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.