“I am sick and tired of elections,” he said. “Mostly, I am tired of all the arguing and nobody really helping us out, just themselves. I don’t trust any of them.”
All in Columns
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Pumpkin Pie Spice Still Big Business!!
Pumpkin-flavored grocery products reaped over $511 million in 2019, and that was an increase of 4.7% from the amount in 2018 , companies such as Starbucks report a 10% sales increase the week that pumpkin pie spice debuts for the season.
John Hood: Let's make Medicaid Expansion Work
Are Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore, and Republican Senate leader Phil Berger about to strike a deal to expand North Carolina’s Medicaid program?
Reece Gardner: Music never grows old
With the Mid-Term Election coming up in Early November, many of us will be watching and listening as events unfold. BE SURE TO VOTE! More on this Issue in a later Column.
Mike Parker: September 30 marks dual anniversary in our history
On Friday, September 30, the Lenoir County Historical Association will hold a grand birthday celebration to serve a dual purpose. This year, 2022, marks the 250th anniversary of the construction of Harmony Hall – and it also marks the 51st anniversary of the founding of the Lenoir County Historical Association. The construction of Harmony Hall began in 1772, and the association held its organizational meeting in 1971.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Fall for Pears
Pears are generally ready and ripe to pick in our region in late summer and early fall. Pears are not heavily produced in North Carolina but many of us remember a pear tree or two in our Grandparents yards. We certainly produce enough that you can find them at your Local Farmers Market.
Reece Gardner: Can't see the forest for the trees
I want to expand on a Column I wrote a few years ago about how two people can look at the same thing and draw different conclusions. Today I want to touch on that theme by mixing humor and reality. You have heard the expression, "Can't see the forest for the trees," and that does happen.
John Hood: Crime Is Back as a Voting Issue
Violent crime is on the rise in North Carolina — up 18% since 2018. Voter concern about crime is also rising. It played a key role in the 2020 elections. It will probably do so again in 2022.
Mike Parker: Did your September 17 pass without observance?
Saturday, September 17, may have gotten some attention because of college football games, but the importance of that day goes largely unnoticed today.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Celebrate the Mighty Muscadine
If you are from Eastern North Carolina, you’re probably familiar with Muscadine grapes. They’re the large, round, thick-skinned fruits that are often transformed into sweet wines and jellies. They are considered “the grape of choice in the South,” according to many Muscadine producers and processors.
John Hood: Reliable power means nuclear power
In late August, the government of California gave its residents two additional, and interrelated, reasons to consider moving elsewhere. First, the state’s Air Resources Board announced plans to phase out all sales of gas-powered vehicles in California by 2035.
Reece Gardner: How we look at things
It's often how we look at things that makes the difference. Jo Howell told about how one day a very wealthy family took their son to the country for the express purpose of showing him how poor people lived and how fortunate he was to not be among them.
Mike Parker: ‘Green Report’ vision still applies today
A little more than 20 years ago, I published a column about the tremendous appeals that bring heritage tourism to our city and county. The June 17, 2002 column is as applicable today as it was 20 years ago – even more so.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: North Carolina is number seven in apple production
Similar to our very favorite sweet potatoes, apples are a top crop for North Carolina Farmers, ranking our great state in number seven in the nation!! During any year, NC can produce up to 4 million bushels!! Eighty percent of this production occurs in Henderson County North Carolina, if Henderson County were a state, it would actually rank 8th in the nation.
Chadwick Stokes: English Colonies of the New World - Jamestowne
Despair. Desperation. Sorrow. Hunger. These are the feelings of the colonists who were in the midst of the “Starving Time” at Jamestowne during the winter of 1609-1610. That harsh winter left many of these colonists dead due to starvation and poor drinking water. This particular episode during the humble beginnings of Jamestown, Virginia echoes many of the struggles the first colonists to the New World endured.
Reece Gardner: Count your blessings
I hope your Labor Day Weekend has been wonderful in every way, and that you are looking forward to a great upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas Season. How time flies We need to LIVE each day as fully and completely as possible and count our blessings.
Mike Parker: ‘Wings’ will take off Friday at Farmer’s Market
For the 14th consecutive year, the CSS Neuse Foundation will hold its annual “Wings Over the Neuse” fundraiser. “Wings” began in 2009 to raise the money needed to erect a memorial to Alton “Doc” Stapleford for supervising and doing a great deal of the work in constructing the CSS Neuse II. A marker honoring Doc still stands near the stern of the Neuse II on the Gordon Street side.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Green Peanuts are For Sale, Let the Boiling Begin!!!
Peanuts are currently being harvested and if you are lucky enough to be able to snag some fresh green peanuts, you are lucky. As soon as they appear at our local Farmers Market, I start buying them up, one of my friends boils them all and freezes then for our friends to enjoy all year!! Boiled peanuts, like okra, are one of those things you either love or will not eat, most of my crowd loves them!!! They make a great appetizer especially for tailgating!
Dan Perry: The political war on faith
“Faith is more powerful than government and nothing is more powerful than God.” That sounds like a statement that could have been made by President George Washington or President Abraham Lincoln–or one of our founding fathers, for it epitomizes the very foundation and strength of America! That’s why one of our most cherished slogans is “In God we trust.”
Reece Gardner: Live with Enthusiasm
The Class assignment was to make a commitment to go out and live with Enthusiasm in a specific area of life, and then come back the following week and tell what happened as a result of that experience.