If you see a note from your UPS man when you get home, it will typically say that no one was home to sign for your package. Last week, however, Asheville resident Marcy Lanier was shocked to discover something far different.

Instead of being stuck to her front door, the note was left in her mailbox, and instead of saying anything about a signature, it simply read;

“Bear in driveway”

Last Friday she posted a picture of the UPS slip, saying, ‘Like I say. Only in Asheville!:)’ – it’s already received over 3,500 shares and 118 comments;

Most commenters thought the situation was hilarious, and one commenter even tried to 1-up her with his own animal-blocking-deliver-truck story;

Bears have become an increasingly common site across the Carolinas, even here in Charlotte, as new development continues to shrink their natural habitat.

Last month, a black bear was filmed swimming across Lake Wylie, another one was spotted at the Stonecrest Shopping Center, and last May, a large black bear was spotted rummaging through neighborhood trash cans in Waxhaw.

Officials with the NC Wildlife Resource Commission are warning residents around Charlotte that as development continues to encroach on the bear’s natural habits, sightings and possibly even encounters will follow suit.

If you live near a wooded area or a new development, experts recommend having bear spray or a bear horn readily accessible.

Stay safe out there everyone!

Modern education, health and economic systems require digital technology, Gov. Cooper saidWednesday at the North Carolina Digital Government Summit. However, hundreds of thousands of people in rural North Carolina are being left behind because they lack access to reliable high-speed broadband service.

The North Carolina Digital Government Summit is a two-day meeting of public and private sector leaders to address current issues in government IT. The North Carolina Department of Information Technology is a partner in the annual event.

Gov. Cooper told the audience of more than 400 people that students without internet access at home risk falling behind their peers and that small businesses, farms and manufacturers without service are unable to market their products as effectively as others in the global economy. Better broadband service can also support telemedicine efforts and save rural patients from having to make long commutes for care.

Cooper said he appreciated the hard work in the public and private sectors toward increasing broadband accessibilityand improving cybersecurity.

“I can’t think of a more exciting time for you to be doing what you’re doing. I can’t think of a more overwhelming time for you to be doing what you’re doing,” Cooper said.

For the past two years, Gov. Cooper has proposed $20 million in annual spending to improve internet access for underserved communities. The General Assembly ultimately allocated half that amount this fiscal year for broadband expansion, but the governor pledged to continue working to increase funding for the initiative.

“He understands that broadband increases educational opportunities, strengthens our workforce, and improves our economy,” said Eric Boyette, Secretary of NCDIT and State CIO.

Gov. Cooper also reminded the audience of the importance of cybersecurity after attacks earlier this year on government systems in Mecklenburg and Pasquotank counties. North Carolina is one of just four states recently selected by the National Governors Association to participate in a policy academy focused on improving state cybersecurity. DIT Secretary Eric Boyette will help direct the program.

“We have to remain vigilant about cybersecurity,” Cooper said. “It’s one of the things that keeps leaders up at night.”

This year’s Digital Government Summit features discussions of customer experience, artificial intelligence, and innovation, among several other topics. The conference concludes Thursday.

As many students in North Carolina public schools begin school this week, State Superintendent Mark Johnson announced that he has taken steps to reduce the time spent testing for many of the state’s youngest scholars. The move follows a survey Johnson sent to teachers last school year that showed that 76 percent of North Carolina teachers think their students are tested too much.

“One of my top priorities is to reduce the time you must spend assessing and testing students,” Johnson said in a message to elementary-grade educators Friday. “Your input guides our work. We want to give you time back to do what you entered the profession to do: teach.”

Past guidance from the Department of Public Instruction resulted in strict requirements for how often kindergarten through third-grade teachers had to assess students via the mCLASS reading diagnostic tool, which is used in all but a few North Carolina kindergarten-through-third-grade classrooms. New guidance issued for this school year moves those from requirements to recommendations and allows for more teacher discretion in the state’s Read to Achieve program.

Following up on Johnson’s use of Read to Achieve funds to purchase new Apple iPad devices for use in K-3 classrooms, the department has made additional content available to allow teachers to monitor second- and third-grade students’ reading progress online while the students work independently. This represents a major step toward replacing testing with personalized learning. But devices can be used for more than monitoring progress with the reading diagnostic tool.

“Teachers can access a wealth of early-reading resources via their devices,” said Pamela Shue, deputy superintendent for early education. “In addition to the time-saving policies and the new, more rigorous book-set provided statewide, we’ve made other options available. For example, schools may opt to use a few additional measures, which combined with the existing Read to Achieve assessments, provide extra screening for students at risk of reading difficulties, including dyslexia.”

Johnson also told elementary-school teachers that he will maintain his focus on reducing high-stakes testing in a variety of ways, including urging the State Board of Education to eliminate certain tests in grades K-5 caused by board policies rather than state or federal law. Johnson also will work to change DPI policies around how end-of-year tests are administered based on educator feedback and his own experience serving as an EOG proctor in May.

“Teachers and parents have been telling me that the tests are too long, the testing environment is too stressful, and the rules placed on students, teachers, and volunteer proctors are unreasonably strict,” Johnson said. “Last year I saw it for myself when I proctored a test in a fourth-grade classroom.

“I can’t change federal law about standardized testing. But where we can, we will be revising the testing protocols to remove unnecessarily strict guidelines to alleviate at least some of the stress and disruption that testing causes in the early grades.”

Many of the changes in testing protocols and guidelines will be in effect before students take end-of-course and end-of-grade exams for this school year.