🗞️ All clear: the boil-water advisory is lifted and the tap is safe again

🗞️ Forsyth commissioners vote down the $3 billion Rural Hall data center

🗞️ Some relief: last week's rains lowered our drought status

🗞️ The Kernersville Foundation gives the Auto Museum a boost

🌤️ Mostly sunny and warm | High: 88°F | Low: 66°F

A fine summer Saturday. Skies stay mostly sunny, humidity is only moderate, and winds are light. Highs reach the upper 80s with just a slight chance of a stray afternoon shower, then a mild night down near 66. Good weather for the Cars & Coffee crowd and anyone getting outside.

Good news to start your weekend: you can drink straight from the tap again.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities announced Friday afternoon that laboratory testing confirmed the water throughout all impacted areas is safe for consumption, and the boil-water advisory has been lifted for the entire county. "Customers may return to normal water use," the utility said. That closes the book on a stressful few days that left as many as 200,000 Forsyth residents, including many of us in Kernersville, boiling water or hunting for bottled.

The turnaround came after crews finally reached and repaired the broken main late Thursday night, 40 feet below ground and beneath a pond off Lowery Street in eastern Winston-Salem. Drone footage caught workers in hard hats and yellow vests down in the deep trench, cutting away the damaged pipe with an oversized saw. Service was restored across the county by Friday morning, and the advisory was cleared in stages, with the last eastern section given the all-clear around 3 p.m. Friday.

One repaired stretch of pipe was still being tested and was expected to be cleared Saturday morning before returning to service. If you were boiling water or clearing out your faucets, you are good to go now. A big thank-you to the crews, volunteers and neighbors who made a hard week a little easier.

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A long, loud fight over a giant data center near Rural Hall is over, at least for now.

On Thursday night, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 to deny the rezoning that would have cleared the way for a $3 billion, 1.3-million-square-foot hyperscale data center on 128 acres next to Rural Hall. The Charlotte-based developer, The Drox Group, had pitched the project, which would have housed thousands of servers for cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and had offered a $2 million "property protection fund" for 56 nearby homeowners. It was not enough to win over a packed, standing-room meeting.

Commissioners who voted no repeatedly pointed to the wall of opposition from neighbors. "I'm not saying I'm against data centers," said Commissioner Tonya McDaniel, "but I am against data centers in Rural Hall." Another, Gray Wilson, summed up the mood: "We were told that Rural Hall is a small, slow, sleepy town, and we want to keep it like that." The city-county planning board had already recommended against the project 7-2 back in June.

Chairman Don Martin and Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt voted in favor, with Whisenhunt warning the land could instead fill with houses. The developer could still appeal to a Superior Court judge, so this may not be the last word, but for now the neighbors who packed the room got the answer they came for.

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The rain we got last week actually moved the needle.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Forsyth County improved from D-3 Extreme Drought down to D-2 Severe Drought this week, and neighboring Guilford County stepped down too, with Greensboro finally climbing out of the highest D-4 Exceptional level. It is real progress after months of dry conditions, though we are not out of the woods. Winston-Salem has still seen about 20 inches of rain this year, roughly 6.5 inches below normal.

Because of that, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities' Stage 1 voluntary water conservation measures, in place since July 7, are still the smart play. Easy stuff helps: water the yard in the early morning or evening, fix drippy faucets, and do not let the hose run. A wetter stretch would help even more, but this week's improvement is a welcome step in the right direction.

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Here's a nice one for the car lovers, and for anyone who likes a free outing.

The Kernersville Foundation recently gave $1,000 to the Kernersville Auto Museum to help cover operating costs, which keeps admission free to the public. If you have not been, the museum shows off 100 years of vintage, classic and exotic cars at 204 Holly Tree Drive, off Old Winston Road. There is no paid staff. Owner Jim Taylor and a crew of volunteers are on hand during open hours to share the stories behind the vehicles.

"The Kernersville Auto Museum is a credit to Jim Taylor, who shares his passion for classic cars with the community," said Duane Long, chairman of the Kernersville Foundation board. The museum is open Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., and it doubles as an event space for everything from birthday parties to school trips. It is even the home of the weekly TV show Triad Today.

So if you are looking for a low-key, free thing to do this weekend, this is a fun local gem. You can preview what's on display at kernersvilleautomuseum.com.

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