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Forsyth County Farm Will Be Preserved As A Historic Site

A farm in Forsyth County will soon be turned into a historic preservation site. 

About 246 acres of land off the Yadkin River in western Forsyth County has been purchased by the Conservation Fund of Arlington, Virginia.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that the non-profit purchased the Messick Farm from Jean Messick and the Winston-Salem Foundation for nearly $3 million. Officials say the organization is essentially providing a bridge loan, with the intent of turning the land into a state park with walking trails.

The Conservation Fund has aided in a number of local efforts in the Triad. The organization provided a bridge loan to the Piedmont Land Conservancy to acquire and preserve the Crossnore School and Children's Home property in Winston-Salem.

In 2013 it helped purchase nearly 1,600 acres to create several trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

A Conservation Fund spokesperson says the Messick Farm property may be ready for public use in about a year.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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