Hanks: Dancing for students, a snub and a dislocated finger

Some kudos, some incredulousness and a mighty big “thank-you” in this week’s column …

JONES COUNTY COMES TOGETHER FOR THE KIDS: The fourth annual Dancing Like The Stars competition was held at the Jones County Civic Center Friday night. The event, sponsored and produced by the Jones County Association of Educational Office Professionals (JCAEOP), raises scholarship money for deserving Jones County students.

For the second time in its four-year run (including the inaugural event in 2010), I was honored to be a judge in the competition, along with Free Press Sports Editor Jessika Morgan (who also writes for our sister newspaper, The Jones Post) and Pat Pate of the State Employees Credit Union.

The nine dancing teams consisted of folks from all over Jones County, including the school system, businesses and the Jones County Cooperative Extension Office.

In a word, the teams were awesome. These weren’t professional dancers, or even people who had taken any formal dance classes. They were 18 people — just like you and me — who volunteered their time over the past few weeks to learn three-minute dances in a variety of genres to raise money for Jones County children to go to college.

The team of Michelle Basden and Jacob Morgan placed first in the competition, followed by Jessica Batchelor and Chris Meadows as the first runners-up. Patti Jones and Ron Lashley were the second runners-up.

 Kudos must go out to the JCAEOP committee that put the competition together, which included Joy Wynne, Luvenia Foster, Beth Harrell, Kristie King, Ann Kinsey, Patsy Mallard, Susie Mills, Gloria Moore and Marsha Nye. Becky Jones and Steven Howard of the Jones County Schools system were funny and entertaining as the emcees while JCS Superintendent Michael Bracy, Jonathon Franklin, Jimmi Parker, Michael White, Jarrett Wynne and Tammy Wicks also made valuable contributions to the effort.

One of the most impressive parts of the night was a pair of dance performances by students of The Pink Slipper Dance Academy, which were expertly choreographed by the studio’s owner, Melanie Lassiter. Lassiter, a former Jones County Distinguished Young Woman and 2007 South Lenoir High School graduate, is also a teacher at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 School.

Approximately 800 folks packed the Civic Center for the show — and none left disappointed. When you consider that Jones County only has around 10,000 residents, that works out to nearly one in 12 county folks were at the show. That’s some incredible support for an important cause.

For more details about the Dancing Like The Stars competition, be sure to pick up a copy of Thursday’s Jones Post; Jessika will have a full story, photos and her own column about the event.

JOSH DAWSON WAS CHEATED: When the players for the North Carolina Coaches Association East-West basketball game were announced a few weeks ago, I was sure there had been a mistake. Josh Dawson, the only player in Kinston’s proud history of prep basketball to win three state titles in his career, wasn’t on the list.

Dawson is the absolute embodiment of a team player. He sacrificed his own statistics — particularly in the last two seasons when he could’ve been more selfish offensively — so his team could win state titles. But even while he did that, he still had comparable numbers to the 10 players selected to represent the East in the game, which was played on Monday in Greensboro.

In the past few weeks, I have talked to many prep basketball reporters and experts all over Eastern North Carolina and, like me, they were astonished that Dawson wasn’t selected for the team. Dawson, who will play for Fayetteville State University this fall, was considered one of the top seniors, not just in ENC but in the entire state of North Carolina.

To wit, Dawson’s three state championships in his career were three more than the 10 players on the 2013 East team combined in their careers. My good friend and North Carolina prep basketball expert Alex Bass pointed out that Dawson also played in eight Eastern Regional games, the maximum number for which a North Carolina High School Athletic Association student-athlete is eligible within four years. He was the Regional MVP his junior and senior seasons.

The message sent by the NCCA and the East coaches for Dawson’s snub is a terrible one: build your personal statistics and you can be an “all-star.” Personally, I’d rather have Josh Dawson on my team — a player who put his team and city first at all times.

THANKS TO THE GOOD FOLKS AT LMH — AND A VERY PATIENT DOCTOR: On Thursday night playing basketball with some guys at a Kinston gym, I did something I’d never done before — dislocate a finger.

I’ve broken several bones in my life — from a wrist a couple of times to an ankle and even my foot — but I’ve never dislocated a finger, which was surprisingly more painful than any of my previous fractures.

The experience, though, provided me the opportunity to visit the Lenoir Memorial Hospital emergency room. I left LMH a couple of hours later duly impressed with the staff and the way they handled me and my fellow patients.

From the reception area to triage to X-ray and, finally, to the kind and understanding Dr. William Murphy, I was treated with respect and dignity at LMH. I am especially indebted to Dr. Murphy, who snapped the digit back in place after several false starts caused by my fear of the ensuing pain. The man’s a heck of a doctor … and, did I mention, very patient?

Again, thanks to LMH and its dedicated staff. We’re lucky to have such a great hospital in Kinston.

Bryan C. Hanks is the editor of The Free Press; his column appears in this space every Sunday. You can reach him at 252-559-1074 or at Bryan.Hanks@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BCHanks.