Scott Pelkey, | Randolph News Now

Jan122023 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Seeking Applicants for Citizens Academy

Government

A K9 handler demonstrates the Sheriff's Office K9 during a Citizen Academy at the Randolph County Emergency Services Headquarters. (Credit: Randolph County Sheriff's Office via Facebook) ASHEBORO N.C. - The Randolph County Sheriff's Office is again offering it's Sheriff's Citizen Academy to local residents. The Sheriff's Citizen Academy is designed to give Randolph County residents an opportunity to learn more about law enforcement operations and the Randolph County Sheriff's Office internal processes. "The basic goal of the Sheriff's Citizen Academy is to improve law enforcement/community relations through a formalized educational process," said the Sheriff's Office in a press release. "Our Academy will present a wide range of topics and demonstrations similar to what your Sherif...

Jan92023 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

RCPH Partners with Kintegra to Bring Back and Expand Dental Services

Government, Health

Set dentist tools on napkin on table close up. Stock Photo / Africa Studio / Adobe Stock ASHEBORO N.C. - The dental clinic provided by Randolph County Public Health will be returning and expanding with a school based oral health program including screening and education thanks to a partnership with Kintegra Family Dental and a $375,000 grant. On December 5th, 2022, RCPH director Tara Aker addressed the Board at the monthly County Commissioners Meeting. The department has been trying to fill an open position for a dental hygienist since March of 2022. Despite posting the job across several platforms, Aker admitted that "not one person has applied." "There's just not enough dentists to go around" said Aker. "The health department has a hard time recruiting and keeping dentist b...

Jan62023 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

9-1-1 Answers 128,580 Calls in 2022 | Breakdown

Investigative

A 9-1-1 Telecomunicator sits at a station at the Randolph County Emergency Services Headquarters. (Stock Photo / Scott Pelkey / Acme News) ASHEBORO N.C. - Last year Randolph County Emergency Services’ 9-1-1 operators answered 128,580 calls. We reviewed records to find out the where and why. Of those thousands of calls, the most recorded call type at 11% (14,089) were 9-1-1 hang-up, misdials, or open lines (aka butt-dials), followed by 11,186 calls (8.7%) which were marked as duplicate calls where several people called in to report the same incident. Theft was responsible for the largest number of 9-1-1 calls reporting crime in 2022 (when larceny and burglaries are combined) with a total of 4,145 or 3.2% of all calls. Retail stores are usually among the places that keep local po...

Dec282022 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Unattended Camp Fire sparks Woods Fire in Birkhead Mountains Wilderness Area

News

(Photo by Jared Byrd / Randolph County Emergency Services) ASHEBORO N.C. - Officials are saying an unattended campfire is to blame for starting a woods fire that consumed around 1.5 acres in the Birkhead Mountains Wilderness Area this afternoon. At around 2 pm, firefighters from Ulah Fire Department along with Rangers from the NC Forestry Service were dispatched to the Birkhead Mountains Wilderness Area for a report of a woods fire. According to a post on Facebook by the Ulah Fire Department the fire was located approximately 1.5 miles into the Birkhead Wilderness trails. Personnel had the fire contained within an hour of reaching its point of origin and were able to clear the scene at around 4:30 pm. No injuries were reported.

Dec262022 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Julian Fire Chief Injured After Driver Crashes into Department Pickup on US 421

News

A Pickup Truck belonging to the Julian Fire & Rescue was totaled after a driver struck the vehicle while at the scene of an accident on 421 (via Facebook) ASHEBORO N.C. - Julian Fire & Rescue's Chief was taken to the hospital after a driver struck the department's pickup truck that was on scene of a previous accident on US 421 last Friday. At 9:41 am, on Friday, December 23rd, 2022, emergency crews responded to the report of a crash that occurred on US 421 near NC 62 in Guilford County. According to the State Highway Patrol, James Patrick Clement, from Carthage, NC, was traveling north on US 421 in a 2009 Ford truck. Chief Cameron Ross Shepard with Julian Fire & Rescue (which serves both Guilford and Randolph Counties) was parked in the inside travel lane of US 4...

Dec242022 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Duke Energy Warns of Rolling Blackouts due to High Energy Demand

Breaking News

A power utility worker repairs a blown transformer in Asheboro (Stock Photo - Scott Pelkey / Acme News) ASHEBORO N.C. - With almost six-thousand customers without power across Randolph County, Duke Energy is warning that rolling blackouts may be necessary to protect the energy grid. Duke Energy, in a statement on its outage tracker says that due to extremely cold temperatures driving unusually high energy demand, the power company has deployed temporary power outages across the system. These emergency outages, also known as "rolling blackouts" are necessary "to protect the energy grid against longer, more widespread outages by keeping demand under control to prevent systems from tripping offline. Duke Energy Outage map as of 2:30 PM on 12/24/2022 (Click map to go to outage tr...

Dec232022 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Strong Bitterly Cold Winds Knocking Down Trees, Causing Power Outages

Breaking News

WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 9 AM EST SATURDAY A worker with NC DOT places cones out on Central Falls Rd near Old Liberty Rd due to power lines in the roadway from a fallen tree (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) ASHEBORO N.C. - Wind gusts of near 30 mph this morning are downing trees and have dropped the wind chill value to the mid-teens just as power outages start to stack up, and its probably going to get worse as the day goes on. Forecasters are expecting frequent wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph through this evening with a surge of gusts of 40 to 50 mph and isolated gusts of around 55 mph, between 6 AM and 10 AM. These strong winds combined with the bitter arctic air are posing a threat of any remaining moisture refreezing. "As temperatures rapidly p...

Dec192022 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

White Christmas? Probably Not, Say Forecasters

Weather

ASHEBORO N.C. - An arctic air system will move into the U.S. this week as forecasters become more confident that there won't be a white Christmas for the Triad. What's Happening? Cold artic air from Siberia will make its way down from Canada thanks to a high-pressure system sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday, reaching the Triad sometime on Friday. Meanwhile, a coastal low-pressure system tracking up eastern/coastal sections of the Carolinas will bring widespread moderate rain into the area Wednesday night and Thursday and into Friday. Credit F5 Weather (https://www.f5wx.com/) In models the arctic low-pressure system is tracking to the north and west of our state with the mountains blocking some of the coldest of the air (and moisture needed for heavy snow) but expect w...

Dec162022 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Ramseur Water Supervisor Answers Questions, Points to Larger Underlying Issues

News

(happycreator/ Adobe Stock) RAMSEUR, N.C. – Officials with the town of Ramseur are addressing concerns about recent and on-going water quality issues, and the underlying problem extends well outside of the town. In early December, the Town of Ramseur suffered a water main break in a 12-inch line used fill the town tank located at the old water treatment plant. “There is an 8-inch line that runs from the tank that ties back into the 12-inch line at the old water plant to keep the town supplied with water when the plant is shut down.” says Jason Helton, supervisor at the water treatment plant in an email conversation with Randolph News Now. To repair the break in the pipe both the 12” and 8” pipes had to be closed to take pressure off the line. “When valves are closed it allows ...

Dec122022 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Town of Ramseur to Hold Public Meeting About Recent Water Issues

Local

https://youtube.com/shorts/5vwYXa6Rhbs ASHEBORO N.C. - The Town of Ramsuer is set to hold a public hearing tomorrow regarding recent water quality issues. This month Randolph News Now has received dozens of comments, messages, emails, and phone calls about black and brown water coming from Ramseur's Municipal Water Treatment System. The Town of Ramsuer says in a public notice that the Board of Commissioners Special will hold a special Meeting-Tuesday December 13th, 2022, at 6:30 pm about "Issues Related to the Water Leak at the Old Water Plant". Earlier today Randolph News Now reached out to the Town's offices and while we were able to reach someone over the phone the Town said that they have "no comment at this time". Randolph News Now is continuing to investigate o...