officer Dillon Harris, striking him in the head.

The suspect then tried to run away, arrest records add, before being taken into custody and transported to the police station. While being processed, he again allegedly struck Officer Harris in the head with his fist. Marshall is scheduled to appear in District Court next Monday.

• A North Carolina dealer’s plate, serial number ID055096, was discovered stolen last Tuesday from a vehicle at H&H Auto Sales on West Pine Street. It is valued at $39.

• Christopher Dillion Bobbitt, 29, of Galax, Virginia, was served with outstanding warrants at the police station on Aug. 10 for a series of charges including felonious breaking and entering, felony larceny, assault on a female, assault on a child under 12 and injury to personal property.

No other details were listed regarding the charges, for which Bobbitt was confined in the Surry County Jail without privilege of bond. The case is slated for the Sept. 26 session of District Court.

• A Sony Playstation game console valued at $250 was discovered stolen on Aug. 8 as the result of a break-in at the Broad Street residence of Amber Caudill Kelly, the victim of the crime.

Entry was gained by kicking in a side entry door.

The Surry County Board of County Commissioners approved last week a rezoning request for a large tract of land behind Walmart off of Rockford St. in Mount Airy.

The 35.75 acre piece of land had been zoned for Rural Agriculture but the applicant, Kahlil Nassar, and his business PQA Healthcare applied to have it rezoned to Highway Business, although he did not disclose any planned use for the property. Surry County’s planning board had already signed off on the rezoning request at an earlier meeting noting there had been one in-person objection made to the request during the hearing.

Attending the board meeting to represent Nassar was Dale Fulk, who had not been planning on speaking at the county board meeting. He told the commissioners that Nassar is an upstanding businessman who is “well vested in Dobson, Statesville, and has offices throughout the area. He does a good job.”

He said Nassar has no specific plans for the acreage and will be holding that piece of property until such time as he determines what the best use shall be.

Bobby Kohler of Ultimate Towing & Recovery spoke to the commissioners in opposition to the rezoning request. He said he had a desire at one point in time to purchase this piece of land but had backed out of it due to a variety of issues with the terrain and drainage.

“The land there is not sustainable. Mark Golden is getting washed away and so am I. We put the apartments in and Walmart, and the GameStop thing there. The erosion control was unstoppable.”

He said he could not see how to get around the issues the topography and drainage would have presented him nor to any other interested party.

“There is a hole back there from Walmart’s water runoff hole that is big enough to put Walmart in at the current moment. I’m not sure how he is going to fill this in because I have had engineers look at it because we were looking at purchasing it. We backed ourselves out just because of the maintenance of it.”

He also expressed concern about the potential use for that land. He told the board he was informed Nassar may seek to open a pain management center on the land.

“A pain management center in a county that’s already overfilled with the problems we have is not the proper thing to put there,” Kohler said of a potential use for the land that he had heard of.

Nassar said the information that the board heard about a pain management clinic “is incorrect.” He said, “PQA has no plans for a mental health facility or pain management clinic. I am currently looking at options and have no definite plans at the time.”

Fulk mentioned Nassar has a vestd interest in the communities PQA serves. Mark Willis said, “PQA Healthcare is a contractor that executes the Mental Health Assistant Program (MHAP) through Partners Health Management.”

“MHAP is a pilot diversion program operated in Mount Airy,” Willis, the director of the county’s office of substance abuse recovery, went on to explain the object of that diversion program is to offer the Mount Airy Police Department an alternative for persons who could be arrested but could be directed to the Peer Support Specialists at the MHAP.

“PQA also offers counseling services for behavioral health as well as placement services in programs that need behavioral health and Peer Support Specialist certified employees,” Willis added.

The commissioners had questions for county planning manager Marty Needham including ones on the drainage. He said he had not personally surveyed the property and could therefore not offer any insight into the types of issues Kohler referenced.

County Manager Chris Knopf stepped in to remind the board that the decision on the evening was on the general rezoning itself and not for approval of any specific project. A hearing on a general use rezone, he said, was not the correct forum to be discussing future issues or water or soil quality.

A similar point was made last month during the rezoning hearing around the proposed Dollar General location on Westfield Road that the board cannot look past the issue directly in front of it as to what may or may not be coming down the line. Terramore Development used that line of logic in its application for the now-defeated location, saying it was not in the board of commissioners’ purview to “choose winners and losers” in rezoning cases.

Needham said the rezoning request fit in with the county’s land use plan and Commissioner Eddie Harris said he would defer his decision to the members of the board who represent Mount Airy, Chairman Bill Goins and Commissioner Larry Johnson. Johnson moved to approved the rezone and his fellow commissioners agreed in a unanimous decision.

Kohler also referred to a plan to construct a hotel or a Home Depot on the land, an idea to which he scoffed at both the need for and logistics of making such a plan happen.

Of the land rezoned last Monday night Fulk told the board there are no development plans for the land, only that Nassar sees potential of the land for future development.

“That property has some value and with some vision a lot could be done with that property,” Fulk said.

Kohler is hopeful whatever is next for the land that considerations will be made for the traffic on Park Drive and the drainage issues that are already of concern to long term residents of the area.

The North Surry girls tennis team posted a dominant victory over Wilkes Central to begin the 2022 season.

Playing against a team that defeated them 5-4 twice last season, North Surry swept all six singles matches and all three doubles matches for the 9-0 win. The victory puts the Greyhounds at 1-0 overall and in the Foothills 2A Conference.

The Hounds finished fifth in the FH2A Conference a year ago, while Wilkes Central finished fourth. This year’s North squad looks to ascend the conference rankings.

North Surry is led by a pair of seniors that have been with the team all four years. Whitley Hege and Katie Butler have played in the top three for the majority of their high school careers, and currently compete as the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.

The pair are also the Hounds’ top-ranked doubles team and are coming off an appearance in the 2A Regional Doubles Tournament in 2021.

The Lady Greyhounds only gave up eight combined games in singles competition. No. 3 seed Clara Burke, a sophomore, posted a double-bagel win, while Hege, Butler and junior Molly Reeves only gave up one game each.

Hege defeated Meagan Black 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 1 spot, and Butler topped Whitney Webster 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 2 spot. Burke won 6-0, 6-0 over Susan Vasquez on court three.

Reeves beat Kyara Parson 6-0, 6-1 in No. 4 singles.

Sophomores Mattie Bare and Brianna Baker held down the No. 5 and No. 6 spots. Bare defeated Catherine Matheson 6-0, 6-2, and Baker defeated Lacie Jones 6-1, 6-2.

In doubles: Hege and Butler reunited to defeated Black and Webster 8-2 on court one, Burke and Bare defeated Vasquez and Parsons 8-3 on court two, and Reeves teamed with Sparrow Krantz to beat Matheson and Jones 8-2.

North Surry resumes conference play at East Surry on August 24, then hosts West Stokes in a nonconference match on Aug. 25.

The state’s No. 1-ranked 1A tennis team opened conference play with a win over a fellow top-5 team.

Mount Airy defeated East Wilkes 8-1 to move to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northwest 1A Conference. The Granite Bears won the NW1A Title with an undefeated record in 2021, and the Cardinals finished second at 10-2.

The Bears won the overall match before the completion of singles play, winning No. 1 singles as well as the No. 3-No. 6 spots.

No. 1 seed Carrie Marion and No. 4 seed Audrey Marion each posted double bagel wins in singles. Carrie topped East’s Hallie Younger 6-0, 6-0, and Audrey beat Emily Spicer by the same score on court four.

Mount Airy seniors Kancie Tate and Charlotte Hauser only combined to give up three games. Tate defeated Ava Darnell 6-2, 6-0 in No. 3 singles, and Hauser defeated No. 5 Valerie Schubart 6-1, 6-0.

Granite Bear freshman Audrey Brown wasn’t far behind on court six. Brown took the first set over Salem Sparks 6-1, then won the second set 6-3 to give Mount Airy its fifth win of the match.

Mount Airy’s Ella Brant and East Wilkes’ Savannah Sparks went to war in No. 2 singles. Savannah won the first set 7-6 after winning the set-tiebreaker 7-3, then Brant won the second set 6-4.

The third-set tiebreaker ends when a player reaches 10 points, but has to win by two points. The pair needed extra points to decide a winner, and one was finally named after hours of play. Savannah walked away with the victory thanks to a 13-11 win in the final tiebreaker.

Defending 1A Doubles State Champions Brant and Carrie Marion bounced back from their only doubles defeat of the season by topping Sparks and Darnell in the No. 1 spot.

The senior duo of Tate and Hauser took on Young and Spicer in No. 2 doubles and traded wins for the first 11 games. The Bears led 6-5 before winning back-to-back games.

The Audreys, Marion and Brown, swept East Wilkes’ Kelsea Absher and Kali Cook in No. 3 doubles to wrap up the 8-1 match win.

East Wilkes falls to 1-2 overall. The Cardinals other loss came against Bishop McGuinness, who is ranked No. 2 in 1A by the N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association, by a score of 6-3.

Mount Airy takes a break from conference play by traveling to Central Davidson on Aug. 25, then hosts Forsyth Country Day on Aug. 29.

Surry Community College recently hosted Camp Med students for a day, giving campers a chance to learn about different programs available at the college.

Staff from Northern Regional Hospital organized and accompanied the group of students. The camp ran for four days and allowed local high school students to get a chance to gain hands-on training and exposure to the medical field. One of those days was spent at the college.

Eighteen students, composed of ninth through twelfth graders from local school systems, spent a day at SCC learning about the Allied Health, Nursing and Physical Therapist Assistant programs. Student Success Advisor Caleb Gilley and Career Technical Education Coordinator Tonya Wise discussed the Career & College Promise (CCP) classes and programs available at SCC for the students to take while in high school.

High school juniors and seniors can earn college credit tuition-free through the Career & College Promise dual enrollment program. Students interested in dual enrollment should contact their high school counselor.

Debbie Cave, director of allied health programs, and Patricia Brown, nurse aide educator, explained the different jobs that allied health students can perform within the healthcare field. They also instructed students on the proper way to remove gloves.

“Removing contaminated gloves correctly is done to prevent contaminating yourself with potential blood or body fluids,” Cave said. “This helps to prevent the spread of disease and infection.”

The activity required the students to put on the correct size glove; then chocolate syrup was applied to the students’ gloved hands. Students then had to take the gloves off without getting any of the chocolate syrup on their skin. The skill was demonstrated by the faculty, and then the students were observed using the correct technique to remove their gloves.

The students also had the chance to meet with Dr. Yvonne Johnson, associate dean of health sciences, to receive information about SCC’s nursing programs, along with the differences in qualifications and possible tracks in a nursing career. Dr. Eileen Coleman, director of the physical therapist assistant program, shared the history of physical therapist assisting, along with career and advancement information.

Lunch was provided for the students and Northern Regional staff participants from the Knights Grill.

Students interested in going into the medical field can contact SCC’s Student & Workforces Services at 336-386-3264 or studentservices@surry.edu to receive more information about the variety of programs available, along with admissions information.

The Extension Master Gardener Volunteer program in Surry County is looking for volunteers interested in joining the program and doing volunteer work in the community.

The program began in North Carolina in 1979 and has grown to 88 North Carolina counties. Extension Master Gardeners Volunteers are trained to help connect North Carolinians with the reservoir of horticultural knowledge and research developed at North Carolina A&T University and NC State University.

Surry County Extension has an active Extension Master Gardener program. These volunteers help Surry residents learn more about a myriad of gardening topics, answer questions, conduct demonstrations and workshops, and help maintain the demonstration gardens at the Historic Courthouse in Dobson.

Once interns have completed their initial training, Extension Master Gardeners volunteer 20 hours of their time to the community every year. Beyond their initial training experience, they can attend lectures and workshops offered by state and national experts.

For anyone interested in applying to the program, the Surry County Extension Master Gardeners conduct a 13-week training program each year. The next program will be conducted from January through May in 2023. Classes are held once a week for three and one-half hours. Applications and more details can be found at https://surry.ces.ncsu.edu/. The application deadline is Dec. 15.

For more than two decades, Westfield’s Dean Palmer chronicled the lives and events of Pilot Mountain, spinning tales of the town’s fairs, churches, activities by charitable groups, and most important, its people.

Palmer was an accountant by trade, working at Johnson Granite Inc., but he spent many of his weekends and evenings covering and photographing the events of the town. Most of those articles were published in the weekly newspaper The Pilot, and later in The Mount Airy News after that paper absorbed the Pilot Mountain publication.

Palmer passed away unexpectedly a year ago, on Aug. 26, and next week the Charles H. Stone Memorial Library in Pilot Mountain will honor his work by opening a Little Free Library dedicated to his memory.

The Little Free Library will actually be inside a former The Pilot Mountain News newspaper box, making its connection to Palmer even stronger.

Little Free Libraries are a nationwide movement in which organizers will stack a small box or cabinet with free books, accessible to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Folks can come and take a book any time, and there’s no check-out or sign-up procedure. The only thing asked is that the person either put another book in its place, if they have the means, or return the book after reading it.

“We’ve never had one here,” said Diane Palmieri, library program assistant at the Stone library in Pilot Mountain. “We have been thinking about starting a little free library here for people when the library is closed. We’ve been thinking about that for some time. When Dean passed away, we were all very touched about that. He not only wrote stories that were helpful for the community, but he was very supportive of the library.”

“It took us a while to put those together, but we eventually got those ready,” she said. The library plans to have three Little Free Libraries — one at the front entrance of the Charles Stone facility, one at the playground next to the Armfield Civic Center, and a third one in an as yet undecided location.

“We have a plaque dedicating this one to Dean that will go on top of it,” she said of the box to be placed at the library’s front entrance. “Dean shared our stories for about two decades,” she said, adding she was not sure when he began writing for the Pilot Mountain News. She said as of last week she had researched 21 years and was still finding his stories.

“He shared our stories, and we want to keep sharing in his honor,” she said of the decision to dedicate the first one in his memory.

Sandra Hurley, regional publisher for the Mount Airy region of Adams Publishing Group, was happy to see Palmer and his work being recognized by the library.

“We were so fortunate to have Dean working with us for many years. You could tell in his writing, that he loved the Pilot Mountain community. He was always quick to offer to cover the various events in the Pilot Mountain area, and enjoyed meeting people and sharing their stories,” she said.

On Monday, Aug. 29, at 6 p.m., the library will hold an official dedication ceremony for the Little Free Library and a plaque commemorating Palmer’s work in writing about the community.

“We’re going to have a display we’re putting up with the stories he wrote over the years,” Palmieri said. “We’ll just have a very short ceremony and a reception, we’ll have a couple of people say some words. We’ll have a display set up inside the building, “

Palmieri said the Little Free Library at the entrance, as well as the others, will be fully stocked when they open, with books donated to the library.

“We get very good quality viable books,” she said. “We’re going to share those in the little free library. People are welcome to share their own books if they want to do it that way. It is very much a take a book, leave a book kind of thing.”

“We really want this to be something the community can appreciate and enjoy. We recognize our hours are limited, and it’s hard for some people to get here and get the books and resources they need, and this hopefully is a way some people can get those books.”

• A Mount Airy man was jailed under a $20,000 secured bond last Thursday afternoon on two counts of assault on a government official and resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer, according to city police reports.

Michael Andrew Marshall, 38, of 130 Rocky Lane, was encountered by authorities on Worth Street near South Main Street in reference to a suspicious-person investigation, during which he allegedly swung a closed fist at Officer Dillon Harris, striking him in the head.

Marshall then tried to run away, arrest records add, before he was taken into custody and transported to the police station. While being processed, he again allegedly struck Officer Harris in the head with his fist. Marshall is scheduled to appear in Surry District Court next Monday.

• A North Carolina dealer’s plate, serial number ID055096, was discovered stolen last Tuesday from a vehicle at H&H Auto Sales on West Pine Street. It is valued at $39.

• Christopher Dillion Bobbitt, 29, of Galax, Virginia, was served with outstanding warrants at the police station on Aug. 10 for a series of charges including felonious breaking and entering, felony larceny, assault on a female, assault on a child under 12 and injury to personal property.

No other details were listed regarding the charges, for which Bobbitt was confined in the Surry County Jail without privilege of bond. The case is slated for the Sept. 26 session of District Court.

• A Sony Playstation game console valued at $250 was discovered stolen on Aug. 8 as the result of a break-in at the Broad Street residence of Amber Caudill Kelly, the victim of the crime.

Entry was gained by kicking in a side entry door.

GALAX, Va. — Although only one captured first place in their respective competition categories, contestants from the Surry County area represented it well at the recent Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention.

Ten top finishers are listed for all individual adult categories and five in each youth division, along with 15 each in bluegrass and old-time band competition.

Chad Harrison of Claudville was judged the best guitar player at the event held earlier this month at Felts Park in Galax.

Kyser George of Mount Airy was judged second best in dobro competition, won by N.R. Taylor of Wytheville.

Sam Wilkerson of Lowgap took second place in the youth old-time fiddle division, with Hunter Hiatt of State Road the fifth-place winner.

The local area also produced a pair of third-place winners at Galax: Marsha Todd of Mount Airy in clawhammer banjo competition and Mallie York of Cana in the youth bluegrass fiddle division.

Other honors went to Mount Airy residents Tommy Nichols, who was seventh in folk song competition; Richard Bowman, eighth in the old-time fiddle contest; and Travis Watts, the eighth-place winner among bluegrass banjo pickers.

Nancy Sluys of Westfield took ninth in the clawhammer banjo category and Todd Hiatt of State Road, ninth in mandolin competition.

Locals also made in a mark in the dance contest, including Mount Airy competitors Barbara Bowman and Marty Todd winning fourth and ninth place, respectively.

Two Mount Airy-based groups placed in the old-time band competition, The Slate Mountain Ramblers, fourth, and The Surry County Bobcasters, 11th.

The group Autumn Harvest of Mount Airy took 12th place in the bluegrass band division.

Silas Wilkerson of Lowgap was named the winner of the Don Wilson Memorial Pickin’ and Grinnin’ Award at the convention.

The Galax event began in 1935.

Mount Airy officials have approved a change to municipal personnel regulations aimed at securing employees for hard-to-fill-job vacancies.

Previously, the employing of an immediate family member of anyone on Mount Airy’s governing board, the city manager or a department head has not been allowed.

However, under a change approved by the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners last Thursday night an exception to the city personnel policy will be permitted.

It paves the way for children of department heads to work in part-time jobs in departments other than the one their parent supervises.

Mount Airy Human Resources Director Susan Jones explained in an Aug. 9 memo to the commissioners that this will aid in the hiring of needed personnel within the municipal ranks.

At any given time, the City of Mount Airy Facebook page will list multiple job vacancies, which tend to be mostly in the Parks and Recreation division.

“It has been expressed from several children of department heads that they would like to work at Reeves (Community Center) during the summer and help out with summer camp,” the human resources director added.

Yet this has not been permitted due to the present policy barring any relatives of department heads from employment within the city government.

“We would like to change the current policy to allow children of department heads to work in a part-time capacity for the city,” states Jones’ request to the commissioners, who approved that tweak Thursday night without discussion.

“The only exception is that children would not be allowed to work in the same department as their parent.”

Officials hope that this will aid the vacancy situation now facing the city government, which also has been experienced in the private sector.

“By making this change, those that have expressed interest will be able to apply for those part-time positions and this will help fill some of those hard-to-fill (jobs),” Jones advised.

One provision left intact in the personnel policy applies to relatives besides parents, noting that no person shall be hired or assigned to work under the administrative influence or supervision of an immediate family member.

Also, members of an immediate family may not be employed at the same time if this would cause operational conflict within a department or any adverse management or personnel problems.

The city policy defines an “immediate family member” as a spouse, mother, father, guardian, child, sister, brother, grandparent, grandchild, aunt or uncle — “plus various combinations of half, step, in-law and adopted relationships that can be derived from those.”

A man was killed Saturday morning in a single-vehicle wreck near Pilot Mountain, but few details seem to be available regarding the case.

Officials initially reported the accident took place when a man driving a motorcycle collided with a tree, but Sgt. F.A. Fletcher with the North Carolina Highway Patrol said Monday it was a moped which was involved in the collision, not a motorcycle.

The incident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday. It was about that time when Surry County EMS and local rescue units were dispatched to the area of Olde Pilot Trail and Black Mountain Road in Pilot Mountain for a report of a traffic accident.

Surry County Emergency Management Director Eric Southern confirmed Saturday evening that the single vehicle accident resulted in the death of the driver, who was deceased when the first responders arrived on scene, he said.

At that time Southern said the North Carolina Highway Patrol would be making the death notification to the family but he could not confirm that notification had yet been made.

On Monday, Sgt. Fletcher confirmed there was a fatality, and that it included a moped in the single-vehicle crash. However, he was not in the district office at the time and did not have access to the report for more information.

Calls to officials at the district office in King seeking more information were not returned Monday.

The deadly accident is one of an increasing number of fatal crashes across the nation. Last week the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that across the county in the first quarter of 2022 more than 9,500 lives were lost to traffic accidents. That represents a 7% increase in deaths versus the same period in 2021.

In North Carolina there have been 505 deaths from traffic accidents in the first quarter of this year compared to 334 in 2021. The state’s increase of 51.2% in year-to-year comparison was one of the highest percentage changes in the United States.

The NCDOT states motorcycles represent about 2% of all registered vehicles in the state, but account for about 10% of all fatalities on North Carolina’s roads. It was not clear if that included mopeds or not.

NFL teams are trimming their rosters and something similar is occurring in Mount Airy, where a list of 16 applicants for the city’s share of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding has been cut by half.

In presenting recommendations for which of the local non-profit agencies should receive money, City Attorney Hugh Campbell said this isn’t a reflection of their past performance or worthiness — with the meeting of guidelines governing such allocations the key.

“They’re all excellent groups — they all play an important role in the community,” Campbell commented during a council meeting Thursday night when emphasizing the point that the recommendations are in no way intended as a value judgment for organizations involved.

The funding matter basically has sat on the municipality’s back burner since the winter, when the 16 non-profit organizations submitted funding requests for part of what Mount Airy was gifted through the American Rescue Plan Act.

City officials had learned in 2021 that a total of $3.25 million was headed their way as part of a massive relief package to help communities nationwide recover from the COVID pandemic.

With aid for non-profits an allowable use of the federal dollars, they also invited local groups to submit applications to help fund their various projects or needs — a rare opportunity for such assistance on a large scale.

Since $2.9 million of the $3.25 million later was earmarked for city government use — mostly for major building and equipment needs involving facilities — it became apparent that the non-profits could be competing for a limited sum of money.

City Manager Stan Farmer explained Monday that the total ARPA appropriation was included in Mount Airy’s budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year. And once the council decides on what to approve for non-profits the remainder will go toward the municipal projects, he said.

The 16 organizations submitted American Rescue Plan Act requests totalling $2.4 million.

While Mayor Ron Niland said a final decision on which organizations will get what is to come later, the recommendations by the city attorney which pared the list to eight have reduced that figure to $1.09 million.

Among the groups recommended for funding and the sums sought involved are Veterans Memorial Park (for which $7,000 was requested to upgrade restrooms and showers to aid special events there, which the attorney considers a public purpose); Rotary Pup Dog Park, $18,200 for various uses including signage and benches; Mount Airy Public Library, $20,105 to acquire four early literature stations;

Also, the Mount Airy Junior Woman’s Club, $47,000 for a new playground at B.H. Tharrington Primary School; Tiny Tigers Rescue Inc. ($49,500 to reduce the cost of animal adoption, spay and neuter services by the licensed animal shelter); Mount Airy Rescue Squad, $117,349 for mobile radios to improve emergency communications (the squad annually receives a special appropriation from the city);

The Surry Arts Council, $357,500 to repair termite damage, replace toilets and renovate restrooms and the entrance to the Andy Griffith Playhouse; and Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, $475,000 for construction, exhibits and a camera system.

Not recommended for funding were the Surry Young Entrepreneurs Program, Mount Airy Men’s Shelter, Sandy Level Community Council Inc., Surry Medical Ministries, Shepherd’s House homeless shelter, Masonic Properties of Mount Airy Inc., Surry Children’s Center and African-American Historical and Genealogical Society (related to the old Jones School).

Based on the criteria outlined by the city attorney, the recommendations are based on legality and constitutionality tied to some public purpose ultimately benefiting the community and fulfilling a legitimate aim of government.

Some of the applicants simply didn’t meet that criteria, for which one key element is whether public or private property is involved, according to the information outlined.

Based on Campbell’s presentation, that factor in itself disqualified the two homeless shelters among other facilities, but worked in the favor of the Surry Arts Council, library and dog park due to occupying city-owned buildings or property.

The reasoning there involves the possibility that buildings not in that realm could be sold to other private parties and circumvent the intended public benefit of a site originally.

“There is no way to protect that investment as a public purpose,” Campbell said.

While Mount Airy Museum of Regional History does not fit into that category, the city attorney indicated that the American Rescue Plan Act guidelines smile upon museums as being essential parts of a community.

“This is the one exception,” Campbell said of the private property exclusion.

In not recommending the funding for Surry Children’s Center, Campbell pointed out that the $100,000 it requested was simply “revenue replacement” to address losses and increased costs associated with COVID-19.

The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners will make a final decision on the ARPA funding for local non-profits at a future meeting, possibly in September.

“There is no intention of doing anything on any of these tonight — it’s not on the agenda,” Mayor Niland said during last Thursday’s session. “But we will be discussing these.”

He stressed that that the board is bound by statutory requirements in allocating the money.

Campbell mentioned that recipients must meet certain criteria such as having a functioning board of directors and a history of regulatory compliance and grant accountability.

The Surry Arts Council encourages established or emerging individual artists who are residing in Surry County to apply for Artist Support Grants ranging from $500 to $1,400 to enhance their skills or improve their business operations.

Applicants must reside in the region where they are applying continuously for at least one year prior to the application deadline, be at least 18 years old, and either be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien.

Artists representing visual, craft, performing, traditional, and interdisciplinary art forms are encouraged to apply. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to spending a significant portion of their time on their work as artists. The Artist Support Grants will support new or ongoing projects that take place between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023 with all grant funding spent by June 30, 2023. Applicants may receive full or partial funding.

The application and all information regarding the grant are available at: https://stokesarts.org/artistgrant/. Applications must be received by 5 pm on Friday, Oct. 21.

Applications may be mailed to Stokes County Arts Council, P.O. Box 66, Danbury, NC 27016, emailed to stokesarts@gmail.com, or completed online at https://ncarts.gosmart.org/.

Call, 336-786-7998 or email marianna@surryarts.org with questions regarding this application.

The defending 1A Dual Team State Champions began the road to a repeat by going 3-0 in Week One of competition.

Mount Airy’s quest for a second-consecutive team title is just one of the many storylines to watch this tennis season. There are individuals with undefeated streaks, doubles teams looking to return to their respective state tournaments and a host of young athletes ranked in the top six for the first time at the high school level.

Three of the four local tennis programs opened the 2022 season with matches the week of August 15-19: East Surry, Mount Airy and Surry Central. North Surry was scheduled to compete, but its scheduled opponent did not field a team.

Mount Airy started the year with a trio of wins over teams in higher divisions. East Surry went 1-1, with its loss coming against the aforementioned 1A champs, and Surry Central started 0-1 by also facing Mount Airy.

Brief recaps of each Week One match are listed below:

Tuesday, Aug. 16: Mount Airy def. RJ Reynolds 8-1

Mount Airy, ranked No. 1 in the 1A division in the N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association Preseason Poll, traveled to 4A Reynolds to open the season.

The Granite Bears didn’t graduate any seniors from their 22-0 championship squad. Five of the players that started in the state championship last season also started in this year’s first match at Reynolds.

The Bears swept singles and won each match in straight sets. There were two tiebreakers – one in the first set of No. 2 singles, and the other in the second set of No. 6 singles – and both went the way of Mount Airy.

The Granite City girls won 2-of-3 doubles matches as well, but dropped No. 3 doubles in a tiebreaker.

1. Carrie Marion (MA) def. Sarah Rhoades Cox 6-0, 6-1

2. Ella Brant (MA) def. May Lewis 7-6 (9-7), 6-1

3. Kancie Tate (MA) def. Elizabeth Kim 6-3, 6-0

4. Audrey Marion (MA) def. Noora Hosseinzadeh 6-0, 6-0

5. Charlotte Hauser (MA) def. Lily Zaks 6-4, 6-4

6. Audrey Brown (MA) def. McKenna Trull 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)

1. C. Marion/Brant (MA) def. Kim/Ally MacCorkle 8-0

2. Tate/A. Marion (MA) def. Hayden Austin/Harper Jenkins 8-1

3. Zaks/Anne Overman (RJR) def. Hauser/Brown 9-8 (7-2)

Tuesday, Aug. 16: East Surry def. West Stokes 9-0

The defending Foothills 2A Conference Champions began nonconference play by hosting their neighbor from across the county line.

The Cardinals graduated three seniors that each spent time in the starting lineup last season. This year’s East Surry team is led by two seniors that have been the top two seeds the past three seasons.

Since West Stokes only had five players, East won No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles via forfeit. The Wildcats only won a combined five games in the remaining seven matches.

1. Tara Martin (ES) def. Piper Pollard 6-0, 6-0

2. Evelyn Ruedisueli (ES) def. Alyssa Sparks 6-0, 6-0

3. Sophie Hutchens (ES) def. Sadie Hartle 6-0, 6-0

4. Chloe Koons (ES) def. Gordon Grabs 6-1, 6-1

5. Taylor Bullington (ES) def. Kathryn Davis 6-0, 6-1

6. East Surry won via forfeit

1. Martin/Ruedisueli (ES) def. Pollard/Sparks 8-0

2. Hutchens/Mallory Estrada (ES) def. Hartle/Grabs 8-2

3. East Surry won via forfeit

Wednesday, Aug. 17: Mount Airy def. Surry Central 9-0

Surry Central comes into the 2022 season having lost its top two seeds to graduation.

This pair of seniors helped lead the Golden Eagles to a second-place finish in the Foothills 2A Conference, then the pair went on to qualify for the 2A State Doubles Tournament.

This year’s Central team features just one senior. Of the 10 players on the roster, seven are underclassmen.

Mount Airy swept both singles and doubles. One match, No. 2 singles, went to a third-set tiebreaker. Central junior Karlie Robertson won the first set 6-3, then Mount Airy junior Ella Brant won the second set by the same score.

Brant walked away with the win after taking the tiebreaker 10-3.

1. Carrie Marion (MA) def. McKenna Merritt 6-0, 6-0

2. Ella Brant (MA) def. Karlie Robertson 3-6, 6-3, 10-3

3. Kancie Tate (MA) def. Priscilla Gentry 6-1, 6-0

4. Audrey Marion (MA) def. Emma Bryant 6-0, 6-0

5. Charlotte Hauser (MA) def. Madelyn Wilmoth 6-1, 6-2

6. Audrey Brown (MA) def. Kaesi Blythe 6-0, 6-0

1. C. Marion/Brant (MA) def. Merritt/Robertson 8-0

2. Tate/Hauser (MA) def. Gentry/Bryant 8-2

3. A. Marion/Brown (MA) def. Wilmoth/Blythe 8-3

Thursday, Aug. 18: Mount Airy def. East Surry 6-3

Two teams that won conference titles in 2021 faced off to end the week. In 2021, East Surry was the only one of Mount Airy’s opponents to win three individual matches against the Bears. The same was true of their first 2022 matchup, but the overall win still went the way of Mount Airy.

East Surry’s Tara Martin and Evelyn Ruedisueli, the team’s two seniors, came away with wins in singles and doubles. The Cardinal duo is the only team to have defeated Carrie Marion and Ella Brant, the 2021 1A Doubles State Champions, in doubles since the beginning of the fall 2021 season.

Martin and Ruedisueli were also All-State competitors in 2021, reaching the semifinals of the 2A State Doubles Tournament.

1. Tara Martin (ES) def. Carrie Marion 6-3, 6-1

2. Evelyn Ruedisueli (ES) def. Ella Brant 6-4, 6-0

3. Kancie Tate (MA) def. Sophie Hutchens 6-2, 6-3

4. Audrey Marion (MA) def. Chloe Koons 6-0, 6-1

5. Charlotte Hauser (MA) def. Taylor Bullington 6-2, 6-0

6. Audrey Brown (MA) def. Mallory Estrada 6-0, 6-0

1. Martin/Ruedisueli (ES) def. C. Marion/Brant 8-4

2. Tate/Hauser (MA) def. Hutchens/Koons 8-2

3. A. Marion/Brown (MA) def. Bullington/Estrada 8-3

The Blackmon Amphitheatre will have a full schedule of music this weekend. Liquid Pleasure will play Thursday night, Too Much Sylvia will take the stage on Friday night and Cassette Rewind will perform on Saturday night. All three shows will be at 7:30 p.m.

Liquid Pleasure is a Chapel Hill-based party band that plays everything from Top 40, rap, rock, and a variety of other genres. After more than two decades of bringing audiences to their feet, the band Liquid Pleasure has become a multi-cultural icon.

“With no album high on the charts to boost them, Liquid Pleasure is a marketing phenomenon. By word of mouth only, they are the most accomplished band in their circuit. Liquid Pleasure brings fun and excitement to people who want to have a great time,” Surry Arts Council organizers said.

Developing a loyal following of friends and fans sporting their red sunglasses and singing along to the band’s songs, Too Much Sylvia plays anything from a few unplugged tunes, some beach, motown, funky 70’s, retro 80s, a few of the top current hits and some country.

“Blend this in with some possible special guests such as ZZ Topp, Village People, Pit Bull, etc. and it really turns into the perfect entertainment for everyone,” concert organizers said.

Born in the ‘80s and raised on radio, Cassette Rewind is “the ultimate authentic ‘80s experience. Cassette Rewind provides captivating and dynamic performances of Prince, George Michael, Journey, Whitney Houston, and countless 1980s pop icons. Grab your Members Only jacket and put on your leg warmers because nothing’s going to stop you from getting footloose and singing along.”

Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or Annual Pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

The Surry County Master Gardeners volunteers will be holding two online Lunch and Learn sessions in coming weeks.

On Sept. 1, from noon until 1 p.m., the topic will be “Beware of These Invasive Plants.” The hour-long presentation will identify local invasive plants and offer recommendations to control their spread.

The link for more information and to register is https://www.eventbrite.com/e/355570660417. Information can also be found on the group’s website at surry.ces.ncsu.edu, under events.

The topic “Edible Landscapes” is featured in the Oct. 6 webinar, also from 12 to 1 p.m. This session will teach those watching how to create an oasis of edibles — even in small spaces.

For more information and to register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/355565976407. Information can also be found on the website at surry.ces.ncsu.edu, under events.

ELKIN — The owners of Friendship Motor Speedway in an extensive social media post last week announced that all remaining 2022 races as the Speedway have been canceled.

The post goes on to say that despite the best efforts of the new owners of the track to rehabilitate the facility they are throwing in the towel.

“After this past weekend we decided we really don’t have to unlock a gate for the track staff and ourselves to be cussed at, spit on, threatened, and disrespected. We are done.”

“When we purchased Friendship last year, we had high expectations for ourselves to not only clean up the facility, but also the reputation of the track. We wanted to provide a top-notch venue that drivers, fans, and the community could be proud of.”

It was a variety of factors that led the owners to make this decision after having put in the effort to get the track open and ready to receive fans once more. “We are not going to blame tire shortages or the economy because we have consistently had some of the best car counts of anywhere in the Southeast.”

“The honest reason is that we are not willing to put up with the disrespect and verbal abuse that some of the drivers, crew members and fans are directing to the track staff and owners.”

The owners cited a number of issues, including area fans slipping into the track without paying admission charges, or using fraudlent tickets and papers in an attempt to get in without paying and then becoming abusive when asked to pay or leave; vandlism to restrooms; drivers and fans becoming abusive toward track employees when poor weather causes cancellations of races or practice session; fans trashing the place with extreme amounts of garbage; and other factors.

Problems have arisen at the track that involve basic elements of decorum that at Charlotte Motor Speedway or Martinsville may not have occurred given their size and status on the marquee circuits. Friendship though is not pulling in 43 cars with Austin Dillon or Kevin Harvick in the field, rather the hopefuls and dreamers who may aspire to have take a seat in a Childress or Hendrick stock car.

“Maybe our expectations were too high,” the owners said in their statement.

“We tried to act professionally and wanted everyone who came through a gate at Friendship Motor Speedway to go home feeling proud of the facility and their opportunity to enjoy a good race, whether from the stands or the driver’s seat. We anticipated providing a track where our local drivers could showcase their talent and would bring regional recognition to them and ultimately higher payouts.”

Ownership cited issues with paying drivers after the races as some has not completed the necessary tax paperwork and became combative with track staff over the matter. So too were there issues with respect of private property, namely the restrooms, and boundaries with one of the track owners saying they were verbally abused for trying to enforce safety protocol.

“When a track worker or law enforcement asks you to move away from a certain area, it is for your own, the racers’, and the track’s protection. Besides the fact that we don’t want to see anyone hurt, we don’t want our insurance premiums to increase. If a track’s insurance premiums go up, that cost is going to be passed along in higher admission prices or reduced purse.”

“We want to thank the drivers and fans who supported us and didn’t think it was such a burden to follow the simple rules and procedures required to make an event run smoothly. It breaks our hearts to know that our decision will mean some of the drivers who have always been a pleasure to work with might not have an opportunity to race in the future.”

Friendship Motor Speedway will still be available on a limited schedule for private test sessions, the notice announced. The owners will explore other options for uses of the facility.

Books available to check out at the Mount Airy Public Library include:

White Trees Crimson Snow – Sallie Bissell

The Apple Creek Announcement – Wanda Brunstetter

Carved In Stone – Elizabeth Camden

Projector for Sale – Steven Decker

Grace Under Fire – Julie Garwood

The Lines Between Us – Amy Lynn Green

The House Book – Susan Greenwood

The Big Dark Sky – Dean Koontz

The Sweet Remnants of Summer – Alexander McCall Smith

Shattered – James Patterson and James O. Born

Beyond the Desert Sands – Tracie Peterson

Portrait of an Unknown Woman – Daniel SIlva

The Dead of False Creek Sarah M. Stephen

From Shadowed Places – Jeremy M. Wright

Last Dance On the Starlight Pier – Sarah Bird

The Last House on the Street – Diane Chamberlain

The Sweet Life – Suzanne Woods Fisher

Ever Constant – Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse

The Bookseller’s Promise – Beth Wiseman

Empire of Pain : The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty – Patrick Rodden Keefe

Lightning Down : A World War II Story of Survival – Tom Clavin

Much Ado About 90 – Barbara Bates Smith

Just As I Am – Cicely Tyson

Reading time is here for kids of all ages. Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. is Toddler Time for children ages 2 and 3; Thursday at 9:30 a.m. is Book Babies for children ages birth to 2 years old; and on Thursday at 11 a.m. is Preschool Storytime for ages 4-5.

Full STEAM Ahead – Tuesday afternoons from 4 to 6. A new program for students in fourth through twelfth grades. Students will listen to a book and/or read the book. Activities will be STEAM-based, built around science, technology, arts, math, literature and history.

Hooked – Come join our crochet and knitting club, every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Bring your own yarn and make the group project or bring your own project to work on.

Tai Chi has returned to the library. Join us each Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. This class is beneficial for those with limited mobility.

The Community Book Club meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. In August we will be reading and discussing Elegy for Iris by John Bayley. This is a story of his wife, Iris Murdoch, who developed Alzheimer’s and how they managed. We will also meet to watch the movie based on the book.

Pages and Petticoats Book Club — meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. For August, we will be reading Southern Comfort by Fern Michaels.

Classic Movie Monday on Aug. 29 at 5:30 p.m. to watch Key Largo. Popcorn and water provided.

The first of a three-part education program on understanding Alzheimer’s and dementia will be held Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. at the library.

Surry Community College is offering a fun and free English as Second Language (ESL) class at the Mount Airy Public Library, Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Jennifer Pardue at 336-386-3674.

September is Library Card Sign Up Month. “Find Your Voice at the Library.” To celebrate and encourage people new to the library to sign up for a library card, we are holding a daily raffle in the month of September. Each day, people who sign up for cards or check out books will put their name in a basket and we will draw at the end of each workday. The prizes may consist of different gift cards, books or other prizes. So, if you aren’t a member of our local library system, Northwestern Regional Library, come out and sign up in the month of September.

The library will be closed on Sept. 5 in observance of Labor Day, and on Sept. 16 for staff development.

Keep up with all events on our FaceBook pages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fmapl and https://www.facebook.com/mtapublibrary or our website https://nwrlibrary.org/mountairy/

Mountain Valley Hospice is holding a Port-A-Pit BBQ Chicken fundraiser on Friday, Sept. 9, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., at Mount Airy First Baptist Church, 714 N. Main Street in Mount Airy.

Each plate includes a half chicken, baked beans, slaw, roll and dessert. Food can be ordered in advance online at mtnvalleyhospice.org/machicken, over the phone by calling 336-789-2922, or in person at the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home, 945 Zephyr Road in Dobson or at the Mountain Valley Re-Sale Shoppe, 461 N. South Street in Mount Airy. Advance orders will be taken through Sept. 1.

Advance ordering is recommended due to a limited number of meals available on the day of the event, organizers said. Delivery options and group orders are available for local businesses by contacting Audrey Diener at 336-789-2922 or adiener@mtnvalleyhospice.org.

“Mountain Valley Hospice is a non-profit agency, and we never turn anyone away due to the inability to pay, which means that fundraising events like this one help us sustain our mission,” said Sara Tavery, senior director of philanthropy. “That’s why in order to maximize our proceeds, we are offering sponsorship opportunities for businesses who wish to help us continue to serve patients and their families.”

Among the sponsors thus far are: Pit Boss sponsors, which include Mount Airy Meat Center, Northern Regional Hospital, Chatham Nursing and Rehab, Jason’s Detailing, Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Frontier Natural Gas; and Smokin sponsors, which include Xtreme Marketing, Foothills Garage Doors LLC, Pam Cook Communications, and Sonbert Security Systems.

Dr. Christian “Hope” Whitfield, D.O., has joined the medical staff of Northern Regional Hospital to serve as a hospitalist physician for inpatients at the nationally recognized, 5-star, 133-bed community hospital. A board-certified physician, Dr. Whitfield recently finished her internal medicine residency at McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, where she served as chief resident of internal medicine her final year of residency.

Dr. Whitfield’s love for medicine was instilled in her at an early age growing up in Northern Alabama. “My healthcare journey in a large part was inspired by my mother,” said Whitfield. “Throughout my childhood I witnessed the strong work ethic, dedication to service, and passion for learning my mother portrayed as a registered nurse. Witnessing the severe impact of scoliosis on her later life only further ignited my desire to become a physician.”

“Ultimately, I believe that empathy, listening, and intuition are the most important qualities in a physician,” she said of her approach to patient care. “Patients don’t care how educated you are if they don’t feel heard and empowered to be an active participant in their own healthcare.”

After graduating from the pre-health program at Gadsden Community College, Dr. Whitfield worked as a pharmacy tech while getting her bachelor of science degree in biology, with a minor in chemistry, from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. She then went on to earn her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree from Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2019.

Dr. Whitfield recently started her position as hospitalist, a specialist in in-patient care in the hospital. “I immediately fell in love with the area and people. North Carolina is beautiful, and the welcomeness I’ve felt from the entire group at Northern Regional is unmatched. I feel very supported and part of the team even though I just started,” she said.

Dr. Whitfield and her fiancé, Nikos, met while she lived and studied in Michigan. They plan to be married in the spring. They enjoy the outdoors with their dog, Charlie.

For more information about Northern Regional Hospital, visit www.choosenorthern.org.

Some area teenagers were busy this summer. For the first time since 2019, due to COVID-19, rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors from across the county dedicated their summer break to volunteering at Northern Regional Hospital.

Twenty-five junior volunteers filled the hospital hallways throughout June, July, and August, logging in 1,353 volunteer hours.

More than 50 applications were received this year for the annual program. Because the program cannot accommodate that many participants, Tina Beasley, manager of volunteer services, was tasked with combing through the applications, essays, recommendation letters, and interviews to narrow the pool.

“Beginning in January, we send out applications to all area high schools seeking junior volunteers,” said Beasley. “After applications are received, we begin working with all the hospital departments to determine opportunities available. We want our juniors to have a truly worthwhile experience. This program is such a wonderful opportunity for our local high school students to pursue.

”Not only do the junior volunteers help our staff by assisting with many tasks during their time here, but we also try to help the junior volunteers by exposing them to different careers within our organization. There are so many careers, both clinical and non-clinical, at Northern Regional Hospital that many students aren’t even aware of. This program allows them to see those careers first-hand in a real-world environment. Our hope is that we can provide experiences to help set them on their desired career path.”

The Junior Volunteers in this summer program included Olivia Combs of Carroll County High School in Hillsville, Virginia; Chloe Koons and Hailey Penn of East Surry High School; Cheyenne Rogers of Millennium Charter Academy; Emilee Corn, Abby Epperson, Emily Gutierrez, Hannah Khuri, Morgan Mayfield, Bill Rierson, and Niya Smith of Mount Airy High School; Natalee Frazier, Jessica Flores-Martinez, Nadia Hernandez, Meredith Hicks, Sarah Jane Lawson, Erin Moore, Sadie Moore, and Ella Riggs of North Surry High School; Madison Spencer, Ivy Toney, Brianna Wilmoth, and Payton Wood of Surry Central High School; and Kayla Easter and Shayna Hicks of Surry Early College High School.

Junior Volunteers work in almost every area of the hospital including surgery, emergency, security, skilled nursing, birthing center, intensive care, med/surg, and hospital-owned physician practices.

“Over the course of my time as a Junior Volunteer, I have experienced many things, such as colonoscopies, strokes, and kids with broken bones,” said Junior Volunteer Cheyenne Rogers of Millennium Charter Academy. “Experiencing a busy Emergency Department amazed me by the variety of what comes in the door. One thing that stuck with me was when I got to see many victims of a car accident come in, many of whom were almost near death. The quickness of everyone to act to save these lives was amazing. They all needed different care, as some were bleeding heavily, and others had minor injuries. Whatever the case, getting to talk to the patients and their families made me feel like I was making a difference. Whether I was holding someone’s hand during childbirth, or cleaning a patient room, this program has had an outstanding impact on me. The experience confirmed that I am definitely pursuing the right field. I’m very grateful for this experience and the entire staff at Northern Regional Hospital.”

“We are so blessed to have Northern Regional Hospital in this community,” said Jennifer Epperson, executive director for NC HOSA and mother of current junior volunteer Abby Epperson. “The real-world experiences they provide are so valuable in helping students make important decisions regarding their futures. Junior Volunteer Program participants have told me how wonderful the staff is. They explain everything to them and make them feel welcome. Most students across our state are not getting these valuable experiences that Northern Regional Hospital has to offer. Their dedication to our students is amazing.”

The Junior Volunteers closed out their summer program with an appreciation banquet held for them at Surry Community College.

Applications for the next Summer Junior Volunteer program at Northern Regional Hospital will be accepted beginning in January via the website at choosenorthern.org. For other volunteer opportunities for youth and adults, contact Beasley at tbeasley@wearenorthern.org.

In recording deeds, the state of North Carolina does not require that the amount paid for a parcel be stated on the deed. However a tax stamp at the rate of $2 for every $1,000 in value is affixed to each deed.

Recent real estate transfers recorded in the Surry County Register of Deed’s office include:

– Martha Lu James to Thachyin Properties, LLC; 4.08 acres; $223.

– Teresa A. Gerli to Eddie Ray Upchurch and Deana Easter Upchurch; 2.16 acres Mount Airy; $390.

– Mary B. Maney to Andrew Baker and Kallie Baker; 1 acre Bryan; $0.

– Advanta IRA Services, LLC, Mark Faris IRA #8007242 and Mark Farist to Jeremy Robert Huff and Shannon Dover Huff; 0.720 acres lot 1 and 0.808 acres and 0.895 acres lot 3 Autumn Woods subdivision PB 17 154; $1,520.

– Patrick Allen Armentrout and Jeannie Chilton Armentrout to Markus Lee Eaton and Kathy McDaniel Eaton; tract one 2.39 acres and tract two tract; $702.

– Mitchell B. Bottomley to MBB Land, LLC; 29.542 acres Stewarts Creek; $0.

– Marla H. Galyean and Joshua T. Galyean to Danny W. Taylor and Shannon S. Taylor; 1.758 acres lot 2 PB 14 74 Westfield; $129.

– Robert L. Hutchins and Renee Hutchins to Layla Payne and Jeffery Payne; 8.002 acres PB 41 76; $650.

– James Raymond Branson and Janet L. Branson to Jaymee B. Chandler and Jeff T. Chandler; 0.972 acres Mount Airy; $0.

– Margaret L. Bowles and Michael Keith Wall to Brian Delon Key and Joy Diane Key; tract Rockford; $210.

– Bill Norman Construction, Inc. to Branda H. Robertson Revocable Living Trust and Brenda H. Robertson; unit 26A bk 1 342 and 251 and 412-415 and PB 23 134 and 192 and PB 41 46 113 Cobblestone Court Mount Airy; $730.

– Sidney Whitaker, Crystal H. Whitaker, Steven W. Whitaker and Catrena H. Whitaker to Mountain View Poultry, LLC; six parcels; $0.

– Tony L. Martin and Phyllis Martin to Travis Scott Martin; tract Bryan; $0.

– Rex Hunter and Helen Hunter to Bridgette Yvette Watkins; 2.00 acres Siloam; $0.

– Jerry Phillip Jones, Michele D. Jones, Cynthia Jones Bowman and Mark Edwin Bowman to Michael Kenneth Carper and Vivian Ward Carper; lot 1 J. Matt Hines and Durham Poore property PB 1 115 Mount Airy; $470.

– Sharon Grey White, Sharon Grey Compton and Sharon Mayes White to Brandy Hiatt Dowdy and Timothy Joseph Dowdy; 1.53 acres Dobson; $200.

– Kenneth Griffin Gatewood and Elizabeth E. Gatewood to Luis Anibel Rios Jr. and Sarah Yolanda Rios; tract Mount Airy; $850.

– Kenneth Griffin Gatewood and Elizabeth E. Gatewood to Luis Anibel Rios Jr. and Sarah Yolanda Rios; quitclaim deed 0.392 acres PB 41 26 Mount Airy; $0.

– GHP Properties, LLC to Surry Medical Ministries Foundation, Inc.; 1.65 acres PB 21 54 and PB 41 92 951 Rockford Street Mount Airy; $5,400.

– Kelly M. Cave to Teresa K. Kearns and Ronald H. Kearns; 0.930 acres lot 131 section 6 Woodbridge subdivision PB 22 38 Mount Airy; $464.

– William W. Haynes Jr. and Donna M. Haynes to Ronald Thomas Dapp, Kelly S. Hensley and Kelly Suzanne Hensley Dapp; tract one Ivy Summit; $372.

– John W. Badgett and Christine D. Badgett to Joyce Farms of Mount Airy, LLC; 33.86 acres Eldora; $244.

– Tom E. Riggs and Judy L. Riggs to Joyce Farms of Mount Airy, LLC; 36 4/10 acres Eldora; $244.

– Tom E. Riggs and Judy L. Riggs to Joyce Farms of Mount Airy, LLC; tract one 57.367 acres and tract two 1.000 acres PB 41 88 Eldora; $584.

– Peggy Ann Melton Smith to Christopher Wayne Bryant and Amber Cope Bryant; tract Western Carolina Drive PB 6 150 Stewarts Creek; $4.

– Dragonfly View, LLC to Alexander Mazarredo and Bonnie Mazarredo; 1.57 acres lot 23 Paradise Mountain Estates phase 2 PB 27 6 Franklin; $0.

– Alexander Mazarredo and Bonnie Mazarredo to Dragonfly View, LLC; 2.09 acres lot 16 Paradise Mountain Estates Phase 2 PB 257 6 Franklin; $0.

– Pamela Jessup Davis to Apolinar Mendez; 0.826 acres Mount Airy; $55.

– Lupe Javier Jimenez and Sharon Ann Rose Jimenez to Michael J. Stinson and Suzanne G. Stinson; tract one 1 acre and tract two 12 1/2 acres PB 36 175 South Westfield; $180.

– Erica Billings to Kelsey Burns; 1.204 acres lot 55 114 and a portion of lot 115 section 1 Mountain Park Bryan; $0.

– JHS Master Capital, LLC to National Decon Holdings Gastonia, LLC; 1.351 acres; $0.

– Samuel Allen Simmons and Courtney Susan Simmons to Jeffrey Allen Stanley and Susanne Lynn Stanley; tract one lots 30-31 PB 9 150 and tract two lot 9 section 1 PB 7 69 Stonehenge subdivision Stewarts Creek; $718.

– Harold O. Brown, Mary Ellen Brown Smith and Edward T. Brown to Edward T. Brown and Brenda D. Brown; tract one 34.9 acres lot 2 and tract two 14.5 acres and tract three 24.55 acres Shoals; $320.

– David B. Albin and Dawn M. Albin to Sharon Ann Wheeler; 1.339 acres PB 41 68 Westfield; $20.

– Cynthia F. Cook, Christi M. Cook, Kimberly C. Williams and Jeff Williams to Melissa Baccari; 1.310 acres PB 41 75; $170.

For the more than half a century, every Labor Day weekend, a sea of antiques, collectables, rare knick knacks, and keen-eyed shoppers flow through the quiet town of Hillsville, Virginia. Customers travel miles from up and down the East Coast and beyond, to attend the Hillsville Gun Show and Flea Market, which is said to be the largest gun show and flea market east of the Mississippi.

From its humble beginning as a fundraising event for the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, it has grown into a spectacle in its own right.

Flea markets can trace their lineage back to ancient times, with the idea coming from open air markets. The first ever “flea market,” which more closely resembles what we envision today, is thought to have taken place in the 1800s in Paris, France. The term “flea market” comes from these early incarnations, thought to be due to the fleas that were said to infest the upholstery of furniture sold at the original French market.

It did not take long for the markets to make the jump across the Atlantic, and the first flea market in the United States is thought to have been set up in the late 19th century in Texas, though the exact location of the original American flea market is highly contested.

The Hillsville Gun Show and Flea Market was the creation of two area men, Glenn Jackson and Pierce Webb. In early 1967, the two were discussing the popularity of gun shows in the South and settled on the idea of opening their own in Hillsville. There was certainly a desire for such a thing, with both Gene Pack, the Hillsville police chief at the time, and Dennis Quesenberry, a local collector of fine guns, also considering the same idea at the time.

Jackson was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Grover King Post 1115, located in Hillsville, and wanted the flea market to assist the post in raising funds. The organization had begun on May 15, 1935 with 27 local veterans from World War One as well as a handful of veterans from other wars. The post was named in honor of the first Carroll County serviceman killed during World War One, Grover C. King.

The post first held meetings in the county courthouse and moved into the organization’s own specially built building in the mid 1950s. Only a few years later, the cost of the new building was paid off in full. But tragedy would strike not long after, when much of the building collapsed and was destroyed in 1968. This meant the VFW post would need to construct yet another building and was looking at ways to afford this new cost.

Knowing the VFW was looking for a new revenue stream and that a gun show would be a viable way of bringing in extra money and visitors to the county, Jackson approached the VFW with his idea, which was approved by the post, and the first Hillsville Gun Show and Flea Market was open for business in 1968.

Every year since 1968, aside from 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the gathering, the market has been up for four days over Labor Day weekend. The event started small, with its first year drawing in 100 vendors and 4,000 visitors. By 1989, there were 1,200 vendors and around 250,000 shoppers. These days, some estimates claim more than a half-million bargain seekers attend the market.

Jackson took a hands-on approach in the event’s early years, from helping vendors set up on the day of, to driving around the South handing out flyers and sticking up posters. Jackson’s marketing was such a success, and brought in so many people, that at one time some VFW members asked that the event stop being promoted as there were just too many people attending.

Another long running local flea market in North Carolina was the Sedgefield Flea Market, just a few miles south of Greensboro. Beginning operation around the same time as its Hillsville counterpart, the market was open one or two days every month. It eventually closed down in 2015.

During the 1970s, a fire broke out at the market, damaging much of the building it was housed in, and destroying thousands of dollars of inventory. At its height, the market saw thousands of customers stream through its gates, and close to 100 vendors.

In the western corner of the state, Asheville’s Dreamland Flea Market opened in 1971, and closed down in the early 2000s. Nearby, ​Smiley’s Markets & Malls, known as Smiley’s Flea Market, was formed in 1984, and remains in operation. In 1991, owner Ben Campen attributed the popularity of flea markets to the low overhead costs for vendors, since usually spaces are rented out for a flat fee.

From France to Texas to North Carolina, flea markets have had a long history. Through their grass roots organization, flea markets often brings communities together, with people ready to both buy and sell all kinds of goods. Throughout their long history, there’s always one thing flea markets have in common: you never know what you’ll find.

Katherine “Kat” Jackson is an employee at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. Originally from Australia she now lives in King. She can be reached at the museum at 336-786-4478.

The following marriage licenses were issued in Surry County:

– Joseph Carlton Lyles Jr., 42, of Surry County, to Jennifer Brooke Gregory, 43, of Surry County.

– Shawn Keith Leftwich, 30, of Surry County to Jessica Monique Dyal, 29, of Surry County.

– Christopher Lee Galyean, 22, of Surry County to Julia Lane Parker Grant, 21, of Surry County.

– Lewis Mitchell Smith, 33, of Surry County to Cathy Jo Bowman, 32, of Carroll County, Virginia.

– Marcus Rayvon Smith, 39, of Surry County to Canajoharia Ayesha Long, 40, of Surry County.

– David Woodrow Tate Jr., 39, of Surry County to Tracy Marie Wall, 35, of Surry County.

– Burl Edward Lewis, 61, of Surry County to Alicia Mason, 53, of Surry County.

– Joseph Joel Klingman, 25, of Alexandria County, Virginia, to Molly Anne Hulsey, 26, of Anderson County, South Carolina.

– Charles Edward Isaac, 54, of Surry County to Doris Ann White, 59, of Surry County.

– Cole Andrew Easter, 23, of Surry County to Kaylan Jeanette Faw, 24, of Surry County.

– Jacob Cain Shoun, 23, of Pulaski County, Virginia, to Morgan Mekenzie Ritter, 22, of Pulaski County.

– Griffin Lee Kendrick, 26, of Surry County to Kayla Mae-Lynn Stanley, 27, of Surry County.

– Christopher Steven Gomez, 30, of San Bernardino, California to Sophia Natalia Kostenko, 20, of Surry County.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction is seeking information on the whereabouts of the following individuals:

• Bobby Keith Jessup, Jr., 42, a white male wanted on a post-release warrant who is on supervision for felony possession of methamphetamine and use/possession of drug paraphernalia;

• Abraham Gilbert Burns, 41, a white male wanted on a post-release warrant who is on supervision for felony assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, two counts of felony larceny of a motor vehicle, felony speeding to elude arrest, two counts of resisting arrest and reckless driving;

• Janie Lennette Waller, 40, a black female wanted on probation violations who is on probation for larceny, possession of schedule II and VI controlled substances and use/possession of drug paraphernalia;

• Tommy Darnell Heath, 57, a white male wanted on probation violations who is on probation for seven counts of felony breaking and entering motor vehicles.

View all probation absconders on the internet at http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/opi and click on absconders. Anyone with information on any probation absconders should contact Crime Stoppers at 786-4000, county probation at 719-2705, or the Mount Airy Police Department at 786-3535.

Autumn is now only a month away. A row or bed of purple top turnips can be sown in the garden plot. Temperatures may be warm but the soil after sowing a turnip row or bed can be kept cool with the water wand by spraying water on the row or bed each evening. When sowing the turnip seed, place the seed in a three- or four-inch furrow and apply a layer of peat moss in the furrow before sowing the seed. Thinly scatter seed in furrow and cover with another layer of peat moss. Apply an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food and hill up soil on on both sides of furrow. Tamp down soil on top of the row for good soil contact. Keep turnip row or bed watered to cool the soil. The peat moss will absorb the moisture, and promote growth in the remaining warm days of the month of August.

Saint Bartholomew’s Day

Saint Bartholomew’s Day will be celebrated Wednesday, August 24. On his special day, something unusual occurs as the dews of summer mornings begin to become cooler and linger until the middle of the day. The fogs of August may contribute to the cooler dew, but also the fact that the days are getting shorter and late nights of August have a subtle nip that lets us know that autumn is on its way. Many leaves are seeing this subtle hint and have already developed tints of yellow and gold. Cold dew and subtle nip in the night air lets us know this is slowly paving the way for nippy air, Jack Frost, and falling leaves as we move closer and closer to a new season.

The Christmas cactus on the August porch

All four of the Christmas cactus are performing well on the front porch as they enjoy sun and summer as they bask in temperatures that will prepare them for blooms in December. They receive a drink of water each week and an application of Flower-Tone organic flower food once a month. They will be moved inside the sunny living room in late October.

Planting the colorful annuals of autumn

The pots and containers of summer’s annuals can now be replaced with the annuals of fall and winter such as pansies, mums and oriental cabbage and kale. When planting these annuals, add a layer of crushed leaves and water plants often so the leaves will stick to the soil and give added protection later on when temperatures get colder. The oriental cabbage and kale will survive through winter if they are kept out of the north wind in a protected area of the porch and cover with a towel or cloth on freezing nights. Mums will also need a small amount of cold weather protection. The pansies are tougher and will endure the extremes of winter.

Time to set out spring flower bulbs

Most hardwares, nurseries, garden shops, and Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and Walmart or Lowe’s Home Improvement now have displays and bins of spring flowering bulbs of jonquils hyacinth, tulips, daffodils, narcissus, and crocus. They can be planted from now and through the end of October. When you purchase bulbs of spring, choose from those in bins or mesh bags so that you can feel and inspect the bulbs for firmness and texture. You can buy hyacinths in individual and assorted colors. There are several types of jonquils but the King Alfred is most popular. Buy a bag of bulb booster and place a half handful under each bulb. Cover bulbs with a layer of peat moss and a layer of Flower-Tone organic flower food before covering with soil. Cover the area where the bulbs are planted with a layer of crushed leaves. Hyacinths come in the colors of red, pink rose, yellow, lavender, blue, and purple. They also have the sweetest scents of flowering spring bulbs.

Autumn care for the next azaleas

The beautiful green foliage of azaleas have performed well and we enjoyed their colorful blooms in spring. Their evergreen foliage is still lush and green. As August draws to a close they could use a bit of attention as we get closer to autumn. They can now be fed with Holly-Tone evergreen food to give them a boost. In September, a layer of crushed leaves can be placed around them. The foliage can also be trimmed and shaped. Give azaleas a drink of water every ten days.

Time to sow Siberian kale

Siberian Kale is the sweetest and best of all the greens. It can be used raw in a salad or cooked as a green or canned in pint and quart jars. It is sweet, crisp, tender, and quite different from turnip and mustard greens. It is winter hardy and will endure winter and produce all the way until spring. The leaves are a little larger than other greens. A great way to prepare Siberian Kale is to broil a pound of bacon and cut into half-inch chunks, boil Siberian kale in a pot until tender, chop it up after draining. Add mayonnaise to the kale and bacon and add two tablespoons of ranch dressing.

Lining the list of cool weather veggies

As we get well past the middle of August, it is time to plan the autumn garden plot. The seeds of turnips, Siberian kale, curly mustard, mixed greens, onion sets, and spinach can now be sown in the late summer garden. Plants of broccoli, cabbage, collards, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts can also be set out. Keep all cool weather vegetables watered with the water wand not only for moisture, but to cool down the soil.

Making a tasty roasted turkey loaf

When preparing a turkey, and you have any leftover turkey, make a special meal of turkey loaf with the leftovers. For a turkey loaf, you will need three cups of leftover turkey (run through the blender in “grate” mode), one small bag Pepperidge Farm cornbread dressing, one can Swanson chicken broth, small jar Heinz roasted turkey gravy, two large eggs, one envelope Recipe Secrets Beefy Onion Soup mix, one teaspoon poultry seasoning, one teaspoon celery seed, half teaspoon pepper, half teaspoon salt, one cup shredded carrots. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the can of chicken broth over the Pepperidge Farm corn bread stuffing in a bowl and set it aside for fifteen minutes. Mix all other ingredients together in the bowl with dressing and broth. If too dry, add a little water. Form into a loaf or place in a loaf pan or baking dish. Bake for one hour or until loaf is firm. This loaf will serve six persons.

Keeping hummingbirds on the zoom

As the humming birds of mid-summer contend for space at the feeders and fight for domination, keep the feeders filled with nectar. They are now staying pretty active at the feeders and burning a lot of energy. The nectar in the feeders will boost their energy level. You can make your own nectar by mixing two quarts of water and three cups of sugar and several drops of red food coloring in a pitcher of water and pour into a half gallon plastic milk carton. Keep nectar in refrigerator and use as you need it.

August proves to be transition time

As we move through August, we see before us a transitional month with heavy dews, dense fogs, and a subtle hint of autumn in the air, along with the yellow tint in the maples and tiny berries forming on dogwoods. The annuals of summer are slowing down. Days are getting shorter every evening by a minute. The humidity is dropping a bit lower and the garden summer vegetable crops are reaching the harvest stage and some crops are slowing down. Thunder storms are not as frequent. The crickets are sounding off and katydids are less noisy in the mighty oaks. Slowly, silently the late days of August are fulling us into the approaching season of autumn.

“Toothy Sermon.” The pastor visited the dentist for a set of false teeth. The first Sunday after he gets the teeth, he preaches for only eight minutes. The second Sunday, he preaches for ten minutes. The third Sunday, he preached for two-and-a-half hours. As the pastor left the pulpit, many in the congregation asked him what had happened. The pastor replied, “This morning, I put in my wife’s teeth by mistake and I couldn’t shut my mouth up!”

“Return to Sender.” A son wrote a letter to his dad. “Dear Dad, Gue$$ what need most? That$ right. $end it $oon. Be$t wi$he$, Joey.” The father replied. “Dear Joey, NOthing ever happens here. We kNOw you like school, write aNOther letter soon. Mom was asking about you at NOon. NOw I have to say good-bye, Dad.”

“Dumbbells.”Professor: “If there are any dumbbells in the room, please stand up.” There was a long pause and then one student in the back of the stood up. The professor said, “Do you consider yourself a dumbbell?” Student, “Well, not exactly, but I hate to see you standing all alone.”

“The Last Supper” First husband: “When I am near death, I will ask my wife to cook my last meal.” Second husband: “Why would you went her to do that?” First husband: “Then I would feel more like dying!”

Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.

Today’s culture and climate have changed from when most of us attended schools. There are more pathways to college and the workplace. There are opportunities to attend community college and even graduate before finishing high school. The teachers are still experts in their field but on average have more advanced degrees than ever before. Our schools provide flexibility to attend school at home, work full time while attending high school, and intern at area industries leading to full time employment.

All of the amazing opportunities have created great experiences accessible for all children. One of our top priorities in schools remains the ability to safely attend school so students can access these opportunities.

The Office of Justice at the federal level as well as National School Safety and Security Services agree that there are several steps schools can take to make sure they are as safe as possible. While we cannot prepare for every situation, we can work with safety experts and our local law enforcement to make sure our safety is the best it can be. We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours with safety preparation but we also know that relationships, communication, and safety plans for staff and students are some of the best measures we can take to ensure everyone is safe and supported.

Some essential steps we have outlined in our school system include strong communication tools, mental health support, security cameras, locked and secure doors, threat assessments, training for emergencies, partnerships with local law enforcement and community partners, and enhanced crisis strategies.

Communication: Some of the steps recommended are to make sure all communication lines are open and every child feels they have someone to talk with at all times. We must create communication pathways that provide access to counselors, social workers, and caring adults. We have online monitoring of student computers, social media, and platforms to tell us if there is anything alarming on these platforms, while also giving us steps to resolve issues before they arise. We have an anonymous reporting system, See Something Say Something, that allows people who see something to get that information quickly to authorities. This gives everyone an avenue for sharing vital information to prevent a crisis. Our multiple ways to engage families through emails, phone calls, social media, and text alerts provides ongoing and up-to-date information is another way to make sure everyone has “on time” information. While the beginning of the year provides a great time to ensure your contact information is up to date, remember that anytime your phone number changes to let your child’s office know. Keeping your current phone number on file is a crucial part of our communication plan.

Mental Health Support: Each of our schools have access to licensed counselors and on-campus mental health support. We have threat assessments to help identify and screen potential issues as well as a road map to experts in our community who can help. Our detailed work on our campuses match up student needs with experts in the field who can help them with strategies to thrive. Although it is not the job of educators to provide mental health support, each of our educators are given tools to help students find the treatment they need that is available to them and their family. Some of our partners such as mentors, graduation coaches, Daymark, Easter Seals, and our See Something Say Something service can make sure students in crisis have the help they need.

Safe Campuses: Secure doors with keyless entry provides ways to control who enters and exits our buildings. These doors have buzz-in systems or systems that are accessed by key cards. It’s critical for all staff and students to keep all doors locked and make sure everyone enters through the main entrances where visitors can be screened. We have door latches that can be utilized without a key from inside a door at all times to secure doors from the inside. Each of our campuses have outstanding alarm systems throughout our buildings and money has been put into these systems in recent years to ensure they are active and working.

Transportation Safety: Smart Bus technology with Tyler Technologies was funded for Mount Airy City Schools by the General Assembly. Traversa Software allows us to have cutting edge cameras on the bus and outside the bus. We have electronic seating charts to make sure we know when students ride the bus, where they are seated, and when they exit. The Ride 360 application allows parents to know where students are at all times. This gives relief to parents to ensure they are at home when a child arrives or if there is a delay in the bus route. The tablet provided to drivers is much safer for them and works similar to GPS in our cars such as telling us if there are road delays ahead, changes in routes, or the most efficient way to travel between two points.

Camera Systems: Our systems have been upgraded over the past few years implementing more than 50 cameras on each campus. These cameras are critical to show all aspects of the campus accessed by your phone or computer system. This system has measures that only allow personnel “as needed” to have access to these cameras. But, they play a critical role in preparing for any emergencies and being able to secure areas quickly.

SRO Officers: Our community and school system feel it is critical to partner with law enforcement and our city government. One of the ways we have done this is to provide three School Resource Officers for our schools. These officers build relationships every day that prevent school incidents. They deliver a preventative curriculum that helps students choose positive ways to respond and help provide strategies that lead to good decision-making. Our SROs are critical in the day-to-day and would be essential in the event of a critical incident.

Emergency Protocols: How adults handle crises from a gas leak to a community threat to an incident on campus is critical. Adults must have training for emergency situations. We train for tornadoes, fires, and critical incidents as well as scenarios that are a surprise to us. These emergency protocols outline what everyone is required to do in the emergency situation. The drills throughout the year as well as resources provided help staff to respond quickly when a situation occurs that is beyond their control. The relief of emergency protocols, detailed with plans that are well throughout can make the difference needed in response time.

Community Relationships: Fire, rescue, EMS, police, churches, mental health support, and community involvement is absolutely critical for our school system. Each of these partnerships fill a need every day and especially during critical incidents. You, as a community member, can make a difference. One of the biggest ways is to volunteer in a school nearby, mentor an at-risk child, provide funds for struggling students, substitute teach, drive a bus, serve a meal, and support the school system. Your encouragement of our staff goes a long way. Attending our events to support children makes an impact and thanking an administrator will not be forgotten.

All of us can work together to make our campuses safe. We know that a lot of emphasis in the past few years has been on physical security. We also know that emphasis needs to be on emotional security. We can all do our part by supporting young people, providing thriving arts programs where they can show their talent, athletic teams where they can learn life skills and enhance their abilities, as well as academic pathways to success. We can all work together to make our community a thriving and safe place to be for the next generation.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday morning Surry County EMS and local rescue units were dispatched to the area of Olde Pilot Trail and Black Mountain Road in Pilot Mountain for a report of a traffic accident.

Surry County Emergency Management Director Eric Southern confirmed Saturday evening that the single vehicle accident involved a motorcycle that collided with a tree.

The operator of the motorcycle was deceased when the first responders arrived on scene, he said.

Drivers had been advised that to use caution in the area during the removal and accident cleanup.

Southern said the North Carolina Highway Patrol would be making the death notification to the family but he could not confirm that notification had yet been made.

More details will follow upon conclusion of the accident investigation.

This week the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that across the county in the first quarter of 2022 over 9,500 lives were lost to traffic accidents. That represents a 7% increase in deaths versus the same period in 2021.

In North Carolina there have been 505 deaths from traffic accidents in the first quarter of this year compared to 334 in 2021. The state’s increase of 51.2% in year-to-year comparison was one of the highest percentage changes in the United States.

Connecticut, Virginia, Nebraska, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii had percentage changes higher than North Carolina. Delaware reported a 163.2% increase in traffic fatalities in the first quarter of 2022 over the same period 2021.

The NCDOT states motorcycles represent about 2 percent of all registered vehicles in the state, but account for about 10 percent of all fatalities on North Carolina’s roads.

• A Mount Airy woman who attempted to flee from officers this week has been jailed on multiple charges, according to city police reports.

Bridget Ann Harris, 20, of 211 W. Oakdale St., was encountered by police Monday during a welfare check at a nearby location, 1401 N. Main St., the address for Grace Moravian Church.

An investigation revealed two outstanding warrants for her arrest on charges of attempted larceny and second-degree trespassing which had been issued on Aug. 11 through the Surry County Sheriff’s Office with no other details given.

Harris resisted arrest by pulling away and attempting to flee, police records state. She was held in the Surry County Jail under a $1,500 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in District Court on Sept. 19.

• Carlos Cruz, 39, listed as homeless, was arrested Sunday on a second-degree trespassing charge after police responded to a suspicious-person call at an unspecified location in the 1100 block of North Andy Griffith Parkway from which he had been banned by individuals including a property manager.

Cruz was jailed under a $100 secured bond and is slated to be in Surry District Court on Aug. 29.

• Damage to city property occurred on the afternoon of Aug. 12 at the Municipal Building on South Main Street, where a known individual spray-painted sidewalks. The damage was put at $100, with the case still under investigation at last report.

• A break-in was discovered on Aug. 11 at the home of Jacqueline Euvlla Robinson on Hadley Street, where a screen was cut and a window lifted to gain entry.

Nothing was listed as missing.

• Charges were filed against two people on Aug. 10 after officers investigated a shots-fired call at a residence on Hawaii Lane.

Shania Morique Wright, 24, of 134 Hawaii Lane, No. 5, was charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits and Shearin Jimmy Edwards, 51, of the same address, assault with a deadly weapon.

Edwards allegedly pulled a knife on Wright and came toward her with the weapon. He was held in the county jail under a $1,000 secured bond. Court date information for both individuals was not available.

The Board of Directors of Surrey Bancorp (Pink Sheets: SRYB) has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 10.5 cents per share on the company’s common stock. The cash dividend is payable on Oct. 7 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 16.

Ted Ashby, CEO of Surrey Bancorp, stated the dividend was based on the company’s operating results, “its strong financial condition and a commitment to delivering shareholder value.”

Surrey Bancorp is the bank holding company for Surrey Bank & Trust and is located at 145 North Renfro Street, Mount Airy. The bank operates full-service branch offices at 145 North Renfro Street, and 2050 Rockford Street in Mount Airy and a limited-service branch at 1280 West Pine Street in Mount Airy. Full-service branch offices are also located at 653 South Key Street in Pilot Mountain, 393 CC Camp Road in Elkin, 1096 Main Street in North Wilkesboro, and 940 Woodland Drive in Stuart, Virginia.

Surrey Bank & Trust can be found online at www.surreybank.com.

A proposed economic-development project targeting city-owned land in Piedmont Triad West Corporate Park will have to wait awhile before getting underway, due to a delay.

This involves plans for a yet-unnamed company that does electronic repair and rebuilds for regional customers to locate there and provide up to 20 jobs at first.

The matter was on the agenda for a Thursday night meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners, specifically an expected vote by the board to sell land to a developer which would accommodate the project.

However, Mayor Ron Niland, who announces agenda items at the start of each meeting, said that decision had to be postponed.

Niland explained that this was occurring at the request of the proposed purchaser, BayFront Development LLC, a commercial real estate firm based in Pilot Mountain.

No reason for the seeking of the postponement was specified.

The mayor said the matter now is scheduled to be taken up during the next city council meeting on Sept. 1.

BayFront Development is seeking to buy two tracts of vacant land totaling 4.76 acres in the park, located just off U.S. 601 at the southern end of town. The parcels sit side by side along Piedmont Triad West Drive.

If the sale goes through, the proposed developer is planning to construct a building containing about 9,000 square feet to accommodate the electronic repair and rebuild company, with room available for growth.

The new company is planning to begin operations with the creation of 15 to 20 jobs.

Surry County Economic Development Partnership President Todd Tucker had said earlier this week that the entity involved is not a North Carolina company.

Local officials have been working with it for a couple of months in order to facilitate the project, Tucker added.

If the sale is consummated, city documents state that the developer will complete the design of the facility, prepare the site and construct the building within two years.

The proposed endeavor represents an estimated $1.2 million investment for the building and $700,000 in new equipment.

BayFront is offering $65,000 for the land.

Charles Atkins Stadium was packed to maximum capacity Friday to see North Surry host rival Mount Airy in the season opener for both teams.

Playing the Bears in Atkins Stadium for the first time since 2019, the Greyhounds came out of the gate and put six points on the board then forced a three-and-out. When Mount Airy finally got the chance to set its offense into motion the teams traded touchdowns through the third quarter.

The Granite Bears led by five entering the fourth quarter, but quickly ran away with the victory. Mount Airy not only scored on its first play of the fourth, but scored three times on just four offensive plays during the final 12-minute period.

Mount Airy outscored North 23-0 in the final quarter to come away with the 46-18 win. The Bears have now won 15 consecutive meetings against their crosstown rival.

“Charles Atkins Stadium is a special place with a fantastic community and fan base,” said first-year Greyhound head coach Jackson Smith. “The atmosphere is electric, and I can’t wait to get to work and experience a win in front of that crowd. This rivalry is one of the best in the state and I’m glad our kids got to experience it.”

Both squads looked to prove themselves in the season opener. Mount Airy returned most of its offense from the 2021 season, but was without key defensive cornerstones that were multi-year contributors for the team. This opened holes for a group of hungry athletes ready to continue the school’s winning tradition.

“Feels great to be back out under the lights watching our guys compete,” said JK Adkins, who enters his fifth season as Mount Airy head coach.

North Surry returned almost all if its starting lineup from 2021. The Hounds did, however, gain a new head coach, a new quarterback and were running different schemes in multiple phases.

North Surry challenged their fellow Granite City school in ways only one team did last season. In 2021, only the Bears’ fourth-round playoff opponent Mitchell – that went on to finish 1A State Runner-up – was the only one of Mount Airy’s foes to: score a touchdown in the first quarter, score more than six overall points, hold Mount Airy scoreless in the first quarter and take a lead against the Bears.

Coach Adkins acknowledged North Surry’s toughness in the game, and went on to praise his team for their resilience shown when challenged Friday night.

“Throughout the 2021 season, we were not in a close game until the last game,” Adkins said. “Lack of adversity can prohibit growth. The presence of adversity can be a catalyst for growth, and sometimes growth can be painful.”

Both teams faced adversity in the form of injuries and cramps, which forced coaches to try out new lineup combinations while players were being taken care of by the medical staff. While players are traditionally the focus of cheers from the crowd, a voice from the home sideline praised the medical team for quickly and efficiently tending to downed players on both squads.

The story early on was North Surry’s ability to keep Mount Airy’s offense off the field. The Hounds opened the game with an 11-play, 5:33 drive that ended with sophomore quarterback Colton Allen punching in a 2-yard touchdown run.

Ten of the Greyhounds’ plays on the drive were rushes, with Allen and junior running back Jake Simmons moving the chains behind their offensive line. The Hounds finished the game with 346 total yards, which included 47 rushes for 203 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

“North Surry did a good job of controlling the time of possession, especially in the first half,” Adkins said. “We did not play much offense in the first half.”

After the opening touchdown, the Greyhound defense forced a three-and-out and continued rushing through the end of the first quarter.

“I think we have an identity of both sides of the ball; I was really proud of our effort, attitude and physicality,” Smith said. “That is really motivating to get back to work this week and try to sharpen what we are doing.

“I thought Daniel Draughn had a really tough task as his first game as defensive coordinator and he got a lot out of our unit. Offensive Coordinator Tanner Hiatt has cultivated an offense that really maximizes our personnel.”

The regrouped Bears offense needed just two plays to respond and take its first lead of the year. Junior quarterback Ian Gallimore broke free for a 68-yard run, then Caleb Reid scored a 5-yard touchdown on the following play.

North incorporated the passing game more as the night progressed. On the drive after Mount Airy first scored, Allen found Jared Hiatt for a 47-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-5.

The Bears also relied heavily on the ground game, with 342 of the team’s 432 total yards being rushes. Ian Gallimore and Landon Gallimore each completed one pass; Ian’s was a 59-yard completion to Walker Stroup in the second quarter, and Landon’s was a 31-yard completion to Mario Revels in the third.

Stroup’s touchdown paired with a 2-point conversion punched in by Ian Gallimore put the Bears up 15-12. Mount Airy’s defense halted North Surry on its final drive of the first half, then the Granite Bears extended their lead with a Landon Gallimore touchdown run to open the second half.

What followed was the longest drive of the game. North Surry traveled 80 yards in 15 plays on a drive that lasted 9:36 of game time. Simmons, who led the Hounds with 29 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown, rushed 11 times during the drive and scored a 1-yard touchdown. A failed 2-point conversion left the Bears lead alive at 23-18.

Big plays were the difference maker for Mount Airy. On the second play of the following drive, Reid took a handoff and ran 51 yards to enter the red zone. Two plays after that Tyler Mason started the fourth quarter with an 11-yard TD run. Reid’s 2-point conversion increased the lead to 18-31.

Smith and his coaching staff noticed Mount Airy’s offense making changes as the game progressed, but the coach said the Hounds’ attempts to counter the Bears weren’t enough in the end.

“We made adjustments as well that I thought gave us a chance to make some plays, but with that offense it’s give and take,” Smith said. “JK Adkins and Mount Airy are one of the best in the business running the triple. With the guys they have it’s really tough.”

North continued to fight and made it back to the red zone with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back penalties moved the Greyhounds back, and Mount Airy’s defense forced multiple incompletions as North Surry turned the ball over on downs.

Mason, who led Mount Airy with 101 yards rushing, scored his second touchdown of the night with a 73-yard run on the next drive. The Bears forced a Greyhound three-and-out, then freshman Taeshon Martin scored the exclamation mark with a 72-yard touchdown run.

Four Bears had at least 60 yards rushing in Friday’s game. Mason led the way at 101, followed by Ian Gallimore at 93, Martin at 72 and Reid at 60. Landon Gallimore added two rushes for 16 yards.

Simmons was the Greyhounds’ leading rusher with 139 yards. Allen was second with 56 yards, followed by Jahreece Lynch with 5 and Fisher Leftwich with 3.

Allen finished 9-of-17 passing for 146 yards and a touchdown. Lynch collected six receptions for 82 yards, Hiatt had one reception for 47 yards and a touchdown, and Simmons added two receptions for 17 yards.

“We had a lot of different guys impact the game tonight,” Smith said. “I can’t say how grateful I am for these kids and this staff. Everyone in this program has busted their tails this offseason. I’ll never be complacent after a loss, but I am fired up to get back to work.”

Both North Surry and Mount Airy continue nonconference play in Week Two. North Surry stays at home to face West Stokes (1-0), and Mount Airy makes its debut in Wallace Shelton Stadium by hosting East Surry (1-0).

6:27 NSHS 6-0 – Colton Allen 2-yard rush TD, 2-point conversion no good

10:05 MAHS 6-7 – Caleb Reid 5-yard rushing TD, Walker Stroup PAT

7:38 NSHS 12-7 – Jared Hiatt 47-yard TD reception on Colton Allen pass, 2-point conversion no good

1:42 MAHS 12-15 – Walker Stroup 59-yard TD reception on Ian Gallimore pass, Ian Gallimore 2-point conversion

10:32 MAHS 12-23 – Landon Gallimore 4-yard rushing TD, Tyler Mason 2-point conversion

0:56 NSHS 18-23 – Jake Simmons 1-yard rush TD, 2-point conversion no good

11:54 MAHS 18-31 – Tyler Mason 5-yard rushing TD, Caleb Reid 2-point conversion

6:58 MAHS 18-39 – Tyler Mason 5-yard rushing TD, Deric Dandy 2-point conversion reception on Landon Gallimore pass

3:58 MAHS 18-46 – Taeshon Martin 72-yard rushing TD, Walker Stroup PAT

Summer can be a fun time filled with leisurely activities that obscure the fact blood supplies are urgently needed, which officials are addressing through upcoming collection events across Surry County enhanced by the lure of prizes.

“This is always a difficult time of the year as people are enjoying vacation time with family and friends,” American Red Cross spokesman Chris Newman pointed out in highlighting how this leads to shortages resulting from fewer donations.

“Plus we do not have our school population in session, which normally each year contributes around 20% of our blood supply,” added Newman, who is based at the Winston-Salem office of the Red Cross.

It coordinates blood collections in Surry and other area counties.

“Now with school ramping up and schedules getting busier, it is so important for donors to remember to please take a moment and schedule some time to give blood to ensure it’s available for patients this fall,” Newman advised.

The Red Cross, the nation’s chief blood-collection agency, points out that every pint donated equals three lives saved.

In light of the demands, a full slate of blood drives that are open to the public is planned in Surry from late August through the end of September.

Opportunities to donate are listed according to these days/dates, times and locations:

• This Sunday at Bannertown Baptist Church, 1834 Westfield Road, Mount Airy, from 12:30 to 5 p.m,;

• Next Tuesday at the Copeland Community Ruritan Building, 975 Copeland School Road, Dobson, 2 to 6:30 p.m.;

• Wednesday, Mountain View Baptist Church, 8704 W. Pine St., Lowgap, 3 to 7:30 p.m.;

• Thursday, Surry County Government Center, 118 Hamby Road, Dobson, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;

• Aug. 28, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, 1432 Highway 21, State Road, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.;

• Aug. 28, Slate Mountain Baptist Church, 3644 E. Pine St., Mount Airy, 1 to 5 p.m.;

• Aug. 30, Surry American Red Cross building at 844 Westlake Drive, Mount Airy, noon to 4 p.m.;

• Aug. 30, Pine Hill Church, 3968 N.C. Highway 268, Ararat, 2 to 6:30 p.m.;

• Sept. 2, Lowe’s Home Improvement of Mount Airy, 692 S. Andy Griffith Parkway, noon to 4 p.m.;

• Sept. 2, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 100 Windsor Drive, Dobson, 2:30 to 7 p.m.;

• Sept. 3, Friendly Chapel Church, 228 Friendly Chapel Church Road, Pilot Mountain, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;

• Sept. 5, The Surry American Red Cross building at 844 Westlake Drive, Mount Airy, 12:30 to 5 p.m.;

• Sept, 7, East Surry High School, 801 W. Main St., Pilot Mountain, 10:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.;

• Sept. 7, Surry Communications, 819 E. Atkins St., Dobson, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;

• Sept, 11, Salem Fork Christian Church, 2245 White Dirt Road, Dobson, noon to 4 p.m.;

• Sept. 18, Calvary Baptist Church, 314 S. Franklin Road, Mount Airy, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;

• Sept. 19, Pilot Mountain First United Methodist Church, 210 Marion St., noon to 4:30 p.m.;

• Sept. 19, Elkin Rescue Squad building, 940 N. Bridge St., 1:30 to 6 p.m.;

• Sept. 22, Flat Rock Elementary School, 1539 E. Pine St., Mount Airy, 1 to 5:30 p.m.;

• Sept. 23, Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, 180 Parkwood Drive, Elkin, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;

• Sept. 23, The Surry American Red Cross building, 844 Westlake Drive, Mount Airy, noon to 4 p.m.;

• Sept. 28, Surry Central High School, 716 S. Main St., Dobson, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.;

• Sept. 29, Mount Airy Middle School, 249 Hamburg St., 2:30 to 7 p.m.

As if the satisfaction of helping one’s fellow man through the gift of life isn’t enough — invaluable during surgical and other procedures — special offers await those rolling up their sleeves this month and in September.

In noting an urgent need for donors, those giving in August will receive a a $10 e-gift card to a merchant of their choice, according to information on the American Red Cross website.

Newman, the representative in Winston-Salem, mentioned that other incentives await in September.

Those donating next month will get a free haircut coupon from Sport Clips via email plus a chance to win a VIP NASCAR racing experience courtesy of Sport Clips, he reported.

Also, donors who give between Sept. 1-18 will receive a special Red Cross T-shirt.

Prospective whole blood donors must be in good health, feeling well and at least 16 years old in most states, along with weighing no less than 110 pounds.

An individual can give every 56 days, up to six times a year, according to information from the Red Cross.

Donation appointments can be made by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

This process also can allow one to determine the availability of appointments for drives on the schedule.

Surry County and its municipal governments are hungry to find ways to trim excess fat from their budgets. An opportunity has arrived to replace aging first responders’ equipment, regulate annual budgetary costs, and save the taxpayers monies by having counties join the Stryker ALS 360 leasing program.

Eric Southern of Surry County Emergency Management said the county is already enjoying considerable savings and he has plans to add to the savings going forward. He said prices on medical equipment, as with almost all other goods, have been on the rise recently. The inflation equates to roughly a 4% price increases from two years ago.

“If we purchased the needed equipment for all of our EMS vehicles it would cost $1,379,947.10 and we would have to purchase a maintenance contract to cover each item which could increase the cost over $175,000 especially if repairs are needed,” he explained.

“One perk with the contract is that older models will be rotated out when they release newer models, so maintenance is not a factor. However, if it is needed, it is also included in the contract price.”

Surry County only utilizes the equipment leasing program through Stryker for Lifepak Defibrillator / ECG monitor, Lucas compression devices, and McGrath video laryngoscopes. Southern estimates that as an estimated savings of $263,000 a year for Surry County. In the future he wants to look at adding additional items onto that list as costs to maintain equipment rise as the age does.

He listed out estimated costs for the Lifepak15 monitor/defibrillator currently priced at $43,248.28, McGrath scopes are $3,061.77, and MTS Power Load stretchers are $25,975.80 according to the latest numbers available. Today’s prices may not be tomorrow’s prices as any recent purchase of a gallon or milk, or gas has shown.

Keith Vestal made a presentation to the Yadkin County Board of County Commissioners Monday evening to present the benefits of joining the leasing program. He would like to join with Southern in taking advantage of the Stryker ALS 360 program saying it is a good option that will provide his teams with the same equipment that they already use.

“This program just gives us new equipment every five years with complete warranties maintenance to cover each piece for the life of the lease. If a newer or more advanced model is released our equipment is automatically up graded to the latest model,” the Yadkin County Emergency Management director said.

“Medical devices such as cardiac monitors, patient cots, and others are very expensive items and have strict FDA care and maintenance requirements. Having the latest technology in life saving equipment is a key component in protecting our citizens, and we want to do everything we can to help them in a time of need,” he said.

In presenting the leasing program to the Yadkin commissioners, Vestal was able to dangle in front of the board a savings in the amount of over one million dollars. Reducing the costs of emergency services means budgeted dollars can be stretched and used in other ways than replacing equipment like power lift systems and defibrillators.

“This program is a very good choice for Yadkin County because instead of purchasing each piece, the lease will give us new equipment and will save $1,078,600 over the 10 years of the lease. I think this could be a good fit for other EMS agencies in need of replacing several items of this type.”

The director of Stokes County Emergency Management concurred saying that he felt the equipment leasing program was a good idea. “I have looked into this leasing program and did ask for it in my budget for this fiscal year.”

“Due to some of our equipment has not reached the end of service life we have decided to hold off for another year. We will be looking at presenting this to board of county commissioners in the 2023/24 budget,” Brandon Gentry said. “It will save money and will keep up to date and new equipment on the EMS units.”

Replacing equipment means budgets can fluctuate greatly as different pieces reach the end of their useful life at different time. The leasing program will allow costs to be fixed over the ten-year period of the contract which will take the unknown of repair or replacement costs off the table for participating counties.

Ad hoc equipment replacement may also mean that not all ambulances have the same equipment meaning those first responders need familiarity with other versions of the same equipment. Uniformity in equipment, and therefore training on said equipment, may make a difference when seconds count.

When the Surry County Sheriff’s Office was explaining their need for pursuit-ready squad cars this spring, they mentioned that larger police forces with squad car orders of greater size may get priority. Stryker said leasing participants are prioritized for receipt of equipment, which is particularly important in a time of supplier uncertainty.

Gentry, Southern, and Vestal agree that the Stryker equipment leasing program is a benefit for the citizen they protect. Yadkin County soon will reap the savings as Surry County has and Stokes County hopes to follow suit.

Vestal did due diligence before presenting the lease to the county board, “I have done a lot of research on the Stryker ALS 360 Program and at this point do not see anything negative with it. Other Counties in North Carolina have gone with this program, and everything is going well.”

“Medicine is changing by the minute and equipment is changing by the minute. What we do to help preserve life in Yadkin County depends on us having the best equipment we can have,” he said.

With the potential savings of replacing equipment already at the end of its service, and again during the mid-point of the contract, for county emergency management leaders it seems a no-brainer to agree to the lease agreement and the Yadkin Commissioners agreed unanimously.

A lengthy regulatory battle involving a local auto racing legend and signage for a $2 million expansion of his body shop has ended in the businessman’s favor — amid support from a state legislator and former Mount Airy mayor.

Oh, there was also the crowd of friends and family members of Frank Fleming’s faithfully gathering each time the issue has been discussed by the city council recently.

It was the largest of all Thursday night when an ordinance amendment was approved allowing the previously denied sign that exceeded height limitations, thus eliminating a pending appeal of that decision in Surry County Superior Court.

“Frank fought City Hall and won,” Deborah Cochran, who served as Mount Airy’s mayor from 2009 to 2015, said after the city commissioners’ 3-1 decision approving boundary changes to permit the sign at the new body shop location on Merita Street.

In addition to Cochran, the audience included state Rep. Sarah Stevens of Mount Airy, who spoke in favor of the ordinance amendment during a public hearing preceding the vote.

Those who didn’t speak made their presence known by filling the council chambers, which contains 73 audience seats.

Metal folding chairs were brought in to accommodate the overflow crowd that included some people standing — with attendance nearing the 100-person limit for fire safety regulations.

The issue at hand involved a large sign left behind by the Winn-Dixie supermarket when vacating the site on Merita Street years ago, leaving a rundown parcel that Fleming bought.

Fleming, known for a distinguished career as a modified racer at venues including Bowman Gray Stadium, is relocating his body shop there from its present headquarters on Springs Road and will add about 10 new jobs as a result.

But he was prevented from re-facing and using the existing sign framework due to a 2016 update of a municipal ordinance aimed at preventing sign clutter.

It states that signage for new business may be no taller than 15 feet, which the old Winn-Dixie structure exceeds. Those already existing were grandfathered in under the measure.

Fleming worked through various city channels in an attempt to somehow be exempted from that rule, mirroring concerns about customers not being able to find the Merita Street site that is tucked away off U.S. 52-North.

In addition to drawing attention to the business, there was a safety concern about motorists missing the turn to the shop off that highway and having to double back by turning into heavy, fast-moving traffic.

Fleming ultimately was barred from re-using the sign through a vote by a powerful group known as the Mount Airy Zoning Board of Adjustment. It is a quasi-judicial administrative body whose decisions affect private property rights to the same extent as court rulings.

The businessman appealed the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s ruling to Superior Court, which was slated to hear the case in September, based on earlier discussions.

In late June, Fleming appeared before the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners to request an amendment to city nonconforming sign regulations which would allow the old fixture to be utilized.

This led to another group, the Mount Airy Planning Board, adding provisions addressing situations such as the Merita Street property.

These state that such signs which are set back a minimum of 300 feet and no more than 600 feet from U.S. 52-Bypass, U.S. 601 and Interstate 74 rights of way shall be exempt from other sign rules in the city ordinance. Fleming’s property is within those parameters.

In late July, the commissioners voted to set the public hearing on the proposed change which was held Thursday night.

“So the rest is up to you,” city Planning Director Andy Goodall told the commissioners then in setting the stage for the scheduled vote that would occur later in the session.

Only two people spoke despite the many in attendance, but their words seemed to resonate with everyone within listening range.

One was Fleming, who sensed the outcome in his favor.

He expressed thanks for the opportunity to adequately promote his shop with the sign ordinance change, and also asked those in the audience supporting him to stand — which included most of those present.

“You can’t explain what this means to me,” Fleming said in response.

Rep. Stevens also spoke during the hearing.

“I’m here to support Frank — he’s been my friend for many years,” said Stevens, who serves Surry County in the N.C. General Assembly, where she holds a key leadership position.

She also mentioned that Fleming had done repair work for her at his present body shop on Springs Road.

Cochran, who is a commissioner candidate this year along with being a former mayor, did not speak during the hearing, but offered a prepared statement.

“Frank fought City Hall and won,” it reads in part.

Cochran applauded Thursday night’s decision, which was greeted by loud applause from those assembled. She believes it “will have a major business impact” for the longtime shop owner due to sign visibility being “crucial” for the location involved.

The former city official also considers the decision a victory for the local business community in general, citing heavy attendance by others in that realm where she sat in the rear of the meeting room.

“There were so many business owners in the back, including construction company, two trucking companies, two auto towing companies, car dealers, car parts dealers, hardware company, sign company and more, all supporting Frank,” Cochran observed.

“When Frank wins, we all win.”

Fleming resembled a racer in Victory Lane at Daytona when receiving congratulatory remarks from those leaving the council chambers.

“I’m happy — I want to thank the commissioners,” he commented while standing near the exit.

Fleming said he had learned much during the process leading to the sign approval.

“I knew nothing about local government when I started this,” he said.

“It’s really been educational to me.”

Although Commissioner Steve Yokeley was absent from Thursday night’s meeting, he did issue a statement expressing his regret for that and also addressing Fleming’s situation.

While noting that he considered the updated sign ordinance to be comprehensive and fair, Yokeley did acknowledge the appropriateness of the new language to allow the taller sign in that circumstance.

In his statement, Yokeley further expressed thanks to Fleming for developing a new business within the city limits and creating jobs.

Mayor Ron Niland also read a statement to the crowd that he had prepared in anticipation of the positive vote.

“Tonight makes me proud to be part of our community,” it says.

“Mr. Fleming felt it was important to his business and went through the appropriate process to get a modification,” Niland added regarding the sign. “The Planning Board and the city commissioners this evening made that change, seeing it being in the best interest of the community.”

Another part of the mayor’s statement is an apparent counter to a charge made in recent months by Commissioner Jon Cawley, who said the Fleming sign issue suggests that the city is anti-business.

“This is a sign, no pun intended, that Mount Airy is a business-friendly community that tries to foster an environment of being flexible when needed,” Niland said while reading from his statement.

One person not happy about Thursday night’s decision is Commissioner Joe Zalescik, a former Planning Board member who cast the dissenting vote.

“I feel the sign ordinance was strong the way it was and I feel this is setting a precedent,” he explained after the meeting.

He said it sends a signal to those unhappy with a certain measure that they can circumvent the normal process. “They’re going to go to the commissioners and try to get the law changed.”

Zalescik said he would have preferred to see the sign matter go through the normal appeals process.

Mount Airy won a war of attrition over East Surry in Wednesday’s season opener

The young Cardinal team, who graduated seven of its 14 players from last season, had the defending 1A West Regional Runner-up in a 2-1 game with the first half winding down. The veteran Bears team responded with a third first-half goal with less than 60 seconds on the clock, then piled on three more goals in the second for the 6-1 win.

“Having this for our first full-speed game I think we did good,” said East Surry coach Samuel Lowe. Lowe is in his first season as Cardinal head coach after serving as an assistant to previous head coaches Andy Jessup and Neal Oliver.

“Of course we are young, but I thought they played darn good against a tough Mount Airy team – which I see probably at the state championship game when it’s all said and done. I really do. They’re that good.”

While the Bears would love to make another deep playoff run this season, coach Will Hurley said the team’s only concern is winning the game in front of them.

“It feels awesome to be back out here,” Hurley said. “It’s a good group of kids, and a lot of them of played for me for a long time.”

Mount Airy’s 2022 team features 10 seniors, many of whom were key parts of last year’s team that finished 26-1 and set numerous school records.

One thing this Granite Bear group isn’t very familiar with is giving up goals. In 27 matches last season, the 2021 team had 16 shutouts and only surrendered goals in seven regular season matches.

Mount Airy went up 1-0 after Gavin Guerrero scored in the 16th minute. Bear senior Agripino Perez added a goal off an assist from Jonathan Valadez in the 38th minute.

East Surry switched into attack mode after the second goal, as the Cards only had one shot on goal to this point. East drew a foul near midfield, and Logan Fagg floated a free kick into the 18-yard box of Mount Airy. Alex Galvan redirected Fagg’s kick to Jonathan De La Cruz to put into the back of the net.

“I think we got out of our shape on that free kick; we went back too far and didn’t hold our line, which led to that goal,” Hurley said. “It’ll be a good learning tool later on. We’ve started seasons off like that before where we don’t give up a goal until like the 10th or 12th game, then when you give it up it hurts so bad. Now, we’ve got that over with and I think that’ll help us.”

Mount Airy needed less than 60 seconds to strike again, with Perez netting his second goal of the evening.

Despite giving up three goals, Lowe said he was proud of team in the first half. The young Cardinals defense gave up 12 shots, but successfully defended five corner kicks and only allowed five of those shots to land on target.

The second half was all Mount Airy, though. The Bears pelted 14 total shots in the second 40-minute period, 10 of which were on target and three that got by the keeper.

“I thought we played great in the first half, but that was before everybody got their cramps – which just shows you what kind of shape we really are in,” Lowe said. “It’s a little different playing game speed than practice speed. We moved the ball a whole lot better in the first half than we did in the second half. We just got wore down. They beat on my defense more in the second half, that’s all it was.

“I’m just proud of the way my boys worked. We’ve got a little conditioning to do, but I believe we’re going to be okay as the season goes on.”

Even with the lopsided victory, Hurley said the Bears have a lot to improve on before facing East again on August 25. At the top of the list is creating more offense by advancing up the wings and using their passing as a weapon.

“We’re going to focus more on doing what we do,” Hurley said. “I don’t like the kick-and-run style, and that’s not our game. We can get an occasional run going like that, but to me a run starts on the outside and not up the middle like that. We’re doing that ‘indoor’ thing and we’ve got to spread it wide and play our game.”

The Cardinals have more than a week until playing again, and Lowe also has a list of changes the team can make before rematching their county rivals.

“Conditioning for sure is at the top of the list,” Lowe said. “A whole lot of us are out of shape, but that falls on me as a coach to make sure these boys are game-shape ready. I’d also like to see us maybe move the ball a little bit better. Let’s get the ball off our foot quicker, and let’s move through the midfield better. That comes with practice and game experience, and I think we’ll definitely improve as the season goes on.”

Goals: Gavin Guerrero (MA) 16’, Agripino Perez (MA) from Jonathan Valadez assist 38’, Jonathan De La Cruz (ES) from Alex Galvan assist 38’, Agripino Perez (MA) from Jonathan Valadez assist 39’ | Elkin Lopez (MA) 47’, Angel Osorno (MA) from Agripino Perez assist 62’, Gavin Guerrero (MA) 67’

All summer long, the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History has been sponsoring its Treat-A-Teacher event, and there are still a few days left to participate.

Educators are welcome to visit the museum for free as well as bring a plus-one for no additional cost, and they also get a treat bag, resource guide, and entry into our Back to Class Raffle just for visiting.

The last day to participate is Tuesday, August 22. The raffle will be drawn the next day, on August 23, at noon, and the drawing will be live-streamed over Facebook Live.

The raffle will have a single grand prize winner, but thanks to local support from Staples as well a number of area individuals, the raffle basket includes a collapsible rolling cart, office and classroom supplies, treats, museum gift shop goodies, and other items.

“It’s priceless having teachers visit us and helping us learn how we can best be a resource for them,” the library said in a reminder about the upcoming raffle. “We hope through events like this that we can show local educators how much we truly appreciate their hard work. Finally, we want to encourage teachers to visit us if they can before Wednesday, and good luck to all who have participated in our raffle.”

For more information, contact The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History at mamrh@northcarolinamuseum.org or call 336-786-4478, or drop by at 301 N. Main St.

A lot can change in a year’s time.

When Mount Airy and Surry Central opened the 2021 volleyball season, both squads were filled with seniors – most of which spent a good portion of their high school careers at the varsity level. With the teams graduating a combined 12 seniors from last season, the 2022 season opener was a fresh matchup featuring numerous new faces.

Mount Airy’s stayed in the driver’s seat for most of the first and third sets. Central kept things close, even holding a 24-23 advantage at one point in the second set, but came up short each time.

The Granite Bears emerged with a 3-0 victory, with set scores of 25-19, 26-24 and 25-21, for the program’s first straight-set win over the Golden Eagles since 2016.

Mount Airy graduated seven seniors from the 2021 season. This includes three of the team’s four All-Conference selections, 4-of-5 leading attackers, the assist leader and 4-of-5 leading blockers. One of the seven seniors signed to continue her volleyball career at the collegiate level.

The experienced Bears finished the year 18-9 overall and won the Northwest 1A Conference Tournament, which was the school’s first conference tournament championship in 29 years.

Surry Central graduated five seniors from the 2021 season. Like the Bears, last year’s Golden Eagle seniors accounted for four of the team’s five All-Conference selections, and the team’s only All-State selection was also a senior. Four of Central’s 2022 graduates signed to play collegiate sports, including three that extended their volleyball careers.

Central finished 18-7 overall and reached the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament Championship. Three of the team’s seven losses came against the eventual 2A West Regional Runner-up.

Mount Airy never trailed in the opening set of Tuesday’s match, but Central kept the score within arm’s length until the Bears took a 19-14 advantage. A timely Eagles timeout halted momentum, allowing Central to cut the lead to three, but then the Bears regrouped and won the set 25-19.

There were five lead changes and nine ties in the second set but the result was the same. Central rallied off back-to-back-to-back points late to take a 24-23 lead. The Bears’ Morgan Mayfield evened the score with a kill from the back row, then two attack errors by the visitors gave Mount Airy the 2-0 set lead.

Surry Central took a brief lead in the third set at 1-0 and 3-2, but it was all Mount Airy after this. The Bears scored seven of the next eight points to force an Eagles timeout.

Central managed to cut the lead to 16-13 at one point, however, Mount Airy scored the next six points to all but end the match. The Bears went on to complete the sweep with a 25-18 set victory.

The Mount Airy area musical group The New Dynamic Voices of Praise will be marking 15 years of singing together with what the group is calling a “pre-anniversary” slate of Christian and gospel music on Sunday.

The gathering, at Friendship Baptist Church, at 898 Wills Gap Road in Ararat, Virginia, will feature not only The New Dynamic Voices of Praise, but performances by other groups as well.

Pernell Webster said The New Dynamic Voices of Praise formed about 15 years ago, at the behest of his mother. She, Webster, and several of his relatives formed that first version of the group, which has shifted over the years to include cousins, uncles, his dad and mom, and two of his children. They travel to and perform at churches in the region.

This is the second year the group has had a “pre-anniversary” concert in August, he said.

“We used to do this in October, but the weather was sometimes cold, so we switched it to August.”

Other groups slated to perform include Divine Purpose of Mount Airy, Faithful Four from Galax, Virginia, Faithful Travelers from Martinsville, Virginia, as well as J. Soul and God’s Creation from Salisbury.

Doors at the church will open at 3 p.m., with the program set to begin at 4 p.m.

In Mark 4: 1-9 we read a parable that Jesus taught to his disciples of the sower and sowing the seed. In this parable we find some truths about being a child of God as we live in the world today. Notice that Jesus started in verse 3 with the word “Hearken” or “listen” because He had something important to teach His listeners. Let’s see some truths from this parable.

First, we see the responsibility of the sower to sow. Jesus used a picture of a farmer who went out into the field and took a bag of seed and when he got there, he began to broadcast or sow the seed. We, as Christians, have a responsibility to sow the seed of God’s word throughout the world in which we live. There are many ways to sow: some preach, some teach, some sing, some witness, and others pray for those who go out; but we all have a responsibility to be a part of the sowing process.

When we realize the responsibility to sow, I believe there are five ways that we are to sow:

– First, we are to sow plentifully. That means we are to sow a lot of seed. I learned on the farm that if you were going to have a bountiful harvest you had to put plenty of seed in the ground. We need to be constantly looking for opportunities to plentifully sow the seed of God’s word in the hearts of others.

– Secondly, we are to sow passionately. Farmers are always excited for springtime to come so they can get a new crop started. We need to have an intense desire to sow the seed of God’s word by telling others the Good News of Jesus Christ and constantly look for an opportunity to share what God has done for us.

– Thirdly, we need to sow compassionately. This is like the farmer who sows with such passion that he waters the seed with his sweat and tears. We need to bathe the seed of God’s word, which we sow in the hearts of others, with tears of prayer, love, and concern for those who are hearing about what Jesus has done for them.

– Fourthly, we need to sow patiently. I have never seen a farmer sow seed today and expect them to be sprouted and producing harvest the next day. We as Christians so often get discouraged if we sow and do not get an immediate harvest. Folks, we must remember it is our job to sow, not produce the harvest. That is God’s job, and He will do His job in His time.

– Fifthly, we are to sow expectantly. No farmer would ever go out and sow seed and say, “Well I am sowing this seed, but I know it will never produce a harvest.” Farmers sow expecting a bountiful harvest, usually more than ever before. That is the attitude that we need to have as Christians when we sow our seed. God will take that seed and produce a greater harvest than we have ever seen. It is when we understand our responsibility that we will begin to do what God has called us to do and that is: to sow the seed.

Second, we need to understand the reliability of the seed. What kinds of seed are we to sow? The Bible is plain in Mark 4: 14 “The sower soweth the word.” When a farmer goes out to plant his crops, he tries to find the very best seed to plant for the greatest harvest possible. We have the very best seed available for us to sow and that is God’s Holy, Inspired, Infallible, and Inerrant Word. In God’s word we have wonderful seed. It is wonderful because it tells us of God’s mercy, grace, peace, salvation and so much more.

The word is described as a fire that burns in our heart and must get out; sharp as a two-edged sword that can cut through sin; and so powerful that it can bring salvation and a change to every person who will hear and heed its message. God’s word is a penetrating seed that will penetrate the hardest of hearts and sprout forth the love of God to be shared with all that encounters it. God’s word is also a fruitful seed. Just as the seed goes in the ground and reproduces itself so does the Word of God. When we faithfully sow the seed of God’s word it will produce a harvest of souls that will cause all of heaven to rejoice.

Christians, if we are to make a positive impact on this world for the Lord, we need to heed what we have learned from this parable. We have a responsibility to sow the reliable seed of God’s Word and one day at judgment God will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Are you sowing for the Savior?

PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry won its season opener 55-7 against Starmount on Thursday.

The visiting Rams struck first and seemed to have the Cardinals figured out through the first quarter, but 55 unanswered points from the Cards – including 27 in just the second quarter – erased any doubts.

The win marks East Surry’s 10th-consecutive win in its series against Starmount.

“It’s great to be back,” said East Surry coach Trent Lowman. “There’s nowhere I’d rather play a high school football game than here at East Surry in David H. Diamont Stadium, and to get a win feels great. I’m proud of this group. They’ve put in a lot of work and had a great offseason. I’m just happy they got to begin the year like this; now, it’s time to go back to work.”

Lowman praised the leadership of his 21 seniors in the win. After facing an early deficit, the Cardinals were able to regroup and refocus late in the first quarter. East Surry then went on to put up 466 total yards while holding Starmount to 156.

The team shared the wealth in all three phases: six different players scored, 10 recorded carries or receptions, two forced turnovers and two converted PATs.

“We didn’t make any changes schematically, but I think our guys settled in and got some confidence,” Lowman said. “We narrowed down some things offensively and tried to get a little better at those things. We have a lot of work to do still. We have a lot to work on and get better at.”

Starmount’s defense came out of the gate hot by forcing a three-and-out, which was a rare occurrence for one of the 2A division’s top offenses in 2021.

The Rams played tight pass coverage forcing an incompletion, tackled a Cardinal receiver in the backfield for a loss then contained a quarterback scramble on third down.

“They did a good job of recognizing and adjusting to our formations,” Lowman said. “They are very well coached and play hard. They’ve been solid for a long time, and I expect them to have a really good year.”

Even after a booming 66-yard punt from Stephen Brantley put the Rams on their own 10 yard line, Starmount wasn’t deterred and was able to chip away at East to continually move the chains. The visitors also caught the Cardinals off-guard three times for offsides penalties as part of the 4:33 drive that covered 90 yards.

The drive concluded with QB Luke Kimmer finding AJ Pardue for a 17-yard reception.

With Starmount mounting a strong resistance to East Surry’s passing offense, the Cards adjusted and utilized more than a handful of running backs. East’s 290 yards rushing against the Rams is the team’s second-most in a game the past four seasons.

Devin Williams led the way for the Cardinals with 15 carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Hayden Sammons was next with seven carries for 45 yards and a TD, Lindann Fleming also surpassed 40 yards and scored a touchdown, and Kyle Zinn rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown.

The Cards also found their footing in the passing game as the game progressed. After being held to two completions for no gain through most of the first quarter, QB Folger Boaz connected with Brantley for a 31-yard touchdown with 1:49 on the clock. This was the longest play from scrimmage by either team Thursday night.

Boaz went on to finish 16-of-25 passing for 163 yards, three touchdowns, a 2-point conversion and an interception. He also rushed eight times for 45 yards.

Colby Johnson led all receivers with six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 1-of-2 passes for 13 yards.

Brantley added three catches for 41 yards and a TD, and Luke Brown had two catches for 17 yards to go with his touchdown grab.

Dylan Cox, Matthew Keener and Williams combined for the remaining five catches for 50 yards.

East’s defense started clicking around the same time as the offense. Starmount was held to just one first down in the second quarter, two in the third and one in the fourth.

The Rams also turned the ball over twice in the game, the first of which worked to heavily shift momentum in the Cardinals’ favor.

East Surry scored on four consecutive possessions in the first half, and the most recent of these saw Williams plug in a 4-yard run. This was followed by a Boaz-Johnson connection on the 2-point conversion as the first half was coming to a close.

Starmount’s leading back Zack Dezern, who was the Northwest 1A Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, had the ball knocked loose on the first play of the next drive and it was recovered by Fleming. East got the ball back with 52 seconds on the clock and only needed 36 to score again.

The second turnover came on the second play of the third quarter, when Williams picked off Kimmer.

Hatcher Hamm led East Surry with 10 tackles. Brett Clayton added seven tackles and a sack, and Fleming had four tackles to go with his fumble recovery.

Dezern was Starmount’s leading rusher with 12 carries for 75 yards. Pardue added three rushes for 24 yards, Zion Ramseur had two carries for 17 yards, Corey Armstrong had two carries for 15 yards, Preston Williams carried twice for five yards, Ryan Kimmer and Evan Shore each rushed once for no gain and QB Luke Kimmer was brought down behind the line of scrimmage twice for a loss of 12 yards.

Luke Kimmer completed 6-of-18 passes for 43 yards. Luke’s 17-yard TD pass to Pardue was Starmount’s only pass greater than 10 yards.

Though week one games are always tricky to game plan for, Lowman said he was happy with the result and said the team will look to tweak a few things to be ready for Mount Airy in week two.

“We have to be better at more things,” Lowman said. “We did a few things well, but we need to be cleaner and crisper in more areas than the few we were tonight.”

6:03 STAR 0-7 – AJ Pardue 17-yard TD reception on Luke Kimmer pass, Alex Mora PAT

1:49 ESHS 7-7 – Stephen Brantley 31-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT

9:21 ESHS 14-7 – Kyle Zinn 7-yard rush TD, Stephen Brantley PAT

4:07 ESHS 20-7 – Luke Brown 12-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, PAT blocked by AJ Pardue

0:59 ESHS 28-7 – Devin Williams 7-yard rush TD, Colby Johnson 2-point conversion reception on Folger Boaz pass

4:07 ESHS 34-7 – Colby Johnson 18-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, PAT no good

2:06 ESHS 41-7 – Lindann Fleming 13-yard rush TD, Stephen Brantley PAT

9:43 ESHS 48-7 – Devin Williams 4-yard rush TD, Joshua Parker PAT

2:18 ESHS 55-7 – Hayden Sammons 4-yard rush TD, Joshua Parker PAT

Mount Airy officials are expected to take action tonight which could lead to a new company locating at Piedmont Triad West Corporate Park and initially employing up to 20 people.

“This is one of the first steps,” Surry County Economic Development Partnership President Todd Tucker said Wednesday regarding a proposed acquisition of municipal-owned property in the industrial park off U.S. 601 at the southern end of town.

BayFront Development LLC, a commercial real estate firm based in Pilot Mountain, is seeking to buy two tracts of vacant land in the park totaling 4.76 acres, according to city government documents. BayFront is offering $65,000 for the property located along Piedmont Triad West Drive.

If the sale goes through, the proposed developer is planning to construct a building containing about 9,000 square feet to accommodate an unnamed company that does electronic repair and rebuilds for regional customers.

“It’s not a North Carolina company,” Tucker added Wednesday. “We’ve been working with that company for a couple of months now.”

The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on the sale during a meeting beginning at 6 p.m. today.

If the sale is consummated, city documents state that the developer will complete the design of the facility, prepare the site and construct the building within two years.

The new company is planning to begin operations with the creation of 15 to 20 jobs. Tucker said the amount of land acquired would allow it the ability to grow.

“They’ve got several months’ worth of due diligence,” the Economic Development Partnership official said of the process faced after the anticipated sale approval by the city commissioners.

The identity of the company will be announced when that process is further along, according to Tucker.

In speaking to the diversity of jobs it might entail, Tucker said a similar industry presently exists in the county. But Tucker mentioned that the new entity would provide more opportunities for workers possessing the skills involved.

The endeavor represents an estimated $1.2 million investment for the building and $700,000 in new equipment.

Should the proposed owner fail to begin construction within two years, the sale will be unwound or reversed, city documents say.

Once the facility is completed by the developer, the industrial client will buy and operate it, under the plans.

• A single-car crash in the Lowe’s Hardware parking lot last Saturday led to a Mount Airy man being jailed on multiple charges, according to city police reports.

Lewis Wayne Schumaker, 73, of 154 Duke Road, was operating a 2018 Kia Soul that struck a gate at the entrance to the lumber yard at Lowe’s, with an investigation determining that he allegedly was under the influence, records state.

This led to a driving while impaired charge against Schumaker, who also was found to be the subject of an outstanding order for arrest for failing to appear in court which had been issued on Aug. 10.

He was held in the Surry County Jail under a $5,500 secured bond and slated for an appearance in District Court on Wednesday of this week.

• Also Saturday, a fight investigation at 140 W. Pine St. resulted in Nicholas Gene Stevens, 39, of 174 W. Pine St., No. 4, being incarcerated on a three-year-old felony charge of possession of cocaine which had been filed through the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office in June 2019.

Stevens was confined in the Surry County Jail under a $5,000 secured bond and is scheduled to be in court in Cabarrus on Aug. 25.

• Marcos Antonio Duarte, 44, of 679 Maple St., was charged Sunday with hit and run, which police records indicate involved a 2019 Dodge Ram pickup operated by Duarte, with no other details listed.

The case is set for the Sept. 23 session of Surry District Court.

• Michael Ian Bailey was arrested on a felony drug charge last Friday after a traffic stop for a stop sign violation on Bluff Street at South Main Street.

Bailey was a passenger in the 2003 Jeep Liberty involved and after a consent search was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver due to a clear rock-like substance being located.

He further is accused of possessing drug paraphernalia, listed as a glass smoking device, and was served with an outstanding criminal summons for a charge of unauthorized use of a conveyance which had been issued on June 15.

Bailey was jailed under a $1,000 secured bond and slated for an appearance in District Court next Monday.

© 2018 The Mount Airy News