By:
Jay Lamm, Times Editorial Cartoonist
It’s New Year’s Eve and another year is about to be replaced with fresh hopes and dreams for a brighter tomorrow.
It goes without saying that 2011 has been difficult for most Americans, but as it fades into the dust bin of history, at least we can say that the long, dreary war in Iraq has finally wound down.
Don’t look now but 2011 is all but over — except for the fireworks, the falling crystal ball or maybe the dropping acorn, assuming it was repaired in time to help mark the end of another year.
And what a year it has been.
Not fun for many of us, especially those who have been so hard hit by an economy that simply refuses to recover.
GOOD MORNING: Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012! But as you go about ringing in the New Year tonight (Saturday), please don’t let your enthusiasm overcome good sense.
According to published reports, New Year’s Eve is one of the deadliest nights of the year for drunken driving wrecks. On top of that, the hours between 1 and 5 a.m. New Year’s Day is deemed the most deadly to be on the road.
RALEIGH – If former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory wins his rematch with Gov. Beverly Perdue next year, it will be historic for several reasons. It will be the first time a sitting North Carolina governor is defeated for reelection to a second four-year term, for example. It will also be the first time in state history that a female incumbent loses a major office to a male challenger.
It’s hard to find much good to say about 2011 in North Carolina. Storms, controversy, people acting badly and a continuing bad economy dominated this year.
Voters handed Democrats a vote of no confidence in the 2010 elections and there was hope the new Republican leadership in this year’s legislature might produce real change.
In thinking about all the negative things happening around us these days, I have found a little book entitled “If I really wanted to Be Happy I would.” As I was reading it, I discovered so many simple ideas about being happy, but we forget to apply them to our lives. So, I would like to share some of them with you as a greeting for a blessed year to come.
LOUISBURG - Vivian Young Harris, 93, died Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011 in Louisburg Nursing Center. At the request of Mrs. Harris, there will be no service.
RALEIGH - Funeral services for Demetrius “Shug” Crudup, 29, who died Monday, Dec. 26, 2011, will be held Sunday, Jan. 1, at 2 p.m. at Popes Chapel United Church of Christ, Franklinton, with the Rev. Leroy Dukes officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
YOUNGSVILLE —Funeral services for Clifton Edward Price, 61, who died Monday Dec. 26, 2011, will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 2, at New Hope Freedom and Deliverance Cathedral, Louisburg, with Bishop Lorenzo Peterson officiating. Burial will follow in the M. H. Jones cemetery.
The Oxford-Henderson Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. prepares to present its 59th Jabberwock Extravaganza on April 14, 2012.
The Jabberwock is the sorority’s scholarship pageant. The pageant recognizes the contestants, their families, friends and others who support their future pursuits towards higher education.
By:
GEOFF NEVILLE, Times Sportswriter
CARY -- Two days of bad memories were erased by one exceptional half of basketball Wednesday for the Bunn Ladycats.
Bunn had dropped a pair of contests at the Mix 101.5 Girls Holiday Invitational -- albeit against high-level competition -- to limp into a seventh-place contest against Cary Christian to close out the annual event.
By:
GEOFF NEVILLE, Times Sportswriter
DURHAM -- Sixteen minutes of near-perfection followed by sixteen minutes of hanging on tight for a rough ride -- that was Bunn’s journey into the semifinals of the Spartan Christmas Challenge.
Taking on Durham Jordan in the first round on Wednesday, the Wildcats dominated the first half and went to the break in command by 16 points.
Officially, the Spartan Christmas Challenge is being staged at Southern Durham High School -- but it certainly has a Franklin County feel to it.
Of the eight clubs entered in the boys basketball tournament, five of them have Franklin County connections.
Of course, there is Gerald Melton, the long-time head coach of the Bunn Wildcats.
FRANKLIN COUNTY -- It won’t take long for the prep basketball scene to heat up in 2012 in Franklin County.
After Christmas Break, one of the key matchups of the season in the Northern Carolina Conference will take place Tuesday night at the Bunn Dome.
That’s when host Bunn will entertain backyard rival Franklinton with first place on the line in the girls standings.
Bunn’s Patika Venable (right) gets her hand on a pass attempt from Cary Christian’s Shelby Ballard during Wednesday’s girls holiday hoops tournament action at Cary Academy.
Chepirah Neal scores on a runner in the paint for the Bunn Ladycats during their victory Wednesday over Cary Christian School.
High School Wrestling
TUESDAY
Bunn at Corinth Holders 6 p.m.
Louisburg at Franklinton 6 p.m.
Bunn’s Brandon Batchelor heads to the basket during the Wildcats’ victory over Durham Jordan on Wednesday evening in the opening round of the Spartan Christmas Challenge Boys Basketball Tournament at Southern Durham High School.
Charles Murray of the Justice Community shows off a coyote that was killed as part of a hunt Dec. 26 by the Justice Gun Club. A total of five coyotes were killed.
Bunn’s Tainasha Vines claims a loose ball during the Ladycats’ victory Wednesday over Cary Christian School in the seventh-place game of the Mix 101.5 Girls Basketball Holiday Invitational Tourney.
Daniel and Crystal Morgan of Louisburg are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Katelyn Adelle Morgan, born Nov. 14, 2011 at 2:29 p.m. at Duke Hospital. She weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20 inches long.
Noah Bailey of Raleigh made the Dean’s list at UNC Wilmington for the fall semester. To qualify, students must earn a grade point average of 3.50 or better with no grade less than B. Noah received A’s in each subject.
By:
Jay Lamm, Times Editorial Cartoonist
Granted, no one likes taxes.
But, let’s face it, some are necessary — expensive, burdensome and yet, necessary.
Such is the case with the North Carolina fuel tax which is scheduled to increase by four cents a gallon next month.
