The year in review: Looking back at the news of 2007

The year 2007, like all the others before it, was marked by both highlights and tragedy for Alleghany County.

Particularly noteworthy were two life sentences doled out by Alleghany juries in murder trials, several tragic deaths, a prison escape and the deaths of several well-known Alleghanians.

The following is a recap of the year's front page news sorted by month in chronological order:

January

Sparta native Franklin Delano "Del" Reeves died Jan. 1 at his home in Centerville, Tenn. at the age of 74. Reeves was a well-known Nashville recording artist who reached the pinnacle of his fame in the 1960s.

The Alleghany Ministerium continued to search for a location for a youth center in the county.

The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners held its first meeting in the new County Administration Building, located in the former Cash and Carry building at 348 S. Main St.

Following a ruling by Judge John O. Craig III on the Maymead Materials Inc. lawsuit in favor of the asphalt plant, the Alleghany Commissioners started moving forward with a plan to change the makeup of the county planning board. The commissioners had served as both boards, but decided to institute a separate body.

The Alleghany County Board of Education considered having rising kindergarten through third grade students return to their home districts during the 2007-08 school year as one of the means to reduce overcrowding at Sparta and to stabilize the enrollment at Glade Creek and Piney Creek schools.

Alleghany County Schools tried out a new phone system, Connect Ed, which allows a message to be recorded and sent to a large number of staff members, parents and guardians simultaneously. The phone system is still used regularly.

In about a week's time, members of local volunteer fire departments responded to three structure fire calls in the county. Two of the fires were in the Sparta Fire District and one was in the Glade Creek District. None of the three calls resulted in major damage. Western North Carolina's economy grew a modest .2 percent in November (2006), according to the Western North Carolina Economic Index. Local residents gathered to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Glade Creek with prayer and memories of days gone by.

Ann Graves was selected as the new executive director of the Wilkes- Alleghany Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Preliminary drawings of a new Alleghany Middle School showed buildings ranging in price from $7.2 to $10 million.

Commissioners agreed unanimously to advertise for new planning board members to make up a proposed nine-member board. The board was to be made up of one member from each of the county's seven voting districts and two at-large members.

R. Philip Hanes was honored with the Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award for his lifelong commitment to philanthropy and community development through the arts.

About 25 people attended a meeting with representatives of Pearson Appraisals to voice their questions and concerns about the county's revaluation.

Several Laurel Springs residents affiliated with an effort to stop an asphalt plant from locating in their community urged the county to continue the fight against the plant. The proposed plant, permits for which were requested by Maymead Materials, would be located at the site of the former Laurel Springs School on N.C. 18 near the intersection with N.C. 88. The Commission did not appeal the suit, but the plant still has not been built on the site. Keith Russell began his job as a 4-H extension agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. He replaced Sara Drake, who left the post in late 2006.

 

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