🗞️ Kernersville aldermen clear the way for a 336-unit apartment complex

🗞️ Miss Mary's Children's Parade returns June 27 for its 43rd year

🗞️ More than cards: weekly euchre games are building community in Lewisville

🗞️ A teen and his mother face charges after a Forsyth County crash

🌡 Sunny and pleasant | High: 85°F | Low: 64°F

A bright, comfortable summer Saturday with plenty of sun, a high near 85 and a light west breeze. A great day to get outside.

Kernersville is making room for more neighbors. The Board of Aldermen has approved a 336-unit apartment complex at Kernersville Medical Parkway, just east of Brookford Drive and next to an existing apartment community. The decision, made at the board's June 2 meeting, started with the voluntary annexation of about 21 acres at 1515 Brookford Road.

The owners, the Robert Douglas Fulp and Jenny Smith Revocable Trust and Brookford Properties LLC, asked to rezone the land from single-family residential to a multifamily category that allows up to 18 units per acre. The board approved both the annexation and the rezoning by a 4-1 vote, with Alderwoman Sarah Sabanis casting the lone no. The new apartments will be two-bedroom, two-bathroom units.

The board handled other growth items the same night. It held a public hearing on a request to rezone about an acre at 1478 N.C. 66 South to allow a restaurant with a drive-thru. A larger request, to rezone roughly 31 acres near East Mountain Street and Snow Bridge Lane for general industrial use, was pushed to the board's July 7 meeting.

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One of Kernersville's most beloved little traditions is back. For the 43rd year running, the Kiwanis Club of Kernersville will host Miss Mary's Children's Parade on Saturday, June 27, a patriotic morning built for children ages 6 and younger and special-needs children of any age. Families gather at the Town Hall courtyard between the Chamber of Commerce and Town Hall, with check-in at 9 a.m. Kids are encouraged to dress in red, white and blue for the country's 250th anniversary.

There is plenty to do before the procession. Free activities include a YMCA bounce house, a parachute, lawn games, a giant LEGO set and a craft area, plus free children's books and this year's Miss Mary's T-shirt, designed by Caleb's Creek fifth-grader Lucas Uribe. Kids 6 and younger get free ice cream from the Blue Skies mobile unit, and the Crossing Church food truck will hand out free bottled water. The fire department's Sparky and the police department's Ted E. Bear will be on hand for photos.

A dance party at 10:15 a.m. leads into the 10:30 a.m. procession around the courtyard, with Mayor Dawn Morgan serving as emcee. Leading the way will be Avary Herman, this year's Miss Fourth of July, who was selected by the Rotary Club and will also serve as grand marshal of the town's Fourth of July Parade. The event wraps by 11 a.m., and the Kiwanis Club encourages families to stop by the nearby Kernersville Farmers Market afterward.

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A small but mighty card game is bringing people together just west of Winston-Salem. A handful of Midwestern transplants and longtime players host weekly euchre teaching sessions at the Mary Alice Warren Community Center in Lewisville, open to anyone who wants to learn. Euchre is a fast, partners-based game played with a trimmed 24-card deck, and the regulars say they can teach a newcomer in minutes.

The point, though, is not really the cards. "We're trying to grow the game, of course, because we like to play," organizer Peg Lauer told the Journal. "There's a social aspect to it, too. And it's a memory thing." For players like Jane and Greg Tortula, who played with the same couple every Friday night for 50 years back in Ohio, the game is a thread connecting them to old friends and old hometowns. "You get to get out, be with people and keep your brain engaged," Greg Tortula said.

The warmest part shows up only after a few minutes of watching. Jane Tortula had a stroke and cannot use her left hand well, so she uses a card holder and her partner quietly sets up her cards without making a fuss. As fellow player Jim Connor put it, euchre "is about people, not cards." For older neighbors facing boredom or isolation, that standing weekly date can mean a lot.

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A serious crash this week in Winston-Salem has led to charges against a teenager and his mother, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. Deputies say they first spotted a vehicle driving erratically near Indiana Avenue and North Patterson Avenue just before 12:30 p.m. and tried to stop it. The driver refused, and a brief pursuit was called off because of high speeds.

About two hours later, deputies say the same vehicle was seen driving erratically again. When they tried to stop it a second time, it sped off and crashed into another vehicle at Patterson Avenue and Germanton Road. A 61-year-old man was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The Sheriff's Office says the 16-year-old driver was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felony hit and run, felony fleeing to elude, and several misdemeanors, and was held with no bond. His mother, 35, was charged with misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and allowing an unlicensed driver. The case is a sobering reminder for drivers to slow down as summer traffic picks up.

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