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The Mount Airy News
New director takes reigns at Small Business Center
DOBSON —The Surry Community College Small Business Center has a new director, though she is hardly a new face to area business and civic leaders. Lesa Hensley was appointed to the post earlier this spring, officially assuming the duties on May 6. She fills the seat left vacant by former long-time director Mark Harden, who retired in January. She has more than two decades of experience in local banking, after starting her career in the legal profession. ...
Mount Airy falls to Uwharrie Charter in Game 1 of West Regional Finals
Mount Airy dropped just its second game of the season in a 4-0 loss to Uwharrie Charter. Hundreds of fans surrounded the field to see the No. 1-ranked Granite Bears host the No. 2 Eagles in Game 1 of the 1A West Regional Championship Series. Uwharrie is the defending 1A State Champion, while Mount Airy is riding its best season since 1939. The visitors took advantage of early walks to...
New president elected for Yadkin Valley United Fund
Mike Bovender will assume the duties of president of the on June 1 Yadkin Valley United Fund, after recent board member selections by that agency. Along with being president of the United Fund, he is one of the owners of Surry Maintenance, chief of Elkin Rescue Squad, and treasurer of the Yadkin Valley Chamber of Commerce. Other officers elected were Wendy Wood, Surry-Yadkin Electric, as president-elect; Justin Roberts, First Community...
3hree concerts slated this week at Blackmon Amphitheater
Three bands will be taking the stage at the Blackmon Amphitheatre this week as part of the annual Surry Arts Council Summer Concert Series. The Main Event Band kicks off the concert trifecta on Thursday, with a show set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Cassette Rewind brings its brand of 80s music to the stage on Friday in a 7:30 p.m. concert. On Saturday, Cat5 Band rumbles into town in a show also slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. Costs for the concerts are $17, or a concert series summer pass. Those attending the shows are encourage to take a lounge chair or blanket. Coolers and outside drink are not permitted. Concessions will be on sale. To purchase tickets or a summer pass, call 336-786-7998.
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...
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...
Tom Gwyn, long-time former Elkin mayor, remembered
The Elkin community is mourning the loss of former mayor Tom Gwyn who passed away on Friday at the age of 93. Gwyn was not born in Elkin but spent many years of his life serving the community in a variety of ways including a long tenure as mayor from 1981 to 2007. Gwyn and his wife Laura came to Elkin in 1957 after beginning their married life together in Poitiers, France. ...
Police reports
• A Mount Airy woman has been arrested on charges of hit and run and driving impaired, according to city police reports. Stephanie Dollyhigh Combs, 43, of 485 Old U.S. 52-South, was encountered by officers on Grove Lane near Park Drive on May 14 during the investigation of the hit-and run incident that had occurred at an unspecified location on May 4. During her interaction with police last week, Combs...
Five retire from Franklin Elementary School
Franklin Elementary School recently celebrated the retirement of five of the school’s staffers. Susan Ayers, Kayla Ellis, Donna Fillius, Karen Pruitt, and Sherry Smith will all be stepping down at the end of this school year. The five, along with the rest of the school staff, were joined by the retirees’ family and friends to celebrate. ...
Kids taste summer with 'Field Day'
Wearing T-shirts with the message “Make it Happen” seemed an appropriate wardrobe choice for J.J. Jones Intermediate School students who temporarily abandoned their classrooms and went outside for activities stressing other important aspects of education. Officially billed as the second-annual Can-Do Carnival, Monday’s field day event at the Mount Airy campus on Riverside Drive had a dual purpose of rewarding academic achievement with an afternoon of fun — with fitness tossed into the equation. ...
Youell home offers beauty, deep history
The third in a series highlighting each of the six private gardens featured on this year’s Mount Airy Blooms Garden Tour scheduled for Saturday, June 8. The tour is presented by Mount Airy’s three garden clubs. Proceeds will benefit a variety of charities. Ticket-holders will have a bonus opportunity to drive through the Healing and Prayer Garden at Northern Regional Hospital. Tickets for the Mount Airy Blooms Garden Tour are available at Eventbrite.com, the Mount Airy Visitors Center and at each garden site on the day of the tour. Advance tickets are $20 while tickets on the day of the...
Elementary students champion diversity through language
Students at Rockford Elementary School were among those observing National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month in April. The month was a time dedicated to recognizing the rich linguistic diversity that bilingual and multilingual individuals bring to our communities, schools, and workplaces. “Sarah Day’s classroom at Rockford Elementary has learned all about the benefits of being bilingual,” school officials said. “Students celebrate their linguistic diversity through a collaborative project. These young scholars...
Mount Airy tennis falls 5-4 in regional semifinals
MORGANTON — Mount Airy fell a few points shy of a repeat appearance in the 1A West Regional Championship. The No. 10-seeded Granite Bears dropped an intense 5-4 dual team match to the N.C. School of Science and Math (Morganton) Dragons on May 14. The Bears won two-of-three doubles matches, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the No. 3 Dragons’ 4-2 advantage from singles. The dual team semifinal, which was...
Mount Airy falls to Bradford Prep in playoffs
Mount Airy dropped a second-round playoff match to Bradford Prep on May 16. The Bradford Bears scored first, but the Mount Airy Granite Bears countered with a goal less than 60 seconds later. Mount Airy’s goal would be its last of the season as Bradford added three more scores to secure the 4-1 win. Paola Ramirez scored Mount Airy’s only goal, and she was assisted by Kate Deaton, which was...
North Surry competes in 2A Golf Championship
MONROE — North Surry competed in the 2A Golf State Championship on May 13-14. Coach Jonathan Sutphin said he wasn’t sure of the last time North Surry competed as a full team at states. The Greyhounds qualified for states by finishing runner-up in the 2A Midwest Regional Championship, which was a first in school history. North Surry finished eighth as a team at the state championship with a 36-hole score...
Honor Society, local DAR partner to help SCC alumna
Surry Community College’s Alpha Xi Tau chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society partnered with the James Hunter Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution recently to help an SCC alumna adopt a medical alert dog. Ten years ago Sarah Soetermans was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. Complicated by other health factors, her blood sugar would swing dangerously high and low with little warning. Seeking a reliable way of detecting these swings, Soetermans contacted Eyes, Ears, Nose, and Paws, a nonprofit...
Patrick arrests include locals
STUART, Va. — The Patrick County Sheriff’s Office has announced charges against and/or arrests of residents from the greater Mount Airy area recently, including: • Evan Sands Hall, 18, of 379 Hamp Hall Lane, Claudville, who was charged last Thursday with destruction of property valued at less than $1,000; • Shannon Gray Pack, 32, of 4978 Little Dan River Road, Claudville, charged on April 29 with two felonies: abduction by...
Local woman's NASA career headed up
A woman from Mount Airy is reaching new heights with a career in the space field, which has now elevated her to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Rachel Harris, PhD, recently began a two-year Postdoctoral Management Program Fellowship with NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), an involvement that could help identify life elsewhere in the universe. “During this time, I will be working in the Planetary Sciences Division of...
SCC, DAR earn statewide recognition for Constitution Week
Surry Community College and the James Hunter Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution were recently honored with the Elizabeth Reed Gibson Award for the Most Outstanding Work for Constitution Week. This award, bestowed at the North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution meeting in Durham recently, is the result of a partnership among SCC’s Faculty Senate, the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and two local DAR chapters: the James Hunter Chapter and the Jonathan Hunt Chapter. ...
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...
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Established in 1880, The Mt. Airy News serves Surry County, North Carolina, and surrounding areas.
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