VOLUME 145 ISSUE 39 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2025 | STANLYNEWSJOURNAL.COM
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Stanly NewS Journal THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
PHOTOS BY CHARLES CURCIO / STANLY NEWS JOURNAL
Top left: Bishop Gwen Lanning (left) and Pastor Michael Scott plant cucumbers. Bottom left: Volunteers get seedlings into the soil. Right: Felicia Grant (left) works on planting tomatoes with volunteer Shymari Huntley.
WHAT’S HAPPENING FDA to update COVID-19 shot recommendations Washington, D.C. The Food and Drug Administration will issue new guidelines this year on who should get updated COVID-19 boosters, bringing the U.S. more in line with European countries when it comes to who should get the booster. In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week, advisers suggested that higher-risk groups — adults 65 and older and those with risk factors — should receive boosters, and that more research should be done on whether boosters are effective and to build stronger evidence on the risks and benefits of the shot. “We simply don’t know whether a healthy 52-year-old woman with a normal BMI who has had Covid-19 three times and has received six previous doses of a Covid-19 vaccine will benefit from the seventh dose,” the article said, noting that countries including Australia and France only recommend the shot for those 65 and older or high-risk.
SCOTUS orders Maine House to restore vote of GOP lawmaker who ID’d trans teen athlete online Washington, D.C. The U.S. Supreme Court is siding with a GOP state lawmaker in Maine who was blocked from voting after she identified a transgender student athlete in a critical social media post. A 7-2 court majority on Tuesday ordered the Maine House to allow Rep. Laurel Libby to cast legislative votes while her lawsuit over the censure plays out. The case comes after the Democraticcontrolled House found that Libby’s viral post had violated its code of ethics by putting the student at risk. She was blocked from speaking and voting on the floor after refusing to apologize. Libby said the punishment violates her right to free speech and leaves her district without representation.
Church group volunteers to start community garden in Albemarle A local faith-based group planted the garden on Graham Street By Charles Curcio Stanly News Journal ALBEMARLE — Volunteers from various Stanly churches have started a project they hope grows into something big and fruitful for residents. Stanly County HELPS, a volunteer group from various churches, started a new community garden at 427 Graham St. in Albemarle. Bishop Gwen Lanning of Albemarle’s Sanctuary Christian Outreach said the idea for the new garden came in part from the Bible. “Everything starts with a seed,” Lanning said. “You put the seed in the ground, in the soil, and it will bring forth. It will produce, and the fruit that it produces has a seed in it.” She added, “That’s what God told Adam and Eve; be fruitful and multiply. I believe in the principles in the Bible.” When Lanning asked members of her church’s youth group
“Everything starts with a seed. You put the seed in the ground, in the soil, and it will bring forth. It will produce, and the fruit that it produces has a seed in it.” Bishop Gwen Lanning, Sanctuary Christian Outreach ty, and even turn it into a business as it grows.” In the future, the group’s goals are to build the garden into something bigger, possibly a full-sized farm that could provide jobs and educate young people about agriculture. “This garden site is too small for what we envision,” Lanning said. “This is to get it started. We can iron out the kinks. We are looking for a much bigger place.” Pastor Michael Scott of New Directions Ministries in Norwood, co-chair of Stanly County HELPS, blessed the plants
Parks and Recreation plan presented to city council “This is a real glimpse for you to understand what’s going on and what the interests are of your public.” Nate Halubka, McGill Associates
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about ideas for a community project, the garden was a popular suggestion. Using information from YouTube and consultations with local farmers, Lanning secured donations from several local companies. Pate Masonry donated a truckload of topsoil, while Mauney’s Feed Mill gave a pile of compost. Lanning said Lowe’s gave the group “tremendous discounts” on the materials necessary for the planting beds. Other business donated old pallets for the beds to sit on. The Cabarrus office of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, working with the Stanly office, provided water barrels to collect rainwater. Last Friday, volunteers constructed the beds and planted seeds and plants, including tomatoes, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, beans and more. Lanning said she sees the garden “bringing the community together to be able to inspire them to do things that we can do. We can use our own energy, our time and our efforts to produce something great that will bless the whole communi-
It covers the next 10 years of local park usage By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal ALBEMARLE — At the Albemarle City Council meeting on Monday night, councilmembers were presented with an overview of the Albemarle Parks and Recreation Department’s Comprehensive Plan. The 10-year recommended action plan covers each of the city’s parks and programs, setting the stage for the next decade of planning for the department that maintains 300 acres of land shared between the Albemarle Soccer Complex, City Lake Park, Hearne Park, Don Montgomery Park, Chuck Morehead Park and Rock Creek Park. Over the last eight months, engineering and consulting
firm McGill Associates has worked with the parks and rec department, Albemarle City Council, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and community members on the details of the 200-page plan. Nate Halubka, project consultant at McGill Associates, provided councilmembers with a synopsis of the plan and focused on strategies that could enhance Albemarle’s parks and rec facilities. “This is a real glimpse for you to understand what’s going on and what the interests are of your public,” Halubka said. “You have some larger capital needs, but I think your low-hanging fruit right now if you want to move towards attracting more residents is if you can go through and start to do beautification in your park system. Update the See COUNCIL, page A5
and seeds before they were planted. Scott said Stanly County HELPS has “brought together several faith-based organizations to put our minds together to address some of the needs in the communities.” Food insecurity was one pressing community need the group hopes the garden will address, Scott added, noting the higher food prices in stores along with the elderly not having health food choices or even access to food. “We can do this together. We pooled our resources and efforts together, our people together,” Scott said. Stanly HELPS, he added, has other concerns for the community, including domestic violence, affordable child care, job skills development, mental health awareness and elderly care. Volunteers are needed for shifts to help maintain the garden Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 8-10 a.m., Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 2 p.m. Call 336-456-1364 or email fgrant. stanlycohelps@gmail.com.