Archive - Jul 2011
July 28th
Ellen Ball cannot imagine life without art and creativity.
âAs jazz great Miles Davis once said, âI would just wanna be dead if I couldnât create,ââ Ball said. âFor me, it is as intrinsically necessary to being as breathing.â
Ball, 50, grew up in HIckory with creative parents in a household that included a painting studio, sewing room, workshop full of tools, art, music and books.
âThere was no way I could not be an artist,â she said. âOne of my first drawings was on the living room wall.â
July 27th
North Carolina fired football coach Butch Davis on Wednesday, saying the past year of turmoil amid an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct was doing too much damage to the school's reputation.
The school issued a statement announcing Davis' dismissal nine days before the start of preseason practice. Chancellor Holden Thorp said the decision was not prompted by any changes in the ongoing NCAA investigation but said he "lost confidence in our ability to come through this without harming the way people think of this institution."
Youngsters from throughout the area gathered this week at Maiden High School for the sixth annual Blue Devils football camp.
The camp, which started Monday and concluded Wednesday, features third- through seventh-graders working with members of the Maiden football program, including coaches and players.
Each camper takes a turn playing every position, including quarterback, running back, wide receiver, offensive and defensive line, linebacker and defensive back.
The temperature wasnât the only thing heating up on Tuesday at L.P. Frans Stadium. So did the Hickory Crawdadsâ pitching and hitting.
The Crawdads got solo home runs from Christian Villanueva, Tomas Telis and Andrew Clark, while Hickory pitching combined for a two-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory against Delmarva.
Election season is right around the corner, and citizens can expect to see a plethora of campaign signs popping up in their area. Before you plant, or pull up, a wiry cardboard ad in your neighborâs front yard, government leaders are reminding citizens of proper election signage.
This year, some municipal races will have up to eight candidates running for two or three elected positions. With large races, municipal leaders say the importance of signage rules becomes even more significant as candidates vie for a spot on the lawn as well as their governmentâs ruling body.
A plan to replace a 75-year-old water line in Maiden will affect traffic in coming months, but town officials say the impact will be as minimal as possible.
Maidenâs Main Street Waterline Replacement Project will replace one of the oldest water lines in the town as well as relocate a new water line out of the road. Maiden Town Manager Todd Herms said the old water line has had several breaks over the past few years. Buildup inside the pipe has caused the problem, he said.
July 26th
Before this summer, Snow Creek Elementary Schoolâs library had blank, white walls.
Thanks to five Hickory High School (HHS) girls and Snow Creek media coordinator, Ellen Sigmon, windows have opened up in the library, literally.
âSince there arenât windows, I thought it would be neat to have murals fill the blank space in the library,â Sigmon said. âI was talking to Caroline (Sigmonâs daughter) about it and she wanted to do one.â
Voting districts in the Newton-Conover City Schools system will remain unchanged for the next 10 years.
As a result, about 50 homes â 112 citizens â will remain in the Conover district, while the population of the Newton voting district will remain slightly smaller than its counterpart in the school system.
Despite the slight size difference, the school system will be within population sizes outlined in the state election statues.
Police have identified the man who robbed a Conover tobacco store on Saturday with a sawed-off shotgun.
Conover Police issued a warrant for Freddy Soots, 32, of Whiteville, with robbery with a dangerous weapon on Tuesday and are searching for the suspect.
Police say Soots walked into the Smokes Unlimited Inc. tobacco store in Conover at about 5:42 p.m. Saturday before taking a sawed-off shotgun out of a duffle bag and demanding money.
Election season is right around the corner, and citizens can expect to see a plethora of campaign signs popping up in their area. Before you plant, or pull up, a wiry cardboard ad in your neighborâs front yard, government leaders are reminding citizens of proper election signage.
This year, some municipal races will have up to eight candidates running for two or three elected positions. With large races, municipal leaders say the importance of signage rules becomes even more significant as candidates vie for a spot on the lawn as well as their governmentâs ruling body.
