News - Randolph Record

19 Jul

Deadline nears for local election filings

Randolph RecordNewsAsheboro, community report, local election filings, randolph county

ASHEBORO – The filing deadline for municipal elections ends at noon Friday for most of Randolph County communities. By the beginning of this week, 25 people filed as candidates across nine different spots on the ballot. That includes seven within the City of Asheboro (three for the city council, three for the board of education and incumbent mayor David Smith). City council members Clark Bell, Walker Moffitt and Katie Snuggs also filed to keep their seats. Vice chair Baxter Hammer and Beth Knott have their names on the list in bids to stay on the 11-member Asheboro City Schools board…

19 Jul

Digital ambassador will seek to close county’s digital divide

Randolph RecordNewsdigital ambassador, internet, N.C. Cooperative Extensions, randolph county digital ambassador

ASHEBORO — In the coming weeks, you may be hearing from or seeing Randolph County’s Digital Ambassador. The N.C. Cooperative Extension office in Randolph County recently received a grant from the BAND-NC program which will allow the Randolph County Digital Alliance to hire a Digital Ambassador. The Randolph County Digital Alliance is a group who is working to close the digital divide in Randolph County. BAND-NC is a grant program designed to increase the number of people with internet in their homes, with the goal of making the state “first in digital inclusion.” In February of this year, Randolph County…

13 Jul

AHS graduates head to college, work

Randolph RecordNewsEducation, schools

ASHEBORO — Asheboro High School celebrated 300 graduates in its class of 2021. Nearly one-third (91) of the graduates plan to join the workforce immediately. The class received over $10 million in scholarships and grants with 87 students headed to a four-year college or university and 113 off to community college. Seventeen students graduated with an associated degree in addition to a high school diploma.

12 Jul

Randolph Health Department ends regular COVID updates

Randolph RecordBusiness, NewsCOVID, Randolph Health Department

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.

12 Jul

Grizzly bear dies at NC Zoo

Randolph RecordEntertainment, Newsgrizzly bear, NC Zoo

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…

11 Jul

Zoo announces red wolf pup names

Randolph RecordEntertainment, NewsAsheboro, NC Zoo

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.

07 Jul

Celebrating freedom is a local tradition

Matt MercerNewsIndependence Day, Millboro, Tony Trogdon

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…

07 Jul

New Trinity Middle School to open in the fall

Randolph RecordNewsArchdale, Randolph County Schools, Trinity

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.

06 Jul

Zoo ends reservation requirement

Randolph RecordNewsNC Zoo

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.

06 Jul

Baker becomes first female officer on sheriff’s Emergency Response Team

Randolph RecordGovernment, NewsRandolph County Sheriff

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…