🗞️ A Kernersville tennis player gets his moment on the U.S. Open courts

🗞️ Fire crews free a driver pinned in a head-on crash on N.C. 66

🗞️ Novant adds a cardiologist, a blood pressure procedure and a children's heart clinic in Kernersville

🗞️ The Breakthrough T1D Walk returns to Triad Park on Halloween morning

☀️ Sunny | High: 85°F | Low: 61°F

October is starting off feeling a lot more like August. Look for full sunshine, a light southwest breeze and a high near 85, then a mostly clear, comfortable night with a low around 61. It's a great evening for a walk after dinner. Friday turns even warmer, with sun and a high near 89 before a slight chance of showers moves in late Friday night.

Most tennis fans only dream of stepping onto the courts in Flushing Meadows. This summer, Kernersville's Dominiq Ramos got to do it.

Ramos, 23, was one of just 12 athletes chosen by the Abilities Tennis Association of North Carolina (ATANC) for a trip to this year's U.S. Open in New York. The group got to play on the courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center before matches began, then stayed to watch the women's quarterfinals, including a match featuring eventual finalist Aryna Sabalenka.

"It was amazing," said his mother, Anita Del Real, who made the trip with him. She said the ATANC covered a stipend, the hotel and a nice dinner for the athletes, and that her son has played tennis for four years. He has also competed in eight different sports through the Special Olympics and has a lot of medals to show for it, but she thinks tennis is his best.

The ATANC started in 2007 with a single clinic near Raleigh. Today it has about 30 locations across the state and around 1,000 athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the program is free. Executive Director Lou Welch said the U.S. Open trip goes to athletes who have been deeply involved for several years, and Ramos was one of the most enthusiastic players in the program. The group usually takes 24 people, but court construction limited this year's trip to 12, which made his spot even more special.

Families interested in getting involved can sign up through the ATANC, which often partners with local parks and recreation departments.

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Rescue crews had to cut their way into a pickup truck Tuesday afternoon after a head-on crash on N.C. 66 near Andrew Acres Road. Kernersville Fire Rescue was called around 2:30 p.m. to help the Beeson Crossroad Volunteer Fire Department, and the call was upgraded to a rescue once crews found one person pinned inside.

The crash involved a black Toyota Tundra and a Tastykake delivery truck. Firefighters stabilized the vehicles, removed the driver's side door and pushed the dashboard forward to free the driver. Officials have not released the driver's condition.

It was the second crash in two days to snarl traffic near N.C. 66. On Monday, an SUV hit a main power pole on Graves Street, closing the Graves Street and East Mountain Street intersection and cutting power to more than 200 customers. That driver had only minor injuries.

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Heart care is getting a little closer to home. Novant Health's Heart & Vascular Institute says it is expanding cardiovascular services in Kernersville, starting with a new doctor: board-certified cardiologist Dr. Nathaniel Elsner has joined Novant Health Cardiology in Kernersville.

Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center is also now offering renal denervation, a minimally invasive outpatient procedure for people whose high blood pressure stays hard to control even on several medications. And families no longer have to drive as far for pediatric heart care. A new pediatric cardiology clinic in Kernersville treats infants, children and young adults for conditions like heart murmurs, arrhythmias and high blood pressure.

To learn more or make an appointment, visit NovantHealth.org/heart.

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Costumes are welcome at this year's Breakthrough T1D Walk. The 32nd annual walk for type 1 diabetes research is set for Saturday morning, Oct. 31, at Triad Park in Kernersville, and it brings together families from across the Triad, the N.C. high country and southwest Virginia.

Walkers can go any distance up to a full 5K. The morning also includes family activities, diabetes-related vendors, mission updates, a T1D Warrior Procession honoring people living with the disease and a costume and T-shirt parade. There's no cost to register or attend, and organizers are aiming for a record fundraising year. To sign up, donate or volunteer, visit Walk.BreakthroughT1D.org/PTWalk26.

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