ASHEBORO — The county health department is ending its weekly COVID reports. According to the department, while COVID-19 is still present in the community, the case rate, percent positivity, etc. have leveled off the last few weeks. The weekly report evolved over time and included confirmed cases, deaths, and vaccinations.
ASHEBORO — The only grizzly bear at the N.C. Zoo died Friday. Tommo, a bear relocated from Yellowstone National Park, lived at the Zoo for 26 years. The zoo’s staff made the decision to euthanize the 31-year old bear after his quality of life quickly declined. Tommo arrived at the Zoo in 1995 after being identified as a “nuisance bear” — a bear who has lost his fear of humans because they see people as suppliers of food. The grizzly bear habitat at the zoo will remain empty while the staff works with other agencies to offer a home for any orphaned or nuisance bears in the future.
ASHEBORO — The N.C. Zoo announced the names of the six red wolf pups (four females, two males) born on the guest view habitat. The public was invited to vote in an online poll from a list of names provided by the Zoo’s red wolf keepers. The names are based on rivers in the Southeastern U.S. where red wolves used to range. The naming poll had over 6,500 responses. The chosen names are Eno, Harper, Pearl, Warrior, Fisher, Catawba.
MILLBORO — Taking the scenic route home can take you through some interesting places in North Carolina. Taking the scenic route in 1999 led Tony Trogdon to start a Randolph County tradition that has lasted 22 years — an Independence Day parade.
Trogdon and his wife, Sondra, took a drive to Mount Airy in 1999 on the Fourth of July. They decided to take the long way home and found themselves in the middle of a parade in the town of Shoals in Surry County. The Trogdons saw classic cars, trucks, bicycles, floats, and emergency vehicles parading along a rural route. After the experience, Tony was inspired to replicate the parade in his home territory of Millboro, an unincorporated area of Randolph County east of Randleman and north of Franklinville.
Trogdon said his goal was to start the parade in 2000: “I contacted DOT and asked them about blocking the road in Millboro for a parade and was told I could not do that.”
Undeterred, Trogdon contacted then-Sheriff Litchard Hurley who found a way to block a short stretch of road to accommodate the first parade, which included about 35 participants. Now the parade spans three miles beginning at the Faith Temple Church then down Mack Linberry Road and Tom Brown Road ending at Bethany Methodist Church. This year’s parade included over 120 participants.
Over the next two decades, the parade has grown into a community event. One of the highlights each year has been a hot-dog supper following the parade. That tradition was put on hold last year due to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by local and state governments. The Trogdons say they hope to bring that part of the event back next year.
Tony and Sondra are lifelong Randolph County residents. He graduated from Randleman High School in 1966, and she graduated from Eastern Randolph in 1969. The couple has been married for 51 years and have two sons and a daughter who help put the parade on each year.
The COVID-19 restrictions put a damper on the parade last year, but according to Sondra, rain has never stopped the event: “It got down to just a few days before July 4th last year, and people were calling us wanting the parade to go on.”
The couple decided to continue the tradition with some safety modifications, which continued this year.
“It is special because it is so much an old-fashioned American parade, where children and adults are welcome,” said state Rep. Pat Hurley, who has participated in the parade for many years. “People along the route on the two-lane roads are out in front of their homes standing or sitting with American flags everywhere.”
Hurley made sure to appeal to the children by throwing candy from a convertible during the parade.
The Trogdons still lead the event but are happy the community members have embraced the event and are taking ownership of the parade. Sondra says both Bethany Church and Faith Temple open their fellowship halls to attendees, provide parking and help turn the hot-dog supper into a community covered-dish supper.
“This event was started for the people; it wasn’t for me,” said Tony. “I’ve always tried to help the children in my community.”
TRINITY — The opening of the new Trinity Middle School means the end of an era for one local school and a name change for another. When Wheatmore High School opened for the 2009-10, to alleviate overcrowding at Trinity High School, Braxton Craven School and Archdale-Trinity Middle School became the middle school feeders to both high schools.
This August, Archdale-Trinity Middle School will become Wheatmore Middle School and Braxton Craven School will not reopen. The name change to Wheatmore Middle will also mean the school colors will shift to the red and white of Wheatmore.
The N.C. Zoo ended the requirement for visitors to make reservations ahead of the 4th of July holiday weekend. Reservations will no longer be required after July 1. The zoo will still require visitors who are not fully vaccinated to wear face coverings and to practice social distancing. When the zoo reopened in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, reservations were required to limit the number of visitors to the zoo, which is outside of Asheboro. In recent months, the zoo has welcomed an elephant, a polar bear and 12 red-wolf pups.
ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office has a female on its Emergency Response Team for the first time in the unit’s history. Deputy Traci Baker completed a rigorous training-and-testing battery to join the team. The tests determined her ability serve high-risk search warrants, handle barricades and take part in other tactical exercises.
Members of the team are expected to attend advanced law enforcement training courses and become proficient with specialized equipment to deal with dangerous criminals and situations.
Baker began her career with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office after she completed basic law enforcement training in 2009 in the detention center in the Transportation Division. She transferred to School Based Programs as a CARE instructor in September of 2009 and then to Evidence in August of 2016. Baker was then promoted to detective in November 2018, and in January of 2019, she transferred back to School Based Programs as a CARE instructor. Deputy Baker is also the current Junior Sheriff’s Academy director.
“I am incredibly proud of Deputy Baker for her perseverance, dedication and motivation to achieve this monumental goal,” said Sheriff Greg Seabolt.
Baker also became the first female firearms instructor in 2017. She now teaches aspiring law enforcement recruits as the lead firearms instructor for Randolph Community College’s Basic Law Enforcement Training.
Baker’s path to the Emergency Response Team started in October 2020 when she competed for a spot on the team. Physical fitness testing and marksmanship were key elements of the initial competition. Current members of the team then voted to offer Deputy Baker a position. From October 2020 until May 2021, Deputy Baker worked as a probationary member. On May 6, 2021, Deputy Baker completed her mandatory probationary period and became a permanent ERT operator.
“While she doesn’t think being a female on the Emergency Response Team makes her any different or special, Deputy Baker is glad to serve as motivation for other women in law enforcement,” said Lieutenant Eric Wilson, team commander.
“I honestly don’t even think about it because I’m not treated any differently as a female,” said Baker. “I wanted to challenge myself and become part of this team.”
ASHEBORO — The Centers for Disease Control reported that 43,649 Randolph County residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Over 64% of the county’s citizens over 65 years of age are vaccinated. The CDC estimates that 47% of the total U.S. population is now vaccinated. In the past week, just 927 people were tested for COVID-19 in Randolph County, which includes those needing testing for travel. There were 20 positive cases and no hospitalizations reported in the last week in Randolph County.
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners adopted a fiscal year 2021-22 budget that increased county-wide spending by 8.7% from the prior year’s $134.4 million budget. The county’s property tax rate of 63.27 cents per $100 remained unchanged from the previous fiscal year.
ASHEBORO — Ferdinand “Freddy” Ray Kelley, son of J.W. and Kathy Kelley of Asheboro, was awarded the Park Scholarship to attend N.C. State University in the fall.
Kelley graduated from Asheboro High School on June 3 where he served as drum major of the Band and Captain of the Swim, Cross Country, and Tennis Teams. He also served as Science Olympiad team Captain and attended the NC School of Science and Math Summer. He was first chair all-district bassoonist. Kelley plans to major in biochemistry and sociology. The 26th class of Park Scholars was selected from a pool of more than 2,200 applicants from six countries, 42 states, and 97 of North Carolina’s 100 counties on the basis of outstanding achievements and potential in scholarship, leadership, service, and character.