Music park

Oak

Town Park Amphitheater

Delighted

„ All the workers involved with the Lumos project to upgrade our town’s communication infrastructure. They’ve been working under very tough conditions with the weather, poor air quality and torrential rain, and this project will benefit the townspeople and local businesses.

„ Women who wear sports bras and tight shorts while doing yard work. You be you, girl! Good job for keeping your yard up, having the confidence to wear what is comfortable while doing a tough job, and keeping northwest Guilford beautiful.

„ Everyone on the road in Oak Ridge and parts of Greensboro during the early afternoon, the weekend of July 21. Thank you for dealing with me while I was learning to drive with my instructor.

„ Sandy Moskel, owner of Sandy’s Beauty Shop on N.C. 150, who just celebrated her 70th birthday and is still doing hair after 52 years!

„ The Town of Stokesdale for agreeing to use tax dollars to match donations to the nonprofit Stokesdale Parks & Recreation for new ballfield lighting and poles. It is, however, our money anyway.

„ Courtney, Trina, Rebecca, April, Gail and all the lovely ladies at Oak Ridge S.E.C.U. who adored dear Charley, the Australian shepherd of former renown. Your heartfelt and artistic tribute to him is a treasure. Thank you… and Woof! Woof!

„ Mr. Jacob Luck, theatre teacher at Northwest Guilford Middle School, for directing and making the GCS Summer Art Institutes Production of “High School Musical JR” such a wonderful experience and show.

„ Joyce at Truist bank for the encouraging messages she writes on the bank envelopes.

„ The two women in the neighborhood wearing sports bras and tight shorts when doing lawn work. Your hard work and dedication to being healthy and fit is an inspiration to all!

„ District 3 School Board representative Bill Goebel for his full-page School News Bulletin in the last issue. I appreciate his efforts to communicate, to find common ground, and to focus on success for all students.

„ Rep. Jon Hardister for including Guilford County in HB 9, the latest attempt to rewrite the rules regarding school board vacancies. Let Bob Goebel, a conservative Republican, finish out Pat Tillman’s term. Keep the focus on what’s best for all students.

„ The lady following me in a Lexus, flipping me off as I turned onto Linville Road from Haw River Road around 5 p.m. on July 25. Didn’t you like my conservative bumper sticker? Guess you’re just another “Liberal in a Lexus.”

Our newest popular Gripe, which appeared in the July 20 – Aug. 2 issue, elicited several responses… read on, and enjoy. (P.S. wish readers responded this much to our detailed town council coverage for Oak Ridge, Summerfield and Stokesdale, which our writers spend hours on!)

„ The gripe about women working in sports bra and tight shorts. How rude to complain without giving the neighborhood so us men can see for ourselves!

Editor’s note: Actually, the reader did give the neighborhood but 1) the Gripe far exceeded our word count and needed to be condensed, which is partially why I left it out and 2) although I knew many people would be curious about what neighborhood this was, I got to thinking that directing people there might result in a long line of cars and distracted drivers, creating the same dangers as the reader’s husband apparently experienced when he almost ran off the road looking at these two women – but told her he just had something in his eye, to which she responded, “I’m not dumb.” (While her story was entertaining, you see why the Gripe had to be condensed to get it into 40 words?) And besides, it was fun to leave you wondering about what neighborhood the reader was talking about.

„ The griper whose female neighbors do yard work in “tight shorts and a sports bra.” Keep your eyes on the road and you won’t be distracted. In this heat, we’ll do our yard work in whatever is most comfortable for us!

„ The person complaining about women doing lawn work and maintaining their properties in athletic wear. Do you ask your male neighbors to put on a shirt when they’re out working or exercising? No!

„ The person complaining about ladies doing yard work in sports bras and tight shorts. Why not tell us the neighborhood this is happening in so others, like myself, can come and… help! (See editor’s note above.)

„ The griper complaining about ladies gardening in sports bras and shorts. I say, let’s keep America beautiful. Keep up the good work ladies, and keep plucking those weeds! As for others, just watch your driving!

„ To the griper who complained about women in her neighborhood wearing workout clothes, while doing yardwork. Could you identify the specific neighborhood? (See editor’s note above.)

„ The gripe about women’s clothes: you say you’re distracted, yet continue to look; keep your eyes to yourself and you’re off the hook. It isn’t that hard, in case you still struggle; I’ll dumb it down: stop staring, Creep!

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...

„ The breathtakingly stupid Biden administration that is slow-walking us into World War III. Last year their spokeswoman (Jen Psaki) characterized the supply of cluster bombs to Ukraine as a “war crime.” A year later, that’s what they do....

„ Sen. Phil Berger, who refuses to answer policy questions from his constituents. I’ve called numerous times and can’t get a follow-up response. If he doesn’t work for us, who does he work for?

„ Inefficient and incapable electric vehicles, which Biden is trying to force on us. Ford loses $4.5 billion on them, and Volkswagen slashes production at its Emden EV plant due to “customer reluctance.” What a joke – and a dead end.

A WINNING CATCH ...continued from p. 19

“We came in one boat after them with our tuna, to steal the lead,” Cantrell said in a recent interview back home in Stokesdale.

The fishermen won $7,000 in prize money and wound up with enough tuna to pack their freezers back home in Guilford and Forsyth counties. For the past seven years, Cantrell has owned Priority One Auto Sales in Stokesdale and recently opened another car lot in Newport near the North Carolina coast. He also operates a charter fishing business, Reel Priority Charters, in Atlantic Beach.

On the final morning of the 64th annual tournament, Reel Priority headed out into the ocean. About 70 miles out in about 1,500 feet of water, a crewman in the tuna tower –the highest perch on the boat –spotted a dark spot in the distance.

It turned out to be a wall of seaweed, several hundred feet wide and teeming with sea life – and other fishermen.

“It was a very, very good spot,” Cantrell said. “We probably passed 10 or 12 boats fishing that spot. We had dolphin chasing all of our rigs.”

As the crew tended a half dozen or more rods, the tuna hit a plug on one of the lines. The artificial lure is coneshaped with a skirt of plastic strands that flash and attract fish.

Once they reeled in the fish and used a gaff to lift it into the boat, Cantrell realized the catch was probably going to be a contender in the tournament’s tuna division. On their roughly three-hour ride back to Morehead City, the crew checked the tournament’s app on their phones to see whether any other boats had brought in tunas.

No one brought in a tuna larger than theirs, giving Reel Priority a victory in its second year in the competition.

“We got really lucky at the very end of the tournament,” Cantrell said.

The crew refrained from partaking in a ritual common among catchers of big fish – cutting out a sliver of the tail and eating it raw.

“In a tournament you don’t do that,” Cantrell said. “You need all the extra weight you can get.”

A guide to better recycling

My family pays great attention to what goes and doesn’t go in the recycling bin. I thought most people knew what my family knows and that recycling is easy. I was wrong! I noticed this after one of my friends asked if a candy wrapper could be recycled. None of the people sitting at my table knew. I realized then that I should take the opportunity to inform people how to properly dispose of waste.

Each city has guidelines for what can be recycled. To learn what materials you can recycle in your community, I’ve provided website links at the end of this editorial. For example, the City of Greensboro accepts paper, cardboard, certain metal, food/drink cans or containers, plastic bottles, tubs and jugs. All recyclables must be clean, dry and loose in your recycling bin (i.e., no food waste left in containers, no used pizza boxes, etc.).

Some towns and cities also have specific guidelines for what cannot be recycled. Many no longer allow glass, and residents have to find other options for recycling glass waste.

Some cities don’t allow certain plastics. You can see what type of plastic a container is by looking on the bottom. For example, on the bottom of a milk jug you will see a recycling symbol with the number 2. That means you can only recycle a milk jug if your city allows the number 2 plastics.

It’s important to follow your town or city’s recycling rules, because if waste collected by recycling companies can’t be recycled, it gets sent to landfills with all the rest of the trash. This means more waste will end up in landfills. It also means your efforts to recycle were wasted.

Another problem with putting nonrecyclables in your recycling bin is what happens at the recycling facility. Recyclables are sorted based on the material they are made of, and machines made for specific materials are used in the recycling process. If something other than that specific material ends up in the machine, it can damage it.

Proper recycling is not only beneficial to you and your community but also to the environment and local recycling facilities. So next time you go to throw away a plastic bottle, first familiarize yourself with your town’s recycling guidelines to make sure it will be accepted.

Here are those helpful links: Greensboro: www.greensboro-nc.gov/ departments/field-operations/recycle Oak Ridge: www.oakridgenc.com/ waste-recycling

Summerfield: www.summerfieldnc.gov/ solid-waste

Stokesdale: www.stokesdale.org/ residents/general_information/ waste_-_recycling.php

Jenna Wunner OAK RIDGE

Jenna Wunner is a Scout in Troop 219G and wrote this editorial for her Communications merit badge.