Area News

The City of Hickory will be repairing a minor leak on a 12” water line on NC Hwy. 127 in Bethlehem on Saturday, December 18, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., according to a press release from Alexander County Government.   The leak is located at the intersection of NC Hwy. 127 and Swayngims Lane.…

By ANGELA FARR KING When asked about the day his life changed, Ryan Adams said, “It was a slow day. Nothing exciting was happening. I wanted to ride the four-wheeler, but Dad said no. I had to wait for him to get back from the store.” His mother, Jenni, was inside preparing dinner and his…

The N.C. Forest Service has lifted a ban on all open burning effective at 12:00 noon on Monday, December 13, 2021, for the following counties in North Carolina: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Granville, Guilford, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Orange, Person, Polk, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Surry,…

Dec. 8, 2021 Over 5,200 weeks — and as many weekly editions — have passed since two Lincolnton men, Jonathan M. and J.W. Mullen, purchased The Mountain Scout newspaper here and renamed it The Taylorsville Times in the latter half of 1921. This week, The Times brings you a peek into that century of Times’…

Taylorsville residents and businesses are being urged to reduce their water usage as the dry period has placed the town in the beginnings of a drought condition. In his Public Works report to the Taylorsville Town Council on December 7, 2021, Town Public Utilities Manager Aaron Wike noted the state had sent notice that parts…

HIDDENITE FIRE CHIEF TO STEP DOWN — Hiddenite Fire Department held their Annual Meeting on December 6, 2021. At the meeting, Tim Keever (shown above right) announced he would step down as Chief effective January 1, 2022, after 16 years leading the department. The new Chief will be Scott Mitchell (above left). The department also…

By ANGELA FARR KING One of the most important topics addressed during the monthly Town Council meeting on December 7th was the dispersal of a portion of the funding provided by the Federal Government American Rescue Plan (ARP) fund, which totals $688,067.78 for the Town of Taylorsville.  According to the council’s written plan, “The discretional…

By order of the North Carolina Supreme Court, filing for all offices for the 2022 primary is suspended, according to Patrick Wike, Director of the Alexander County Board of Elections. The NC State Board of Elections received this order in the late afternoon hours of December 8, 2021. The March 8, 2022 primary has been…

State officials are keeping the burning ban in place in 33 counties in North Carolina, including Alexander. Rains in other parts of the state allowed officials to end the burning ban on Dec. 8 for the following counties in North Carolina: Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Camden, Carteret, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Cleveland,…

(updated Dec. 7, 2021) The Alexander County Board of Elections Office was busy on the opening day of candidate filing for 2022 elections, which began Monday, December 6. Candidates filing Dec. 6 and 7 included these for partisan races: Edwin P. Chapman (D) and Lisa Hines (R) for Alexander County Clerk of Superior Court; Scott…