Henderson County (Jun 21, 2022) - As far as Jim Dhom is concerned, the main road from the bottom of the hill to Jump Off Rock ought to be called Laurel Park Speedway.
That changed last week when the Laurel Park Town Board voted to grant six weeks of paid leave for eligible family-related needs or military service. The inspiration for the change came from Kristin Dunn, the town board s newest, and youngest, member. For Dunn, the idea percolated to the surface when she read that the state of North Carolina had approved paid family leave for state employees. In May 2019, Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order granting eight weeks of paid leave for cabinet agency employees to care for a newborn and four weeks of leave to bond with a newly adopted or fostered child.