Crime/Incident report

District 1 Sheri ’s O ce

has recently responded to the following incidents in northwest/northern Guilford County ... ASSAULT/DOMESTIC INCIDENT Dec. 7 | A 37-year-old male was arrested for simple assault and a 36-year-old male was arrested for assault on a female in the 1800 block of Elk Run Court in Oak Ridge (near N.C. 68 N). Dec. 10 | Law enforcement officers responded to a domestic incident involving alcohol and a physical altercation at 2:06 a.m. in the 7200 block of Northmoor Trace in northern Greensboro (off Plainfield Road). BOND SURRENDER Dec. 12 | A 37-year-old male was arrested in the 4400 block of U.S. 220 N in Summerfield on eight counts of bond surrender. DEATH INVESTIGATION Dec. 3 | Officers conducted a death investigation in the 4900 block of Golden Oaks Drive in Oak Ridge (near Our agency wishes you a Alcorn Road). Dec. 7 | Officers conducted a death investigation in the 8000 block of Merry ChristmasOak Creek Drive in Stokesdale (near U.S. 158). and a Happy New YearDec. 10 | Officers conducted a death investigation in the 4100 block of Brynwood Drive in Colfax (off Leabourne Road). DRIVING VIOLATIONS Dec. 5 | A 31-year-old female was arrested at 5:22 a.m. in the 1400 block of Pleasant Ridge Road/N.C. 68 N Proudly serving the Triad since 1963 in northwest Greensboro for allowing an unauthorized person to operate a Home • Auto • Life motor vehicle, allowing a motor vehicle Motorcycle • Businessto be operated without a registration tag and allowing a motor vehicle to be operated without insurance. Dec. 12 | An 18-year-old male was arrested at 3:49 a.m. in the 3300 block (336) 299-5185 • 5709 Friendly Ave., Greensboro www.gladwellinsurance.com of Rebecca Drive in Summerfield (off Strawberry Road) for driving while impaired, driving after consuming alco- The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996 DEC. 15, 2022 - JAN. 4, 2023 33

hol underage and vandalism with willful and wanton injury to property. DRUGS Dec. 2 | Officers seized 11.1 grams of marijuana during a traffic stop at 12:54 a.m. in the 4500 block of U.S. 220 N and Auburn Road in Summerfield. FRAUD Nov. 29 | A resident of the 8400 block of Winding Hill Drive in Stokesdale (off N.C. 65) reported that between Nov. 23–29 an unknown suspect used her personal identification info to defraud her of $1,150. Nov. 29 | A resident of the 1800 block of Wild Fern Drive in Oak Ridge (in River Oaks) reported an unknown suspect defrauded her of $8,750. Dec. 1 | A resident of the 7400 block of Summerfield Road in Summerfield reported that between Nov. 15-22 an unknown suspect forged a check, which defrauded her of $656.70. Dec. 1 | A resident of the 5800 block of Beckenham Way in Oak Ridge (near Stafford Mill Road) reported that between Nov. 26 and Dec. 1 an unknown suspect used her personal identification information to commit fraud. Dec. 2 | An employee of Stokesdale Veterinary Hospital reported a known suspect defrauded the business of $110.86. THEFT Nov. 29 | A citizen at Summerfield Town Hall reported that between Nov. 28-29 an unknown suspect stole a catalytic converter worth $200. Dec. 3 | A resident of the 8100 block of Oak Creek Drive in Stokesdale reported an unknown suspect stole one of his key fobs, which has a replacement cost of $500. Dec. 7 | A citizen at CountrySide Market gas station at U.S. 158 and N.C. 68 in Stokesdale reported an unknown suspect stole $51 worth of gas from him. Dec. 10 | A resident of the 600 block of Plainfield Road in northern Greensboro reported that between Dec. 3-10 an unknown suspect stole a SIG SAUER pistol worth $600. TRAFFIC INCIDENT Dec. 7 | A resident of the 8200 block of Springdale Meadow Court in Stokesdale (near N.C. 68 N) reported a traffic incident in which $500 worth of damage was done to his garage door. TRESPASSING Dec. 2 | A business owner in the

3400 block of Edgefield Court in northwest Greensboro (off Edgefield Road) reported an unknown suspect trespassed on his property. VANDALISM Nov. 29 | A resident of the 8500 block of Shedan Road in Stokesdale (off Belews Creek Road) reported a known suspect vandalized his work vehicle. Dec. 5 | A member of Triad Hindu Temple in northwest Greensboro reported that between Dec. 1-5 an unknown suspect damaged a safe and a master lock at the temple property. Dec. 7 | A resident of the 8300 block of Tyner Loop in Colfax (off Sandy Ridge Road) reported an unknown suspect vandalized his red Honda ATV. District 1 Sheri ’s O ce 7504 Summerfield Road • Main number: (336) 641-2300

Report non-emergency crime-related incidents by calling: (336) 373-2222 • 8 a.m.–5 p.m., M-F https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/our-county/sheriff-s-office

nursing home.”

Although Christmas was simple that year, Ramba said she and Bob were looking forward to “giving nice gifts to our families.” All she wanted for herself was a watch.

“Bob was able to give me a watch that I needed for my job,” Ramba said. “I still remember that beloved silver Timex, with a white face to match my uniform!”

Ramba ended up working Christmas Day that year, and while most people would have been unhappy about that, she considered it a blessing. When she and her co-workers had been asked which day they wanted off – Christmas or New Year’s – the gentle-natured Ramba had written “the day after Christmas would be nice,” but she felt guilty and scratched it out.

“When the schedule came out, they gave me off on Dec. 26,” she said. “I couldn’t have been happier.”

Ramba remembers that Christmas day well. Sporting her “dear, new watch,” she was given an assignment that she loved the most.

“On special days, they needed one person to run around and help everyone, and have all the rooms looking pristine,” she said. “I have to say that if they wanted the beds and rooms tidy, I was their girl! It was such a heartening day. Even the patients there were like my family.

“When Bob came from his parents’ house to pick me up, he handed me the most beautiful rose before we headed back to his mom and dad’s. Getting home that night, my heart was so happy to know that I would be off the next day.

“I can’t describe the joy I felt, sitting with my two cats and listening to Christmas music. The rose that Bob gave me became more and more beautiful each day. This went on for almost a month. I can’t help but look at that Christmas as a gift from God.”

When asked about her favorite Christmas memories, you can almost see Anna Carter travel back to her childhood, when she and her brother and sister came down the stairs early Christmas morning to see what Santa had left under the tree.

The Oak Ridge resident recalled how Santa never wrapped any of their gifts.

“Everything was arranged around the tree in three groups, one for each of us,” Carter said. “It was still dark outside, but Santa had plugged up the tree so that when we came down, there was just a magical glow.”

Part of the fun was trying to determine which specific gift collection belonged to each child. Finding her brother’s gifts was relatively easy, and most of the time the girls quickly determined which gifts were theirs, especially if one of them asked for a specific item.

“Some of my favorite Christmas memories involve spending the day at my Nana and Pa Priddy’s house on Ellisboro Road,” said Stokesdale’s Robin Priddy. “There, my family gathered in the most wonderful little cinder block cottage with my aunt, uncle and cousins.

“I can still see my Nana’s aluminum tree in the corner of the living room, with what seemed to me hundreds of gifts around it,” Priddy said. “I can see us eating in shifts at a kitchen table overflowing with all our family favorites – especially my Nana’s chocolate pies. I can see us squeezed into the living room to exchange gifts and laughs and love.

“By Christmas of 1998, the family had more than doubled. We had no idea that it would be our last one as a whole. Both my grandparents died within eight months of one another the following year. My cousin, Wendy, now lives in that house. The memories – especially the Christmas ones – flood back every time I pass it.”

Clark Doggett of Summerfield said he and his wife, Jane, got married while he was in college, and they endured some rather lean times.

“We were as poor as church mice,” he recalled. “My junior year we had been eating a lot of tomato soup and banana sandwiches.

“That Christmas my parents gave us a roasting pan. We had no idea why they gave us a roasting pan, because we certainly couldn’t afford to put anything in it.”

However, his parents had another surprise for them.

“When we opened the pan, it was filled with $1 bills! Boy, did that change our diet for a while,” Doggett said.

While Christmas Eve is a special day for many people, it’s even more so for Danielle Gram.

“My husband, Mark, proposed on that day,” the Oak Ridge resident said.

Over the years, the couple, along with their teenage daughter, have created a tradition that adds to the magic of the day. On Christmas Eve, the family opens one present each, which is always pajamas.

“We throw them on and load up in the car with blankets, hot chocolate and cookies, and drive around to look at lights,” she said.

Last year, Mark was given a reprieve from wearing his pajamas for the annual holiday jaunt.

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Photo courtesy of Bill Kepley The Kepley family of Oak Ridge enjoys their tradition of dressing up in matching Christmas pajamas. ...continued on p. 36

“He actually refused to wear his ‘pink nightmare’ bunny jammies last year while driving, just in case he had to get out of the car,” Danielle laughed.

Once home, the trio gathers and reads the Christmas story from the Bible by the light of the tree.

Stokesdale’s Kris Cayton cherishes the memory of a small gift given with an abundance of love.

“At the time, my grandmother was a widow with 30ish grandchildren and 40ish great-grandchildren. For Christmas, she would give everyone brand new $2 bills,” he recalled.

“While this doesn’t sound like much, with that much family, it adds up for a farmer’s widow. I still have many of the $2 bills. She passed away back in 1989. The memories and love are worth much more than what that bill reflected.”

When Greta Meads was about 6 years old, she and her family moved from their home in a small town in Georgia, first to Massachusetts and a couple of years later to northwest Guilford County.

Meads’ extended family – grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins – remained in Georgia, so it was a given that the family of four, which included Meads, her parents and her younger brother, would make the trek farther south for Christmas.

Meads remembers those trips well.

“We would always drive through the night and there was always a cargo box on the top of our van,” said Meads, who is raising her own family in Stokesdale.

This annual trip was the only time the cargo box ever appeared. It was years before Meads finally realized this was where Santa stored all his gifts.

“I always thought Santa just found us in Georgia,” she said.

She and her brother, Jared Ginn, a resident of Colfax, never talked about what was in the cargo box and to this day she isn’t sure he even thought about it.

As an adult, Lindsay Harrell recalls magical Christmas moments made even more meaningful by her parents.

“When we were little, my brother and I would wake up on Christmas morning, excited to see what Santa brought,” the Stokesdale resident said.

“My parents would go down the stairs to check everything out and get the video camera ready before we went down. Then we’d run down the steps to see all the toys and gifts.

“After that, we’d have Christmas morning breakfast in the dining room The oldest of four children, Oak Ridge resident Beth Cameron has fond memories of a tradition that started when she was just a baby.

“Beginning with my first Christmas Eve many years ago, my dad would read to us kids on Christmas Eve,” Cameron said. “We would all get cozy beside him on the couch – two kids on each side – and he would don his Santa hat. My mom was always nearby listening as well.

“He would first read to us ‘The Night Before Christmas’ by Clement C. Moore. When reading he would use different voices and make the story come alive. He would always get very animated when reading the part about Santa calling out all the reindeer names. It was so much fun hearing his

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wonderful voice talk like Santa!

“After that book was finished, he would get very serious and bring out his King James Bible. It was time for the real story of Christmas. He’d read in a reverent voice the story of Jesus’s birth from the book of Luke. We were completely fascinated by this beautiful story. After our dad finished, he would solemnly close his Bible and we would talk about the true meaning of Christmas.

“When each of us grew up and became parents, we all continued this meaningful tradition with our own children. Now that I am a grandmother, I hope my kids will continue this tradition as well. If they don’t, maybe I’ll have to!”

“My favorite Christmas memory would have to be going to my cousins’ house and spending Christmas with all of them,” said Ava Troxler, who lives in Stokesdale. “We always have steak for dinner, which is my favorite, watch ‘Christmas Vacation’ and spend the night together.”

Ava, 15, is wise enough to realize these treasured times don’t last forever.

“As we all get older, we’re not together as much and it’s so much fun to have something special to do and all be together every year,” she said.

For the past several years, the Kepley family of Oak Ridge has celebrated Christmas by donning matching jammies. The tradition started with Bill and Val Kepley and their three sons, and has since expanded to include an in-law, girlfriend and even a few furry family members.

Last year the crew added a twist to their family tradition when they ventured outside their home clad in their pajamas to take care of a bit of last-minute shopping.

“It’s fun and festive, and we go shopping for eggnog in our gear,” Bill said.

The 1995 Christmas season brought with it the expectation of a very special gift for Colfax’s Jeanne Christman.

“I was 39 weeks pregnant with my daughter and was wondering if she would be born on Christmas Day,” Christman said.

However, the baby decided to wait around until the 28th, which gave the ever-practical Christman “time to quickly take down the decorations so I could be ready for a new baby.” “My favorite Christmas memory is from 2018, when a retired member of the Sheriff’s Association (dressed as Santa) came to our home to visit my son, Henry,” said Laura Foy, a resident of Summerfield. “Henry is very immunocompromised due to a genetic disorder, which unfortunately limits him from enjoying many childhood activities.

“For Santa to make a special trip to our home where Henry could meet him in his own environment is a memory I will always treasure. I’m not sure what Henry enjoyed more, sitting on Santa’s lap or playing with his beard!”

Stokesdale brothers Caleb and Mason Harrell’s favorite Christmas traditions both involve baking projects.

Caleb, 9, most enjoys the family’s tradition of baking a birthday cake for Jesus and celebrating his birth.

Mason, 6, likes making cookies for Santa – but he might have an ulterior motive.

“When Santa doesn’t finish his cookies, I eat the rest when I wake up,” he said.

Ginger Keever has a bittersweet memory of the last Christmas she had with her mom.

“It was 2017 and she was in the hospital,” said Keever, who lives in Stokesdale. “We were hoping she would get to come home before Christmas but that did not happen.

“The nurses were so awesome, and made room for all of us. We ordered food and hung out most of the day. It was just a special time. She passed a few days later, on Dec. 29.”

Keever also shared what has become a favorite family tradition, which started a few years ago.

“My husband and I and our two girls always go to Waffle House for dinner on Christmas Eve. It has just become our title tradition,” she said.

Since her husband, Tommy, passed away in early December three years ago, Christmas has not been an easy time for Jeanette Bowman, who lives just outside Oak Ridge. Still, she cherishes the times she and Tommy shared.

“We used to go out shopping for each other for Christmas,” she said. “We went to the same store on Christmas Eve. He would go one way, and I another to buy something for each other to be a surprise for Christmas Day… I miss him so much.”

Steve Dixon grew up on a small tobacco farm, where he lived with his parents and two brothers. While he didn’t say they were poor, he did say they had limited means.

“My mom always tried to make Christmas special,” Dixon shared. “We always got candy, pop guns and clothes, but there was always a very special meal with more than anyone could eat.

“Our mom could make something out of almost nothing. I thought then that we were kinda poor, but now I realize we were really blessed beyond belief. As I sit here with my coffee and remember those times, it swells my heart.”

For Mike Nelson of Colfax, Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the music of the season. As a member of Central Baptist Church’s Wind Ensemble, Nelson takes every opportunity to put himself and others in the spirit by sharing his musical talents.

“I really enjoyed being able to play Christmas with the band (at the recent Light Up the Night in Oak Ridge Town Park),” he said.

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For Amy McMahon, it’s the small things that make Christmas so special.

“One of my most memorable Christmas gifts is a keychain from my daughter,” the Greensboro resident said. “It reads, ‘Remember, I love you, Mom.’ She saved up her money to buy it for me and it still brightens my day every day when I see it! I love carrying her ‘love note’ with me wherever I go.”

Taking the time to remember what Christmas is really about is a tradition the McMahon family holds dear.

“We read the story of Jesus’s birth from the Bible on Christmas morning before we open presents,” she said. “We take turns each year deciding who will read it and then we say a prayer before digging into the pandemonium.”

When Mark and Carol Masters married 20 years ago, they each had their own families which included adult kids and grandkids. Rather than attempting separate Christmas gatherings, the Masters decided to create a blended holiday that would bring everyone together.

“We began a tradition that has worked well for all of us,” Carol said. “The weekend before Christmas our kids, their spouses and our grandkids come from West Virginia, Ohio, Raleigh and Greensboro for our family Christmas.

“This includes dinner, gift giving and games. The highlight of the evening, much to the delight of our grandkids, is Mark playing ‘Mr. Christmas,’ dressed in his most loud and colorful Christmas suit.

“Sitting in the middle of the living room, surrounded by tons of presents and excited kids waiting for their turn to help Mark give out presents, fills us with the joy and warmth of Christmas that only being surrounded by the people you love most in the world can give you.

“On Christmas day, we spend a quiet day together with our own personal tradition of a movie date and then a steak dinner. In the spirit of giving, Mark buys McDonald’s gift cards for the young people working at the theater on Christmas day.

“Every year, the day after Christmas, our adult granddaughters come from Ohio and Kentucky to celebrate Christmas with us. This year will be even more special with our 8-month-old great-granddaughter in attendance! Christmas is the culmination of our year-long celebration of the family we have been blessed with.”

Yvonne Truhon of Winston-Salem recalls going with her father to select and bring home the Christmas tree.

“We very often spent the Christmas holidays in Pennsylvania, at our grandparents’ summer home. The week before Christmas, Daddy and I would get in the car, and he’d drive us to the farm of a man named Adam Smith.

“Mr. Smith would take us around his vast (to me) farm, winding through fallow fields and then acres of evergreens, until we spotted the ‘perfect’ tree.

“At that point, Mr. Smith would get out of his truck, take up a chainsaw, and cut down ‘our’ tree right then and there. He would tie it up, put it in the truckbed, and take us back to our car, where he helped Daddy lash the tree to the top of the car.

“Back at the house, Daddy would get the tree into the tree stand and then put on the lights.

“Then it was my turn – I got to put the tinsel and ornaments on the tree, and most important, set up our crèche (Nativity scene) in a place of honor.”

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