Circle Oct. 30 on your calendar and plan to “bee” at the Lenoir County Farmers Market for an exciting and unusual program.
All in Columns
Cooking with Tammy: The Teal Pumpkin Project
Celebrating Happy Halloween next week means a week full of sweet treats and candies. Certainly, one night a year it’s okay to splurge, but if you are hosting your own Halloween party here are some spooky treats that will make Halloween safe for those suffering from severe food allergies!
Reece Gardner: Everyday is a gift
Today I want to talk about TIME, which is a very interesting thing. We can't stop it, slow it down, turn it off, or even adjust it, and we certainly can't bring it back. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is uncertain. We may look ahead to a full year's block of time, but we really have no guarantee that we will experience any of it.
John Hood: Surge in violence merits response
It is, nevertheless, violence against people that most affects public perceptions. And in North Carolina, I’m sad to say, violent crimes are surging.
Mike Parker: October is ‘Domestic Violence Awareness Month’
On average, one in three women and one in four men in the United States will experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner. One in 10 high school students experienced physical violence from a partner in the last year alone.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: The Very Surprising Spaghetti Squash
If you're a big pasta fan, it might be time to try a different type of spaghetti: spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is a yellow-orange vegetable harvested in early fall. When cooked, the inside of the squash can be shredded into long, thin strands similar to angel hair noodles, and can be used in comparable ways.
John Hood: School closures were a mistake
Closing down school buildings for many months last year — and offering poorly planned and executed virtual schooling as an inadequate substitute — proved to be a disaster for North Carolina children, families, and the education system itself.
After attending funerals, my mother used to say, "Give me my flowers while I live." I came to understand that she meant to treat her with love and kindness and respect while she could hear and see her flowers. The loved ones lying in the caskets could not see all the beautiful floral arrangements stretched across the front of the church or chapel.
Reece Gardner: Count your blessings
Life is a gift, so before we say an unkind word we need to think about those who can't speak; Before we complain about the taste of our food, we need to think about those who have nothing to eat; Before we complain about our companion, we need to think of someone who is crying out to God FOR a companion; Today, before we complain about life, we need to think about someone who went too early to Heaven; Before we complain about the distance we have to drive, we need to think of someone who has to walk that distance;
Mike Parker: CSS Neuse II holds ‘Breakfast’ on Saturday, October 16, 2021
For the second time this year, the CSS Neuse Foundation is hosting “Breakfast on the Boat.” The event will begin around 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16 at the CSS Neuse II, the replica gunboat. As usual, “Breakfast on the Boat” features scrambled eggs, bacon, link sausage, grits, biscuits, and a beverage. All foods except biscuits are prepared on the grounds next to the CSS Neuse II. Tables will afford social distancing.
Tammy Kelly: Fall casserole round up
Casseroles, in America, represent the efficient, inexpensive, one-dish meal, made to stretch ingredients and feed a lot of folks! They are almost always easy to fix and serve and are known as great comfort foods. When casseroles first became popular many were not the healthiest option but today there are some great recipes to choose from that are super great for your family’s healthy meal plan!!
Reece Gardner: Three situations we face today
Folks, we all want to be positive in our outlook on life, and indeed there is a lot to be positive about, locally, Statewide, and nationally. But some things have occurred on the national and international scene during the past 9 months that in many ways are puzzling and hard to understand.
John Hood: We All Win When We Argue
In the England of the early 20th century, there were no two writers more dissimilar than G.K. Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw. Chesterton was a conservative who wrote literary essays, a long-running newspaper column, and the popular Father Brown series of detective stories. Shaw was a socialist whose famous plays include Man and Superman, Saint Joan, and Pygmalion, from which the popular musical My Fair Lady was later adapted.
Mike Parker: Beware latest Medicare scam – and hang up
Telemarketing crooks have developed a new way to attempt to scam people on Medicare. I was unaware of this scam until I answered a call that my caller ID identified as “N Carolina Call.” The woman on the line said she was from Medicare and was calling to see if I had received my new secure Medicare card. According to the caller, the new card was green – and was microchip-enabled to prevent scams. Of course, she said she needed to verify some of my information.
Tammy Kelly: It's pear season!
Fresh pears are abundant this time of year and you certainly do not want this nutritional treat to go to waste. Why pears, because nutritionally they are a great choice!
John Hood: Biden decline prompts three questions
When President Joe Biden’s approval numbers began to plummet in early August, driven by public disgust with the disastrous American withdrawal from Afghanistan, hopeful Democrats suggested that as the news cycle moved on, Biden would recover.
Reece Gardner: ID requirement is not a novel idea
Just recently, on September 17, a 3-judge panel of the Wake County Superior Court ruled 2-1 that North Carolina's Voter ID Law violates the State Constitution and cannot be put in force. These two judges wrote that the attorneys defending the law failed to prove that it was not discriminatory.
John Hood: Mayberry fans seek solid ground
Mount Airy is a real place. Mayberry is fictional. But in the minds of its many millions of fans, Mayberry is a real place, too — not a physical location but a moral one. A place where mistakes earn people second chances, not everlasting scorn. A place where parents teach their children the virtues of honesty, responsibility, and compassion — and sometimes get schooled themselves in those same virtues by those same children.
Mike Parker: flyExclusive increases investment at NCGTP
More good news is coming from the North Carolina Global TransPark. flyExclusive, the fifth-largest private jet charter service in the United States, is constructing a new 24,000 square-foot facility at the GTP. flyExclusive operates a point-to-point private jet service.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Fall is the season for apples!
Even though it still feels more like summer, fall is definitely on the way, and fall means fresh NC apples! We grow a wide variety of delicious apples here in NC and even though we don’t grow too many of these in Eastern NC, you can generally find them at most farmers markets!!