(This is part two of a two-part series.)

The following are the top news stories covered during the second half of the year 2009 in The Stokes News.

July 2009

Stokes County Commissioners approved a $40,608,384 budget for fiscal year 2009-2010 with no tax increase. This was $1.4 million less than last year’s budget.

The City of King adopted a new budget with no tax increase for the coming year. Council members did, however, vote in favor of a $5 motor vehicle tax for residents, effective July 1, 2009.

King and Walnut Cove celebrated Independence Day with fireworks displays and band music. The first ever Stokes County Tea Party was held in King to protest government spending and other issues.

Stokes County NAACP President Larry Lash of Walnut Cove was arrested and charged with multiple sexual offenses including six counts of statutory rape. His bond was set at a record-breaking $1.5 million.

Ground was broken at 2610 Chestnut Grove Road in King for the new Emergency Medical Services station. The total cost was expected to be $339,989.

The Stokes County Board of Education voted to revise the Student Code of Conduct to ban hats and other headgear on school property during school hours.

Jeffery Barton, 53, of King, was assaulted and later died of the injuries. Johnny Lee Brown Jr., and Timothy Elo Wages, both of King, were charged with second-degree murder in Barton’s death.

August 2009

Stokes County’s inaugural Early College High School opened on August 10 on the Forsyth Tech campus in King. Forty-eight specially chosen students made up the first class which will receive free college credit during five years of high school.

Students from Nancy Reynolds Elementary School began the year in PODS on the campus of Pinnacle Elementary School. They will return to their regular campus when their new school is completed, perhaps as early as January 2011.

A 77-year-old King woman, Dorothy Milton, was run over in her driveway and killed. Her grandson, Christopher Milton, 29, was charged with voluntary manslaughter in the case.

Historic Camp Sertoma in Westfield was reported to be coming back to life. Community college classes were being offered there through Forsyth Tech, StokesCORE began using it as a headquarters and the unemployed were finding jobs through the NC Workforce Development Commission, blazing 20 miles worth of bike trails.

September 2009

The Walnut Cove Public Library held an open house as construction reached an end. Groundbreaking for the expansion took place in 2005.

With television cameras rolling, Walnut Cove residents turned out in force at the monthly town meeting to speak on behalf of feral cats. The town’s board of commissioners was in the process of revising the animal control ordinance.

King’s longtime fire chief, Randy Williams, retired on September 11. On the same day, the City of King held a 9/11 service at Central Park, with patriotic and religious speeches and music.

The 35th annual Stokes Stomp drew record crowds in brilliant weather at Moratock Park in Danbury.

A silent auction was held at Nancy Reynolds School to allow the community to acquire pieces of history before the old school was demolished.

The final painting of the late Tim Bruce, “Deep Woods Moon,” was unveiled at his gallery in King.

The 59th annual Stokes County Agricultural Fair was well-attended despite midweek rain.

The gas chamber was banned at the Stokes County Animal Shelter, replaced by lethal injection.

October 2009

An East Bend man, 51-year-old Maynard Norman Peters, was charged with felony statutory rape of a child in King.

A feasibility study involving bringing broadband Internet service to all of Stokes County was a major topic for Stokes County Commissioners.

Happy Hills Daycare in Danbury was closed after 23 years due to extensive repairs that were needed at the facility.

KingFest 2009 was blessed with gorgeous fall weather and massive crowds at King’s Central Park.

New recycling laws went into effect in Stokes County and statewide, including a ban on disposal of plastic water bottles in landfills.

Frozen lottery funds were restored to school systems all over the state, including Stokes County which received $170,654.

The Register of Deeds office announced that land deeds all the way back to 1787 had been put online.

Steven Roberson, a Stokes County native, was named as King’s new fire chief.

Winston-Salem Police Officer Daniel Clark, 28, was shot and wounded in the line of duty in Forsyth County. Clark is a North Stokes graduate.

Operation Weedeater, a drug sweep carried out by the Stokes County Sheriff’s Department, resulted in 19 arrests. There were 59 felony and 16 misdemeanor charges.

Joyce Triche of Miss Joyce’s Dance Studio in King was named the King Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Business Leader of the Year. John Baker was named the 2009 Retired Community Leader.

November 2009

Municipal elections resulted in new faces. Incumbent mayor Jane Priddy Charleville of Danbury was defeated by one vote by challenger Janet Whitt. Olivia Shelton was voted onto the Danbury Town Council, along with write-in candidate Wendi Uselton. City of King council members Carolyn Byerly and Gray Southern lost their re-election bids to Clarence Allen and Wesley Carter. Town of Walnut Cove board members Dr. Debbie Cowan and Kim Lewis were edged out by Sharon Conaway and Charles Mitchell. Walnut Cove Mayor John Hodgkin was re-elected.

Two victims died in separate fires in Stokes County—54-year-old Ronnie Nelson in Westfield and 84-year-old Naomi Slate in the South Stokes region of Walnut Cove.

The Town of Walnut Cove held its first ever Veterans Day ceremony at the library.

World War II veteran and Tuskegee Airman Alexander Jefferson, 88, visited King, speaking of his war experiences and signing copies of his book.

The longest sitting sheriff in Stokes County history, Sheriff Mike Joyce, announced that he would not seek re-election.

The Town of Walnut Cove was sued by Marianne DeHart Northington over the abandoned building at Fifth and Main. A judge determined that the town must pay Northington an extra $136,000 for the building they had seized through eminent domain and originally paid $114,000 for.

December 2009

The Stokes Opportunity Center in Walnut Cove celebrated the grand opening of its expanded facility.

The Danbury sidewalk project was nearing completion.

A firefighter on King Road in Westfield who rushed to help put out another fire on his road lost his own home, due to a stove being left on.

Anita Burroughs Mabe announced her retirement from Burroughs Funeral Home after 28 years in the business her grandfather began in 1941.

The Stokes County School Board voted to bring all high school graduations back in-county. They also voted to award differentiated diplomas to students who, due to hardship, are not able to complete the 28 hours of credit required in Stokes County, but who do achieve the state’s minimum requirement of 20-21 hours.

Two parades were held on the same day in Stokes County. Both the King and Walnut Cove parades were December 12.

Stokes County experienced its biggest snow in many years the week before Christmas. Nearly a foot of snow fell in northern parts of the county with approximately seven inches in the southern portions.

A Walnut Cove police officer, 51-year-old Michael L. Mabe, was arrested for 15 counts of indecent liberties with a juvenile—crimes alleged to have happened over 20 years ago.

Stokes County Commissioners voted to purchase land in Meadows to locate the Early College High School and a proposed stand-alone community college.

Public restaurants and bars prepared to go smoke-free on January 2.