Area News

      End of an era   By MICAH HENRY A long-time Alexander County business closed its doors last week after 45 years in operation, serving the automotive parts needs of the area. Harold Mecimore, 80, and wife Carol Bumgarner Mecimore, 77, have owned and operated Mecimore’s Auto Parts since 1975. It began as a big…

By MICAH HENRY Work is underway to bring a colorful new addition to downtown Taylorsville: a barn quilt wall. The Community Barn Quilt Project Coordinator Jack Simms, who is also a newly elected Taylorsville Town Commissioner, explained that the wooden squares, painted in quilt patterns, will soon decorate downtown on the eastern wall of the…

House fires in Alexander County proved deadly to pets in two different locations and displaced two families last week. Ellendale woman displaced in Jan. 12 fire On Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, a fire was reported about 2:33 p.m. at a residence at 11 Center Lane, off Jake Reese Court, off Church Road in the Ellendale…

The Primary Election is planned for March 3, 2020. (A Primary Election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate they believe should be a political party’s candidate for elected office to run in the General Election. You are only eligible to participate in a primary election of the political party for which…

By TOSHA BROWN [Editor’s Note: This article was updated Jan. 17, 2020, to include more detailed quotes from the Public Comment portion of the meeting.] The Alexander County Board of Education met on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at the Central Office. Much discussion was had regarding the per diem pay raise the school board requested…

A man from the Ellendale Community has passed away this week after being severely injured in a traffic collision on January 7. According to the collision report of Trooper T.C. Hayes of the N.C. State Highway Patrol, the wreck occurred on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, at the intersection of US 64 and NC 127 in…

      By MICAH HENRY An Alexander County teen will soon be acting in a movie based on the successful DC Comics character Harley Quinn, the Joker’s girlfriend in the Batman comic world. Lillin Rector, 18, is a senior at Alexander Central High School. She is the daughter of Rick and Melissa Rector of the Liledoun…

Commissioners received an update on the NC Hwy. 127 widening project at their January 6 meeting from Brian Horton, Transportation Planning Manager for the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG). The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is planning right-of-way acquisition in 2021 with construction to begin in 2023 on the $30 million state project.…

At their Monday, January 6th meeting, Alexander County Commissioners considered a request from the Alexander County Board of Education for a salary increase for board members. [See Dec. 18 article, beginning with a red headline near the bottom of this page, for a comparison of local elected boards’ salaries.] According to NC General Statute 115C-38,…

Jan. 9, 2020 — In light of recent concern of threats to the Constitutional right of United States citizens to keep and bear arms, Sheriff Chris Bowman (D-Alexander) and the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office want the citizens of Alexander County to be assured that the protection of such rights is of utmost importance. Sheriff Bowman…