Grins and Gripes

Delighted or dismayed by something in your community? Share your thoughts in 40 words or less

online: nwobserver.com e-mail: grinsandgripes@nwobserver.com Grins & Gripes are published based on available space and editor’s discretion. GRINS to...

 The officers who were diligent enough to make note of a parked car and match it up to the person who robbed my father’s house. We actually got back most of the missing items. Amazing work. Thank you!  Neighbors who keep their cats inside, especially this spring, to keep poo out of our yards while we are gardening and to protect fledgling birds on the ground. Hint: it’s safer for your cat, too!  Climb Nutrition, for bringing Oak Ridge a healthy place to get shakes and drinks! Their customer service is out of this world and if you haven’t been, take my advice and try it!  Nonna Teresa and Maureena Shepherd for providing an awesome lunch for our staff and teachers at Oak Ridge Elementary. It was such a nice treat for them and they were so appreciative!  Summerfield Town Council members who listened to our concerns about the new town hall design. The latest proposal for the building is awesome! Love the way brick has been used to incorporate features similar to buildings in the historic district.  Sarah Boggs from the Oak Ridge Verizon Store for all her assistance upgrading to new phones. She is the best!  All leaders and citizens who work hard to make the tri-community area of Oak Ridge, Stokesdale and Summerfield a great place to live and raise our awesome kids.  Summerfield, Oak Ridge, Guilford County, Greensboro and Piedmont Land Conservancy for working together to conserve the Bandera Farms property. Instead of another housing development or commercial monstrosity, these trails will be a beautiful addition to our town.  Gauldin Plumbing for coming to look at our well pump on a Sunday and fixing it the next day! Your service is unmatched! GRIPES to...

 The politically motivated crackdown on speeding. They say speeding was up 11% last year. If you cut the limit from 45 mph to 35 mph like Oak Ridge – hey, presto! More “speeders.” Statewide, it’s a river of revenue. Cha-ching!  Republic Services for going to recycling pickup every two weeks in Stokesdale. We have way more recycle items than trash. Recycling should be encouraged, not discouraged! Are you lowering our bill? Boo Republic Services!  Republic Services’ postcard notice of residential recycling changing to every other week pickups. A 25% reduction of services, yet their charge remains the same. Our family of two fills the recycling bin on a weekly basis. Now what? Editor’s note: Tony Krasienko, Republic Services’ municipal sales manager, presented the reasons for this change at a town council meeting in August 2019, saying “Recycling is broken” (see the article about the lengthy presentation he made in our online archives at www.nwobserver.com). During the presentation, Krasienko laid out reasons for the change in detail, emphasizing cost increases meant either reducing the frequency of recycling pickup in Stokesdale to every other week, as the company does in Summerfield, or raising the fee for trash/recycling pickup. The council received very little input from citizens before voting on whether to approve the reduced schedule. The change was actually to have been implemented last year, but due to the impact of COVID, the company delayed its implementation. ...continued on p. 34

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Dean considers herself a “utility player.” She said she’s played “up top, midfield and defense ever since I started. Just wherever they needed me.” She’s a defender for the Vikings this season.

She was drawn to the sport at age 4 after her older sister, Tegan Dean, began playing.

“I’ve always looked up to her,” she said of Tegan, who is finishing up her soccer career at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk. “It’s just a way for us to bond together. That’s why it’s so important to me.”

Evyn doesn’t plan to play soccer in college, though.

“After seeing some of the trouble my sister went through balancing academics and soccer, I just wanted to focus on academics,” she said.

NORTHWEST GUILFORD Elizabeth Cake, senior

Sport: soccer

Northwest Guilford’s Elizabeth Cake, who has played soccer since she was tiny, figures the sport she loves has taught her as much about navigating life as have her academic classes.

“It has taught me so many things that don’t have anything to do with sports,” said the senior co-captain for the Vikings’ girls team. Central among them, she said, is being an effective leader, valuing teamwork and seeking out creative ways to solve problems.

Those lessons, she said, have made her “a lot more confident” in the face of adversity. That should come in handy as she prepares for what she hopes will be a career in medicine. Her goal: to be an internal medicine doctor. In that role, she figures, she’ll be tasked with finding ways to “help others and serve (the) community.”

“I’m always up for a challenge,” Cake said. “It’s extremely rewarding to give people their health.”

Her physician uncle is her medical role model, she noted, saying she was struck by his dedication and drive as well as his devotion to family.

“Just seeing the rewards of that hard work motivated me even more,” Cake said.

Among her volunteer activities, working with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society stands out. She recently raised nearly $500 for the nonprofit, noting the fundraiser was personal to her because one of her middle school teachers died of related conditions.

“It was a tribute to him,” Cake said.

Her next stop along the way to medical school: UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall, where she plans to study pre-med biology.

While she won’t be playing for the university’s NCAA soccer team, she hopes to join a club team.

“Soccer is so important to me,” Cake said. “I want to continue it any way I can. I’m definitely looking to keep it as part of my future.”

For the Vikings, she’s a center midfielder. While she doesn’t score lots of points, she helps direct the team on the field, she said.

“I like to think of myself as a behindthe-scenes player, kind of making things happen,” Cake said. “I try to get the team moving forward.” Hardwood Waterproof Laminate

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historic preservation grants. Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST). At its March meeting, the MST Committee approved a proposed Eagle project for the construction of a bridge on the Headwaters trail and approved supporting Outdoor Adventure Day in August.

A trail workday is scheduled for Saturday, April 17, 9 a.m. to noon.

Emergency locator signs on the Headwaters trail have been GPSlocated and should soon be live within the 911 emergency system.

Oak Ridge and Summerfield trail committee representatives and town managers met last month and are discussing alternate routes for the MST to provide trail connections between the towns.

Special Events. In her written report, Chair Patti Dmuchowski said the committee anticipates approving construction document contracts for the veterans’ site on the Whitaker property within the next two weeks. The formal fundraising process for the site is being finalized and potential corporate sponsors are being identified.

Once council approves the park name for the Whitaker property, the committee will vote on a name for the veterans’ site.

Finance. The committee plans to present a proposed budget for fiscal year 2021-22 at the May 6 council meeting, with a public hearing for the budget in June. Oak Ridge Elementary. Principal Penny Loschin said Guilford County Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Sharon Contreras and representatives of various media outlets were at the school March 31 for delivery of Chromebooks (laptops) to fourth- and fifth-grade students. Every GCS student Pre-K through 12th grade received, and legislators were impressed with plans for the veterans’ site to be developed on the Whitaker property.

has now been provided with an electronic device, Loschin reported.

The fifth-grade graduation class arranged for a spirit rock to be installed at the school March 26, courtesy of Vulcan Materials in partnership with Samet Corp.

COUNCIL COMMENTS

 McClellan said he and Mayor Schneider traveled to Raleigh March 31 to meet with state legislators, who agreed to work on extending the June 30, 2022 deadline for spending the $1.1 million reallocated last year for a water feasibility study. This would impact Summerfield and Stokesdale also, as the original $3.4 million allocation will be divided evenly between the three local towns.

McClellan also said Schneider did an excellent job in presenting the town’s “village feel” program, which was well

“ ey feel good about us in Raleigh,” McClellan said.

 Kinneman said that although vaccines are coming, “It’s important to keep our guard up. If you can get a vaccine, please do.”

He also announced Oak Ridge United Methodist Church’s monthly blood drive Monday, April 12.  Pittman thanked members of the town’s Tree Committee, who she said “work pretty quietly” while maintaining efforts to ensure the town remains committed to being a Tree City USA.  Schneider said the trip to Raleigh was productive and legislators welcomed the opportunity to hear from local leaders on behalf of their citizens.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m.

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Subject to credit approval, see store for details  Stokesdale Citgo North for the unsightly burglar bars. Crime deterrence is a necessary item, but would you maybe consider cameras vs. bars for better aesthetics? Thanks to the owner for consideration.  Whoever’s responsible for the blue donation box in Stokesdale. Pretty sure this is enough said, but in case there’s doubt, would the responsible party please consider picking up more often? Or better yet, just remove the box completely?  GCS for repeatedly failing to adequately supply teachers and classrooms so our children can learn and teachers can do their jobs. Instead, GCS funnels money to their local left wing liberal vendors to “conduct studies” and teach our kids hate.  Oak Ridge Town Council for approving all of these new neighborhoods. And to the developer who cut down all the trees by the church when it doesn’t look like it was necessary! Ughhh! Editor’s note: We also miss seeing those beautiful trees when we drive by! According to the developer, clearing the trees at the end of the driveway was an NCDOT requirement in order to increase visibility and therefore, the safety of those entering and exiting the new development to and from N.C. 150.

Outside the …

The following reader-submitted GRIPES express opinions about state and/or national topics, and have been separated from the other grins and gripes as a courtesy to those who do not want to read others’ opinions on state and/or national political and other non-local topics in a local newspaper.

GRIPES to...

 People who twist facts. “Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act” (2021) pays off the debts of non-white farmers only (plus 20%!), without requiring any allegation of discrimination. It’s a pure race-based giveaway. Fact.  “Democrats” who despise democracy. They’ve done everything they can to prevent the implementation of the successful N.C. ballot measure in 2018 requiring ID to vote. Why? It’s obvious.