Ready for some football?

I got in the car to ride around yesterday. I wasn’t going too far, probably not far enough for the air conditioner to really get it cooled down anyway, so I just put the windows down and enjoyed the Carolina Summer. It’s that time of the year.
When I pick up the N&O sports section, articles are starting to pepper the paper on the upcoming college sports seasons. I saw Carolina’s ad hawking football tickets over the weekend.
The Panthers are in training camp. An article in one of the weekend papers spoke with excitement about the improvement in my beloved Cowboys’ defense. Even without Bill Parcells, there’s excitement in Big D.
I met a couple from Texas Friday night. Understand that Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemmens are from Texas, and Kevin Durant played for the University of Texas and went number two in the NBA draft. They really do play other sports there, but they confirmed still for most of us from Texas will say there are only two sports there: football and spring football. Maybe they are a little fanatical, but it’s not that different in North Carolina.
I interviewed a football coach Monday, and while we were talking his cell phone went off. It played the Notre Dame Fight Song as the ring tone. I think Coach Williamson is ready.
Monday morning cheerleaders were beginning practice. They’re getting ready to turn heads and stir the spirit on Friday nights. They’re eager for the season to get underway.
Monday night football players across the state were putting on some tattered practice jerseys salvaged from seasons past; beginning the work on the blocking formations and running the passing routes. They’re full of energy and optimism.
My daughter, Kelly, was taking photos of the young guys on the first night of football practice. She was impressed with how many were eager to get their photos in the newspaper. They’re proud to say they are out there.
There is something different about football. No offense, but there are reasons that they build stadiums for football. There is something very appealing to the male population when it comes to football. It takes a lot of hard work and determination by a lot of young men to put a football team out on the field. [And, yes, occasionally, young women.]
Most schools are blessed with some fine athletes, but to get twenty-two young men out there executing the game plan, putting in the extra effort to win the battle in the trenches takes something extra. Sometimes you are not going to be the biggest and the strongest. It can very much be a battle of wills.
And they put on helmets. Their hats are distinctive. It carries the school logo. It’s a sign of school pride. You represent not only those in the hallways of your school, but the ones who went before you. There are parents, and in some cases grandparents, who strapped on the helmet before you. It’s the sign you are a football player, ready to go out onto the field and do battle.
And right now they are all winners.
The victories are hollow if they are not won on the field of battle. Yes, there is some consolation in playing a good team well, even if you don’t claim the “W”, but there is no substitute.
I watched some fathers watching their sons from a distance.
To be sure, once they start playing for real, teams will have to lose, but right now, it is great to see the energy, the enthusiasm, and the optimism.
Are you ready for some football? I am!

It was one of those times that you’re sick on your stomach. You’re filled with dread about what you know will come.
Fortunately, I got concerned about doing my job, getting in the right place to get the pictures and getting out of the way of those who were doing their jobs. The emotions of the moment gave way to the duties of the job, fortunately.
Honestly, I could not tell at the time what kind of SUV they were riding in. It looked fairly new, but it was knocked upside down and a good 30 feet down the railroad tracks. I happened to come on the scene right after the rescue squad got there.
They had already gotten the baby seat out of the car, but no one else was out. Firemen were working along with rescue personnel to get them freed from the vehicle. I don’t know how long it was until the baby, maybe a three year old, came out with maybe what appeared to be a minor scratch on the face. Then came the brother, maybe a five or six year old, looking very much like all was well. Finally the mother came out, trying to walk, maybe sore from the wreck, maybe overcome with emotion, but needing some help to walk.
It was a miracle that they all survived. I know they are emotionally scarred from the event, but it looked as if their bodies came through without significant damage. I praise God.

They're off and running

Thursday and Friday the race for the Princeton Town Board expanded,
and we now have six candidates for the two board seats up for election.
While Lisa Floors Brown had been widely rumored to be considering a
run, David Holt’s run for office was not on the radar screen.
With municipal elections set up as they are, with no run-off, funny things
can and do happen when you have more than two candidates for a seat.
I know many believe when Elmer Capps added his name to the mayoral
race a few years ago that heretofore had been between William Earl Ormond
and Don Rains, that shifted the tight race and put Don Rains in office. I’m not
saying that necessarily was a bad thing, but it did change the election.
Already I have heard more than one complaints
about the paving of streets in town. That
likely will be a point of discussion in the election.
With three active police officers on the ballot,
the police department will likely continue to
be a hot topic.
Beyond all of that, though, my early sense
of all of the candidates is there is no burning
issue which is fueling their desire to run for
office. I haven’t heard anyone say that if you are
mad about the condition of Princeton streets,
for example, vote for me for I will get them all
repaved. Or if you want to see so and so run out
of office, vote for me.
My sense is they are all offering to serve out
of a love and concern for our town.
To those of you who will be voting in the town
election, let me ask you not to take my word for any of this, but try to judge
on your own.
Beginning this week, the Princeton News Leader will present all of the
information you need, maybe even more information than you want, to help
you make the best decision about the candidates. We will try to help you
know clearly which candidates more closely align to your beliefs about town
government. We will talk about experience, background, and perspectives on
issues that matter to you.
As we will focus on the Princeton candidates and the local issues, we
will make every attempt to be fair and balanced in the coverage we offer the
candidates.
In our attempt to better serve what you are interested in, what issues do
you want to hear discussed? What topics would you like put before the candidates?
Would you like to see a public debate?
I don’t want to minimize the importance of this election. With two of
the four seats on the board up for election, plus the mayor’s seat, clearly the
potential is there to swing the town in a different direction. Some may feel
the necessity of keeping things going as they are.
Clearly the town is different today than it was two years ago, and like it
or not, it will be different two years from now. How we react to the changes,
embracing them, making sure controls are in place, all of that will in part
by the charge of this board.
I pray we make good decisions. I will do my best to help us.
Today I make one of those tough decisions. I will be raising the cost of
the newspaper for many of you.
We have not raised the subscription price of the paper in five years.
During that time we have absorbed a number of cost increases. We have also
tried to trim where we could to keep our costs in line. We’ve stretched the
rubber band about as far as we can go.
Last week our postal rates increased dramatically. While we knew to
expect a significant increase, we did not get the forms until earlier this
month. As we have analyzed the new rates and our other costs, we have recognized
that the increases would be more dramatic than we had originally
anticipated.
We are increasing local subscriptions from $20 to $24 annually. That is the
biggest jump I can remember. I wish we could keep it at $20, or at least keep
the increase smaller, but it’s just not possible to maintain a quality product
without passing along the costs.
We know some of you are on fixed incomes, and I regret the hardship
this increase may pose for you. We will continue to offer specials from time
to time, and encourage you to look at those as a means to reduce your subscription
costs.
While all of us recognize the costs of stamps continues to go up, those
of us who regularly mail larger items know those costs have increased even
more dramatically than the cost of stamps. That is even more the case for
newspapers mailed outside the local area. Out of state subscriptions will be
rising from $31 to $48 per year.
We will be offering for the first time six month subscriptions to help
people cope with the high costs of annual subscriptions.
We will continue to look for ways we can keep the cost of your subscription
reasonable.

Some interesting races

Filing in the municipal elections closed Friday, and we should have some interesting elections in the fall.
Fremont’s mayoral race should be a good one. I think most people in town know all three of the outstanding candidates running.
I can’t say that I know all of the candidates in Pikeville running for the board. It is good to see that many people willing to put their names forward to serve.
Likewise in Stantonsburg, a number of people have indicated a willingness to run for the board.
Unfortunately, Eureka continues to struggle.
I have attended Eureka Town Board meetings in recent months, and I know there are concerned people who I believe, by and large, are making the best decisions for the Town of Eureka serving on the town board, regardless of how they were elected.
There’s a measure of humility that most of us find appealing in those who don’t step forward but who are tapped by others to serve. While Eureka has gotten by with this strategy in the past, in too many cases, people who receive a handful of write-in votes serve after those who received more turned the position down. It’s time for a change.
It’s time that some take it upon themselves, those who truly love the town, and make sure people who are qualified and eager to serve are elected. I call upon the good people in the churches, the Ruritan Club members, and any others to get together and discuss this with their friends. If you come up with candidates, the News Leader will help put them before the voters. Call us and let us know.

Twenty-five years ago this fall, Marilyn and I bought the Wayne-Wilson Weekly News and moved to Fremont. The next fall there was a mayoral election in Fremont I won’t soon forget.
W.A. “Punk” Wooten was the incumbent mayor, and Joel O’Neal, who had been serving on the board, filed to challenge. Fremont’s controversial electric department supervisor, Doug Lane, decided to run for office as well.
I won’t claim to know each of them well, but Punk was an older man who without a doubt loved Fremont. He made decisions with perhaps a bit of a heavy hand, confident he was trying to do the right thing. Punk was a bit what I would call “Old School” in his methods.
Joel was one of the younger leaders in the town. He perhaps represented a younger, more progressive approach to the challenges facing the town.
Doug Lane was in more than one way the “wild card.” He represented the mavericks in town who wanted to shake things up, go against the status quo. There were rumors, which I never substantiated, that he went before some in town promising if elected that he would lower their electric rates.
Clearly Punk and Joel split what some might consider traditional voters, and Doug appealed to another group. Doug was elected.
To his credit, Doug did his best to serve, and in some ways was a pretty good mayor. He clearly was the least qualified, and was embroiled in an investigation of a questionable electric department relationship with a supplier of transformers to the town.
I don’t believe we have anything like that this time in Fremont. I do believe we have an election that could be very exciting and difficult to predict.

I pledge that in our tradition, we will do our best to put the different candidates before you. We will hopefully give you more information than you need to help you make your decision before going to the polls.
We will do our best to present that information in a fair format. While we will, over time, no doubt form some opinions, we will do our best to keep those on the editorial page.
I think we have some interesting races to talk about.

Today I make one of those tough decisions. I will be raising the cost of the newspaper for many of you.
We have not raised the subscription price of the paper in five years. During that time we have absorbed a number of cost increases. We have also tried to trim where we could to keep our costs in line. We’ve stretched the rubber band about as far as we can go.
Last week our postal rates increased dramatically. While we knew to expect a significant increase, we did not get the forms until earlier this month. As we have analyzed the new rates and our other costs, we have recognized that the increases would be more dramatic than we had originally anticipated.
We are increasing local subscriptions from $20 to $24 annually. That is the biggest jump I can remember. I wish we could keep it at $20, or at least keep the increase smaller, but it’s just not possible to maintain a quality product without passing along the costs.
We know some of you are on fixed incomes, and I regret the hardship this increase may pose for you. We will continue to offer specials from time to time, and encourage you to look at those as a means to reduce your subscription costs.
While all of us recognize the costs of stamps continues to go up, those of us who regularly mail larger items know those costs have increased even more dramatically than the cost of stamps. That is even more the case for newspapers mailed outside the local area. Out of state subscriptions will be rising from $31 to $48 per year.
We will be offering for the first time six-month subscriptions to help people cope with the high costs of annual subscriptions.
We will continue to look for ways we can keep the cost of your subscription reasonable.

State school bond needed

18/19 07 2007 -Last week Wayne County Schools officials made a presentation
on a proposed state school facilities bond issue. They punctuated the
presentation with a look at their own needs across Wayne County.
While we can argue about how county commissioners across
the state are addressing funding priorities, there is no doubt they
are struggling to pay all of the bills they are presented to pay. The
General Assembly recognizes that something has to be done to deal
with the growing Medicaid bills.
There is growing momentum for title transfer fees to help fastgrowing
counties keep up with growth that
taxes their resources, but for some that help
isn’t here yet.
Low-growth counties are struggling just
to pay the regular bills, with the low tax
base they have.
Ten years ago a state school bond was
passed, and this is a great time for another.
I have a growing appreciation for the art
of politics. I know you always catch more
flies with honey than vinegar. I know there
are many things on the agenda in Raleigh,
and recognize that timing is very important.
I want to believe that this proposed bond
issue is coming at the right time. I hope the environment is right
for a number of people in Raleigh to jump on this issue. I hope the
environment is right for there to be expectations that it will pass easily.
There are smarter people than me, and more importantly, more
politically astute people than me, who are strategizing all of these
things.
Rightly, we individually usually look at such things with the attitude
of “what’s in it for me”.
I know Johnston County Schools have great needs. They wanted
a bigger bond issue than was on the ballot a few months ago, but
agreed to back off.
Wayne Schools have much greater needs than this state bond
will meet, but it will at least get the process started. Hopefully with
county help, more needs will be met.
In the big split of how schools will be funded, traditionally the
state has shouldered the burden of paying the salaries, and the counties
have been responsible for facilities. As it works, however, many
counties are supplementing pay as they try to attract quality teachers
to their staffs. Periodically the state, through state bond issues,
has supplemented what counties are putting into school facilities.
There is knowing give and take here.
A state bond issue is a good idea and it seemingly is a good time
to try to pass it. Please let your state representatives know you support
it.
This may speak to only a few of you, but it seems in the society of
today, we tend to be more widely dispersed.
In generations past the children followed in the family business,
and in farming areas maybe continued to live in the big house after
they got married, until they could afford a house of their own, resettling
then on a nearby piece of land. Today the kids go off to college,
and sometimes never make it back home. (On the other side, some of
you are probably wondering –if reports are correct – if the adult kids
will ever move out.)
We’re fortunate to have our two girls home for the summer, and
over the 4th went to Texas to spend some time with my mother, my
brother, and that side of the family. It had been many years since we
all had been together.
It has been ten years since my late father’s side of the family has
gathered. I called an aunt I hadn’t talked with for a few years and we
had an enjoyable 30-minute visit. I asked her about trying to get us
all together next summer.
We used to have family reunions that we went to every summer,
and I know some still try to get together. As I get older, that becomes
more precious to me.
How about your family? How long has it been since they had a
meaningful gathering? Is it about time?