On a shelf at the Center for Marine Science, dozens of clear glass jugs are filled with greenish water, home to a tiny marine algae known as “dinoflagellate Karenia brevis.” The organism is the same type present in the dangerous algal blooms known as “red tides,” which produce toxins that kill fish, make shellfish dangerous to eat and cause respiratory problems for humans, among other things.

But the algae being grown at the University of North Carolina Wilmington facility will be used for a starkly different purpose — improving the lives of people who have had strokes or traumatic brain injuries.

“There is a brevetoxin that’s found in Florida red tides, which in large quantities is toxic to humans,” said Dan Baden, director of the Center for Marine Science. “But any drug in large amounts is toxic. What we are doing is finally determining the concentration at which the brevetoxin can exert positive therapeutic effects rather than the overwhelming toxic effects.

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Thomas Murray of the Creighton University School of Medicine, published its recent findings in the Nov. 12 online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Other researchers included staff from UNCW and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Currently, researchers are attempting to discover the level of toxin that can be used to regenerate nerve function in the brain, particularly for patients who have suffered strokes.

Strokes occur when a clot restricts blood flow to a specific area of the brain, damaging nerve function. That disruption can translate into numbness, difficulty walking or speaking and a host of other side effects.

“You can have a disruption of the chemical communication between two nerves,” Baden said. “One end of the nerve, the pre-end, releases chemicals that diffuse across to the post-end, and that’s how nerves communicate. If that’s disrupted, functions cease to work properly, resulting in paralysis, memory loss, and the other things that can happen due to a stroke.”

The resulting dead tissue can’t be brought back to life, but research suggests that with the correct amount of brevetoxin, the brain can be trained to redirect those nerve impulses to other living cells.

“The toxins open little doors called ion channels, which are responsible for nerve transmissions,” Baden said. “They open and close in a specific fashion that allows the nerve to function and fire. What brevetoxins do in high concentration is cause all those little doors to open, and that means all the nerves fire at the same time. It’s lethal.”

But at the correct concentration, the toxin can help the nerves to function normally, he said.

“You back off on the dose of a toxin that you give to a nerve cell, and instead of all the nerve channels opening at the same time, they function a little bit better,” he said. “By responding to the chemical, they open to an extent that they mimic what would normally happen.”

Research is ongoing, and the next step involves focusing on specific molecules to help determine which ones affect individual nerve functions. Ultimately, the goal is to help develop a medication, but that’s probably at least a decade away, Baden said.

“For me, it’s kind of bittersweet. You make the discovery and we’re really excited about it and the first thing that happens is people call and say, ‘I have a brother who’s had a stroke. Can you help him?’” he said. “All of this basic and applied research that we do actually does benefit mankind ultimately. These are long-term views that we have to have.”

SHALLOTTE — A juvenile who failed to return to secure custody was apprehended at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday and returned to the facility.

The juvenile, identified as Tyler G., did not return to Dobbs Youth Development Center, Lenoir Complex, Thursday, following a home visit in Brunswick County.

Alcohol and Law Enforcement Division agents apprehended the juvenile just inside the N.C. state line on N.C. 17 and returned him to secure custody at a Division of Juvenile Justice detention center.

 In addition to agents with the ALE, those assisting in the search for the juvenile were deputies with the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department, court counselors with the Division of Juvenile Justice and probation/parole officers with the Community Corrections Section of the Department of Public Safety.

It has been an interesting year around Kinston. We have seen more than our share of the bad but we have also seen some good.

Here are some of the more interesting events to me, along with my take on them:

The arrest of former City Councilman and prominent Kinstonbusinessman Will Barker on charges of child exploitation charges.

The charges allege Barker was in possession of “material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity.”

Wait a minute … What?

I did not know the man personally but I had played basketball with him on occasion, in a church no less, and I have to say I didn’t see that one. I guess this falls under the “you never really know someone” category.

I just don’t understand how anyone, but particularly a father of young children, is into something like that. This one is just creepy.

The indictment of State Rep. Stephen LaRoque.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina indicted LaRoque in mid-July on four counts of theft and four counts of misappropriating money meant to be loaned to struggling small business owners for his personal use.

I have to say, this one didn’t surprise me at all. I sat with Free Press Managing Editor Bryan Hanks and staff writer David Anderson at the original press conference regarding the alleged misappropriations and when it ended I turned to Hanks and said, “while what he did may not be illegal, it sure is shady.”

Well, it turns out it may be illegal. Seems ironic to me that a staunch conservative clamoring about smaller government would be using federal funds to further his business in the first place, but that is neither here nor there. The fact is, the improprieties were exposed in spite of sharp criticism from those supporting LaRoque and the right.

Now, we have to wait and see what the courts say about the case. An interesting side note is the district attorney just filed some more charges related to the case.

Shootings, shootings and more shootings.

From 17-year-old Rasheed Jones’ murder to the off-duty deputy shooting at the Waffle House, it seems seldom does a week go by that we don’t hear about someone getting shot in the area. And what jumps out at me is the age of some of the shooters. These are young men.

All of the men involved in the murder of the U.S. Marshal were on the young side of their lives and yet they make the decision to go all “Wild West” that will define who they are for the rest of their lives.

What on earth are these young men thinking? If I’m being totally honest, one of the first questions I have to ask is, “how are these young people being raised?” The idea of shooting someone for what amounts to nothing is simply beyond me.

Do these people think they are going to get away with it? Do they think this will make them tougher? Or maybe it’s just simpler than that. Maybe they simply aren’t thinking or can’t think.

Another puppy mill found near Trenton.

These always bother me more than many others. People making money on innocent creatures and then not even having the decency to treat them with any form of kindness are the worst. Anyone that reads my column knows how I feel about dogs, cats and most animals. I feel our animal cruelty laws are laughable, and the way dogs in particular are treated in our area is, for the most part, sad.

I have always thought the Lenoir County Dog Park was one of Kinston’s better efforts and would like to see some additional funding get to the SPCA or any “no kill” shelter in the area. These wonderful places and wonderful people are overworked, understaffed and overwhelmed by the irresponsible, heartless pet owners that just try to rid themselves of their pet duties any way possible.

Delta Private Jets closes its doors in Kinston.

I wish I could say I was surprised to hear the news that Delta was closing its office in Kinston, but I would lying. It is sad to see yet another business jump ship and leave the area. Kinston, like many small towns across America, has seen more than its share of commercial businesses pull anchor and hightail it out of town.

There are some very good workers and even better people in Kinston and it would nice if they had good jobs, good places to shop and good places to eat. Ever since the decline of tobacco and exodus of DuPont, Kinston has been struggling to fill the void of solid middle class jobs.

Spirit AeroSystems and Sanderson Farms have been extremely accommodating and it’s nice to see a few reputable organizations such as theirs pick Kinston as their place of business. Let’s hope there are more to come.

The 250^th Anniversary of Kinston

This is an impressive number and the town did it justice. It was nice to see all the history and learn how the town came to be. This entire area has some very intriguing history. Growing up outside the area, we didn’t learn much about this region, but it has a long, well-documented history that is worth learning.

The passing of Free Press mainstay and photographer Charles Buchanan

Many of us felt the loss of family and friends throughout the year. We all knew someone that affected us with their passing. Buchanan was a fixture at The Free Press. To say that he probably saw hundreds of young, fledgling reporters come and go through the newsroom is probably understating his tenure at the paper.

Charles was generally a good guy. I do not use that term loosely. In fact, I do not know but a handful of “good guys.” From a work standpoint, the patience to work with so many inexperienced reporters and editors throughout his years probably warrants some sort of sainthood.

When we were young, most of us thought we knew everything and reporting is no different. Every season, reporters fresh out of journalism school showed up on the shores of The Free Press thinking they knew how the game works because they were “on the school paper” and every year they found out in about a month that if you combined what they knew from “J school” and their work at the school paper with 99 cents, you could buy a soda.

Charles had seen it all, been through it all and, more importantly, shot it all through his camera. Despite working with some of the most headstrong, impatient people on the planet — myself at the top of that list — I never once saw him lose his temper or speak ill of someone.

His class and elegance will be missed at The Free Press, but never replaced.

I wish all a better 2013. Have a happy New Year.

Richard Clark is News Editor for ENCPublications.

There are only two days left in the rest of 2012, the year the Mayans predicted would be the Earth’s last. I’m pretty happy they were wrong.

As you can see throughout today’s edition of Ye Olde Kinston Daily Free Press, we’re taking the time to recap the top stories of the year in news and sports (on Tuesday).

The employees of TFP voted for their top stories – here’s how I voted in the news and sports categories, followed by a brief explanation of why I did so.

My top 5 news stories of 2012:

1. State Rep. Stephen LaRoque is indicted on federal charges of theft and misuse of funds from his small business lending agencies: Rep. LaRoque is – according to whom you speak – the perfect public servant or the devil. I’ll say this much about him: he has a certain cult of personality that attracts some people and revolts others at the same time. His legal woes are far from over and he’s set to go to trial in 2013. Stay tuned – the conclusion of LaRoque’s time in court are sure to be one of the top stories of the New Year.

2. Former Kinston City Council member Will Barker charged with third-degree sexual exploitation of a child: Was there a more shocking story in 2012 than the arrest of Barker, one of the bright young minds in Kinston? Like LaRoque, he’ll have his day in court in the New Year, and we’ll see if there is any truth to the allegations.

3. U.S. Department of Justice reverses itself and OK’s nonpartisan elections in Kinston: Finally, common sense prevailed and the DOJ allowed the citizens of Kinston to think for themselves. Finally. And props to Rep. LaRoque, John Nix and the others who stood up for voters’ rights in Kinston.

4. CSS Neuse is moved from his outdoor location to a new indoor home downtown: It was a beautiful day to move 110 tons of the future of Kinston’s downtown tourism. The sight of the remains of the Neuse on Vernon Avenue and Queen Street is one I’ll never forget.

5. Kinston’s Woodmen Community Center opens to the public: For years, this town has not had a YMCA-type facility that would help attract new businesses and residents. Now, we have a state-of-the-art gym, swimming pools and water park that are going to bring in exponentially more dollars than the ones invested in it.

My top 5 sports stories of 2012:

1. Kinston’s boys basketball defeats Waxhaw Cuthbertson 58-55 to win state 2A title for third time in last five seasons: Three titles in five seasons – all coached by Wells Gulledge, who would later resign – has helped reestablish Kinston as the center of the prep basketball universe in North Carolina.

2. New York Jets take Kinston native Quinton Coples with the 16th overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft: While Kinston has produced other NFL players, never had a player been drafted in the first round – until Coples, a hard-hitting defensive lineman who leads the Jets in sacks as a rookie.

3. NCHSAA approves 2013-17 realignment, which groups Ayden-Grifton, Goldsboro, Greene Central, Kinston, North Lenoir and South Lenoir into the same conference for the first time: It’s a dream conference for prep sports fans in Lenoir and Greene counties and should help strengthen the rivalries at all six schools. I’m particularly excited to see Kinston and Goldsboro in the same league again for the first time in more than a decade.

4. Carter Capps gets called up to big leagues, makes Seattle Mariners debut in Yankee Stadium: And what did the former North Lenoir High School and Mount Olive College star do with his first pitch? He hit 100 mph on the radar gun. With Capps in Seattle and Chris Hatcher in Miami, Lenoir County has two MLB players who are going to make significant contributions in 2013.

5. Parrott Academy wins back-to-back state softball titles: The Patriots softball team continued its proud tradition with yet another title.

Bryan C. Hanksis the managing editor of The Free Press and his column appears in this space every week. You can reach him at 252-559-1074 or at Bryan.Hanks@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at BCHanks and check out his blog at bhanks.encblogs.com.

The Free Press photography staff — Janet S. Carter, Zach Fraileyand Casey Mozingo — chose some of their favorite photos of the year.

Staffers at the Lenoir County Tax Department are seeing shorter lines of people paying their year-end property taxes in person — as more taxpayers use the mail and online payment options — but it doesn’t mean they are any less busy this time of year.

“We still have to process the payments,” Collections Supervisor Amanda Lovett said Friday.

Lovett, who has been with the tax department since 2006, noted the traditional long lines have decreased each year for the past five years, especially since the department’s online payment system debuted several years ago.

“We do have a lot of mail to process and we do have more online payments. … The majority of people prefer to do it that way,” she said.

Owners of real property, business personal property and personal property in Lenoir County have until Jan. 7 to pay taxes owed on that property.

Tax Administrator Darrell Parrish said the deadline is traditionally Jan. 5, but it has been pushed to Jan. 7 since Jan. 5 falls on a Saturday.

“Legally, after Jan. 7 the tax office can enforce collection action,” Parrish explained.

Collection actions can include garnishment of wages and foreclosure.

“That’s a last resort in most cases, but we can and there may be some that we do,” Parrish said.

Interest is also charged on late payments — 2 percent for the first month, and 0.75 percent for each additional month.

Any payment sent by mail that is postmarked with a U.S. post office stamp by Jan. 7 is considered timely, Parrish added.

The tax office will also send out listing forms for 2013 beginning Monday. Anyone who purchased property for business or personal use, such as industrial equipment, a boat or mobile home, after Jan. 1, 2012, must list it with the tax office before Jan. 31, 2013.

Taxpayers can begin listing property Wednesday.

Parrish said the forms also have space to list any personal property that was sold or disposed of in 2012 “so we can take it off and not tax you for it.”

Parrish noted the tax department’s entire four-person staff for collecting and processing tax payments turned over in 2012, meaning all-new employees are helping taxpayers this year.

“They’ve done a good job, they really have,” he said. “With any employees in a new job there’s a bit of a learning curve, but they’ve done very well.”

Lovett also praised her four new charges, who include three people working at the customer service counter and one as a tax collection specialist.

“They’ve all done an excellent job,” she said.

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

BREAKOUT BOX:

LenoirCountytaxpayers have three methods of paying their property taxes by Jan. 7:

In person:

Lenoir County Tax Department

Lenoir County Administration Building

101 N. Queen St.

8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday

The office will be closed Tuesday for New Year’s Day

By Mail:

Lenoir County Tax Department

101 North Queen St.

P.O. Drawer 3289

Kinston, North Carolina 28501

Online:

lenoircountytaxes.com

Kinston rang in 2012, the 250th anniversary of its founding, with not one but two New Year’s Eve celebrations last year.

This year, things will be slightly more scaled down — but still fun.

“We’re not going to have two like we did last year,” said Bill Ellis, Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation director. “We’re just going to do it one time.”

The 2011 New Year’s Eve celebration at Pearson Park included a fireworks display at 7 p.m. for the “Olde Kingston New Year’s Eve” to mark the English observance of New Year’s Eve, and again at midnight for the U.S. East Coast observance.

The celebrations included live music, food and drink, including English-style tea and crumpets, and the raising of a metal model airplane with fireworks.

This year, the celebrations return to Pearson Park from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, with live music from the Eastern North Carolina band TAZZ, and a New Year’s countdown at 9 p.m. followed by a fireworks show.

“We didn’t have a lot of people stay for the midnight celebration (last year), so we thought we’d just do it earlier this year,” Ellis said.

He said the earlier end time will allow families to “attend with their children and not stay out so late.”

The celebration is being put on by the Parks and Recreation Department and VisitKinston.

Jan Parson, director of VisitKinston, said the fireworks show “will be similar to the display that we have for our BBQ festival and the Fourth of July.”

Last year’s event was the first time in recent years the city had put on a New Year’s Eve bash, but Parson said such celebrations will be “an annual event for the city and for VisitKinston” in the future.

Parson stressed the celebration on the last day of the city’s 250th anniversary will not be related to the many anniversary events which took place during 2012.

“It’s simply to have a family event on New Year’s . . . and to bring more attention to our riverfront and all the things we can do to enjoy our parks on the river,” she said.

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

BREAKOUT BOX:

If you go …

What: Kinston New Year’s Eve celebration

When: 7-9 p.m. Monday

Where: Pearson Park

Of the hundreds of news stories reported by The Free Press staff this year, some stood out for the importance of the event or issue reported. These 10 stories were chosen by the people who produce The Free Press every day of the year as the most significant of 2012.

1. LaRoque indicted

The year started going bad for former N.C. Rep. Stephen LaRoque when he lost the Republican primary for his house seat. It only went downhill from there.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, on July 17, handed down an eight-count indictment against him regarding misappropriating federal funds meant for rural development to a company that benefited a member of his family. The U.S. Attorney’s office issued four additional counts Dec. 20.

The 12 total charges amount to four counts of theft, four counts of misappropriating money, two counts of subscribing a false tax return and one count each of concealing material facts and materially false, fictitious and fraudulent representation.

Facing a House investigation from political enemies and former allies, LaRoque resigned his seat on July 25.

Rumors of malfeasance stretched back to his 2010 general election campaign, and were the basis of a defamation suit that was eventually dropped.

However, an investigation by N.C. Policy Watch put the dealings of LaRoque’s East Carolina Development Company and Piedmont Development Company on the front burner again. Both non-profits worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development division to provide grants and loans to business owners who could not otherwise obtain or afford them.

LaRoque is due in U.S. District Court in Greenville on Feb. 12.

2. Barker arrested

At 7:39 p.m. on Nov. 29, agents with the State Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant and arrested former Kinston City Councilman Will Barker at his home. Barker was charged with 10 counts of felony third-degree sexual exploitation of a child — 10 images found on a laptop seized at the residence.

Barker attracted the attention of the SBI when the Fremont police chief contacted the agency about images on a USB drive left at a town board of alderman meeting. Barker’s firm performed an audit for the town, and he spoke twice to the aldermen that evening.

Barker left before the end of the meeting, and when no one claimed the USB drive left in the room, the police chief took it to determine its owner. On it, the chief found documents relating to Barker’s business, and what he suspected were images of underage children involved in sexual activity.

Before SBI agents were able to arrest him, Barker attempted to commit suicide, but an SBI agent was able to wrestle the gun away. That attempt led to a $300,000 bond, which was reduced to $105,000 following a weekend’s reflection. Barker was bailed out Dec. 3, and his attorney said he’s pursing mental health counseling.

More charges could be forthcoming as the case has not yet gone to the grand jury.

3. WoodmenCommunity Centeropens

On July 26, the Woodmen Community Center held its grand opening before a standing-room-only crowd. A coordinated effort between the Woodmen of the World, City of Kinston and Lenoir County, the site represents one of the largest public-private partnerships in some time.

The fitness and meeting center is now the statewide home of the Woodmen of the World and the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department. Indeed, the city and county pledged $500,000 each to the building’s construction.

The structure, pegged at a total cost of $13 million, is also purposed as a pilot initiative by the fraternal life insurance company.

4. Kinston’s 250th

In honor of Kinston’s founding in 1762, events were held throughout the year.

They started on New Year’s Eve, when a plane flew over revelers the moment it was midnight in the United Kingdom. Also, a gavel made of local wood was presented to Mayor B.J. Murphy. The wood — lightwood pine — was taken from an 1800s addition made to a house owned by anniversary committee co-chairwoman Isabelle Perry.

The celebration culminated in an event on Herritage Street on Nov. 3. An actor playing Gov. Richard Caswell read the proclamation establishing the city, following which an enormous birthday cake was cut. Originally named “Kingston,” the “g” was dropped after the Revolutionary War.

5. Charles Buchanan dies

The chief photographer for The Free Press, Charles Buchanan, passed away March 23 at the age of 63. A Grainger High School graduate who attended the University of North Carolina, Buchanan started working for The Free Press in 1974 and full-time for the paper in 1976.

Buchanan won numerous awards from the N.C. Press Association, including ones for general news excellence and — in the most recent competition, sports feature photo. He is survived by his wife, Patsy.

Today, a portrait of Buchanan, honoring his memory, hangs above the photography office at The Free Press.

6. Elections give Obama, McCrory, Bell, Graham wins

The 2012 general election proved to be a historic one. President Barack Obama became the second Democratic president to win a second term after a full first term since Franklin Roosevelt, and Gov.-elect Pat McCrory became the first Republican governor in 20 years.

Locally, Lenoir County Board of Commissioners chairman, George Graham, was elected to represent N.C. House District 12, while John Bell capitalized on his GOP primary win to be elected to the N.C. House District 10 seat.

On the Lenoir County Commission, Craig Hill unseated Tommy Pharo in an upset, and Reuben Davis and Linda Rouse Sutton were reelected.

7. CSS Neuse moved

To keep it out of the hands of Union forces, members of the Confederate Navy scuttled the CSS Neuse in the Neuse River in 1865.

After being recovered from the water in 1963, it was cut into three sections to be easily moved. It was then put on display at a West Vernon Avenue location. It was moved on June 22 to its new home at 100 N. Queen St.

The climate-controlled environment, built at a cost of $2.8 million, is meant to hold more than 15,000 unique historical items related to the ironclad.

8. Free Press bought by Halifax

Halifax Media Group acquired The Free Press in June — one of 18 daily and weekly publications sold off by Freedom Communications. Halifax had already taken over the operations of a number of New York Times Regional Newspaper Group papers on Jan. 6.

This marked the fifth change in ownership for The Free Press, which was founded in 1882. Freedom bought the paper in 1973.

9. Supreme Court declines lawsuit

In mid-November, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case from Kinston plaintiffs challenging Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The suit was brought because of a group of Kinstonians who sought to have nonpartisan municipal elections.

The U.S. Justice Department initially ruled that such elections would disenfranchise black voters, but then reversed its ruling. The Supreme Court will hear a similar case from Shelby County, Ala.

10. Arlie Honeycutt wins Miss North Carolina

Miss Kinston-Lenoir County, Arlie Honeycutt, was crowned Miss North Carolina for 2012 at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. Honeycutt is a junior at East Carolina University. She goes on to represent the state in the Miss America pageant on Jan. 13.

Honeycutt also captured a few monetary awards — $16,750 in scholarships for her preliminary, overall talent and final wins.

Compiled by Wes Wolfe, Staff Writer

Breakout box:

1. State Rep. Stephen LaRoque is indicted on federal charges of theft and misuse of funds from his small business lending agencies.

2. Former Kinston City Council member Will Barker charged with third-degree sexual exploitation of a child.

3. Kinston’s Woodmen Community Center opens to the public.

4. Kinston celebrates the 250^th anniversary of its founding during 2012.

5. Charles Buchanan passes away at age 63.

6. General election puts Obama back in the White House, a Republican in the governor’s mansion and two newcomers in state legislative seats representing Lenoir County.

7. CSS Neuse is moved from its outdoor location to a new indoor home downtown.

8. The Free Press and other Freedom Communications properties in North Carolina and Florida are sold to Halifax Media Group.

9. The U.S. Supreme Court decides not to hear a lawsuit brought by a group of Kinston residents supporting nonpartisan elections in the city, ending a two-and-a-half-year legal battle.

10. Miss Kinston-Lenoir County, Arlie Honeycutt, is crowned Miss North Carolina.

Also receiving votes:

U.S. Department of Justice reverses itself and OK’s nonpartisan elections in Kinston.

Legislation introduced by Rep. Stephen LaRoque cancels Kinston’s plans to annex neighborhoods west of town.

Chef & the Farmer restaurant, damaged by fire, closes for several weeks.

Kinston’s Ashlee Altise qualifies for “American Idol” appearance in Hollywood.

Tropical Storm Beryl brings flooding to Eastern North Carolina.

Jones County Schools Superintendent Michael Bracy named 2012-13 Southeast Region Superintendent of the Year.

After a period as interim superintendent, Steve Mazingo officially becomes superintendent of Lenoir County Schools.

Father and son share $1 million Powerball prize.

Sandra and I usually do not do New Year’s resolutions. Most of the time, resolutions become either extended lies – or painful reminders of failure.

However, given the frequency that we seem to get ourselves in trouble with the parents of our grandchildren, we have decided to make public this year’s sole resolution:

During 2013, we will strive to avoid teaching our grandchildren words, phrases, and behaviors that come back to haunt us.

Our first experience with this problem came when Jaxen was just a wee one. Mama Lydia had stepped to the bathroom at a Bojangles, so Sandra took the opportunity to entertain Jaxen with one of her not-so-magic tricks.

She tore a straw paper into dozens of little pieces and then dropped them on the table from about 18 to 20 inches, thereby producing the illusion of snow. She never even uttered a magic word.

She quickly gathered the infant shards for another try. About the time she had raised them to the appropriate height and began dropping them so they could float through the air, Lydia returned and caught her.

“Mama, don’t teach him that. I’ll be picking up tiny pieces of straw paper on every trip to Bojangles,” Lydia complained. Considering the number of Bo Times she and Jaxen experienced, I could see her point. I envisioned a blizzard of tiny straw paper-lets.

Sandra has been castigated on all fronts for showing the kids how to take a straw paper off so it crumples. Then, by adding a single drop of liquid, the paper magically becomes a living, worm-like creature. I supposed seven of our 11 grandkids have made the infamous straw-paper worms.

“Mama, the kids are dripping water all over the place trying to make their worms come to life.”

I do not have time to discuss her lessons in the malleable properties of metal spoons other than to note that whenever she goes to Mama Sara’s, Sandra still gets the bent spoon that never returned to its original shape.

Alex spent a few sick days with me. He seemed to have the poops quite a bit, so I jokingly knighted him “Little Prince Poopy-Head.” Little did I know he would go to daycare a couple of days later and bestow that accolade on one of his daycare buddies.

“Thanks a lot, Poppy,” Mama Jimmi chided across the phone line. “You got my son in trouble at daycare today.” The fact I was nowhere near daycare did not matter. I suffered from guilt by verbal association.

Abby visited with us, so I made her one of my favorite quick snacks – the peanut butter fold-over. A peanut butter fold-over is one slice of bread covered with peanut butter (on one side), and then folded in half. I made Abby a peanut butter and jelly fold-over.

Within days I was fielding a complaint from Mama Rachel.

“What did you do?” the complaint began – never a good sign.

“Nothing,” I protested even before the charge was laid on me.

“You made Abby a fold-over, didn’t you? (awkward pause) Didn’t you?” I felt like I was being interrogated by Matlock.

“Yes. Yes, I did it,” I caved. “I made her a peanut butter and jelly fold-over.”

“Well, I made her a PB and J tonight and she refused to eat. She wanted me to make it the way Papa does.”

First, Jaxen’s pancakes. Now, Abby’s PB and J fold-overs.

Can’t I do anything right?

As 2013 prepares to ring in, Sandra and I are going to do our best to avoid teaching behaviors to our grandkids that make parents disgruntled.

Since we seem out of touch with things that annoy today’s parents and day caregivers, I am not hopeful.

But we will try.

Mike Parker is a columnist for The Free Press. You can reach him at mparker16@suddenlink.net or in care of this newspaper.

As the sun set on Friday, rays of light reached out across the skies of Kinston much to the delight of sky watchers in the area. Several people stopped to look and take photos near the ponds in NeusewayPark. The beams of light, known as crepuscular rays, are created by shadows made by the clouds over the sun. "The more scattered clouds, dust and water particles in the atmosphere, the better the rays are," said Brad Panovich, chief meteorologist at WCNC in Charlotte. Accuweather's Jesse Ferrell explained further, "Clouds create sun rays in between their shadows. Perspective makes them appear to radiate outward."

Name: Becky Foster

Age: 56

Occupation: Administrative Associate, ECU Department of Engineering

Education: Greene Central High School, 1974; AA, business administration, Pitt Community College, 2005

Family: Husband Andrew, two children and three grandchildren

What is the secret to Becky Foster and her Slenderellas teammates’ 20-pound loss to win the fall round of Lighten up Lenoir?

It’s very simple — moderation.

“We didn’t want to give up anything completely because it would just make you want it that much more,” the Snow Hill resident said Friday. “It was just portion control and balance.”

Lighten Up Lenoir is a weight-loss program sponsored by LenoirMemorialHospital. Participants can form teams or compete as individuals to lose the most weight in a three-month period.

It is free to take part, and participants enter their weights each week online at lightenuplenoir.org.

The final challenge of 2012 ended in mid-December and the first challenge of 2013 begins Jan. 21.

The first-place winners received movie tickets and a free membership to the Minges Wellness Center at LMH.

“We’re pumped up for the next round,” Foster said.

Slenderellas — a play on the fairy tale character Cinderella — includes Foster and fellow Greene County residents Debbie Thompson and Margaret Fisher. Fisher is a Free Press staff writer.

“This time we’re going to be Slenderellas and The Prince,” Foster said.

She said they are working to recruit either her husband or Thompson’s husband.

Foster’s husband, Andrew, was briefly a member of Slenderellas, and still eats healthy and exercises regularly, she said.

Foster said the interest in Lighten Up Lenoir came from a desire to eat healthier.

“We wanted to eat more healthy and we thought, doing it together as a team, we could,” she said.

Foster said she has substituted whole-grain bread and pasta for their white counterparts and eats more in-season fruits and vegetables, as well as healthy sweet snacks such as peanut butter and celery.

She also walks 30 minutes a day. She will walk during her breaks at work, and at the LMH walking track whenever she can get to Kinston.

She also stressed the need to eat breakfast every day.

“The key is to be consistent, have a regular schedule. … If you missed a day, you missed doing it — it made you feel better, it made you feel healthy,” she said.

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

BREAKOUT BOX:

For more information on Lighten Up Lenoir, visit lightenuplenoir.org

For centuries, people have been gathering in churches on New Year’s Eve for a Watch Night to welcome in the new year. But for African Americans, and especially this year, the event has special significance.

This New Year’s Eve marks the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln.

Many black men, women and children gathered in their churches on the last day of the year to give thanks to God, as they did every year, but also to rejoice over the first step the country was making toward the freedom of slaves.

They waited for word — via telegraph, newspaper or word of mouth — that Lincoln’s Proclamation had been issued, according to NPR.org. In fact, it’s said Lincoln’s hand shook, making it difficult to sign his name because of his certainty he was doing the right thing.

“The slaves actually waited in churches for Lincoln to make his final proclamation declaring that all slaves in the U.S. were free,” said Eldress Veronica Jackson of Emmanuel Hill Memorial FWB Church in Kinston.

Many area churches are holding their Watch Nights or New Year’s Eve service during the last couple of hours of the year.

Some churches and other institutions around the country will be holding special events. The National Archives is celebrating by displaying the original Proclamation document over the New Year’s weekend and hosting a number of programs. The Emancipation Proclamation, by executive order, freed slaves held in states then in rebellion against the Union.

Pastor Sandra Johnson of Tree of Life Ministries in Kinston said Watch Night is traditionally a time to sing songs and give testimonies as to what God has done for members of the church.

“We give Him glory for the past year,” she said, “and we thank Him for the incoming year.”

Afterward, the congregation shouts out “Happy New Year!” and gives greetings to one another.

Pastor Claude Daughety of A Ray of Hope Christian Church and Ministries in Kinston said his church holds a regular service with praise and worship, testimonies and a sermon.

“We’ll be praying at midnight,” he said.

Jackson said Night Watch is an opportunity to review the past year and look ahead for blessings. Prayer and exultations are an important part of the service, she said.

Emmanuel Hill Memorial will also have a concert with a soloist, the Rev. Bonita Burney Simmons, and after midnight the church will be serving breakfast — a tradition in some churches.

This year, the celebration may simply be what it is every year, but with an added significance for some.

“We celebrate for all the things we normally do for the New Year,” Jackson said, “but it has an added dimension to it. We always recognize that it’s part of our giving thanksgiving to God.”

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

Breakout box:

For more information on the history of Watch Nights since Dec. 31, 1862, visit the African American Civil War Memorial & Museum’s website at afroamcivilwar.org

Breakout box:

Some of the New Year’s Eve and Watch Night services in Kinston:

A Ray of Hope Christian Church and Ministries, 215 E. Gordon St., New Year’s Eve service 10 p.m.

Emmanuel Hill Memorial FWB Church, 401 N. Rochelle Blvd., New Year’s Eve service 10 p.m. with concert and breakfast

RhemaWordChristianCenter, 704 East St., Watch Night service 9 p.m.

SandHillFWBChurch, 3138 Neuse Road, Watch Night service 10:30 p.m. with Holy Communion

St. James A.M.E. Church, 402 E. Shine St., New Year’s Eve service 10:30 p.m.

Tree of Life Ministries, Watch Night service 10:30 p.m.

SNOW HILL — Pushed by the state, Greene County Board of Commissioners have begun putting together a plan to rebuild the county’s saving account. Step one: revise the current budget based on actual revenue.

 Commissioners met last week with the new Interim County Manager Richard Hicks to discuss potential revisions to the 2012-2013 budget.

“We’re trying to balance the budget with revenues that are available and cut expenses,” Hicks said in a telephone interview Friday.

Hicks said he doesn’t believe the county’s undesignated fund balance will top 8 percent anytime this fiscal year. That 8 percent mark is the minimum recommended by the state. The county’s undesignated fund balance dropped as low as 2.61 percent.

“Hopefully, when we do next year’s,” he said, “we’ll be setting aside money for the general fund.”

The goal for 2013-2014 will be to get the fund balance up to at least 8 percent, Hicks said.

“The finances didn’t get in this situation overnight,” he said. “This is the worst economic crisis since the ’30s. It’s been tough in all the counties.”

The county also fell on financial hard times because of some magical thinking in compiling the present budget. Revenue increases were projected on money from a quarter-cent sales tax increase and from federal payments to house prisoners in the county jail.  The inmate program has not actualized and, though voters approved the tax increase in November, the revenue won’t start until flowing until April, about 90 days before the end of the fiscal year.

The draft budget Hicks presented to commissioners totals $17.5 million, an increase of $300,000 over the current budget. It would increase the fund balance by $218,357.

The board will be looking at it more closely at its Jan. 7 meeting when Hicks has had more time to make potential amendments to it.

On the draft budget, the quarter-cent tax line is being cut by $36,500 from $80,000, leaving $43,500 of revenue. The federal inmate budgeted $100,000 is totally cut.

State inmate dollars are also being cut by $220,000 to reflect the less-than-expected revenue that have been coming in, as well as the expected loss of revenue from Lenoir County inmates when the jail is complete. If the cut is made, that will leave $140,000 in the budget.

“I think you’ve got more competition than you have in the past,” Hicks said about renting space to inmates. “Just about every county is building a jail.”

Ambulance fees may be cut by $90,000, bringing the line item down to $735,000 because other county emergency services have increased their volunteers and are answering more calls.

An increase of $394,000 for Golden LEAF revenues for the Elaney Wood Farmer’s Market is projected sometime in the early part of the year when the project closes out. There are also a number of state and federal funds expected to come in this year for the Department of Social Services and the Senior Center.

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

The New Year’s Eve traditions of drinking and fireworks have law enforcement ready and prepared today.

The N.C. Highway Patrol is gearing up for another tradition — drunk driving. Motor vehicle wrecks involving alcohol are up this year, statewide, and state troopers are making sure the roads are safer as 2012 comes to a close.

“We’re going to do like we do every year,” Highway Patrol Sgt. G.S. Hemby said. “We’re going to have every available lawman out, setting up random checkpoints and looking for impaired drivers, aggressive drivers and the like.”

According to a Highway Patrol statement released Friday, there have been more than 5,500 alcohol-related motor vehicle wrecks this year, leading troopers to issue driving-while-impaired charges to more than 23,000 people.

“Our troopers will be very vigilant in locating and removing impaired drivers off North Carolina highways as we approach the New Year holiday,” Highway Patrol Col. Michael Gilchrist said in the release. “Our ultimate goal is provide a safe driving environment for all motorists.”

Last year, 10 people died between Christmas and New Year’s. The Highway Patrol reports two people died on the state’s roads between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. Locally, the activity hasn’t been as bad.

“So far, it’s been pretty good,” Hemby said. “We’ve had a few collisions — no fatalities or anything like that, so that’s pretty good.”

Kinston Department of Public Safety officers will be going about their business as usual during a holiday period, while keeping an eye out for illegal and dangerous fireworks use.

“We’ve not had a lot of activity during the New Year’s (period),” KDPS Director Bill Johnson said. “We’re out on patrol a little bit more, especially because of the fireworks situation that sometimes people have — not as much as on July 4, but sometimes they do on New Year’s Eve.”

Johnson added, “And of course, there’s some safety issues that go along with that. So, we’ll be out looking for that type of thing.”

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

Find an alternative to taxi-less New Year’s Eve

Local bar will provide shuttling service

Kinston’s only cab service — and cab — will not operate on New Year’s Eve night.

Jones Taxi Service doesn’t provide rides after sundown.

All is not lost for night goers who can’t decide on or find a designated driver.

The Dugout, a local sports bar expecting major traffic for the holiday’s eve, is offering shuttle service for its customers.

For the past two years, the popular bar has offered rides for inebriated patrons.

“It’s New Year’s Eve,” said bartender Chrissy Brooks. “We want everyone to come out and have a good time and get home safe.”

Rides will start at midnight, with the van going back and forth as needed. There will be no charge for rides, but Dugout employees ask that passengers tip the driver.

State troopers will have “random check points in random locations” on the night of New Year’s Eve, according to Sgt. G.S. Hemby.

Police will monitor the roads for vehicles that run off the road, cross center lines or have erratic drivers.

“Sometimes they’re sleepy, sometimes they’re impaired,” Hemby said about drivers.

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

BREAKOUT:

Hard facts about hard spirits

— In North Carolina, you are considered legally impaired with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent

— The highest blood alcohol content rates are between 30 minutes and six hours of consumption, depending on the time of the last meal and the size of it.

— Lower body fat percentages and lower body weight will contribute to lower blood-alcohol content.

— One drink per hour, for most people, will maintain blood alcohol content rate.

— Any depressant drugs will increase the effects of alcohol by up to 10 times.

— Alcohol will have a greater effect if you’re depressed or under a lot of stress.

— Illness and fatigue will heighten the effects of alcohol.

— Women will reach higher blood alcohol content levels than man who consume the same amount of alcohol in most cases.

To calculate your blood alcohol content (BAC), visit dui.drivinglaws.org

Sources: VirginiaTechUniversitystudent study and northcarolinadwilaws.com

 Fayetteville's police chief is back on the job after accidentally shooting herself in the hand.

Fayetteville Police Department Interim Chief Katherine Bryant was wounded earlier this week. Details surrounding the incident have not been released, but officials said the accident did not happen with her police issued weapon.

HASHTAG, America — It is comforting to think of death as a passing rather than an end. In that vein, I prefer to think of Steve Jobs’ final words as editorial commentary: “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.”

If the Afterlife were unpleasant, wouldn’t he have said something more profane?

Similarly, I have forced myself to think of the last print edition of Newsweek magazine as a transition rather than yet more evidence of The Death of Print. The last hard copy, which left the presses a few days ago, is merely the magazine’s passing from this life to the next.

Dust to dust; paper to digital?

It isn’t quite as poetic as our earth-to-heaven transmogrification, but it will have to do. What’s the alternative? We printosaurs can mourn the loss of our medium, or we can frolic in fresh clover. Or so “they” — the blogger-twitter hordes — keep telling us.

Still. Frolic as we may, the celebrate-new-media prescription falls short of palliative. This is because, notwithstanding the obvious benefits of new vehicles for old passengers, there is something uniquely sublime about print that has nothing to do with content. Hard copy is a full-on sensory experience.

Yes, the words are the same, whether perceived on paper or on a small, illuminated screen. But the experience is not. One can read “One Hundred Years of Solitude” on a Kindle or an iPad, but one cannot see, hear, feel and smell the story in the same way. I’m unlikely to race to the sofa, there to nuzzle an electronic gizmo, with the same anticipation as with a book. Or to the hammock with the same relish I would with a new magazine. Somehow, napping with a gadget blinking notice of its dwindling power doesn’t hold the same appeal as falling asleep in the hammock with your paperback opened to where you dozed off.

This is not mysterious. Paper, because it is real, provides an organic connection to our natural world: The tree from whence the paper came; the sun, water and soil that nourished the tree. By contrast, a digital device is alien, manmade, hard and cold to human flesh.

Future generations may never know the satisfaction of print, nor, likely, miss it — a recognition that is both sad and startling. One of my earliest and fondest memories is of reading with my father, who taught me not only to love words but also to appreciate the smell of a book. Even today, I judge a book by its smell and am always surprised when others don’t employ this obvious method of criticism.

Smell is fundamental to our being from our first moments. Babies use smell to recognize and bond with their mother; memories can be jarred by smell; and cognitive functioning has been tied to olfactory stimulation. With near certainty, I can predict that no future adult will fondly recall the scent of a favorite, childhood laptop.

Smell is also connected to what we now call Old Journalism. Ask anyone with decades’ experience in a print newsroom and they’ll likely confess a love affair with the newsroom itself — a sensory universe that once included the smells of coffee, cigarettes, ink and paper, including carbon paper. It was, above all, a people place that over time has become something else — more efficient, perhaps, but less human.

Tension between man and machine is an old science-fiction plot that just happens no longer to be fictional. The more digitally entrenched we become, the less human our interactions. Social media replace human gatherings; online porn becomes a substitute for relationships; email is less trouble than dialing a number and making small talk. Everything at the click of a button has made it less likely we’ll take the trouble to exchange pleasantries with a fellow human.

I am hardly immune to some of these digital conveniences. I order out, shop online, have groceries delivered and resent the phone. I read newspapers and magazines online because it’s easier, cleaner and I can stay in bed. Still. There’s no substitute for opening one’s front door the morning after a blizzard and finding a rolled newspaper wrapped in plastic, reassuring us once more that no matter what nature doles out, human beings will deliver the paper.

Of course, this same newspaper was the product of digital processes for which we are ever grateful. Likewise, we’ll cheer the next technological advances as we mourn the passing of old ways. Even true believers grieve the death of loved ones, no matter how “wow” their parting.

Kathleen Parker writes this column for the Washington Post Writers Group. Readers can reach her via email at kathleenparker@washpost.com.