« June 2005 | Main | August 2005 »

July 29, 2005

A new addition to north High Point?

A proposed 204-house development in northeast Davidson County is on the agenda for Monday's City Council meeting. Both city planners and the planning and zoning commission have recommended the council reject the proposal, which is in an area of Davidson County designated for the city's future growth.

More background on the proposal can be found here.

Posted by Eric Swensen at 2:23 PM | Comments (0)

July 27, 2005

North High Point condo development on hold

Blue Ridge Companies plan to build 144 condos on 12 acres off Whites Mill Road is on hold for now.

Tuesday night, the city's planning and zoning commission postponed further discussion until its Sept. 27 meeting to give the company time to do a traffic study. Several neighbors raised concerns about traffic at the intersection of Whites Mill and Skeet Club roads.

The full story is here.

Posted by Eric Swensen at 2:50 PM | Comments (0)

I'm changing professions

Our fearless leader, John Robinson, already shared this news with the blogosphere, but I wanted to tell you myself.

I'm leaving the News & Record after next week, to become an English teacher at Southwest High School.

I got my bachelor's and master's in English, with the intention of teaching. But then my love for writing got in the way, and I became a journalist. Eight years later, I've decided the urge to get back behind the desk is just too great. And I was fortunate enough to get contracts for three books during the past year. So, I can continue to write.

I'll be teaching 9'th grade AP, multicultural literature, creative writing and journalism.

I've enjoyed my time at the News & Record. This is a great paper that's trying to stay on the cutting edge without losing its focus on journalism's traditional values. Hopefully, I'll still be able to write columns for the paper. And I'll certainly urge my students to do the same.

Posted by at 9:43 AM | Comments (9)

July 23, 2005

Planners feel condos good fit for north High Point

WHAT: Blue Ridge Companies Inc. is asking the city for permission to build 144 condominiums on 12 acres along Whites Mill Road, next to the Wendover West shopping center.
The property is currently zoned for offices. To build the development, Blue Ridge Companies would buy 3 acres from neighboring Deep River Baptist Church. A barbecue catering company is on the remainder of the property.

WHEN AND WHERE: The proposal will be heard by the city's Planning and Zoning Commission at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 211 S. Hamilton St., third floor. The commission makes recommendations to the City Council.

WHAT CITY PLANNERS SAY: Planners say the condominiums would fit in well with surrounding properties and provide a good transition between homes along Whites Mill Road and the stores and businesses along Eastchester Drive and Skeet Club Road.
Planners are recommending the project be approved, with one caveat. They would like Blue Ridge Companies to keep the existing trees and plants along the west side of the property, allowing a natural buffer for the homes next door. Blue Ridge Companies has offered to replant trees and shrubs removed for construction.

SCHOOLS: The condos would add between 45 and 57 students to the Southwest schools. That does not take into account the reassignment plan at the high school level.

TRAFFIC: The development would have two entrances along Whites Mill Road and be near the intersection of Whites Mill and Skeet Club roads. Blue Ridge Companies would install left-turn lanes at both entrances.

OTHER CASES: High Point University is asking for permission to build a parking lot on 2.3 acres of land. To build the lot, the school is asking the city to rezone the land and permanently close West College Drive between Montlieu Avenue and O.A. Kirkman Way.
Planners are recommending the city approve the parking lot and road closure.

MORE INFORMATION: 883-3328 or www.high-point.net/plan/pzagd.htm

Contact Amy Dominello at 883-4422, Ext. 248, or adominello@news-record.com

Posted by Amy Dominello at 3:09 AM | Comments (5)

July 22, 2005

Hey, ghoul fans

I love haunted attractions, and I don't think I'm alone. That's why I was excited about my story in today's N & R, "Castle to spook visitors in the fall."

Castle McCulloch, best known for weddings, is going to transform itself into a haunted castle the last two weekends of October. The place will have a haunted dungeon, a haunted cave (I saw this effect. It's a TKO.), a haunted swamp and a ride across the moat from Death himself.

In addition, the castle's teaming up with Spookywoods and Woods of Terror to offer discount packages for folks who want to go to more than one attraction.

b/t/w I didn't have room for it in the story, but Castle McCulloch supposedly is haunted for real. I've heard different versions, but the most popular is that the circa 1830 gold refinery was built by slave labor. An overseer pushed one of the slaves to his death from atop a stone wall. They say the dead man's blood stains the rock where he fell to this day. (cue the spooky music)

Posted by at 9:07 AM | Comments (3)

July 20, 2005

Owen Strickland resigns

In the past two dead-tree editions of the News & Record, I've written about Owen Strickland's decision to resign his Ward 6 seat representing north High Point and how City Council may (or may not) go about replacing him.

Here's a quick summary of what's happened so far:
Strickland, who had already said he wouldn't seek reelection this November, said at Monday's council meeting that he will resign Aug. 1 because he's bought a house in Randolph County.

The remaining council members have said their decision on replacing Strickland will depend on the number of candidates on the ballot for his seat. If there's only one candidate (and only has filed so far), the councilors seem willing to appoint that person to the seat.

But if there's more than one candidate, councilors I spoke with over the past couple of days were unanimous that they wouldn't appoint any of the candidates to the seat for fear of giving someone an unfair advantage. Some council members did say they would consider appointing someone not running for the seat to serve for a few months until the election.

What do you think, residents of north High Point? Would it bother you to potentially go a couple of months without a representative on council?

Posted by Eric Swensen at 2:23 PM | Comments (10)

July 8, 2005

Goody's replacement

Goody's is heading out of High Point, to be replaced by a shop featuring collegiate apparel priced at $9.98 or less. Steve & Barry's University Sportswear is a New York-based retail chain that I hadn't heard of before this week...but it's a rapidly growing company. Fifty more stores are supposed to open across the country this year.

Steve & Barry's is likely to open in October. Goody's lease runs out at the end of August.

Posted by at 3:28 PM | Comments (4)

July 7, 2005

Jamestown Bypass update

For those of you who didn't see this in the paper on Wednesday...Below is a story about some significant developments in the life of the Jamestown Bypass. The bypass is so-called because improvements to Greensboro-High Point Road will include circumventing Jamestown's core.

For those keeping score at home...

The fortunate: A Jamestown church and a Greensboro cemetery
The unfortunate: A Greensboro church and a Jamestown neighborhood

Raymond and Lois Carney are upset to find they're owners of not one, but two white elephants.
Nobody has bought the couple's Raleigh home in the two years since they moved to Bull Run Village in Jamestown. Now, a decision by the state means they'll lose their home in Jamestown to a road.
"Now, I've got two homes I can't do a dadburn thing with," Raymond Carney said.
At least the Carneys can take comfort in knowing they're not alone.
The N.C. Department of Transportation faced two decisions related to improvements to Greensboro-High Point Road, also called the Jamestown Bypass:
* Save a neighborhood or save a historic church property?
* Save another church or move graves in a cemetery across the street?
The agency chose a route that will circumvent Jamestown's historic Oakdale United Methodist Church but lead to the razing of all eight homes in Bull Run Village.
And the DOT chose a route that will force Greensboro's Sedgefield Baptist Church to move, so that no graves in Guilford Memorial Park will be disturbed.
The Carneys knew the bypass was coming when they moved to Jamestown. But they thought it would be far enough away to spare their new home.
In February, they learned a new route through their neighborhood was a possibility. Last week, they got a letter from the N.C. Department of Transportation saying such a route is definite. Property acquisition won't begin until fall 2006 at the earliest, but the Carneys sent a letter to the DOT on Tuesday asking that their property be bought as soon as possible. They want to find a new home.
The route sparing Oakdale United Methodist was chosen because the DOT tries whenever possible to spare historic property, said Missy Dickens, a project manager with the agency. Oakdale United Methodist's building is 90 years old, and its congregation goes back to the late 19th century.
On Sunday, talk at the church was all about the DOT decision, said Cheryl Smith, a third-generation member of Oakdale. "We feel sad for the people who will be affected by the route, but we're ecstatic for our church."
Property acquisition for the $108.5 million Jamestown Bypass will be affected slightly by the DOT's decisions. The path sparing Oakdale United Methodist will cost $1.7 million more than the original path. Going through Sedgefield Baptist, rather than moving the graves, will save roughly $2.5 million.
The agency decided not to disturb the graves because of public outcry, Dickens said. She received dozens of letters and "too many phone calls to count" from friends and family of those buried at Guilford Memorial.
Members of the 30-year-old Sedgefield Baptist aren't happy about the move. But they understand the DOT's decision. They've formed committees to determine the next step, but church members say they don't know where they'll move.
"The church is alive and well and can move and readjust," said Leonard Smith, chairman of the board of deacons. "But it's terrible to move the graves of the deceased. We don't want to see families go through that."

Posted by at 1:08 PM | Comments (0)

London connections

As you probably know by now, there was a series of terrorist bombings in London today. If you have any connections to London--or know anyone with London connections--could you please call (883-4422, Ext. 238) or message (jhayes@news-record.com) me?

Thanks.

Posted by at 9:40 AM | Comments (1)