Liberty - Randolph Record

27 Oct

Liberty man repeats title with big watermelon

Bob SuttonFeaturesAndrew Vial, Liberty, North Carolina State Fair, watermelons

RALEIGH — Andrew Vial of Liberty calls his watermelon-growing expertise a hobby. It’s a pretty good one. Vial was the winner again in the Great Pumpkin & Watermelon Weigh-off that’s associated with the North Carolina State Fair at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. Vial was the winner with an entry of 306 pounds. There were 22 watermelons entered into the contest. A year ago, Vial’s 341-pound entry was the largest in the history of the N.C. State Fair. Vial, 39, puts in up to 60 hours a week tending to his crop of watermelons. Second place went to Patrick VanBeck…

30 Sep

Liberty to change water meters

Bob SuttonNewsLiberty, water

LIBERTY – The Town of Liberty will replace old, outdated water meters with new digital water meters during the month of October. Vepo Solutions is assisting with this project. According to information provided by town officials, the goal is to have most customers’ water meters replaced by Oct. 31. Once the change takes place at each site, a door tag will be left indicating the switch has been made. The Town of Liberty also issued an announcement pointing out that utility bills were sent out with incorrect amounts due last week. Corrected bills were to be sent out. The memo…

28 Sep

Toyota tags funds for education to aid workforce

Bob SuttonNewsLiberty, North Carolina A&T University, Randolph County Schools, Toyota

LIBERTY – Toyota wants to help mold the workforce for the new plant at the Guilford-Randolph megasite. In what company officials describe as an effort to boost workforce readiness and exposure, donations totaling $1 million will be used to expand education opportunities. The effort comes to boost what’s called STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics). Communities in Schools of Randolph County and North Carolina A&T University will each receive $500,000 to help strengthen STEAM education programs that support career readiness. This could be a big deal in Randolph County. Grant funds will be used to support students, empowering…

08 Sep

NCDOT meeting draws big turnout in Liberty

Bob SuttonNewsGreensboro-Randolph megasite, Liberty, North Carolina DOT, Toyota

New road patterns are in place along U.S. 421 and Browns Meadow Road near Liberty. (PJ Brown-Ward/Randolph Record) LIBERTY – There was considerable interest from Randolph County residents at a public meeting held by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to discuss potential changes based on the Greensboro-Randolph megasite. There were 247 attendees signing in for last week’s session. “That’s sizable,” said Harris Kay, a communications officer with NCDOT. “That’s what we want, people coming to ask questions.” Liberty Town Hall was packed with members of the public at some points during the two-hour meeting. There’s much curiosity about the…

05 Sep

Toyota adds to plans for megasite

Randolph RecordBusiness, NewsGreensboro-Randolph megasite, Liberty, Toyota

LIBERTY – Toyota announced an additional investment of $2.5 billion in its newest North American facility, Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina at the Greensboro-Randolph megasite. Last week’s announcement means added capacity to support battery electric vehicle battery production and adds 350 jobs, bringing the total employment to approximately 2,100. Scheduled to begin production in 2025, the facility will produce batteries for hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles. Construction has begun. Last year, Toyota Motor Corporation announced a global investment of approximately $70 billion for electrification efforts. Last week, as part of this aspirational goal, TMC announced a future battery production…

02 Sep

Goodwill expands in Randolph County with Liberty store

Bob SuttonFeaturesGoodwill, Goodwill Industries, Liberty, Triad Goodwill

Shoppers took advantage of the grand opening of the new Goodwill store in Liberty. (Courtesy photo) LIBERTY – A Goodwill Industries store and donation center opened in Liberty a few weeks ago, becoming the fourth such location in Randolph County. “We are so excited to be part of the Liberty community and have already been blown away by the generosity of the donors in the area,” said Brady Craven, district manager for Triad Goodwill. “Right when people saw our signs go up, we were welcomed with bags and literal truckloads of donations.” The store has gently used and new clothing…

20 Jul

Liberty eateries feed on megasite boost

Bob SuttonBusiness, NewsGreensboro-Randolph megasite, Liberty

LIBERTY — There’s more traffic and business in and around Liberty, and that should mean more dollars spent in the small Randolph County town. This development isn’t unexpected with activity associated with the Greensboro-Randolph megasite. “I’m actually really thankful,” said Susan Aydelette, owner of Hurricane Jane’s restaurant on South Greensboro Street. “I really think it’s going to be a blessing for everyone. I know it may not look like it right now, but you have to have patience. Some people are complaining. Eventually, everything will be settled down.” Toyota is building its first U.S. battery plant for electric vehicles, with…

25 May

Towns of Archdale, Liberty selected for rural communities Commerce Dept. program

Randolph RecordNewsArchdale, Liberty, N.C. Commerce Department

A total of 19 rural communities from across the state have been selected to participate in a new program to increase their capacity to plan, implement, and manage economic development programs and opportunities. The Rural Community Capacity (RC2) program, a pilot initiative from the N.C. Commerce Department involving Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business, welcomed its first cohort of participants in Boone Tuesday. During an RC2 engagement, communities have direct access to Commerce’s Rural Planning team, who offer additional training and technical assistance to program participants, including a strategic planning process focused on identifying economic development assets and priorities…

23 Feb

Greenwood set for concert in Liberty

Bob SuttonEventsLee Greenwood, Liberty, Liberty Showcase Theater

LIBERTY – With Lee Greenwood’s appearance on the schedule for this weekend, Liberty Showcase Theater has drawn some attention. Yet in many ways, that’s nothing new for the entertainment venue. “We have a lot of country artists from the ‘70s to the ‘90s,” said Spring Gates, general manager of Brown Entertainment. “We also do have some of the top bluegrass artists.” Brown Entertainment is the company that manages the theater. Greenwood is a country music singer and songwriter, and a Grammy Award winner. For the Liberty Showcase Theater, Greenwood’s appearance shapes up as a good one, but it’s not atypical,…

06 Dec

Toyota will bring 1,750 jobs to Randolph County

Randolph RecordBusiness, NewsLiberty, Phil Berger, randolph county, Tim Moore, Toyota

LIBERTY — Toyota Motor North America announced they will build a large-scale battery manufacturing plant in Randolph County, bringing 1,750 jobs to Liberty. Toyota will invest $1.29 billion at the Randolph County Megasite, which will initially produce batteries for Toyota’s hybrid electric vehicles and later produce batteries for battery electric vehicles in the long term. This is the first North American battery manufacturing facility for the world's largest automobile manufacturer. "I am proud of the hard work the General Assembly has done to ensure North Carolina is a state ripe for new business and innovation," said House Speaker Tim Moore…