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News in brief
Cell phone tower to get underway at last
OAK RIDGE – Residents and visitors to the town of Oak Ridge have long complained about the poor cell service, especially in and near the town core. Hopefully, that’s all about to change, as a wireless communications tower for AT&T and Verizon is set to get under construction this week on Oak Ridge Military Academy property, near the school’s gymnasium.
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Earlier this year, Oak Ridge’s Planning and Zoning Board approved a site plan for Charlottebased Communications Tower Group to build the tower, which will be located on a wooded tract about 1,300 feet from the N.C. 68/150 intersection; it will stand 180 feet tall and be camouflaged as a pine tree, according to the site plan.
In an interview with ORMA President Steve Wilson two months ago, he said the project had been approved and was “ready to go” – except for a shortage of workers to build the structure.
“The cell tower folks can’t find the personnel to build it,” Wilson stated at that time.
Oak Ridge’s planning director, Sean Taylor, told the Northwest Observer on Nov. 16 that he had just been informed construction on the tower will start this week and plans are to have it finished by the end of the year.
Road safety steps urged after second Halloween fatality
by CHRIS BURRITT
OAK RIDGE – The Oct. 31 death of Aliyah Thornhill, 14, while trick-or-treating along Haw River Road brought back another painful Halloween memory – the death of 11-year-old Noah Chambers three years earlier – and galvanized calls for road safety improvements in Oak Ridge.
“Any change and improvement is worth asking for,” Brooke Tilley, Chambers’ mother, said during the Oak Ridge Town Council meeting Nov. 3. An online petition she started on Change.org has gotten more than 700 signatures. “We shouldn’t have to wait for more deaths to make this change,” she wrote.
Tilley’s son stepped into the path of an oncoming driver on Nov. 1, 2019, while he was crossing the road to attend a trunk-or-treat event at Bethel United Methodist Church. He died a few days later. Trick-or-treating while walking along Haw River Road in darkness last month, Thornhill was hit by a sports utility vehicle and died in the hospital a few hours later.
During Oak Ridge’s meeting, Tilley, other speakers and council members endorsed some of the same suggestions to pursue in discussions with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Lowering the 45 mph speed limit was one of the recommendations, along with installing lighting, sidewalks, stop signs and flashing caution signs.
Oak Ridge Mayor Ann Schneider said she’s shared suggestions with NCDOT, which has the final say on road changes. In an interview earlier this week, she said she expects to hear back from the agency in coming weeks.
“We do need to have a serious conversation as a community and with our partners like DOT about pedestrian safety, not only on Haw River Road but throughout Oak Ridge,” council member Martha Pittman said during the council’s recent meeting. “We have to work out what will work and what we can and can’t do.”
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and far beyond.
Until her death, Carolyn lived independently in the home she once shared with her late husband of 53 years, Tom, and she was in good health. Tom, who served as Oak Ridge’s first elected mayor, died of a heart attack in 2006. The couple’s son Ricky died in 2012 and their oldest son, Tom, died in 2014, both from cancer. Carolyn is survived by their third child, Sandra Brown Smith, who lives with her husband in Oak Ridge and serves as the town’s clerk and assistant manager, along with seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, a sister and several nieces and nephews.
Over her almost 90 years, Carolyn Brown touched the lives of untold numbers of people in and around the Oak Ridge community. Some of the long-term connections she made were through her 25 years working as school secretary at Oak Ridge Elementary.
“Carolyn is the reason we settled in Oak Ridge over 34 years ago,” Danny Yanusz shared in an “Ordinary but Extraordinary” article the Northwest Observer published about Carolyn in August 2021.
“We walked into the school during our search for a new community to call home,” Yanusz said. “Carolyn was working in the front office, and she warmly welcomed us with that smile of hers.”
As a charter member of Oak Ridge Lions Club, “Lion Carolyn” took her role seriously and faithfully contributed to the club in numerous ways.
“I’ve held every office in the Lions Club but president. I’m not an engine, I’m a caboose,” she once told the Northwest Observer.
Working behind the scenes, Carolyn handled logistics for the club’s participation in the Adopt-A-Highway program, its broom sales and applicant screening for visual aid assistance. And most notably, she was a standout when it came to helping with the club’s annual Tom Brown Memorial Golf Tournament, a fundraiser that carries the name of her late husband.
“Carolyn has always been a driving force for our Lions Club and an inspiration to us all,” Yanusz said.
A member of Oak Ridge United Methodist Church, Carolyn was active in several ministries. She was also a member of Preservation Oak Ridge Foundation and assisted with restoring the historic Ai Church at the corner of N.C. 68 and Alcorn Road.
Until about six years ago, Carolyn was a well-recognized character around town at Christmastime, when she would dress up as Mrs. Claus alongside Tom, who filled the role of Santa Claus; after his passing, she continued the tradition for several years by partnering with friend and neighbor Jim King.
Until her death, Carolyn remained enthusiastic about helping other people and spreading happiness along the way. As an example, she decided to take ukulele lessons and rather than sending cards for people’s birthdays, she called friends and family members and sang and played for them.
On random Sundays, she would host “Music on the Porch” and invited local musicians to play on her front porch.
She also loved whimsical poems and often animatedly recited them from memory.
“Miss Carolyn was a pillar of the Oak Ridge United Methodist Church, our school, our local Lions Club, and our town,” Oak Ridge Mayor Ann Schneider wrote on the Northwest Observer’s Nov. 16 Facebook post which shared news of Carolyn’s passing. “She was adored by everyone who knew her.”
Others wrote about Carolyn’s graciousness, her inward and outward beauty, kindness, serving heart, love of Jesus, and gentle soul.
The family will receive visitors at Hayworth-Miller Kernersville Chapel, 3950 Macy Grove Road in Kernersville this Friday, Nov. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., and the funeral will be held Saturday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m. at Oak Ridge United Methodist Church, 2424 Oak Ridge Road in Oak Ridge.
Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving
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“I’m most thankful that I know Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior because without Him you don’t have anything,” said Sandy Stewart of Stokesdale.
Bobbie Gardner of Stokesdale said family, friends and freedom top her list of things to be grateful for; being healthy and loving her work as a Realtor also rank high.
Along with the “big” things that make her grateful, Gardner mentioned many little things.
“A child’s smile as he feeds a chicken, the sweet and caring little girl who tells her barn cat she is loved, or the neighbor who waves and blows her car horn in passing,” she said. “Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year to reflect on family memories, appreciate the ones you love and to “My husband, Frank, and I are most thankful that we live here in this wonderful town of Oak Ridge, have our good health and have our youngest son and his wife living nearby with our three beautiful grandchildren. We have been blessed,” Barb Engel said.
Caroline Currie of Greensboro has something quite practical to be grateful for this year.
“I’m thankful for my 21-year-old Honda CRV that’s still running,” she said with a laugh.
Rachel Baldwin lights up when asked about her blessings this year. One of her biggest is her “boys,” referring to her golden retrievers Wynn and, the latest addition, Boone, a 5-month-old bundle of energy.
The Stokesdale resident is also extremely happy about being able to spend so much time this year with her family, which includes her almost2-year-old niece.
And she’s grateful for all the friendships she’s developed from her dogrelated activities which include various classes for her pups and working with the Triad Golden Retriever Rescue.
“I am thankful for my new grandson, good health and being able to spend time with my family now that I am retired,” Oak Ridge resident Keith Dawson said.
For Oak Ridge resident Andy Michels, one thing stands out above all others this year. “Thank you, God. I am most grateful that my daughter-in-law Jessie’s health issue is not worsening,” he said.
Mark and Patricia Merritt of Summerfield said they are grateful for the love of Jesus, for one another, for their four sons, for a wonderful group of caring friends and for a new puppy, Summer, a 7-month-old golden retriever.
Patricia, who stays at home with Summer every day, added one more thing to the list.
“I’m extremely thankful for Dog Gone Fun, where my puppy goes to day care and runs off her energy,” she laughed.
Family is always the key to Stokesdale resident Zandra Slaydon’s gratitude, and for her, “family” includes almost anyone who comes within her orbit.
“I am very thankful to have been blessed with good health, but I’m especially thankful to celebrate 25 years of marriage to my sweetheart and husband, Billy,” she said. “We were married on Friday after Thanksgiving and celebrate each anniversary on Black Friday.
“I’m also so thankful to still have my mother, who is 89 years young, and very thankful for our loving children, all our fun grandkids, my siblings
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and my in-laws. So blessed we all love each other.
As Ann Schneider pondered her many blessings this year, one person stood out.
“This year, I’m especially thankful for Matt, my husband of 35 years. He’s the smartest, most insightful, and most thoughtful person I’ve ever known,” the Oak Ridge resident said.
“He’s good at just about everything, from his scholarly writing (two books, so many articles) and musicmaking (banjo, guitar, bass, ukulele, piano), to playing hockey, hiking, woodworking and fixing things.
“He also knows everything about the Beatles, baseball and almost everything else. Best of all, he’s a terrific husband and a wonderful dad to our three kids. He’s also fun and funny, which is how we’ve survived the ups and downs of life (and those three kids)! Plus, he likes my cooking and puts up with my to-do lists. He is my whole world.
“What more could I ask for?”
When asked what she is grateful for this year, 10-year-old Savannah Stone of Stokesdale had lots to share.
“I’m thankful for my family because they are always there for me and love me unconditionally,” she said.
Oak Ridge resident Danny Yanusz finds blessings in the smallest recognitions from his beloved wife, Linda, whom he has watched slip farther away over the past few years due to Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
“Most of the time she lives in a world of her own, talking to herself and hallucinating.
“We have very little meaningful conversation,” said Danny, who is his wife’s caregiver. “Most communication is about things like her medicine, hygiene, food or exercise. She does not answer questions, or seldom responds cognitively to verbal communication.
“But I am very thankful for the moments that she ‘comes back to me,’” he said. “Sometimes we will be sitting together, and she will ask me where her husband is. I usually just get up, walk out of the room, and then come back in. I ask her if she is looking for me, and she says ‘yes’ with a smile on her face (however, by then she has forgotten why she needed me).
“The other day we were sitting at the table having breakfast. Most of the time she just makes a mess, spilling or flinging food all over. At some point I usually go over and assist her with her eating. When I did, she looked me straight in the eyes and said: ‘You know, I really like you.’
Casey Crossan of Oak Ridge is thankful for her three dogs and the opportunity to volunteer with SPCA of the Triad, which is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of abused, neglected, and injured animals.
Six-year-old Kylie Pearson of ...continued on p. 47
