Oct. 6 - 19, 2022
bringing the local news home to northwest Guilford County since November1996
IN THIS ISSUE News in brief....................................... 2 Your Questions .................................. 4 F3: Faith, fitness and fellowship ...... 8 Bits & Pieces ..................................... 10 Next stop, Farmers’ Day, Oct. 22 ...11
Pets & Critters ................................... 13 A second chance for Stella .......... 14 Adoptable Pets ................................ 16 Kids’ Korner .................................17, 36 Stop, Drop and Roll photo story ... 20 Roger Nelson, champion author..22 Community Calendar ................... 30 Men can cook................................. 33 Avoid cybercrime, scams ............. 34 Crime/Incident report .................... 34 Time to play at Stokesdale Elem.. 37
Hurricane Ian knocks out power, leaves lessons in its wake by CHRIS BURRITT NORTHWEST GUILFORD – The remnants of Hurricane Ian pummeled northwestern Guilford County with heavy rain and wind late last week, knocking down trees, causing power outages and prompting 911 calls. The storm that killed more than 100 in Florida and five others in central and coastal North Carolina took a lesser toll on northwest Guilford, according to fire department officials in Summerfield, Oak Ridge and Stokesdale. Even so, emergency calls in the area illustrated the dangers caused by big storms. “We got off light considering the amount of rain and wind that hit us,” Stokesdale Fire Chief Todd Gauldin said in an interview earlier this week. Looking ahead, he said common sense suggests that people should stay off the roads and inside their homes “when you’ve got the wind blowing and the rain falling and trees and power lines coming down.” The Stokesdale department handled five storm-related calls during the evening and night last Friday, Sept. 30, mainly due to downed trees, Gauldin said.
Grins and Gripes ............................. 40 Classifieds ........................................ 43 Index of Advertisers ........................ 46 NWO On The Go .............................. 48
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In Summerfield, 17 of the 20 calls handled by the fire department late last Friday and early on Saturday were storm related, according to assistant Chief Jenna Daniels. In Oak Ridge, the fire department ran nine storm-related calls, Chief Ken Gibson said.
Photo by Chris Burritt
N.C. 150 at Zack Road in Oak Ridge remained closed to traffic for several hours last weekend after strong winds snapped a maple tree in the front yard of the historic 1930s-era home owned by Gary and Myra Blackburn. The tree fell across power lines and onto the road, resulting in power outages that lasted through Friday evening and Saturday morning. As he inspected the damage, nearby homeowner Barry Westmoreland said he regained electricity after it was out for about 14 hours. Seven of the calls in Oak Ridge resulted from electrical hazards caused by trees falling on electrical lines, Gibson said in an email earlier this week. His department also responded to a structure fire outside of the Oak Ridge district due to power lines falling on the building. Statewide, power outages were widespread. “We had in North Carolina at different points more than 700,000 people without power,” Gov. Roy Cooper said earlier this week. “Collectively, the
high peak was 400,000 people who didn’t have power.” In Oak Ridge, a tree snapped by the storm fell across utility lines and blocked N.C. 150 at Zack Road, blocking traffic in both directions last weekend. Emergency personnel blocked the section of road with orange cones and tape. A blocked road is “a significant hazard, and the motorist should not proceed,” Gibson said. Homeowners should refrain from
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