City of Hickory, NC - Government

👀 Welcome to Week 3 of our Spot the Difference Summer Photo Challenge, where we're releasing a series of photos to test your powers of observation! Each challenge post includes an unedited photo of a Hickory location along with an altered version of the same photograph.

🔎 Your challenge is to compare the two photos and find all of the differences.

💬 Comment the number of differences in the post for a chance to win a prize each week. Challenge posts go live each Monday, and the correct number of differences will be revealed on Wednesday of that same week.

✅ To complete your weekly challenge submission, circle or mark the differences on the edited photograph and direct message it to the City's page. A winner will be selected each Friday from the correct submissions.

Download high-resolution photos to compare:
https://www.hickorync.gov/spot-difference-summer-photo-challenge

🚧 Heads up, Hickory drivers! On Thursday, Aug. 8, City of Hickory crews will close the intersection of 8th Ave Dr NW and 9th Ave NW to install new water and sewer taps for address 350 9th Ave NW. The work will begin at 8 a.m. and should be complete by 3:30 p.m. Detour routes will be established and clearly marked.

The rain has passed! Come out to the Downtown Hickory Farmers Market today (open till 1 p.m.). Come visit our booth, with our LR partners! Pick up some goodies, and lots of information about upcoming events!

The August 2024 e-newsletter hit inboxes yesterday, filled with important City news and events information. Not a subscriber yet? Check it out here and sign up: https://myhky-6864858.hs-sites.com/city-of-hickory-e-newsletter-august-2024

In this edition:
▪️ Aviation Walk Now Open
▪️ State Grant for Downtown Streetscapes
▪️ Back to School Events
▪️ Spot the Difference Summer Photo Challenge
▪️ August Events Calendar

Thanks for participating in this week's Spot the Difference Summer Photo Challenge! The key below shows all 12 differences between the two photos.

🎉 Participants that correctly identified all 12 differences were entered into a drawing. Congratulations to this week's lucky winner, Crystal Zavala.

Check back on Monday, August 5, for the next photo challenge in this series!

For more information, visit https://www.hickorync.gov/spot-difference-summer-photo-challenge.

The City of Hickory and the Rotary Club of Hickory invite the community to celebrate recent improvements at Miracle of Hickory Park with a ribbon cutting. The ceremony will take place on Monday, Aug. 12, at 10 a.m. at 1515 12th Street Drive NW in Hickory.

In November 2023, the Rotary Club of Hickory donated $150,000 to the City of Hickory to go toward enhancements at Miracle of Hickory Park. The City of Hickory matched the Rotary’s donation to purchase and install new playground equipment for the park.

The new playground provides a variety of physical, social, and sensory experiences for park visitors. With different zones of play offering multiple levels of challenge, the thoughtfully designed play space features inclusive elements such as adaptive swings, a wheelchair accessible glider, cozy spaces, and specially engineered slides.

Check out the new Aviation Walk at twilight! It looks pretty nice in lights. 😍

📸: Chad Austin, Inc.

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Does your home need urgent repairs or accessibility improvements? Is your household income less than 30% of the statewide median income, which is $26,600 for a family of four? The City of Hickory’s Urgent Repair Program can help!

This program for Hickory residents provides forgivable loans to homeowners of up to $12,000 to households with special needs. Urgent Repair Program funds may be used for home repairs or accessibility improvements that are required to avert the displacement of the homeowner. Examples of eligible repairs include heat system replacement, plumbing repairs, repairs of electrical wiring, and roof repairs.

For more information about the City of Hickory’s Housing Rehabilitation Programs and to confirm current program requirements, please contact the Community Development Division at 828-323-7414.

The annual Ridgeview Community Block Party will be held on August 16 starting at 5 p.m!

Come to this free back-to-school event for food, music, and free school supplies to help your kids prepare for the school year.

We look forward to seeing you there!

City of Hickory Parks, Recreation & Sports Tourism

The City of Hickory celebrated the grand opening of the Aviation Walk today with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Aviation Walk creates another critical link between several notable Hickory destinations. As part of the larger Hickory Trail multiuse path system, the Aviation Walk provides bicycling and pedestrian connectivity from Old Lenoir Road and the future OLLE Art Walk, across U.S. 321 via a steel pedestrian bridge, past L.P. Frans Stadium and Winkler Park, up to the Hickory Regional Airport.

www.hkytrail.com

Join us for the Aviation Walk Ribbon Cutting & Grand Opening!

It's Week 2 of our Spot the Difference Summer Photo Challenge, where we're releasing a series of photos to test your powers of observation. Each challenge post includes an unedited photo of a Hickory location along with an altered version of the same photograph.

🔎 Your challenge is to compare the two photos and find all of the differences.

💬 Comment the number of differences in the post for a chance to win a prize each week. Challenge posts go live each Monday, and the correct number of differences will be revealed on Wednesday of that same week.

✅ To complete your weekly challenge submission, circle or mark the differences on the edited photograph and direct message it to the City's page. A winner will be selected each Friday from the correct submissions.

NUMBER REVEAL: 1️⃣2️⃣
There are 12 differences in this photo challenge. Did you find them all? Send us a DM by 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, with the 12 differences marked for a chance to win this week's prize!

Download high-resolution photos to compare:
https://www.hickorync.gov/spot-difference-summer-photo-challenge

Arts and cultural performances, downtown markets and events, educational programs, music and entertainment, sporting events, and workforce development opportunities. There are so many programs, events, concerts, and activities to enjoy right here in our community!

Want to find out what's happening throughout the Hickory metro? Just visit www.hickoryeventscalendar.com for links to Hickory partner calendars.

Thanks to everybody that participated in this week's Spot the Difference Summer Photo Challenge! The key below shows all 15 differences between the two photos.

🏆 Congratulations to Ginny Grey Scheer for finding all 15, plus the extra credit one.

🎉 Participants that correctly identified all 15 differences were entered into a drawing. Congratulations to this week's lucky winner, Ashley Clontz.

Check back on Monday, July 29, for the next photo challenge in this series! For more information, visit https://www.hickorync.gov/spot-difference-summer-photo-challenge.

Want to submit feedback about Charlotte Water's interbasin transfer (IBT) request? Questions and comments can be emailed to Charlotte Water at [email protected]. Comments will be received for this phase of feedback until August 30, 2024.

Charlotte Water filed a notice of its intent to request an increase from 33 million gallons per day (MGD) up to 63 MGD regarding the water it transfers from the Catawba River Basin to the Rocky River Basin, a tributary of the Yadkin/Pee Dee River.

Here are a few concerns that our local governments have:

• Transferring water from the Catawba River Basin reduces future growth opportunities for local communities in our region.
• Reducing the flow of the Catawba River potentially causes greater concentrations of pollutants in the river.
• Increasing IBTs further deplete our water supply levels during drought conditions.
• IBTs of this magnitude subsidize growth in other areas using the limited resources of the Catawba River.

A series of public meetings have been held, with the next meeting slated for July 29, 6-8 p.m., at Dutchman Creek Middle School (4757 Mt Gallant Rd, Rock Hill, SC 29732). If you would like to attend virtually, or if you would like to view past meetings, please visit charlottewateribt.org.

Our next FREE movie night is slated for this weekend! Weather permitting, join us downtown on Saturday, July 27, at 8:30 p.m. to watch HOMEWARD BOUND: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY! 🎥🍿

Concessions and games will be available before the movie. Bring blankets or lawn chairs to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Special thanks to presenting sponsor Jay Brown, Realtors, City of Hickory Parks, Recreation & Sports Tourism and Footcandle Film Society for making this series possible!

Saturday Screenings continue this summer with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) on August 10 and The Princess Bride on August 24.

Are you ready for a photo challenge? Over the next five weeks, we'll be releasing a series of photos to test your powers of observation. Each challenge post will include an unedited photo of a Hickory location along with an altered version of the same photograph.

🔎 Your challenge is to compare the two photos and find all of the differences.

💬 Comment the number of differences in the post for a chance to win a prize each week. Challenge posts will go live each Monday, and the correct number of differences will be revealed on Wednesday of that same week.

✅To complete your weekly challenge submission, circle or mark the differences on the edited photograph and direct message it to the City's page. A winner will be selected each Friday from the correct submissions.

NUMBER REVEAL: 1️⃣5️⃣
There are 15 differences in this photo challenge (and one extra credit difference). Did you find them all? Send us a DM by 10 a.m. on Friday, July 26, with the 15 differences marked for a chance to win this week's prize!

Download high-resolution photos to compare: https://www.hickorync.gov/spot-difference-summer-photo-challenge

First Meeting held in the renovated Catawba Space at the Hickory Metro Convention Center It’s official, the first meeting took place in part of the renovated Catawba meeting rooms at the Hickory Metro Convention Center on July 17, 2024. About 100 local officials and business leaders

Good morning, Hickory! A stroll on the City Walk is a great way to start the day.

The City of Hickory is one of seven grant recipients in the State of North Carolina’s new Rural Downtown Economic Development program.

Last month, Governor Roy Cooper and the North Carolina Department of Commerce announced the award of an $850,000 grant to the City of Hickory to assist with two streetscape projects in the downtown Hickory area.

The grant funding will be used to upgrade the streetscapes on Government Avenue SW from First Street SW to Third Street SW and on First Avenue NW between North Center Street and Second Street NW.

The improvements will include wider sidewalks, enhanced outdoor spaces, bulb outs, and improved lighting on both sides of the street to match the existing streetscapes in the downtown area.

At its July 16 meeting, Hickory City Council unanimously approved an agreement with the North Carolina Department of Commerce for the Rural Downtown Economic Development Grant, which requires a 5% match from the City of Hickory.

City staff have begun full design work on the streetscape improvements, and the project should be competitively bid later this year. All work must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026.

The Rural Downtown Economic Development Grants program provides grants to local governments to support downtown revitalization and economic development initiatives that are intended to help local governments grow and leverage downtown districts as assets for economic growth, economic development, and prosperity by providing public improvements to help retain businesses and leverage main street assets for community-wide use. Funding availability is at the discretion of the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority.

Hickory Aviation Museum is scheduled to welcome its newest aircraft addition, a United States Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II Plus, today (July 15) at the Hickory Regional Airport. If you are planning to come watch the arrival, here are a few important things to remember:

HOT & LOUD: Temperatures are forecasted for the upper 90s this afternoon; plan accordingly and stay hydrated. Harrier jets are loud; hearing protection is recommended.

PARKING: Parking at Hickory Regional Airport will be available on a first come, first served basis. Once full at the airport, attendees will be directed to park at Winkler Park/L.P. Frans Stadium and walk up the Aviation Walk to the viewing areas. Parking is not permitted along Clement Blvd NW or Ninth Avenue Drive NW.

VIEWING AREAS: There will be limited space available for public viewing on the terminal ramp outside the Philip C. Yount Terminal Building. Viewing will also be available along the airport fence line at the new Aviation Walk parking lot near the entrance to Hickory Regional Airport.

TIMELINE: A brief ceremony will begin on the terminal ramp at approximately 2:30 p.m. Two aircraft, the museum addition and its wingman, will arrive at the Hickory airport at approximately 3 p.m. and perform some non-aerobatic maneuvers before landing. The Aviation Museum’s Harrier will receive a water salute from Hickory Fire Department. The aircraft will park on the terminal ramp to be available for public viewing for around 60-90 minutes.

Visit Hickory NC Hickory Aviation Museum Hickory Police Department Hickory Fire Department

Have you seen the July Issue from Business North Carolina? 📖 Read the full article about Catawba County and its growing jobs, education, and tourism.

https://issuu.com/businessnc/docs/bnc_07_july2024/85

Catawba County, North Carolina - Government The Chamber of Catawba County City of Hickory, NC - Government City of Newton, NC Government Catawba Valley Community College Appalachian State University Hickory Furniture Mart