All in Columns

Reece Gardner: Cherish the one you love

I want to share with you some additional accounts of my 58 wonderful years of marriage to My Emma, which I hope will encourage you to more fully appreciate that very special person in your life. My favorite songs are "heart" songs, and I often use the wisdom from those songs to help me my message of love across.

Leon Steele: Did you know? Part 3

Did you know the Pride of Kinston downtown revitalization organization has been around since the 1980’s?  We belong to the North Carolina Main Street Association which has 88 participating communities.  We all belong to the National Main Street organization called Main Street America that was formed in the mid-1980’s to reverse the decline of historic commercial districts across the U.S. by applying a tested methodology associated with design, organization, promotion, and economic development, for which our core working committees are named.  Prestigiously speaking, Kinston was one the very first communities selected by the national organization to participate in this nation-wide endeavor.  This means that Kinston has been in the process of revitalizing its downtown for 35 years.

Cooper commits monumental error

We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defense of slavery,” Cooper had argued in 2017. “These monuments should come down. Our Civil War history is important, but it belongs in textbooks and museums — not a place of allegiance on our Capitol grounds.” But the governor had also made it clear that the ends don’t justify the means. A 2015 enacted [law] by bipartisan majorities in the General Assembly had forbidden state or local officials from removing public monuments except under limited circumstances.

Reece Gardner: Do you believe in miracles?

Do you believe in miracles? If not, could it be that they are out there but you just don't recognize them? An illustration of that mindset can be seen in the situation with Bob, who was in his boat with his dog out on the water one day when a flock of geese flew overhead.

Michael Spears: Is the risk of a second wave of infections rising?

Over the past week, we’ve had some good news in that there hasn’t been any sign of a national second wave of infections. In fact, the spread rate dipped below 1 percent for the first time on two days, and case growth seems to have stabilized to around 20,000 per day. From an economic perspective, the news is good, as the reopening is proceeding smoothly. Let’s take a look at the details.

Reece Gardner: The Flag is speaking to us today

This coming Sunday, June 14, is Flag Day, the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777, when the Continental Congress sanctioned a flag for the brand-new United States of America. It was this flag, during the war of 1812, that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner, when our massive flag flew triumphantly atop Baltimore's Fort McHenry after U.S. soldiers withstood a 25-hour bombardment by British warships.

Justin Barnett: Come together

Our nation may be more divided right now along the lines of race that it has ever been before. Recent events have shaken our country. People of color are especially hurting, and many are angry. What our nation needs now is healing. In order to heal, we must come together. In order to come together, there must be understanding.