Latest Piedmont Stories

By Dan Whisenhunt, The Anniston Star, Ala. Jun. 22--PIEDMONT -- The high school sits wrapped in Appalachian foothills, like a secret held in the palm of a folded hand. It's summer now. The hallways are quiet and clean; a few students are in summer school. Principal Jerry Snow reflects on what has been a good year -- his first, actually. When he came to Piedmont High School, it was his first job as a high school principal. He moved from his job as assistant principal at Oxford High, one...

LANSDOWNE, Va., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- This morning, Creative Host Services (CHS) -- a leading provider of airport food and beverage concessions -- and Piedmont-Triad International Airport (PTI) celebrated the grand opening of the airport's improved multi-million dollar food court featuring nationally recognized brands. A traditional ribbon-cutting event was replaced with a hand-shaking ceremony between Les Cappetta, CEO of CHS, and Henry Isaacson, chairman of the PTI Airport Authority,...

By Abrams, Marc D No species in the eastern United States better exemplifies a ubiquitous yet subordinate tree than does blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica). What enables blackgum to grow nearly everywhere, but almost always at very low densities? It is the longest-lived hardwood species in the eastern United States, with a maximum age that can exceed 650 years. It is inherently slow growing, which most likely explains its great longevity and high shade tolerance; it is also one of the few tree...

By Nelson Graves TURIN (Reuters) - The Winter Olympics have trained an international spotlight on hosts Italy, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for once is not strutting on stage. The media-savvy politician has been on a month-long offensive ahead of April elections, logging long hours on TV and radio to speak about most anything including his own sex life. But on the biggest international sporting event in Italy since the 1990 World Cup, he has uttered barely a word. Although he...

By Simon Evans SUSA, Italy (Reuters) - The Olympic torch was diverted away from two towns about 50 kms from Turin on Sunday because of feared trouble from protestors opposed to a rail development. Winter Olympics organizing committee (TOROC) spokesman Stefano Coscia told Reuters that the police had advised that the torch should not to be taken through the Susa Valley towns of Bussoleno and Borgone Susa. Earlier on Sunday, a protestor had briefly covered the torch with a flag during...

By Simon Evans SUSA, Italy (Reuters) - The Olympic torch was diverted away from two towns some 50 kilometers from Turin on Sunday because of feared trouble from protestors. Winter Olympics organizing committee (TOROC) spokesman Stefano Coscia told Reuters that the police had advised that the torch should not to be taken through the Susa Valley towns of Bussoleno and Burgone Susa. Earlier on Sunday, a protestor had briefly covered the torch with a flag when it entered Italy's Susa...

TURIN (Reuters) - Protesters blocked roads and railways near Turin on Wednesday to protest against a planned high-speed railway line connecting Italy and France they say damages the environment. Italian media reported there had been overnight clashes between police and protesters, who say the project in northern Italy's Alpine Val di Susa area may release harmful deposits of asbestos in the mountains. About 30 people, including policemen, were injured on Tuesday when police evacuated...

By Svetlana Kovalyova SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - If you dream about watching Olympic skiers race down the slopes in this Alpine resort and also want to see figure skaters swirl across the ice in Turin, you face a tough challenge. On paper, the distance of some 100 km between the two venues for the 2006 Winter Olympics seems a short haul. Bad weather, heavy traffic and security checks, however, might force you to spend long hours on the road linking Turin's ice rinks and the mountains...