YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 w w w. j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m
weekly edition
July 16-22, 2025 Vol 47 No 29 | 1 Section | 6 Pages
Petition circulates to remove town manager By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com
Several Jamestown residents are upset about how the town is run and especially upset about the budget for fiscal year 2025-26 of nearly $20 million that was passed at the June 17 Town Council meeting. Two of these residents are so upset they have begun a petition to remove Matthew Johnson as town manager. Art Wise and Mickey Wright began the petition several weeks ago, focusing on the budget, what they believe is Johnson’s arrogance, lack of supervision, high salary and his lack of actively
looking for solutions to problems such as water quality. Five other residents are also involved. The petition reads: “We, the undersigned voters of Jamestown, hereby request that the Town Council remove Matthew Johnson as town manager and replace him with a manager that is not arrogant and is dedicated to reducing the budget. We are seeing our taxes increase while services decrease, the numbers of employees increase with no related increase in service, and we are drinking poison water.” The Town Council is responsible for hiring — and firing — the town manager. “I’m surprised someone hasn’t
already done this,” Wise said. “We’ve talked about it for a couple of years and have a bunch of guys who said, ‘OK, we’ll help.’” Wise and Wright can back up the accusations they make in the petition. Wise was a member of the Planning Board from 20102020, serving as chairman for nine of those years. Wright was a town councilmember from 19811993 and mayor pro tempore eight of those years. Wise said Johnson’s performance has been the subject of informal talk at some meetings he has attended. One recent item made the decision for the men to begin the petition.
“This budget broke the camel’s back,” Wise said, noting the proposed budget changed with no explanation between the May and June Council meetings. “That is poor communication,” Wise said. After serving as planning director for 14 years, beginning in 2006, Johnson was appointed town manager in 2022. He also was planning director in Abingdon, Va., for two years. “As planning director, Johnson’s job was to drive around the town and see if codes were being followed,” Wise said. Instead, the Town hired a code enforcement company to do the job but when Wise contacted that company
about an incident near his home, no one ever came to see what the problem was. Water quality is another big concern of Wise and Wright. “The EPA in Atlanta is very concerned with Jamestown’s water,” Wise said. “There are very high numbers of forever chemicals in the water.” According to The Jamestowner, one of several environmental watch groups in town, “In June of 2023, the NCDEQ wrote up Jamestown’s stormwater program as being ‘deficient in meeting all permit requirements,’ but renewed it anyway as what it said would be see town, page 2
New group works as environmental protector for Deep River By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com
Photo submitted
New signage for the Poor Servants of the Mother of God Heritage Room was unveiled. The name symbolizes the retirement center’s commitment to preserving the legacy of the Sisters who have served at Pennybyrn.
Sisters celebrated during final month at Pennybyrn By NORMA B. DENNIS FREELANCE WRITER ndworddesign@gmail.com In case there was even the slightest doubt in the minds of the Sisters at Pennybyrn Retirement Center that their service was appreciated, recent activities would certainly have dispelled that. The final month of their residency at Pennybyrn was filled with recognition and praise for their service to the retirement community. Seventy-eight years ago five Sisters from the Poor Servants of the Mother of God in Ireland arrived in High Point with the intention of opening a hospital. While that plan never came to fruition, the group did establish a convalescent home at the corner of Greensboro and Penny roads. The care offered during those early years has grown to encompass an entire retirement community serving retirees in independent living facilities to those needing skilled nursing care and everyone in between. Time has seen many Sisters come and go providing service to the retirement community. Now time has come for the last four Sisters in residence at Pennybyrn
Sister Lucy Hennessy, Sister Mona — Comaskey, Sister Loretta O’Connor and Sister Gabriella Hogan — to return to their homeland of Ireland. The entire month of June was devoted to honoring the work they have done during their collective 117 years of service. Celebrations began with a choral tribute by the Pennybyrn Chorale on June 3. The following day saw the Healthcare Center (skilled nursing) host a tea party to thank the Sisters and wish them well. On June 11, the Lillian Congdon Transitional Rehab Center and Taylor Village held an ice cream social to honor the Sisters and on June 18 the Independent Living community organized a special breakfast and afternoon ice cream socials so staff throughout the campus could share in the appreciation. The final farewell event was held June 25 in Ilderton Hall for residents of Independent living, where leaders from Pennybyrn and the community paid tribute to the Sisters with featured remarks to a standing-room-only crowd. “Today, we accept the charge and the challenge to carry forward the legacy see sisters, page 4
A new environmental group, Deep River Riverkeeper, Inc., was formed in December 2024 to support the health and wellbeing of the Deep River and its tributaries. It was officially licensed in June by the Water Keeper Alliance®, the international riverkeeper association that authorizes jurisdiction and supports environmental protectors for rivers. It is the final piece in riverkeeper oversights for the Cape Fear River Basin, the largest watershed in North Carolina. The DRRK joins the Haw River Assembly and the Cape Fear River Watch in advocacy for this major water source in the central part of the state. The mission is, “To protect the Deep River and its neighbors through science, education, and stewardship.” The vision is,
“Healthy waterways supporting communities and wildlife for current and future generations.” The group, based in Jamestown, held an introductory meeting to a standing-room-only audience at the Jamestown Public Library June 26, sponsored in part by the Historic Jamestown Society and Piedmont Triad Regional Council. The presentation was “The Deep River Speaks: A new biography an exploration of how the Deep River created our cultures and shapes us now.” Photo courtesy of “It is a live thing. Deep River Riverkeeper, Inc. It speaks,” said Dr. Stephanie Stephens
Photos courtesy of Deep River Riverkeeper, Inc.
Deep River
Patricia Gray, chairperson of the board of the river. “It was the Main Street for the community. It is inside us.” She spoke about hydrophones (an underwater microphone), terrestrial monitoring and the biodiversity of the river. Stephanie Stephens is the actual Riverkeeper and holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Environment and Sustainability from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She said a riverkeeper is a non-governmental licensed advocate for rivers, seeking to restore, protect and preserve the health of see river, page 2
Thomas’ Tour career began at Sedgefield Several golfers have made their professional debut at the Wyndham Championship but one stands out in these modern golfing times. At only 16 years old, Justin Thomas made his PGA Tour debut at the 2009 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club. Playing as an amateur in an oversized orange shirt, Thomas shot a 65 in the
first round and became the third youngest to make the cut in a PGA Tour event. He finished tied for 78th place, higher in the leaderboard than the likes of Davis Love III and John Daly. However, he and 16 other players did not finish his final round on Sunday. Ryan Moore was the winner that year. Four years later, after two years of college golf at the University of Alabama, Thomas turned professional in 2013. His first professional win was the 2015
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. Thomas has played the Wyndham Championship three times, the last two as a professional in 2015 and 2023. In 2023, had Thomas holed his chip that bounced off the pin to miss by a foot on the 72nd hole, he would have made the FedEx Cup playoffs, instead finishing 71st in points. Overall, Thomas has 18 PGA Tour wins, including one this year at the RBC Heritage. He has made the cut in the majority of the
tournaments he has entered. Thomas’ best year was 2017 when he won five tournaments, including the 2017 PGA Championship (where he repeated in 2022) and was the FedEx Cup champion that year as well. That year, he became just the fourth golfer since 1960 to win five times in one season, including a major, before his 25th birthday, joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. He was named Photo courtesy PGA Tour Player of the Year. Justin Thomas’ debut at the Wyndham Championship.
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By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com