A recent intelligence report outlining possible scenarios for what the world may look like in 2030 has some interesting results.

First and foremost, the U.S. — in all likelihood — will still be a top power in 2030. However, the report goes on to say that the U.S. will not wield quite the same amount of influence it has in the past century.

We will still be “first among equals,” according to the conclusions of “Alternative Worlds,” released by the National Intelligence Council. The report points to our continued military might and diplomatic influence as reasons for our place at the top of the world.

The report also made specific note that we are at a “critical juncture” in time where technological advances are quickly advancing, competition for resources is growing increasingly competitive and a middle class is emerging in countries around the world.

The rise of a middle class could be a game changer as we move forward. This presents serious competition over food, water, gasoline and many other commodities. The growing middle class will also increase demand for water and food by more than 35 percent over the next couple of decades, the report indicates.

And while most of us assume a large, well-fed, middle class ensures democracy or “Western thinking,” nothing could be further from the truth.

“Historically, the rise of middle classes has led to populism and dictatorships, as well as pressures for greater democracy,” the authors of the report stated. Meanwhile, that global growth “disguises growing pressures on the middle class in Western economies,” including international competition for higher-skilled jobs.

What scares me is the report essentially pins our hopes of being able to provide enough food and water on another technological leap such as genetically modified crops, precision agriculture and advanced water irrigation. I hate to think what may happen if we can not find these advances in time.

There is another section of this report that bothers me even more. Advances in weaponry and such will provide small groups the opportunity to obtain “destructive technologies” that, up to now, have been only available to countries.

“With more widespread access to lethal and destructive technologies, individuals who are experts in such key areas as cyber systems might sell their services to the highest bidder,” Council Chairman Christopher Kojm said during a briefing on the report. “Terrorists might focus less on mass casualties and more on causing widespread economic and financial disruptions.”

Oh my.

Clearly, we will need to be diligent in our efforts to track, monitor and record all weapons of mass destruction.

The report goes on to paint a rosier scenario for poverty and those living within its clutches. Most regions, with sub-Saharan Africabeing the lone exception, are expected to sharply decrease the number of people living in poverty.

However, one area that the report remains befuddled with is the Middle East. The report states the region “will be a very different place in 2030 but the possibilities run a wide gamut from fragile growth and development to chronic instability and potential regional conflicts.”

Ah, not much there. I could’ve got that bold prediction from a box of Cracker Jacks. Do Cracker Jacks still have a prize in them? I digress.

The gist of the entire report is that much of the future remains up to us. We are present in the here and now and need to start making better, more forward-thinking decisions. Whether we are talking about the environment, technology or politics, we need to start thinking more as humans and less as “us and them.”

I hope future generations can find even more peace than my generation or those before me.

Richard Clark is the universal desk chief for Halifax ENC and his column appears in this space every Sunday. You can reach him at 910-219-8452 or at Richard.Clark@jdnews.com.

WILMINGTON — A CBS television series based on a best-selling Stephen King novel will film in Wilmington, according to local film industry sources.

“Under the Dome,” a 13-episode series based on the author’s 2009 book, is expected to open production offices at EUE/Screen Gems Studios this week, sources said.

The show will air this summer, according to a CBS news release.

“Under the Dome” will join NBC’s “Revolution” as the second TV series to film in the Port City in 2013.

The dramas have something else in common: Their characters struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic environment.

“Under the Dome” is set in a small New England town suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. The town’s inhabitants must deal with dire living conditions while searching for answers about the barrier, according to the network.

“Revolution” follows a family trying to survive 15 years after all electronic equipment stops working. The NBC series, which began filming in the region in early July after filming its pilot in Georgia, took a midseason break Nov. 26. It will air new episodes again in March at 10 p.m. on Mondays.

“Under the Dome” will be produced by King and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. Niels Arden Oplev — director of the original Swedish version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” — will direct the first episode.

An independent film that follows a group of friends scrambling to survive after a global disaster will also film in the Port City this spring.

“The Remaining,” will open offices at EUE/Screen Gems Studios this month and is expected to begin a 21-day shoot in mid February, according to producer Marc Bienstock.

Produced by filmmakers Bienstock and Brad Luff, the film will follow characters Tommy and his best bud, Jack, as they and a group of friends struggle to find redemption after they survive what they believe to be the Rapture.

Casey La Scala, who produced the Southport-filmed “A Walk to Remember” in 2002, wrote “The Remaining” and will direct, Bienstock said.

Casting details for the King series nor the film have not yet been announced.

Local dentists will be serving at least 50 local children next month who have no access to dental care as part of the American Dental Association’s decade-old Give Kids a Smile Program.

The program was created to assist “underserved” children in 2003 with basic dental needs, according to the ADA’s website. The ADA will observe the program’s 11th anniversary this year.

“A one-day event like Give Kids a Smile isn’t a cure-all,” ADA officials stated. “It’s a wake-up call. It’s time for politicians, parents, dentists and people who care to find ways to improve access to oral health care. Our children deserve a better health care system that addresses their dental health needs.”

Dentists and hygienists in Kinston and Lenoir County have put forth the local version of Give Kids a Smile nearly every year during the past decade, and they will be at the Kinston Community Health Center on Feb. 1 for Kinston Give Kids a Smile.

“We were trying to reach the kids that don’t have any kind of access (to insurance) to help them pay for their care,” said Dr. Brandon Nicholson of Kinston Dental Associates.

The event will be put on by the Lenoir County Dental Association. The children, who are between the ages of 5 and 12, will receive exams and any needed treatment for free.

Nicholson said the local Dental Association sent questionnaires to the families of children in Lenoir County Schools between the ages of 5 and 12, asking them if their had any dental coverage, through either a private insurer or Medicaid, and if they had a “dentist of record,” among other questions.

About 50 to 75 percent of the families who received questionnaires responded, and of those respondents, the Dental Association found up to 80 children who qualified.

Fifty to 60 of the children will be served during the Feb. 1 clinic.

“It’s a pretty significant need,” Nicholson said. “There’s a lot of kids that need some help.”

He said the goal of Give Kids a Smile is to not only provide immediate treatment, but get children to a dental provider, through either the Kinston Community Health Center’s dental clinic, or an area Medicaid office.

“That’s the (children) that we’re trying to get, that are right there in the middle, the ones that don’t qualify for Medicaid and can’t afford to get dental insurance,” Nicholson explained.

BREAKOUT BOX:

Children who qualify for Give Kids a Smile:

n Are not covered by dental insurance or Medicaid

n Do not have a dentist of record

n Are between ages 5 and 12

n Have dental needs

n Have available transportation and a parent or guardian who can be present

Call Dr. Brandon Nicholson, DDS at 252-523-4151 for more information

David Anderson can be reached at 252-559-1077 or David.Anderson@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at DavidFreePress.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

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Kinston, Ayden and Greenville recently took their first step toward greater regional collaboration on a long-term effort to bring an interstate-level highway network to Eastern North Carolina.

Ayden Mayor Steve Tripp invited Kinston Mayor B.J. Murphy, Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas and their respective town managers to his town for a gathering last Thursday.

“I think that it is important for our three communities to be on one accord and work collaboratively to invoke progress for our region,” Tripp stated. “I appreciate both Mayor Thomas and Mayor Murphy for accepting my invitation to meet and explore ways that our communities can partner with each other on issues that we all agree are important.”

Murphy said a consensus developed among the three mayors that the priority should be improving transportation assets to spur economic development in the region.

A number of transportation projects are slated to begin in the coming years around Kinston, Ayden and Greenville, including a southwestern U.S. 264 bypass near Greenville, which would affect Ayden, just 12 and-a-half miles south of Greenville, as well as the extension of Harvey Parkway and the building of a U.S. 70 bypass of Kinston, plus the extension of the existing Goldsboro bypass into western Lenoir County.

“If you look at a map of Eastern North Carolina, and if one of our major transportation goals for the Global TransPark is getting interstate shielding in Lenoir County, the best way to make that happen is for a northern bypass to connect to the (Interstate) 795 Goldsboro-Hwy. 70 bypass and have Harvey Parkway extend all the way to the southwestern (U.S.) 264 bypass of Ayden,” Murphy said.

The Kinston mayor said “a bird’s-eye view” shows Kinston, Greenville, Goldsboro and Wilson form “quad cities,” and they could form an “interstate loop.”

“The three mayors all agree that working with our congressional delegation and our legislators in Raleigh, this concept of a quad-cities interstate loop could be a reality and an economic engine for Eastern North Carolina,” Murphy said.

Thomas, Greenville’s mayor, stated: “I believe that we should not be working in a bubble and if there are opportunities that can best be accomplished by functioning as a team and using the influence of many to accomplish our common goals, then that is what we should be doing.”

The managers of the municipalities will begin collaborating on the administrative aspects of the proposal, such as the process of obtaining an interstate highway designation.

“It’s always good when different agencies can get together and talk about what issues they’re facing, compared with what issues you’re facing and see if there’s a common ground where you can help one another,” Kinston City Manager Tony Sears said. “I believe transportation is going to be one of those situations.”

David Anderson can be reached at 252-559-1077 or David.Anderson@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at DavidFreePress.

James Bailey began suffering last spring from a serious problem with acid reflux, known as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). That’s when backwash from the stomach enters and causes injury to the esophageal tissue, posing a risk for adenocarcinoma — or cancer — in the lower esophagus.

Oftentimes, Bailey would eat and as soon as the food hit the point where his esophagus meets the stomach, he would be in pain.

“Some things I ate were OK,” he said. “Some, it would hurt terribly. It would hurt so bad.”

He was given medication in July for acid reflux, but after a month, he was still having terrible pain. His next diagnosis was esophageal cancer — a malignant tumor located in the esophagus at its junction with the stomach.

He visited Dr. Joseph D. Whitlark, a thoracic specialist who owns Thoracic & Vascular Associates of Kinston. Whitlark had been training on various parts of the procedure for nearly a year, receiving training in using a scope at Duke Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh for the last seven years.

Thoracic procedures involve the chest cavity, but problems with the esophagus can also involve the abdominal cavity, the doctor said. Usually, a thoracic surgeon will work above the diaphragm, while a general surgeon will perform surgery in the area below.

Whitlark, through a series of training opportunities over the last few years, has learned to use a scope in both areas of the body. He’s performed numerous partial minimally-invasive esophagectomies. He recently completed a final course at Duke and has performed the complete MIE surgery twice — with Bailey being his first patient Nov. 26.

“It’s important to understand that sometimes minimally-invasive surgery is really good for people,” he said. “You’re able to operate on sicker and older people that you normally would not.”

Bailey would not likely have met the criteria for traditional surgery due to his age and scar tissue from a previous surgery for aneurysms. He had been a smoker and had been exposed to asbestos in pipe insulation in the early years of working at DuPont — where he retired in 2004 after 37 years as pipefitter, welder and mechanic.

“This is a bad cancer,” Whitlark said. “The treatment is very extensive and people often can’t tolerate it.”

With traditional treatment, the five-year survival rate is about 15 percent, the doctor said. Traditional surgery involves making a large cut in both the abdomen and chest and pulling the stomach up to the chest to remove the cancer and reattach the esophagus to the stomach. If the cancer is higher up, the surgeon may have to make a cut in the neck, as well. Recovery time is lengthy.

The survival rate after surgery can be as much as 50 percent when combined with chemotherapy and radiation, Whitlark said. Bailey had responded well to chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Laposcopic surgery, which was first used about 20 years ago for gall bladder surgery, involves inserting a scope and thin surgical instruments through tiny incisions at various points on the body. With esophageal cancer, the cancer is removed through those small incisions.

“We at Lenoir (Memorial Hospital),” he said, “are now doing this with just a scope in the belly and we put a scope in the chest.”

The surgery is longer — usually around nine hours. But the mortality rate is lower, pain and blood loss is less and the hospital stay is shorter — as early as the next day, Whitlark said.

For Bailey, his stay at the hospital was longer at 18 days. But it wasn’t because of the procedure; he experienced problems with his heart rhythm and his blood had to be built up, Whitlark said.

“He’s done very, very well,” he said about Bailey. “In many places, he would not have been offered surgery.”

A week ago, Bailey had a drainage tube removed. Before that, a nurse would visit daily at his home to assist with the tube. He continues to carry oxygen with him and is easily tired, but the procedure was a success.

“Well, I thought I ought to be feeling a little better, strength-wise,” Bailey said. “The problem with swallowing is completely gone, and the doctors tell me I have been completely cured of the cancer.”

Whitlark said he believes he is the only doctor east of I-95 who performs MIE surgery.

“The operation itself is very complicated,” he said. “It takes a long time to do it. And it takes a team to do it. … This is a cutting edge surgery you’re not going to find in many places, and we do it at Lenoir.”

Despite his slow recovery, Bailey is pleased he is cancer-free.

“With prayers offered up for me, and the good Lord and Dr. Whitlark’s expert ability,” he said, “I think I’ve done really well.”

Breakout box:

Estimates in 2012 for esophageal cancer in the U.S. were:

n About 17,460 new esophageal cancer cases diagnosed (13,950 in men and 3,510 in women)

n About 15,070 deaths from esophageal cancer (12,040 in men and 3,030 in women)

n The lifetime risk of esophageal cancer in the U.S. is about 1 in 125 in men and about 1 in 435 in women. The disease was once more common in blacks, but has decreased. It has increased slightly in whites, making the rates fairly equal now

Source: American Cancer Society

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com.

When Homer and Loretta Lanier opened Pizza Villa in 1973, they didn’t expect the restaurant to boom the way it has the past 40 years.

The former auto parts worker and banker wanted only to make a better living when opening the business at a location behind Vernon Park Mall in Kinston.

The couple was originally from Richlands, but there was no place to open it in that Onslow County town.

Now nestled in its third Kinston location on 1400Vernon Avenue, Pizza Villa turns 40 today — but still looks like an upbeat teenager.

The Laniers’ sons — Dwain and Timmy — took over the restaurant in 2006 when their parents retired, but they knew the ropes long before then.

 “It’s been the same recipes and consistency,” Dwain said. “It tastes the same now as it did 40 years ago.”

Dwain’s 20-year-old son helps out at Pizza Villa, making him the third generation to work at the family-owned business.

Four Laniers met around a table in the restaurant Saturday reminiscing about the restaurant’s early days of marriage proposals and family dinners.

“I remember holding babies, and now they’re coming in with their babies,” Timmy said.

The family said customers have made their business worthwhile, having many of the same ones returning throughout the years. Dwain said Pizza Villa’s prices won’t break its customers’ pockets, which keeps them coming back.

“We try to keep everything low for the working class,” he said. “We have good prices for everyone — one fair price for everyone no matter how old they are and what they drive.”

He said some nights the line is wrapped around the front of the building, especially on Tuesdays during the all-you-can-eat spaghetti special.

“People have told us this is a landmark,” Loretta said.

Maria Quidel, 20, said she’s been going to Pizza Villa since she was 8-years-old.

“The food is great and the atmosphere, I really like it,” she said. “It’s always friendly here.”

She waited to try a meatball sub and added, “The pizza crackers are a must.”

The two-story building housing the tradition-based restaurant is decorated with real artifacts from historic Kinston, such as bus signs and preserved ceiling panels.

“It’s a peaceful environment,” said waitress Jaleria Isler of Kinston. “Everyone leans on each other and we get the job done. (The owners) don’t ask you to anything they wouldn’t do.”

Kevin Hill and Joe Strickland have each worked at the restaurant for about five years, and unanimously agree the “family orientation” makes Pizza Villa special.

“The Laniers are nice people to work for,” Strickland said. “You get the same people all the time. It’s a good family business.”

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.

Chris Hatcher’s off-season has been about as atypical as his baseball career.

Sure, he works out. But he also works.

The former Kinston High School and UNC Wilmington catcher hopes to play at the major league level for a fourth consecutive year in 2013.

That he made it there at all — twice — is unusual enough.

Hatcher, who turns 28 on Saturday, was selected by the then Florida Marlins in the fifth round of the 2006 draft. After he reached the major leagues as a catcher for five games in 2010 (he went hitless in six at-bats), the Marlins converted him to pitcher the following off-season. In 2011, after a quick education, Hatcher became the first player to make his big league debut as a catcher and return as a pitcher the following season since Art Doll pulled it off in 1935-36.

In 2012, Hatcher went 0-0 with a 4.30 ERA in 11 relief appearances for the newly named Miami Marlins, spending the bulk of the season at Triple-A New Orleans.

Playing for then manager Ozzie Guillen (who has since been replaced by Mike Redmond) in Miami, Hatcher struck out 10 and walked six in 14 2/3 innings.

He appeared in games at Tampa Bay, Boston, Washington, New York, Arizona, Los Angeles and Philadelphia last season to get a decent tour of the big leagues in a fairly small number of games.

Including his 11 appearances for the Marlins in 2011, Hatcher owns a career 5.40 ERA with no decisions and no saves. He has returned to the plate just once, when he was struck out by the Mets’ Josh Edgin on Aug. 8, 2012, in the ninth inning of a 13-0 Marlins win in New York.

As he’s done every winter as a professional, Hatcher is spending his off-season working for the City of Kinston as a general laborer.

David Hall of The Free Press caught up with Hatcher recently on, of all places, a Civil War battlefield off N.C. 258 South, where Hatcher was alone operating a bush hogger to clear brush for the City.

Dressed in brown work pants, a blue jacket and a camouflage skull cap on a chilly, Victorian afternoon, the thickly bearded right-hander spoke about life in the big leagues, candy in the bullpen and what in the world an active major leaguer was doing driving a bush hogger.

Kinston Free Press: You have a couple of seasons behind you now. How do you feel about the move from catcher to pitcher?

Chris Hatcher: I’m getting used to it. It’s a little different being on that side of it and getting to face hitters and look at that side of the scouting report and have to apply it. But I think I’ve adjusted well and I think I’m getting pretty used to it now.

KFP: Do you miss catching at all?

CH: I miss catching, yes.

KFP: Do you miss hitting?

CH: No, not in the least.

KFP: You were 0-for-6 as a big league catcher and you’re 0-for-1 as a pitcher. How bad do you want that first big league hit?

CH: If I get it, I get it. I got the big league strikeout, so that makes up for it. But everybody wants that big league hit, so if I get the opportunity I’m going to go up there and I’m going to try my best.

KFP: But that’s not what they’re paying you to do.

CH: Hey, it comes with it, though.

KFP: Did you have a welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment?

CH: We all did. Everybody that comes up gets a big league moment. As far as, like, hazing?

KFP: On the field, when you said, ‘Wow, this really is major league baseball.’

CH: Oh, yeah. The first day I stepped on the field and they played the national anthem. We were in Miami, so there weren’t many people there. But it’s still a big league field. And I would say striking out Chipper Jones at Turner Field (in 2011) was pretty up there, too.

KFP: What was your relationship like with Ozzie?

CH: Ozzie’s Ozzie. He’s going to straight-shoot you. He’s not going to beat around the bush. If you were bad that day, he’d let you know. But if you did a good job, he’d let you know. I think that’s how managers should be.

KFP: (Marlins reliever) Eddie Mujica played in Kinston (for the Kinston Indians) a while back. Did Kinston ever come up between you guys?

CH: I think it came up once. He was just talking about how he had played here. I think it was him who said he actually enjoyed it. I’ve played with a bunch of guys that have come through Kinston, and I’m pretty sure it was (Mujica) that said he actually liked playing here.

KFP: What is life like in a major league bullpen?

CH: Very similar to a minor league bullpen. The games are being played down there. You’re counting people in the crowd. It depends on the day. If you’re getting waxed, you’ve kind of got to focus a little bit. And if it’s a tight game, you’ve got to focus. But the first three or four innings, if the game’s rolling along like it should, you’re down there relaxed, mentally preparing or joking with the guys. There’s a lot of candy that gets eaten, and just a lot of games are being played down there.

KFP: Does it ever get boring?

CH: Oh, yeah. It’ll get boring. You’ve got a pitcher that’s throwing a nine-inning shutout, and it gets kind of boring. You’re just sitting there watching baseball. And of course, a 162-game season, that’s really long. So you’ve got to keep your mind focused.

KFP: What do you consider your best moment as a big leaguer so far?

CH: I think every day’s a big moment. But probably striking out Chipper Jones.

KFP: And your worst moment?

CH: Being 0-for-6. (Laughs)

KFP: What’s your favorite road city?

CH: I enjoy San Diego. It’s a good place to play. Maybe Atlanta. It’s closest to home. Or D.C. I get to see people that I don’t get to see very often. That’s just part of it.

KFP: Your favorite road stadium?

CH: I like Pittsburgh. The stadium’s absolutely gorgeous. It overlooks the river and downtown. I think it’s a really nice stadium.

KFP: What player, either on your team or another team, has made you say, ‘Wow,’ when you saw him?

CH: Oh, man that’s a tough one. (Long pause) I haven’t faced him, but I’ve got to say Mike Trout. Seeing his highlights on TV, that guy’s just incredible. As far as somebody I’ve played against, Ryan Zimmerman’s up there. He makes plays that you wouldn’t ever think should be made, and he hits pitches that he shouldn’t even swing at. And he hits them a long ways and he hits them hard.

KFP: What would surprise people about life in the major leagues?

CH: It gets old. A lot of people don’t realize you’re on the road 81 days out of the year, at least. We have 81 games on the road, and it’s monotonous. The days drag out. They don’t realize what time we get to the field and what time we leave. Most guys get to the field around 1:30 or 1, and we don’t leave until at least an hour after the game. Just the monotony of it, it wears down on you. At the end of the year, you need a break from it. A lot of people think, ‘Oh, these guys are getting paid millions and millions of dollars.’ Well, the majority of us aren’t. We make good money, but it wears you down just like every other job. It gets boring sometimes, and you’ve just got to switch it up and keep your routine.

KFP: Is there a non-baseball celebrity you’ve met as a result of playing in the major leagues?

CH: Some of the Miami Heat guys come out. Mike Miller’s been out, D-Wade’s been out. You just get random people that show up. Bill Murray when I was in the minor leagues. He owns the Charleston RiverDogs. He was at the stadium every time we played there.

KFP: What have you done since you got home?

CH: You’re looking at it. Work. I got engaged. I had to grow up a little bit. I’ve been working at the water park at the Woodmen (Community Center), trying to get it ready. And I’ve got to get this (grass) cut, so I had to take a break from that.

KFP: What’s your top goal this off-season, besides cutting grass?

CH: Stay healthy. Go into spring training in good shape and fight for a job.

KFP: How much working out are you doing?

CH: Every day. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Well, close enough to every day. (Laughs)

KFP: Do you have partners you work out with?

CH: I actually like working out, like lifting and conditioning, by myself. But I throw with my brother (Bobby Hatcher). Fortunately for me, he can get off and throw with me every day. That’s a blessing.

KFP: Have you met the new manager yet?

CH: I have not. He called me about two days after he got hired. He was just talking about getting ready for the season, put the past in the past and look forward and come in with a clear mind.

KFP: What are your expectations for this coming year?

CH: I have no idea. We’ve got a really young team, a young coach, a big ballpark that’s going to play a little bit different with our team we’ve got this year. It’s going to be a lot of guys fighting for jobs, and hopefully there’s not a lot of turnover this year like there was last year — guys getting hurt and all that. But being a younger team, I think we’re going to have to battle, really battle. That’s part of the business.

KFP: Do you have any reason to believe one way or the other whether you might make the roster out of camp?

CH: To be honest, I have no clue, no idea. I’m just going to go in and do the same thing I normally do: Battle it out. If it happens, it happens. If not, hopefully I’ll be up during the year at some point.

KFP: Have you had to learn on the job, so to speak, being a new pitcher?

CH: Oh, yeah. When they called me and told me two years ago, ‘We want you to convert,’ it was, ‘Hey, come to spring training. We’re not going to mess with you. We want to see you pitch. You’ve caught long enough to know how to set guys up and how to pitch. Just learn how to execute your pitches.’ And that’s what they did. They’ve never made me make an adjustment as far as mechanics-wise or anything out of the ordinary. But, ‘Here it is. Go get ’em,” is basically how it happened. To me, I like that. You learn by failure. If you don’t fail, you’re not going to learn how to succeed, to me. You have to learn from mistakes, basically. You know that real quick when you throw a ball down the middle that’s flat and 92 (mph), guys are going to hit it a long way. So you’ve got to learn to take something off and put some movement on it and hit spots. And sometimes you don’t need to throw a strike. I think I learned that this year: that you don’t have to go after every hitter. You can back off of one guy and go after the next. That’s part of learning.

KFP: You bush hog. What else do you do for the City?

CH: You name it. I do it all. I paint, I weld, I do plumbing. I’ve been working at the water park, putting in some fixtures, putting up slides. We do it all.

KFP: I would imagine you don’t do it for the money.

CH: No. Honestly, I just do it to have something to do. I’d go stir crazy. Anybody that knows me, they know I just can’t sit in the house all day and do nothing, so i just come out here and do it to kill time and help the City out.

KFP: I remember you telling me your signing bonus went very quickly to a boat. You toiled away in the minors for a few years and you finally made it up to the top. Are you comfortable now?

CH: I am. I’m living life, just like I did back then. I don’t regret spending it that quick. You know what? It’s just money. You can’t die with it. Not to say I’m loaded by any means, but I’m doing all right. We just keep going.

KFP: Do you ever get a text or a call from a teammate and they ask you what you’re doing and you say, ‘I’m sitting in a bush hogger?’

CH: Oh, yeah. I was actually just texting my (Double-A and Triple-A) catcher (Luke Montz). He said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m bush hogging.’ He said, ‘Me too.’ You’d be surprised what guys do in the off-season.

In many towns and cities, it’s the “in-between” streets that get forgotten or go unnoticed. In many cases, as main roads and thoroughfares go through modernization and improvement both to their infrastructure and visual appeal, the alleyways remain as a bit of a time capsule, trapped in a past condition. One such area is Walls St. in downtown Kinston. The short street, spanning a block, connects West Blount St. to West North St. in between North Queen and North Herritage, is an often overlooked passage way across the block and contains many glimpses to the past.

On Saturday, the Second Chances Thrift Store on Vernon Avenue held a pet adoption event, featuring dogs and cats from the Lenoir County SPCA. The organization’s goal for 2013 is to increase local pet adoptions, and so they have planned adoption events for the first Saturday of every month at Second Chances. The adoption team has also created a pet ”Wish Tree” where donations can be made for certain items such as food, shelter supplies, blankets and different veterinary services. When donations are made, the donor's name or business name will be placed on the tree. “We'll also be available to talk to people about SPCA membership, volunteering, and spay/neuter,” said Kim Williams, Adoption Team Chair. “Many people don't realize how much the SPCA does or the many ways an individual can help LenoirCounty's homeless pets. Just imagine having nine new pets dropped off on your doorstep every day, because that's basically what happens at the shelter.” According to Williams, “All the pets receive routine vaccines and such, but many animals are neglected, abused, or in need of extra veterinary care, so there are plenty of ways an individual can make a difference.” For more information about the LenoirCountySPCA: www.lenoircountyspca.org.

  Let’s begin with a quiz.

     What stands between 9.5 to 11 feet tall, is 8 feet wide, and measures roughly 40 feet long?

     What is bright yellow, has flashing red and amber lights, an extending arm that says, “STOP,” and a crossing arm?

     The answer to both questions is simple – a school bus.

     Yet, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, a car hit an 8-year-old crossing the street to meet his bus in Graham, N.C. The boy, a student at Haw River Elementary, survived even though he flipped all the way over the car: hood, roof and trunk. The kid jumped up and began talking almost as soon as he had hit the pavement, officers said.

The school bus had been stopped, the stop arm extended, with lights flashing, reports said.

     Another accident took place on Dec. 5 when a crash involving an auto and a school bus took place in Washington. None of the students on the bus were hurt, but paramedics took the driver to the hospital, according to reports.

     A day later, in Winston-Salem, a pick-up truck crashed into a school bus heading to Northwest Middle School. The driver hit his brakes, but his truck spun, and the truck bed struck the side of the bus.

The bus was stopped, stop-arm extended and lights flashing.

On Thursday, Dec. 13, a bus from C.C. Wright Elementary School in Wilkesboro, stopped in the eastbound lane – lights flashing, stop sign out, crossing arm down. A 5-year-old girl stepped off and began to cross the road toward home. An oncoming car hit her. She landed on the shoulder of the road with multiple fractures and possible internal injuries.

On Wednesday, Dec. 19, just before 7 a.m., a car struck high school student in Fuquay-Varina as he crossed the Judd Parkway to get on his bus. The bus’s amber lights were flashing to signal it was stopping, police said. They charged the 31-year-old man driving the car with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. The 17-year-old student was taken to WakeMed Hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

At almost the same time, near Kernersville, on the day before school let out for Christmas, a school bus stopped at 6:46 a.m. The bus driver had turned the flashing lights on and extended the stop-arm.

An 11-year-old boy was crossing Old Hollow Road. He had missed the bus earlier, but the route the bus took meant the bus had to turn around and pass the boy’s home again. Coming by a second time, the bus stopped to let the youngster on.

A Jeep SUV heading in the other direction hit the sixth-grader. His mother, who had been getting ready to drive him to school, heard the impact. His mom, a nurse, ran to the road and tried to revive her child. She said in a news report she tried to breathe into him twice but could not get an airway.

He died later that morning at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

     In almost every case, reports show the driver who collided with the bus said the same thing:

     “I didn’t see the bus.”

     What?

     The driver did not see 76 square feet of yellow and flashing lights? The driver did not see an extended arm with a huge “STOP” written in white on a red background. What could account for such blindness? In the case of the little dead 11-year-old, a state trooper suggested that the sun was perhaps in the driver’s eyes.

     I have a different postulation: These drivers allowed themselves to be distracted. I wonder how many cell phone records would show these drivers were receiving or sending texts just moments prior to – or during – the accident.

     I have grandchildren who climb aboard buses every day.

     Please do not drive distracted.

The life you spare may belong to one of my grandkids.

Mike Parker is a columnist for The Free Press. You can reach him at mparker16@suddenlink.net or in care of this newspaper. Information for this column came from two blogs in The Legal Examiner by Pierce Egerton available at greensboro.legalexaminer.com .

A flock of birds take flight over a field Sunday morning off Taylor-Heath Road. Birds often fly in a V or J formation. Accorind to scientificamerican.com birds fly in formation to conserve energy, facilitate orientation and creates communication among the birds.                              

SNOW HILL — Saturday marked the completion of a Greene County community garden, starting a hopeful neighborhood fellowship in Snow Hill.

In September, a then-empty lot on Hart Street was transformed into what is now a complete garden with planting beds, a tool shed and — most importantly — produce.

Master gardener Gene Riddle said the interfaith organization in Snow Hill feeds nearly 200 families each month and will benefit greatly from the project.

“Part of the reason for the garden was to provide fresh produce to (the interfaith group’s) food pantry,” Riddle said. “The second was to get a community built here.”

The garden has been funded by various grants from the county’s Parks and Recreation office, rotary club and North Carolina A&T, costing $14,000 so far.

Beds will be rented out for $10.  

He said almost 30 volunteers came to help with the garden on Saturday morning.

“We’re helping the community,” said Mason McElveen, 7, as he learned about different types of vegetables and flowers from his time in the garden.

 Other community members, including 4-H youth and leaders, worked on de-weeding plots and moving plant beds.

“I’m learning new things,” said 18-year-old D.J. Gray, a Greene Central High School student. “This is my first time cutting wood.”

Riddle said 4-H has been a big partner with the community garden, offering most of the volunteers for Saturday’s completion.

“In 4-H, our basis is community service,” said 4-H youth development agent Emily Herring. “The garden is a great learning tool. It’s a hands-on experience for kids and that’s what my interest is in this.”

Riddle said his vision for the garden is to have it fully populated when it becomes available for community planters in February. Seven of 28 beds are already in use.

“We’re hoping for a much better crowd in the spring,” he said. “We’re trying to get as a diverse population as we can.”

Cabbage and collard greens are already planted in the garden.

“The only thing we’re trying to do is make a difference, a good difference,” Herring said.

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.

LA GRANGE — It’d only be cliché if it weren’t so often true — Terry Avery is here for the kids.

A 17-year veteran of the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office, Avery is the North Lenoir High School resource officer. He said the best part of his job is watching students cross the stage at graduation, and knowing what it took to get there.

“When you start dealing with freshmen, and you watch them go through the 12th grade and graduate, there are some you pulled to the side and said, ‘Look, maybe you need to settle down a little bit,’ ” Avery said. “They took time to listen to you, and then they graduate and come back and say, ‘I appreciate you talking to me,’ — that’s been gratifying for me.”

A 1987 graduate of North Lenoir, he’s been at the school as an SRO since 2008. Avery started out with the LCSO in October 1995, thinking it was a good career. Though he wanted to be in law enforcement, he didn’t know if the move would work out in the end, but it has. Avery said that he feels privileged to have served under Sheriff Billy Smith for the past 17 years and enjoys working with the sheriff’s office.

Avery added that one of benefits of his current assignment is being able to see students regularly and lend a hand, with the main goals being a resource to the students, their parents and keeping the school safe.

“It’s good experience being a resource officer, because you get to see kids on a daily basis, to see what they go through, as far as peer pressure, first-hand,” Avery said. “And, you get to communicate with them and the parents, also.”

When a large fight breaks out, like one did at North Lenoir earlier this school year, the SRO is tasked with bringing on others to assist and restore order.

“If you have a large fight like that, you have to get all the resources available, that means — immediately — staff, patrol units that are available to assist you to bring the situation under control and safe,” Avery said.

Quelling the situation is only the beginning, however. Handling juvenile crime, or violations of school policy, results in necessary differences from an average deputy’s patrol duty. Everyone is involved in the process.

“You have crime here, also, but you’re dealing with juveniles. You’re not dealing with adults. So, you have to take that into consideration,” Avery said. “When you’re dealing with juveniles, immediately, parents are involved.”

He added that it’s best when parents are involved following an incident.

“If it doesn’t meet the level of a crime — a policy violation at the school, you’re always dealing with the parents, also,” Avery said. “A lot of time when you’re on patrol, and you’re dealing with adults, you’re just dealing with them. If they’re 16 or older, and they break the law, they go to jail. You’re not necessarily dealing with the parents then.

“Here, you have more of a family-based situation.”

Avery’s been married to his wife for 19 years, and has two sons, 21 and 16 years old. His oldest son studies criminal justice at Lenoir Community College.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at WolfeReports.

Although the filing period is months away, local incumbents and elections officials are getting their minds set for this year’s municipal elections.

Every election has something special about it, and 2013’s race will be no exception in Lenoir County’s three municipalities.

In Kinston, nonpartisan elections will be held for the first time, meaning there will be no primary, and voters will not see a party affiliation beside the candidates’ names when they go into the voting booth.

The change from partisan elections comes from five years of residents’ petition drives, a 2008 referendum and a legal battle that almost went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I believe this race will be run on individual merit, not party affiliation. … Anyone who wants to file can file,” said John Nix of Kinston, who made an unsuccessful run for the Kinston City Council as an unaffiliated candidate in 2011.

Nix, who said he plans to run again for council this year, was also the lead petitioner in the citizen lawsuit, Nix v. Holder, to have Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act declared unconstitutional — Section 5 is the part of the law which requires the U.S. Justice Department to preclear jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination before any election changes are made.

The DOJ rejected — but later approved — the voter referendum in favor of nonpartisan elections. Justice officials argued in 2009 nonpartisan elections would discriminate against black voters in Kinston but reversed their decision when the town emerged from the 2011 elections with a majority-black City Council.

The nonpartisan quest began with former N.C. Rep. Stephen LaRoque, but he dropped his name from the lawsuit after he was federally indicted last summer.

“I don’t know what kind of candidates (nonpartisan elections) will produce but it will be an awesome opportunity,” Nix said.

Lenoir County Elections Director Dana King said nonpartisan elections means there will not be a primary, or a runoff election even if the votes are close.

Voters will be instructed to pick based on the number of seats which are available, such as voting for two in the Kinston council race since two seats are contested, or voting for one in the Kinston mayoral race.

The top vote-getter(s) in each field will be the winners.

“There will be no chance of a runoff,” King said. “If they only win by one or two (votes), whoever wins, wins.”

Jimmy Cochran, chairman of the Lenoir County Democratic Party, said party officials will meet this week to discuss a number of topics, including the municipal elections.

Cochran said he expected, regarding nonpartisan elections, that “people will vote on people they know, people they know about, what they’ve done.”

He said, in a community as small as Kinston, voters will know the candidates and which way they lean politically, even if they do not list their party affiliation.

“I think, even in a nonpartisan race, people will know who they’re voting for,” he said.

Lenoir County GOP Chairwoman Michele Nix favored nonpartisan elections “because that’s what the people of Kinstonvoted for.”

She said people want the same things – safe schools, jobs – regardless of political affiliation, but each political party has different methods of reaching those goals.

“If we ran on the issues, rather than party labels, I think we’d accomplish a lot more,” Nix continued.

Michele and John Nix are married, and she said the party could still endorse her husband’s campaign, since he is a registered Republican.

“I would support him as a spouse and we would support him as a party,” she said.

In Kinston, the Republican Mayor B.J. Murphy will be up for re-election, as well as Democratic City Councilmen Bobby Merritt and Robbie Swinson.

None of the three men confirmed if they will be running again, though.

“Jessica and I have had this as one of our top prayer requests for the last three to six months and we simply aren’t ready to make a decision or announcement,” Murphy said, referring to his wife. “And since filing is not until July we don’t feel rushed to make that decision.”

If Murphy were to run again, it would be his third time. He made an unsuccessful bid against then-Mayor O.A. “Buddy” Ritch Jr. in 2005, and edged out a victory in a three-man race in 2009 to become Kinston’s youngest modern mayor at age 29, and first Republican mayor since Reconstruction.

Murphy, now 32, said whether one or several people file for the office this year “it will have zero bearing on the decision we make for our family and this community.”

Murphy also said he had been a “major proponent” of nonpartisan elections for six to eight years.

“Two-thirds of the voters wanted it and this year they’re going to get it,” he said. “My political position matches what two-thirds of the community really wants.”

Merritt, who won his first term on the five-member City Council in 2009, said he had not fully determined if he would run again.

“I am pretty sure I will be running,” he said. “I wouldn’t say, ‘100 percent,’ but I’m pretty sure I will be running.”

He added: “I’ve enjoyed it and I think we’ve accomplished a lot and I think we’re on the right path — I think 2013 is going to be a good year and I think Kinston’s got a lot going for it.”

Merritt said nonpartisan elections wouldn’t be an issue for him.

“When you’re in a small community, it should be that way,” he said. “You vote for the person, you don’t vote for the party.”

Swinson, who has served two terms since being elected to the council in 2005, was hospitalized for several days in late November after suffering a heart attack.

Swinson, who is in his early 40s, said his health will factor into whether he runs again.

“That’s a major factor in my decision but I’m still weighing the options and seeing how things are going to go,” he said.

He did not expect nonpartisan elections would have a major impact on voter turnout or the number of candidates who file this year.

“I think it’s going to be normal business,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a drastic change in the turnout or the numbers.”

La Grange and Pink Hill, the county’s other two municipalities, will also see races for seats on their town boards this year.

In La Grange, the seats of incumbent Town Council members David Holmes, Veronica “Nicky” Lee and Bobby Wooten will be contested.

In Pink Hill, the seats of town board members Marion Mitchell and Mike Hill will be contested.

In prior elections, the Pink Hill mayor and all board members have run for re-election every four years, but this will be the first year town races are staggered in two-year cycles, with two of the town board members running one cycle and the mayor and third town board member running during the other.

The ballot initiative to stagger elections — the result of legislative action by LaRoque — passed with nearly 70 percent of the local vote in 2011.

“The good thing about having staggered elections is, you don’t lose some of the momentum and the experience in what could be a clean sweep of the elected body,” Murphy said.

BREAKOUT BOX1:

Election dates 2013:

July 5 – candidate filing begins at noon

July 19 – candidate filing ends at noon

Nov. 5 – Election Day

Source: Dana King, Lenoir County elections director

BREAKOUT 2:

The following seats will be up for election:

Kinston:

Mayor B.J. Murphy

City Councilman Bobby Merritt

City Councilman Robbie Swinson

La Grange:

Town Councilman David Holmes

Town Councilwoman Veronica ‘Nicky’ Lee

Town Councilman Bobby Wooten

Pink Hill:

Town board member Mike Hill

Town board member Marion Mitchell

Source: Dana King, Lenoir County elections director

David Anderson can be reached at 252-559-1077 or David.Anderson@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at DavidFreePress.

It’s the next-best thing to stealing gasoline.

Yellow grease, the byproduct of deep frying, is now a tracked commodity thanks to the advent of biofuels. Restaurant staff empty grease traps into a tank, then a rendering company picks up the grease and converts it into a useful fuel, or for use in other products like animal feed or soap.

Usually.

With a gallon of yellow grease priced as high as $3 or more, thieves nationwide have taken to pilfering the used oil in the wee hours of the morning. That’s one of the reasons N.C. Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston, filed a bill to set criminal penalties on the act. The bill became law on Jan. 1.

Under state law, it’s illegal to steal “waste kitchen grease” or the container it sits in, intentionally damage the container or contaminate the grease, or place a label showing your ownership of a grease container while knowing it belongs to someone else.

Committing any one of these acts is a Class 1 misdemeanor. If the theft or damage rises above $1,000, it becomes a Class H felony.

As a commodity, the price of yellow grease changes daily and prices vary nationwide. But, at a price of 40 cents per pound, someone would have to make off with more than 300 gallons of grease to reach the felony threshold.

The law also mandates grease collectors to have $1 million in liability insurance and provide necessary documentation showing ownership of the grease.

Outright support of the law appears to be hard to find. Early reports on this effort and similar ones nationwide tend to spark apathy or derision. The insurance provision in particular has been pointed out as particularly daunting to smaller grease rendering firms.

The state-funded Biofuels Center of North Carolina, established by the General Assembly to promote alternatives to petroleum-based fuel, takes a straight-line approach to the matter.

“I don’t see any large implications, from my perspective. Breaking the law is breaking the law — stealing is bad, and this law tries to address that,” said Wil Glenn, Biofuels Center director of communications and public affairs.

Zack Hamm, owner of Triangle Biofuels Industries in Wilson, said dealing with theft is a regular part of doing business.

“The irony is, whenever the price of anything goes up, people are going to start stealing it,” he said. “This has been going on for five or six years, and the law isn’t really going to help a whole lot of anything, to tell you the truth. It’s a pretty useless law.”

Hamm said his company uses locks on its tanks, but that it doesn’t stop the more-motivated criminal.

Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris Hill said he recently received the books of new state laws, but agrees that enforceability could pose a problem.

“You’re going to just about to have to catch somebody with the cooking oil,” he said.

A New York Times story from January 2012 tells of a Sacramento, Calif. grease collector two months earlier who found thieves stole grease from 20 of the 22 tanks on his route. But, that level of larceny may have not yet reached Lenoir County.

Hill said he was unaware grease theft was a problem, and Kinston Department of Public Safety spokesman Woody Spencer echoed the same thoughts.

“I’ve not heard of grease being stolen in Kinston, to my knowledge,” Spencer said. “I’ve been here almost 12 years, and I’ve not heard of any.”

Steve Lovick of Lovick’s Café hasn’t heard of any problems either, but admits there are plenty of people who are interested in his restaurant’s grease. He said it’s simply easier to contract with a rendering company than work out deals with people who have personal or small-scale operations.

“Of course, (rendering companies) pay us for the oil they pick up,” Lovick said. “They didn’t used to, but they do now. But, people will come in and ask, ‘What do you do with your oil?’ They’re looking to maybe get it, or they want to come get it, but when you start trying to deal with the public — the devil with them getting it, you’d be running over, or they wouldn’t come get it when you needed it.”

If the national trend tracks here, people may start coming for the grease without asking first.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at WolfeReports.

From the Kinston Dept. of Public Safety:

The following suspects were arrested by members of the Kinston Department of Public Safety on January 4 for the Dec. 26, 2012 murder of Dajuquon Poole and the attempted murder of Tiran Farris:

See tomorrow's editon of The Free Press for the full story.

Couple honored for volunteerism

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Schlier have been volunteers at Lenoir Memorial Hospital for more than 10 years. He is a retired veteran of the Air Force, an active member of the Lion’s Club, and along with his wife Jane, has spent 20 years delivering food for the homebound elderly.

She also is an active member of the Neuse Quilters Guild, was a key figure in the development of the Lights of Love program at the hospital and has been president of the Volunteer Board at the hospital.

A reception was held at the Council on Aging’s Skinner Senior Center Nov. 9 to honor the couple. The agency presented them with a plaque to commemorate the honor and made a donation to the charity of their choice, The Lenoir County SPCA, in their name.

Mayor B.J. Murphy presented them with a letter recognizing and thanking them for their efforts throughout the community.

Minister publishes book

The Rev. Claude Sawyer, pastor, can add another title to his name — author. Sawyer has published his first book, “The Apple of Adam’s Eye.”

The Kinston native is an ordained minister in the United American Free Will Baptist Church in Kinston. He is a revivalist and gospel preacher and has committed his life to God’s work, with a heart for the people of God and all people in general. His ministry has spread as far southeast as St. Croix Virgin Island, and as far west as Los Angeles, speaking in conferences, conventions and retreats.

His book is a discovery of the creation of Adam and the things that went on in the Garden of Eden. It is an unfolding of revelation that speaks of the fall of man and the plan of God in sending Jesus as the second Adam to redeem man back to the place of dominion, authority and power that God had given him in the beginning. This interpretation shows Adam in a new way. As Eve was the apple of Adam’s eye, we are the apple of God’s eye.

Sawyer and his wife Betty J. Sawyer have four children and six grandchildren.

Sawyer’s book can be purchased at amazon.com or the Kinston Bible Bookstore in Vernon Park Mall.

Some fresh produce still at market

Ronnie Hanchey, a Lenoir County Farmer’s Market vendor, offers a wide variety of winter produce and will be at the market on regular days — Tuesdays and Saturdays — until his produce is gone. He’ll even tell you how to prepare it.

Included in his produce is Napa cabbage, tat soy, rutabagas, bok choy, turnips and turnip salad, broccoli, kale, purple kale, henpeck, curly mustard, and others.

NEW BERN — Following his oath of office, Governor Pat McCrory will make his only Eastern North Carolina inaugural appearance at 6 p.m. today at the N.C. History Center on South Front Street, New Bern.

The venue is being coordinated by Tryon Palace and there is no charge to attend, but tickets are being issued to keep the number of people to 500 to stay within the fire code capacity inside the History Center.

Additional space was made available to allow for 100 more tickets. The first offering ran out after three days.

You can sign up and receive a ticket by going to easternopenhouse.eventbrite.com and filling in your name and email address. The tickets will then be delivered by email.