Commercial Truck Insurance in Hickory, NC

HICKORY, N.C. — Appalachian State University marked a significant milestone in its 124-year history by opening the new Hickory campus on Aug. 21 — expanding higher education access in what was previously the largest metropolitan area in the state without a public university campus.

The first day of fall semester classes began at 9:30 a.m. in the newly renovated first floor of the six-story Hickory campus building, located on U.S. Highway 321, a five-minute drive from the city’s downtown. On a day filled with celebration — which included food trucks, giveaways and plenty of black and gold — university and Hickory area leaders gathered at the campus Monday morning for an opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting.

“App State’s founders had an ambitious vision — to increase access to higher education in the most rural mountain areas of Western North Carolina,” said App State Chancellor Sheri Everts. “Today, we honor their vision and continue our trajectory of excellence by opening the App State Hickory campus, solidifying our commitment to the Greater Hickory area.”

More than 100 undergraduate degree programs are available to students attending App State at the Hickory campus. On-site services and facilities at the campus, which will continue to expand, include advising, tutoring and career development services; admissions and financial aid; a library, writing center and testing center; study areas and computer labs; disability services; health care and counseling; and a gym for students, faculty and staff.

“App State Hickory comes at a crucial juncture, when our city is on the cusp of remarkable growth,” said Hickory Mayor Hank Guess. “This extension aligns perfectly with our aspirations to attract new businesses and opportunities to our community. By equipping our workforce with the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the challenges of tomorrow, App State is playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of our workforce.”

​​Positioning an App State campus in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metro Area aligns with the university’s mission to increase access to higher education and with the University of North Carolina System Strategic Plan priorities of increasing access to underserved populations, maximizing affordability and expanding the UNC System’s contribution to the state’s critical workforces.

Students who live at home and attend App State at the Hickory campus are exempt from room and board fees, resulting in significant savings and providing an affordable bachelor’s degree option to students in the Catawba Valley.

Ashlynn Caudill, a communication sciences and disorders major from Lincolnton, represented the inaugural class of students at App State’s Hickory campus at the opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting. Caudill — who has dreamed of attending App State but said it was important to her to stay close to home — described her joy when she learned about the opening of the Hickory campus.

“One hundred and twenty-four years ago, App State’s founders had a dream — a dream that helped me achieve my dream today,” Caudill said. “My dream to be ... a Hickory Mountaineer.”

App State has had a presence in Hickory since as early as 1968, with distance education courses offered at the Catawba Valley Community College campus and resources such as the N.C. Center for Engineering Technologies and the Small Business and Technology Development Center. Conversations about opening a campus in Hickory began years ago, with support and guidance from Hickory area leaders, including Leroy Lail and former App State Trustee Don Beaver.

On Nov. 19, 2021, the university closed on the $1 million purchase of the former Corning Optical Communications Building, located on 15.7 acres at 800 17th St. NW. At 225,800 square feet, the six-story building is larger than any building on App State’s Boone campus. During a legislative visit to the campus in spring 2022, North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore described the purchase as “one of the deals of the century.”

After purchasing the building, Everts appointed the Hickory Campus Advisory Council, a group of business, education, government and civic leaders from Hickory and the surrounding area, to participate in the planning process for App State’s Hickory campus. In addition to multiple listening sessions held with Hickory area leaders, the university also sought feedback from App State faculty and staff to develop a phased plan for academic programs and support services at the new campus.

In 2022, the North Carolina General Assembly allocated $9 million in initial funding for the campus, which the university used to renovate the first floor with new classrooms, technology upgrades and a library, replace the building’s HVAC system, install a new energy-efficient roof, resurface the parking lot, install LED light fixtures and to make many other improvements.

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On Aug. 18, App State hosted a Hickory Higher Education Summit at the new campus, with representatives from Lenoir-Rhyne University, a private institution in Hickory, as well as Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, Catawba Valley Community College, Mitchell Community College, McDowell Technical Community College, Western Piedmont Community College and Wilkes Community College. All six community colleges are located within a one-hour drive of the App State Hickory campus and are important partners in providing a seamless pathway for community college transfer students to complete their bachelor’s degrees at App State.

“Higher education institutions have made great strides in adapting to meet the needs of our community — but we must continue to respond to the needs of the state and region,” Everts said at the summit. “Through open dialogue and partnership, we form a collaborative and strategic unit, focused on preparing a workforce for the future. Together, we are a powerful collective with the potential to elevate the people of our state and advance their capabilities.”

“While App State has had a presence in the Hickory area for decades, with this new campus and a more intentional approach, we look forward to being a steadfast partner with Lenoir-Rhyne University, as well as the community colleges in the region,” Everts added.

App State’s fall 2023 enrollment numbers will be official as of the 10th day of classes on Sept. 1, known as the “census day.” The university will release enrollment numbers the first week of September.

Visit appstate.edu to access admission applications for the spring and fall 2024 semesters, which are now open. The annual cost of tuition and fees at App State is just over $8,000, and every Hickory campus student enrolled at the campus for the 2023–24 academic year is a recipient of a $2,000 Hickory First Scholarship, reducing their tuition and fees to just over $6,000 — before any other scholarships or financial aid are applied.

Prospective students can learn more at the fall open house for the Hickory campus on Saturday, Oct. 21.

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About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

HICKORY, N.C. — Nearly two dozen workers in Hickory say they haven’t been paid in weeks.

Proficient Supply sells products and the owner says the labor board has been contacted about the lost wages.

“We’re still holding out hope,” one worker said. “Hoping for a miracle, hoping that they pay us.”

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty learned the pay issues started a few weeks ago after the company sold some of its inventory. The owner told Faherty that Wealth Assistants, based in Miami, purchased 1.8 million of its inventory back in March. But that company later reported “financial hardship” this fall and workers say they stopped getting their paychecks weeks ago.

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Some employees are still showing up, including Cody Limbo.

“Every time we talk with the bosses they tell us it’s not their problem,” Limbo said. “There’s a lawyer fee or a lawyer hold up and a bank hold up.”

Limbo isn’t alone. Anna Acosta is going to college and has not received two of her checks after working 80 hours. She also says single parents aren’t getting paychecks.

“I do know of single parents here who’ve worked over 80 hours and haven’t gotten paid,” Acosta said. “Their lights have been shut off, their electricity, their internet... Paying their bills has been hard.”

Proficient Supply says they learned Wealth Assistant’s bank put their account into a credit-only status and workers stopped getting their checks this month. Proficient Supply has been in contact with the North Carolina Department of Labor.

The NCDOL told us “In order for the NC Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Bureau to assist an employee with a wage dispute a complaint must be filed,” the NCDOL said. “At this point, they do not know of an investigation involving either company.”

Cody Limbo is hoping he and other workers get what’s owed to them.

“Every day they come in and say we’re going to get paid and it’s just been the next day, the next day…the next day,” Limbo said.

The owner of Proficient Supply says he is doing everything possible to get workers the back pay owed to them from Wealth Assistants.

Channel 9 has tried reaching out to Wealth Assistants, but we have not heard back.

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An Indiana-based steel company is planning to spend more than $30.5 million for a new facility in Hickory and create 58 jobs in the Charlotte region.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced the investment plans on Thursday for Steel Warehouse Company, an industrial steel processor. The family-owned company makes products for industries such as agriculture, construction, energy and transportation.

Steel Warehouse’s Hickory location will support the region’s industrial supply chain, according to a news release from the governor’s office. It will be at the former site of the Appalachian Hardwood Flooring at 2441 Highland Ave. NE, according to Nathan Huret, spokesman for the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation.

“We view this as an attractive place to invest for the long term,” said Dave Lerman, board chair for Steel Warehouse in a news release.

About 15 different buildings, totaling 75,000 square feet, are on the property and a lot of them will be demolished, Huret said. About 50,000 square feet of the property will be restored for the facility to house large amounts of steel and laser cutting technology.

Catawba County anticipates construction for the facility to start in the upcoming months and it may open this year, Huret said.

“It comes with a good bit of property,” Huret said. “So we’re really anticipating in the future that they’re going to add a new facility on the same property. That’s the hope.”

The average yearly pay is expected to be $62,000 — more than 14 % higher than the Catawba County average of $54,151.

The state is providing Steel Warehouse with a $120,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. To get payments, businesses are required to meet employment and capital investment targets. One NC grants also require a funding match from local governments.

A public hearing for local incentive consideration will likely be this month by the Catawba County Board of Commissioners and the Hickory City Council, Huret said.

Hickory is about an hour north of Charlotte.

Steel Warehouse was founded in 1947 and operates 15 locations in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil.

The steel provider and service center distributes more than 2 million tons of coil, sheet, and plate with smooth and rough surfaces annually.

HICKORY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — In a truly remarkable turn of events, thieves have returned almost all of the pieces of a 10-foot-long red thumbtack art sculpture they took from a Hickory art gallery more than a week ago.

ATAC owner Hunter Speagle told Queen City News that the two pieces missing since last week were placed at the front doors of the Gallery overnight Thursday.

“It really was a surprise, I thought this chapter in its story was over, but now here it is,” he explained to Queen City News Friday afternoon.

Hunter’s sculpture has been a staple of this art gallery and his mission for more than two decades.

Sometime on February 27, thieves took the thumbtack from outside Hunter’s art gallery. The base of the thumbtack was the only piece they left behind, and even that was by accident.

When he first spoke with Queen City News, he said he had small pockets of hope that the piece would be returned fully intact.

That mindset, however, changed when a business owner nearby told him the art heist had been caught on security camera.

The video shows individuals in a red jeep parked near the front of the gallery.

Over the course of two hours, they sporadically took pieces of the thumbtack to the jeep (first the needle, then the body of the thumbtack), before they attempted to drive off.

However, the base of the thumbtack rolled off and was left on the side of the road outside the gallery. Hunter explained that he had seen this same jeep before at a neighboring business and had plans to do his own sleuthing.

“It was my job as the creator of it to do whatever I could to get it back,” he explained.

He spoke with owners of the neighboring businesses and confronted the owners of a red jeep, similar to that of the one seen in the video.

One of those conversations, along with questioning from authorities, led to the two pieces being placed outside his shop overnight Thursday.

“I showed up to work this morning and it was back. I was just like where have you been?!” he said.

The tip of the needle has not been returned, and there is damage to the art piece, which his daughter Opal is not happy with.

“There’s a tip of it missing . . . I’m glad it’s back, but I’m still mad they messed it up,” she said.

Hunter said he doesn’t know what a fix-up would look like, but wants to use this as a moment to show his daughter, and other’s in the art community, why art is so important.

“Life moves forward and life moves on. So will the story of the thumbtack. It will move on.”

Police have not made any arrests in this case.

“American Idol’s” Hollywood Week will feature six contestants from North Carolina, including two from the Charlotte area, after two more singers earned golden tickets during Sunday night’s episode.

North Carolina has produced three “Idol” winners since the show first aired: Fantasia Barrino, Scotty McCreery and Caleb Johnson. Other notable contestants from the Tar Heel State include Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler and Anoop Desai.

This year, Hollywood Week begins March 31 and consists of contestants being mentored by someone in their chosen musical genre.

These are the North Carolina singers who will compete.

Charlotte native and former NFL player Blake Proehl, playing the piano while sitting next to his grandmother, sang a rendition of “In Case You Didn’t Know,” an emotional ballad by country artist Brett Young, during the season premiere that aired Feb. 18.

All three judges — including Katy Perry, who showed off her goosebumps during his performance — had glowing reviews for Proehl.

“Every grandma thinks that their grandchildren are great, but you’re right,” Perry told Proehl’s grandmother during his audition. “If you will allow us to be your coaches, you’re going to be to be top 10.”

“You just did that song the right way, and a very believable way ... Every girl you sit down and sing that to, they’re going to be melted butter,” judge Luke Bryan said. “It was just a real moment.”

“I wrote one thing down that stood out: natural,” judge Lionel Richie told Proehl.

Proehl received a resounding “yes” from all three judges, punching his ticket to Hollywood.

“I’m going to frame this ticket and probably put it in Nana’s house, because that’s where this all started,” Proehl said.

Bethany Teague, a Gastonia native and preschool teacher, was moved to tears after singing Kelly Clarkson’s “Piece by Piece” during her audition Sunday.

Before she sang, Teague revealed to the judges that her grandmother adopted her when she was five years old.

Her mother passed away in 2017 after giving birth to her sister, and her father is not in her life, Teague told the judges.

“My family is the world to me,” said Teague. “The ones that I have, they’re amazing.”

“I can tell why that song is so important,” Perry said. “I think you should turn that pain into purpose.”

“I think she just validated exactly what a hit record is supposed to be,” Richie said. “That was very moving, and you delivered the heck out of it.”

Teague celebrated with her family after receiving a “yes” from all three judges – and a ticket to Hollywood.

When 18-year-old Garrison Bennett walked into the audition room Sunday, the judges instantly noticed his resemblance to a young Richie.

“We better get a paternity test to make sure this isn’t Lionel’s child,” Bryan said.

Bennett, a Hickory native, first auditioned for the judges virtually, but didn’t make it through to Hollywood, WSOC reported – but he changed their minds after singing “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder, receiving a “yes” from all three.

When Bennett was joined by his family after hearing the good news, Perry had one question for his mother.

“Is this the first time you’ve met Lionel Richie?” Perry asked Bennett’s mother, who didn’t respond.

“Lionel, my dad, I’ll see you in Hollywood,” Bennett joked.

Pembroke native Anna Grace Hunt earned her ticket to Hollywood after performing “The Prayer” by Donnie McClurkin — but she received it in an unusual way.

Hunt, 18, is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and won Miss Teen Lumbee in 2022, ABC11 reported. She is freshman at UNC Pembroke studying biology.

During the vote, Hunt received a “no” from Richie, but the other two judges had a tougher time making their decisions.

“You’ve got the voice, but I don’t think you’ve been challenged,” Bryan said.

“Yeah, but we’re the challengers,” Perry responded before changing her vote to “yes.”

Bryan voted “no” and was challenged to a “moo-off” by Perry, to decide Hunt’s fate.

Both judges climbed onto the table, got on all fours facing each other — and mooed like cows. The rules were simple: the first judge to laugh loses.

Bryan cracked first, meaning Hunt earned her ticket to Hollywood.

“I’m going to go home, work hard and show Katy that she didn’t moo for nothing,” Hunt said after her audition.

Max Dasher, 18, from Black Mountain, received a “yes” from all three judges after performing his rendition of “Rock Salt and Nails” by Utah Phillips on March 3.

“You have that sparkle,” Perry said. “It’s the stuff. There’s like an undeniable authenticity. It’s like a gold rush.”

“What I love about you is that you did your audition exactly the way I would have,” said Bryan. “Freaking out, playing the guitar like you were trying to break a string. If we can get you to breathe and calm down — and understand that you’re pretty damn cool man, you’ve got a little bit of magic to you.”

“Your mantra should be: I’m 18, and I look like James Dean,” Richie said. “You’re going to have to bump up your vocals, but remember, your attitude comes with it.

The judges saw the resemblance between Laela Dasher and her brother, Max, who auditioned right before her, after she sang “Angel from Montgomery” by John Prine while Max played the guitar.

“It’s definitely in the DNA,” Perry said after Laela’s audition. “Your brother and you have some similarities in delivery. As far as volume goes, I was looking for a little bit more. I’m just torn.”

After Bryan asked if the siblings could sing together, they performed “Rivers and Roads” by The Head and the Heart.

“It’s just magical,” Richie said after their performance. “I don’t know what y’all are gonna do next, but I know I’m gonna like it when you give it to me.”

Though Perry voted “no,” Richie and Bryan voted “yes,” sending Laela to Hollywood.

The next episode of “American Idol” will air on Sunday, March 24 at 8 p.m. on ABC. That’s the last episode of auditions. The Hollywood Week episodes air Sunday, March 31, and Monday, April 1.

This story was originally published March 19, 2024, 4:38 PM.