Week in review: Test your nose for local news
Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 10, 2015
1. Why was the recent retirement of N.C. Department of Transportation truck driver Hubert Elliott of special note?
A. He drove 40 years on the roads of Rowan County without an accident
B. He was considered the oldest state employee in North Carolina
C. At his retirement, he had logged a million miles on Rowan County roads
D. He had never held another job, other than driving big work trucks for the DOT
2. The Tom E. Smith Nature Exploratorium behind the Horizons Unlimited education center was rededicated Saturday. When was the first dedication?
A. 1967
B. 1985
C. 1990
D. 1995
3. This past week, the Local Government Commission approved Rowan County government’s taking out a $3.95 million loan. What will that money be used for?
A. Replenishing a depleted fund balance from the county’s 2013 purchase of the former Salisbury Mall and $500,000 worth of renovations to the mall
B. Site work improvements, including road construction, at the county-owned Summit Corporate Center off Julian Road
C. The county’s share in the new central school office
D. A new exhibition hall and parking improvements at the Rowan County Fairgrounds
4. Salisbury City Council approved a new median on Jake Alexander Boulevard at Morlan Park Road. Why is the Department of Transportation going to install the median?
A. It’s a beautification measure
B. The Morlan Park residents requested it as part of giving better delineation to their neighborhood
C. It’s the first of five medians DOT plans to be installing along Jake Alexander Boulevard over the next two years
D. The median is a safety measure toward preventing traffic accidents
5. On the first day of final exams at Catawba College Wednesday, the school tried to ease stress levels by offering what for students?
A. Therapy dogs
B. An ice cream truck at the student union
C. An all-day pizza buffet
D. An all-day availability of a Slip-n-Slide on the front lawn of the administration building
6. Ingrid Alexander Streater, 65, recently earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Livingstone College. What physical challenge did she overcome before finally graduating?
A. Brain and thyroid tumors
B. Ovarian cancer
C. Renal failure
D. All of the above
7. U.S. District Court Judge James Beaty ruled the Rowan County Board of Commissioners’ past practice of offering only Christian prayers before meetings unconstitutional. In his ruling, Beaty ordered that plaintiffs Nan Lund, Lisa Montag-Siegel and Robert Voelker be paid how much in damages?
A. $1
B. $1,000 each, or $3,000 total
C. $10,000
d. $50,000
8. Which of the following municipalities in Rowan County still start their meetings with prayer?
A. All of them
B. None of them
C. Spencer, Salisbury, Rockwell, Landis and East Spencer
D. Only China Grove and Granite Quarry
9. In Medicare’s most recent rating of area hospitals, Novant Health Rowan Medical Center received how many stars out of five possible?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
10. Jeff Moose spent a night in Salisbury at the Across the Pond bed and breakfast during his walk across North Carolina to raise awareness for what?
A. Muscular dystrophy
B. Homelessness
C. Lou Gehrig’s disease
D. Parkinson’s disease
Answers below:
1. B. When Elliott retired May 1 as the oldest state employee, he was just shy of his 84th birthday.
2. A. The loan will be used to pay for renovations and to replenish the fund balance, which was depleted when commissioners bought the former Salisbury Mall, now called the West End Plaza.
3. C. The original dedication was 25 years ago, and Saturday’s rededication celebrated refurbished boardwalks and bridges in the 24-acre N.C. Natural Heritage Area.
4. D. Safety is the reason for the median. The intersection has had 32 accidents, including a fatality, since 2008.
5. A. Furry, tail-wagging therapy dogs were seen as a way to help the Catawba College students deal with stress. Final exams end Tuesday.
6. D. Streater dealt with all of those physical challenges in recent years and has been on dialysis three days a week since 2014.
7. A. The trio received only $1 in damages, but the plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, also can pursue attorney’s fees and costs, according to the judge’s ruling.
8. C. Spencer, Salisbury, Rockwell, Landis and East Spencer start their meetings with a prayer. China Grove has no prayer or moment of silence at its town board meeting. Cleveland and Granite Quarry town boards start with a moment of silence.
9. B. Novant Health Rowan’s rating was two stars, and out of area hospitals, only CMC-Northeast has a Medicare rating of four stars.
10. B. More specifically, child homelessness. Moose hopes to raise $10,000 for A Child’s Place in Charlotte. It’s estimated 4,500 children in Charlotte public schools are homeless.