🗞️ Forsyth County's elections office opens its doors ahead of early voting

🗞️ A Kernersville man's hen lays an egg marked with a perfect "S"

🗞️ Forsyth deputies credit the C.A.R.E. sticker program in an overpass rescue

🗞️ Sixteen candidates are running for nine Forsyth school board seats

🗞️ Bishop McGuinness girls' tennis sweeps South Stokes on the new courts

🗞️ Your Saturday game plan: get out early before Isaias soaks the weekend

🌧️ Rain arriving mid-morning | High: 64°F | Low: 60°F

Saturday starts cloudy and dry, but rain from Isaias moves in after about 10 a.m. Expect a cool, breezy day with a high near 64, a northeast wind of 8 to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. The heaviest rain comes Saturday night, when 1 to 2 inches could fall along with a few thunderstorms. Sunday stays stormy and warmer, with a high near 75 and up to another inch of rain, so if you have outdoor plans, the earlier the better.

Ever wonder what happens to a ballot after it leaves your hands? The Forsyth County Board of Elections invited residents in this week for a behind-the-scenes tour of its office, walking them through everything from the supply rooms to the board room.

The goal, officials said, was transparency heading into the Nov. 3 election. Tim Tsujii, the county's director of elections, said the tour gave staff a chance to answer questions about election security and what the office is doing to make voting accessible. "This is the best way to educate voters and the general public," he said.

Staff also explained the voting process and what has changed this year. Tsujii acknowledged there has been talk about federal and statewide changes to voting, and said the office is providing instructional information to all voters. The tour wrapped up with a question-and-answer session with election officials. Among the speakers was Mike Ford, son of former President Gerald Ford and co-chair of the National Alliance for Enduring Democracy.

"Part of valuing that right to vote is making it as transparent as possible," Tsujii said.

Early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 15, and runs through 3 p.m. on Oct. 31. Kernersville voters can cast an early ballot at the Paddison Memorial Branch Library, 248 Harmon Ln.

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Marshall Strickland has been raising chickens for decades, but he had never seen anything like the egg waiting for him on Oct. 2. One of his hens had laid an egg with a raised calcium deposit shaped like a perfect letter "S."

Strickland, 74, keeps 30 hens in his Kernersville coop. He isn't sure which one laid it, but he suspects a Barred Rock, since his Dominique hens haven't been laying much lately.

His daughter, Kayla Strickland, looked into it. Stress, a sudden scare or a change in temperature can affect a shell while it is forming, she explained, and sometimes the shell gland releases extra calcium. If the egg moves while that calcium is setting, it can leave a raised pattern behind. This time, it happened to spell out a tidy "S."

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Two Forsyth County Sheriff's Office deputies say the county's C.A.R.E. sticker program helped them bring a young boy with autism to safety from a highway overpass in Rural Hall.

Around 3 a.m. on Aug. 19, Deputies Stephen Sperbeck and Mark Hamilton were called to the overpass after a report of a young boy walking alone and in immediate danger. The boy is nonverbal. The deputies blocked traffic while they got him away from the overpass, and they recognized him from earlier encounters, which they said was the key to reaching him safely.

Both deputies credited the C.A.R.E. sticker program, which helps first responders know when someone they are helping has a disability, for teaching them skills they need on calls like this one. "A lot of times, you get in this job chasing bad guys," Sperbeck said, "but you have many hats, and this is one of them."

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Every seat on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education is on the ballot this fall, and 16 candidates are running for them. The new board will choose a permanent superintendent, will likely face decisions about closing and consolidating schools, and will keep working to rebuild trust after years of financial mismanagement in the district.

Kernersville is in District 2, which covers the suburban areas outside the city's core, including Rural Hall, Lewisville and Clemmons. Eight candidates are running for four seats there: Republicans Robert Barr (the incumbent), Allen Daniel, Jill Berlin and Robert Weiss, and Democrats Curtis Fentress, Susan Conway, Marie Jackson and Lee Childress. The top four vote-getters win.

Every voter in the county also picks three at-large members from a field of five: Democrats Valerie Brockenbrough, Elisabeth Motsinger and Ronda Mays, and Republicans Jason Lucero and Michael Quinones.

A new state law staggers the terms so the whole board doesn't turn over at once. In District 2, the top two finishers will serve four-year terms and the next two will serve two-year terms. Starting in 2028, all members will serve four years. Early voting begins Oct. 15.

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The Bishop McGuinness girls' tennis team is settling into its new home. The Lady Villains beat visiting South Stokes 9-0 on Tuesday in a Greater Piedmont 1A/2A conference match, only their second match on the school's brand-new courts.

Lucia Neves, Nancy Laney, Porter Redmond, Mary Kennedy Suire and Ansley Tesh all won their singles matches, most of them without dropping a game, and Hazel Larsen won by forfeit. Bishop swept the doubles as well. The win moved the Lady Villains to 14-5 overall and 7-1 in conference play heading into Thursday's regular-season finale at home against Ragsdale.

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Saturday starts dry but turns wet by late morning, and the heaviest rain arrives tonight. Here's how to make the most of it.

Beat the rain. Rain from Isaias moves in after about 10 a.m., with gusts up to 25 mph. Another 1 to 2 inches could fall tonight, with more on Sunday. Storm remnants are already forcing event changes around the state, so check before you head out.

Last weekend for the fair. The Carolina Classic Fair opens at 9 a.m. today and wraps up Sunday. The morning is your driest window.

Help a neighbor this Christmas. The Kernersville Christmas Stocking Fund holds applicant interviews from 9 to 11 a.m. at 504 S. Main St.

Corn maze, rain or shine? Fall on the Farm at Smith Hollow Farm is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Check the farm's page before you go.

Still closed. N.C. 66 at Old Hollow Road in Walkertown stays closed until 6 a.m. Monday for drain work.

Friday night football. Final scores from Glenn, Bishop McGuinness and East Forsyth are coming in tomorrow's issue.

Coming up. Early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Paddison Memorial Branch Library.