Area News

(Ret.) Master Trooper Tim Tarleton F-IV, Taylorsville, has been admitted to Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC, in March. Tim has been diagnosed with Mature B Cell Lymphoma. Tim’s wife, Linda, and daughter A. J. have been by his side most every day. According to the physicians, Tim will be at Duke for several weeks,…

By MICAH HENRY Imagine waking up and feeling like you can’t breathe — that’s what happened to Hiddenite resident Laura Hill on January 6, when she was 29 weeks pregnant. Laura was rushed to Catawba Valley Medical Center and then to Baptist Wake Forest Atrium Health in Winston-Salem. Doctors learned she was suffering from MRSA…

By MICAH HENRY On Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, at approximately 11:30 a.m., the Central Alexander/Taylorsville Fire Department was dispatched to a mobile home fire at 36 Matthew Drive, off 6th Street SW in Taylorsville. Ellendale and Wittenburg fire departments were dispatched as mutual aid. Units arrived on the scene to find a mobile home…

During a ceremony held April 2, 2023, on the Alexander County Courthouse’s north lawn, members of the local government and justice community participated in a ceremony to observe National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This included Guardian Ad Litem members Tennille Hileman and Deanna Myers, Taylorsville Mayor George Holleman, Alexander County Sheriff Chad Pennell, Alexander County…

By MICAH HENRY The Taylorsville Town Council met on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, and heard an update during the Public Comment portion from Taylorsville Apple Festival Director Gina Kay Honosky. She noted that the festival committee will hold the Apple Blossom Festival, which had not been held since before the COVID pandemic, this year. The…

County Commissioners approve zoning text amendment for Bethlehem housing development Alexander County may see a new housing development in Bethlehem after the Board of Commissioners approved a zoning text amendment April 3 for a 34-acre parcel off Heritage Farm Road, according to a county press release. The board voted to allow single-family attached homes in…

PISTOL PURCHASE PERMITS NO LONGER REQUIRED IN N.C., BACKGROUND CHECKS AND OTHER LAWS STILL APPLY —   Sheriff Chad Pennell, Alexander County Sheriff’s Office, announced the following on March 31, 2023:   Effective immediately, pistol purchase permits will no longer be issued by any sheriff in North Carolina. The Alexander County Sheriff’s Office has stopped…

Submitted by District Attorney Sarah Kirkman March is Women’s History Month, and I almost let it get by me without recognizing it. The observance of Women’s History Month began in California in 1978 as Women’s History Day, then it later became Women’s History Week, then finally Women’s History Month in 1987. One of the proclamations…

Mr. Jack J. Hoke, Executive Director of the NC School Superintendents’ Association (NCSSA), was recently awarded the 2023 Champion for Children Award during the NC Association of School Administrators’ (NCASA) 2023 Conference on Educational Leadership. The Champion For Children Award, a prestigious honor given annually by NCASA to an individual demonstrating leadership in supporting and…

By MICAH HENRY Bethlehem area residents and business owners flocked to an informational meeting on Tuesday evening, March 28, at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Mark Stafford, PE, North Carolina Department of Transportation Division 12 Engineer, was joined by DOT project engineers Cole Gurley and Bryan Sowell, as well as consultant Todd Buckner, design engineer with the…