🗞️ Bunker Hill United Methodist: come as you are, and bring a pint on Sept. 24

🗞️ East Forsyth showed off its $34 million renovation before homecoming

🗞️ Triad counselors say the best suicide prevention starts with a conversation at home

🗞️ Novant adds three pulmonologists, with Wednesday lung clinics in Kernersville

☀️ Mostly sunny | High: 88°F | Low: 61°F

Monday is one more warm one before the pattern finally breaks: mostly sunny, a high near 88 and a light north breeze, so the 6:30 PM Planning Board and Board of Adjustment meetings at Town Hall are an easy walk in. Then watch the thermometer Monday night. Drier air arrives and the low drops to 61, the coolest night we have had since spring. Tuesday is sunny and 84 with a low near 59, and Wednesday climbs back to 87 under clear skies. If you have been waiting for a morning that feels like fall, Tuesday is it. Get the coffee outside.

At the corner of Highway 66 and Bunker Hill Sandy Ridge Road in Kernersville, there's a church that has been quietly serving its neighbors for decades. Bunker Hill United Methodist Church, located at 1510 Bunker Hill Sandy Ridge Road, is more than just a place of worship. It's a hub of community connection, practical support, and genuine hospitality.

"We are a fairly small community church in Kernersville, North Carolina, and we love to do many things that involve our community," says Debbie Vandy, who helps coordinate many of the church's outreach efforts. From blood drives to blessing boxes, school support to seasonal celebrations, this congregation has woven itself into the fabric of local life.

One of the church's most enduring contributions to the community is its Red Cross blood drive, which it has hosted twice a year for the past 20 years. The next drive is scheduled for Thursday, September 24th, and it's not your typical blood donation experience. Volunteers from the church prepare a hot meal for donors: hot dogs with all the fixings, chips, and homemade desserts.

"We usually draw almost 50 people that give blood, and we always want to surpass that 50," Vandy explains. "What we feel is very special about our blood drives is volunteers from our church cook meals. We feel like that gives an extra special touch to someone that's coming in and giving up their blood for the goodness of others, and we take a lot of pride in it."

The church's commitment to its neighbors extends beyond special events. Their blessing box, kept stocked with non-perishable food items, offers a lifeline to families in need. "We try to keep it stocked with all kinds of food items that our local community can use, and especially for families that have children that need snacks and things like that," Vandy notes.

Bunker Hill United Methodist also partners with local schools, providing classroom supplies for teachers and organizing parties for students throughout the year. These small gestures brighten days and strengthen the bonds between the church and the broader community.

The church's activities shift naturally with the rhythm of the year. During summer, their Wacky Wednesdays program engages youth in local missionary work and group activities. As fall approaches, Bible study groups, ladies circles, and United Men gatherings resume, creating opportunities for fellowship and spiritual growth.

Looking ahead to the coming months, the church has a full calendar of community-centered events, including renewal services, an old heritage car and farm equipment day in October, a chili cook-off, their annual Halloween trunk or treat, and Christmas celebrations. "I think we have a lot of things that encompass our community and can bring them out and get their children involved, and just give them a good place of feeling like home," Vandy says.

What drives this small church to stay so deeply involved in community life? For Vandy and her fellow members, the answer is clear. "That's what we're instructed to do through Jesus Christ, our Lord. We were supposed to reach out to our community and help those in need, and bring them into a place where they can feel safe and comfortable, and get to know the Lord in a very personal way."

When asked what she wants people to know about Bunker Hill United Methodist Church, Vandy's response is simple and welcoming: "Come as you are. That's all you have to do. Just come as you are."

Whether you're looking for a place to worship, ways to serve, or simply a community that cares, Bunker Hill United Methodist Church offers all three. Stop by their blessing box, mark your calendar for the Thursday, September 24th blood drive (2:30 to 7 PM, appointments needed, and donors who give between Sept. 21 and Oct. 18 also receive a $15 e-gift card from the Red Cross), or join them for one of their upcoming events. You'll find a congregation committed to making Kernersville a better place, one act of kindness at a time.

Sign up for the Sept. 24 blood drive at Bunker Hill United Methodist

Before the Eagles beat Ragsdale on Friday night, East Forsyth opened its doors and let Kernersville see what the last few years of construction fences were hiding.

The community tour capped a project that was first discussed in 2014 and funded by the $360 million school bond Forsyth County voters approved in 2016. East Forsyth was the last project on that list, and the price kept moving: $18.5 million projected at the start, $27.1 million approved by WS/FCS, and about $34 million in the end after crews found water damage and a failed boiler this past May and had to make emergency repairs to the utility tunnels under the main corridor. "From the time the bond was passed to now, construction costs have gone up about $150 per square foot," said Darrell Walker, the district's chief planning and construction officer.

The campus dates to 1964, with additions in 1985, 1989 and 2006, and it needed nearly everything: roof, doors, ceilings, lighting, windows, HVAC, restrooms and art classrooms. Principal Rusty Hall said two buildings got cosmetic updates and four were gutted and completely redesigned. The biggest change is a 10,000-square-foot cafeteria addition for a school of more than 1,600 students. "Lunch time at a high school is a chance for students to be kids and socialize and make friends and connections. It needs to be an inviting space," Hall said. "The staff and the students love it. They are very proud of the new spaces. I don't know if it is wishful thinking, but it seems we are keeping it cleaner."

Most of the work happened with students on campus, shuffled in and out of modular classrooms in phases, which Walker credited Vannoy Construction for managing. A few items are left: the bus lots, the tennis courts, and new bleachers and lighting in the gym, most of it scheduled for next summer.

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World Suicide Prevention Day was Thursday, and Triad counselors used it to make a simple request of parents: talk to your kids before there is a reason to worry.

David Seamon, a licensed clinical mental health counselor who works with adolescents, told ABC45 that the conversations matter most when nothing seems wrong. "It's helpful to be proactive with your children through all ages, whether or not they're showing warning signs of depression or anxiety," he said. "Just opening these dialogues with your kids about what's going on in their life, who they're talking to, and what kind of relationships they're having." The World Health Organization estimates one in seven children ages 10 to 19 has experienced depression, anxiety or another mental health condition, and suicide is the third-leading cause of death worldwide for people 15 to 29.

Closer to home, North Carolina's 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has averaged nearly 16,000 calls and texts a month over the past six months, with family conflict, anxiety, depression and grief among the most common reasons people reach out. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988 any time. It is free, confidential and open around the clock.

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Novant Health has added three board-certified pulmonologists to its Triad team, treating everything from asthma and sleep apnea to COPD and lung cancer, and one of them will see patients in Kernersville.

Dr. Subhas Sitaula, a triple board-certified interventional pulmonologist with more than 13 years of experience, sees patients at Novant Health Pulmonary & Critical Care in Greensboro and at the Novant Health Cancer Institute in Kernersville and Winston-Salem. Dr. Dawn-Alita Hernandez, a Wake Forest medical school graduate with more than 20 years in practice, and Dr. Nirzari Shah, who trained at UPMC Mercy and Penn State Hershey, both see patients in Thomasville. "Any condition that affects the body's ability to breathe can be alarming and life-altering for patients and their families," said Dr. Don Brescia, medical director of pulmonary and critical care at Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center. "Our team is focused on diagnosing conditions early and working with each patient to develop an individualized treatment plan."

The Kernersville clinic is at 1710 Kernersville Medical Parkway, Suite 116, and sees pulmonary patients on Wednesdays from 8 AM to 5 PM. A referral is required; the clinic's number is 336-474-4780.

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