George Whitfield: Always a winner
The Rundown
Wright named to All-Star game
Ayden-Grifton’s Jake Wright was named to the NCCA East-West All-Star football game last week. The contest will be played July 22 at Grimsley’s Jamieson Stadium in Greensboro.
Wright, the Eastern Carolina 2A Conference Defensive Player of the Year, recorded 98 solo tackles as the Chargers’ senior defensive end. He recorded 23 tackles for loss, eight sacks and four PBUs.
The UNC Pembroke bound tight end had 298 yards on 20 receptions with a touchdown on the other side of the ball last season.
Wright was also named to the All-Free Press first team.
Kinston soccer improves conference record
The Vikings defeated Greene Central Monday night, 6-0.
Shannon Mayo scored two goals and had two assists; Keandria Walters scored two goals and Micaela Benoit added a goal and two assists. Aysha Zayyad and Diamoniquia Waters each contributed an assist in the victory on Senior Night.
Eight seniors were celebrated.
Kinston opened scoring 7 minutes into the match, as Benoit recorded her fourth conference goal. The Vikings would score three more goals over the next 20 minutes, taking a 4-0 halftime lead.
Kinston added two more goals after the break, managing 17 shots on the night. Greene Central did not register a shot, as Kinston goalie Victoria Kosinski registered her fourth shutout on the season.
The Vikings (6-10-1, 5-2-0 EC2A) will play at South Lenoir tonight.
Former North Lenoir runner snags Barton MVP honors
Barton College senior sprinter Breyuana Kittrell was named the Conference Carolina Women’s Most Valuable Performer, the league announced Monday.
In the CC championship, Kittrell, a former North Lenoir runner, took first place in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes.
She set a Barton College record in all three of the events. In addition to her individual events, Kittrell also anchored the 4-by-400-meter relay, which won the event by 6 seconds.
Kittrell completed her career with 13 individual all-conference awards.
Her next outing is slated for today and May 7 at the Duke Twilight meet in Durham.
UPCOMING GAMES
TODAY
Baseball
Kinston at South Lenoir 7 p.m.
Soccer
Kinston at South Lenoir 7 p.m.
Softball
Kinston at South Lenoir 6 p.m.
THURSDAY
Baseball
Goldsboro at Greene Central 7 p.m.
North Lenoir at Ayden-Grifton 7 p.m.
Softball
Lawrence Academy at Parrott 4 p.m.
North Lenoir at Ayden-Grifton 7 p.m.
Soccer
Goldsboro at Greene Central 6 p.m.
FRIDAY
Baseball
Southern Wayne at South Lenoir 6:30 p.m.
Lacrosse
Cary Christian at Parrott 6:30 p.m.
Softball: S. Lenoir stays unbeaten in league
LA GRANGE | Monday night brought about the sort of softball game coaches circle when the season begins, a showdown between fierce rivals — that just so happen to be the top two teams in the Eastern Carolina 2A Conference.
In one corner, the home team North Lenoir, who entered the contest riding a three-game winning streak. In the other: South Lenoir, undefeated in the league and winners of nine in a row coming in.
The Blue Devils preserved the streak.
In the second cycle of the season series, the visitors were powered past North Lenoir, 8-0, behind three home runs and a dominant pitching performance from Matti Beyer. The win also clinched, at bare minimum, a share of the conference title for the Blue Devils, who host Kinston tonight.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the field and on the mound that cost us,” North Lenoir coach Jim Montague said. “You can’t make errors against a good team. They took advantage of our mistakes.”
South Lenoir (14-2-1, 6-0 EC2A) got on the board first when Madison Herring led off the game with a home run to deep left field. After the homer, Hawks starter Janna Moore struck out two of the next three batters she faced. For the game, Moore collected have seven strikeouts.
“We started off slow, but the girls worked hard. They weren’t hitting early on, maybe that’s because they hadn’t played in a week,” said South Lenoir coach Lisa Smith after a contest that was supposed to be played last Thursday. It was rescheduled due to rainouts. “We had two errors and, outside of the home run, didn’t hit much early on. But the offense turned it around and the girls got focused on their fundamentals.”
South Lenoir’s Beyer was equally stingy when it came to the batters. She pitched six strong innings to earn the shutout victory. She allowed only one hit and walked one. Three other Hawks got on base due to errors, and Beyer picked up six strikeouts. Reliever Janna Dawson, would close out the seventh, giving up one hit and striking out two. Beyer improved to a record of 11-0 with the win.
“I’m not able to do it without my team backing me up,” Beyer said. “My defense bails me out time and time again. They have my back. I love pitching. I love having the ball and the control of the game. Most of all, I really enjoy pitching with these girls behind me.”
In the top of the fourth inning, the Blue Devils struck again. Meredith Sanderson took a 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall just above the glove of a leaping Madison Allen. The homer extended South Lenoir’s lead to 2-0. The home run was followed up by a double by Dawson and a single by Anna Wetherington. With two outs and two on, Jenna Greer hit a shot to center field that was dropped.
Moore was pulled in the top of the fifth after allowing a runner on another dropped ball to the outfield and surrendering a walk. Moore gave up six runs and seven hits, with most of the damage done in the fourth inning. Kaci Letchworth replaced her and was able to get the lead runner out in a very physical run down on a sacrifice bunt. North Lenoir first baseman Megan Lanier then made an amazing snare to prevent a hit and record an out. Letchworth was able to close out the inning without any runs scored, striking out the batter.
The very next inning saw Herring collecting her fourth hit of the game with an RBI triple that got lost in the lights. The ball rolled to the wall and Herring ran as hard as she could to reach third. Herring would score on Brianna Williams’s RBI single. Overall, Herring was a double short of the cycle, score three runs, and knock in four RBIs. She leads the conference with five home runs.
“This was a very fun game. Everyone played hard,” Herring said. “We stuck together as a team and played well. We talked about the pitches we were seeing and it helped us when we batted. Great team effort tonight.”
“Our pitchers played well, but they have to hit their spots,” Montague said. “The more pitches the other team sees, the more likely you are going to run into trouble. Good hitters will hit those pitches and you can’t do that against a good team like South Lenoir. You can’t set up a good batter like Herring because you are going to get hurt when she finally finds a pitch she likes.
“The beauty of a game like this is that we are no worse off than before we played. We are still in second place all by ourselves in the conference. We need to swing the bats better if we want to do well in the playoffs. If we play like we did tonight, we are going to last long.”
South Lenoir 8, North Lenoir 0
BLUE DEVILS 100 501 0 — 8 9 2
HAWKS 000 000 0 —0 2 3
WP : Beyer (11-0)
LP: Moore (5-2)
Baseball: Hawks survive first-place showdown
La GRANGE | North Lenoir versus South Lenoir, first place on the line — and it ended with the tying run on second in the final inning.
Did anyone expect anything less?
“It was a great high school baseball game,” said NL coach Donnell Garris, who certainly had reason to think so after his team held on for a 3-2 victory over its arch-rivals. “Pitching was tremendous on both sides, it came down to the final out. For a baseball fan, this game had a little bit of everything.”
Unfortunately for the Blue Devils (10-8, 5-3 Eastern Carolina 2A Conference), it also featured a few costly mistakes.
What would prove to be the eventual winning run, a solo Hawk marker in third inning, was unearned, and SL also committed a huge base running blunder in the bottom of third that turned a bases-loaded, nobody out situation into a runners on first and second with one down scenario.
Naturally, the Devils failed to score at all in the inning.
“Errors in the field and on the bases really hurt us,” SL coach David Combs said. “We fell behind early and we did a good job of fighting back. You just can’t make mistakes and beat a team like North Lenoir.”
The Hawks (12-5, 7-1) pushed across a single tally in each of the first three innings before holding on for dear life.
A sacrifice fly by Cody Ladich got the Devils on the board in the sixth, and then SL placed runners at first and second with none out in the top of the seventh.
Following a sacrifice bunt by Hunter Winfield, another sac fly by Dalton Lane drew SL to within 3-2.
With two outs and the tying run at second, NL reliever Orlando Cannon then retired Garrett Tyndall on a fly to center to preserve the victory and complete a season sweep of the Devils.
“Both of our pitchers (starter Drew Burke and Cannon), worked out of jams and got big outs when they needed them,” Garris said. “They really buckled down and both pitched well overall.”
Burke, the crafty lefty, allowed five hits in five plus innings with two walks and three strikeouts. His three K’s all came in succession and all were of the caught looking variety.
Cannon surrendered one unearned run but did not give up a hit in earning the save.
SL’s Montana Thompson allowed six hits and was the hard luck loser. He hit two batters and whiffed five.
"Montana deserved better,” Combs said. “He did a great job of keeping us within striking distance. We just couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it.”
Hunter Winfield led the Devils with two hits, including a picture-perfect bunt single in the third.
Cannon collected two hits, including a double, for the Hawks, while Luke Jackson drove in a pair of runs.
South Lenoir 000 001 1—2 5 3
North Lenoir 111 000 x—3 6 2
Thompson and T. Winfield. Burke, Cannon (6), and Letchworth. W—Burke. L—Thompson. S—Cannon.
South Lenoir's Williams headed to Pitt CC
DEEP RUN | Bree Williams’ family and friends will only have to travel about 35 miles to watch her play college softball.
South Lenoir’s senior catcher on Tuesday made her commitment to Pitt Community College official in the lobby of Munn Gymnasium. Williams said she had interest from multiple other programs, including South Carolina’s Presbyterian College, but wanted to stay close to home.
“I didn’t want to go too far,” said Williams, who overcame a knee injury that sidelined her most of last season. “I toured the school and I liked it a lot.”
She said she made her decision nearly two weeks ago after working out with the Bulldogs. The team finished 22-11 last season and 10-6 in the Region X Conference.
PCC coach William Bailey was on hand Tuesday morning for the ceremony, hugging his new addition and handing her a blue team shirt as he walked in.
He said Williams is going to fit well with next season’s group.
“She can do a lot of things: catch, middle infield, I imagine if we need her in the outfield, we can put her there as well,” Bailey said. “She comes with a lot of good references and that type of stuff, too. One of the coaches that called me originally about her was one that I trust, so when she came out to our workout, I was really excited to see her out there.”
He added, her family can benefit from the “community” aspect of PCC, as “the parents are going to be supportive. Any time we have good support from local people, it just adds to everything.”
Williams, donning her new shirt and a warm smile, was also glad her injury didn’t keep from her goal of college softball.
She returned this season from a knee injury, prepared to contribute to a second straight Eastern Carolina 2A Conference championship. The Blue Devils (14-2-1, 6-0 EC2A) finished undefeated in the league last season, and are two games shy of repeating in the same fashion.
At the plate, Williams leads the starters with a .458 batting average this season, as Bailey noted "she's got good power at the bat." She leads the team with 27 hits, 26 RBIs and four doubles. Williams also boast a team-leading .976 fielding percentage.
“I feel like I can see everything,” she said about being a catcher. “I feel like I have to keep the pitcher on task.”
Williams started playing the sport at T-ball age and has played alongside many of her current teammates since she was 8-years old. Watching her brother’s baseball games encouraged her to play softball at a young age.
She also added her father has helped coach her every step along the way.
And Williams didn’t leave out her prep program when talking about how she wound up achieving her goal.
“(South Lenoir softball) makes me keep up with my grades, practicing little pointers here and there and getting me information to get to the right school,” she said.
Devils coach Lisa Smith added the Bulldogs picked up a special catcher.
“They’re getting an outstanding player,” Smith said, “an outstanding young lady who brings a lot to the table.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
Greene County prison escapee captured in Oregon
A prison escapee from Greene County tried to disappear into the vast expanse of America, but it didn’t work.
Tuesday night, U.S. Marshals captured Timothy Brian Hardee in Salem, Ore.
Hardee made his break from Greene Correctional Institution around noon on April 23 then stole a pickup truck parked nearby before making his run west.
The next day, authorities saw surveillance footage of Hardee at a pawn shop in High Point, but he kept moving until being found in Oregon, though how he made it as far as the Pacific Northwest isn’t known at present.
Hardee, 34, was scheduled for release from prison June 15 regarding convictions for felony possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, two misdemeanor counts of resisting a public officer and one misdemeanor count each of wanton injury to personal property and giving fictitious information to law enforcement.
Check Kinston.com and Thursday’s edition of The Free Press for further updates.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
The Rundown
Local scores
Baseball
NORTH LENOIR 14, GOLDSBORO 0
The Hawks shut out Goldsboro on the road Tuesday night in their penultimate game of the regular season.
Drew Rogers got the start, picking up the win with five innings of work. He struck out six, allowed two hits and walked one in a complete game effort.
Joseph Harrison and Allen Sutton led North Lenoir’s offense with two hits apiece, fueling the Hawks’ 11-hit attack. Turner Butler, Drew Burke, Reed Parris, Drew Rogers and Luke Wiggins also contributed hits.
North Lenoir (13-5, 8-1 Eastern Carolina 2A) will travel to Ayden-Grifton tonight for a regular-season finale showdown. The Chargers defeated NL, 1-0, in the team’s last meeting.
BETHEL 5, RAMSEUR FAITH CHRISTIAN 2
Bethel defeated Faith in the quarterfinals of the NCCSA quarterfinals Tuesday. Hunter Truett picked up the win on the mound, pitching one and 2/3 innings in relief, striking out three with no hits and no walks.
The Trojans scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead after giving up a run in the second and the top of the sixth. Seven different Trojans recorded singles.
Bethel (9-5) advanced to the semifinals at Wilson Christian against an opponent to be determined.
UPCOMING GAMES
TODAY
Baseball
Goldsboro at Greene Central 7 p.m.
North Lenoir at Ayden-Grifton 7 p.m.
Softball
Lawrence Academy at Parrott 4 p.m.
North Lenoir at Ayden-Grifton 7 p.m.
Soccer
Goldsboro at Greene Central 6 p.m.
FRIDAY
Baseball
Southern Wayne at South Lenoir 6:30 p.m.
Lacrosse
Cary Christian at Parrott 6:30 p.m.
Baseball: Greene Central pounds South Lenoir
DEEP RUN | One team came to play, the other didn’t, and Greene Central’s 12-0 mercy rule-shortened smack down of South Lenoir on Tuesday was a predictable result.
“I don’t know if it was a hangover or what,” said Blue Devils coach David Combs, whose team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss at rival North Lenoir the night before. “Whatever the reason, our heads never seemed to be in the game, especially after they hit us hard in the first inning.”
The Rams (9-7, 6-3 Eastern Carolina 2A Conference) popped the Devils for five first-inning runs, and SL never recovered. The onslaught did end there, either. By the time the carnage had cleared, GC had pounded SL pitching for 16 hits in just five innings.
“We were aggressive at the plate and hit the ball hard,” GC coach Scott Jones said. “Everyone contributed up and down the lineup. Coaching’s a lot easier when you score 12 runs and get 16 hits.”
Nobody swung the bat better than GC’s Justin Lee and Tyler Jones.
Lee was a perfect 4-of-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Jones, meanwhile, was a one-man wrecking, collecting three hits, a pair of doubles and six RBIs.
The Rams’ pitching wasn’t bad either. Starter Austin Mooring allowed four hits to go along with three walks and four strike outs.
“Austin did a good job keeping his poise and his focus once we gave him the lead,” Jones said. “Pitchers sometimes relax when they’ve got runs to work with, but Austin didn’t let up.”
For good measure, Mooring also shined offensively, delivering a two-run double and a run-scoring single.
Bailey Ormond and Will Creech also contributed two hits apiece for the Rams, while Nick Kearney added a double.
Christian Yanez, Dalton Lane, Hunter Winfield and Jared Puckett managed base hits for the Blue Devils (10-9, 5-4).
“I told the guys after the game that we were like a boxer that had been knocked down,” Combs said. “We can stay down and get counted out, or we can get back up and continue fighting. We’ll see which way we go.”
Greene Central 521 04—12 16 2
South Lenoir 000 00—0 4 3
Mooring and Murphy. Kelly, T. Winfield (5), and T. Winfield, Lane (5). W—Mooring. L—Kelly.
Parrott soccer pulls through on Senior Night
Mimi Piner probably couldn’t have asked for a better Senior Night.
The Arendell Parrott Academy senior forward was responsible for half of the team’s goals in its 4-2 victory over Coastal Christian School Tuesday night.
“It was pretty much high expectations coming out,” Piner said. “I think we came together pretty well.”
In their regular-season finale, the Patriots were hungry.
Hungry for early goals.
Hungry for possession.
Hungry for the best possible playoff situation.
The North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association 2A soccer playoffs are scheduled to start Friday. Parrott (10-4-1) was seeded at No. 9 and will tracel to Grace Christian Friady at 5:45 for the first-round contest. It's the team's first playoff berth since 2011, "so, it's a pretty big deal for us out here," Parrott coach Shivar Person said.
Tuesday night, the Pats came out strong, scoring just 6 minutes into the match. Senior midfielder Sallie Sylvester found the back of the net in a crowded box.
“That one goal kind of let the flood gates in,” said Piner, who put in the next two goals on assists from Sommer Holmes and Chelsea Thomas. “I was excited (about the two goals). I mean, I was in the right place at the right time, so I felt like anybody could have got it in. It helped me a lot throughout the game and it motivated me throughout the game.”
Piner was an aggressive force at the net as the contest unfolded, spraying Coastal goalie Ally Pleasant with shots all night — not so pleasant for the opposing keeper, although she recorded 12 saves.
Up 3-0 in the first half, the Patriots powered up their offense to maintain possession and eventually tack on an additional goal. In the 35th minute, Frances Barringer hooked up with eighth grader McKinsey Walter to take a 4-0 lead.
“It’s just what we talked about coming into today, that if you put the ball in the frame, you’re going to score,” Person said. “We shot regularly. I think we controlled the game, even by losing the second half.
“They had to play catchup for a reason.”
Coastal’s Savannah Waldon scored 3 minutes before the break to avoid the first-half shutout.
When the game resumed, so did the offensive tug-of-war — and the Centurions (3-12-1) pulled it in their favor to open the second half.
After a series of solid passes, Bailey Blevins found Caroline Mansfield inside the 50th minute. Manfield's kick brushed the fingertips of Parrott junior goalie Victoria Newberry, as the scoring pair of Centurions connected with a high five after the goal.
The make sparked a fire in the visitors, pushing them to compete with a heightened intensity — only, Parrott matched it.
Piner pressured Pleasant with a few hard shots, as Parrott came inches away from scoring again on two separate occasions. Alex Harper’s kick went just shy of the left post, the senior sweeper burying her face in her hands after the miss. In the 76th minute, Thomas had a good look at the goal, the shot clearing the top like an Olympic hurdler.
With playoffs days away, Person said this team thrived in the pressure.
“Games like this help you: close games, nerve games,” he said. “This is going to help us because now we have the best teams left. Now everybody’s got a chance. We think we have the best conference in the state.
“We’re all good enough to be high seeds.”
Harper, Piner, Sylvester, Thomas, Madi Finizio, Blair Gilgo and Charlotte Snead were the exiting seniors honored before the contest began.
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
Wyse Fork battlefield segment preserved near Union fortifications
Tropical storm could skirt coast
Kinston author publishes first book
Snow Hill budget proposed for June 8 public hearing
Guest Column: With county’s help, schools can take giant step toward future
Attempted murder suspect arrested
Kinston police and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested a man Wednesday night accused of attempting to murder another man on Viking Drive two nights earlier.
Around 9:51 p.m. members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Kinston Department of Public Safety took into custody Mario Devon King, 26, at a residence in the 1200 block of Ferndale Lane.
King’s charged with felony attempted murder for allegedly shooting 45-year-old Cephus Bernard Whitfield in the 2100 block of Viking Drive. Whitfield remains under treatment at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.
King was placed into the W.E. “Billy” Smith Detention Center under a $2 million bond.
He last served September 2013-August 2014 in state prison for felony aiding and abetting assault inflicting serious bodily injury in July 2012. Following his sentence King was on parole, which terminated Saturday.
King previously served March 2009-October 2011 – with parole running through July 2012 – for felony convictions regarding assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and possession with intent to sell a Schedule II controlled substance.
The case remains under investigation as detectives attempt to identify additional suspects.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
Rouzer stops in Kinston, meets with business leaders
Mother Earth is still is a thing of industrial beauty, but getting that still producing spirits available for public, legal consumption took a while.
With U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., in town for a meet-and-greet at the brewery and distillery, attention turned toward the sort of state and federal regulations that come with trying to bring liquor to market and keeping it in regulators’ good graces.
“There’s a lot more paperwork involved here than there is in the brewery,” Mother Earth Head Distiller Kevin Graham said. “Monthly reports … five monthly reports on the distillery every month.”
Rouzer said Wednesday’s circuit through Lenoir County is part of a regular effort to hear from people in the 7th Congressional District.
“Every district work week, we pick various areas of the district to try to get to, to talk to small business owners – get out and about and see what’s going on in the district, what their concerns are, what their needs are,” Rouzer said. “This afternoon we were over at Exclusive Jets with Jim Segrave and visiting with him. We helped them get their FAA certificate … (there was) no difficulty in getting it, just the timeline was a little cumbersome for them, so we did what we could to spur that along.”
Exclusive Jets received its certification April 2. Owner Jim Segrave started Segrave Aviation at the Kinston Regional Jetport in 1993 and Delta Air Lines acquired that business in 2010 before shutting down the operation two years later.
Segrave said in July 2014 he intended to base $5 million in aircraft at the Global TransPark with growth expected.
“One thing that strikes me as I travel throughout the 7th Congressional District, and through this area as well, is there are really a lot of entrepreneurs and small businesses that I think the vast majority of the public doesn’t even know about,” Rouzer said. “There’s a lot of good things happening throughout the 7th Congressional District, in particular."
He added the positive strides so far could be improved with less oversight and involvement by the federal government.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
‘Stamp Out Hunger’ food drive set for Saturday
That plastic bag that went out in the mail this week isn’t just for show.
The National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is this Saturday and your letter carrier wants you to fill that bag with food.
Once the bag is full with donated non-perishable, not expired food, postal customers should hang it on the outside of their mailboxes for pickup.
Those without that option can bring food to the Post Office they wish to donate.
“We first used the bags last year,” said Tab Brown, food drive coordinator. “I wasn’t sold on them, but we collected three times as much food as in the previous year.”
The bags are a more tangible reminder of the annual drive and not like a card that may be thrown away, he said.
This year, the letter carriers would like to collect at least as much as they did last year, about 30,000 pounds. The district Brown is responsible for includes Kinston, Snow Hill, La Grange, Mount Olive, Dudley and Pink Hill and whatever food is collected stays with local agencies to be distributed locally.
Food collected here will be distributed at the Salvation Army and ICOR, said June Cummings, director of the Lenoir-Greene United Way.
“There are people in this community who, through no cause of their own, still face hunger every day,” she said.
The food drive means so much to Brown, he’s still directing it after 15 years, even though he’s retired from the Post Office.
“As a carrier, we see people’s need on a daily basis,” he said. “We appreciate the people’s involvement and we hope we can get the same results this year we did last year.”
Jennifer Shrader is managing editor of The Free Press. You can reach her at 252-559-1079 or jennifer.shrader@kinston.com or via Twitter, @jenjshrader.
Rain expected from tropical activity
Lenoir County Emergency Management officials say not much more than rain is expected with the tropical activity off the coast of South Carolina.
The impact of what would be the first named storm of the season, Ana, will depend on the track it takes.
“We may get some gusty winds,” said Roger Dail, Lenoir County Emergency Management director.
The main threat here will be 1 to 2 inches of rain, which was expected to start as soon as Thursday night and last through the weekend. Rainfall totals will be higher along the coast.
Dail said the rain wouldn’t be a total 72-hour event, but come through in bands like normal tropical weather.
According to the forecast late Thursday, there’s a 50-percent chance of rain today, increasing to an 80-percent chance of rain by Monday.
Retail Notebook: Olivia’s opening Saturday at former Elks Lodge
Olivia’s opened its doors at the renovated Elks Lodge on April 26.
Mainly a catering business, the restaurant is open only for Sunday lunch buffet.
This Sunday, there will be a special Mother’s Day buffet with additional items, owner Susan Colomaio said.
The buffet features a carving station of either steamship round roast beef or baked ham. A hot bar contains additional meats, fresh vegetables and specialty items.
“We always buy local anytime we can,” Colomaio said.
There’s a large salad bar and specialty bar, which features different foods each week such as hot pasta, omelets or waffles.
The dessert bar also varies each week with cobblers, cakes, pies or cupcakes.
“That’s just according to the pastry chef,” Colomaio said.
Catering is available onsite or off, and event and wedding planning is also offered.
Early this year, William Jarman, a developer and contractor, was renovating the 1955 Elks Club building specifically for Olivia’s to lease about one-third of the 15,162-square-foot space. He and his three sons, under Jarman Construction Company, purchased the building last year.
The building has terrazzo floors, perfect for dancing, a curved stairway for photographs, a bar and handicapped-accessible restrooms. It also retains the historic flavor of the downtown.
“It’s nice to be downtown to be part of the downtown revitalization,” Colomaio said. “... It’s nice to be on the ground floor of everything that’s happening downtown.”
Olivia’s, 110 E. Caswell St., is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sundays. For information, call 252-341-0993.
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Olvera Street Taqueria is having its grand opening at 1 p.m. Saturday with a full menu.
The restaurant, which opened briefly with tacos during the BBQ Festival on Friday, will be closed Sunday and reopen Monday, owner Joe Kavanagh said.
Olvera Street, 212 W. North St., will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Extended hours on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday hours are planned for the future.
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Each Monday in May, McDonald’s will be giving away a free Happy Meal to someone in need when a customer purchases one.
In the Buy One, Give One Happy Meal program, the fast food restaurant will donate a second Happy Meal to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and Food Bank of the Albemarle with every purchase of a Happy Meal made.
The donated meals will be given to a needy child by all participating McDonald’s restaurants.
In January, the U.S. Census Bureau released that 16 million — or one in five children — were on food stamps in 2014, the highest number since the nation’s economy tumbled in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“During the summer months many children miss the support systems for meals at school and through backpack programs,” said Tyler Weidig, Summer Food Program supervisor at Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. “McDonald’s and their customers are helping us deliver a little more happiness to these kids.”
McDonald’s of Eastern North Carolina includes 11 counties: Lenoir, Green, Pitt, Chowan, Washington, Craven, Beaufort, Carteret, Pamlico, Onslow and Martin.
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U.S. Cellular has opened at its new $390,000 showroom location on Vernon Avenue.
The new store layout shows off the latest devices, accessories and technology through state-of-the-art features. The store employs 13 associates.
Updates include an expanded device discovery zone, a connected devices engagement counter and a lounge. The showroom has multiple phone bars with interactive screens designed to allow customers hands-on access to the latest devices from Apple, Samsung, LG, Motorola and others.
“We’re thrilled to bring this new interactive store to Kinston,” said Jeremy Taylor, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in Eastern North Carolina, “and we encourage everyone to stop in and learn about how you can get national coverage and a high-quality network that works where you live, work and play.”
U.S. Cellular, 4140 W. Vernon Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 252-523-7588.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
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.
National Day of Prayer
Residents circle the flag pole in front of the Lenoir County Courthouse in prayer Thursday during the 64th annual National Day of Prayer. In addition to prayers for both the country and local community, children and government, the event also featured songs of worship by Bethel Christian Academy’s high school choir.