Northwest Observer / Nov. 18 - Dec. 1, 2021

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Nov. 18 - Dec. 1, 2021

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bringing the local news home to northwest Guilford County since November1996

Higher wages, three weeks Border clash city of Greensboro of vacation, referral bonuses The and a large property owner oppose Summerfield’s effort to extend its zoning authority beyond its town limits

Human resources coordinator Gail Rowland talks to applicant David Gonzalez (at right) and his wife, Melissa, during Ontex USA’s job fair on Nov. 6.

by CHRIS BURRITT

Hiring efforts by Ontex USA illustrate how employers are sweetening inducements to find workers in the “hard” labor market by CHRIS BURRITT STOKESDALE – Jason Hopkins was the first applicant to arrive at a job fair sponsored by Ontex USA, and he liked what he heard from recruiters for the

company’s new $96 million manufacturing facility near Stokesdale. As employers struggle to fill positions during the economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontex has increased wages by about 5%, offering $14 to $24 an hour for a variety of factory jobs, along with profit sharing and a 401(k) retirement plan. “The labor market is hard,” Evette Cooper, Ontex’s U.S. human resources manager, said in an interview during the

IN THIS ISSUE New town hall advances ...................... 2 Fire service district gets no, for now .... 3 Oak Ridge Town Council meeting ...... 6 Summerfield Town Council meeting ... 8 Triad Honor Flight, Veterans Day ........ 10 Stokesdale Town Council meeting .....11 NWO Business & Real Estate ............... 15

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing this Thursday, Nov. 18, to gather views about Summerfield’s request. The town wants to create an extraterritorial

...continued on p. 16 Photo by Patti Stokes/NWO

Photo by Chris Burritt/NWO

SUMMERFIELD – A battle is brewing on Summerfield’s southern boundary, pitting the town against the city of Greensboro and a large property owner opposed to the town’s effort to extend its zoning authority into the area. Last January, Summerfield Town

Council voted to ask Guilford County to cede zoning control over a 2-mile-wide band of property so that it can regulate the density of residential development on the town’s southern and eastern borders. The request is opposed by the Greensboro City Council and the heirs of Lunsford Richardson, the inventor of cold salve Vicks VapoRub. The heirs own 1,124 acres in the area where Summerfield wants to exert zoning control.

...continued on p. 18 Supply chain woes .................... 22 NWO Kids’ Korner ....................... 24 Community Calendar ............... 28 Youth Sync .................................. 30 Crime/Incident Report .............. 31 Grins and Gripes ........................ 32 Bandera Farms Park .................. 34 Classifieds ................................... 35

Veteran Ed Marion (left) and his Triad Honor Flight guardian, Kenneth Adkins, wave to the cheering crowd after arriving at Piedmont Triad International Airport on Nov. 11. Marion was one of 95 veterans from the Triad and surrounding area who traveled to Washington, D.C., on Veterans Day as part of Triad Honor Flight; the nonprofit program gives veterans the opportunity to fly to the nation’s capital “for one more mission” and visit the monuments memorializing the wars they served in. See more photos, story on p. 10.


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