SALISBURY — The Rowan County Chamber of Commerce is now accepting applications and nominations for the 29th Leadership Rowan class.

Leadership Rowan is a nine-month program that gives participants to learn about the local community and meet key business leaders. For one day each month, participants get an in-depth view of community issues, develop skills necessary to assume leadership roles and are exposed to community involvement opportunities.

The deadline to apply or nominate someone for the class is June 18. For more information or to nominate someone, contact Erica Church at echurch@rowanchamber.com.

Downtown Salisbury still accepting applications for downtown businesses to participate in Wine about Winter

SALISBURY — Although COVID-19 delayed downtown Salisbury’s annual Wine About Winter, the event will now take place on June 18 from 5 – 9 p.m.

The event is now being billed as “Wine About Winter … in flip-flops and tank tops.”

Wine About Winter is a wine-tasting tour of downtown Salisbury, designed to get people inside of shops, restaurants and businesses they might not ordinarily visit. Downtown Salisbury Inc. supplies wine and small tasting cups. Visitors purchase a ticket and get a map showing all the wine tasting locations.

Business who wish to participate in Wine About Winter can still sign up. The deadline to participate is close of business day on May 12. Businesses that sign up after May 12 will Not be able to participate. Business can signup online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050d4cadab2ba2fa7-2wine.

U-Haul announces opening of neighborhood dealer location on Bringle Ferry Road

SALISBURY — U-Haul recently announced that Atwell Services at 11710 Bringle Ferry Road has signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer to serve the Salisbury community.

The new location will offer essential services like U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, moving supplies and in-store pickup for boxes.

Normal business hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Sunday. 

U-Haul products at the location can be reserved by calling 704-754-5057 or by visiting https://www.uhaul.com/Locations/Truck-Rentals-near-Salisbury-NC-28146/005377/.

Atwell Services owner Justin Atwell said he is proud to team with the industry leader in do-it-yourself moving and self-storage to better meet the demands of Rowan County.

U-Haul has teamed with independent dealers to offer moving equipment since 1945. With the COVID-19 outbreak creating challenging times for small businesses, more than 20,000 dealers across the U.S. and Canada are creating supplemental income through their U-Haul partnership.

As an essential service provider, U-Haul stores and dealers continue to serve the public. U-haul’s products are utilized by first responders, delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people’s homes, small businesses trying to remain afloat, college students and countless other groups – in addition to the household mover.

SBA EIDL supplemental targeted advance grant available on first-come, first-serve basis

The SBA’s Supplemental Targeted Advance provides the smallest and hardest hit eligible businesses with a supplemental payment of $5,000 that does not have to be repaid. Even if a business previously received the original EIDL Advance in the full amount of $10,000, the business may be eligible for the Supplemental Targeted Advance if they meet eligibility criteria. The combined amount of the Supplemental Targeted Advance ($5,000) with any previously received EIDL Advance or Targeted EIDL Advance ($10,000) will not exceed $15,000.

Completing the Targeted EIDL Advance application is a requirement to be considered for the Supplemental Targeted Advance, and SBA is reaching out directly to those who may qualify.

• Is located in a low-income community. Businesses owners can use the SBA’s mapping tool to see if their business is in a low-income community as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. The business address must be in a low-income community to qualify, so SBA encourages business owners to check the map before applying

• Can prove more than a 50% economic loss during an eight-week period beginning on March 2, 2020, or later, compared to the same period of the previous year. Applicants need to provide gross monthly revenue (all forms of combined monthly earnings received, such as profits or salaries) from January 2019 to the current month-to-date; and

• Has 10 or fewer employees. This includes sole proprietors, independent contractors, private nonprofit organizations, and others that usually qualify for the EIDL program. However, agricultural businesses, such as farmers and ranchers, are not eligible for the Supplemental Targeted Advance. Farmers and ranchers may still apply for loan assistance through the COVID-19 EIDL program.

All application decisions or requests for additional information will be sent from an official government email account ending with @sba.gov. Do not send sensitive information via email to any address that does not end with @sba.gov.

All application decisions will be communicated via email. If approved, a business owner will receive an email notification and a direct ACH deposit to the bank account provided in their original application for the Targeted EIDL Advance.

For full details, go to the following website and scroll down to the Advance section: COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (sba.gov).

Department of Labor announces new process for youth employment certificates

The North Carolina Department of Labor has rolled out  a new process for obtaining youth employment certificates that aims to streamline the process and better ensure youths are working in safe jobs.

After a soft launch in April, the new process went into effect on May 3.

The NCDOL Wage and Hour Bureau administers youth employment certificates, which are required under the N.C. Wage and Hour Act. The certificates, commonly referred to as a work permit, are designed to alert parents, teens and employers of certain prohibited jobs and hour limits for workers under the age of 18.

“We changed the process for obtaining youth employment certificates to better ensure that our state’s young employees end up working in safe and acceptable jobs,” Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson said. “We understand this will be a big change for employers, but we are ready to assist any employer, parent or youth who have questions about the new process.”

The new process includes the following steps:

• The youth enters their information into the state’s system.

• The system will generate a unique ID for them.

• The youth will provide the employer with the unique ID.

• The employer will enter the company information along with the unique ID.

• The employer will then enter the proposed employment and job duties.

• An email will be sent to the youth to electronically sign a certificate and enter their parent’s email address.

• The parent will receive an email to review and electronically sign the certificate.

• The employer will receive the email to sign and print the certificate.

• The youth employment certificate is issued and valid once all three parties have electronically signed the certificate.

Any questions about the new process should be directed to the Wage and Hour Bureau Call Center at 1-800-625-2267. To learn more about youth rules and regulation, please visit the NCDOL website at labor.nc.gov.