ASHEBORO — Phase Change Solutions, which bills itself as a global leader in temperature control and energy efficient solutions and has been based in Asheboro, is establishing a U.S. headquarters in Greensboro, the company announced last week.
Incentives played a role in luring the company to Greensboro for its expansion, according to several reports.
Phase Change Solutions has been listed as an Asheboro company with a Pritchard Street address. Company officials didn’t return messages to provide clarity on any future role in Asheboro.
Triad Business Journal reported that the company will relocate from Asheboro.
Phase Change Solutions hasn’t been a member of the Asheboro/Randolph Chamber of Commerce.
The announcement from Phase Change Solutions said that a $4 million investment is being made for the new facility at 813 Winston St. in Greensboro. The company says that 51 new jobs will be created.
The move into Greensboro comes with incentives provided by Guilford County. A public hearing on this topic was held earlier this month.
The company also requested state and local incentives, and several Greensboro entities were on board.
“This expansion into Greensboro marks a significant milestone in our journey towards sustainable innovation,” Phase Change Solutions CEO Govi Rao said in a statement when the announcement was made. “The vibrant community and thriving business ecosystem in Greensboro provide the perfect foundation for us to further revolutionize energy efficiency and shape the future of advanced materials for thermal management solutions. Together, we will empower industries, homes, and the planet with our cutting-edge BioPCM technology that will make a lasting impact on both our local community and the world – moving us towards a circular economy.”
The company’s website says it uses “phase change materials that stabilize temperatures across a wide range of applications.”
Uwharrie Charter Academy pitcher Brett Smith will be throwing off the Ting Stadium mound in Holly Springs in the Class 1-A state finals. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – The baseball team from Uwharrie Charter Academy knows where it will play its Class 1-A state championship series.
The Eagles will have to wait a little longer to learn their opponent.
UCA (20-10) wrapped up the West Region title by winning Thursday night at Eastern Randolph to complete a two-game swept of the best-of-3 three regional finals.
It’s not so clear in the East Region. North Moore (21-8) and Voyager Academy (22-6) each have won a game apiece. Their series finale slated for Saturday night in Durham was postponed.
The teams have reset Game 3 for 2 p.m. Monday at Durham Athletic Park.
The road team has won each game. North Moore won 4-2 on Wednesday night. Game 2 was Friday night, with Voyager Academy winning 8-1 to extend the series.
UCA coach Rob Shore said Saturday night that he has been informed by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association that the Eagles will play in the state finals at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs. It will be one of two title series at that site, while two other classifications will meet at Burlington Athletic Stadium.
Shore is awaiting the specific game times, but Game 1 will be Friday and Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3 will be Saturday.
Shore attended Game 2 of the East Region finals Friday night. He said he’s uncertain if he’ll be present for Monday’s Game 3.
UCA team members gather after winning the Class 1-A West Region title.
Clutch late-inning work boosts UCA’s baseball team
RAMSEUR – It was pretty much a matter of Uwharrie Charter Academy’s baseball team making the best of tough situations Thursday night.
By doing so, the Eagles are heading to where they want to go.
UCA completed a Class 1-A West Regional finals sweep of Eastern Randolph by winning 8-1 in Game 2, scoring all their runs in the last two innings.
“It still hasn’t sunk in,” UCA senior Ben Medinger said of the chance to play for a state title.
The Eagles (20-10) will play in the state championship series against North Moore or Voyager Academy on June 2-3 in either Burlington or Holly Springs. Game 2 of the East Region finals is set for Friday night, with a possible Game 3 on Saturday.
After a tense series with Eastern Randolph, the Eagles will have a few days to relax. UCA and Eastern Randolph are the Piedmont Athletic Conference’s only Class 1-A teams, and they made it through the bracket for this showdown.
“We just kind of ran out of steam,” Eastern Randolph coach Brent Haynes said.
UCA is now 4-0 vs. the Wildcats (8-19) this season, but it was far from easy.
Eastern Randolph pitcher Stratton Barwick blanked the second-seeded Eagles across the first five innings. UCA coach Rob Shore said the Eagles had trouble solving Barwick, a left-hander, during a 4-3, 10-inning victory more than a month earlier during the regular season.
Meanwhile, UCA had freshman pitcher Jake Hunter up to the task on the mound, though it was taxing for several reasons.
“I haven’t gone seven too often,” he said of the complete game.
There were concerns about him making it that far after he absorbed a line drive off Barwick’s bat for what became the last out of the fifth inning. The liner pelted Hunter in the stomach – and he had a sizable reminder imprinted on his midsection afterward.
Hunter keeled over, while second baseman Troy Carver retrieved the ball and recorded the out with a throw to first.
“It hurt in the beginning,” Hunter said.
“I think it scared him more than anything,” Shore said.
At the time, the Eagles trailed 1-0. They went ahead in the top of the sixth.
Grat Dalton’s one-out single brought in the tying run. Walker Wilkins’ sacrifice fly put UCA ahead.
In the bottom of the inning, No. 21 seed Eastern Randolph put a couple of runners on base without a hit with one out. Hunter responded with two strikeouts to thwart the threat.
In UCA’s six-run seventh, all the scoring came with two outs.
“We showed (relentlessness) with every one of those coming with two outs,” Carver said.
Carver’s two-out single began the scoring outburst. Medinger drove in the next two runs with his first triple of the season. The Eagles piled on more runs courtesy of some fielding blunders and Caleb Stickle’s two-run single.
“We put them up when we needed it,” UCA right fielder Carter Brown said of the runs.
That marked the end of Barwick’s pitching.
Hunter ended up with a three-hitter.
“Jake absolutely shoved,” Carver said.
Throughout the game, the good thing for Hunter was that he had third baseman Landen Zephir making a variety of defensive plays on his behalf. Those were among the reasons that potential Eastern Randolph threats were doused.
“We just could not get that hit,” Haynes said.
The Eagles achieved what they sought in their first road game of the playoffs. It was capped by a typical on-field celebration.
For Brown, a junior, the setting had significance.
“It meant 10 times more to me because this is my home (district),” he said of playing on Eastern Randolph’s field.
Eastern Randolph senior Pierce Leonard was on the flip side. He’s a transfer from UCA. Leonard scored the Wildcats’ only run.
Eastern Randolph doubled its win total during the state playoffs in Haynes’ first season.
“Guys knew they were better than a 4-17 record,” he said. “We just started finishing games. That kind of came back and got us (in this series).”
The Eagles scored nine of their 12 runs in the series in the sixth or seventh innings.
“We were a couple of outs away from being in a state championship,” Haynes said.
UCA also eliminated the Wildcats last year, though that came in a third-round clash.
In Tuesday night’s Game 1 at UCA, the Eagles broke a tie in the sixth inning for a 4-3 victory with Brett Smith and Logun Wilkins providing the pitching. Brown scored two runs and Carver rapped a triple.
Eastern Randolph held a 3-1 lead after posting three runs in the second inning with Alex Kivett’s run-producing double one of the big blows. Samuel Asbill pitched a complete game for the Wildcats.
ASHEBORO – Dr. Shah Ardalan has been looking for a new venture in education and he found it with Randolph Community College.
He was named as the seventh president of the school earlier this month.
Ardalan will come from Lone Star College-University Park in Houston. He has been president there since 2012.
But RCC wasn’t his only potential destination. Ardalan has been a finalist for at least two other college presidencies the past several years, including a candidate for a similar position in Wisconsin this spring.
About a week prior to visiting Asheboro for the RCC interview process and tour in April, Ardalan was among three finalists for the presidency of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay. That job went to Dr. Kristen Raney, who has been Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.
Ardalan also was exploring other opportunities to leave LSC-University Park. In November 2020, he was identified as one of four finalists for the presidency at Valencia College in Orlando, Fla.
Ardalan has been involved in LSC-University since its infancy. In December, LSC-University Park celebrated its 10th anniversary.
“We are honored and proud of how our community leaders showed their unwavering support of Lone Star College-University Park,” Ardalan said amid the celebration. “This is the only college in the country built on an open Invitation to Innovate (i2i), which transformed the property into this community’s college.”
That 10-year mark came with quite a bit of fanfare.
“Congratulations to Lone Star College-University Park on achieving this significant milestone,” said Stephen C. Head, Lone Star College chancellor. “Since its beginning, this campus has laid the groundwork to transform higher education by taking a fresh look at how to best serve its students.”
At the time, Ardalan said “and the best is yet to come.” Now, he won’t be directly part of the next phase in Houston.
Even though its enrollment dropped from 11,201 to 10,416 from last spring to this spring, LSC-University Park is considerably larger than RCC – or about five times bigger in terms of enrollment. LSC-University Park offers 57 degrees and certificates.
Ardalan has been involved in a wide range of endeavors in the educational field. He has been on the Board of Trustees of the College Board, a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. That four-year term on the 31-member board runs through 2024. He was one of two board members from Texas when he took the post.
“It is an honor to serve such an esteemed organization as the College Board, which plays a pivotal role in creating pathways for students to pursue higher education,” Ardalan said.
Ardalan was selected among four finalists who visited RCC last month.
In a statement from RCC, Reynolds Lisk, board vice chair and chair of the presidential search committee, said: “The RCC Presidential search has been a long and arduous process. I sincerely believe that our efforts were all worthwhile with the hiring of Dr. Shah Ardalan. … Most importantly though, his passion for student success and empowering his staff and faculty is what makes him the right fit for Randolph Community College.”
Ardalan holds a doctorate in Community College Leadership from the John Roueche Graduate Center at National American University in Austin, Texas. He earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina A&T and received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from UNC Greensboro.
Ardalan’s hiring came with several endorsements. Jay Box, chief leadership innovation officer at Higher Education Innovation, said that Ardalan “is an excellent leader who will continue the tradition of excellence at RCC.”
Gordon Freedman, who advises clients into higher education markets, said Ardalan “built and operated one of the most responsive, responsible and economically-engaged community college campuses in the U.S.”
Executive Leadership Associates served as consultants in the hiring process. ELA received more than 80 applications for the position, according to information from RCC.
ASHEBORO — The latest version of the Sam Bossong Golf Tournament was deemed another success.
The 23rd annual version took place Friday at Pinewood Country Club. It’s one of four major fundraisers for the Randolph-Asheboro YMCA.
“A lot of this money goes right back into our kids’ programs,” said Patrick O’Hara, executive director and CEO of the Randolph-Asheboro YMCA. “It has been a great fundraiser.”
More than 100 golfers took part. O’Hara said the tournament often raises up to $15,000, with a silent auction a significant part of that.
There were 28 foursomes, which is a large increase from the first tournament more than two decades ago. Spots in the tournament sold out in about 10 days, O’Hara said.
Holding the event in memory of Bossong is appropriate, O’Hara said, because of the support that Bossong and his family provided to the YMCA and other community projects.
The Asheboro Junior Women’s Club is the host and organizer of the tournament, a role the club has had for the past 22 tournaments.
Golfers head toward tees for a shotgun start. (PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL)
“They do a lot of work,” O’Hara said of the club’s members.
Gina McKee has been in a primary role overseeing the tournament for 13 years, O’Hara said.
Some area participants have entered the tournament every year it has been held, O’Hara said. It’s deemed a fun springtime tradition for many of the golfers.
“I love this tournament because it is fun,” O’Hara said.
Support from Chick-fil-A and Beane Signs has been instrumental in assisting the tournament, O’Hara said.
Proceeds go to the Randolph-Asheboro YMCA’s “Invest in People” annual scholarship campaign, Sam Bossong Playground, SplashPad and other youth programs and equipment.
Here are items for the silent auction. (PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL)
RANDLEMAN – As the Class 2-A state playoffs began, Randleman’s baseball team cranked it up a notch.
The Tigers know what it takes this time of the year.
“We’ve got to keep up the energy,” senior second baseman Shawn Miller said. “We all know we’re good enough to be on the field.”
For the two-time defending state champions, the bats have awakened. With Friday night’s power display, it was reminiscent of a season ago – with mostly different guys taking the swings.
“More of what I expected throughout the year,” coach Jake Smith said of the offense. “Hopefully, we’re hitting our stride and continue to swing it.”
Five home runs helped in the second-seeded Tigers’ 13-3 victory against 15th-seeded Forbush.
So confidence could be soaring again for Randleman after a shaky stretch late in the regular season. The Tigers (22-4) next meet No. 7 seed East Davidson (20-4) on Tuesday night.
“It’s something about this time of the year,” catcher Caleb Dunn said. “We’re confident and we’re trying to reach our goal.”
The latest power display against Forbush (21-8) began early. Starting pitcher Austin Lemons belted a two-run homer to cap the three-run first inning.
“Every time he gets on the mound, he helps himself,” Smith said.
Lemons worked through five shutout innings, holding Forbush to two hits while striking out seven.
By then, the Tigers held an 8-0 lead.
In the fourth, Dunn’s ground-rule double knocked in one run. Then Hunter Atkins hammered a full-count pitch over the fence in center field off reliever Riley Campbell for a grand slam. It was quite the conclusion to a 13-pitch at-bat.
“The joy came really from fighting with two strikes, not really necessarily the grand slam,” Atkins said. “Really fighting with two strikes, no matter where the ball goes. Two strikes and get a big hit like that, I was definitely excited.”
Forbush produced three runs in the sixth with just one hit off reliever Drake Purvis, leaving the bases loaded.
Then with one out in the bottom of the inning, Randleman got going again. Atkins, Seth Way and Lemons hit back-to-back-to-back long balls.
“Those were no-doubters,” Smith said.
Then, per the script, it was Chesney Welch’s turn and he hammered a two-run double to right field to end the game via the mercy rule. He has had game-ending hits twice in a four-game stretch.
The production is coming throughout the batting order.
“We’re competing even more and getting hits and coming through,” Atkins said. “Anybody can do the job.”
That has been another encouraging sign. John Kirkpatrick had three hits vs. Forbush.
“I think the bottom of the lineup had real good at-bats,” Smith said of Friday night’s effort.
In the first round last Tuesday, Randleman ripped No. 31 seed Reidsville 17-2. Way and Purvis pitched.
The Tigers have allowed less than 2.5 runs per game this year. The pitching has been a staple.
“They work so hard,” Dunn said. “It’s paying off for them.”
Craig Shoemaker is Wheatmore’s new boys’ basketball coach. (Courtesy photo)
TRINITY – The more Craig Shoemaker learned about Wheatmore’s boys’ basketball program, the more he became interested in becoming the next coach.
So he accepted the job and he’ll try another rebuilding project.
“I was looking for a job,” Shoemaker said. “I didn’t know too much about Wheatmore. Seemed like they want someone to build it. I was very impressed by what I heard and saw.”
Shoemaker had huge success during several seasons in 13 years at Ragsdale and more recently coached at Leadership Academy in Kernersville.
Last season, the Warriors were 5-18 with a 0-12 regular-season mark in the Piedmont Athletic Conference. Jonathan Evans was the coach until mid-December, when Jason Dennis took over on an interim basis.
“I like going to a place that needs a turnaround,” Shoemaker said.
Wheatmore had four consecutive winning seasons through 2019-20, but hasn’t posted an above-.500 mark since then.
Athletics director Rick Halo said the Warriors are seeking stability for the program after what seems like several years of a coaching carousel.
“His knowledge of the game stood out,” Halo said of Shoemaker. “We were looking for a seasoned coach who could step in and have good success. … A fresh start for me and a fresh start for our players.”
Shoemaker coached basketball for four seasons at Leadership Academy, never winning more than nine games. He wasn’t on the bench during this past season.
At Ragsdale, Shoemaker’s teams posted 20-, 23- and 26-win seasons. By the end, he had back-to-back 9-16 teams and was done there after the 2017-18 seasons. Overall, the Tigers were 188-151 under Shoemaker.
“We had a lot of good guys roll through there and we capitalized on it,” he said. “We tailed off a little bit.”
During his time at Ragsdale, his team was in the same conference as Trinity, which is Wheatmore’s neighboring rival. Shoemaker recalled several clashes with Trinity, which continues to be coached by Tim Kelly.
“We were packing out gyms when we played,” Shoemaker said. “He did tell me once I got the job (at Wheatmore) he was not going to give me any advice for a year.”
Though Shoemaker didn’t coach basketball this school year, he has guided the Leadership Academy boys’ soccer team for a few seasons. That squad went 21-1-1 in 2021.
His two youngest sons are seniors at Leadership Academy.
Shoemaker’s first head coaching job in basketball came at St. David’s School in Raleigh.
Shoemaker, who lives in High Point, will be involved in Wheatmore’s intervention program during school days.
Randleman’s Austin Lemons had a big night on the mound and at the plate in the PAC Tournament final. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)
RANDLEMAN – There was so much going on with Randleman’s baseball team in the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament final.
Everything from Drake Purvis making his much-anticipated season debut to the Tigers racking up their 20th victory of the year.
Yet pretty much nothing could overshadow Austin Lemons.
The senior who mostly waited in the wings behind a stacked roster from a year ago emerged as the pitching and hitting standout in Randleman’s 4-0 victory against visiting Trinity on Thursday night.
“This is the biggest game I’ve probably ever pitched in my life and I feel like I handled it really well out there. I could trust my team. We got some runs. I knew right when we got those runs, I felt good about it.”
Make no mistake, the Tigers got their runs because of Lemons, who hit a two-run homer and later doubled to set up another run,
So he went from having a up-close view of Randleman’s record-setting 2022 season as a reserve to becoming one of the main participants for this year’s conference titlist.
“It definitely feels rewarding after working a lot,” Lemons said. “It’s not just for me. Hunter (Atkins) and Seth (Way) are the two that were in the lineup last year. They’ve been killing it this year. Everybody else had to fill really big roles and I think we’re doing a really good job of that.”
Lemons, a UNC Greensboro signee as a pitcher, must have been paying good attention last year.
“He has worked for this,” Randleman coach Jake Smith said. “He has seen people being successful in front of him.”
Lemons said he grew as a player last summer and in the fall on the travel ball circuit. Combined with what he learned from watching his former Randleman teammates, he applied it all to his final high school season.
“I feel like I just stuck through the process. I came out here and practiced just the same as everybody else,” Lemons said. “I took a lot of time to learn watching these guys on the field and I think it really carried over to this year.”
So that’s why the Tigers felt good about sending Lemons to the mound for the tournament final after he tossed two shutout innings in relief in Tuesday night’s eight-inning escape against Providence Grove in the semifinals.
“He competed and threw strikes,” Smith said. “His body language, his presence. He’s very focused.”
He gave Randleman six innings vs. Trinity, allowing two hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.
Lemons relies mostly on fastballs and sliders. He said his control tended to be a glitch in past years, but that’s an area where he made significant improvement.
“I definitely feel like I’ve always had some of the talent there,” he said. “There’s potential, but I really had to work. I feel the biggest thing that changed for me is my mental approach, just being more confident.”
Randleman (20-4), the two-time defending Class 2-A state champion, will hold a high seed when the state playoffs begin next week.
Perfect inning for Purvis
Now, they’ll have Purvis ready to contribute. He hadn’t pitched in competition in about 10 months because of elbow surgery.
Randleman’s Drake Purvis throws a pitch in the final inning against Trinity. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
The junior left-hander entered in the seventh – though Lemons stayed loose on the side – and pitched a perfect inning.
“A couple of days ago we knew this would be the night,” Purvis said. “Slowly returning back. This is what you want. The place was packed, a big crowd.”
Second baseman Shawn Miller fielded a grounder toward the hole and snagged a line drive for the first two outs before a called third strike ended the game. Purvis celebrated with an emotion-filled prance toward the dugout.
“Wanted to see some live hitters in game in game situations,” he said. “Have that playoff mode. I’m used to this. It’s not my first rodeo and definitely not my last, either.”
It pretty much went by design for the Tigers. Purvis pitched a no-hitter in last June’s Game 1 of the state championship series vs. Farmville Central.
“We had to get him in and see him, and it was a positive,” Smith said. “He was amped up, for sure. I don’t blame him, I would be, too.”
Some offense, too
In part because of Randleman center fielder Way’s diving catch in right-center field that likely saved a run to end the top of the fourth, neither team had scored. In the bottom of the inning, Atkins drew a lead-off walk and scored on Lemons’ second home run of the season.
Randleman players react to teammate Chesney Welch’s home run. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
The lead grew to 3-0 on Chesney Welch’s first varsity home run when he led off the bottom of the fifth with a blast to right-center field.
“I’m just getting out of my spring training phase,” Welch said of bolstering his production. “Sometimes they feel a certain way, and that (swing) was one of them.”
Soon after, Trinity starter Ethan Willard was gone. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out, but didn’t score again in the fifth.
Lemons’ lead-off double in the sixth resulted in the game’s final run after a couple of defensive miscues.
Randleman posted its first shutout in an 11-game span.
Trinity (15-10) failed to score in the tournament final for the second year in a row. Last year, the Bulldogs bounced back and reached the fourth round of the state playoffs.
Trinity used Andon Simmons’ two-hitter in a 4-0 semifinal victory against visiting Uwharrie Charter Academy with Landon Mowery and Brody Little both homering. The Bulldogs needed a fifth-run sixth inning to rally past seventh-seeded Eastern Randolph 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
One strike away from a tournament exit, Randleman overcomes Providence Grove
RANDLEMAN – Randleman’s baseball team hadn’t been in many of these situations in recent years.
Trailing by two runs and down to their final strike, the Tigers’ stranglehold on the Piedmont Athletic Conference was in jeopardy Tuesday night.
Providence Grove was on the cusp of pulling off an upset in the PAC Tournament semifinal.
“I haven’t been in that many situations like that.” Randleman junior Seth Way said. “Do what you have to do to win the game.”
So he did. Down 0-2 in the count with runners on second and third with two outs, Way rapped a single to center field on reliever JC Cruz’s knuckleball. That tied the game.
“I saw it coming,” Way said of the knuckler.
The game went to extra innings, where Chesney Welch’s one-out single to left field brought in Shawn Miller from second base. Miller drew a lead-off walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Randleman coach Jake Smith, whose two-time reigning Class 2-A state champions often dominated, couldn’t recall the last time the Tigers produced a late-game comeback.
“All that matters is our score is higher than theirs,” Way said.
The Tigers (19-4) will meet visiting Trinity, a 4-0 semifinal winner against Uwharrie Charter Academy, in Thursday night’s tournament final in a rematch from a year ago.
Providence Grove ended Randleman’s 38-game conference winning streak last month with a 3-2 victory and then dropped a 3-2 decision later that week in the regular-season rematch. The Patriots (14-10) needed just one more out to notch another upset.
“It is what it is,” Providence Grove coach Glen Hunt said. “That’s what they do. We played well three times against them.”
Way and Providence Grove’s Jayten Beasley were locked in a pitchers’ duel until Way’s home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth.
The Patriots struck back in the fifth, using four singles and an error on the way to three runs. The first run was scored by Brady Collins on a two-out double steal. Logan Fox capped the rally with an RBI single.
From there, the Patriots dodged trouble the next two innings. Cruz entered with two runners on base and two outs to strike out Hunter Atkins to end the fifth. The Tigers stranded two more runners in the sixth after Jake Riddle’s two-out double.
Smith said he was glad Way could overshadow his fifth-inning pitching misfortune with his bat.
“He took it out at the plate,” Smith said.
Then in the eighth, it was Welch’s turn for a clutch hit. He wasn’t on the team last year.
“Sitting in the dugout right before I went out, I was kind of hoping it would get to me,” he said.
Providence Grove, playing for the second night in a row, had to piece together the pitching. Hunt said Beasley excelled in a heightened role.
“He did a real good job keeping them off balance,” Hunt said. “I thought we played a really clean game defensively.”
Austin Lemons pitched two innings of shutout relief for the Tigers. Smith said he’ll be the starting pitcher for the tournament final.
With only two returning starters from a year ago in the Randleman lineup, this group wants to get the job done, too.
“It’s a pride thing,” Smith said. “You’re here at your home field and you’re protecting your home field. They’ve got a lot of pride.”
** In the quarterfinals, Providence Grove upended Southwestern Randolph 10-9 in eight innings. That game was contested at Randleman because of wet field conditions at Providence Grove.
Karson Bowman’s three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning tied the game. Andrew Canter was the winning pitcher in relief. Tyler Foust homered earlier in the game. Landon Williamson homered and Tyler Parks drove in three runs for Southwestern Randolph (9-14).
ASHEBORO — More action should commence soon in turning an Asheboro park from a mere vision to a special recreational and relaxation area.
Saturday’s ceremonial groundbreaking at the location was another step.
“Going forward, we will be losing more and more green space,” Mayor David Smith said. “Having an opportunity provided by the Jarrell family to save this amazing historic site right downtown is wonderful. You don’t have an opportunity often to save a piece of property like this.”
Asheboro mayor David Smith, right, and Cody Craddock of North Carolina Cooperative Extension view the grounds at the David and Pauline Jarrell Center City Garden. (PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL)
City officials have referred to the park as occupying a spot in a historic neighborhood within walking distance to downtown. It’s intended to be used by residents and visitors.
The park is named the David and Pauline Jarrell Center City Garden after a former Asheboro mayor and his wife.
The land was formerly owned by Gov. Jonathan Worth in the mid-1800s. The garden sits on about 3 acres.
Based on past meetings and surveys, the city’s intent is to have a public open space that will include gardens, parking, a visitor center, and references to the historic site.
“A real gem of a tourism asset and a quality of life asset,” Smith said. “Going forward, some of our kids may never see a green space garden like we’re talking about building here.”
The Jarrells were instrumental in creating a place for the park by donating and selling much of the land along Cox Street to the city. Community support has come from fundraising and providing seed money for the project.
“I’ve dreamed about this particular piece of property becoming public space for many, many years.”
The city purchased some adjacent land to enlarge the garden’s grounds, Smith said.
A master plan was formed in 2021. That included input from a design team from Prospect Architecture.
By 2022, the Piedmont Triad Regional Council of Government was involved in assisting with grand funding.
Construction should begin soon, perhaps this month. There’s no revealed timetable for the project’s opening.
Plans are in place for the David and Pauline Jarrell Center City Garden in Asheboro. (PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL)
The historical components and nurturing of native plants could be among the highlights, Smith said.
“It’s a great thing for downtown Asheboro,” he said. “It will be a 3-acre property in downtown Asheboro that will give a lot of people a chance to relax, meditate, enjoy nature. Many different types of enjoyment with this property.”
David and Pauline Jarrell and many family members attended Saturday’s public unveiling. A landscaping bed was installed at the property entrance, and tours of the park were provided.
Now, Smith said the project seems much closer to reality,
“Get this done and finished,” he said. “We see this as another asset in our quality of life puzzle.”
