Inaugural GoExpo Sustainability Festival Coming September 25

The GoExpo, the Triad’s biggest-ever sustainability festival, is coming to the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem on Saturday, Sept. 25, to help families, singles, kids, businesses, and building professionals learn how to “go green.” Doors will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is FREE.

The GoExpo is presented by Modern Automotive and will feature information and presentations on green trends for homes, businesses, neighborhoods, schools, transportation, and more; test drives of hybrids and other “green” cars; hands-on activities for kids; certification classes for building professionals; and an exhibition of green products and services.

Special guests include Sarah Susanka, architect and author of the best-selling “Not So Big House” series of books; and Sophie Lambert, the director of LEED for Neighborhood Development at the U.S. Green Building Council.

The GoExpo is an initiative of the city of Winston-Salem Community Sustainability Program Committee, an advisory body formed by the Winston-Salem City Council in 2008 to spearhead efforts to make Winston-Salem a more sustainable community.

Jason Frichner, the chairman of the committee, says the GoExpo is intended to raise awareness of sustainability and the advantages it offers to residents and business owners alike. “We want to introduce the concept to people who may not understand it or have not bought into the benefits of sustainability, and show how it can change their lives for the better,” he said.

The GoExpo will present information in eight areas, each focusing on practical ways to meld sustainable principles with everyday practice, says Anne Tambling, a committee member and the chair of GoExpo.

“We’ve really tried to cover all the different aspects of people’s lives,” Tambling said. “Whether it’s the schools their children attend, the transportation they use, the food they eat, the houses they live in, the neighborhoods they live in – there are sustainable aspects to all these areas.

“Most expos are vendor-based – you find lots of opportunities to buy things,” Tambling said. “Ours is about information. We want people to learn about the tremendous advantages that come when you follow sustainable practices– not just environmentally, but financially for your home or business.”

Highlights of the GoExpo include:

• Test drives of hybrid and fuel-efficient cars, courtesy of Modern Automotive Group, the presenting sponsor for the GoExpo.
• Separate themed areas focusing on sustainability in homes, offices, gardens, schools, neighborhoods, transportation and construction.
• A Go Kids area with hands-on activities for kids.
• Special workshops, seminars, and exhibits for builders, architects, and engineers, including classes that fulfill U.S. Green Building Council certification requirements.
• Four “green-themed” movies presented by A/perture Cinema, including two in the afternoon at the convention center.
• Free door-side “bike valet” service for bike riders who pedal to the GoExpo.
• Walk-through mock-ups of a “green” home and a “green” office.
• Exhibits of sustainable products and services for builders and homeowners.

The GoExpo is also being sponsored by HanesBrands, Waste Management, Duke Energy, the Piedmont Triad Research Park, Talon Healthcare, Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, A/perture Cinema, InterfaceFLOR and the Piedmont Triad chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

For more information, visit www.GoExpoWS.com.

 
GoExpo Seeking Volunteers

The city of Winston-Salem, organizer of GoExpo, the Triad’s biggest sustainability festival, is seeking volunteers and accepting applications for exhibitors at the event.

The inaugural GoExpo is being organized by the city of Winston-Salem Community Sustainability Program Committee and is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Benton Convention Center in downtown Winston-Salem.

Volunteers are needed to serve as greeters and assist at venues throughout the convention center. GoExpo is especially in need of a volunteer group, such as a scout troop or civic group, that can assist with set up on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 24. Volunteers must be 16 or older. All volunteers get a free GoExpo T-shirt.

More information about GoExpo, including detailed information for exhibitors and exhibitor applications, is available at www.GoExpoWS.com.

Salem Lake Trail Being Relocated in Preparation for Dam Replacement

Construction to relocate a portion of the Salem Lake trail will begin Sept. 1 in preparation for replacing the Salem Lake dam this fall.

Relocating the trail will allow it to remain open while a new dam is constructed where the trail currently crosses Salem Creek. Construction of the trail is scheduled to be completed Nov. 1, after which construction of the new dam will begin.

While the new dam is under construction, Salem Lake will be partially drained and will be closed to fishing and boating. The bait shop at Salem Lake will remain open to serve trail users.

The dam, originally built in 1919 to provide fresh water for Winston-Salem, will be replaced by a new dam about 100 feet downstream of the current dam. Construction is expected to take a year, said Jack Fitzgerald, an engineer with the City/County Utilities Division.

“Due to its age and the fact that we have the Thomas (water) plant down for reconstruction, it’s a good time to do this project,” Fitzgerald said. In all, the project is expected to cost $10 million.

In 2007 the Utilities Division commissioned a study of the dam which found that that the dam spillway does not meet current requirements and that the concrete in the spillway is aged to the point that repairs would cost more than replacing the dam.

Lowering the level of the lake will ensure that the lake has enough capacity to absorb a 10-year storm without overflowing the construction site, Fitzgerald said. During construction the lake will be reduced to about 125 acres. The lake covers 285 acres when it is full.

See a map showing the site of the new dam, the relocation of the Salem Lake trail and the impact on the lake.

WinstonNet Secures $972,537 Federal Grant

WinstonNet Inc., a partnership of local government and academic institutions and the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce to provide free computer services to city and county residents, has received a $926,537 federal broadband recovery grant to provide new equipment for existing labs, better serve the Hispanic population, open new labs in low-income areas, and expand computer training, job training, and educational resources.

The federal grant will be matched with $532,711 in cash and $163,500 in in-kind contributions from WinstonNet and its member agencies, said John Boehme, the president of WinstonNet and director of technical resources for education and research administrative systems at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

“This grant will further WinstonNet’s goal of giving all residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County access to computers and the skills they need to find jobs in the information age,” Boehme said.

With this money WinstonNet will:

• Purchase 369 computers to replace old computers at the 38 free computer labs at city recreation centers, county libraries, churches, shelters, and facilities for the disadvantaged. These computers were at least three years old when donated by member institutions and today average more than 9 years old, with a mix of operating systems.
• Create one new full-time position, four new part-time positions, and preserve two full-time positions within WinstonNet. This will allow WinstonNet to serve approximately 1,500 new lab users weekly and provide computer training classes in Spanish to approximately 160 new participants each month.
• Partner with Forsyth Technical Community College to add four new computer labs in the city and county, replace two of its existing labs, and equip the six labs with 111 computers. Forsyth Tech will set aside a portion of each lab’s time for public computer use.
• Expand the availability of special equipment and software for the physically disadvantaged.
• Expand the availability of free computer instruction at WinstonNet computer labs.

It should take about 24 months to plan, purchase, and fully deploy all the equipment and furnishings within the labs, Boehme said.

WinstonNet received one of five grants awarded in North Carolina through the U.S.
Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, totaling $115 million. The grants are intended to create jobs and help spur economic development through expanded access to high-speed Internet in underserved areas.

WinstonNet has been offering community access and computer training classes since 2003 with the goal of “bridging the digital divide” and preparing the workforce for the next generation of networked, computer-based technologies.

WinstonNet is a nonprofit consortium and operates mostly through volunteer support. The organization grew out of an initiative to create a fiber-optic link between Wake Forest University and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in 1998. Wake Forest then made excess capacity in the network available to the community.

Partners in WinstonNet involved with this grant include the city of Winston-Salem, which provides administrative support and hosts WinstonNet computer labs at 17 city recreation centers; Forsyth County, which provides administrative support, staffing support at computer labs and hosts 10 computer labs at public libraries; Wake Forest University and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, which provides administrative support; Forsyth Technical Community College, which provides administrative and staffing support and hosts two existing and four planned computer labs; Winston-Salem State University, which provides staffing and hosts computer labs at its Community Knowledge Centers; Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, which provides marketing support and programs for children in low income neighborhoods; Computer Training Bridge, which provides free computer classes; and The Adaptables, which provides resources for persons with disabilities.

Other WinstonNet partners which have been instrumental in the grant preparation include the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem College, the UNC School of the Arts, and the Piedmont Triad Research Park.

More information about WinstonNet is available at www.WinstonNet.org.