This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

Emergency rooms were never meant to be the main place people go for health care.

But for uninsured adults who don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, ER visits can seem like the only option.

About 22 percent of the adult population in Caldwell County is uninsured, compared to 15.7 percent of the population nationally. That means more than 11,000 Caldwell adults are uninsured. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

Nearly 4,000 people have asked the Caldwell County Tax Office to reconsider their property’s value since revaluations were sent out earlier this year — and many of those appeals sprang from what some homeowners perceived as a sharp increase in value despite the crash of the national housing market during the revaluation period.

The tax office has received a total of 3,707 appeals, amounting to about 7 percent of the total of 52,000 properties, Tax Administrator Monty Woods said. That is a lower rate of appeals than after the last revaluation, in 2005, when 4,810 appeals were filed, accounting for about 10 percent of 48,000 properties. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

People shopping at the Lenoir Downtown Farmers Market this year may be able to use debit or credit cards for all of their purchases.

That would be a bonus stemming from the market’s application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday to accept the  electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.

They’ll have an answer, yes or no, within 45 days. Approval would require the market to set up a wireless point-of-sale terminal, which is the technology that would allow shoppers to pay with debit or credit cards at the market, too. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

Shirley Story was swimming at the Lenoir Aquatic Center when a lifeguard asked the question that changed her life.

The Unifour Senior Games are coming up, the lifeguard said. Why don’t you compete?

Story had worked as a lifeguard as a teenager. She has always been a swimmer. But she had never competed. And she was 65 years old.

But she was ready to dive in. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

In a room full of tulle, silk and sequins, girls from high schools across Caldwell County dug through the racks in search of the perfect prom dress for this weekend.

Hibriten senior Jordan Hightower had already found hers. She stood in line for the dressing room with the gown draped over her arm.

“I’m going to die if it doesn’t fit,” she said matter-of-factly. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

If you’re the type to grouse that “kids these days” are all the same, you probably haven’t been to Kaleidoscope.

All 23 acts at Saturday’s talent showcase, sponsored annually by the Education Foundation of Caldwell County, were bursting at the seams with personality. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

Would you donate to the Friends of Lenoir Parks and Recreation?

Right now, that’s not an option. But it might be in the future, Parks and Recreation director Rob Winkler said Tuesday. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

For kids, going to the dentist can be a knee-shaking, stomach-twisting, and — yes — teeth-chattering event.

But for the Happy Valley School students who received free sealants from the Caldwell County Health Department on Friday, the visit was more like a field trip. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

In a crowded board room at Greer Labs Tuesday, one eighth-grader turned to another.

“Where’d you just come from?” she asked.

“Oh, microbiology,” her friend replied, shrugging.

The two students were members of Zach Morrow’s Gamewell Middle School science class, which spent the day touring Greer’s Lenoir-based pharmaceutical labs. Continue reading →

This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.

In Burke County, the Exceptional Children program has its own school.

That may eventually be the case in Caldwell County, too.

In North Carolina, the Exceptional Children program serves students with disabilities and special needs – everything from ADHD to immobility. Continue reading →