🗞️ Forsyth commissioners vote down a pause on new data centers

🗞️ Pecan Lane closes to through traffic next week for water and sewer work

🗞️ Second Harvest makes donating food as easy as leaving it on your porch

🗞️ Your Kernersville weekend: get out early Saturday before the storms roll in

☀️ Sunny | High: 89°F | Low: 66°F

Summer is not quite done with us yet. Friday brings full sunshine, a light southwest breeze and a high near 89, so it's a good day to stay hydrated and find some shade. Friday night stays mild under partly cloudy skies with a low around 66, just right for football. The weekend is a different story: Saturday starts dry, but showers and thunderstorms become likely after about 2 p.m. (70% chance) with a high near 74, and Sunday looks cooler and damp with a high near 66 and a 70% chance of showers.

Forsyth County will not hit the brakes on new data center proposals, at least for now. County commissioners voted 5-2 this week against a proposed six-month moratorium on new data center development. Commissioners Dan Besse and Tonya McDaniel cast the only votes in favor.

The deciding issue was legal risk. County Attorney Gordon Watkins warned the board that a moratorium could land the county in court. "If you do want to go forward with a moratorium, you need to really think seriously about setting aside a contingency if we get sued on it," he said. Watkins pointed to Chatham County, where a developer successfully challenged a moratorium.

Besse argued that Forsyth's proposal was different, since it would have applied only to new proposals rather than projects already in the pipeline. The majority was not persuaded.

The debate has been building in Forsyth since the summer, when commissioners voted down a proposed data center near Rural Hall. Statewide, at least 50 North Carolina cities, towns and counties have adopted data center moratoriums as concerns grow about the facilities' demands on local resources. For now, Forsyth will not be joining them.

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Drivers who use Pecan Lane will need another route next week. A contractor will close the road to through traffic between Solomon Drive and the entrance to The Grand at Union Cross Apartments starting at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5. The closure is expected to last until 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 11.

Crews will be installing new water and sewer lines along that stretch. Homes, businesses and restaurants will still be reachable through their existing driveways, but motorists are encouraged to avoid the area and plan an alternate route while the work is underway.

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Helping a neighbor in need could soon be as simple as setting a bag of groceries on your front porch. Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina has teamed up with PORCH Communities, a Chapel Hill-based hunger-relief group that organizes neighbor-run food drives in 16 states. Forsyth is one of the first three counties in the effort, along with Alamance and Randolph.

Here's how it works: a volunteer organizes a recurring monthly collection with neighbors, a church, a school or a civic group. Donors leave nonperishable food on their porches for volunteers to pick up, or drop it at an agreed-upon collection point, and everything goes to a food assistance partner in or near that same community. PORCH provides the training and tools, and Second Harvest connects each group with one of its roughly 600 partner programs.

"PORCH brings a simple, organized model for recurring collections that meets neighbors where they are," said Eric Aft, Second Harvest's chief executive. Anyone interested in starting or joining a collection can learn more at SecondHarvestNWNC.org.

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It's one of the busiest weekends of the fall in Kernersville, and the forecast gives you a good reason to start early. Saturday should stay dry through the morning, but showers and thunderstorms become likely after about 2 p.m. Here's a game plan.

Friday night lights. East Forsyth hosts West Forsyth at 7:30 p.m., and Bishop McGuinness hosts South Stokes at 7 p.m. It will be a warm, dry night for it.

Saturday morning. Car fans can catch the year's last 8 a.m. Cars & Coffee meet at 1175 S. Main St. (8 to 10 a.m.). Over at Triad Park, the Triad Heart Walk opens at 9:30 a.m. with the walk at 10:45. Little ones can head to Storytime at the Park at Paddison library at 10 a.m.

Shop downtown. The free Artisan Craft Market fills Harmon Park and the Kernersville Museum grounds from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Go early to browse before the weather turns.

Saturday afternoon. The Choice Tire fall car show runs noon to 4 p.m. at VFW Post 5352, and the 16th Annual Kernersville Oktoberfest takes over Körner's Folly from 3 to 6 p.m. (ages 21 and up). Both fall in the stormy window, so check the organizers' pages for weather updates before you head out.

Sunday. Runners and walkers lace up for the All Mounds Matter 5K at Savage Roasters at 9 a.m., with proceeds going to Cancer Services. Bring a rain jacket, since Sunday looks cool and showery with a high near 66.