Kinston’s boys basketball team has enjoyed a fairly smooth ride to perfection through its first nine games. But game No. 10 will pose quite a test.

The Vikings (9-0) open the HighSchoolOT.Com Holiday Invitational at 5:40 p.m. today against the nationally-ranked DeSoto (Texas) Eagles at Raleigh Broughton’s Holliday Gymnasium.

The Eagles (14-1), ranked 10th nationally in ESPN.com’s latest Power 25 rankings, have won nine straight, including a 67-57 win over then top-ranked Chicago Simeon, which was televised nationally on the network.

The Eagles sport one of the country’s top shooting guards in Matt Jones, a 6-foot-4 senior who has signed with Duke.

Kinston coach Perry Tyndall knows his team has its hands full today, but the Vikings are still up for the challenge.

“We’re always excited to go up to the High School OT, formerly the Glaxo. We look forward to it,” Tyndall said. “When we saw we had DeSoto — a very, very, very good team, very efficient, and of course they have the Jones kid who is pretty special.

“We know we’ve got our work cut out (but) we’re excited about the challenge.

“We’re going to have to do a lot of things well because they’re a very good team.”

An advantage Tyndall feels he may have entering today’s evening tilt is the fact he was able to watch DeSoto go against Simeon on television in real time — an easy scouting report.

“It definitely helps, of course, just to be able to see them play,” he said. “I’d love to be able to see them a little bit more, but it did give us a glimpse into how talented they are.”

Kinston was at its best against North Lenoir in its last game. The Vikings had 29 assists on 33 made field goals in the 87-59 win.

In order to have a chance at knocking off DeSoto Tyndall feels his team must have that type of game today.

“I think we’ve got to continue to be unselfish,” Tyndall said. “We’ve got to compete for 32 minutes. We’ve got to do the little things the whole game.”

While the Vikings’ sole focus is currently on the Eagles, a potential matchup in their second game could come against Waxhaw Cuthbertson.

Kinston, in this tournament for the 20th time and the eighth straight year, defeated Cuthbertson 58-55 for the NCHSAA state 2A title last March.

In Kinston’s bracket — the Summit Hospitality Bracket — the Vikings will be joined by the host school, Person, Holly Springs, St. Joseph (N.J.), and Hampton (Va.). If they win today they will play the winner of Cuthbertson-Person at 7:20 p.m. on Friday. If they lose they will play the loser of that game at 2:20 p.m. on Friday.

Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports. 

HSOT.com Holiday Invitational

Summit Hospitality Bracket

All games at Raleigh Broughton High

Wednesday

Game 1: Raleigh Broughton 73, Person 50

Game 2: St. Joseph (N.J.) 1, Holly Springs 0 (St. Joseph won via coin flip after its scheduled flight Tuesday was canceled due to inclement weather)

Today

Game 3: Person vs. Holly Springs, 11 a.m.

Game 4: Kinston vs. DeSoto (Texas), 5:40 p.m.

Game 5: Waxhaw Cuthbertson vs. Hampton (Va.), 9 p.m.

Friday

Game 6: Game 4 loser vs. Game 5 loser, 2:20 p.m.

Game 7: Broughton vs. St .Joseph, 4 p.m.

Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7:20 p.m.

Saturday

Fifth place: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 11 a.m.

Third place: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 4 p.m.

Championship: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7:20 p.m.

Ruritan club installs new officers

The Deep Run Ruritan Club installed new officers at its Dec. 10 meeting.

Michael Gillette is the new president; Larry Powell is vice-president; Lori Murphy is secretary; and Glen Griffin is treasurer.

The club meets the second Monday night of each month. Anyone wishing to join can contact any club member.

Chamber plans annual awards banquet

The Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce will have its annual awards banquet from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Kinston Country Club, 1501 Country Club Drive.

The event is open to the community, and the Chamber encourages all to register before settling in for the holidays.

During this event, the Chamber president and chairman of the Board of Directors will offer highlights of the year and pass the gavel. The Ambassador of the Year and Citizen of the Year awards will be presented.

A reception will follow with heavy hors d’oeuvres and libations.

The cost is $35 per person. Register by calling 252-527-1131.

Grainger board sets annual meeting

The Preservation of the Grainger Complex Inc.’s board of directors will hold its annual meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 6 in the board room of the Grainger Hill Performing Arts Center, 300 Park Ave.

Anyone interested in becoming more involved with this nonprofit 501 c (3) corporation, which manages the historic Grainger Hill PAC, is welcome to attend. The board will be addressing building issues and upcoming events and electing officers for the coming year.

Grainger-Hill is a regional, cultural and civic center which serves audiences throughout a multi-county region. Its aim always has been to bring the best performing arts’ opportunities possible for the people of Kinston, Lenoir County and the region.

To book an event or more information, call 252-522-0932 or 252-522-4686; check the Grainger Hill web site, ghpac.com; or email Mary Ellison Turner at turnerme44@gmail.com or Alison Merritt at alisonmerritt1@gmail.com.

Mail tax-deductible donations to Grainger Hill Performing Arts Center, P.O. Box 1334,
Kinston, NC 28503.

Lighten Up Lenoir prepares for 2013

Lenoir Memorial Hospital’s Lighten Up Lenoir program will run again in 2013.

The kick off date is Jan. 21. You don’t have to live in Lenoir County to participate, and no one ever sees your individual weight but you. You can join as a team of four or as an individual. Teams usually have better success, but sometimes it can be important to join as an individual.

If you need more support in your quest to lose weight, consider joining TOPS — Take Off Pounds Sensibly. This weight-loss support group meets at 9 a.m. Wednesdays in the LMH Private Dining Room on the lower level, with Facilitator Patricia Wyrick; and at 7 p.m. Mondays in the LMH Auditorium with Facilitator Wayne Seymour.

There is a nominal fee to join. For more information, call Wyrick at 252-569-1681 or Seymour at 252-523-5391.

RALEIGH — Kinston could taste the upset, but nationally-ranked DeSoto was just a little too seasoned.

Duke signee Matt Jones scored 17 points and the Eagles hit 15 of their last 16 free throws to hold off a late Vikings rally to win 57-50 and advance to the winners’ bracket in the Summit Hospitality portion of the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational at Raleigh Broughton High School on Thursday.

The Eagles (15-1), ranked 10th in the latest ESPN.com Power 25 rankings, will face Hampton (Va.), a 61-59 winner over Waxhaw Cuthbertson in Thursday's late game, today at 7:20 p.m. in the semifinals. Kinston will face Cuthbertson at 2:20 p.m. today in an elimination game. It will also be a rematch of last season's NCHSAA state 2A championship, which the Vikings won 58-55.

“It was tough,” DeSoto coach Chris Dyer said. “Kinston’s a good team. We knew it was going to be tough coming in.

“Our kids made their free throws, knocked down some shots and played some hellatious defense. … I was very proud of the team as a whole.”

Kinston’s Josh Dawson matched Jones with 17 points and Denzel Keyes added 12, but a 3-plus minute stretch in the first quarter where the Vikings went without a field goal put them in a 12-3 hole.

The spurt was led by Jones, who had something to do with all 16 of his team’s first-quarter points with five assists and a pair of buckets. But Kinston (9-1), which fell behind by as many as 15 in the first half, methodically worked its way back into the game.

“I’m proud of my kids. We got down early, big, battled back,” Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said. “I thought (the Eagles) did a really good job of really kind of pushing us out of some things that we wanted to do out of the gate.

“We settled in … (and) we competed.”

DeSoto enjoyed its last double-digit lead at 44-32 when Takedrick Brown found the bottom of the net on a long 3 with just inside of 7 minutes to play.

But Andrew Lopez answered with a 3 on the other end, sparking a 10-4 run for the Vikings as they cut it to 48-45 with 3:14 to play.

From there the veteran Eagles — 11 of their 12 players are upperclassmen — sank their free throws while Kinston went scoreless until Brandon Ingram, who scored 10 points, followed his own miss with a putback with 18 seconds to play.

DeSoto hit 12 free throws in a row at one point in the final period, and went 15-for-18 from the line for the game.

“We just had to play and do what we do in practice every day — work and stay together,” said Eagles forward Terry Maston, who scored 16 points. “It was pretty easy — the game wasn’t easy, of course — but we found a way to win.”

Down 48-45 — the closest it had been since DeSoto held a 4-3 lead early — Kinston had several good looks to tie. But Dawson, Keyes and Ingram all missed their 3-point attempts while the Eagles kept putting points on the board at the free throw line.

“We had some good really looks they just didn’t go down,” Tyndall said. “There’s going to be nights like that. … But I’m really proud of the fact that we battled back.”

Facing a team that had already knocked off the nation’s top-ranked team in Chicago Simeon and playing in front of North Carolina men’s basketball head coach Roy Williams, N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried and several other scouts from big-time programs, Kinston didn’t seem fazed.

The Vikings, who gave up several inches on the interior to the Eagles, shared the rebounding category 24-24. Both teams’ field goal percentage was comparable with Kinston shooting 37.8 percent to DeSoto’s 37.3.

While the Vikings’ rally may have fallen short, they feel they showed they can compete with the best of the best.

“We fight all the way to the end, we don’t hang our heads,” Keyes said. “We just have to keep practicing.”

Added Dawson: “If we get down early, we still got each other’s back.”

Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports. 

Law enforcement officers are seeking a Brunswick County youth who failed to return to the Dobbs Youth Development Center in Kinston after a visit home for Christmas.

The youth, identified by the N.C. Division of Juvenile Justice as Tyler G., did not show up at Dobbs on Thursday.

The DJJ reported Thursday he was last seen 1 a.m. Wednesday at

“Due to the unpredictability of juvenile behavior, the division has a high degree of concern for the safety of both the juvenile and the public,” DJJ officials stated in a Thursday news release.

Anyone who sees Tyler should contact their local law enforcement.

Diana Kees, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Public Safety, declined to give further details about Tyler, including his age, the offense he was being held for or how long he had been at Dobbs, citing the confidentiality of juvenile records.

“All of that is part of his record,” she said.

Kees said juveniles can earn time out of the facilities, though.

“Generally the juveniles have to earn the right to have a home visit, and generally they can last from one day to five days,” she explained.

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

The new owner of Byrd’s Restaurant is not new to the landmark country diner on N.C. 58 South. Darlene Ward had been working there for 16 years when she bought the restaurant in October.

Byrd’s was founded by the late Oscar Byrd and was located in the building next door. Carole Jarrell and her late husband, Terry, bought the diner and Carole Jarrell sold it to Ward upon her retirement.

Ward has managed the restaurant for the last 12 years, so it’s no surprise she now owns it.

“I’ve always been in food service,” she said. She started working there on the line and making biscuits — cheese biscuits that keep people coming back for more.

Ward’s mother, Mary Alice Jones, makes them by scratch Mondays through Thursdays with just the right touch.

“You’ve got to have a special touch with it,” Ward said. “Not everyone can make a biscuit.”

Ward said she can make them pretty close, “but they’re not Momma’s.”

“We sell probably right around 14 pans a day,” she said. There are a dozen biscuits to a pan.

Byrd’s is a family restaurant open for breakfast and lunch with a solid customer base.

“They all love to come in here because they say it’s just like being at home,” she said. That might mean there’s some good-natured “attitude,” just like family sitting around the dinner table at home.

Ward said many of the patrons are on a first-name basis and the crew readies their meal without them having to order.

“The food’s good, as well as the service,” she said. “It’s like country — country cooking.”

Besides the biscuits with their baked-in hoop cheese, the steak and gravy is a best seller.

Daily specials include spaghetti and garlic bread on Mondays beef tips and rice on Tuesdays, fried pork chops or barbecued chicken on Wednesdays and hamburger steak on Thursdays.

Fish stew is served on Fridays. It’s made with mackerel, onions, potatoes and eggs in a tomato base.

“Usually by 12:30 we’re sold out,” Ward said.

Saturdays, they just serve breakfast. The hunters come in first, followed by a good crowd of regulars.

Ward, a Lenoir County native, lives with her husband, Tommy Ward, in Kinston.

Byrd’s Restaurant, 196 N.C. 58 S., is open 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fridays and 5:30-11 a.m. Saturdays. For information, call 252-523-3422.

Nnn

Bruce Daughety turned a tough situation into a positive one through his father’s good reputation and guidance.

When DuPont closed, Daughety lost his information technology job. That was in 2005. His father, Orville Daughety, had worked for Herbert Whitfield at Whitfield Auto Sales for 30 years. When Whitfield retired, Orville bought the business and changed the name to Daughety Auto Sales.

Orville invited his son to work with him.

“It’s been the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said.

Daughety had worked in the service department of his aunt and uncle’s shop in Raleigh and at Doug Henry’s in Farmville as a service adviser after earning a computer programming degree from Lenoir Community College.

When the Sand Hill native came to work for his father, he was excited to get some sporty cars on the lot. But Orville knew a thing or two about what cars would sell — the reliable models that couples and families depend on to get them from point A to point B.

So Daughety learned from a pro, not only about what cars to purchase, but how to look for solid, reliable cars, and how to provide good customer service and honesty — the same methods that had worked for Whitfield.

“They built a good repeat local business,” Daughety said about his father and Whitfield.

But Daughety added his own skills to the mix by developing a website and starting an online business linked to Auto Circuit, which links with numerous other car sale businesses. It turned out to be a smart move since the economic downturn. And it proved to be an avenue to sell a sports car now and then.

“We’ve sold cars as far away as Las Vegas or Canada on the Internet,” said Daughety, who took over the business with his mother, Barbara Daughety, last year when his father died of cancer.

Daughety is a stickler about checking the history of each car he buys and passing the information on to the buyer. He never charges a dock fee, takes care of the paperwork with the Department of Motor Vehicles and passes his savings from low overhead on to the customers.

“Being honest is the main thing,” he said, “being honest about the cars.”

Daughety offers a warranty for cars under 200,000 miles and takes trade-ins. He gives all the credit for his success to his father.

“There’s not a lot special about me,” he said. “I’m just riding his coattails is what I tell people.”

Daughety Auto Sales,

Do you have a new retail business or one that’s undergone a significant change? The Free Press would like to hear about it. Contact Margaret Fisher at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. 

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

Top stories of September 2012

• 2 - Three area coaches achieve success in weight loss mission.
• 3 - A Havelock soldier survives a bullet his head on Aug. 21 and receives Purple Heart decoration in early September.
• 3 - A Trenton cancer patient gets wish to travel with family to Myrtle Beach in early September. 
• 3 - Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan speaks in Greenville.
• 4 – Law enforcement arrests the son of Trenton’s mayor in huge drug bust.
• 5 - A female sex offender was arrested for maintaining a social networking site 
• 5 - Kinston High School quarterback VeQuain Joyner scores six touchdowns to earn career night during the third week of the season.  
• 6 - Two Kinston men were arrested for shooting a woman and her 8-year-old son in her Smithfield apartment on Sept. 5; they were held under $2 million bonds.
• 6 - The Democratic National Convention takes place in Charlotte.
• 7 - Kinston’s roller derby team relocates to new building on Queen Street donated by Mother Earth Brewery.
• 7 - The Woodmen Community Center’s 25-meter swimming pool gets filled with water
• 9 - Kinston’s Quinton Coples makes NFL regular season debut with the New York Jets.
• 11 - Kinstonians share memories of 9/11.
• 13 - The Free Press asks eight Kinston residents if they were better off than they were four years as Election Day nears. Almost all say they are.
• 14 - Television crew visits Kinston to interview the family of early 1990s murder victims Billy White Sr. and his son.
• 19 - First Lady Michelle Obama speaks at East Carolina University.
• 22 - Bobby Hodges, Kinston sports icon, mourned after his death.  

Top stories of October 2012

• 2 - Kinston High School grad serves as the sign language interpreter for Vice President Joe Biden during his campaign speech in Charlotte.
• 2 - Lenoir County uses a $500,000 grant to revitalize homes on a block of Spring Drive in early October.
• 3 - Auto sales business moves into former middle school.
• 3 - Morgan Harrison joins her sisters by being the third Harrison girl to win Distinguished Young Woman.
• 3 - The Amtrak bus stop in Kinston is unveiled.
• 4 - Jones Senior girls basketball coach Debbie Philyaw is recognized by North Carolina High School Athletic Association with the “Special Person” award in early October.
• 4 – The photography of Charles Buchanan, who worked for The Free Press for 35 years until his death in March, is exhibited at the Kinston Community Council for the Arts.
• 6 - Woodmen Community Center hosts “Pretty in Pink” to kick-off Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
• 7 - A restoration crew revitalizes Blount Street, including painting five houses with bright colors in early October. The work is funded by Stephen Hill, who has previously devoted capital to downtown revitalization.
• 7 - North Carolina insurance industry seeks a 17.7 percent hike in homeowners insurance rates.
• 8 – Vehicle crashes into a Kinston landmark sign, destroying it.
• 12 - Former UNC President William Friday died.
• 12 - West Greene Elementary School students gets visit from fire department to wrap up Fire Prevention Week.
• 15 - An armed robber was caught in 15 minutes.
• 17 – Local candidates for board of education and county commissioner speak at a forum sponsored by Young Professional of Lenoir County and The Free Press at Lenoir Community College.
• 20 - The Free Press features Grainger High School’s “devilishly good teams.”
• 20 - Ten new inductees join the Kinston/Lenoir County Sports Hall of Fame.
• 22 - Four local teens were charged with attempted murder.
• 25 - State NAACP president Rev. Dr. William J. Barber visits Kinston to rally voters.
• 25 - Gov. Beverly Purdue declares a state emergency after Hurricane Sandy blows through.
• 24 - The Free Press commemorates Kinston’s 250th anniversary with a special edition.

Kinston almost made it through the year without a homicide.

The shooting death on Wednesday of Dajuquon “DJ” Poole, 19, as the result of a fight on

Poole and Tiran C. Farris, 28, were reportedly in a fight Wednesday that ended with each suffering gunshot wounds to their upper bodies.

Poole was pronounced dead at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville on Wednesday. Farris is listed in stable condition at Vidant, police said.

The two men, both of Kinston, were lying wounded in front of a house at

The original call to the 911 dispatcher around 3:40 p.m. reported a fight in progress but was upgraded as officers were responding.

KDPS isn’t releasing information about who shot whom first. No charges have been filed in the incident.

Canady said the police are “not at liberty” to release information about the weapon, including what type was used in the shooting or if any weapons were recovered.

She said there may have been a separate altercation earlier Wednesday that escalated to the shooting.

“We’re talking with witnesses and trying to determine exactly what happened,” Canady said.

This year’s homicide rate in the city is quite a contrast to 2011, when 10 people died as the result of gun crimes. Four of those occurred in a span of 19 days in June 2011.

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

Staffers at Liberty Tax Service in Kinston are spending the final days of 2012 updating software, preparing to hire Liberty’s signature “wavers” — and waiting on Congress to get its financial house in order before going over the fiscal cliff.

“It’s all hinging on what Congress is going to do,” franchise owner Wendy Rhodes said Thursday.

President Barack Obama and members of Congress must reach a deal on federal spending and tax rates before next Tuesday, when massive tax hikes worth about $500 billion and spending cuts worth about $200 billion automatically kick in.

Unless Congress acts to prevent it, middle-class taxpayers could become ensnarled in the mechanics of the Alternative Minimum Tax, originally devised to keep the rich honest.

“You’re going to have higher taxes across the board for all taxpayers. … You’re looking at, somebody with a $20,000 income is going to have to pay an additional $1,000 in taxes annually,” Rhodes warned.

The Internal Revenue Service has warned Congress of major impacts to taxpayers in 2013 beyond the bottom line. Pushing back the acceptance date for early returns could mean a delay in receiving a tax refund.

Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller wrote in a November letter to U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., ranking member of the

“When Congress takes action well after this planning process is underway, there is potential for substantial disruption to the filing season ahead,” Miller wrote.

The Alternative Minimum Tax was established in 1969 to ensure taxpayers at certain income levels paid income tax and could not avoid all loopholes.

The income level set in the late 1960s was not set to be adjusted for inflation, though, and Congress must pass a regular “patch” to ensure lower-income taxpayers are not ensnared by the AMT.

Miller stated in his letter the most recent patch expired Dec. 31, 2011. The income threshold in 2011 was $48,450 for an individual and $74,450 for married couples filing jointly.

With no patch for 2012, though, the threshold will be lowered to $33,750 for individuals and $45,000 for married couples.

The AMT patch also typically comes with a “special tax credit ordering rule” that applies to anyone claiming “certain tax credits,” whether they qualify for the AMT or not, Miller’s letter stated.

“Taken together, the changes to the AMT exemption amount and the special tax credit ordering rules could affect more than 60 million taxpayers — nearly half of all individual income tax filers,” Miller wrote.

If Congress does not patch the AMT, many taxpayers might not be able to file their returns until next March, before the IRS updates its processing systems and alerts the millions of additional taxpayers who would be affected, Miller stated.

Rhodes said Liberty Tax in Kinston is scheduled to open Jan. 2. She said Liberty staffers typically begin processing returns on Jan. 16, when the IRS starts accepting them, but the date of acceptance has been pushed for Jan. 22 for 2013.

She said many taxpayers are not aware of the delay in processing returns and receiving refunds, and “they are going to be in for a rude awakening when they come in.”

Rhodes said the concerns over the fiscal cliff have also affected employers in terms of when they release to employees their W2 forms, which are key to completing tax returns.

She said the IRS has told tax preparers they are “ready, either way.”

“Everything’s still waiting on Congress,” Rhodes said.

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

Happy New Year everybody! Another tax season is around the corner and this one’s sure to be a humdinger.

I’m a bit of a weird duck because I so enjoy what I do for a living. That in and of itself isn’t a rarity, the world is surely full of folks who like their professions. But I tend to carry it to the extreme.

Working doubles as my hobby. I have no interest in watching courts and fields of overpaid egos running back and forth. I couldn’t care less who plays who for what.

I’ve written before that in four years at UNC-Chapel Hill I didn’t see a single, solitary basketball game. It isn’t that I lacked school “spirit” but our team played in Woollen Gymnasium which was nicknamed the “Tin Can” for good reason. Holy echo, it was like sitting in a culvert.

And let’s be clear. Even way back then sports was a money thing. Players were recruited coast to coast. It isn’t as if I’d see a bunch of local boys shoot baskets or catch footballs.

Anyway, I just never developed an active voyeur gene. I loved to play ball but got little vicarious pleasures from watching others do it. So this weird duck has no problem spending a World Series or Super Bowl game at my desk.

I’ll see bar patrons screaming at televisions and high-fiving but don’t get it. No amount of posturing and yelling will change one iota of final scores that find their way onto newspaper headlines. So the weird duck ingredient in me typically chooses work over what “normal” folks prefer.

Stating the obvious, the approaching New Year begins my favorite season. I look forward to every new year but 2013 will probably be particularly good for people like me.

As most probably know, I was vehemently opposed to the re-election of President Obama. Well those hopes went down in flames. Oh well, life goes on and some good is to be found.

Reverse engineering the old southern postulate that “Every chicken has feathers” we accountants will glean some chicken from the electoral feather blizzard. I suspect our services will be in even higher demand as families try to dodge and weave their way through the next four years of “Forward.”

I’m more than ready for 2013. I like the rush, having more than I can do. I like juggling appointments to fit inside the days. I like pressure yet don’t get stressed. You can call it “Zen” or maybe insanity but know that the man writing this is one happy guy.

I can’t begin to understand why life has perched me on top of such an amazing tripod of good health, wonderful family and fulfilling profession. But it has and I’m very thankful and plan to enjoy it while I’m here.

It’s cliché to wish everybody a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year yet those words exactly represent my sincerest wishes. See you next year.

Otis Gardner’s column appears here weekly. He can be reached at ogardner@embarqmail.com.

A few community members gathered to do than than observe Day 3 of the Kwanzaa holiday on Friday — they discussed the importance of bringing its principles into the community.

About 10 people met at the True Worship Outreach center on South Queen Street, most dressed for the celebration.

They concurred Kwanzaa, although an African-American and Pan-African cultural holiday, can apply to any group.

“It has a universal message, it’s not just an African-American thing,” said Antuan Dixon, a librarian. “(Look at) what we’re going though now with the fiscal cliff.”

He talked about economics briefly and added, “All the principles can be translated universally.”

The owner of True Worship Outreach center, Johnny Noel, said society would be closer with consistent Kwanzaa practices.

“There was a time when we could go to our neighbor’s house and borrow a cup of sugar,” he said. “It seems like those days have gone away. We need to bring back that unity (and) love for each other.”

Noel said Kwanzaa is only one way to make neighborhoods more positive.  

Kwanzaa celebrates seven principles — originating from African tribes — from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, including faith, unity and purpose.

During the week-long holiday, families and communities gather to exchange stories, hand-made gifts, fruits and talents to help bring in a prosperous New Year.

Visiting Kinston from Georgia, Maruska Alston and her daughter TiAndrea, 9, led the congregation at True Worship in two songs.

Kwanzaa, according to the voices in the assembly, can be celebrated by any race, creed or color.

“When you talk about the celebration of Kwanzaa, a lot of people think that it takes away from Christmas,” Noel said. “It takes nothing away from the birth of Christ.”

The small celebration at the outreach center included a centerpiece table decorated with baskets of fruit, cloths and a candle holder — called a kinara.

Brenda Stewart, the group leader, recited “Ujima” in Swahili first, English next and read the meaning of the third day’s principle, repeated by others at the table.

“Kwanzaa is about just getting together and working as a community,” she said. “It’s something like what has happened today.

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

BREAKOUT BOX:

Want to plan your Kwanzaa celebration in Kinston?

Contact Johnny Noel at 252-639-1626

Or

Travel Laguda at 252-361-2627

Kwanzaa Principles

Dec. 26 – Jan. 1

DAY 1

Umoja (Unity)

DAY 2

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

DAY 3

Ujima (Collective work and responsibility)

DAY 4

Ujamaa (Cooperative economics)

DAY 5

Nia (Purpose)

DAY 6

Kuumba (Creativity)

DAY 7

Imani (Faith)

November

1 — The daughter of a Kinston couple, Emilee Irsik, goes missing in Germany after taking an unannounced flight to Hamburg.

3 — Kinston celebrates city’s 250th anniversary with an event on Herritage Street.

6 — Lenoir County Commissioner George Graham elected to N.C. House; Craig Hill beats incumbent Tommy Pharo for Lenoir County Commission District 3.

8 — Emilee Irsik found safe after attempting to buy a ticket back to the United States at the Hamburg airport. She said she didn’t know anyone was looking for her.

8 — Lenoir County Board of Education closes Sampson Alternative School and moves students to leased space at Kennedy Home.

9 — Abuse alleged at O’Berry Neuro-Medical Center in Goldsboro.

10 — Salute XII honors local veterans.

11 — Tiffany Nicole Smith, 22, of Kinston, dies of injuries following a car wreck in La Grange that involved a tractor trailer.

13 — Edward Earl Waters pleads guilty in Discovery Insurance fraud case.

14 — U.S. Supreme Court turns down Voting Rights Act challenge from Kinston.

15 — Atlanta Braves not considering placing a minor league team in Kinston.

17 — Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office deputies investigating turkey abuse at local Butterball farm.

18 — Former Kinston City Councilman Will Barker elected to ElectriCities Board of Directors.

19 — Tractor trailer crashes into house off U.S. 70 near Lynley Place Drive.

19 — N.Y. Jets defensive end Quinton Coples donates 250 turkeys, given out free at Big Z market and Salvation Army.

20 — Kinston officials urged to close Platinum Club, a downtown nightspot.

21 — North Lenoir boys basketball team defeats Greene Central in season opener.

22 — Kinston boys and girls basketball teams sweep North Lenoir in KHS season openers.

25 — Off-duty Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office deputy shoots and kills Billy Gibbs, 26, of Kinston, outside the Waffle House on U.S. 70.

25 — Kinston City Councilman Robbie Swinson recovers from heart attack.

26 — Two Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office deputies placed on administrative leave following Waffle House shooting.

27 — ECU joins the Big East Conference as a football-only member.

28 — Kinston boys and girls basketball teams sweep South Lenoir, fan taken to hospital.

29 — Chris and Les Rouse, his father, win $1 million in Powerball drawing.

30 — Former Kinston City Councilman Will Barker arrested on 10 counts of felony third-degree sexual exploitation of a child.

December

1 — In light of Waffle House shooting, law enforcement officers allowed to use their firearms only in specific circumstances.

1 — Holloway Recreation Center basketball court named after the late Robert Murphy.

2 — Maggie Nelms named Miss Kinston-Lenoir County.

3 — State Bureau of Investigation report details former Kinston City Councilman Will Barker tried to kill himself during a search of his home regarding child pornography allegations.

3 — Reuben Davis named chairman of Lenoir County Board of Commissioners.

4 — Former Kinston City Councilman Will Barker released on bond from Lenoir County Jail.

4 — Platinum Club owner defends business to Kinston City Council.

5 — Civil suit filed in O’Berry Neuro-Medical Center abuse case.

6 — Ten building at Carver Courts slated for demolition.

7 — Delta Airlines closes its Kinston corporate office.

9 — Kinston schools add new sex-education program for eighth graders to combat high teen pregnancy rates.

11 — N.C. State Veterans Home holds grand opening in Kinston.

12 — State Bureau of Investigation releases inventory of evidence seized in searches of former Kinston City Councilman Will Barker’s home and place of business.

12 — Eighteen people arrested in Jones County drug roundup.

14 — South Lenoir girls’ basketball team defeats North Lenoir by 23.

15 — Students, families prepare for winter break.

16 — The Free Press names Kinston linebacker Jeremy Taylor its defensive player of the year.

17 — Local schools react to Connecticut elementary school shooting.

18 — New shopping center going up at intersection of U.S. 70 and 258.

19 — RaeKwon Bryant, an accomplice in murders of Thomas Hinton and U.S. Marshal Warren Basco “Sneak” Lewis III, pleads guilty.

19 — Ronald McDonald House and Charities of North Carolina awards a $25,000 grant to Southeast Elementary School for a new playground.

20 — Kinston man turns 95 on 68th anniversary of Battle of the Bulge.

20 — Four more charges are added to the list that former state legislator Stephen LaRoque of Kinston faces for allegedly misusing public funds earmarked for his lending business.

21 — Former KDPS officer indicted for second time on child sex charges.

21 — Kinston High School student Drew McPhatter admitted to Berklee College of Music in Boston.

22 — Drew McPhatter, a senior at Kinston High School, is accepted to the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

24 — Trudy B. Hardy prepares to take over as director of the Greene County Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 1.

26 — Less than a week before year’s end, Kinston records its first homicide of 2013. Dajuquon “DJ” dies at a Greenville hospital after police find him and another man on King Street with gunshot wounds to the upper body.

28 — Roland Best is nominated to fill the vacancy on the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners left by the election of George Graham to the N.C. House of Representatives.

Compiled by Wes Wolfe

Orabell Barfield is 94 years old and suffers from dementia. She was placed in Spring Arbor more than a year ago when her only son, Henry Barfield, couldn’t care for her anymore.

Henry Barfield has a blood disease and leukemia and is receiving chemotherapy. He lives on a meager disability check, yet he buys supplies for his mother and pays what her insurance won’t pay. As the only child, he would check on her when he could, but he has been in and out of the hospital with his own medical problems. Her house is located in an unsafe area, Henry Barfield said.

“She was walking around the house with a .32 pistol in her pocket,” he said about his mother before she moved into Spring Arbor.

David Ask, 76, has Parkinson’s disease and dementia and resides at Spring Arbor. He gets up in the middle of the night and wanders. He’s fallen numerous times. His wife cared for him until she just couldn’t do it anymore. His only child, Kristen Eckenwiler, has a family and home schools her children.

Both Barfield and Ask are two of many patients with severe dementia or Alzheimer’s disease who, on Jan. 1, will lose hours of care they critically need because the state won’t pay for it.

To comply with changes in federal Medicaid standards earlier this year, the General Assembly provided $39.7 million for people in adult care facilities, but left out group homes and special care units.

Appeals process

Many of the group home residents have started an appeal process. For those who haven’t appealed, Gov. Beverly Perdue allocated, on Dec. 18, $1 million from the budget of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Those funds are expected to cover Medicaid costs to prevent group home residents from being ousted until the General Assemble meets again in January to resolve the issue.

Perdue also proposed the $39.7 million designated for adult care facilities to continue through 2013-2014 and be expanded to include group homes, as well.

But people living in special care units who suffer from dementia and related diseases stand to lose care or may have to leave their facility. Medicaid will no longer fully fund special care services for qualified residents. Facilities with special care units — such as Spring Arbor — stand to lose millions of dollars by either taking the cuts or losing residents.

Randy Jackson, executive director of Spring Arbor in Kinston, said he has seven residents who may be affected by the legislative changes.

“Every one of the Alzheimer’s resident’s that received a letter (to appeal) has been approved for 80 hours of personal care services,” he said.

They’ve been approved based on meeting three of five qualifiers — bathing, dressing, eating, ambulation and toiletry. Through Dec. 31, they would only have to qualify for one.

But they are currently receiving 161 hours of special care services, and the difference in hours will be about $1,000 a month per resident that Spring Arbor stands to lose, Jackson said.

For smaller facilities, the Medicaid dollars cut in half could put them out of business.

“I don’t think this is something nobody saw coming,” he said. “Now, they’re having to ask for adjustments.”

Life-changing decisions

And families such as Henry Barfield and his wife and the Eckenwilers face life-changing decisions. Although their loved ones qualify for the services, neither family has the money to pay the difference for the hours of care their loved ones currently receive through Dec. 31.

Barfield said he had been helping his mother for a couple of years since his father died three years ago, but her situation worsened, as did his. He got a microwave for her because she was confused when using the stove and he was afraid she would burn the house down. But she had trouble using the microwave and couldn’t read the tiny print on it. He tried cooking for her but he couldn’t get to her house every day.

She couldn’t figure out how to work the television remote control or the heating and air conditioning controls and would call him at all hours saying it was too hot or too cold. He would set out her medications for each day.

“I would come back the next day,” he said, “and the pills would be shuffled around everywhere and she wouldn’t know anything about it.”

Orabell Barfield doesn’t qualify for Medicaid because she owns a house — a house Henry Barfield can’t sell as long as his mother is alive.

Eckenwiler, who resides in Wilson, said her father was placed in an adult home in Cary because he frequently fell. And she was one of the first to sign him up for a new Spring Arbor facility to be built in Wilson. Later, he was transferred to Kinston so he would be in the same company, and the ride on N.C. 58, although further, was easier for her mother than driving to Cary.

When August came and the facility was built, Ask couldn’t be transferred to Wilson because of the funding issues that loom — the new facility isn’t currently taking Medicaid patients.

Ask has stage four dementia. He has frequent episodes of forgetfulness, can’t dress himself or use the bathroom by himself and has to live in a locked unit so he can’t wander away.

When Ask has a doctor’s appointment, his daughter drives from Wilson to Kinston and then to Durham. The round trip is about 300 miles, she said.

Eckenwiler takes her mother to visit him as often as she is able, but she and her husband are raising their children. Their house has stairs, which isn’t accommodating for her father.

With the funding reducing and, thereby, the hours being cut, she had hoped her father would be closer to home so she could assist with his care.

Eckenwiler said her mother, who lives in Nashville, can’t take care of her husband, and she’s not sure how she could either unless they had someone come in to care for him — which would be an added expense.

“I haven’t thought about what to do,” she said. “I just keep telling my mother we’re going to take it one step at a time.”

Jackson said Spring Arbor in Kinston will not be asking residents to leave when January rolls around.

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

The executive committee of the Lenoir County Democratic Party has put forth a nominee to fill the vacancy on the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners — the remaining commissioners have the final say on who takes George Graham’s seat, though.

“The remaining six commissioners will be the ones to make a selection, after consulting with the Democratic executive committee,” County Attorney Bob Griffin said Friday.

The members of the party’s executive committee met Thursday and nominated Roland Best II, the party’s current first vice chairman, for Graham’s District 5 seat, made vacant by Graham’s election to the N.C. House in November.

Democratic Party Chairman Jimmy Cochran announced Best’s nomination Friday.

“Mr. Best is an outstanding resident of District 5, and is a registered Democrat,” Cochran wrote in a letter to Reuben Davis, chairman of the Board of Commissioners. “He has remained engaged in our county, and would serve the residents of District 5 and the greater county to the best of his ability.”

Best, a Lenoir County native, is currently retired from the N.C. Division of Juvenile Justice, having worked as a counseling tech with youth at the Dobbs Youth Development Center. He also served as a Kinston police officer from 1972 to 1996, and left as captain of operations.

“I was really surprised that the committee thought enough to nominate me,” Best said Friday. “I’m willing to go in and learn all I can.”

If the commissioners approve, Best would serve the remaining two years of Graham’s term, which ends in 2014.

“I’m planning on going in to try to serve the citizens of this county,” he said. “I’m willing to have both ears and eyes open, but I don’t have any particular issues that I’m targeting at this time.”

Graham, who was most recently re-elected in 2010, spent 30 years on the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners.

“Roland is very well known and very well respected, and I think he will do well if he’s given the nod,” Graham said of Best.

Graham spent many of his years on the board as chairman, an office he held when he decided to run earlier this year for the N.C. House seat of Rep. William Wainwright, D-Craven, who passed away in July.

He won the election for District 12, which serves Greene County as well as sections of Lenoir and Craven, and will be sworn in on Jan. 9 in Raleigh. He has officially resigned as county commissioner, effective Monday.

“It’s overwhelming,” he said of the prospect of serving in the General Assembly. “It is overwhelming and there’s a lot of work to be done. I will definitely be busy. I’m hoping I can be a fast start, a quick learner and be able to make some good contributions.”

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

RALEIGH — Last March in the NCHSAA state 2A championship it was Waxhaw Cuthbertson which saw its nice-sized second-half lead whittle away to nothing as Kinston rallied.

On Friday — and again in Raleigh — the Cavaliers returned the favor.

After falling to the Vikings in the title game nine months ago in a game it led nearly start to finish, Cuthbertson rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit and held Kinston scoreless in the final period in the 50-47 win to eliminate the Vikings from the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational.

In the state title game it was the Cavs (10-1) who controlled the first half then lost control in the second as Kinston won 58-55. On Friday it was the Vikings (9-2) who suffered the same fate.

“We did some good things but did a lot of things poorly, too,” Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said.

After building a 38-24 lead at halftime, Kinston was outscored 26-9 in the second half and held scoreless in the fourth quarter alone. The defeat also sent the Vikings home after two games for the second time in the last three HSOT.com tournaments.

Cuthbertson coach Mike Helms, whose team fell to Hampton (Va.) in overtime on Thursday night in a game that lasted nearly until midnight, said Friday’s game was about getting back what his team lost in March.

“I think probably just the point of playing for pride. It was a great game last year, and today’s game was another great game,” Helms said. “Having played each other and having that film we’re very familiar with each other and what we’re trying to do.

“Mostly, we just talked about playing with our heart and pride.”

Kinston entered the prestigious prep basketball tournament with nine wins in nine games. The Vikings nearly pulled off what would have been the upset of the tournament on Thursday when they rallied in the second half against nationally-ranked DeSoto (Texas).

Following that game Kinston had the confidence it could play with anybody. Following Friday’s second-half meltdown, the Vikings return to Kinston searching for answers.

“We just got to work on staying together when crunchtime comes,” Vikings senior Denzel Keyes said. “We’ve just got to stay as one.”

Added Tyndall: “We did a lot of good things in this tournament but … we’ve got to play a complete game. Everybody’s got to buy in, and we’ve got to have everybody on board.

“We’ve seen what gave us trouble, so we’re going to have to practice with a purpose.”

Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports. 

Ishmael Baldwin scored 24 points to lead three in double figures as South Lenoir defeated visiting Hobbton 65-40 in a non-conference game on Friday.

Baldwin also had 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks as the Blue Devils outscored Hobbton 20-6 in the first quarter and 17-2 in the fourth.

Dion Jones had 10 points, Jonte Midgette 11 and Jaquan Wooten eight for South Lenoir.

BETHEL CHRISTIAN 53, WILMINGTON CHRISTIAN 46: At Wilmington Christian, the Trojans won the Wilmington Christian Christmas championship by defeating the host school.

Davon Edwards scored 20 points and was named the tournament’s MVP. Hunter Truett added 11 points and Russell Pridgen had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Bethel.

Terrell Pridgen and Russell Pridgen were named to the all-tournament team.

The Trojans defeated Berean Baptist out of Fayetteville 49-38 on Thursday. Edwards scored 24 points and Terrell Pridgen scored 10 in the semifinal win.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

SOUTH LENOIR 62, HOBTOON 25: At South Lenoir, the Blue Devils raced out to a 20-point lead and never looked back in the non-conference win.

Heather West had 24 points, six rebounds and five assists, Caroline Jones added 15 points and six rebounds, Demeyia Adams added nine points and six rebounds and Hanna Meready had seven assists.

South Lenoir (6-3) plays at Richlands on Wednesday.

RALEIGH — In the first 16 minutes Friday Kinston imposed its will on Waxhaw Cuthbertson.

The final 16 minutes were an entirely different story.

Shelton Mitchell scored 19 points, and the Cavaliers rallied back from a double-digit deficit in the second half while holding the Vikings scoreless in the fourth quarter on their way to a 50-47 win in an elimination game at the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational.

Kinston led 47-34 with 1:41 left in the third period and didn’t score again. It was the second time in three years the Vikings went 0-2 in one of the nation’s top prep basketball tournaments.

“Obviously, we’re pretty disappointed with the outcome of the game,” Vikings coach Perry Tyndall said. “In the second half we really got all out of sorts and didn’t handle some pressure very well.

“We’ve got to have some guys step up in some big-time atmospheres and it just didn’t happen today.”

Kinston (9-2) did what it wanted in the first half, building a double-digit lead early in the second quarter that it held until the Cavaliers rallied.

Cuthbertson (10-1), which fell to Kinston 58-55 in last season’s NCHSAA state 2A championship, trailed by as many as 15 in the second quarter and found itself in a 38-24 hole at the break thanks to Kinston’s defensive pressure and an efficient Vikings offense.

The Cavaliers scored the first eight points of the second half to cut Kinston’s lead to 38-32, but the Vikings answered with a 9-2 run of their own that pushed the lead back out to 13 at 47-34 with 1:41 left in the third period.

It was the last run Kinston had. From then on, it was all Cuthbertson — on both ends of the floor.

“Man, what a second half. I couldn’t be prouder of the kids,” Cavs coach Mike Helms said. “We felt like, for the last little bit, our defense has been behind where it was a year ago. We were talking about that at the half, and if you had told me then we were going to give up nine points in the second half I don’t think I would have took that bet, obviously.

“What a great job defensively in the second half.”

A steal and subsequent dunk by Isiah Cureton with 31 seconds left in the third sparked a run of 14 unanswered points by Cuthbertson, eight by Cureton, to give it its first lead at 48-47 since it led 7-6 early in the first period.

The 6-foot-4 senior forward hit back-to-back 3s during the run, which all but took the wind out of the Vikings’ sails.

“I just felt like I needed to bring defensive intensity and energy to the team. You could tell we were down during the first half. Nobody’s spirits were really up,” said Cureton, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half.

“I just had to be a leader. I’m a captain for a reason.”

Kinston, which committed 15 second-half turnovers after only six in the first half, had its looks but the shots just wouldn’t fall, even the free ones.

Brandon Ingram missed a pair of free throws with 2:23 to play then Denzel Keyes, who led the Vikings with 16 points and 11 rebounds, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 38.6 seconds left and a chance to tie or take the lead.

Andrew Lopez, who scored eight points for Kinston, turned it over coming out of a timeout on a 5-second call then Jordan Hardrick missed a free throw with 13.8 seconds left to give Kinston another chance.

Lopez had a clean look at a 3 from the corner but it bounced wide, sending the rebound to Mitchell, who was fouled with 3.2 ticks left.

Mitchell hit both free throws, then Josh Dawson’s 40-foot heave bounced off the rim, sending Kinston home and the Cavs into today’s 11 a.m. fifth-place game.

“We’re going to eat a little bit of humble pie and get back to work; go back home early,” Tyndall said.

“We’ve got a lot to work on.”

Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports. 

RALEIGH — Politicians of all parties, at all levels of government, have been debating health care virtually nonstop since the early 1990s. If you’re tired of hearing about it, I have some bad news about the new year. Health care is going to be a key political issue in 2013, perhaps even the dominant one.

At the federal level, the budget debate will inevitably center on health care, the fastest-growing major category of federal spending. And here in North Carolina, among the first decisions that new Gov. Pat McCrory and the General Assembly will have to make is whether to assist the Obama administration in implementing its costly and unpopular health care legislation.

I expect that state leaders will say no. I expect them to say no to building and funding a state-run health insurance exchange for two reasons. First, regardless of the apparent structure of the exchange, all the important policy decisions will be made in Washington, not Raleigh. Second, a federally run exchange has practical and legal problems that, once manifested, will give Republicans and moderate Democrats in Congress the leverage they need to rescind or rewrite Obama-care’s most-egregious provisions.

I also expect North Carolina policymakers to say no to expanding Medicaid, which is the single-biggest part of Obama-care in scope and cost. Even in its current form, Medicaid has become a fiscal black hole for state government. Resources that might otherwise have been spent on education, public safety, transportation or returned to the private economy in the form of lower taxes have been sucked into Medicaid’s event horizon. Expanding the program would be the ultimate triumph of hope over experience, with the fantasy of "free federal money" thrown in to bamboozle the credulous.

Despite more than two decades of intense discussion about health care, there still remains a wide gap in perception of the nature, causes and potential solutions of problems such as medical inflation and inadequate access. Both sides hold on to much-cherished "facts" that are really highly debatable propositions or even clearly demonstrable falsehoods.

Many conservatives, for example, cling to the notion that American health care, for all its flaws, still has the virtue of being an overwhelmingly private, market-driven system with some government intervention on the margins. The truth is that American health care is already a complex mixture of public and private institutions in which taxpayers fund fully half the total bill (through Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs) and in which government bureaucrats already make many significant decisions about the practice of medicine and the structure of health care markets.

Many liberals cling to the notion that American health care, despite consuming vastly more resources than European or Asian countries expend on health care, has worse outcomes. The first part of that proposition, relatively high U.S. spending, is true but exaggerated. Cost is denominated in more than dollars. While American patients, insurers and governments pay more to receive more timely service from hospitals or doctors, in other countries the dollar costs are lower but other costs — the time and suffering associated with longer waiting periods — are higher.

The second part of the proposition, that the outcomes of the U.S. health care system are substandard, is simply false. It is true that the average European or Asian lives longer than the average American, but this isn’t due to differences in health care access or delivery.

In an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report, America’s average life expectancy was estimated at 75.3 years, ranking us 19th out of 29 countries. But when the data were adjusted for the rate of fatal injuries, such as car crashes and homicides, American life expectancy was 76.9 years — the longest in the developed world.

We obviously have a long way to go to achieve a consensus about what’s really going on in health care, much less what to do about it. Obama-care won’t be the final answer. Investing significant time and money to implement it would be foolish and counterproductive.

John Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation.

Civil War series gave Lincoln break

I have several comments on Dr. Lonnie Blizzard’s "The Civil War comes to Eastern North Carolina" series (The Free Press, Dec. 10-15).

Although his presentation basically provides an accurate picture of actual events (mostly depicted from the Federal side), it makes no mention as to what legal right did the Lincoln regime have to invade the South.

Although the Lincoln regime redefined treason to be opposition to the central government as part of its attempt to justify invading the South, the Constitution still provides the only legitimate definition of treason. Article 3, Section 3, states: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or adhering to their enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort." Note the term "United States" referred to what the Founding Fathers intended, a union of sovereign states.

Since Lincoln never admitted that the 11 Southern states that declared secession had really ever left the union, it was he (and his cohorts) who actually committed treason by raising an army (instead of Congress) and invading the South without a Congressional declaration of war.

The presentation contended that Federal General Foster deployed troops to protect private property. According to several sources (including John E. Williams Papers, Personal Collections and "The Civil War in North Carolina"), Foster’s troops destroyed private property and forced civilians out of their homes on numerous occasions, including at least one lady on her deathbed.

Lastly, the caption for the photo of the graveyard in the Dec. 11 installment stated it contained the final resting places of several "Civil War" veterans. I placed the VA markers and North Carolina Republic flags (original N.C. flag adopted in 1861) to honor the "Confederate" veterans interred in this cemetery.

Walter L. Adams Jr.

Heritage Defense Officer

Sons of Confederate Veterans

Pettigrew’s Partisans, Camp 2110

Kinston

Gun control clamor recalls Nazi’s rule

Let me say first that what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School was the work of a sick-minded man. The Bible speaks of these as demon-filled people. It wasn’t the guns’ fault, and it wasn’t the mother’s fault for teaching her son to shoot. He, and he alone, made that decision!

I was looking on the Internet this past Christmas night for information to draw from. Are you aware that on Dec. 14, 2012, a man by the name of Min Yon gin stabbed 20 children on their way to school? This happened in China and was reported by the Chinese News Agency.

Are you also aware that Communist countries like China and Russia are urging President Obama to take away our guns? The U.S. media ignores stories like this, and stories of quick-minded gun owners who save lives.

Are you also aware that four out of nine United States Supreme Court Justices believe that only the government should have guns? The U.S. Constitution clearly states in the second half of the Second Amendment "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." We are dangerously close to repeating history.

Now the research that I dug up: According to a book written by Robert Proctor, Adolf Hitler was somewhat similar to today’s Democratic Party. The Nazi’s restricted tobacco ads, banned smoking in buildings, regulated tobacco farmers and sued tobacco companies. The Nazis also raised taxes on tobacco, and removed cigarette vending machines. Sound familiar? Research it yourself.

Other similarities include animal rights campaigns and persecution of the church. According to German and Austrian police records, Hitler was listed as a male prostitute from 1907 to 1914. One side-note: Hitler preferred Islam to Christianity. Remember, Osama Bin Laden thought a lot of Adolf Hitler! According to author Michael Burleigh, "the strongest opposition to the Nazi ideology and criminality came from conservative "men of God!" Remember, God views homosexuality as an abomination. The modern Democrats champion the cause.

The Nazi Weapons Act of 1938 that was approved March 18, 1938, had a lot of similar regulation that we face today. All citizens had to register their gun with the Nazis, citizens had to undergo a background check, ammunition that was legal was subject to control by government bureaucrats, and juveniles under 18 could not buy guns or ammunition! On Oct. 1, 1938, Jews were not allowed to buy, keep or carry a gun. If found, the government would take it and place the Jewish citizen in prison for up to five years.

In short, we live in a time where legislation is considered by a knee-jerk response without viewing or thinking about the future! Gun control was started by the Germans. And where it exists, it is illegal and a failure.

When you take away a citizen’s right to own a gun, the government can do as it pleases. The German Nazis were trying to kill the Jews. Blacks would have been next, followed by Christians.

Guns aren’t the problem; people are! There are those who say that we cling to our guns and our religion. To them I say, I certainly do!

Lennie E. Peterson

Kinston

Veterans group has a gala ball planned

Ever been accused of being eccentric? I own up to it. It’s OK. God is perfect. I am not, and that is OK. I was venting to someone recently about how hard I was working to accomplish something, and people I was counting on weren’t showing up, and …my frustration was showing and she said, "Why, Debby; it’s not about you."

Her comment stopped me in my tracks, and inside I wanted to argue, that yes, I know, this work is a mission of God, and I feel responsible … but no, her words were liberating. I think of them often when I start to get frazzled; and remind myself, "Do my best and trust God to do the rest."

We at Veterans Challenge, are working to make this area a haven for military families, a welcoming place with community support, and Christian caring. We want those traveling distances for our events to experience that unity and spread the word, and look forward to attending other functions here.

One of the current projects we are excitedly working on, and could use help from your readers, is to honor active military, Guard, reservists and veterans with a Veterans Ball on Saturday night, Jan. 12. The tickets are just $5 and include food, dancing, prizes, gifts. There will be a cash bar, discounted photography and rooms for those who would like to stay the night or weekend. The Veterans Ball is being held at the elegant Grand Ballroom of Kinston’s Hampton Inn. We’ve sold tickets to guests in Havelock, Cary, Asheville, Black Mountain, Myrtle Beach — and would sure like to sell more to Lenoir County residents and those nearby.

I’ve had a couple people tell me they wouldn’t support the Veterand Ball because of the cash bar, and that’s all well and good as I know some people cannot be where alcohol is served and I respect that. However, some other people look for something to be judgmental about. If Jesus showed up visibly in the office right now, would I be ashamed of our fliers indicating a cash bar? If you won tickets to a desirable cruise would you refuse them because alcohol is served aboard?

Let’s all re-commit ourselves to appreciate the strengths of one another, be thankful, look for the favorable qualities, care, love, rejoice, sing, dance, uplift and encourage one another, eat, drink and be merry! And believe!

The Veterans Challenge motto is: "promoting the health & prosperity of veterans & the community." Help us do that. Those who would like to assist with our Veterans Ball should tell anyone who has ever served in the military about it, and that they can get tickets at the Veterans Challenge office, second door from DMV at Vernon Park Mall. Pick up, make copies of, make available or pass out our ball fliers, and/or email it to your contacts. If you received a Christmas present you don’t plan to use because it’s not the right for you, any kind of item can be added to our prize table. Send a tax deductible donation to our non-profit corporation. Call, text, email, or come by and offer to assist in some way. United we stand so all benefit.

Debby Guthrie

Veterans Challenge

Kinston

Volunteers made city parade shine

The 2012 Kinston Christmas Parade was once again a successful event. There were many people in this community that helped make it a success.

We would like to acknowledge our sponsors for this year. They were Tands Inc./Bojangles; Hillco, Ltd; Stallings Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning; Domestic Industries; Alsco; KNC; m3 Consulting & Services; Evans & Associates; Olympian Restaurant; Tokyo House; and Dr. William Brown, DDS.

In addition to this, We would like to acknowledge TACC-9/Adnet Productions; Pride of Kinston; and the Community Council for Arts, which hosted the popular "cookies with Santa" after the parade. Also, many thanks to our band and float judges this year.

The parade committee consists of individuals throughout Kinston who are committed to put this annual event together even when the temperatures reach triple digits in the summer months. A big thank you to the following committee members: Martha Bishop, co-chair, TACC-9; Debra Oliver, Pride of Kinston; Major Ronnie Ingram, Kinston Public Safety; Tim Knobeloch, Parks and Recreation Department; Lucy Marston, Visitors & Information Center; Jessika Morgan, The Free Press; and Sandy Landis, Community Council for the Arts. Also, thanks to Jenny Inabinet, Galen Treble, and others who helped coordinate the line-up at Grainger Stadium. Thank you to the Public Safety Department for all its help, also.

We would like to announce the winners of the floats in the categories of Most Creative, Best Theme and Best Overall.

Most Creative: First Place — Troop 41 from Gordon Street Christian Church; Second Place — RADD Inc.; Third Place — Greene Lamp/Head Start.

Best Theme: First Place — Lenoir County Health Department; Second Place — Kinston First Pentecostal Holiness Church; Third Place — Holy Spirit Catholic Church.

Best Overall — Caswell Developmental Center. Congratulations to all the winners!

The winners in the band competition are:

Middle School: First Place — Woodington Middle School; Second Place — E.B. Frink Middle School.

High School: First Place — Kinston High School; Second Place — North Lenoir High School. Congratulations to all the bands. All of you were great!

We hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season. May 2013 bring lots of joy, peace, and happiness. See you in Downtown Kinston for next year’s parade!

Martha Bishop

Lea Jeffress,

Parade Co-Chairs

There are plenty of reasons not to look forward to 2013, most of them stemming from the fact that the new year could look a lot like the old year.

That, as we all know, has been a year of divisiveness, rancorous political debate and paralysis in Washington. It has, in North Carolina, been a year of high unemployment and a lame-duck administration too often distracted by scandal.

So now we are left searching for a quick fix for putting this country back on track.

Americans have found themselves struggling to stay afloat, both as individuals and as a nation, but we remain a resilient bunch that knows how to pick ourselves up, roll up our sleeves and begin the task of determining what is wrong and how we go about fixing it.

We don’t allow destiny to take the wheel; instead, the American people recalibrate, and begin to restore whatever has thrown us off-balance in the first place.

This time, it will be a big job.

Americans — and Tar Heels in particular — will face many challenges in this brand new year ahead, ranging from finding ways to preserve fairness in finding tax dollars to searching out places where government can shear spending.

Like many Eastern North Carolina counties, Lenoir, Greene and Jones face pressing local issues: a public education system that, while improving, still lags behind the ideal that parents, school administrators and community leaders know we need; persistent poverty and the related issue of job creation; and the difficult task of keeping tax rates down to levels that won’t place too heavy a burden on their citizens, while at the same time ensuring a level of service that residents expect from their governments.

It’s won’t be easy. We can only hope we have elected the right people to lead us into a future. November’s general election returned a number of familiar faces to positions of authority, but it also meant some new blood for school boards, boards of commissioners and legislative seats in our area. Optimistically — and that is the only way to face the new year — we expect that combination of experience and fresh ideas to make a difference.

No one can point to 2013 and claim to possess all the answers. Because resources are tight and the needs so great, each of the 50 state legislatures have plenty of work ahead if this country is to avoid going the route of Greece. North Carolina is no exception.

So, make no mistake; the months ahead will be both hard and painful. Americans can no longer expect the government to fill in every crack and cranny in their lives.

It’s time for our self-sufficiency, both as individuals and as a nation, to coalesce and guide this country through the times ahead. It is something we can do. It is something we will do. And the time to do it is right now.

ATLANTIC BEACH – A Carteret County hotel that has been closed since September 2011 is officially under new ownership.

No upset bids were filed, paving the way for a Georgia-based company to take over the Sheraton Atlantic Beach property.

Newport Group Inc. out of Augusta, Ga. submitted a bid of $4.56 million for the property during a foreclosure sale held earlier this month at the Carteret County Courthouse. A required 10-day period for upset bids ended at 5 p.m. Thursday without any being filed with the Carteret County Clerk of Courts office.

Barry Mann of the firm Manning Fulton in Raleigh, the attorney who handled the foreclosure sale, said he confirmed Friday morning that no upset bids were made and signed the required paperwork transferring ownership to Newport Group.

“As soon as I signed the deed they became the new owner,” Mann said in a phone interview.

Mann served as substitute trustee in the process and signed a substitute trustee’s deed Friday, which was being taken to Beaufort to be recorded with the Carteret County Register of Deeds.

“The previous owner had the last deed and under the foreclosure the substitute trustee has the authority to deed the property to the highest bidder,” Mann said.

Newport Group Inc. is a leading real estate development and management firm that specializes in hotel investments and operations. It owns and operates properties across the Southeastern United States with planned expansion across the country and abroad, according to the company website.

Marty Matfess, executive vice president of Newport Group, submitted the bid during the foreclosure sale, and said at the time that the company plans to reopen the property as a hotel.

The Sheraton, a nine-story beachfront hotel with banquet facilities, closed for renovations September 2011 after Hurricane Irene and has never reopened.

Contact Daily News reporter Jannette Pippin at 910-382-2557 or jannette.pippin@jdnews.com. Visit JDNews.com to comment.