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Pitt County finalizing security agreement for commissioners, planning meetings
Pitt County officials are finalizing efforts to provide security at commissioners and planning board meetings following an announcement by the sheriff that deputies would not work the meetings. Discussions with a private security firm come nearly a month after the in-house counsel for the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office notified Clerk to the Board of Commissioners Kimberly Hines that deputies would no longer be available to provide security for the two boards after July 1. ...
Kinston man charged with Ayden homicide
Ayden police have charged a Kinston man with an open count of murder after a gunshot victim died at the hospital. The Ayden Police Department said officers responded about 2:01 a.m. Sunday to a reported gunshot victim at Legacy Lounge, a nightclub at 6250 N.C. 11, north of N.C. 102. Officers arrived to find Guy Lamont Brown, 64, of Kinston had been shot. He was transported to ECU Health Medical...
Smith appointed to lead NC Legislative Black Caucus
N.C. Sen. Kandie Smith has been appointed chairwoman of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, her office announced on Thursday. The District 5 state senator representing Pitt and Edgecombe counties earned the gavel after serving one year as the caucus first vice chairwoman. She succeeds Rep. Kelly Alexander of Charlotte, who is not seeking re-election after more than eight years in the state House. Smith assumed the role on June...
Goodness of Grifton: Community softball game a hit with residents
Bats were swinging and balls were flying when The Goodness of Grifton held its first community softball game last month. Dozens of residents came out and play in and to support the event. More than 50 people came out to watch the game on June 15, that featured Ed Beiner as the captain of Team A and Tyra Sparrow as the captain for team B. The event was put together...
Farmville's Café Madeleine Bakery and Wine bids adieu
FARMVILLE — A beloved downtown Farmville café has closed its doors, but its chef and owner said she will always treasure the town as she begins a new chapter in retirement. Coleen Starling, owner and chef at Café Madeleine Bakery and Wine on Wilson Street, announced July 10 over social media that the restaurant was shutting its doors. “Café Madeleine has given me the opportunity to fulfill a personal dream,”...
Davis: Biden debate 'disastrous,' but still backs president's bid
EDENTON — U.S. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., on July 1 described President Biden’s debate performance against former President Donald Trump last week as “disastrous” but said he still supports the president’s re-election bid and isn’t calling for him to step aside as Democrats’ standard-bearer in the November general election. Davis, who was attending a meet-and-greet event in Edenton hosted by local resident Susan Inglis, said Biden’s performance during the June 27 debate was more than troubling but said his support for the president’s re-election has...
Buckhout picks up Trump endorsement, discusses Biden's debate performance
ELIZABETH CITY — First U.S. House District hopeful Laurie Buckhout has been formally endorsed by the Republican who’ll be at the top of the GOP ticket in November: former President Donald Trump. “I got President Trump’s endorsement yesterday,” Buckhout announced to applause during the Pasquotank Political Action Committee’s 4th annual Independence Day potluck picnic at Journey Christian Church in Elizabeth City on June 29. Buckhout, the first of several regional...
Happenings: Events, activities and community announcements
Email announcements at least two weeks in advance to community@reflector.com for publication in The Standard and The Daily Reflector. London trip Parents and guardians of Greene Central High School students are invited to attend an information session on a spring 2025 student travel opportunity to London, in partnership with EF Tours. The session will take place from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday in the high school library. Registration is mandatory for...
Mitchell Oakley: Biden's party, staff, media have shaped his character
I have compassion for President Joe Biden in the sense that his current shortcomings are a result of being a victim of his age, just as many of us may suffer before our lives conclude here on Earth. In Biden’s case, we have seen his mental and physical deterioration since the day he went into his basement in 2020. It was there he hid from the American people. He hid the fact his age was getting the better of him, even then. ...
July 13 Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays July 13: Howard Hunt, Juanita Manning, Willie Mozingo, Rebecca James July 14: Jonathan Carraway, David Futrell, Sherryl O. Matthews, Jacob Reel, Carolina Santopolo, Vivian Turnage, Leslie Whitaker, Frankie Dale Edwards, Ronnie Ray Williams July 15: Lewis Deans, Bobby Hodge Jr., Roger Moore, Mary Wilson, Nicholas A. Avery ...
Heat, drought expected to persist
Locals continue to share the misery of heat that’s gripping the United States, and federal data predicts that temperatures will remain high at least through September. The first five months of 2024 were the warmest locally since 2017 and the sixth warmest since 1895, data from the National Centers for Environmental Information, part of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shows. From January-May Pitt County recorded temperatures three and a half degrees warmer than the average of 53 degrees. ...
Story of ‘The Singing Senator’ airs on PBS
In a tumultuous election year, it’s hard to imagine a politician who not only stood up for his constituents on public policy but also stood behind a microphone in the famous circle of the Ryman Auditorium, playing the Grand Ole Opry. Charlie Albertson may very well be eastern North Carolina’s version of Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” with a little Gene Autry thrown in for good measure. ...
D.G. Martin: Good leaders need to know when to step down
My father had been president of Davidson College for almost 10 years when at age 58 he learned that he was afflicted with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He was popular with students, who often tossed frisbees with him as he walked across campus from his office to the president’s home. He was friendly, likable, and beloved by staff and townspeople. Davidson’s campus escaped most of the turmoil that disrupted some other...
Matthew Stevens: Agave copes well with hot temperatures, dry soil
In a previous column, I mentioned xeriscaping as a long-term solution to help gardeners better deal with drought conditions. Grouping plants according to water needs and incorporating more plants that can tolerate extremes may help gardeners make more efficient use of water while keeping their landscapes thriving. One drought-loving plant that might catch some gardener’s eyes is the agave, also known as century plant or false aloe. Agave is a southwestern succulent plant that many assume has the same needs as a cactus, and it’s...
Crime Roundup: Ayden man charged with drug trafficking
A months-long investigation led to an Ayden man’s arrest for trafficking cocaine and heroin, the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office reported. On July 3 detectives with the sheriff’s office’s Special Operations Unit concluded their investigation into the sale of narcotics with the arrest of Floyd Haddock Jr., 58, at his home at 661 Old Snowhill Road. The sheriff’s office said Haddock was charged with three counts of trafficking heroin, possession with...
Grand Funk Railroad headlines Watermelon Jam
Winterville is getting ready for its 39th annual Watermelon Festival and announced tickets are now on sale for the Watermelon Jam featuring the rock legends Grand Funk Railroad. The four-day festival that wraps up summer for many folks around Pitt County runs Aug. 22-25 at the Winterville Recreation Park, 324 Sylvania St., south of A.G. Cox Middle School. One of the highlights is the Watermelon Jam, which this year features...
Wes Thomas: Obedience to God earns favor and peace
While reading in Genesis on July 4, my attention was heavily focused on Noah. Right after the scripture says that God was sorry for creating mankind due to their ever growing and consuming evil, it says: “… But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Scripture continues with instructions on what and how to build the vessel that would spare the lives of Noah and his family during the great flood. Then verse 22 of chapter 6 reads: ...
Celia Stone: As often as possible, we should choose joy
King Nebuchadnezzar II and the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem in 589 B.C., eventually razing it to the ground, and in 586 B.C. destroying the Temple built by King Solomon. Many Jewish people were taken into captivity to Babylon while others were exiled to different countries. Approximately 47 years later, Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, allowed the Judaeans to return home and some did, in waves. Many, however, chose to remain in Babylon after the Jewish Diaspora. ...
J.M. Biggs: Our only hope is prayer
I truly thank God that I am able to hear from the Lord. It is only because of great suffering I can do so. We all must be willing to go through suffering for Christ’s sake. As I have heard from the Lord, I am reminding everyone to prepare for what’s coming. It has already begun. Yet people are acting just like everything is OK. The Bible tells us that Satan has blinded people’s eyes. They are not able to see what’s happening right in...
Joy Franklin: Media grilled Biden, gave Trump a bye
In the days following the June 27 CNN-produced presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, national news outlets have been dominated by stories of Biden’s poor performance and calls from various pundits, and even the New York Times Editorial Board, for him to step aside. Yet, there have been no calls for Trump to step aside as the Republican nominee, even though his debate performance, while more robust than Biden’s, was almost wholly untethered from fact or truth. Why have lead...
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