Library Reopens After 10 Months & Tennis Star's Perfect Season and More | Good Morning Wake County - Good News

After nearly 10 months of renovations, West Regional Library welcomes back its 300,000+ annual visitors with upgraded spaces and new features. Plus, a local sophomore tennis player comes back from injury to complete a perfect 30-0 season and win the state championship. Your daily dose of good news from Wake County with Steve Rhode.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• West Regional Library reopens: https://www.wunc.org/term/news/2025-10-24/wake-county-west-regional-library-set-to-reopen
• Abby Crawford wins state tennis title: https://www.thedigitalcourier.com/archives/state-champ-abby-crawford-wins-tennis-title/article_21cd6d17-6b47-5b14-8b77-d63624b9c00a.html

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Picture this fresh paint, new book, sunlight streaming through
windows and 300,000 people who've been waiting almost a
year to walk back through those doors.
Plus a local sophomore who turned an injury into fuel and
didn't drop a single match all season.

(00:20):
Yeah, I'm Steve Road. And good morning, Wake County.
Here's your good news. I'm glad you're back with me
today. So let's get into it and stick
around. I've got your dad joke for you
at the end. It's safe for all those kiddos
and cars. All right?
So imagine you're one of those people.
You used to swing by the librarymaybe a couple times a week, you

(00:42):
know, grab some books for the kids, maybe use the Wi-Fi to get
some work done, let the little ones play in the children's
section. And then one day in January, the
doors close, the renovation signs go up, and for almost 10
months, you've been driving to other branches waiting for this
place to reopen. Well, you're in luck.

(01:07):
The West Regional Library in Cary, one of the busiest library
branches in Wake County, opens back up.
And when I say this branch is busy, I mean 300,000 visits last
year alone. That's a lot of people checking
out books, using study spaces, and just being in the community

(01:28):
together. Well, here's what they've done.
A new teen nook, boosted Wi-Fi that actually works, courtyard
seating so you can read outside,An updated children's area and
wait, this is cool. An enhanced sensory room that
makes the space more inclusive for everyone.

(01:51):
Plus, there's some new artwork from North Carolina artist
Thomas Sayer. Well, look, I don't know about
you, but there's something abouta library that just just works.
It's comfortable. I still remember as a kid
checking out one of my favorite books, the Lip Smack and Joke
Crack and Cookbook for Kids. But the library is one of those

(02:14):
places where you can be whoever you need to be that day.
You can be a student cramming for finals, a parent with
restless kids, a person who justneeds a quiet spot with some
really good, reliable Wi-Fi. And after 10 long months,
Western Carey and Morrisville get that space back.

(02:36):
Wow. You know, that's the kind of
thing that reminds you, while problems are real, so is
progress. So people are doing good work to
make our community better one day at a time.
OK, hold on. This next one, though.
So there's this sophomore at Thomas Jefferson Classical
Academy, Abby Crawford. And last year she had to sit out

(02:57):
the entire tennis season becauseof an injury.
Just she just couldn't play. She had to watch from the
sidelines while her teammates competed.
That must have been tough on a number of levels.
And here's what she said about that time.
Once I could not play, I realized how much I missed it,
and it motivated me to come backeven better than before.

(03:21):
Wow, that's a great outlook. So this season she went 30 and
0. Thirty wins, 0 losses, not a
single match dropped. And this past Saturday in Kerry,
she won the 1A state championship, beating her
opponent 6160. I mean, like, she just dominated

(03:44):
the match. Her coach said she had so much
room out front all season that she could work on expanding her
game. So she wasn't just winning, she
was getting better while winning.
And here's my favorite part. She was out hitting balls on
Sunday, the day after winning the state, already preparing for

(04:05):
next year because her goal is towin another championship and
help her team win 1/2. That's the kind of work ethic
that makes you think, OK, this kids going to go places from
injury to state champion with a perfect record.
Oh, before I let you go, here's that dad joke I promised.

(04:29):
What's Forrest Gump's password? 1 Forest one.
All the links to the stories arein the episode description if
you want to dig deeper into any of them.
Hey, if this major morning, share it with someone who needs
a smile. You want to get notified when
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(04:50):
tapyournews.com. If you want to reach out, hey,
you can get me through the contact form tapyournews.com.
See ya.