The Alamance County Health Department says right now they have 399 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in isolation, with 23 of those in the hospital. They say they have officially recorded 236 deaths that they attribute to the virus in Alamance County since March 20th of last year. 

While Burlington’s Police Chief Jeffrey Smythe is leaving, Elon University has a new chief ready to start. School officials have announced Joseph LeMire will start as head of campus security on March 29th. LeMire will be coming from his current post as chief of police for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. They say LeMire has 28 years experience as a campus cop and a city police officer back in Wisconsin. 

There is a unique job fair going to happen in Graham this week. It’s Thursday at Ebenezer Center for Christian Opportunities. There will be representatives from the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, Mebane Police Department, Graham and Burlington Police Departments. The job fair is being put on by the local law enforcement agencies and the local activist group Actively Changing Together. Michael Graves, the founder of that group, says the idea is to try and close the gap between minority communities and law enforcement, by actively seeking out applicants to join the force. The hours for the job fair will be 5-6:45pm, again that is this Thursday at Ebenezer Center for Christian Opportunities. That is 734 Apple St in Burlington.

A reminder that if you are still wanting to get tested for covid, there are several opportunities for you here in Alamance County. The Mebane Soccer complex, Fairchild Park, North Park, Pleasant Grove, Eli Whitney and Schar Center are all offering free testing. You can pre-register by going to lhi.care/covidtesting or call 877.562.4850. You can find out more at that website or at that number. 

A reminder, Cone Health and Alamance County will have a mass vaccination event this weekend at JR’s Outlet mall in Burlington. This will be in the building right across from JR’s. Officially, it’s 2401 Eric Lane if you want to put it into your GPS. This will be for folks 65 and older, employees of childcare centers and Pre-K schools. You can make an appointment by going to conehealth.com/vaccine or call the Alamance County Health Department at 290.0650. They answer the phone from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 or until all the appointments are filled. 

There will also be a vaccination event this weekend at Burlington Athletic Stadium. The one planned for last weekend had to be postponed due to weather.

A reminder, Cone Health and Alamance County will have a mass vaccination event this weekend at JR’s Outlet mall in Burlington. This will be in the building right across from JR’s. Officially, it’s 2401 Eric Lane if you want to put it into your GPS. This will be for folks 65 and older, employees of childcare centers and Pre-K schools. You can make an appointment by going to conehealth.com/vaccine or call the Alamance County Health Department at 290.0650. They answer the phone from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 or until all the appointments are filled. 

There will also be a vaccination event this weekend at Burlington Athletic Stadium. The one planned for last weekend had to be postponed due to weather.

Alamance Burlington Schools are taking bids for work to be done at several high schools. Eastern Western and Williams are all getting some major renovations to classrooms and toilets. Eastern and Western are getting new 1 story buildings as well. Williams is getting some much needed work on the auditorium. You can submit the bids to ABSS. The bids for the work at Western and Eastern are due March 16th. The bids for the work at Williams are due March 18th. This is part of the bond referendum we passed back in 2018. 

You might remember we told you earlier this week that Hawbridge School is starting some major construction to house all the new students clamouring to get in. We also mentioned the deadline for signing up for the lottery for admission is March 1st. Just another reminder, all the private and charter schools in Alamance County are fast approaching the deadlines to enter their lotteries. Most are the first week of March, so stop dragging your feet. Recent numbers show ABSS has fewer students now than in the past 15 years, as more and more parents opt out of public schools and into private schools. 

A Mebane man is being charged with the death of a man in Orange County over the weekend. 21 year old Jermaine Malik Jahquan Chance is being held in the murder of another 21 year old man, Dearie William Bourne of Chapel Hill. According to a story in the Mebane Enterprise, Chapel Hill police say Chance broke into Bourne’s apartment near University Mall.

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office has posted a reminder, that if you want to apply for a concealed handgun permit, you will have to show proof you have completed a Firearms Safety and Training Course. That course has to be taught by a certified handgun permit instructor. They can help you with a list of certified instructors.

Instructors at Elon University are a step closer to being able to join a union. The National Labor Relations Board says non-tenure track faculty do have that right. Elon officials have been fighting back, saying the union organizers have been lying to the instructors and that the election was not handled properly. This latest ruling is supposed to mean that Elon has to start negotiating with the union, but the school can still refuse, which would trigger an appeal.

It turns out the man who abducted a 14 year old girl from Denton last week, had also been communicating online with several girls in Alamance County as well. Sheriff Terry Johnson joined the press conference yesterday in Davidson County. He said his Human Trafficking Team had been looking for 38 year old William Ice when he took off with the girl from Denton. Sheriff Johnson says they had discovered he was also working on grooming 10 girls here online. As you probably know by now, Ice killed himself when he was caught in Arkansas. He was caught when Sheriff Johnson told them the suspects name, car and license tag. The girl has been returned safely to her family in Denton.

Police in Mebane say an 8 year old boy was shot this Saturday, while riding in the car with his parents. They say the car was on Stagecoach Rd, when someone shot at the car. Mebane police say they got the boy to the hospital and it looks like he will survive, but they are asking for help in finding who was responsible. You can get in touch with Mebane police or Alamance County Crimestoppers at 229.7100 or use the mobile app P3TIPS or go to P3tips.com

Bankruptcy attorneys say business owners in and around Alamance County are a stubborn bunch. In a story in the Triad Business Journal, some specialists say bankruptcy filings right now are actually down 30 percent. They say small business owners are digging in their heels. They are working out their own arrangements with suppliers, and in some cases, they are using the Paycheck Protection Program. In that story though, the bankruptcy attorneys say they still expect an increase. They say small business owners don’t want to give up, and will wait until every possible chance is gone before they give up on that dream. They say since the Governor is refusing to reopen the economy, many small businesses have used up all their alternatives. 

Private schools and Charter schools in Alamance County continue to grow. Hawbridge School says it is ready to start building a 40 thousand square foot expansion. According to a story in the Mebane Enterprise this week, Hawbridge says it will expand to cover all the way from kindergarten to 12th grade. This expansion and addition will make Hawbridge one of only 4 schools in Alamance County offering K through 12th grade. By the way, for the past 4 years, Hawbridge students have had the highest SAT scores in Alamance County. Applications to get your name into the lottery for admission must be submitted by March 1st so time is getting short. You can check them out at thehawbridgeschool.org.

The Alamance County Transportation Authority says it will give free rides to anyone who has a vaccination appointment. Just as with everyone else though, when you use the Authority bus, you have to make a reservation two days in advance. To make that reservation, just call 222.0565

Yet another prostitution bust by the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. This time it was 13 suspects arrested for soliciting. They include guys from Axton Virginia, Greensboro, Hillsborough, Morrisville, Raleigh, Julian, Whitsett, Burlington and Mebane. This is just the latest of several on-going sting operations by the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.

As you probably know already, that vaccine event that had been scheduled for this past weekend at the Burlington Baseball Stadium had to be canceled, when the storms kept the supply of vaccine from making it. If you had an appointment, someone should be getting in touch with you, if they haven’t already. Piedmont Health says they will try again this Saturday. It will one again be at Burlington Athletic Stadium, and will once again be 8am - 2pm.

The Burlington Police Chief has turned in his notice. Chief Jeffrey Smythe says he is ready to move along to the next phase of his professional life, after 8 years as head of the Burlington PD. Smythe came to Burlington from Arizona back in 2013. He says he will stay on until late Spring or early Summer to help with the transition. 

Tanger Outlets once again showing their appreciation for First Responders in the town of Mebane. Each year, officials with the Outlets make a donation to the Fire and Police Departments. According to a story in the Mebane Enterprise, this year it was $3,000. They’ve been doing this since the Tanger Outlets opened in 2010. You might remember we told you a few weeks ago, Tanger Outlets were the brainchild of a Burlington man, Steven Tanger, back in the 1980’s, when he bought BMOC. He then went on to build more than 30 such outlets in 19 states and Canada.

A reminder for anyone getting ready to do their taxes. The Alamance County United Way can help out there. The VITA program will once again do your taxes for free. VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. Their folks are all IRS certified, and the whole thing can be done without you ever having to look anyone in the face. You just drop off the paperwork, they fill everything out and file the forms online. You come by and pick up your records. You do have to make an appointment though. So go to myfreetaxes.com or get someone else to click and register.

And this might be a good time to remind you, the IRS will never ever get in touch with you by email or on social media. The IRS will never threaten to have you arrested or deported for not paying. They will never ask you to pay using a gift card, prepaid debit card or a wire transfer and they will never ask you to share sensitive information like your social security number by email, text or social media.

The North Carolina General Assembly is looking at a bill that would require all law enforcement agencies to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Agents. The bill would require them to determine the citizenship of anyone arrested for a felony, and if they turn out to be here illegally, they would be required to hold them for 48 hours, to give ICE a chance to come pick them up. You might recall Sheriff’s in Wake, Durham and Mecklenberg counties have said enforcing the law hurts their relationships with local latino communities. Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson of course has been a strong advocate for enforcing all our laws, including those against illegal immigration, and cooperating with other law enforcement agencies like ICE.

It’s something law enforcement is doing more of these days. A Greensboro man has been charged with murder in an Alamance County death. Investigators say 27 year old Nicholas James Blackwell of Greensboro sold the drugs that killed the user back in October of last year. He’s charged with death by distribution.

The Burlington City Council has a couple of hot potatoes on their agenda today. We told you about a request from the Greensboro developer who bought Shamrock Golf Course, and wants to increase the number of houses he wants to build there. The Planning Commission has pointed out that since the lawsuit against that development is still in court, it would not be appropriate to change the arrangement. The Council will also pass judgement on a request to build a Muslim Cemetary on Hanford Rd, near the Catholic Church there. Supporters say it would look more like a park, since Muslims are not allowed to use grave markers.

Officials at Alamance Community College are bragging about yet another honor for the school. The Academic and Career Readiness Program just got a $22,000 grant from United Way. The money will go toward helping adult students get credit for high school work, and help with English as a second language. That’s 1. The second honor is for the Adult Basic Literacy Program. They have gotten a state recommendation for doing a great job. Alamance Community College was one of the first in the state to target folks with learning disabilities. Number 3 is the High School Equivalency program. For the first time, the program at Alamance Community College is available to folks state-wide. Either online or by mail. And finally, ACC has been given a $25,000 grant to expand the online program set up to help immigrants learn English, so they can assimilate into our community. 

If you have been meaning to get some of those seedlings from the county, you need to do it soon. The Alamance County Soil and Water Conservation District says they are running low. So what have they got left? According to their facebook page, there are 22 bundles of loblolly pine and 113 Persimmon seedlings. Reserved them now and pick them up the first week of March. They are on Graham Hopedale Rd, but your best bet at this point is a phone call. 290-0380

That’s a big no from the Graham City Council this week. You might know the backstory that some folks want to change the name of Sesquicentennial Park in Graham to Wyatt Outlaw Park. The council officially discussed the idea earlier this week, but in the end, voted not to pursue the idea. They say that would not be right or fair to everyone who worked so hard and raised all the money to create the current park. Instead, Graham leaders have suggested anyone who wants a park dedicated to Wyatt Outlaw should find a spot, create a committee, and then get out there and raise the money for it. 

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office says it has finally rounded up the rest of the 5 men they say were involved in a stolen gun ring. The first two arrests came all the way back in December of last year. As deputies investigated, they say they started seeing connections between the first two suspects and 3 other men. It appears some of them were stealing the firearms, and the others were selling them or helping hold them for sale later. At any rate, all 5 men have been arrested and charged.

Alamance County teachers should be able to get their covid 19 shots starting later this month. Governor Roy Cooper says he has put them higher up on the list, and their vaccinations should be available starting February 24th. This is important if public schools are to start back. Here in Alamance County, ABSS schools are scheduled to start back in just a few weeks, and some teachers have said they simply cannot expose themselves that way without the vaccine. Of course, all of our private and charter schools have been open to in-person classes for several months already, with no problems reported.

A reminder to Burlington residents to take the survey they’ve got posted for you. The Economic Development folks say they want your input into what you like and don’t like. Economic Development Director Peter Bishop says he will use the results to help make policy and put together a to-do list. There are actually 2 surveys. One for small businesses and one for residents. You can find them both at burlingtonbuilds.com/survey. Bishop says he wants to know what makes Burlington a great place to live and work, and what improvements can be made to draw more people and more businesses, as Alamance County’s population continues to explode.

High School football teams are finally getting ready for games. They are allowed to practice now, with limits of course. Some Alamance County high school teams have been shuffled around to different conferences this year. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association says they rearranged the conferences to reduce the amount of travel. Also, instead of an 11 game season, it will be a 7 games season. The first game will be February 26th. As a side note, some schools are not enforcing the grade point average requirement this year. That’s because so many students are failing at least one class. And a reminder, since the attendance at the games will be restricted, your best bet for getting the games is right here on the Maverick. 

The FBI, the ATF and the Gibsonville Police Department are offering a combined 10 thousand dollars, to whoever can tell them who is responsible for these homemade explosive devices that have been turning up in Gibsonville. Reports are that at least 5 of the devices have now been found along Wood St in the past month or so. You might remember we told you some folks had been reporting hearing explosions in the early morning hours. Then one neighbor found a device and took it to the police. Then a second neighbor found one on his front porch. The FBI was brought in at that point. No one has been injured by the devices so far. 

The town of Mebane is the fastest growing city in Alamance County. We have told you that several times. That is both good news and bad news. We welcome the new folks and hope they will shop local and add to the atmosphere. but they also need places to live and roads to drive on. The Mebane City Council recently got a rundown of all the road projects the state DOT has going or planned for Mebane. The 2 biggest of course are the Highway 119 relocation and the Mebane Oaks Interstate expansion. According to a story in the Mebane Enterprise, the DOT folks say the 119 work should finally be done by summer. But the expansion of Mebane Oaks along the interstate is only just getting started. 

Burlington Police say they are still trying to fill out their Community Police Advisory Team. You might recall that was one of the demands from protesters last year. Ironically, Burlington already had one advisory group, but it died out from lack of interest - no one showed up for the meetings. Now, they seem to be having problems finding anyone to volunteer to join. They have closed the application process, but say they still need at least one educator, one member under 18 and someone from the legal community.

A couple of Alamance County teenagers have been shown to be the fastest kids in North Carolina. 16 year old Ryan Motondo of Williams High School just beat out 97 other high school runners, to be named North Carolina’s Cross Country Champion in 3-A. Southern Alamance got there as well, with 17 year old Daniel King coming in 10th. 

If you haven’t gotten your Sock Puppet sweatshirt yet, you’d best get on over to the website. They’ve got hats, tshirts, both long sleeve and short sleeve, and sweatshirts. They say they have been steady taking orders to 38 states so far. Just go to sockpuppets.milbstore.com

Gibsonville police have upped the reward, to help them find the person responsible for homemade explosives that have been found there in recent weeks. The reward is now $2000. The FBI has joined the investigation, after a second explosive device was found on Wood St in Gibsonville.

A quick update on the Covid cases here in Alamance County based on figures supplied by the county health department. 909 folks are in isolation after testing positive. 42 of those are in the hospital. There have been 214 deaths officially recorded as covid related here in Alamance County since back last March.

The town of Mebane says it is still looking for members for what they are calling their Racial Equity Advisory Committee. They say the committee will look into and bring up any areas of racial disparities in Mebane. Several cities and counties around the country have been setting up such committees lately. If you want to apply for one of the 7 positions, just go to the city of mebane website. That would cityofmebane.com and fill out an application. They say the deadline is March 10th. 

A couple of pharmacy chains in North Carolina are now being included as vaccination locations. More than a million vaccines are going out to 6,500 pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens. Still no word on which, if any, Alamance County pharmacies will be included. Early word is, those pharmacies should start doing the shots by February 12th.

A reminder that there are a couple of new places to get your vaccine now. The Alamance County Health Department has rented space in JR’s shopping center off Alamance Rd south of the interstate. That’s the one with JR’s Cigars and Northern Equipment. And Cone Health has rented out space at the old BMOC. That is north of the interstate off Maple Ave in Burlington. Both of these require an appointment.

That stone quarry in Snow Camp has definitely changed things here in Alamance County. A lot of counties in North Carolina, including Alamance, do not have zoning rules outside any city limits. That Stone Quarry fiasco has changed that. Right now, Alamance County Commissioners are working to develop 4 different development zones for Snow Camp alone. Area residents say they have to have something to go by. The Commissioners are talking about a 6 month moratorium on issuing any permits to develop in southern Alamance County. There will be a public hearing on that on March 1st.

The Burlington Sock Puppets say they will have their first home game of 2021 on June 5th. You can probably expect some craziness, as team spokesmen say they want to build on the “are you kidding?” aspect of the name to let everyone know they will be entertained. And remember, there was over a million dollars in renovations at the baseball park just before everything went south with the Major League changes and then the pandemic. The Sock Puppet Season starts June 1st, but the first home game is June 5th.

Alamance County’s State Senator has pledged her support to a constitutional amendment, to limit terms anyone can serve in Congress. A national group pushing for that amendment is looking for support from state legislatures. If you remember your civics class, an amendment has to be proposed in Congress, then sent out to the states for them to approve or reject. State Senator Amy Galey says she is in favor of such an amendment.

Alamance County Commissioners have approved a new indoor facility for getting your vaccination. It is in the building across from JR Cigar outlet. The Alamance County Health Department will be leasing the space for at least 3 months. Alamance County is still only vaccinating people 75 or older. Health officials say they still have nearly 20,000 people who fit that description. Then they say, they can move on to people 65 and older.

Cone Health says it will open a vaccination site starting Thursday in the old BMOC. These vaccinations are by appointment only, and you have to go to their website to sign up. Go to conehealth.com/vaccine. Or text vaccine to 88453 or just call them at 336.890.1188. While the Alamance County Health folks are still doing 75 and older, Cone Health says it can do 65 and older.

Next week, the federal government says they will start sending the vaccine out to local pharmacies. One million doses to 6,500 pharmacies across the country.

We told you here on the Maverick that protesters down at the old courthouse in Graham appear to have settled on what they are protesting. They say it’s rent relief. The idea that people should not have to pay their landlords, or that the government should pay their rent check for them, since the government imposed lockdown of the economy is what put so many of them out of work. Now, state officials are using some of that Covid relief money created to do that for them. It's called the Housing Opportunities And Prevention of Evictions Program. They say they have nearly 170 million taxpayer dollars to pay the rent  and utilities for those who qualify. So far they say, they have handed out 130 million to 35 thousand households. In some cases, the landlords have applied for their tenants, but if yours has not done that, you can apply. A bill now in the general Assembly would put more money into that program. 

If you have gotten a license tag recently, you know they give you a choice of which one you get. Like: First In Freedom or First In Flight. One choice you will no longer have is a Confederate Flag on the tag. As of January 1st, the North Carolina DMV stopped offering that option. They say they decided some folks might be offended. Eventually of course, those that are out there will sooner or later be turned in. 

If you have gotten a license tag recently, you know they give you a choice of which one you get. Like: First In Freedom or First In Flight. One choice you will no longer have is a Confederate Flag on the tag. As of January 1st, the North Carolina DMV stopped offering that option. They say they decided some folks might be offended. Eventually of course, those that are out there will sooner or later be turned in. 

The FBI has been called in, to help Gibsonville police track down who is responsible for those homemade explosive devices that have turned up the past couple of weeks. Gibsonville police say they have responded to several calls recently, of explosions in the early morning hours.

A Snow Camp man is facing charges this after allegedly shooting at his father during an argument. It sounds like 30 year old Coy Dean Parker was extremely angry. He’s charged with trying to kill his father, assault on a law enforcement office, resisting arrest, communicating threats and even assault on a female. Deputies say it all happened early Sunday morning on Clark Rd in Snow Camp.

 Getting the Covid vaccine out is apparently a lot more complicated than you might think. First, you have to get the doses out to the counties. Then decide who goes first. For instance, should it be the elderly or should it be teachers. Those teachers need it before you can reopen the schools, but the elderly are more likely to die if they get the coronavirus. Then there are the small things, like if I sign up for a shot, but then decide my wife or husband or cousin needs it more, can they take my assigned spot? As for that last question: Health officials in Alamance County say as long as that other person qualifies, they have no problem with you giving up your spot to them. Some other counties say no, you cannot do that.

 A quick update for you from the Alamance County Health Department. They say there are a little more than 1,000 people in isolation right now. 42 of those in the hospital. Also they say there have been 213 deaths in Alamance County they attribute to the coronavirus. All of that out of a population of more than 170,000. 

Delivery of the new Covid19 vaccine continues here in Alamance County. In a new development, it looks like a Burlington retirement community will be getting its own shipment. Spokesmen for Cedar Ridge retirement community say residents and staff volunteered and signed up in advance to start getting the shot this week. They say the vaccinations will be handled by North Village Pharmacy and will start Thursday.

You might want to invest in some ear plugs this year. Scientists say they expect 17 year Cicadas will emerge this year. Billions of them. The area will be 16 states, including North Carolina. There are 15 what they call “Broods” of Cicadas. This will be Brood Ten. And they say Brood Ten is the largest of all the broods. We will have to wait to see how bad it will be here in Alamance County.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), the Graham City Council will take up the idea of changing the name of sesquicentennial park, to Wyatt Outlaw Park. There has been some talk about it, but now an official proposal has come from the Alamance County NAACP. Obviously, there are some who favor the idea and some who are opposed.

It looks like North Carolina is getting some attention as federal authorities investigate those riots in Washington last month. They say they are looking at a group calling themselves the “Oath Keepers” and apparently they had training camps here in North Carolina. Investigators say they have messages from the members, talking about how Oath Keepers from North Carolina would meet them in Washington with buses, and apparently with weapons on the buses. The feds have not made it public just where in North Carolina these training camps were held.

Yet another homemade explosive device has been found on Wood St in Gibsonville, the second in 2 weeks, and police are now offering a $1,000 reward, for anyone who can help them figure out who has been making and setting them off. No one has been injured in those explosions, but obviously government officials do not want that kind of thing going on. They say if you do know anything about the devices, they would appreciate a call at 336.449.6677. You can also call Alamance County Crime Stoppers at 336.229.7100.

Power outages this morning in Alamance County. A little less than 800 outages in Burlington. North of Webb Ave, along Burch Bridge Rd/Elmira, Durham St Extension area extending on toward Glen Raven. Duke Energy says it could be 3 o’clock this afternoon before everyone is back online.