News

Autism Awareness

April marks the first year that Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) has recognized Autism Awareness Month within the school system.
This proclamation was announced at the April 11, WS/FCS Board of Education meeting by Paula Wilkins, chief academic officer for the WS/FCS district.
“One of the things that has become increasingly important to me as the chief academic officer is how do we begin to capture and celebrate and recognize all of the various areas that are touched by our students and our education professionals,” Wilkins said. “When I found out it was the National Autism Awareness Month, I reached out to our autism support team (AU team) or multiple abilities program group to say, ‘hey, we would love to have this recognition’ and they helped to coordinate the resolution for the board meeting.” For more, see the Tuesday, April 18, 2023 edition.

Business Prayer Ministry

For owner Tony Alford, his wife Christina and manager George Sperry, it is definitely not all about business.
For over nine years, the business has been taking prayer requests and employees at Access Self Storage have been praying for people.
“It is a U-Haul and storage business and a prayer ministry, and it is non-denominational. Prayer does not label you any denomination, and if you are hurting you appreciate people caring for you. I could have sold it to a high bidder a year ago, but we didn’t do that because we look at it as a prayer ministry. We would like to encourage other businesses to do the same thing,” said Alford. “We have employees that pray for people every day. George gets up at 4 a.m. every day and prays for people. He leads the charge in that standpoint.” For more, see the Tuesday, April 18, 2023 edition.

Kernersville Junior Choral Festival

On April 21 at 7 p.m., the Cash Elementary School Cougar Chorus, Piney Grove Elementary School Chorus and Sedge Garden Elementary School Chorus with be performing a concert at Main Street United Methodist Church in Kernersville to help raise money for the Second Harvest Food Bank.
All three choirs include over 150 singers and each choir will have their own independent performance. The show will end with the world premiere of “Be a Song” written by Adam Mitchell, music teacher at Cash Elementary School (CES).
This will be the first time they have been able to host this event since the pandemic. Their last performance was in 2019.
The event is free to the public and anyone can attend. Donations are encouraged and accepted at the event and online. For more, see the Tuesday, April 18, 2023 edition.

Blood donations

Since 2019, Parks Automotive Group Executive Coordinator Elizabeth Van Dyke has been organizing blood donation events for the company.
“The first donation event I organized was in 2019 with Parks Chevrolet. We started the process for the dealership at that time,” Van Dyke said. “It was a slow start and a lot of footwork within the dealership to get participation and remind teammates to give at their appointment time.”
With the help of Beth James, guest services at Parks Chevrolet, the blood donation events have grown to include people in the community. For more, see the Tuesday, April 18, 2023 edition.

Girl Scout Patch Party

Körner’s Folly, the historic home and museum in downtown Kernersville, has been hosting the Girl Scout Patch Party since 2014 and the event has been held there ever since. Over the years, this event has become a staple event for local Girls Scouts in the spring.
This year’s Patch Party will be held on Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
“Patch Party is a great way for Girl Scouts to learn about local history, art, architecture and life during the Victorian era,” said Körner’s Folly Executive Director Suzanna Ritz Malliett.
This event is open to individuals or Girl Scout Troops who would like to attend. Purchasing and registering online is not required, but it is recommended due to the event typically selling out just days before the event. Adult tickets are $12, Girl Scout tickets and children tickets are $6 and children under 6 are free. For more, see the Saturday/Sunday, April 15 & 16, 2023 edition.

Charity: Water Gala

Aaron Reel, owner and lead broker at Reel Realty, is hosting “Charity: Water Gala” on Friday, April 28 from 6-9 p.m. at Pandora’s Manor, located at 407 West High Avenue in High Point.
Charity: Water is a non-profit organization where their goal is to help supply and help people globally to access clean and fresh water. The organization began in 2006 by Scott Harrison. In 2021, their latest financial annual report claimed that they raised over $100 million to help get clean water to those in need globally. For more, see the Saturday/Sunday, April 15 & 16, 2023 edition.

Internet/Gambling establishments

At their monthly meeting on Monday, the Kernersville Planning Board discussed a text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) for the purpose of re-establishing Internet/Electronic Gaming establishments as a primary use with applied conditions.
Currently, Internet/Electronic Gaming is being classified under “Nightclubs” as far as permitted use due to the fact these operations consist of “entertainment” and “arcade portion” of the permitted use definition. Kernersville Community Development Manager Teresa Barringer stated that some clarification of the permitted use needed to be made because an Internet/Electronic Gaming is not like a nightclub. “At the peak, we had either 12 or 13 (Internet/Electronic Gaming establishments in Town. Technically, two were closed through the criminal justice system. One did not reopen due to not renewing the rental agreement, and I know of two that closed for personal reasons,” said Barringer. For more, see the Thursday, April 13, 2023 edition.

Cycling Club & Town agreement

The Kernersville Cycling Club (KCC) was first created in 2012 and has been an important staple to the Kernersville community ever since.
The formal agreement of the Town of Kernersville (TOK) and KCC in regards to development of the Kernersville Mountain Bike Park was originally drawn up in 2013 and was set to be renewed in 10 years.
The 10-year agreement was set to expire this year. On April 4, the Kernersville Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to continue their agreement with the KCC. The new agreement is similar to the one voted on a decade ago, but the new agreement will include maintenance of the park and is set to be renewed in five years, with an agreement to renew it for another five years when the time comes if both parties are still interested in continuing with one another.
For more, see the Thursday, April 13, 2023 edition.

Guilford County Sheriff Danny H. Rogers reported that at approximately 11:36 a.m. on Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies responded to an airplane crash in the vicinity of U.S. 421 South and Monnett Road.
Upon arrival, Guilford County deputies located a small engine plane that had crashed on the west side embankment of U.S. 421 South near the Monnett Road bridge. The plane was occupied by two adult males: pilot, 52-year-old Kurtis Dale Williams of Kernersville; and passenger, 39-year-old James Anthony Foecking of Randleman.
Foecking survived the crash, was pulled from the wreckage, and transported to UNC-Chapel Hill Hospital for treatment of his injuries. He is in stable condition.
Williams was pronounced deceased at the crash site by Guilford County EMS/Fire.
For more, see the Thursday, April 13, 2023 edition.

Recycle Day

The annual Recycle Day event is back for another year. This year’s 2023 Recycle Day, hosted by the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Saturday, April 15 from 8 a.m. until noon.
“We want our community to be vibrant for many centuries to come,” said Chris Comer, Chamber of Commerce president/CEO. “Recycling is great for our environment. We are thankful to be able to assist with this event.”
For more, see the Tuesday, April 11, 2023 edition.