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
January 21-27, 2026 Vol 48 No 4 | 1 Section | 8 Pages
Planning Board again denies West Main rezoning By CAROL BROOKS freelance writer cab1hp@gmail.com With little discussion, the Jamestown Planning Board again denied a request by Burkely Communities, LLC, to rezone 207, 209, 301 and 305 W. Main St. from Main Street (MS) and Commercial/Main Street Transitional (C/MST) to Conditional ZoningResidential/Main Street Transitional (CZ-R/MST). Burkely proposes a development of up to 138 units of a multifamily residential community. This is within both the West Main and Town Center Future Land Use designations and within walking distance to downtown shopping and entertainment. The first denial was on Nov. 10, with Board members John Capes and Darlene Fete casting votes in
the affirmative and Robert Garland and Brant Gomez voting for denial. Board chair Hope Inge broke the tie with a no vote. Garland then asked to continue the public hearing until Dec. 8 but that meeting was canceled due to inclement weather. Planning Director José Colón explained why the November vote was not final. “A recommendation to approve or deny was not made at the November Planning Board hearing because the motion to recommend for approval did not get the sufficient votes,” Colón said. “At that time, the Board wanted more information from the applicant and that’s why the meeting was continued to a later date.” Prior to the November meeting, Town staff reviewed the request and
recommended the Planning Board approve it. Amanda Hodierne, authorized agent for the property, presented new details to the Board on behalf of the Burkely, which also operates Courtyard Commons across from the site and is constructing new buildings at Lennox Square next to the property. “A slight change [in zoning] will get us where we’d like to go. Conditional Zoning is important,” she said. “It means conditional, specified, curated, narrowly tailored to put forth a case that’s appropriate with what we’ve offered and further curated and massaged with input from the community, Planning Board and eventually from Council. “It’s a design-led project. That means we have a hypothesis about land use and we think intentional design, being very focused
Courtesy of Burkely Communities, LLC
Photo of the proposed mansion-style buildings to front West Main Street. and careful about what it looks like is the key to making this work and keeping it appropriate for the area. A conditional request means it’s further refined, further restricted to narrow that world of opportunity to something that can be digestible and appropriate
for the area. “Tonight we’ll give a better job of showing what the vision is, what it will look like and more specifics on the input and info that a transportation study will provide. And more understanding of our land use analysis. Why not more
Hawley named High Point Enterprise Citizen of the Year By NORMA B. DENNIS FREELANCE WRITER ndworddesign@gmail.com Imagine being surprised by a friend showing up at your house at 5:30 one morning showing you a newspaper story announcing you had been named High Point Enterprise Citizen of the Year. That is what happened to Lisa Hawley, owner of Southern Roots Restaurant in Jamestown. The story was not about her entrepreneurship, however. It was all about Hawley’s caring heart, told through the eyes of Vicki Miller, who has witnessed Hawley time and again help others in need. A personal interview with Hawley made it easy to understand the reason for the honor. “If I cannot get something off my mind, I know that is God talking to me. That is my motivation to help others,” Hawley said. “I don’t think about it. I just do whatever God puts on my heart.”
commercial or more mixed use?” In November, Hodierne showed some concepts of what she called mansionstyle buildings that would be constructed along West Main Street. These consee rezoning, page 3
Compiled By Carol Brooks And Norma B. Dennis Budget Workshop The Jamestown Town Council will hold the first Budget Workshop for the 2026-27 budget from 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 22 in the Council Chambers at Town Hall, 301 E. Main St. The public is invited to attend. The purpose of the meeting is for the Council to discuss ongoing capital improvement projects and the update to the Town’s Strategic Plan.
File photos
Lisa Hawley, fourth from the left, coordinated a Lisa Hawley, second from left, and meal with a toy distribution and gospel presenfriends preparing hot meals for those tation for local families in Vilas, N.C. affected by affected by Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Helene. Miller’s first encounter with Hawley’s kindness was in the early 1990s when, as a teacher at Ferndale Middle School, she saw Hawley in tears in the school office. Hawley was distraught because she had learned her daughter’s classmate slept on a blanket on the floor.
Consumed with the need to help, Hawley got the child a mattress and over the years has initiated help for hundreds of other people. From finding a car for someone, to getting a washer and dryer for an older women, to providing a sofa to another, to obtaining items for
a homeless woman with five children, there is no need too big or too small for Hawley’s attention. In 2013, after seeing school children wrap food in a napkin and put it in their pockets see hawley, page 2
Look For The Good Everyone likes good news and the Jamestown News wants to print a column focused on sharing good things seen happening in the community. To make the column work, you need to participate. Email ndworddesign@gmail.com with your observations of a person or group being helpful to others. Norma Dennis will print them on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Have an event that you think needs to be included in About Town? Email Norma B. Dennis at ndworddesign@gmail.com or Carol Brooks at cab1hp@gmail.com
Parade winners recognized at January Rotary meeting Christmas 2025 has come and gone, but for many it is not forgotten. Jamestown Rotary Club members celebrated the occasion once more during a special meeting Jan. 13. Members and guests recognized four category winners of the Jamestown Christmas Parade. Before turning the meeting over to Martin Senell and Jamestown Mayor Susan Dickenson, Cliff Paddock, parade chair, thanked several participants who helped make the parade a success including parade committee members Donna Beasley and Randy Harris who took pictures of the various parade entries. Before and during the meeting, the pictures scrolled through on a screen at the end of the large meeting room at Jamestown Park Clubhouse.
Special guests also included Council members Pam Burgess and Jim Westmoreland, Major Dickenson, Town Manager Matthew Johnson and former Mayor Lynn Montgomery. “Without the town’s support we could not have the parade,” Paddock said. The highlight of the evening, of course, was the presentation of awards, which were accepted by representatives of the winning groups. Senell and Dickenson gave each winner a plaque acknowledging their accomplishment. Haynes-Inman Education Center won Best Decorated Float; Sedgefield Outdoor Equipment, Best Decorated Vehicle; Blush by Jireh Dance Company, Best Holiday Performance; and Jamestown Middle School Cheerleaders, Best Holiday Spirit.
Martin Senell, Principal Kevin Carr, representPhotos by Norma B. Dennis ing Haynes-Inman Education Center, and Susan Senell, Sara Kiger, representing Sedgefield Outdoor Dickenson – Best Decorated Float. Equipment, and Dickenson – Best Decorated Vehicle.
Senell, Monqitta Sims, representing Jireh Dance Senell, a member of the Jamestown Middle School Company, Dickenson – Best Holiday Performance. Cheerleading team, Dickenson – Best Holiday Spirit.
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By NORMA B. DENNIS FREELANCE WRITER ndworddesign@gmail.com