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Ashe Post & Times

partner publisher · 5.4K followers
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Traffic stop leads to arrest of Florida fugitive with outstanding charges

CRUMPLER — Sheriff B. Phil Howell announces the arrest of 61-year-old Frederick Adam Cooper of Fleetwood, following a traffic stop for improper equipment. The stop led deputies to discover that Cooper had a felony extradition fugitive warrant from Broward County, Florida. On Oct. 10, Deputy Daniel Rodriguez was patrolling the Crumpler area when he noticed a vehicle in violation of the law and performed a traffic stop. Due to the nature of the stop, Sgt. Bledsoe arrived on scene with K9 Keeko and conducted an open-air sniff, yielding a positive alert, resulting in a probable cause search of the truck. Deputies located a Glock handgun, handgun magazines, a clear baggie containing a crystal substance, and drug paraphernalia. After confirmation from the Ashe County 911 Dispatch, Cooper was served with an extraditable warrant out of Broward County. Deputies placed Cooper under arrest and transported him to the Ashe County Sheriff’s Office after medical clearance from the Ashe Memorial Hospital. Cooper was charged with felony extradition/fugitive other state, felony possession of firearm by felon, felony possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana up to one-half ounce. Cooper was placed under a No Bond. In North Carolina, a no-bond means a judge has

Crumpler, NC · 2d

The Carroll News

partner publisher · 1.7K followers

Galax woman dies in Skyline Highway crash

Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash that occurred Friday Oct. 30, 2026 at 4:30p.m. on Skyline Highway (Route 89) in Grayson County. Thirty five year old William B. Earp of Galax was driving southbound in the 3100 block of Skyline Highway in a 2020 Ford Escape when traffic slowed causing him to lose control and slide sideways into the northbound lane of the highway. A 2006 Peterbilt 379 tractor trailer traveling northbound collided with the Escape resulting in the death of 34 year old Jasmine L. Benbow of Galax, who was sitting on the passenger seat but not wearing a seat belt. The driver, William B. Earp and as well as a juvenile passenger, suffered serious injuries in the wreck. The crash remains under investigation though charges are said to be pending. The driver of the tractor trailer, 43 year old Larry J. Carpenter of Elkin, N.C., suffered minor injuries in the wreck.

Grayson County, VA · 1d

The Carroll News

partner publisher · 1.7K followers
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Hillsville mayor reelected after tough campaign

Hillsville Mayor Greg Crowder won reelection by a substantial margin in the November 3, 2026, election. Incumbent Town Councilors Greg Yonce representing the Laurel Fork Ward and Barry Jessup of the Sulphur Springs Ward ran unopposed and also retained their seats on council. Mayor Crowder garnered 535 votes out of 949 ballots cast, while challenger Katie Horton received 315 votes and Andy Kaufman had 83. Sixteen ballots were cast for write-in candidates. “This was a really tough election,” said Crowder. “It was a brutal nonstop attack with half-truths, innuendos and borderline slander towards me and my family. There’s people that have been in politics their whole life and never seen nothing like it.” “I ran against former Mayor Bill Tate, who was a very honorable candidate and is actually a very good friend of mine now,” Crowder continued. “And I ran against Mrs. Taylor, the former mayor’s wife, and we basically ran on issues. We were able to shake hands after the election and I was hoping it would be the same with this race but I don’t think it’s going to be.” Greg Crowder was first elected in 2012. This election victory ushers in his 9th term as Mayor

Hillsville, VA · 16h

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers
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Food Lion holds re-opening ceremonies across the county

Improvements to local Food Lion stores were showcased with several re-opening ceremonies across Surry County Wednesday morning, with many attendees entering contests for the chance to win prizes. The grocery story chain spent more than $270 million to enhance and renovate stores across the Greater Greensboro area, consisting of 94 total stores, according to Food Lion. All three Mount Airy locations were included in the renovation project, alongside one in Dobson, Elkin and Pilot Mountain. Additionally, Food Lion Feeds invested $375,000 in celebration of the grand-re-openings to support local hunger relief efforts across, according to a statement from Food Lion. For the first 100 attendees, gift cards and reusable shopping bags were distributed to customers. At the ribbon cutting ceremony, ten randomly selected customers selected by raffle were able to play a peel-and-reveal game to win monetary prizes, with the grand prize totaling $1,000. Through Nov. 10, customers will have additional opportunities to win prizes through scratch off tickets distributed at the registers. Keely Casstevens was the last of the ten chosen customers to take a turn to play for a prize at the Food Lion store off of West Lebanon and was the store’s grand prize winner. “When I

Surry County, NC · 1d

wataugaonline.com

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North Wilkesboro Man Charged With Impersonating Law Enforcement Officer

WILKES COUNTY, N.C. — A North Wilkesboro man is charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer after he allegedly followed another motorist for several miles along a Wilkes County road and then claimed to be an undercover officer. Gabriel Dean Miller, 49, of North Wilkesboro, was arrested and charged...

North Wilkesboro, NC · 22h

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

SCC alumni nominated for international wine awards

DOBSON — Three Surry Community College Viticulture and Enology alumni were nominated for Wine Enthusiast’s 27th Annual Wine Star Awards, which honors individuals and companies that make “outstanding contributions to the wine and spirits industry,” according to wineenthusiast.com. Katy Kidd, Surry Community College class of 2014, Matheson Worrell, class of 2016, and Elizabeth Higley, class of 2019, “have been nominated for major international awards,” college officials said. “Wine Enthusiast Magazine is one of the top wine magazines in the world.” “These nominations are huge for North Carolina and the Viticulture & Enology Technology program at Surry Community College. North Carolina is standing out worldwide due to the efforts of our program,” said Enology Instructor David Bower. Kidd and Worrell co-founded Dynamis Estate Wines of Jonesville, where they are also the winemakers. They were nominated together for “Winemaker of the Year” and are the only nominees from the United States in this category. Dynamis supports SCC with barrel donations and discounts. Wine Enthusiast Magazine wrote about the two, “Born-and-bread North Carolinians Katy Kidd and Matheson Worrell are evangelists for the wines of the American South. The Blue Ridge Mountains are primed for wine, they promise, and they’re doing an excellent job

Dobson, NC · 1d

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

School board recount decision to take time

DOBSON — While Tuesday’s general election is history, there’s still a bit of unfinished business surrounding a Mount Airy Board of Education race with a 19-vote difference between two candidates. Republican Kyle Leonard was the apparent victor for the at-large school board seat now held by longtime member Tim Matthews, a Democrat, with a vote margin of 1,763 to 1,744. Recounts are a usual step when such a razor-thin result occurs, but that won’t be triggered until certain determinations are made, a local election official said. “The current vote totals show less than a 1% difference between the two candidates,” according to Surry County Elections Director Sydney Bedsaul Romine. “Technically, we’ll need to wait until after all remaining ballots are processed before we can determine whether this contest falls within that threshold,” Romine explained. One factor involves provisional ballots in the mix. A citizen is allowed to cast a provisional ballot during an election whenever questions arise about his or her eligibility to vote, which can include not presenting a photo ID upon arriving at a polling site. Those persons can still vote that day, subject to their eligibility being verified. Provisional ballots basically are put on hold until election

Mt Airy, NC · 1d

The Carroll News

partner publisher · 1.7K followers

Two Emergency Service providers recognized for life saving actions

Carroll County Emergency Services Director Jason Felts recognized the work of two members of the emergency services department at the November meeting of the Carroll County Board of Supervisors. “I want to come before you all for a couple of awards and y’all know I’m very passionate about what we do,” said Felts as he addressed the supervisors. “On September 17th, a nurse called 911. Her husband was having anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction and she didn’t know what to do. She says all my training, all these years, but I didn’t know what I was going to do and I thought I was going to lose my husband.” Felts continued by recounting what the wife of the ailing husband said to him. “She said, ‘I just wanted to call and tell you that the crew that showed up with their compassion and professionalism, I know that he was going to be very well taken care of and when they shut the doors on the ambulance, I wasn’t worried about following them at a high rate of speed going to the hospital because I knew they were taking good care of him and giving him the life-saving measures that he

Carroll County, VA · 2d

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

'Clean' campaigns waged for city offices

Politicians often talk a good game about wanting to run a clean campaign with no mudslinging, but this proved to be more than lip service leading up to this week’s municipal election in Mount Airy. Sure, the candidates were out to win and fought hard to do so by vigorously courting voters throughout the 2026 political season. But that’s as far as it went, with no dirty tricks involved, office-seekers are saying in the aftermath of Tuesday’s outcomes favoring two incumbents, Mayor Jon Cawley and North Ward Commissioner Chad Hutchens. “I want to thank Bill for running a clean campaign, not negative,” Cawley said of Bill Goins, whose attempt to capture the city’s top elected office in the non-partisan race fell short. Cawley came out on top to win his second four-year term by a vote margin of 2,042 to 1,230, or 63% — including 0% hard feelings. “First of all, I want to congratulate Jon on his win,” Goins commented regarding that result. “Secondly, I want to thank Jon for running a positive campaign, because that is not always the case in some elections,” he added. “I told him back in May or June that I was going to

Mt Airy, NC · 1d

WFXR

partner publisher · 29.1K followers

Carroll County’s Hunter Gravely with 76-yard touchdown run

BUCHANAN, Va. (WFXR) — Carroll County’s Hunter Gravely with 76-yard touchdown run against James River earns play of the week.

Buchanan, VA · 2d

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

Mount Airy Middle repeats as football conference champion

The Mount Airy Middle School football team put together another dominant season in 2026. The Granite Bears went 7-0 to complete their second consecutive undefeated season, including a 5-0 record in the Foothills Middle School Athletic Conference. Mount Airy finished first in the conference standings, followed by Pilot Mountain at 4-1, Chestnut Grove at 3-2, Southeastern Stokes at 2-3, North District at 1-4 and Central Middle at 0-5. The Granite Bears outscored opponents 230-50. Despite their undefeated season, the Granite Bears faced their share of obstacles, namely injuries. Head coach Choppy Cawley applauded his team’s “next man up” mentality. “We had at least one starter out with an injury in every game this season, which gave lots of guys on our team the chance to step into starting roles and they rose to the occasion,” Cawley said. “They were a great team to coach all around. They play hard, are receptive to coaching and most importantly enjoyed being around each other every day. “This team will be fun to watch in high school as they will surely make some deep playoff runs when they get to varsity.” Cawley is assisted by coaches Jimmy Selba, Andre Nance, Andrew Boles, Bobby Moore,

Mt Airy, NC · 2d

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

Board approves foreclosure on tax delinquent properties

Tax Administrator Penny Harrison sought a request to refer delinquent tax accounts to foreclosure from the Board of Commissioners during their meeting Monday, which was approved by the board. Seven accounts were chosen at random by Harrison and her team for foreclosure, as all attempts to collect taxes on those parcels have been unsuccessful, according to Harrison. After five or more years of no tax collection, Surry County can begin the foreclosure process through assistance from Kania Law Firm, according to the county’s policies. After ten or more years of no tax collection, taxes for a parcel are uncollectable, Harrison explained during the meeting. Each of the seven parcels Harrison brought before the board have gone five or more years without collection. Combined, the estimated assessed value of the seven parcels totals more than $370,000. As of Sunday, the total amount of taxes owed across all seven parcels exceeds $28,000. These parcels include: A 0.714 acre property in the Mount Airy TownshipA 0.582 acre property in the Mount Airy TownshipA 4.87 acre property in the Pilot TownshipA 3.55 acre property in the Westfield TownshipA 0.73 acre property in the Bryan TownshipA 4.06 acre property in the Eldora TownshipA 2.67 acre

Surry County, NC · 1d

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

Harris: Board didn't realize it approved Flock spending

During a Board of Commissioners meeting Monday evening, Commissioner Eddie Harris spoke publicly about increasing community concerns on Flock cameras and surveillance, revealing that he does not recall the board voting on Flock contracts and that he believes there might have been miscommunication regarding how the expense was presented in their budget. As the open session portion of the meeting concluded with general county business, Commissioner Harris acknowledged the feedback he said he has received from the concerned residents. “I feel like the folks who are concerned that have emailed us and so forth and come to the meetings deserve some sort of reaction from us in some form,” he said. Commissioner Harris said that to the best of his understanding, the sheriff’s department is meeting or has already met with Flock about these concerns. He continued, saying while he is not certain on the matter, his initial understanding for the reason why the board does not remember voting on Flock cameras is because the budgeting expense might have been categorized as a request for body cameras instead of a Flock subscription. “And I think there was some miscommunication on this,” he said. He explained the general structure of the

Surry County, NC · 2d

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

Flat Rock Elementary honors veterans

Flat Rock Elementary students and staff recently gathered to honor, remember, and express gratitude to the men and women who have served the nation in the armed forces. The program started with a flag parade led by students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. The guest speaker was Surry County Schools Board of Education member Dale Badgett, Command Chief Master Sergeant of the United States Air Force (Ret.), who “delivered an inspiring message,” school officials said. Fourth- and fifth- grade students performed several songs and included a poetry reading. “Our veterans were recognized for their service and provided a meal to share with their families,” officials there said. “Thank you veterans.”

Surry County, NC · 16h

The Mount Airy News

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

Commissioners honor 3 Eagle Scouts

The Surry County Board of Commissioners recognized the achievements of three Eagle Scouts during Monday’s meeting. Included were Joseph Brevard and Ridge Reeves of Troop 556 and Kimber McMasters of Troop 561. Each scout was recognized by the board and given the opportunity to speak about their project. Brevard created a trail kiosk on the Sauratown Trail for his project that will be used to serve as a map and information center for visitors. “I had a lot of fun with this project, because I never heard of the Sauratown Trail before this,” he said. “But it is a hidden gem for me and a gem of the community.” Brevard said he hopes that through his project, he can raise awareness for the trail, which runs between Pilot Mountain State Park and Hanging Rock State Park. “I’m hoping that it’s going to bring a little more people into the Sauratown Trail so that they can enjoy the absolute wonder that is the North Carolina outdoors,” he said during his speech. Brevard thanked his family and all of his scoutmasters, ranging from the time he started the program as a Webelos to the time that he earned his Eagle Scout recognition.

Surry County, NC · 20h