YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 w w w. j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m
WEEKLY EDITION AUG 2-8, 2017
Vol 39 No 33 | 1 Section | 12 Pages
Jamestown Town Council hears Bike Lanes proposal BY CAROL BROOKS NEWS FREELANCER cab1hp@gmail.com Are bicycle lanes on major roads in Jamestown’s future? Wid Painter hopes so. The avid cyclist gave a presentation to the Jamestown Town Council on July 18 outlining what he feels are ways the town could ensure the safety of cyclists. He spoke with new Town Manager Kenny Cole, Planner Matthew Johnson and Public Services Director Paul Blanchard prior to the meeting. “I think Jamestown can improve its roads. By encouraging bicycling, this will be a huge improvement,” the Jamestown resident said. “Cycling is healthy but our roads are not safe.” Painter described the health benefits relat-
ed to cycling before pinpointing 10 miles of streets that could benefit from bike lanes. These include East Fork, Guilford, Guilford College, Penny, Oakdale, Dillon and Harvey roads and Scientific and East and West Main streets. Some of these roads do not have curb and gutter, with roadways going directly into grass. He showed several slides of Jamestown roads, most of which have no area for bike lanes. He asked the Council to request funding from the state to move the side stripe toward the middle to create bicycle lanes. Painter pointed out a section of East Main Street from Oakdale Road to Guilford Road as being an example of a good bicycle lane. SEE BIKE, PAGE 3
PHOTO COURTESY WID PAINTER
Cyclist Wid Painter took this photo of his bicycle parked alongside Guilford Road at Whittington Hall, showing the narrow area cyclists have to safety ride on.
Church Garden leads to Community Farmers Market BY NORMA B. DENNIS FREELANCE WRITER Norma@normabdennis.com Good ideas often begin with a simple thought, then are nurtured in the mind until blooming into reality. That was the process leading to the Jamestown Community Farmers Market at First Baptist Church of Jamestown. Shortly after becoming pastor at First Baptist, the Rev. Jason Knight began talking about having a garden at the church. It was not long until the idea morphed into thoughts of a community farmers market so people would not have to drive so far to get fresh vegetables. “I had no idea what I was doing, but felt called to do something related to food,” Knight said. “When Jason conducted an eight-week Wednesday PHOTO BY NORMA B. DENNIS night series on food and Becky Straughn, Pastor Jason Knight and Lily Godfrey, standing, and Daniel faith, plans for a farmGodfrey, seated, show some of the harvest gleaned from the garden at First ers market really began to develop,” said adminBaptist Church of Jamestown.
istrative assistant, Becky Straughn. “It seemed to be a natural progression.” “If we gain a deeper understanding of all the process that goes into things becoming our food – planting, growing and harvesting – we can grow in our faith,” Knight said. “For many, food is just a commodity, something to be purchased at the grocery store or restaurant. I wanted my children (and others) to gain a deeper appreciation for this process.” “Gardening is a bridge to generational, economic and faith divides,” added Daniel Godfrey, director of youth, children and families. In March, Straughn and her husband Lawrence started the process by building four 8x16 feet raised beds behind the church. Using guidelines from the N.C. Cooperative Extension and advice from members in the congregation with gardening experience, the garden was planted and was soon
busting with produce. “I don’t think anyone envisioned how much this garden would produce,” Knight said. “I was raised on a farm and thought the garden was a great idea, but didn’t realize it would produce so much so soon,” Godfrey said. “We did nothing to it but plant and water.” The staff has harvested potatoes, tomatoes, squash, peppers and cucumbers. Once the potatoes were harvested, carrots and beets were planted in their place. “We are selling the produce at the community farmers market the church started on July 12,” Straughn said. “Any money we get from the produce will go back into the garden.” The church is located at 306 Guilford Road. Its large level parking lot, which is easily accessible and a heavily traveled road in SEE MARKET, PAGE 2
Gas Leak Closes West Main Street Business Business on West Main Street in Jamestown was temporarily disrupted July 25 due to a broken gas line behind Advance Auto. “The call came into 911 at 12:45,” said Commander Brandon Cobb of the Pinecroft/Sedgefield Fire Department. “When we arrived, our first response was to make sure the area was isolated and evacuated.” Joe Colby, owner of Meineke Car Care Center at 405 W. Main St., had already cleared his business and advised the employees at Advance Auto Parts beside him of the problem. These workers also left their building. When the fire department arrived, air quality at the townhomes adjacent to Advance Auto was monitored but the residents were never asked to leave. The fire department did ask
“Evacuating was a precautionary measure.” employees at Walgreens to leave their building, but after the safety of the air quality was verified, business at that location was allowed to resume. It was more than an hour and a half before employees at Meineke and Advance Auto were able to return to their buildings. “Evacuating was a precautionary measure, Cobb said. “The problem began when a customer came into our shop and told us his car had broken down, said Meineke owner Joe Colby. “It was half on Main Street and half on the road beside Advance Auto. We were trying to help someone who was stranded.
“We did not realize that the car was not only dead, but had no brakes. As it was being towed out of the way behind Advance Auto it could not be stopped and hit a meter attached to a gas line, breaking the line.” Colby immediately called 911 as employees evacuated. “Everyone was being cautious,” he said. “We just wanted to make sure everyone was safe. The fire department did a fine job of getting there quickly and getting everything fixed up.” Because of the potential danger, Pinecroft/Sedgefield Fire Department was assisted by the High Point Fire Department and Guilford County Emergency Services. “The leak was shut off, then it was just a matter of waiting for the air quality to clear,” Cobb said. “We appreciate the cooperation of everyone involved.”
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PHOTO BY NORMA B. DENNIS
Firefighters from Pi n e c ro f t / S e d g e f i e l d and High Point fire departments, as well as EMS staff were on location at a major gas leak in Jamestown last week.
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BY NORMA B. DENNIS FREELANCE WRITER Norma@normabdennis.com