Area News

Council asked to help fund David Odom Memorial Scholarship By ANGELA FARR KING The Taylorsville Town Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. Town Manager Nathan Hester brought up a discussion with the Council about the possibility of selling the building where the Urgent Care of Mountain…

Now is the time for North Carolinians to act on wildfire mitigation practices and Firewise principles. By taking appropriate action, residents can help protect their homes and communities from wildfires by creating a defensible space while reducing risk. “Even though we’re still a few weeks from the official start of spring wildfire season, now is…

Ronald J. Rossmann, Jr., the owner and creative director of Be Your Own Hero Productions, LLC, has announced the premiere of his newest feature, “You’re It!,” a psychological thriller that redefines the slasher genre. Starring The Walking Dead alumni Santiago Cirilo and Amber Dawn Fox, this groundbreaking production is produced by internationally acclaimed artist Gregbo…

Alcohol aficianados will not have to drive as far with the reopening of the Taylorsville Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABC) Store this Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. The store is located in the same location as before, at 42 NC Hwy. 16 South, near the Alexander County Services Center and Taylorsville Post Office. Readers may recall…

Krislynn Hawthorne, native of Alexander County, has been named the new band director at Statesville High School. The high school’s leadership announced the hiring on the school’s Facebook page. Hawthorne was quoted there saying, “I grew up in Taylorsville, NC, and graduated from Alexander Central. I then attended Winston-Salem State University where I graduated with…

By ANGELA FARR KING East Alexander Middle has undergone some major changes lately and the most recent one is the addition of their new assistant principal, Mrs. Jessica Cook. She came unofficially prior to the Christmas break so that she could begin to learn “the ropes” of her new position, but she officially assumed her…

By MICAH HENRY Hiddenite resident Art Leaming and friend, Wanda Pollard, intricately decorated Leaming’s home for Christmas 2024 — an activity that took about six weeks, working long days, to accomplish. Art, 86, who is an Army veteran, noted that he and his friend met on Christmas Day 2023. To celebrate the anniversary of their…

By MICAH HENRY In a work session held on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Town Hall, the Taylorsville Town Council met to hear the ABC Board and other matters. Following the December dissolution of the 2012 merger of the Taylorsville ABC Board with that of Catawba County, the Town Council set up…

By MICAH HENRY The Alexander County Democratic Party is in a period of change following the announcement that their current location would need to be vacated by January 31, according to their landlord, although the party leaders knew this was coming eventually as the space is needed for other uses, party chairperson Helen Chestnut said.…

By MICAH HENRY Eric Todd Scott, President of the NAACP Statesville Branch since April 2019, served as keynote speaker at the Alexander County NAACP’s Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on Monday, January 20. The event took place at Macedonia Baptist Church on NC Hwy. 90 East in Taylorsville. Alexander NAACP Vice President Helen…