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Forsyth County proposes Tobaccoville site for new event center

An area map shows the proposed location for a new Forsyth County agricultural event center. Courtesy Forsyth County.

Forsyth County is asking the public to weigh on a proposed site in Tobaccoville for a multiuse agricultural event center.

County officials have selected a Rolling Hills property in Tobaccoville as the potential site for the project.

In 2016, voters approved a bond referendum that included $5 million for a county agricultural multiuse event center. But a proposal to build the center in Tanglewood Park near Clemmons met with strong opposition.

Officials are now seeking public input on the new proposed site that would cover about 190 acres of county-owned land in Tobaccoville. The project is anticipated to include a pre-engineered building, areas for outdoor recreation, parking, road improvements, related site development and landscaping.

Deputy County Manager Damon Sanders-Pratt says there are a number of reasons why this location is ideal.

"It's in a part of the county that doesn't have a lot of recreational opportunities, with the belt parkway in development, there will be better access to this location, as well as the access off of Doral Drive, and so this would allow us to preserve some land in the county for recreational purposes," says Sanders-Pratt. 

Public information sessions will be held on Tuesday, March 15, and Wednesday, March 30 at the Tobaccoville Community Center.

An online survey will also be posted.

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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