What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm Saturday 8:30am - 12pm

The Paper Media, 110 South Sterling St, Morganton, NC (2025)

09/17/2025

A building that was constructed more than a century ago, made lively by hundreds of hands working to manufacture hosiery, is now the focus of new development in Glen Alpine.

From a long-standing ministry that helps women earn supplemental income, to a space for fitness and physical therapy, resident Chad Wykle’s family is transforming the mill into a space for small businesses to grow.

Like many towns in the foothills of Western North Carolina, Glen Alpine has a rich and proud history, Wykle said. The old Glen Alpine Knitting Mill is a large part of that history for the town, having employed a couple hundred workers at its peak. The mill was established around 1920 by N.O. Pitts and Clarence V. Lael.

Chad and Rebecca Wykle moved back to Glen Alpine with their two children, Gabe and Nora, four years ago after living in Chattanooga, TN for more than 20 years.

Their house, located near the old Glen Alpine High School, now Glen Alpine Elementary School, is the house where Rebecca grew up and the house where they lived before moving to Tennessee.

“She and I were, at the time, totally engulfed with rock climbing,” Wykle said. “We loved climbing and so we cut our teeth here in the Linville Gorge. This was our stomping grounds for climbing and in the High Country of North Carolina.”

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/ba2bcb

A old textile mill in Glen Alpine is coming to life once again thanks to the efforts of Chad and Rebecca Wykle.

09/17/2025

Burke County United Way is developing a committee focused on continued assistance for Hurricane Helene victims.

To prepare, United Way hosted an open Hurricane Helene Long-Term Recovery Group meeting Thursday at Western Piedmont Community College.

The mission of a long-term recovery group is to provide a coordinated set of partner organizations with the common goal of serving impacted individuals and families in the community.

After a general thanks to the many organizations that provided recovery assistance thus far, Executive Director Maureen “Mo” Schwind reviewed the grants and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds received over the past year.

There were 13,407 registrations completed for individual assistance. Approximately $4.7 million went to housing assistance, such as home replacement and repair, and nearly $10.7 million went to other needs assistance such as displacement funds for applicants that needed to immediately move due to their loss. Just over $3,500 went to transportation, medical expenses, funerals, and a variety of other necessities.

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/f758f6

Burke County United Way is developing a committee focused on continued assistance for Hurricane Helene victims.

09/16/2025

Whether it’s a Garfield poster about math and Mondays, or extra pencils and paper when a student runs out, many educators across the country go the extra mile to create engaging environments for their students.

In North Carolina, classroom comforts come at a hefty cost for teachers — often out of their own pockets.

A July CouponBirds report showed an average out-of-pocket expenditure at $1,632 in North Carolina — second only to Pennsylvania at $1,637.

To put it in perspective, North Carolina teachers spend nearly three times as much as the lowest spending state, South Dakota, at $569 — despite North Carolina’s ranking as 43rd in the nation for teacher pay.

Burke County Public Schools (BCPS) Public Information Officer Cheryl Shuffler said one of those expenses — decor — depends on the personality of the teacher. Teachers decorate as they see fit, with the more expressive change to faculty adding a little flair to their classrooms.

At Mountain View Elementary — the largest elementary school in the county with approximately 700 students — several teachers fit that bill.

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/dee088

Teachers love to make their rooms attractive and welcoming for students. But how much out of pocket cash should they spend to do that?

09/16/2025

Glen Alpine’s Board of Aldermen packed a lot into Monday night’s meeting, from discussion about allowing golf carts to a suggestion for a public property ordinance.

But the most talked about issue came at the end of the meeting: the board denied support of resident Tim Suttles’ request to deannex his 20-acre property on Lail Road.

Suttles uses 15 of those acres to produce hay. During the board’s August meeting, Suttles said that he produced 720 bales during his last cutting.

In order to be deannexed, the board would have to pass some sort of formal request to the N.C. General Assembly, which would ultimately make the decision whether to approve or deny the request.

However, the request didn’t make it that far because the majority of board members voted against signing a formal resolution of support.

The request wasn’t popular among other residents either. Soon-to-be Mayor of Glen Alpine Kevin Herron, who is running unopposed, was in attendance at Monday night’s meeting and spoke in opposition to the request for anyone to be able to be deannexed from the town.

“My thoughts on that, board members, is you bought the house. It was in Glen Alpine. You’ve lived in Glen Alpine. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to go but a half mile down the road and there’s somewhere else,” Herron said.

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/3245a1

The Glen Alpine Board of Aldermen denied a request for a deannexation of property within the town limits.

09/15/2025

The building that formerly housed Foothills Thrift Store on Main Street in Valdese just went up for sale, and with more than 6,000 square feet to work with, the space is perfect for practically anything, said Foothills Service Project Executive Director Scotty Donnelly.

The building was put on the market Tuesday, Donnelly said. It is listed for $600,000 through Western Piedmont Real Estate by agent Tony Colella.

Foothills Thrift Store closed its Valdese location in late July. Now, the organization only operates its larger store in Drexel, Donnelly said.

Donnelly said the Valdese location was closed due to cost and difficulty keeping it staffed. “And, honestly, just the overwhelming number of thrift stores in Valdese,” he said with a good-humored chuckle.

Money from selling the Valdese building will go toward building office space in Drexel, Donnelly said. He said that, currently, the organization’s office is located in Rutherford College, in a building the town allows them to use.

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/238348

The building that formerly housed Foothills Thrift Store on Main Street in Valdese just went up for sale, and with more than 6,000 square feet to work with, the space

09/15/2025

Construction projects in Morganton were worth nearly $1.5 million for the month of August, ranging from residential renovations to plumbing for new businesses.

In the breakdown, the monthly permit report shows a total of $1,460,006 worth of construction activity.

Of the permits, 71 were for residential projects, which had construction activity worth $874,177. The remaining permits were 24 commercial permits, which showed $582,880 worth of construction.

One permit for Burke County Public Schools shows $2,949 for mechanical work at their soon-to-be central office at 305 W Union St. The district’s goal is to relocate by the 2026-27 school year.

The most-costly residential project was $250,400 for the construction of a new single-family residence. The majority of residential projects consisted of mechanical work, from changing out heat pumps to replacing HVAC units.

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/0154b5

Construction projects in Morganton were worth nearly $1.5 million for the month of August, ranging from residential renovations to plumbing for new businesses.

09/14/2025

When it comes to voting machines, some voters are distrusting at best and find it distressingly possible that machines are tampered with to swing the votes one way or the other — which doesn’t happen in Burke County, said the chairman of the elections board.

To prove it, Burke County Board of Elections Chairman Anthony Iovino put in a request with County Manager Brian Epley for security cameras in its part of the building at 2128 S. Sterling St. in Morganton.

But first, the Board of Elections wants to consolidate its space. Currently, its operations are spread around four parts of the same building, which they share with Burke Development, Inc. (BDI) and Foothills Higher Education Center.

The voting machines are stored inside locked cages in the same building, but across the hall from the Board of Elections in a secure space.

The board held a discussion with Epley about outgrowing its space at Tuesday’s meeting. At the end, it was decided that Board of Elections Director Kenny Rhyne would meet with Epley to start formulating a plan to address the board’s needs.

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/331e4e

The Burke County Board of Elections has asked for more space to store the county's voting machines.

09/14/2025

Morganton resident Timothy Rooks, an attorney with more than 30 years of experience, has been appointed by Gov. Josh Stein as a N.C. Superior Court judge, filling a vacancy created when Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin retired at the end of August.

Rooks, who is also campaigning for election to a full term next year, said his goal is to assume the bench as quickly as possible to take some weight off Daniel Kuehnert, who is one of two Superior Court judges in District 36.

“I got excited this weekend,” Rooks said. “It was humbling, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to serve. As of Monday of this week, I put all that (excitement) aside and started to focus on what needs to be done.”

Rooks said he aims to assume the bench by October. In the meantime, he is working on closing his private practice.

In a June interview with The Paper, Rooks said the county has a shortage of attorneys willing to defend serious felony cases in Superior Court.

He said highlighting the challenging nature of defending those cases is one way to catch the interest of young attorneys looking to build a body of work.

In the same interview, Rooks said he is a big fan of the Veterans Treatment Court program, which helps veterans charged with less serious felonies deal with mental health and substance abuse problems as an alternative to incarceration.

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/4e4ac3

Morganton resident Timothy Rooks, an attorney with more than 30 years of experience, has been appointed by Gov. Josh Stein as a N.C. Superior Court judge, filling a vacancy created

09/13/2025

Glen Alpine Alderman Reid Scott, who has often been outspoken about a lack of accountability among town employees, has been appointed by his peers to the newly created town position Chief of Public Works.

Scott’s appointment came Monday night after an executive session that was closed to the public and the press because “personnel matters” were being discussed.

Scott, who was elected to the board in 2023, frequently starts conversations surrounding accountability, questioning town employees about services that did or did not get completed, and how they can improve.

Now, he will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the town’s two public works employees, while remaining in his position as alderman. Through his role, he has been given the authority to hire and fire, and there will be a salary attached to his position, according to Mayor Michelle Lewis.

Scott said he was asked to step into the role, and although at 75 years old, he said he didn’t particularly want another job, he said this role is necessary.

Town of Glen Alpine

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/f9a952

Glen Alpine Alderman Reid Scott, who has often been outspoken about a lack of accountability among town workers, has been appointed by his peers to the newly created town position

09/13/2025

When Burke County Public Schools (BCPS) shared its North Carolina school report card last week, it unveiled a mixed snapshot of rising graduation rates and declining test scores — a picture that reflects a step backward in overall performance since last year.

Graduation rates rose from 88.2% in the 2023-24 school year to 89.2% in the 2024-25 school year. But while 17 schools attained an A, B, or C rating, seven schools landed on the D-list — two more than last year.

Although seven schools improved their grades, 17 saw declines with two schools’ scores dropping by double digits — Drexel Elementary and W.A. Young Elementary.

The report card results culminate from a dualistic set of factors: proficiency accounting for 80% of the score and growth accounting for 20% of the score. Proficiency represents how the students did on the individual tests, while growth reflects their improvement over time.

BCPS Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan said, “While test scores provide one snapshot of progress on a single day, they do not tell the full story of our students. We continue to advocate for a more balanced approach to accountability, with equal weight given to both proficiency and growth, rather than the current 80/20 model.”

https://www.thepaper.media/news/burke_county/burke-test-scores-show-step-backward-in-overall-performance/article_05063851-f335-440d-aec9-77f7082d140e.html

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/29a1f7

When Burke County Public Schools (BCPS) shared its North Carolina school report card last week, it unveiled a mixed snapshot of rising graduation rates and declining test scores – a

09/13/2025

The City of Morganton plans to sell the former Bella Vino building located on West Union Street.

The building has been owned by the city since 1996 and the upstairs is home to the Main Street office. Earlier in the spring, the city began seeking new restaurant tenants for the building and City Manager Sally Sandy said several had been received.

But one, which Sandy said aligns with the city’s goal to create an economic driver in the traffic downtown, involves selling the property.

The offer, which is from Cranford Hospitality, would involve purchasing the property for $425,000 with a $25,000 earnest money deposit, as well as reduced or free rent for two years after the closing, so the Main Street office can stay in its location. After the two years, they will have the option to renew the lease.

Cranford Hospitality is well established in the region, owning and operating several restaurants in the Hickory Metro area. The group owns Charolais Steakhouse, City Walk Brewing & Distilling, Cranford Brothers BBQ, Granny’s County Kitchen, Main Chick Jammin’ Biscuits, and Standard Oyster Company.

The City Council voted unanimously at its regular monthly meeting on Monday evening to approve a resolution of intent to declare the property surplus and sell it. The timeline includes closing on the property by the end of December and starting renovations by Jan. 31, 2026.

Read the full article in The Paper.

https://monkeylink.co/a3dd4b

The city plans to sell the Bella Vino property to Cranford Hospitality with the goal of having a new restaurant occupy the space.

09/13/2025

The Freedom football team earned a major win on the road Friday, defeating T.C. Roberson by a 20-14 score to remain perfect through four games.

Noah Francis and Julius Dominguez each had over 100 receiving yards for the Patriots, while quarterback Kaden Davis surpassed 300 yards through the air. Additionally, Freedom's defense totaled 12 tackles for loss.

Click the link below for more details from Freedom's latest win, along with video highlights from the game and details from Patton's 35-14 home loss to Polk County.

Freedom cruised past county foes Patton, Draughn, and East Burke over the first three weeks of the high school football season, but Friday’s road matchup with T.C. Roberson presented a

The Paper Media

09/17/2025

09/17/2025

09/16/2025

09/16/2025

09/15/2025

09/15/2025

09/14/2025

09/14/2025

09/13/2025

09/13/2025

09/13/2025

09/13/2025

Address

Opening Hours

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm
Saturday	8:30am - 12pm