COLUMBUS – The Polk County Appearance Commission presented its beautification awards this week to four individuals, organizations and local governments for improvements done in 2016.

The awards went to the Town of Tryon, the Polk County Board of Commissioners, Our Carolina Foothills and the Lane family.

The awards were presented by Polk County Appearance Commission Chair Joe Cooper during the Polk County Board of Commissioner’s Monday, Jan. 9 meeting.

The Town of Tryon   

During 2016, Tryon completed several streetscape improvements in several areas of downtown.

“Sidewalks were redesigned and attractive pedestrian crosswalks were built,” Cooper said. “The central intersection of the town where North and South Trade Streets connect was redesigned and landscaped. Also, memorial trees honoring the contribution of local citizens were planted on Trade Street and these will offer shade on summer days. These improvements improve the visual impression of Tryon to anyone driving through the town.”

Tryon Town Manager Zach Ollis and community development director Paula Kempton accepted the award for the town.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners

Cooper said the board of commissioners supported county manager Marche Pittman in his work to have professional contractors complete litter pickup on some of the county’s most important roads, including Highways 9 and 108.

“This led to an agreement that Marche received from the DOT (N.C. Department of Transportation) to significantly increase the number of litter pickups that the DOT does in our county,” said Cooper.

“This board also approved improvements to the area around our Doughboy statue including a flag pole and guard rail. In our view the most significant 2016 improvements for Columbus, our county seat, were to the grounds surrounding our historic courthouse. The board approved beautiful landscape plantings that were designed and installed by Thompson Landscaping. They also approved the new retaining wall and brick sidewalk that was installed by Jay’s Lawn and Landscaping Service.”

Polk County Commissioner Chair Tommy Melton, Erin and Cory Thompson, Jay Harden and former commissioners Ted Owens and Keith Holbert accepted the award for the board.

Our Carolina Foothills

Cooper said Our Carolina Foothills is a program created by Suzanne Strickland of Stone Soup and Madelon Wallace of Walker Wallace and Emerson Real Estate. Our Carolina Foothills ties together the towns of Columbus, Landrum, Saluda and Tryon, Cooper said, into one great experience that encourages people to eat in our restaurants, visit our wineries and shop in our many local stores and galleries.

“It is called Art of the Horse and 16 life size horse sculptures were painted by local artists and are now in many locations around our area,” Cooper said. “The horse statues demonstrate the artistic talents of our people and they contribute to the beauty in our public spaces. They are also inviting in that they encourage people to explore our foothills to see more of this artwork.”

Wallace, Strickland, Mindy Wiener and Carol Browning accepted the award later in the week because of bad weather Monday.

The Lane Family

Cooper said the final award is to a special family that has made significant contributions to the revival of downtown Tryon. This is the fourth year in a row that the appearance commission has thanked the Lane family for their work in Tryon.

“The architectural term for the real estate work they do is ‘adaptive reuse’ and through their efforts old buildings are finding new life and new futures,” Cooper said. “This award is for the 2016 restoration of the three buildings on South Trade Street that were previously used by the Tryon Federal Bank and before that by other businesses over the years.”

Cooper said collectively the buildings are known as Missildines, which recalls the pharmacy of 100 years ago.

“We are told that Gayle Lane saw a new possibility in the empty buildings and with her husband, Scott, they brought together a team that created the architectural transformation,” Cooper said. “Now the buildings are home to new businesses, including art and craft galleries, a coffee house and other shops plus condominiums for those who wish to live downtown. This restoration project provided jobs for many of our local construction people and now makes jobs for those working in the several stores and businesses.”

Gayle Lane accepted the award.