Search

Donate

Log In
- My Account
  - My Account
  - Dashboard
  - Profile
  - Saved Items
  - Subscribe
  - Manage Service
  - Log Out
Subscribe
Manage Service

Home

News

Sports

Business

Opinion

Culture & Community

Obituaries

Legal Notices

e-Edition

Site search

Facebook
Instagram

Log In
- My Account
  - My Account
  - Dashboard
  - Profile
  - Saved Items
  - Subscribe
  - Manage Service
  - Log Out
Subscribe
Manage Service

Support The Paper

About Us
Contact Us
e-Edition

events

Visit our
Calendar of Events

- Site search

Home
News
Sports
Business
Opinion
Culture & Community
Obituaries
Legal Notices
e-Edition

1 result for:

Advanced Search Close Search

Date Range:

From

Types:

Article

Collections & galleries

Video

Images

Documents (PDFs)

All

Sort by:

Sort direction:

Results per page:

Close Search

Business

Skip the germs, scan the squares

By LESLIE COTHREN For The Paper
Oct 15, 2025

Those barcodes, or Quick Response (QR) Codes, were around long before COVID made them a staple in many restaurants, dating all the way back to 1994. T

Get the Stories that Matter First

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Breaking News

Breaking news for you from The Paper.

Local Obituaries

Here are the most recent obituaries. Thank you for subscribing to The Paper.

Local Sports

Some local sports stories for you from The Paper.

The Editor's Picks

The Paper Editor Angela Kuper Copeland shares with you her favorite local stories from last week.

The Paper e-Edition

Enjoy this e-Edition of The Paper. Thank you for subscribing. https://www.thepaper.media/eedition/

Your Wednesday Briefing

Here is your Wednesday Briefing, a collection of local stories The Paper will publish in full on Saturday.

You must select at least one email list.

Please enter a valid email address.

Manage your lists

Sections

Home
News
Sports
Culture & Community
Business
Opinion
Special Sections
Multimedia

Services

How Can I Subscribe to The Paper?
Where Can I Buy The Paper?
Read The Paper's e-Edition
Sign Up for Email Alerts
Submit a Letter to the Editor
Check Out Local Events
Search

Contact Information

thepaper.media
110 South Sterling Street
Morganton, NC 28655
Phone: 828-445-8595
Email: info@thepaper.media

Facebook
Instagram

Browser Compatibility

Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:

Microsoft Edge Google Chrome Firefox

You are logged in

Switch accounts

Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.

Sign Up

Account processing issue - the email address may already exist

User information

Username (Optional)

This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely!

* Email Address

Your email address will be used to confirm your account. We won't share it with anyone else.

* Password

Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).

Create a password that only you will remember. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address.

* Confirm Password

Confirm your password.

Mailing lists

Join our mailing lists

Breaking News

Breaking news for you from The Paper.

Local Obituaries

Here are the most recent obituaries. Thank you for subscribing to The Paper.

Local Sports

Some local sports stories for you from The Paper.

The Editor's Picks

The Paper Editor Angela Kuper Copeland shares with you her favorite local stories from last week.

The Paper e-Edition

Enjoy this e-Edition of The Paper. Thank you for subscribing. https://www.thepaper.media/eedition/

Your Wednesday Briefing

Here is your Wednesday Briefing, a collection of local stories The Paper will publish in full on Saturday.

Select All / None

CAPTCHA

Have an account? Log In

You're all set!

Thank you .

Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.

Check your email for details.

Log In

Invalid password or account does not exist

Email Address

Password

Remember me

Forgot your password?

Email me a log in link

Admin login Subscribe

Need an account? Sign Up

Reset Password

Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.

Email or Screen Name

CAPTCHA

Forgot Password

An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.

Email me a log in link

Account Email

CAPTCHA

Promotional Offers

Enter Promo Code

No promotional rates found.

Purchase Gift Purchase Access

An error occurred

Secure & Encrypted

What's your email address?

Password

Confirm password

Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).

Who is this gift for?

Recipient name

Recipient email

Optional message for the recipient

Who is this gift from?

Purchaser name

Purchaser email

Delivery date

What's your billing location?

State

Zip Code

Country

What's your delivery address?

Copy billing location

Address

City

State

Zip code

Country

Phone

Subtotal:

Total:

How would you like to pay?

Add New Card

I Agree to the Subscription Terms of Use.
This service will be automatically renewed and your credit card billed once it nears expiration.

Secure transaction. Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.

You're all set!

Thank you.

Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.

A receipt was sent to your email.

An error occurred

This offer is currently unavailable.

Rate:
Begins:
Transaction ID:

Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Followed notifications

Please log in to use this feature

Skip the germs, scan the squares

Get the Stories that Matter First

Breaking News

Local Obituaries

Local Sports

The Editor's Picks

The Paper e-Edition

Your Wednesday Briefing

Sections

Services

Contact Information

Sign Up

You're all set!

Log In

Reset Password

Forgot Password

Email me a log in link

Promotional Offers

Purchase Gift Purchase Access

You're all set!

An error occurred