Planning your week? 

Here are a few highlights for family fun in the Piedmont Triad!

FREE - no admission charge but there may be items and/or food/drinks for sale
$ cost of admission under $20 for a family of four
$$ cost of admission over $20 for a family of four

Wednesday, July 13
WS     $   10am – 1pm   Kickoff to Kindergarten & Bike Safety Day
GSO   FREE   12:00pm – 1:30pm   Lunchtime Music Downtown Greensboro
GSO   FREE   5pm – 7pm   Family Night ArtQuest at Greenhill
Clemmons   FREE   6pm – 9pm   Summer Park Series at Tanglewood
WS   FREE   7pm – 9pm   Sunset Flicks presents Casablanca​

Thursday, July 14 
WS    FREE   3:30pm – 4:30pm   Art in the Overlook Gallery
WS   FREE   5:30pm – 7:30pm   Thursday Night Music in Old Salem
WS   FREE   6:00pm – 8:30pm   Concert Band Family Evenings at Bethabara
Bethania   FREE   11am – 5pm   Twin City Artisans Summer Art Mart

Friday, July 15
Bethania   FREE   11am – 5pm   Twin City Artisans Summer Art Mart
WS   $   4pm – 8pm   Family Friday Night at SciWorks
Alamance County   FREE   7pm – 9pm   Alamance County Musical Chairs
Lewisville   FREE   8:30pm – 11:00pm   Wizard of Oz - Starlight Movie Night

Saturday, July 16
HP   FREE   8:00am – 9:30am   Walking Tour of Washington Street
WS   FREE 10am – 4pm   Firecracker Festival
Candor   FREE   10am – 5pm   N.C. Peach Festival
GSO   FREE   10am – 2pm   Healthy Family Fun Fair
​Bethania   FREE   11am – 5pm   Twin City Artisans Summer Art Mart
WS   FREE   11am – 7pm   Women's Music Festival
WS   FREE   12:30pm – 3:00pm   Saturday ART Jam
WS   FREE   7pm – 10pm   Summer on Liberty

Sunday, July 17
WS   FREE   9:30am – 11:30am   Mass Healing Crusade
WS   FREE   3pm – 4pm   Community Prayer for Winston-Salem Law Enforcement Officers
WS   $   3pm-6pm   The Big Chill
HP   FREE   6:00pm – 7:30pm   Arts Splash Concert Series Featuring The Collection

Details are on our calendar.  If you have questions about an event, please contact the sponsor directly.  All information is correct and accurate at the time of it's posting.

Planning your week? 

Here are a few highlights for family fun in the Piedmont Triad!

FREE - no admission charge but there may be items and/or food/drinks for sale
$ cost of admission under $20 for a family of four
$$ cost of admission over $20 for a family of four

Monday, July 4
GSO   FREE    2pm – 8pm     Fun Fourth in Greensboro
Archdale   FREE   3pm – 10pm    4th of July Festival
GSO   FREE   6pm – 7pm   Fitness by the Fountain at Center City
Lewisville   FREE   6:15pm – 10:00pm    Lewisville Independence Day Celebration
Kernersville   FREE   6:30pm – 9:30pm   Kernersville 4th of July Fireworks
GSO   FREE   8:45pm – 10:00pm   Greensboro Fireworks Concert

Tuesday, July 5
WS   FREE   7:30pm – 9:00pm   Concert at Old Salem

Wednesday, July 6
GSO   FREE   12:00pm – 1:30pm    Lunchtime Music Downtown Greensboro
GSO   FREE   5pm – 7pm   Family Night ArtQuest at Greenhill
GSO   FREE   6pm – 7pm   Fitness by the Fountain at Center City

Thursday, July 7
WS   FREE   3:30pm – 4:30pm   Art in the Overlook Gallery
WS   FREE   5:30pm – 7:30pm   Thursday Night Music in Old Salem
 
Friday, July 8  
WS   FREE   6pm – 9pm   Live Jazz Outdoors DTWS
Alamance County   FREE   7pm – 9pm   Alamance County Musical Chairs

Saturday, July 9
WS   FREE   7pm – 10pm   Summer on Liberty

Sunday, July 10
WS   FREE   3pm – 6pm   Second Sundays on 4th


Details are on our calendar.  If you have questions about an event, please contact the sponsor directly.  All information is correct and accurate at the time of it's posting.

Celebrate Fourth of July all weekend!
All events are free for the family.  There may be items for purchase.  You may need a chair for some events. 

Saturday, July 2

Statesville Fireworks Celebration
9:30pm – 10:30pm
 Launch location is just across the street from Signal Hill Mall

Sunday, July 3

July 3rd in the Park in Burlington
1pm – 10pm
Join us for the annual July 3rd in the Park Independence Day celebration.  There will be live music, great food, amusement park rides, games and of course fireworks at 9:30pm!  Come out and experience this family fun event! http://www.btowneventsnc.com/july-3rd-in-the-park.html

Music Series at Barber Park in Greensboro
5pm – 7pm
​https://www.facebook.com/events/1599522257040435/

Summer Park Series at Triad Park 
6pm – 9pm
Patriotic Pops.  Piedmont Wind Symphony and Judy Barnes Band to Perform at Triad Park July 3 and Tanglewood Park July 13.  Performances in the Summer Parks Series are free and open to the public.  Bring a chair or blanket. Food trucks will be on site and refreshments will be available for purchase.  http://goo.gl/tqGR3K

Patriotic Concert at the Miller Park Amphitheater in Winston-Salem
6:30pm-8:00pm
Music will include Semper Fidelis, American Folk Song Rhapsody, American Patrol, On The Home Front, Star Spangled Spectacular, Armed Forces Salute, America The Beautiful, Let There Be Peace On Earth, Battle Hymn Of The Republic, and Stars and Stripes Forever. 

Block Party in Greensboro
8pm-11pm
Let’s kick-off Fun Fourth together! Come and enjoy good food and great music. Featuring the sounds of the Sleeping Booty Band.
Admission: FREE, Open to the Public
Parking: Free parking is available in all city parking decks and surface lots.

Monday, July 4

Fun Fourth in Greensboro
2pm-8pm
Admission: FREE, Open to the Public
Parking: Free parking is available in all city parking decks and surface lots.  http://funfourthfestival.com/4th-street-festival/

Archdale 4th of July Festival
3pm – 10pm
Creekside Park Greenway, Archdale.  Join us for a fun filled day full of vendors, treats, carnival rides, pony rides, music, and more. Part Time Party Time Band will rock the evening between 7pm - 9pm followed by a spectacular fireworks show. 

Lewisville Independence Day Celebration
6:15pm-10pm
Join us for the Town of Lewisville's annual Independence Day celebration. The festivities begin at 6:15 pm featuring live music by the Big Love NC band. Fireworks begin at dark. Bring a lawn chair, a picnic and a blanket. This fireworks extravaganza is one of the largest and most spectacular in the Triad. A rain date of Tuesday, July 5 will apply. Free admission

Kernersville 4th of July Fireworks
6:30pm-9:30pm
Hosted by the Town of Kernersville & Kernersville Chamber of Commerce. Bring your lawn chair, blanket, family & friends to the Kernersville Raiders football field for a FREE fireworks celebration; complete with live music starting at 6:30pm! The sky will light up around 9pm in a spectacular display of our great nation's independence.  http://goo.gl/uz8q7t

Greensboro Fireworks Concert
8:45m-10pm
Lincoln Financial Parking (Corner of Davie St & Market St)
End Fun Fourth with a bang, and join us downtown for an outdoor concert and fireworks extravaganza!  Featuring the Madison Heavenly Sounds Trombone Shout Band, Spoken Word and the Greensboro Philharmonia.  Reminder! Bring a comfy seat to enjoy the concert.  Chairs will not be provided.

Tuesday July 5

The Salem Band's Patriotic Concert
7:30pm-9
Salem Square at Old Salem
Free outdoor concert, bring your lawn chair or blanket.  Hot dogs, drinks and gelato available for purchase.  For more information http://www.salemband.org/

By Jessica Thomas Lewis

When I was in my early twenties, in the early to mid-nineties, I visited someone that lived in an apartment at Rolling Hills Apartments off of New Walkertown Road.   Having grown up in a middle class neighborhood off Reynolda Road,  Rolling Hills seemed very much the "other side" of town.

There has been an increase in arrests at the complex, she said, because of the increased police attention in the area. In the past year, there have been 395 arrests for such things as drugs, trespassing and assault, according to police-department records. In the previous year, there were 269 arrests. --source: Winston-Salem Journal, December 1, 2008. 

I remember Rolling Hills as being dirty.  Dry dirt, that seemed to coat the complex, devoid of grass or any kind of landscaping to make it feel like home.  It was a dry summer and there seemed to be a layer of dirt everywhere.  There were roaches.  Twenty years ago, the  living conditions were poor.  The residents seemed apathetic.  Rolling Hills is lower income, section 8 housing.  Built in 1971, the complex has 110 rent-assisted units. 

In 2008, there was an article written about the drug dealers, gun shots, roaches and rats.  Residents complained of robberies and hearing gunshots daily.    The Housing Authority of Winston-Salem resolved to solve the problems and undertake a complete renovation.   HUD money was going to be used for new roofs and stairways, which were crumbling.   The Winston-Salem Police Department said that they were aware of problems and had increased patrols.  

Ramona Hambrick, who has lived at the complex since November 2005, said she hears gunshots almost every day and she is afraid for her great-grandsons' safety when they come to visit.
"On a day-to-day basis, someone gets robbed over here," she said. -- source: Winston-Salem Journal, December 1, 2008

In 2011, The Housing Authority of Winston-Salem sold Rolling Hills Apartment Complex to PK Management LLC.  PK Management is a nationwide management company specializing in Section 8 housing properties. The property was to be subsidized by HUD and maintain city codes and rehabilitation standards.  

In 2014 Rolling Hills was sold again and Aspen Companies Management LLC, based in Teaneck, NJ, began managing the complex.

Earlier this week, on June 28, 2016 the Winston-Salem Journal reported about raw sewage in apartments, ceilings falling in, mold, and other violations cited by the city.  Aspen claims to be responsive to residents concerns but residents are claiming that they are having to wait days for a response and fixes come very slowly if at all. The city has discovered multiple violations of the minimum housing code and there will be hearings to determine if some units should be deemed unfit for human habitation. 

“After the sewage came up, some plumbers came and put a camera down my toilet,” she said. “They said it’s just broken up pieces of pipe. (Management) hasn’t done anything.” -- source: Winston-Salem Journal, June 28, 2016

Why are humans habitating there?    How long will people have to live like that?  Where is the HUD money, the private funding that was supposed to bring improvement to this community?  Throughout Winston-Salem you see signs of restoration and rebuilding.  This area, including Rolling Hills, should be included in that rebirth.  Rolling Hills should either be brought out of slum housing standards or razed to the ground.   This area may be better served with a demolition of the complex.  Residents should be in housing that meets a standard and does not place them in squalor and insecurity for their own safety.  

Rolling Hills has the advantage of location.  With the apartments out of the way that space has opportunity for many grand things!  Just five minutes from downtown and close to two major highways, it's spot on New Walkertown Road has good road access and is close to the Delta Fine Arts Center and Evergreen Cemetery. It would be a fantastic spot for a city park or pool, botanical gardens or spot for meditation and recognition of East Winston's history.  This spot now provides only unsafe and unsanitary living conditions for our most impoverished population.  There are many opportunities for improvement.  This is too long to wait for the fix. 

What do you think?  Should this apartment complex be demolished?  If so, what should replace it?  Please leave your thoughts in the comments.