News - Randolph Record

15 Feb

Toyota announces electric car parts production expansion

The Associated PressBusiness, Government, NewsElectric Vehicles, Toyota

BUFFALO, W.Va. — Toyota Motor Corp. announced Friday that it will further expand production of electric vehicle parts at plants in West Virginia and Tennessee in a $90 million investment. The announcement comes three months after the Japanese automaker said it would invest $240 million to add a production line dedicated to hybrid powertrains at its facility in Buffalo, West Virginia. The latest upgrade involves spending $73 million at the plant to annually assemble an estimated 120,000 rear motor stators, a key component in electric motors. “Toyota is moving quickly toward an electrified future, and West Virginia will play a…

11 Feb

Asheboro City Schools drops mask mandate

Randolph RecordNewsEducation, masks, schools

ASHEBORO — On the day North Carolina's Speaker of the House called for an end to K-12 masking and quarantine policies, Asheboro City Schools took a first step. In a 10-1 vote, the city schools voted Thursday night to drop mask requirements. The change will go into effect Feb. 21. Randolph County Schools dropped mask rules in November. The Union County School Board voted this week to end contact tracing and quarantines. Randolph County had previously voted to limit contact tracing by school system personnel in November. School Board member Fred Burgess championed the move to report positive cases to…

09 Feb

Picerno submits name for vacant Moore commission seat

Randolph RecordNews, PoliticsMoore County, Moore County commission, Neal Jackson, nick picerno

PINEHURST — Former Moore County Commissioner Nick Picerno said in an email to supporters he was submitting his name to the Moore County Republican Executive Committee to fill the vacant term of Louis Gregory, who recently announced his intent to resign in February. In life, things change, that’s a given. In the past couple of weeks since announcing my intention to run for NC House District 78, several events have taken place that significantly effect that decision," said Picerno. He cited the ongoing litigation over the state's new district lines, saying that the court battle has caused chaos and confusion…

09 Feb

RCSS might turn to remote learning in some situations

Bob SuttonNewsinclement weather, Randolph County Schools, remote learning

ASHEBORO – The Randolph County School System is on the verge of implementing a new plan for days when inclement weather prevents in-school instruction. With classes already called off numerous times this winter because of weather-related issues, RCSS Superintendent Dr. Stephen Gainey outlined a plan for future instruction, which might involve situations of remote learning. “I just wanted everyone to know that staff members at each school are making plans to provide remote instruction should we need to employ that strategy,” Gainey said. The initial message on the topic came in a Jan. 28 announcement. At the time, the school…

02 Feb

Citizens make voices heard against vaccine mandates

Randolph RecordGovernment, NewsCOVID, covid-19, Joe Biden, SCOTUS, vaccine

PINEHURST — Citizen groups across the globe are protesting vaccine mandates as vaccine effectiveness against new variants of the COVID-19 virus has waned and Americans who are vaccinated are not showing high demand for boosters. On January 23, tens of thousands of people rallied on the National Mall to oppose government vaccine requirements. Mitch Lancaster, a Moore County resident and former Southern Pines councilman, was one of the attendees from across the country to attend the event. “I was thoroughly impressed with the doctors, their speeches and their commitment to the patient/doctor relationship. These men and women have taken a…

02 Feb

Moore County book controversy heads to school board

A.P. DillonNewsbooks, Education, library, schools

Alex Gino on September 15, 2016 in front of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Berlin during their participation at the section International Children´s and Young Adult Literature of the 16th International Literature Festival Berlin. (Christoph Rieger | CC BY-SA 4.0) RALEIGH — The controversial book “George” remains on the library shelves in two of Moore County's public schools while a complaint filed over the book heads to the Moore County Public Schools board. The book, written by Alex Gino, has been considered controversial for its transgender storyline of a fourth-grade boy who believes he is a girl named Melissa.…

28 Jan

Snow in the forecast for the third week

Randolph RecordNewssnow, Weather, winter

RALEIGH — Residents and officials across North Carolina are bracing for a powerful winter storm expected to produce snow and high winds Friday and Saturday. Heavy snow and strong winds were predicted to begin in parts of N.C. on Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service. The system will then intensify as a nor’easter and bring snowy conditions up the East Coast to New England, where forecasters warned of localized snowfall totals of up to 20 inches and wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph. On Friday, the National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the southern…

28 Jan

SWR senior is NC State scholarship finalist

Randolph RecordNewsEducation, Kaitlyn Gainey, Park Scholarship, schools, SWR

RALEIGH — An Asheboro student has been named a finalist for N.C. State's top merit scholarship. Kaitlyn Ann Gainey, a senior at Southwestern Randolph High School, has been named a finalist for the Park Scholarship. The Park Scholarships program announced that 112 finalists were named from 2,260 applicants from across the United States. Gainey, who Randolph Record's Athlete of the Week in October, is the daughter of Stephen and Kelly Gainey of Asheboro. She is currently student body president at SWR and was named homecoming queen in 2021. Gainey is her school's Beta Club chapter president and a member of…

26 Jan

Asheboro Mall staple to close

Bob SuttonNewsAsheboro, asheboro mall, cookie jar, small business

ASHEBORO – Dallas Brooks is proud of what her family has meant to Asheboro Mall. So as the lone oven is turned off this weekend at Cookie Jar, she senses a bit of sadness. Her treats through the years brought happiness. “I hope I will forever be known as the ‘Cookie Lady,’” Brooks said. Cookie Jar is set to close Sunday. That will end nearly 40 years in business for one of the mall’s original tenants. Brooks is the daughter of Cookie Jar founder Wesley Vestal, who opened the store in September 1982 at what was then called Randolph Mall.…

25 Jan

Prosecutor: Alex Murdaugh now faces 71 charges; $8.5M stolen

Jeffrey Collins, Associated PressNewsMurdaugh, south carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A once-prominent South Carolina lawyer now faces 71 charges that he stole nearly $8.5 million in wrongful death and wreck settlements from more than a dozen people after another round of indictments against Alex Murdaugh were handed up Friday. The 23 new charges issued by the state grand jury covered new victims but similar schemes, prosecutors said. Murdaugh, 53, would negotiate settlement money for his clients without telling them what they earned, then deposit the checks meant to pay for their pain and suffering or the anguish of the death of a loved one into his own…