Editor’s note: Here are 50 questions, slightly reworded in some cases, that were posed originally in Salisbury Post weekly news quizzes in 2017. As the weekly quiz always says, test your nose for local news.

If you happen to answer 40 to 50 correctly, consider yourself a newshound; 35 to 39, a wily editor; 30 to 34, a busy beat reporter; 25 to 29, a copy boy; and 24 or less, a paper boy with high aspirations.

1. After many months devoted to architectural drawings, permit approvals, renovations and equipment installations, a Smoke Pit restaurant opened in January at 115 E. Innes St. The other Smoke Pit location at the time was in what N.C. city?

A. Asheboro

B. Lexington

C. Concord

D. Thomasville

2. An autopsy report on the Salisbury Police officer-involved shooting death in November 2016 of Ferguson Claude Laurent said Laurent had how many bullet wounds?

A. Two

B. Five

C. Seven

D. 10

3. What new fast-food restaurant came to China Grove in 2017?

A. McDonald’s

B. Jack-in-the-Box

C. Burger King

D. Bojangles

4. Duke Energy could spend as much as $9 million in the Dukeville community near Buck Steam Station to address water quality concerns from coal ash. Part of those cost estimates include paying for 25 years worth of water bills and the offer of a “goodwill payment” of how much per residence in exchange for absolving the company of any water quality concerns?

A. $1,000

B. $5,000

C. $10,000

D. $15,000

5. The Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency asked its employees, including administrators and teachers of Head Start programs, to take a 10 percent cut in pay. Why?

A. The agency didn’t have enough children enrolled in Head Start

B. The agency faced a $1.3 million deficit

C. The agency needed the savings to make infrastructure repairs to all of its facilities

D. Federal grants to the agency had dried up

6. Kannapolis City Council approved plans for a $72 million “demonstration project” downtown of which the city will be responsible for the $12 million construction of what?

A. A baseball park

B. A parking deck

C. A convention center

D. A hotel

7. In early 2017, the four-story Holiday Inn Express and Suites opened in Salisbury. How many rooms does the new hotel have?

A. 60

B. 90

C. 120

D. 150

8. Many Hispanic and Latino businesses closed Feb. 16 and individuals did not go to work, shop or bank that day to show the impact they have on the local economy. What was this demonstration, which also was held elsewhere in the state and nation, called?

A. Don’t Wall Us Out

B. Day Without Immigrants

C. Flexing Our Muscle

D. This Is Our Country, Too

9. Novant Health Rowan and Carolinas Healthcare System NorthEast medical centers both announced restrictions in February on visitors 12 and younger. What caused the medical centers to prohibit children from visiting?

A. A continuing flu outbreak

B. Reports of head lice at both locations

C. Both medical centers had been using high-powered cleansers in their lab areas over the previous week that could have harmed the breathing of younger children.

D. It was the start of new policies at both medical centers in which visitors have to be 13 or older.

10. The National Sports Media Association announced in late February it was moving the organization from its 57-year home in Salisbury. To what city did the NSMA (formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association) go?

A. Charlotte

B. Greensboro

C. Raleigh

D. Winston-Salem

11. In a response to Salisbury City Council about whether it had the authority to limit the use of no-knock warrants, the N.C. Attorney General’s Office said what?

A. Yes, the council could put restrictions on the Police Department’s use of no-knock warrants

B. No, the council does not have the authority to limit their use

C. It’s a question for the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, not the state

D. The council could establish a separate board of citizens to rule on each request for a no-knock warrant to be executed

12. The big fire in downtown Raleigh March 16 happened across the street from and damaged a residential condominium owned by Bill and Susan Kluttz of Salisbury. What were the Kluttzes doing when the fire started?

A. Eating at a restaurant around the corner

B. Sleeping

C. Traveling back to Raleigh from Salisbury

D. Attending a play

13. Three of Rowan County’s four lawmakers in the General Assembly voted in March against the repeal of House Bill 2, also known as the “bathroom bill” related to transgender rights. Who was the lone Rowan legislator who voted for the bathroom bill’s repeal?

A. Sen. Tom McInnis

B. Sen. Andrew Brock

C. Rep. Harry Warren

D. Rep. Carl Ford

14. Gabrielle L. Brown of Salisbury won the Winston-Salem Journal’s Regional Spelling Bee meaning she moved on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. What word did Gabrielle have to spell to win the regional spelling bee?

A. Folinic

B. Roturier

C. Nautch

D. Crapulence

15. So plans for a park or town commons could proceed, the Salisbury Historic Preservation Commission voted not to stand in the way of the demolition of what downtown building?

A. The 1839 Salisbury Female Academy (Wrenn House) on South Jackson Street

B. The old granite service station at East Innes and South Lee streets.

C. The 1850 Session House at West Innes and South Jackson streets

D. The 1973 former First Union National Bank building at 215 W. Innes St.

16. N.C. Rep. Carl Ford, R-Rowan, made news in April as was one of four House members introducing a bill to outlaw what in North Carolina?

A. Same-sex marriage

B. Hunting on Sundays

C. Speed boats on High Rock Lake

D. Alcohol sales on Sundays

17. The Texas steam locomotive made its first public appearance in April after a 16-month exterior restoration at the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer. It was the public’s only chance to see the locomotive before it returned to a history center in what city?

A. Washington, D.C.

B. Dallas, Texas

C. Atlanta

D. Austin, Texas

18. In the spring, city crews removed sidewalk trees from the 100 block of West Innes Street for what reason?

A. The trees were diseased.

B. The trees’ roots were destroying the sidewalk.

C. To make way for sidewalk construction that would have damaged their roots.

D. To replace them with evergreen trees so the city won’t have to deal with fallen leaves.

19. The Salisbury Symphony’s June 3 Pops at the Post concert included a performance by which of these artists?

A. Teresa Moore-Mitchell

B. John Brincefield

C. Rebecca Stinson

D. Kyle Petty

20. Cheerwine marked its 100th anniversary May 20 with a big Centennial Celebration in Salisbury. Which one of these other soft drinks were not part of the Cheerwine family through the years?

A. Cool Moon

B. Big Red

C. Kolowine

D. Caravan

21. The city of Salisbury named the greenway along Brenner Avenue for what individual?

A. The late Fred Evans

B. The late William Peoples

C. The late Mark Hunter

D. The late Floyd Kerr III

22. Dr. James E.K. Aggrey, a well known educator and missionary who lived much of his adult life in Salisbury, is still revered in his native Ghana, Africa. What did Ghana do in 2017 to honor Aggrey, who died in 1927.

A. Erected a statue of Aggrey at a university in Accra

B. Named the main highway between Winneba and Kumasi for Aggrey

C. Put his face on the Ghana currency equivalent of a five-dollar bill

D. Named the biggest hospital in Ghana for him

23. Local authorities held a press conference in May announcing their latest tool to catch the killer of 7-year-old A’yanna Allen, who was shot in her sleep Dec. 4, 2016, when the Salisbury home she was staying in was sprayed with bullets. What did law enforcement hope would lead to an arrest in the case?

A. A constant campaign on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat

B. A special SBI task force devoted to the solving of this case

C. A billboard with A’yanna’s picture that also offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest

D. A street-by-street canvassing of neighborhoods to conduct interviews and find new leads

24. Rowan County leaders held a community forum June 23 in which participants split into groups and worked on strategies for improvements in nine focus areas. Led by Rowan County Commissioner Greg Edds, this continuing effort is being called what?

A. Growing Rowan

B. Start Your Engines

C. Revolution Rowan

D. Battleship Rowan

25. In August, 25 students from the East Rowan High School Honors Chorus sang on stage in Charlotte with a notable rock band from the 1980s. What band was it?

A. Journey

B. Foreigner

C. Bon Jovi

D. Guns N Roses

26. In the wake of a 172-page report and investigation which ended up clearing Salisbury Police Officer Karl Boehm in the Nov. 3, 2016, shooting death of Ferguson Claude Laurent, Police Chief Jerry Stokes said his department would implement several changes. Which of the following was not one of those changes?

A. Doubling up on the number of minority officers

B. Creating a Chief’s Citizen Advisory Board

C. Making sure all employees in the department go through implicit bias training

D. Creating a Crisis Negotiation Team

27. The Fred and Alice Stanback Educational Forest and Nature Preserve officially opened in 2017 and is located in what Rowan County town?

A. Rockwell

B. Landis

C. Spencer

D. East Spencer

28. Edgar Maddison Welch of Salisbury, who gained national notoriety as the “Pizzagate” gunman in Washington, D.C., after he was duped by an internet conspiracy theory, was sentenced in June to how many years in prison?

A. None, he was transferred instead to a mental health facility

B. Four

C. 12

D. 22

29. Country Donutz opened in 2017 on Jake Alexander Boulevard. Manager Lang Leng and owner Reggie Earl hope the shop’s pink boxes will become the new symbol for doughnuts in Salisbury. What is the significance of the pink boxes?

A. It is a color in the Cambodian flag, which was the home country of Leng and Earl.

B. Cambodian refugees to California in the late 1970s started making doughnuts as a way to create a livelihood, and they put the doughnuts in pink boxes, which were several cents cheaper than white boxes

C. Pink is Earl’s wife’s favorite color

D. Pink is thought of as a color representing serenity in Cambodian culture

30. The DuraFiber Technologies plant off U.S. 70 in Rowan County could not find a buyer, and it closed in September. When that facility opened in May 1966, it was known as what?

A. KoSa

B. Hoechst-Celanese

C. Performance Fibers

D. Fiber

31. A community program and “Service of Truth, Healing and Reconciliation” was held in Salisbury as a reminder of what event in Salisbury history?

A. The lynching of three black men on Aug. 6, 1906

B. The Bread Riot of 1864

C. Stoneman’s Raid in 1865

D. The installation of the Confederate monument

32. In Rowan County, there were 45 heroin or narcotics overdoses in just a two-month period in 2017. In June, where did Rowan County rank among the 100 counties in North Carolina in terms of opioid overdoes per capita?

A. No. 1

B. No. 6

C. No. 11

D. No. 17

33. Rowan County commissioners approved a development at the West End Plaza that will create a business incubator, a museum about entrepreneurship, a co-working space, a place for companies to develop prototypes, a cafe, and a digital media lab for Catawba College students. What’s the name for this project?

A. The Rowan County Creation Station

B. The Rowan County IDEA Center

C. The Rowan County Digital Depot

D. The Rowan County Launch Pad

34. Many events focused attention on Confederate monuments across the country during the summer, including the one in Salisbury, which is the bronze grouping of Fame with a dying soldier. When was Salisbury’s Confederate monument erected?

A. 1870

B. 1898

C. 1909

D. 1965

35. What is the new name of the Rowan County Airport?

A. Greater Salisbury Regional Airport

B. Mid-Carolina Regional Airport

C. Piedmont Regional Airport

D. Rowan-Davie Regional Airport

36. What school was the first ever among Rowan-Salisbury Schools to earn an “A” letter grade, according to student test scores released this past week?

A. Henderson Independent

B. Rowan County Early College

C. Faith Elementary

D. Carson High School

37. Salisbury Mayor Karen Alexander apologized in September for what?

A. For telling a speaker during a public comment period Aug. 15 that she was out of order and later directing that same person to leave the council chambers

B. Not removing her name as a bidding architect on an expansion project at City Hall

C. Missing an important meeting of the Salisbury Human Relations Council

D. Failing to fill vacancies in a more timely manner on the Planning Board

38. After much discussion and debate in the community, Salisbury City Council decided that a new Fire Station No. 3 should be built along which of these streets or roads?

A. Jake Alexander Boulevard

B. Mahaley Avenue

C. Statesville Boulevard

D. Klumac Road

39. Some of the remains of Capt. Lamar Russell, who was killed during World War II when his B25 crashed into a mountainside, were buried in Gold Hill after a funeral service. Where did Russell’s plane go down in 1944?

A. New Guinea

B. The Philippines

C. Taiwan

D. Australia

40. In connection with the lawsuit saying their prayer practices at meetings were unconstitutional, Rowan County commissioners voted 5-0 in September to do what?

A. Drop any attempts at further appeal

B. Appeal a 4th Circuit Court decision against them to the U.S. Supreme Court

C. Take the case out of federal court and look for a ruling more to their liking from the N.C. Supreme Court

D. Try again with a full panel of the 4th Circuit Court

41. As part of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the Landesbühnen Sachsen theater company of Germany collaborated with Piedmont Players to present seven Salisbury performances of what production:

A. “Martin Luther: Man of the Moment”

B. “The Red Door”

C. “In God’s Own Country”

D. “A Rebellious Few”

42. A new book titled “The Man from the Train” claims a serial ax murderer, not three black sharecroppers, killed members of the Lyerly family near Barber Junction in 1906. What notable figure, known more for his work in sports, co-wrote this book with his daughter?

A. Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue

B. Former Duke Basketball Coach and now ESPN analyst Bucky Waters

C. Sports statistician and journalist Bill James

D. Sportscaster Al Michaels

43. After a two-day hearing, the Rowan County Zoning Board of Adjustment decided that David Eller should not have been allowed to build a what on his 10-acre piece of land off Deer Creek Drive?

A. An industrial-sized chicken house

B. A dirt track for ATVs and motorcycles

C. A golf driving range

D. A range for skeet shooting

44. In November, Novant Health Rowan Medical Center celebrated its new medical helicopter, which is based at the Salisbury hospital. From this base, the helicopter covers how many nautical miles in every direction?

A. 35

B. 55

C. 90

D. 170

45. Lee Wagoner’s uniquely decorated fence along Jake Alexander Boulevard (near Faith Road) has become a treat for passing motorists. To give the fence some three-dimensional texture, Wagoner attached variously sized pieces of wood. Where did the wood come from?

A. Discarded pallets at the Food Lion warehouse

B. Three different house demolitions in Salisbury

C. A wheelchair ramp used by her late mother

D. A pair of old chicken houses that once stood on her property

46. Longtime Salisbury Post sports editor and writer Ed Dupree died from leukemia in November. Dupree wrote for decades about competitors — and was a competitor himself. Before a hamstring injury sidelined him in September, how many straight days had Dupree run at least a mile?

A. 1,296

B. 3,517

C. 5,419

D. 8,847

47. Organizers with the Holiday Caravan prohibited members of PFLAG — Salisbury-Rowan Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays — from riding in the parade on Nov. 22. What company float had members of PFLAG hoped to ride on?

A. Food Lion

B. Cheerwine

C. Avita Pharmacy

D. Walgreens

48. The House Judiciary Committee passed a piece of gun legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., that was among the first weapons-related bills since mass shootings in the fall. What would Hudson’s bill allow?

A. Security personnel at indoor and outdoor concerts to carry sidearms

B. Local officials such as city council members and county commissioners to keep guns with them at their seats as they conduct business

C. Churchgoers to openly show their guns during services

D. People who qualify to carry concealed weapons in one state to have those same rights in other states, where concealed carry laws also exist

49. As part of its 200th anniversary, the Salisbury Fire Department unveiled a historical marker Dec. 8 at the first documented site of a city fire station. In what downtown block is the new marker standing?

A. 100 block of East Innes Street

B. 100 block of South Lee Street

C. 200 block of South Main Street

D. 100 block of West Council Street

50. When Al Heggins took her seat as Salisbury’s new mayor in December, she said, “Welcome to the …?

A. “… people’s meeting”

B. “… unity gathering”

C. “… people’s supper”

D. “… circle of love.”

ANSWERS: 

1. C.
2. D.
3. D.
4. B.
5. B.
6. B.
7. B.
8. B.
9. A.
10. D.
11. B.
12. B.
13. A.
14. B.
15. D.
16. A.
17. C.
18. C.
19. D.
20. B.
21. B.
22. C.
23. C.
24. A.
25. B.
26. A.
27. C.
28. B.
29. B.
30. D.
31. A.
32. B.
33. B.
34. C.
35. B.
36. B.
37. A.
38. B.
39. A.
40. B.
41. C.
42. C.
43. B.
44. D.
45. C.
46. D.
47. C.
48. D.
49. A.
50. A.