WALNUT COVE — The Town of Walnut Cove Board of Commissioners approved the scheduling of two public hearings regarding potential ordinance changes at their April 25 meeting. One proposed change would allow for "accessory dwellings" in certain districts. Zoning Administrator Cory Willoughby said an example of an accessory dwelling is someone wanting to build a tiny home in their backyard. ...

KING — Junior Mikah Webster’s single to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning gave West Stokes a 5-4 Mid-State 2A Conference win over visiting McMichael on Thursday, April 25. The Wildcat win secured second place in league play heading into next week’s conference tournament that is being hosted by West Stokes. The Wildcats got on the board first when Kahle Lickfeld scored on Tyler Moran’s double in the bottom of the second inning. Lickfeld walked and stole second before scoring. ...

DANBURY — At their April 24 meeting, the Danbury Town Council approved a public hearing date of May 22 for the fiscal year 2024-25 proposed budget. The hearing will be held during the town meeting scheduled for that date at 6:30 p.m. at the Danbury Public Library located at 1007 Main St. Town Administrator Mike Barsness told the Council the budget message and proposed ordinance would be presented to them...

DANBURY — After listening to various viewpoints at a public hearing held Monday, Stokes County commissioners will decide between two options for a bridge replacement on N.C. Highway 268 where it crosses Big Creek at their next meeting on May 13. Several citizens and representatives from two environmental groups urged the commissioners to recommend the option involving a road closure and replacing the bridge in its existing location. The other...

With warmer weather, flowers in bloom, pollen everywhere and the opening of the Future Farmers’ Market, spring has sprung in Stokes County. The market opened on April 20 and is located in the Visitors’ Center parking lot of Hanging Rock State Park. The local farmers’ market will be open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendors sell a variety of items in addition to fresh produce, eggs and...

MADISON — West Stokes Dylan Gastley has collected five hits, two doubles, scored two run, collected two RBIs and hit a home run over the last two games against Walkertown and McMichael. To add insult to injury, the right-handed hurler mowed down Walkertown 4-0 with 17 strikeouts, one short of a school record held by Mason Howell, gave up one hit, walked one and zero runs over seven innings of work. ...

WALNUT COVE — South Stokes tennis team ended their regular season winning two of their final three matches. After defeating North Surry 8-1 on April 15, the Sauras won a close 5-4 decision over Starmount and lost 9-0 to second place Mount Airy on April 18. Cohen Boak defeated Ethan Wood 6-4, 6-3 in the battle of the ones. No. 3 Sawyer Scott won 7-6(9-7), 6-4 over Luis De La Fuente and No. 6 Augustus Gibson collected a 6-7(7-3), 6-3, 12-10 victory over Jacob Shore. ...

PILOT MOUNTAIN — West Stokes’ tennis team rallied and beat rival East Surry 5-4 to close out its regular season at 11-3 overall and 6-0 in the Mid-State 2A Conference. The Cardinals No. 1 and No. 2 seeds defeated the Wildcats higher seeds in close matches. Levi Walton beat Jayden Baughman 6-7(8-10), 6-3, 10-7 in the battle of the one seeds, and Kade Talton defeated Todd Mendenhall 1-6, 7-5, 12-10 in the twos. ...

REIDSVILLE — The West Stokes Lady Wildcats are back on top of the Mid-State 2A Conference with a 19-0 win over Reidsville. With the win, the Wildcats clinched a Co-Conference Championship with McMichael. The championship is the Lady Cats 11th in program history. Freshman Halo Akers paced West Stokes in the victory with two homeruns, three hits, three runs scored, and 4RBIs. Ashlynn Cox and Chloe Paitsel also had homeruns...

FRANCISCO — If a local group is successful with plans to establish an independent elementary school in Stokes County, the Francisco Elementary School building could be utilized once again for its original purpose — a school. The idea for a charter or private school was presented Sunday at a community meeting at the Francisco Community Building. Mark Black, who owns the currently vacant Fransisco school property, had encouraged community members...

DANBURY — North and South Stokes squared off against each other on Tuesday, April 18, but the game was suspended due to the field lights going out with the Sauras leading 4-1. The teams picked up where they left off when South visited North on Friday, April 19. South Stokes’ pitcher Maddox Nelson had his way against the Vikings striking out 12 and only walking one. He gave up five hits and one run over six innings of work. ...

DANBURY — North Stokes’ softball team broke a nine game losing streak against South Stokes on Tuesday, April 23 with a 5-3 Northwest 1A Conference victory. The Sauras’ got on the board first when Elle White scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning after Rebecca Amos lifted a fly ball to centerfield. North Stokes responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning....

ROARING GAP — North and South Stokes’ golf teams competed in the Northwest 1A Conference Tournament held at Roaring Gap Club on April 23. Mount Airy took the top spot with the Bears’ Brandon Bowman taking home the gold medal with a 72 on the 18 hole course. The Sauras’ Sawyer Slate, and Mount Airy’s Mason Varney and Shockley Hiatt finish tied for second with a 77. Bowman led from...

The Rotary Club of King, North Carolina, honored Cathy Loveday, executive director of the King Chamber of Commerce on May 11, 2024 with the “Service Above Self” Award. During a weekly club meeting, Deanne Moore, a long-time King Rotarian and former director of the King Chamber of Commerce presented the “Service Above Self” Award to Loveday for her exemplary leadership of the Chamber, generous use of her time and talents in service to others and her commitment to the betterment of King and Stokes County. ...

The Trail Center at Vade Mecum is open again for horses and hikers. Now, you can trailer your horses to ride or hike the trail to Tory’s Den and loop back to the Trail Center. The Trail Center is located next to the entrance to Vade Mecum. Vade Mecum is currently closed for restoration. How did something this exciting for equestrians happen? It was a joint effort with Hanging Rock State Park, Sauratown Trails Association and Friends of Sauratown Mountains. This is a great example...

WALNUT COVE — A planned meeting between Stokes County Sheriff Joey Lemons and the Town of Walnut Cove Board of Commissioners will not be rescheduled thanks to immediate and noticeable improvements in law enforcement in the town. The town officials had discussed citizen concerns with public safety at their March 14 meeting, which was recessed without adjourning in anticipation of continuing in a special meeting with the sheriff. “We have...

DANBURY — As part of the budgeting process for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the Stokes County Schools Board of Education decided Monday to tour school facilities to review capital outlay needs. Administrators presented proposed budgets for both current expense and capital outlay at the April 15 meeting. The budgets must be reviewed and approved by the school board then submitted to the Stokes County Board of Commissioners by May 15. ...

WALNUT COVE — South Stokes’ Dezmond Galloway signed his letter-of-intent to play football at Guilford College after seriously considering Brevard College and Methodist University. “I’m very thankful, beyond thankful, glad for everyone that came out and the Lord of God blessed me with what I was looking for,” said the senior. “Guilford is 30 minutes away and they acted like they wanted me a lot. “The campus is close enough...

North Stokes’ alumnus Lauren Parrish competed with Appalachian State’s club cheerleading team at the NCA College Nationals in Dayton Beach, FL between April 10-14. The Mountaineers competed in the NCA-All Girl Division 1A, the largest of the competition, and finished 19th, the best in the program history.

KING — The boys’ tennis team at West Stokes clinched back-to-back Mid-State 2A Conference championship with its’ 9-0 victory over Walkertown on April 15 combined with Morehead’s forfeiture on April 11. Senior Jayden Baughman defeated Joseph Holt 6-1, 6-2 as the top seeds, and fellow senior Todd Mendenhall beat the Wolfpack’s No. 2, Langdon Dawson, 6-0, 6-0. No. 3 Peyton Spainhour won 6-1, 6-2 over Matthew McClelland and No. 4...