While walking the walking path at Union Cross park a few weeks ago, I noticed a large white sphere maybe 10 feet tall on top of the large square concrete building that used to support the rotating radar dish back in the 1960s. I don’t know if it was a recent addition or if I have been oblivious to it. What is it and how long has it been there? — D.D.
Answer: The old Union Cross radar base is going to be a radar base again. But instead of looking for enemy missiles, it will be tracking drones.
“The white spherical object on top of the old Union Cross radar tower is a radome,” said Christopher Weavil, the Forsyth County Parks and Recreation director.
Forsyth County commissioners signed an agreement in May with AeroX, for a three-year lease of the radar tower at the park.
AeroX, a Winston-Salem based nonprofit founded in 2021, is developing safety technology for low-altitude aircraft, Winston-Salem Journal reporter Richard Craver wrote in a February news story. The surveillance system will track such unmanned aircraft as drones.
“The radome seen on top of the tower is a protective enclosure for a new radar that is being installed,” Weavil said. “The radar system, when operational, will be the first in the nation to manage urban unmanned aerial vehicle traffic.”
The Union Cross radar base was decommissioned by the U.S. Government in the early 1970s and Union Cross Park became the first county owned park in Forsyth County in the mid 1970s.
“The building that was designed to serve as a radar tower in the ’50s and ’60s will soon again serve its original purpose,” Weavil said.
Q: I’ve heard that starting in 2025 people will be required to file their federal tax returns electronically and will no longer be able to file paper forms. Is this true? If so, why did they make that change? — W.R.
Answer: No, it is not true.
“In 2025, everyone will be able to file electronically, but it is not mandatory,” said R.J. Dawson, a spokesman for the IRS.
The IRS still provides and accepts paper forms, although processing time for the paper forms is longer than for forms filed electronically.
Shredding events
Thank you
A few weeks ago, two friends and I ate breakfast at the Liberty Restaurant in Lewisville. When we went to pay, the cashier said another customer had paid for our meals. To that anonymous person(s), you made our day. The lesson of “random acts of kindness” shall be paid forward. Thank you. B.H.
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Write: Ask SAM, 418 N. Marshall St., #100, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
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