Mount Airy
Politics
Event salutes Memorial Day''s real meaning
There’s always talk about Memorial Day kicking off summer or being a time for cookouts, but the keynote speaker at an event Monday reminded that this most solemn of holidays means much more. “Memorial Day is a time to reflect on the past, to take a look at the present and to renew our contract to the future of America,” U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dave Dinkins said. Dinkins was speaking...
City schools name new assistant superintendent
Mount Airy City Schools has a new assistant superintendent — but it is a familiar face and name to many in the city school system. Dr. Olivia Sikes has been named Assistant Superintendent of the city school system, filling the post left vacant when Dr. Phillip Brown was named superintendent of the district, who in turn replaced the retiring Dr. Kim Morrison. Sikes brings 21 years of experience to the...
Museum’s Junior Historians show out at state competition
The Jesse Franklin Pioneers, the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History’s chapter of the Tar Heel Junior Historians, recently brought home nearly a half-dozen awards for their work displayed at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh as part of the Junior Historians state conference. In the Video Documentary contest the Intermediate Group, consisting of Rickie Caudill, Adah Huff, Kylie Jones, Madilyn Kassen, Paytin Key, and Solomon Shipley, brought home first place for their “Home Town Homicides” video. This documentary covered the Lawson Family...
Officials restrict use of city seal
In an era when logos of sports teams, consumer products, pop culture characters and various organizations appear on everything from T-shirts and caps to coffee mugs, officials are trying to prevent unauthorized use of Mount Airy’s defining symbol. That is the official city seal, a venerable image containing a cluster of four panels depicting traditional local industries: furniture, granite, textiles and tobacco. While the glory of these has faded to...
Memorial Day to alter sanitation routes
Next week’s observance of Memorial Day has prompted changes in sanitation schedules for Mount Airy. This will include no yard waste collection in the city on Monday. The next such pickups are to occur a week later on June 3. Also, the commercial garbage routes normally run on Monday will be serviced on Tuesday instead. This same Monday-to-Tuesday shift is in store for the city’s industrial roll-off route. Municipal offices will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
Mount Airy enters naming-rights game
Want to have a building or other city government facility in Mount Airy named for someone? If so, be prepared to pay up to $5 million for that honor. That is now the case due to this locality officially entering the naming-rights industry, which most notably has dominated professional sports with stadiums being designated for major corporations in exchange for big bucks. The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners voted last...
Major rezoning goes down painlessly
Rezoning proposals have triggered some of the biggest controversies in Mount Airy over the years, but the latest one has gone through without a hitch. This is despite the fact 14 parcels with a dozen different addresses and six owners were involved, ranging from a convenience store to the city public works building, a state license-tag office, a day-care center, a salon and other entities. These form a diverse array...
Westfield Elementary learns of summer library program
Westfield Elementary had a very special guest come to our school on May 6, Caroline Freeman, from Charles H. Stone Memorial Library in Pilot Mountain, recently visited Westfield Elementary School. “She came to our library to introduce students to their summer programs,” Westfield school officials said. “Carrie Bruce, our school librarian, encouraged our students to take the information given by Caroline home to see if they can attend and increase...
Virginia Rural Center announces 2024 Virginia Rural Leadership Institute Cohort
RICHMOND — The Virginia Rural Center is pleased to announce the participants in the third cohort of the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute (VRLI), including two Carroll County officials. VRLI is the Commonwealth’s only leadership program that focuses solely on developing rural Virginia’s existing and emerging leaders. “The Virginia Rural Center has long recognized that cultivating rural leadership is a key component to growing and sustaining our rural communities which is why the Center created the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute,” said Kristie Proctor, Executive Director of...
Carroll County April Month End Deeds of Partition and Conveyance
This is a listing of recent Carroll County Circuit Court’s County Month End Deeds of Partition and Conveyance. The following listings were recorded on April 12 to April 22, 2024 and list record grantor, grantee, consideration (if any) and type, as space allows in this edition of The Carroll News. April 12: Goad, Stephanie G to Shumate, Karli, $221,000, Deed of Bargain and Sale. ...
City to honor the fallen
The city of Mount Airy will do its part to remember military members who have died in service to their country during a Memorial Day service next Monday. That event, scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Mount Airy War Memorial on the corner of South Main and Rockford streets, will feature remarks by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dave Dinkins as its guest speaker. Deborah Cochran, a member of the Mount...
Griffith announces $2,578,604 HHS Grant to Tri-Area Community Health
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $2,578,604 to Tri-Area Community Health. Today Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement: “Tri-Area Community Health maintains a vast network of critical health centers serving the people of Carroll, Floyd, Franklin, Grayson and Patrick Counties, as well as the City of Galax.” “This HHS grant for $2,578,604 is welcome news as rural communities can get the access they need to vital healthcare services and treatments.”
Town adopts utility rate changes, holds public hearings
Hillsville Town Council at its May 13 meeting approved utility rate changes and made a new appointment to the Hillsville Planning Commission. No comments were given during public hearings on the proposed Fiscal Year Budget and the rate changes which will go into effect in July. Information supplied by the town indicated the initial budget general revenue request for 2024-2025 would be $4,072,560, an increase of $149,341 over last year’s revenue of $3,923,219. Hurt & Proffitt Representative Dennis Amos presented the study results to council. ...
Town Council honors citizen's service on planning commission
Hillsville Town Council at its May 13th meeting honored Zula Coleman for more than two decades of service on the Hillsville Planning Commission. Matthew Goad was appointed to fill the remainder of Coleman’s term, which will expire September 1, 2026. Council recessed following a closed meeting and will reconvene at 4 p.m. on May 22 at Town Hall. “Zula has been quite dedicated on the commission and has been debating on how many years plus twenty she would serve. We are quite thankful and wish...
Budget vote delayed over concerns
Mount Airy officials were poised to vote on the city’s budget for the next fiscal year, on one condition: that no citizens voiced concerns about it during a public hearing. And this is exactly what happened during a meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners Thursday night, when a final decision on the 2024-2025 spending plan was scheduled. However, due to the aforementioned concerns, Mayor Jon Cawley said a...
Reeves seeking phased high school renovations
Surry County Schools have changed its tactics for applying for Needs Based Capital Grant funding for school construction. Officials with the local system have opted for an approach that breaks the needs of the three high schools into phases in hopes that a smaller dollar amount request may yield a positive outcome. “When we think about the next phase of construction for Surry County Schools we look at our three high schools. Obviously, you know the needs,” Dr. Travis Reeves said to the board of...
Main-Oak Building continues to languish
Nearly two years have passed since a collapse of the Main-Oak Building in the heart of downtown Mount Airy, which has sat unrepaired since — although a breakthrough could be on the horizon. While city government leaders have led efforts to address the situation from safety and redevelopment standpoints, the fate of the structure now firmly rests with the private sector in terms of a new use, according to one official. ...
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.