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The Mount Airy News
Using movie character's name lands man in jail
Telling city police that his name was Jack Reacher turned out not to be a good idea for a Mount Airy man who wound up in the Surry County Jail as a result. The person whose actual identity is Ricky Mitchell Sheets, 38, of 145 N. Gilmer St., was encountered by at least three officers late last Saturday night. They were responding to an intoxicated-pedestrian call and found sheets sitting...
Gilley family subject of genealogical group meeting
The Surry County Genealogical Association will be meeting Monday at the Mount Airy Public Library, with Surry County native Wade Gilley Jr. the featured speaker. He will talk about his research in his family history, and a possible tie to “The Andy Griffith Show.” “Wade will talk about his researching into the Gilly line,” officials with the group said. “Wade also will show us how far back their line goes,...
June24PTCO.JPEG
Floyd George of 155 Eleanor Avenue was the winner of the Project Timberlake Community Organization’s ‘Yard of the Month’ for June. He has received recognition in the neighborhood and was awarded a subscription to the Mount Airy News from the PTCO leadership.
City budget passes 4-1
After a vote on Mount Airy’s budget was delayed last month over citizen concerns, the city spending plan for 2024-2025 has been approved — but it wasn’t exactly a slam-dunk. The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners did so Thursday night in a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Deborah Cochran the dissenter. Cochran explained beforehand she thinks it is “magnificent” that the new budget to go into effect on July 1 keeps...
Continuing education for general contractors
Surry County will be hosting a continuing education class for area general contractors later this month next in Dobson that will satisfy annual requirements for contractors. “I want to invite general contractors through the area to come to our general contractor’s continuing education class in Dobson,” said Keith Kiger, the lead building inspector for Surry County. He said what general contractors already know, North Carolina requires them to have eight...
Police reports
• A moped valued at $1,700 was discovered stolen last Sunday in Mount Airy as the result of a felonious breaking and entering, according to city police reports. The 2022 Trailmaster Sorrento-50, blue in color, was taken from a garage at the home of Charlotte Sharp on Fairlane Drive after a cable lock was broken to gain entry. • Jim Terry Hairston, 52, of 1308 Grove Lane, was jailed Wednesday...
Porter tapped to leadership role at Partners
Partners Health Management Announces Rachel Porter as Deputy CEO GASTONIA — Partners Health Management, the local management entity/managed care organization that oversees public funding for behavioral health and intellectual/developmental disabilities services in 15 North Carolina counties — including Surry and Yadkin, has tapped Partners’ Chief Administrative Officer Rachel Porter to assume the role of deputy chief executive officer effective Aug. 1. Porter brings more than 25 years of experience in...
Museum has four summer camps slated
With school out of session, many parents may be racking their brains trying to think of ways to keep the kids entertained this summer. “It would be difficult to take them on a vacation every week, but you’d love to see the kids outside of the house doing something productive,” officials with the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History said. “Then we have just the thing for you.” In June...
Health & Nutrition Center costs a hot potato
Surry County Board of Commissioners on Monday took up the issue of final charges on the Health & Nutrition Center renovation project which was recently completed, with no resolution on how to handle more than $30,000 in new charges. The offices of the Health Department moved from temporary quarters into the complete space last month. “We have five items to close out the project. I know on April 9 we thought we were closed; we were not closed,” Tony Chilton of North State Design Group...
Familiar face fills board vacancy
ARARAT, Virginia — Residents of the Dan River District in Patrick County now have a new member representing them on the county Board of Supervisors, who already should be familiar. Jane Fulk has been appointed to replace Brandon Simmons on the board. Simmons, who was serving as its chairman at the time, stepped down earlier this year in the midst of a term that doesn’t expire until December 2025. Fulk...
Foothills West, North go down to the wire
History repeated itself in a June 6 matchup between two of Foothills Post 123’s Junior Legion Team. When Foothills North and Foothills West faced off on May 28, West scored three runs across its final two at-bats to cement a 6-4 comeback victory. Nine days later, West did the exact same thing to defeat its crosstown rival 6-5. West’s three late runs ended a dry spell of four scoreless innings....
Museum's summer Family Fun Days begins Sunday
The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History is offering something it hopes will be fun for area families — a series of Family Fun Days. The first such day is set for Sunday, and will follow on the second Sunday of both July and August, with each of the three days having a different theme and related activities. These days are sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mount Airy, which museum officials said “Has graciously covered the cost of admission for those participating in the...
Open house at historic site set Sunday
A regular open house series at a local landmark which is held at this time of the month will undergo a change for the coming weekend due to another event in the area. Normally, the Edwards-Franklin House receives visitors during a Saturday and Sunday schedule on the second weekend of each month. However, for June’s purposes, it will be open this Sunday only, from 1 to 5 p.m. ...
Stokes to consider sale tax hike, restaurant alcohol sales
DANBURY — The Stokes County Board of Commissioners wants to add two items to the November 2024 ballot for voters to decide: adding a 1/4 cent to the sales tax and allowing the sale of mixed (alcoholic) beverages to be sold in the county. County officials presented draft resolutions on both items at their May 28 meeting. State statute requires both matters be approved by the public through election. Passage of each resolution will authorize the Board of Elections to add the referendum to the...
Greenway growing toward Jones
Gradually and slowly, plans are progressing to extend the Granite City Greenway in Mount Airy northward from its present ending point in the Technology Lane area off Riverside Drive. The existing greenway totals about eight miles in length, nearly looping the city, and the effort now under way calls for adding about another mile and a quarter — to J.J. Jones Intermediate School. One motivation for the project is that...
Police reports
• A traffic stop Wednesday night on Rockford Street resulted in a Pinnacle woman’s arrest on a felony drug charge, according to Mount Airy Police Department reports. Melissa Anne Carlino, 40, of 2052 High Bridge Road, is accused of possession of methamphetamine along with misdemeanor violations of possessing drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana paraphernalia. Carlino, operating a 2007 Toyota Corolla, additionally was charged with driving while license revoked and...
Westfield fourth graders make sweet donation
Surry’s Sweetest, a local type 1 diabetes support group, received a heartfelt donation from the fourth-grade class at Westfield Elementary School on May 20. Surry’s Sweetest is a support group for children living with type 1 diabetes and their families. The group is coordinated by the Diabetes Education Program at the Surry County Health & Nutrition Center. Surry’s Sweetest began 12 years ago and was created as a partnership between Surry County Health & Nutrition Center and local school nurses to ensure that students with...
'Project Vista' seeks to save 60-plus jobs
Economic-development projects usually involve the creation of jobs, but one now eyed in Mount Airy is aimed at keeping more than 60 already here. In recent weeks, officials of an unnamed local industry and the city government have been discussing relocation and expansion plans targeting property at the municipal-owned Westwood Industrial Park. This has been accompanied by the crafting of a incentive package to help make that a reality. ...
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Established in 1880, The Mt. Airy News serves Surry County, North Carolina, and surrounding areas.
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