The week began with celebrating the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and ended in tragedy with an Elizabethtown woman killed in a vehicle crash.
Those were some of the top stories in Bladen County for the week of January 19-25, 2020.
Elizabeth Mary Watson, 38, died Wednesday after the car she was driving ran off Johnsontown Road, hit a tree and overturned. She was the mother of two daughters and a manager at Dollar General. Community members are collecting donations to help pay for funeral expenses.
Many people lined the streets of downtown Elizabethtown on Monday for the 32nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. Retired Army veteran and educator Harold Ford of Clarkton was the grand marshal.
Photos by Kenneth Armstrong | Parade video
After the parade, Dr. Frederica Renee Steele, a seventh-grade Social Studies teacher at Elizabethtown Middle Middle and the 2019-20 Bladen County Schools’ Teacher of the Year, spoke at Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church.
As certain as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, Dennis Hawes can be found at Bridges Barber Shop. He celebrated 55 years of cutting hair at the Elizabethtown shop during the week.
In other news,
Bladen County first responders revived an infant who was found not breathing in an apartment at Twisted Hickory Apartments.
William Moore withdrew from the race for an at-large seat on the Bladen County Board of Commissioners. However, his name still will appear on the ballot because it was past the deadline to change the ballots.
The US Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District released a draft study evaluating three alternatives regarding the future of three locks and dams and associated property located along the Cape Fear River. The locks are in Bladen County.
Congressman David Rouzer spoke at the Bladen County Extension Office in Elizabethtown during the county’s landowners meeting.
The N.C. Junior Beta Club and Youth Ambassadors raised more than $2,000 to help hurricane victims. Jair McElveen, an East Bladen student and state club president, organized the Reindeer 5k Run in December.
East Bladen High teacher Linda Beard was recognized as a 2020 Hunger Hero by No Kid Hungry North Carolina.
A dozen Bladen County employees were recognized for their years of service. The group included Agnes McCall with Bladen County Library for 40 years of service.
In sports, East Bladen basketball player Patience Ward signed to play with Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington.
The East Bladen and West Bladen girls’ basketball teams each won three games during the week. East Bladen beat Red Springs on Friday while West Bladen beat East Columbus. The teams, who are tied for second place in the Three Rivers Conference, are scheduled to play Monday at West Bladen.
Enjoy the week ahead.
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