Columbus
The Daily Reflector
Indecent exposure suspect arrested after assault on Greenville officer
A man suspected of indecent exposure at a Greenville department store assaulted an officer during an arrest attempt on June 29, the Greenville Police Department reported. Officers responded to a report of a man masturbating inside Target, 3040 Evans St., about 3:50 p.m., the department said. He left the store, located in University Commons shopping center, and was last seen walking toward the nearby Harris Teeter. He entered a silver Nissan sedan and drove away. ...
Pirates in the Pros: Williams returns to MLB, Burleson keep Cardinals afloat
Gavin Williams, who pitched for ECU from 2018-21, is back in the big leagues. The Cleveland Guardians announced late Monday that the former ECU right-hander has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Williams had been working back from an elbow injury since spring training and hasn’t pitched for the big league club all season. Instead, he had been making several rehab starts in recent weeks. ...
Independence Day celebrations to light up the sky
After a sizzling couple of weeks of summer, expect July to start off with a bang at area Independence Day celebrations. Here are some ways to celebrate: Farmville Folks in Farmville will get a jump on the holiday with a celebration on Wednesday. The day will begin with a youth-led Patriot Parade at 9:30 a.m. hosted by the Farmville Public Library. Events at the Town Common begin at 6 p.m....
Schools to make opioid overdose drug available on campuses
Pitt County Schools will make a drug that can reverse opioid overdose available on campuses beginning in August. The Board of Education last week unanimously approved a policy making the drug naloxone available for emergency use beginning with the 2024-25 school year. The vote took place during a special called meeting on Wednesday. Discussion of a policy began in May after School Nurse Manager Laurie Reed told the school board...
Crime Roundup: Man charged with street takeover under new statute
The Greenville Police Department recently charged a man under a new statute regulating motor vehicle operations that went into effect Dec. 1. Izarion Blango, 23, was charged with reckless driving to endanger and street takeover on June 22 when he was spotted in his vehicle doing doughnuts, drifting and performing other driving stunts in the parking lot of Buyer’s Market Shopping Center while others were recording the activity, the department said. ...
Letter: Presidential election will determine future of US
The next presidential election will probably be the most important election we have had in the last 100 years or more. Your vote will determine what this country will look like for the next four years. If you are satisfied with an open border that allows anybody (criminals, gang members and terrorists) to cross the border and steal, rape and kill American citizens, then you need to vote Democrat. If you are satisfied with high grocery and gas prices, high taxes and high interest rates,...
Steven Roberts: Presidential race soaked in flood of disinformation
In Moldova, a false video implied that a pro-Western president actually favored Russia. In Bangladesh, a conservative Muslim country, a female lawmaker was portrayed wearing a bikini. In Slovakia, a doctored audio tape made it seem that an anti-Moscow candidate wanted to double the price of beer. No fabricated videos have surfaced — yet — of Joe Biden boasting a bikini bod or boosting beer prices. But this year’s presidential contest is already drenched in a flood of disinformation, and the problem is likely to...
July 2 abby: Aging father's plan for assets exclude family
DEAR ABBY: I’m a single retired grandfather in the South. My daughter, 50, has hitched her wagon to an alcoholic. She’s circling the drain and going down with him. My grandsons are adults and scattered around the country. They are lazy and none of them has a full-time job. We used to keep them during the summers until their mid-teens. Now I don’t hear from them unless I call, and then it’s just a bunch of one-word answers — “Fine,” “OK” and “Yup.” ...
July 2 Community News
Email announcements at least a week in advance to community@reflector.com. Farmers Market The Leroy James Farmers Market, 4560 County Home Road, will be open 3-7 p.m. tonight and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. For more information call 902-1724 or visit www.PittCountyNC.gov/MarketEvents. NAMI meetings ...
John Hood: North Carolina's economy is always churning
North Carolina’s private sector lost an eye-popping 414,000 jobs in the most-recent quarter tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Are we on the brink of economic cataclysm? Should you buy gold and head for the hills? Nah. There’s no reason to panic. While a modest uptick from the previous quarter, those lost 414,000 jobs don’t represent 414,000 people suddenly out of work. You see, during the same quarter, North Carolina businesses added 496,000 positions — representing a net increase of about 82,000 jobs. ...
North Carolina party recognition for groups seeking RFK Jr., West on ballot stopped for now
RALEIGH — A divided North Carolina election board decided last week to scrutinize further the attempts by political organizations to become official state parties by collecting signatures, with the goals of their supporters to get Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West on this fall’s presidential ballot in the battleground state. The We The People party and Justice for All Party of North Carolina initiated petition drives to receive official party designations. That required a smaller fraction of the valid signatures from registered and qualified...
Stay safe with fireworks, heat, pet care precautions
Pitt County Government is advising residents to enjoy Independence Day fireworks at public displays conducted by professionals and to avoid using fireworks at home. The county’s public information office issued an advisory that said an estimated 7,400 firework-related injuries were treated last year in U.S. hospital emergency departments during the holiday period. It issued the following advice from the Consumer Product Safety Commission: Do not allow young children to play...
ECU roundup: McMillan, Mouzzon compete at track & field Olympic Team Trials
East Carolina track & field athletes Sydni McMillan and Melicia Mouzzon competed at the United States Olympic Team Trials on June 21, 28 and 29 at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. McMillan competed in the 100-meter hurdles and Mouzzon took part in the 100-meter dash. McMillan advanced out of the first round in the hurdles, running a time of 13.26 seconds to finish fifth in her heat and...
PCC welding facility coming soon: Building will more than double program capacity
WINTERVILLE — A facility coming to Pitt Community College in 2025 will more than double the capacity of the state’s largest welding program and strengthen the foundation of the local workforce, officials said at a groundbreaking ceremony last week. About 30 county, state and college officials gathered near the Minges-Overton Baseball Complex at Pitt Community College along with students and staff to celebrate the start of the $17.7 million Welding Technology Building. ...
North Carolina's restrictions on public mask-wearing are now law after some key revisions
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s contentious restrictions on public mask-wearing became law on Thursday after GOP lawmakers successfully overrode a veto by the state’s Democratic governor. The Senate gave its final stamp of approval in a 30-14 override vote along party lines. The state House initiated the process Wednesday when it voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto during a lengthy session that lasted well into the night. The ban joins...
Greenville teen is second runner up in Distinguished Young Women National Finals
A Greenville teen has been named second runner-up in the 67th Distinguished Young Women National Finals in Mobile, Alabama. Haynes Lewis, who represented North Carolina in Saturday’s scholarship program, received a $15,000 scholarship award. Alicia Chu of Delaware was named Distinguished Young Woman of America. Lewis, the daughter of Dr. Richard and Kristie Lewis, also received a $2,500 “Tell me a Story” Award by Maureen Sullivan Collins. The salutatorian for...
Trial judges dismiss North Carolina redistricting lawsuit over right to 'fair elections'
RALEIGH — North Carolina trial judges have dismissed a lawsuit challenging redrawn legislative and congressional district lines on the argument that they run afoul of an indirect constitutional right to “fair elections.” The judges said a recent affirmation still applies — that redistricting policy decisions are left to the General Assembly, not the courts. The three-person panel of Superior Court judges, including Jeffery Foster of Pitt County, threw out the complaint filed in January by several voters who attempt to block enforcement of redistricting that...
Skateboarders lobby city for skate park improvements
Greenville’s skateboard community is urging the city Recreation and Parks Department to bring its Extreme Park into the 21st Century. The owners of Backdoor Skateshop recently gathered two dozen skateboarders at the Jaycee Park facility to celebrate National Go Skateboard Day and focus attention on the updates they say the park needs. “If this was an updated facility you’d see more skaters using this daily than the basketball players using...
Long-awaited city-backed housing complex opening soon
Community leaders gathered this week to celebrate an affordable housing project built in the Medical District by a private developer with significant backing from the city and state. Greenville Mayor P.J. Connelly led the ribbon-cutting for Arlington Trace, a $31.7 million, 180-unit apartment complex that will greet its new tenants in the next 30 days. Thursday’s event allowed Taft-Mills Group, the project’s developers, to recognize the organizations that made the project, which started in 2017, possible. ...
D.G. Martin: Political lying undermines belief in democracy and system of justice
Is it our religion that is leading us down a pathway of lying about political matters? What is lying? Is it simply not telling the truth? And then, what is truth? Is truth based on facts? Or is it something that is revealed by a higher power? ...
The Daily Reflector
11K+
Posts
23M+
Views
The Daily Reflector has been a vital part of the life of Greenville, Pitt County, and eastern North Carolina for more than a century. The company was founded in 1882 by David Jordan Whichard and Julian R. Whichard, who bought the printing equipment from the proprietor of The Express, for whom they once worked. Moving the equipment into their mother's one-room schoolhouse, the brothers began their own weekly newspaper, The Eastern Reflector. In 1885, David Jordan Whichard became sole owner and publisher of The Reflector, beginning daily publication December 10, 1884.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.