June 4 - 10, 2020
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Summerfield council mulls old Laughlin school for town hall Estimated cost of renovating the historic property is $4.7 million, according to a Guilford County Schools’ facilities study by CHRIS BURRITT SUMMERFIELD – Renovating the historic, formerly all-black Laughlin school, which now serves as a professional development center for teachers, has emerged as an option for a new Summerfield town hall. Mayor Pro Tem Tim Sessoms told fellow council members last week he wants them to consider refurbishing the old school facility for a new town hall and public meeting space that may include a community library. Until now, the council’s public discussions about
Photos by Patti Stokes/NWO
The historic Laughlin school has been used as a professional development center since 2012; Guilford County Schools may close the 34,500-square-foot facility as part of an effort to consolidate its administrative buildings and redirect funds to build and remodel schools and upgrade technology countywide. the possibility of tapping the town’s reserve funds for an expanded town hall and meeting space have focused on constructing a new building.
Thieves steal 14 guns in ‘smash and grab’ by CHRIS BURRITT
STOKESDALE – Four men wearing dark hoodies and masks broke into the Atlantic Outdoors gun shop around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, stealing 12 handguns and two rifles in less than a minute after breaking into the downtown Stokesdale store. The store’s surveillance video captured the thieves smashing glass cases with their feet and a hammer. One of the thieves stuffed handguns in a bag while another put a pistol in his pants and two others pulled rifles down from wall racks, leaving two 9mm carbines on the floor as they departed.
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Renovating the school property on Summerfield Road would spread costs over various projects, such as creating office space for town staff and remak-
IN THIS ISSUE Your Questions ..................................4 Towns seek public input on budgets ...5 Pets & Critters ...................................7 Guinea pigs find the good life ............8 Pet Adoptions..................................10 NWO Kids’ Korner ............................11 Fitness enthusiasts move outdoors ..14 Crime/Incident Report ......................15 Student Profiles ...............................16 Grins and Gripes ..............................18 Cub Scouts celebrate transition ........19 Classifieds ......................................20 Index of Advertisers .........................23
ing the school’s library into a community library, Sessoms said during a special called council meeting last Thursday, May 28, to discuss the town’s proposed budget. “It’s not like building a new building and having to pay for it all at the same time,” Sessoms said in an interview after the meeting. Summerfield would need to acquire the old Laughlin school, located on Summerfield Road near its dead end on Summer Haven Drive at U.S. 220, from Guilford County Schools (GCS). Last November, schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras proposed closing Laughlin and 10 other administrative buildings in a consolidation, as part of a $2 billion plan to build and remodel schools and upgrade technology countywide. The school system’s facilities report outlining the proposed changes signals
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Fitness moves outdoors
Photo by Chris Burritt/NWO
“It is quite a ride right now,” said Sabrina French, juggling boxes of tire tubes needed for the flood of cycles being repaired at Downtown Bicycle Works and Downtown BMX. She owns the Summerfield business with her husband, Adam. See article on p. 14