Verne Hill
Thursday News for August 14, 2025
Back to School: Calvary Day School
BE ALERT. Reduce your speed in school zones.
And passing a ‘stopped’ school bus, could cost you more than a $500 fine.
The Perseid meteor shower occurring nightly thru August 23.
Forecasters are keeping an ‘eye’ on Tropical Storm Erin likely strengthen into a powerful hurricane this weekend. Note: Swells generated by Erin are expected to increase wave heights and create dangerous rip currents along the North and South Carolina coast. https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/
Remember those ‘sweltering’ nights back in July? A heat dome that lingered in July made overnight temps the warmest ever documented in the Triad, according to the National Weather Service. *Based on weather service data dating back to 1903.
https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/weather/tropical-storm-erin
Making more in America. GE Appliances plans to shift production of refrigerators, gas ranges and water heaters out of China and Mexico as part of a more than $3 billion investment to expand its U.S. operations in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina. https://apnews.com/article/ge-appliances-manufacturing-china-mexico-
Social Security turns 90. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Social Security into law on August 14, 1935, ushering in the idea of a time of independence from work (think retirement). Social Security, the vital lifeline for tens of millions of Americans everywhere, is used for housing, groceries, gas and the other everyday necessities.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/business/social-security-retirement-myths.html
Praying for the family and friends of Robbie Brewer, longtime driver at Bowman Gray Stadium, who passed away last Saturday night at the track.
Update: A private celebration of life service is being planned. Hayworth-Miller is serving the family. BTW: In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Victory Junction in Randleman. https://www.hayworth-miller.com/obituaries/robert-robbie-brewer
Reminder: Students entering kindergarten, 7th, and 12th grades must meet specific vaccination requirements, as mandated by state law. Parents have 30 days from the start of school to provide documentation of required vaccinations or approved exemptions. *Governor Stein has proclaimed the month of August as Immunization Awareness Month in North Carolina. www.dph.ncdhhs.gov/programs/epidemiology/immunization/schools
The Educator Warehouse in Winston-Salem, offering teachers a convenient one-stop BTS supply shopping experience for FREE, is open this afternoon from 3:30 – 5:30pm.
Volunteers always needed! Questions: Karel Chandler at (336) 817-1673
*The Educator Warehouse, located in the pods at Diggs-Latham Elementary School in WS, is open every Tuesday and Thursday (3:30-5:30pm), as well as the first and third Saturday of every month (from 9am – 11am). www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/page/educator-warehouse.
The Winston-Salem Open begins Saturday (August 16–23)
…at the Wake Forest University Tennis Complex. www.winstonsalemopen.com/
*The Winston-Salem Open is the last stop before the US Open in New York.
Municipal Elections Statewide: November 4th, 2025.
This year’s Municipal Primary Election will be held Tuesday, Sept. 9, for Forsyth County’s municipalities outside of Winston-Salem.
Residents in Rural Hall and Tobaccoville who wish to vote in the upcoming Sept 9th primary – have till 5pm this Friday (Aug 15) to complete their voter registration.
Voter registration deadline for the Nov. 4 general election will be Oct 10 at 5pm.
BTW: Winston-Salem does not have a municipal election this November because mayoral and city council terms coincide with presidential election years.
Voter registration info here: https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/upcoming-election
Registration Search Toolbox (and Repair site)
This search tool is updated daily to reflect the current list of voters who must provide their N.C. driver’s license/DMV ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number to election officials to ensure they can vote a regular ballot rather than a provisional ballot. https://dl.ncsbe.gov/RegistrationRepair/index.html https://www.ncsbe.gov/registrationrepair
‘Highly addictive’ synthetic drug 7-OH is now banned in Florida.
7-OH products are marketed as natural or wellness supplements but can lead to addiction, overdose, and other serious health effects. The compound – available in such products as drinks, gummies and powders often sold in vape shops and convenience stores – has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years. Doctors stress that 7-OH (a concentrated byproduct of the kratom plant) is as addictive as opioids.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/florida-7-oh-kratom-products-ban/
I-40 UPDATE: Crews in western North Carolina working to fully restore I-40 to four lanes near the Tennessee border. NC-DOT has gotten permission to extract rock from nearby Pisgah National Forest land to help ‘speed up’ the rebuilding of I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, an area badly damaged during Hurricane Helene.
State officials stress that utilizing the extraction site – located across the river from I-40 – will reduce estimated construction costs while increasing safety by reducing the number of heavy trucks on the I-40 ‘two-lane’ pattern.
A Mobile ID is the digital equivalent of a physical driver’s license. It’s already in use in more than a dozen states. The NC-DMV is currently exploring how the system could be implemented in the state. www.wfmynews2.com/article/tech/mobile-ids-are-coming-to-north-carolina-dmv-idscan/83-91eafdb8-b441-4d84-a87f-69d6b431340d
NC-DMV: ‘Saturday Summer hours’ continue through August 23
Walk-in services (8am – noon on Saturday mornings) at specific DMV locations.
No appointments necessary. DMV offices across the Piedmont Triad include…
www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2025/2025-03-31-ncdmv-office-hours-expand-april-7.aspx
Winston-Salem South – 2001 Silas Creek Parkway
Kernersville – 810A N. Main Street
Greensboro – 2391 Coliseum Blvd
Salisbury – 5780 S. Main Street
