Aug. 5 - 18, 2021
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GARDEN YIELDS SWEET HARVEST by CHRIS BURRITT OAK RIDGE – Oak Ridge Town Council recently voted to hire Envirolink Inc. to operate a municipal water system, culminating more than two decades of efforts to supplement homeowners’ private wells and community wells in subdivisions. “We’ve been hearing stories about dry wells and water contamination in pockets of our town for years,” Mayor Ann Schneider said during the council’s special called meeting on Thursday, July 22, to
discuss the contract. “Even smallgovernment advocates like me have to recognize that government is responsible for the health, safety and welfare of its residents. And water is key to all three.” The contract puts in place a 2019 proposal by then-Mayor Spencer Sullivan to create a system initially serving new subdivisions with at least 30 lots, such as Honeycutt Reserve under development on Bunch Road east of N.C. 150. The council is also evaluating the possibility of buying
IN THIS ISSUE News in brief................................2 Your Questions ............................4 Pets & Critters ..............................7 Chickens for pets? ......................8 NWO Kids’ Korner................ 10, 18 Pet Adoptions............................ 11 In memoriam ............................ 13 Community Calendar .............. 14 Youth sync: On the run ............ 19 School beautification project ..20 Crime/Incident Report .............22 SMA celebrates fifth birthday...23 Grins and Gripes ......................24 Classifieds ................................. 27 Index of Advertisers ................. 31 NWO On The Go .......................32
the community wells and distribution systems in the Knight’s Landing, Shiloh, Autumn Ridge and the Preserve at Carriage Cove subdivisions from Old North State Water Co. The contract stipulates that Oak Ridge will pay Envirolink $1,250 a month, or $15,000 annually, to operate and manage the system. Homeowners using the system will pay $4.25 a month for administrative expenses such as customer service and billing while paying $50 to
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Developer withdraws request for text amendment by CHRIS BURRITT SUMMERFIELD – Citing “divisiveness in the community,” developer David Couch told the Summerfield Planning Board earlier this week he was withdrawing his application for a text amendment to the town’s development regulations. Couch said he plans to return with another proposal for the residential and commercial development of Summerfield Farms and several other parcels totaling about 1,000 acres from Summerfield Road to Interstate 73. Couch’s decision has left
opponents of plans for expansion, reliant upon water and sewer services from the city of Greensboro, wary about what’s coming next. Former Summerfield mayoral candidate Danny Nelson said he removed “No Planned Development” signs he had posted in front of his Pleasant Ridge Road house. He also removed other signs after speaking to the people who had put them up. But Nelson said he told people to “put their signs in reserve” because even though Couch “has withdrawn
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Photo courtesy of Brandy Goins
Callie Goins shows off the harvest of strawberries from her garden at her Summerfield home. While the strawberry season is past, the 7-year-old is also growing tomatoes, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, green peppers and watermelons in the second season of her raised-bed garden. Callie’s gardening project was spurred by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when her parents, Brian and Brandy, were looking for activities for their daughter. She’s since fallen in love with gardening and watching vegetables grow from seeds and tiny seedlings. “We started with strawberries because they are her favorites,” said Brandy, adding the family is giving away vegetables they’re not eating or freezing.
