YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 w w w. j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m
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feBrUarY 5-11, 2025 vol 47 No 6 | 1 Section | 6 Pages
sheriff’s Office offers annual report
Sgt. A. Dale, of District 3 of the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, gave the annual report to the Jamestown Town Council on Jan. 21. She was accompanied by Capt. Howell. Dale said the number of computer-aided dispatch (CAD) calls, or calls for service, dropped in 2024 — but only by 10 calls, 918 in 2023 down to 908. For the first six months of the year as well as the last one, the call rate was down, with August remaining the same and July, Sept.-November rising. “A couple of those months were actually a significant decrease,” Dale said.
Response times are always an important factor in how quickly an officer can arrive at a scene. “For the last six years, Jamestown has [had] the best response time,” Dale added. “We make sure we get out there as quickly and safely as we can. Our response times are lower than most of the other districts.” Dale said Jamestown is the second zone in size. Other zones include Summerfield, Stokesdale, Oak Ridge, Whitsett, Sedalia and Pleasant Garden. “The most calls we received [were] residential and business burglar alarms, quite a few welfare checks, assistance with fire and EMS, disorderly subjects/crowds, suspicious activity/subject/vehicle, and 44 trespassers,” she said.
COMPILed By nORMa B. dennIs and CaROL BROOKs dAnCe StudIo hoStS BenefIt Triple Threat School of Dance, Music & Acting will host its 21st annual benefit on Feb. 9. This year’s proceeds will go to support BackPack Beginnings’ Beyond the Basics. The performance will be held at Reynolds Auditorium, 301 N. Hawthorne Road, Winston-Salem. Doors open at 1:30 p.m., with the performance starting at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person. Call or text Triple Threat at 336-6926369. tItAn CIVIC BAnd SeekS MeMBerS GTCC and the High Point Arts Council are seeking new community members for the community’s Titan Civic Band. Needed are woodwind, brass and percussion instrument players. The Titan Civic Band is composed of GTCC students, faculty, staff and members of the community. The band practices weekly on Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. during each GTCC semester. Both practices and performances take place at the Centennial Station Arts Center in High Point. The band hosts two concerts each semester, with the spring performances scheduled for March 5 and April 16. No tryouts are required, and interested parties may visit https://www.highpointarts.org/titancivicband or email rvford@gtcc.edu. loVe IS In the AIr A Moment In Time meeting on Feb. 18 is sure to have participates thinking about love as they explore the book “Love Monster” and enjoy love songs lead by Robin Gentile. AuthoraCare is the sponsor for this month’s meeting. Designed for people with dementia and their care partners, A Moment In Time meetings are held every third Tuesday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Jamestown United Methodist Church fellowship hall, 403 E. Main St. If the church is closed due to inclement weather, the meeting will be canceled. A Moment In Time is a place to relax and enjoy games, crafts, snacks and friendly conversation. Park and enter at the front left side of the church. Guests with wheelchairs or walkers may enter from the back under the portico. Reservations are requested but not required. For more information or to register, contact Laura Gulledge at 336906-0430 or lauragulledge@gmail. com. Highlights of past meetings may be found at https://www.facebook.com/ jumcmemorycafe. see TOWn, PAGe 2
“About everything else was around 20 or fewer calls for service.” Councilmember Martha Wolfe asked if there were statistics that could tell times of day crime happens in Jamestown. Dale said not presently. “There are different crimes day and night,” Capt. Howell said. Councilmember Sarah Glanville asked if it was possible to get
the locations where crimes were committed, noting that Sheetz and Dollar General had been major targets in the past. Howell said she would get back with the Town on this. The Sheriff’s Office operates three District Offices within the county in addition to the two main offices that are located in Greensboro and High Point. The district offices provide 24/7 patrol services to the citizens of each district. The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office District 3 is located at 211 Hillstone Dr. in Jamestown. The District’s boundaries are Interstate 40 on the north, west along Forsyth County and the City of High Point, south along Randolph County and east along the Greensboro city limits. The Town
of Jamestown contracts with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office to provide additional law enforcement services within the town. District 3 is staffed by a captain, lieutenant, five sergeants, four detectives, 24 patrol deputies and an office manager. District 3 services the incorporated towns of Jamestown, Pleasant Garden and the unincorporated areas of Climax and those neighborhoods outside the city limits of Archdale, High Point and Greensboro within district boundaries. The primary function of District 3 is uniformed patrol and the criminal investigations of crimes related to assaults, burglary, theft, fraud, forgery, vehicle theft, possession or receiving stolen property and juvenile criminal offenses.
GTCC awards mLK Jr. Service awards to two college staff members, a student PRess ReLease Guilford Technical Community College honored two employees and a student with its annual GTCC MLK Jr. Service Award Wednesday night at a community celebration hosted at North Carolina A&T University. GTCC civil engineering/ geomatics technology professor Terrence Garraway was selected as the college’s faculty award winner, while Thomas Barksdale II D.Min., the assistant director of student conduct and community standards, was named the GTCC staff award winner. Tonalmitzin (Toni) Guzman Perez was named the student winner of the GTCC MLK Jr. Service Award. In honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the award honors members of the GTCC community who demonstrate a commitment to King’s ideals and further the college’s commitment to diversity. Nominees must exemplify a commitment to fostering a diverse campus community and a personal com-
GTCC President anthony Clarke Ph.d., MLK Jr. service award recipients: Thomas Barksdale II d.Min., Tonalmitzin (Toni) Guzman-Perez, Terence Garraway, and GTCC Vice President for student services ann Proudfit Ph.d. mitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. “‘I have a dream’ Dr. Martin Luther King once said. Today, I can say I share his dream too,” said Guzman Perez. “Braveness, leadership, but most important sharing our hearts. This is the way to accomplish peace and happiness, the dream we want. I’m sure good things are to come.” Guzman Perez, a chemistry major, helped guide the chem-
istry club while also serving as the president of the International Club and volunteering in the community. Her nominator said, “I have seen Toni be resourceful countless times, and every time she succeeds in making the best of the situation and making everything run smoothly.” Garraway provides a model for leadership to his students and goes the extra mile to help any engineering department stu-
BLACK HISTORY RY MONTH Homeplace has historic letter regarding freed slave By CaROL BROOKs FreeLANCe WrIter cab1hp@gmail.com The Historic Jamestown Society and Mendenhall Homeplace are in possession of an historic piece of black history. On Feb. 19, 2008, fittingly during Black History Month, at the Mendenhall Homeplace, Sherman Ampey and his wife, Darlene Wilson, donated to the Homeplace a copy of a letter written by George C. Mendenhall of Jamestown to his uncle, Isaac Gardner, in September 1829. In it, Mendenhall recommends James Ampey, “a man of color who lived with me 6 years,” to Gardner. Former Historic Jamestown Society President Bill Harris and former Museum Director Rebecca
Lasley, accepted the letter. The Ampeys, from Paw Paw, Michigan, enjoyed researching their heritage, especially Sherman’s African-American ancestors. What the Ampeys learned on their trip was more than they hoped for. Like many people at the time, James Ampey was leaving North Carolina to go to Indiana, which had passed the Northwest Ordinance (Freedom Ordinance) in 1787 calling for a ban on slavery. Indiana was a popular destination on the Underground Railroad. Mendenhall had awarded James and his wife Dicey their freedom earlier in 1829. Mendenhall asked Gardner, who lived in Union County, Indiana, to
dents, according to his nominator, and works tirelessly with city, state, and private companies to help students find employment. The award, Garraway said, “is a reflection of my passion for providing a diverse and communal pathway for student success.” Barksdale was nominated for the award by a student, who said the professor’s “mentorship was encouraging and supportive of my education” and that Barksdale “exemplified leadership.” “I am humbled by this award. The fact that this nomination came from a student makes this truly transformative,” said Barksdale. “Dr. King and I share membership in the same fraternity, and I am honored to accept this award for his posture toward justice, fairness, and equity.”
Guilford Technical Community College is the third largest of 58 institutions in the North Carolina Community College System. GTCC serves over 30,000 students annually from five campuses and a Small Business Center. For more information, visit gtcc.edu, Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Spring’s arrival depends on a rodent? By CaROL BROOKs FreeLANCe WrIter cab1hp@gmail.com Another Groundhog Day has come and gone. Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of winter this year may not have set well with many people. In North Carolina alone we have had more “winter” weather so far than in several years combined. But not to worry — Phil
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Photo courtesy ABC News
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and his relatives are accurate less than half the time. Some estimates are only 39 percent accurate since records began in 1887. You may as well toss a coin. Of course, all the lights around him Sunday morning probably had something to do with seeing his shadow. Apparently we can blame German immigrants for this weird day in the United
Punxutawney Phil addresses his fans on Feb. 2.
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By CaROL BROOKs FreeLANCe WrIter cab1hp@gmail.com