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January 31, 2006

No more reality T.V. posts, for a while

After this one: I just wanted to let you know the News & Record has set up a special page for folks to get info, talk about, and generally interact with each other on High Point's Survivor contestant Austin Carty. You can see it here.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)

The most difficult of stories ...

... are those that involve the deaths of young people. A U.S. Marine from High Point died in Iraq over the weekend, as Bob Burchette reports.

I didn't know Cpl. Barbosa and wasn't involved in reporting the story. I wanted to note it here for a couple of reasons. One being that he's from High Point. The other being how tremendously affecting I find the stories of marines and soldiers who lose their lives. I've written a few stories like Bob's in the last three years -- even when you don't know the deceased, it's incredibly difficult to do. I've also had several close friends spend time in Iraq and Afghanistan and know that constant fear that they'll be harmed.

We should all be grateful that young men and women such as Felipe Barbosa are willing to serve our country and pray for their safe return.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

January 25, 2006

And in case you were wondering ...

... that northeast Davidson County development was approved last night. Kory Dodd picked up the story for me since I was in Greensboro for the airport noise meetings.

And I'm sorry for it taking all day to get this up on the blog, but I was in Greensboro again today for some transportation meetings. Being a transportation reporter is among my non-North High Point/Jamestown duties, it also means I help maintain another of the paper's blogs at Fast Forward.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 5:56 PM | Comments (4)

January 24, 2006

Heart of the Triad: Public forum set

It looks like the first Heart of the Triad public forum has been set. I have to give credit to Greensboro City Councilwoman Sandy Carmany for getting this out there first, I saw it on her blog this afternoon.

From her blog:

WHO: Heart of the Triad (HOT) members, which include PART, the local chambers, local planners and other city and county representatives, invite the public to participate in the community meeting

WHAT: Community Meeting to discuss the Heart of the Triad project, learn about the program’s goals and how local residents can participate in developing the future of the Triad.

WHEN: Thursday, February 2, 2006 from 6 pm to 8 pm

WHERE: Woodland Hall in the Triad Park at 9652 East Mountain Street,
Kernersville, NC

WHY: Residents should attend to learn more about what’s happening in their neighborhoods, how growth in the Triad may impact them and how they can participate in forming the future of the Triad.

On a side note: Why would the announcement not be sent to one of only three or four reporters who've been covering H.O.T.? I let you know when I figure it out.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 4:58 PM | Comments (3)

You only thought I was kidding ...

... when I called High Point "Reality Town, USA."

Well here comes another one. Tyra Banks show, "America's Next Top Model," on UPN is holding a casting call Saturday at Oak Hollow Mall.

And of course the announcement comes right before Fox is airing its Greensboro auditions for "American Idol." I'm not a big reality T.V. fan, but I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed I won't get to see tonight's show thanks to a noise meeting at the airport. I guess I've got that curiosity of whether anyone I know will make it on.

I won't be watching Austin Carty on Survivor anytime soon, either. Best of luck to him, but I just can't get into that show.

And back to "America's Next Top Model," if you think you've got what it takes the casting call will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Oak Hollow Mall. From looking at the model application web site, it doesn't look like Ms. Banks or even the casting director will be there. Heck, maybe she is the casting director. I dunno.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 8:42 AM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2006

More growth into Davidson

High Point's expansion into Davidson County looks like its going to continue a bit this week.

The Planning Commission will be considering a 128-home, 64-acre annexation and development request off Chestnut Drive. The property is right on the edge of the Guilford-Davidson county line.

If you're interested in attending:
What: High Point Planning and Zoning Comission
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 24)
Where: City Council Chambers, 211 S. Hamilton St.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 4:25 PM | Comments (8)

January 19, 2006

Jamestown gets a new manager

The info was buried in yesterday's story, but Jamestown will have a new Town Manager in six months: Kathryn Billings.

She's replacing John Frezell who is retiring at the end of May after 25 years with the town. The Jamestown Council unanimously appointed Billings to the post on Tuesday night. Frezell announced his retirement in November.

Billings, 53, is no stranger. She's been working for Jamestown the last 18 years as finanicial officer and spent the last two years with a second title -- assistant town manager. She'll be only the third town manager in Jamestown history.

Billings, who grew up in Greensboro, said that after working for the town for so many years she was excited at the chance to move up. She said her top goals include improving her relationships with council members and increasing the town's communication with residents.

Council members said it just made sense to give Billings a chance at the job.

"Having 18 years with us, she's the logical person if we want to maintain the fabric of the town," Councilman Keith Volz said after the meeting.

"Right frankly, we want to do that more often when we've got people trained to come behind someone so when they leave they can step right in," Mayor Billy Ragsdale said.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 4:31 PM | Comments (1)

January 18, 2006

Hartley Drive

City Council approved a $725,000 contract for engineering work to extend Hartley Drive into the northeast Davidson County section of High Point. It would pick up from where it ends by the YMCA and connect to Westover Drive near Shadow Valley Drive.

The road, which won't be open for travel until sometime around 2011, will be a major connector for the city's northeast residential area. I have a feeling that for folks in Laurel Oak Ranch, it can't come soon enough.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 6:46 AM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2006

Even smalltown politics are funny

So Jamestown Councilman Keith Volz didn't bring up the Jamestown Bypass tonight, like he had said he would.

I asked him afterward what happened. Volz said the issue isn't dead but needs more time for the town to talk with the N.C. DOT.

There was a changeover in the project management on the DOT's end, and that, he said, has led to some communication slowdown. And he wants to make sure the DOT isn't already dealing with his concerns before the council makes some kind of formal decision.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 8:37 PM | Comments (0)

School Redistricting

There's quite a discussion going on over at The Chalkboard about these proposed redistricting maps.

I realize most of the folks who are interested in this know more than me about what's going on, but I wanted to make sure it was up on this blog as well, because, well, North High Point and Jamestown look to me like they're the areas with the most at stake in the decision. In fact four of the five maps are identical except for the High Point area.

The forums are this week, including one tonight and one Thursday. I have no doubt that forum in High Point is going to be interesting.

So if you want to go, here are the times and places:

PAGE HIGH SCHOOL
201 Alma Pinnix Drive, Greensboro
7-9 p.m. Tuesday

PROVIDENCE PLACE
1727 Westchester Drive, High Point
7-9 p.m. Thursday

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 1:42 PM | Comments (4)

January 16, 2006

Jamestown Bypass, revisited?

It's not on the agenda, but Councilman Keith Volz said last month that he plans to get a discussion of the Jamestown Bypass on the town council's table tomorrow night (Jan. 17).

It'll be interesting to see what he can do with a new friend on the board in Brock Thomas. The DOT said they're willing to listen, but any serious requests need to come in soon.

What is on the agenda tomorrow is a water and sewer rate study, which is likely to result in an increase on those fees.

Wanna go?
What: Jamestown Council
When: 7 p.m. Jan. 17
Where: Town Hall

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 8:01 PM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2006

The sweet smell of a sewer agreement

The Environmental Management Commission approved a Special Order of Consent for High Point this morning dealing with its sewer replacement program.

Statehouse reporter Mark Binker was at the hearing and we'll have a report from Raleigh in tomorrow's paper. I'll link to it in the morning, but a little tease will follow.

The agreement significantly raises fines for missing deadlines and for any sewer overflows the city might have in the next few years. Before the state would occassionally assess fines for the dumping sewage. Now, High Point is going to face a $1,000 fine every time more than 1,000 gallons spill.

“I’m just wondering if that amount is enough to get their attention,” Commissioner Freddie Harrill said.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 3:34 PM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2006

Airport Noise

The Part 150 Committee is getting ready to meet later this month and there have been some new developments in the work its doing.

That's the group tasked with studying noise caused by the airport, in particular it's examing the expected noise of FedEx air traffic and looking for ways to reduce it. It's called Part 150 in reference to federal code: Federal Aviation Regulation Part 150.

Anwyay, the group's land use map was recently posted as was its new developments map. Neither really show anything newsworthy, but they're interesting because you're looking at a land-use map and new development map that cross jurisdictional boundaries with the airport at the heart of it all. That's not an easy task to compile that kind of information.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 4:43 PM | Comments (0)

For Sale: High Point

The Greensboro Regional Realtors Association has put out its fourth quarter 2005 report on the High Point housing market. There's some interesting stuff in there.

Among the notables:

High Point houses that are selling are sitting on the market for less time than they did in the fourth quarters of 2003 and 2004, respectively. In 2003 houses sat for 133 days. In '04 that number was 134. Last year it was 92 days.

The number of houses sold dropped 9 percent compared with 2005's third quarter, when 321 houses sold, and 23 percent from fourth quarter of 2004, when 381 homes sold. In the last quarter of '05, 291 homes sold.

Most of the houses sold in High Point were in North High Point. The 27265 zip code saw 137 home sales. Next best was the 27282 zip code, which includes Jamestown, at 67 homes sold. It also had the highest average home price, just under $199,000.

For comparison's sake, you can check out Greensboro's numbers here.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 8:39 AM | Comments (10)

January 9, 2006

Reality Town, USA

It looks like High Point has a follow up act to Fantasia Barrino and he's coming to a small screen near you, soon.

Austin Carty, another High Point native, is going to be a contestant on the next Survivor series.

In about three weeks, viewers can tune into the show, which will feature Carty, 24, and other contestants on a tropical island off the coast of Panama, vying for $1 million.

Carty is the author of “Somewhere Beyond Here,” a novel published in 2003. He lives in High Point.

The Carty family isn’t unknown to fame. Elizabeth Carty, Austin’s sister, was named Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2004.

The show airs February 2 at 8 p.m. on WFMY Channel 2.

Carty's from the Emerywood area, so it's a stretch to throw him up here, but I figured what the heck. We've only got one High Point blog anyway.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 4:43 PM | Comments (3)

January 8, 2006

Let's hear it

So it's a new year and well, that means lots of folks find it a good time for reflection. It's also a time of year where the editors here like to ask us what stories we'll be following throughout the year.

And that got me thinking about a couple of things, which led to the following questions: What do you, fair readers, want out of this blog? I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of this whole blogging thing, but want to know what you'd like to see because, well, I'm sure I can do a better job.

And as I compiled the list of stories I'm going to be working on I thought, what am I missing? There's the big things on there, like FedEx, noise mitigation in north High Point, the sewer replacement program and so on. (And it needs to be mentioned, I won't be involved much, if at all, in redistricting coverage even though I know that's probably going to be the biggest story of '06 in NHP). But I thought, well, let's see what the readers think. So tell me north High Point-ers, what do you think are going to be the big stories of '06 in our neck of the woods?

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 9:06 AM | Comments (3)

January 6, 2006

You pull the lever and... flush

The cost of missing deadlines looks like it could go up significantly for High Point in its sewer replacement program.

The state Environmental Management Commission still has to decide if it's going to approve the agreement, and the higher penalities.

So why is this on the North High Point blog? Well, the limits on new connections at Westside Wasteweater Treatment Plant affect the prime residential growth area in Ward 5: Northeast Davidson County. Limits on the Eastside plan, which handles about two-thirds of the city's sewage, could also have an affect on growth in North High Point, if the city doesn't meet it's deadlines.

So do you care about sewers? It's a tough story to relate to the average Joe. Most of us don't like to think about what happens after you pull that little lever. But sewer systems are one of a couple things, along with water and market demand, that have the most influence on an area's ability to grow, attract business, etc.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at 11:25 AM | Comments (2)