Photo by Todd Lock
Officials from city and county governments, Forsyth County libraries and Frank L. Blum Construction Company shovel dirt during a groundbreaking last week in
front of the Central Library, which will be rebuilt and reopened in 2017.
Officials look to future as ground
broken for new Central Library
Sprinkle-Hamlin
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Martin
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BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Ground was broken on the new
Forsyth County Central Library on
Thursday, Oct. 1.
The Central Library closed in October
2014, for renovations. Since then, Frank L.
Blum Construction Company has been
removing asbestos from the building.
The ground breaking symbolized the
next step in the project, which will involve
demolishing the front of the library, which
was built in 1952. It will be replaced with
a new four-story section of the library to
match the current four-story part of the
building, built in 1980, which will be ren
ovated. Only the structural frame and
foundation of that old section will remain,
everything else will be new. The new
library will be 101,000 square feet and is
expected to be completed by summer of
2017. The $28 million project is being paid
for by a bond approved by voters in 2010.
County com
missioners along
with officials from
the library, school
board and city
council spoke
before the symbolic
shoveling of dirt.
County
Commissioner Don
Martin, a former
school superintend
ent, quoted Thomas
Jefferson, who
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oeueveu mere snouiu oe a puouc norary in
every county.
"I think you all would agree, libraries
have done a lot of extensive good for a
small cost," said Martin, referencing a let
ter Jefferson wrote on the subject.
Martin said libraries remain important,
citing statistics from the American Library
Association that in 2013 2 billion items
were checked out of public libraries,
including books, e-books and movies. He
also cited Forbes
magazine, which
said more than half
of young people
and seniors living
in poverty have
used a public
library for Internet.
Forsyth County
Library Director
Sylvia Sprinkle
Hamlin said a lot of
input from the com
munity, county
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management ana liorary sian went into me
new library. She said the new library will
have a "stunning exterior," a "vibrant inte
rior," an expanded North Carolina room,
new teen and children spaces, meeting
rooms, large event spaces, a reading room
and a book terrace.
"We are now positioned to make the
vision a reality," she said. "Every effort
has been made to incorporate the ideas and
best practices that make up a 21st century
library."
Despite its building being closed for
construction, the Central Library contin
ues to operate out of the Forsyth County
Government Center, with administrative
offices, a computer lab that still offers
computer classes and a relocated North
Carolina room. Staff and some of the
Central Library's books have gone to other
branches, though some books and other
items have gone into storage.
Sprinkle-Hamlin said patrons are find
ing the relocated services and those who
used the Central Library to hold events and
meetings are now relying on other branch
es. She said no one is missing out on
books, since Forsyth libraries are part of
the NC Cardinal consortium of libraries
around the state, so even books not-cur
rently on the shelf can be ordered.
Sprinkle-Hamlin said though she's a
little sad to see the old Central Library go,
she's looking forward to 2017 and for the
new, state-of-the-art library that will take
its place.
United Way of Forsyth
County kicks off 2015
community campaign
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
The United Way of
Forsyth County publicly
announced the kick-off of
its 2015 Community
Campaign at the fifth annu
al Moonlight Madness 5K,
a fundraising event coordi
nated by the city of
Winston-Salem to benefit
the nonprofit. This year's
fundraising goal is $16.7
million.
Payne chairing the commu
nity campaign, which is
projected to end in
December.
"Reynolds has been a
great partner of United
examples of the critical
issues facing the communi
ty," Payne said. "United
Way collaborates and
invests with partners to
tackle the tough challenges
"It's exciting to see
how our community rallies
around improving the lives
and opportunities available
to everyone in Forsyth
County," Tommy Payne,
president of Niconovum, a
Reynolds American Inc.
subsidiary, and chair of the
2015 Community
Campaign, said last
month. "We had over
30,000 donors last year as
part of the campaign and
hope that we can engage
even more residents this
year. People in Forsyth
County understand the
value of investing in edu
cation, Financial stability
and the health of our resi
dents and neighbors. They
recognize that when they
give through United Way it
makes a lasting impact and
strengthens our entire com
munity."
Cindy Gordineer, presi
dent and CEO of United
Way of Forsyth County,
says she's pleased to have
i
?'Together we can make
Forsyth County one of the
best places in the country for
both residents and
businesses."
- Cindy Gordineer, president and CEO of United
Way of Forsyth County
Way for many years and
has an incredible reputa
tion for generosity and sup
port of the community,"
she said.
The theme of this
year's community cam
paign is "What Our
Community Needs Is You
... Because Great Things
Happen When We Live
United!"
Beyond raising money,
the campaign has goals to
educate community mem
bers about major issues and
encourage involvement.
"Although we've seen
a lot of successes over the
years, a number of individ
uals and families in our
community continue to
struggle on a daily basis.
Over 14 percent of our
children do not graduate
from high school; one in
three children and one in
four adults live in poverty,
and 34 percent of children
ages 10-17 are overweight
or obese. These are a few
and make a real impact.
We've seen some great
progress, particularly
around the high school
graduation rate, which has
risen to 85.4 percent from
70.7 percent in just eight
years."
Gordineer agrees that it
takes the entire community
coming together to enact
real change.
"Community-wide
solutions require commu
nity-wide involvement.
Thankfully, we have gener
ous donors, great partners,
supportive companies and
organizations, and wonder
ful volunteers, like Tommy,
who make our work possi
ble," she says. 'Together
we can make Forsyth
County one of the best
places in the country for
both residents and busi
nesses."
To learn more, go to
Forsyth UnitedWay.org.
Submitted photo
Community members learn more about United Way's work and Leadership
Societies, such as Women's Leadership Council and Young Leaders United.
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