BladenOnline.com

Changed my shaving habits, only shave on ‘special occasions’ and the number of ‘special occasions’ are shrinking as I mature. What is your favorite time of the year?  I enjoy spring and fall, April & October. Favorite time of day for this retiree?  Between 1 and 2 PM, enjoy a bowl of Breyer butter pecan ice cream.  When ice cream gets low, time for a visit to the grocery store. Very good turn-out for the annual meeting of Bladen County Committee of 100.  Excellent speaker, Chris Lloyd with McGuire Woods Consulting, Sr. VP of Infrastructure and Economic Development.  He assist companies in locating sites to expand their business, a match-maker.  What does Committee …..

The deadline for filing for municipal offices is fast approaching and candidates are needed in at least 3 towns. The latest filings were for Clarkton Town Commissioner.  Yesterday, Stephen W. Hester and Jerome Myers paid their $5 filing fee seeking a seat on the Board.  Incumbent Tim Tart filed earlier, incumbent Lawrence McDougald has not filed.  The deadline for adding names to the ballot is 12 noon Friday. Bladenboro, Clarkton, Elizabethtown and White Lake have a full slate of candidates for positions available.  Different story for the other 3 local municipalities. Incumbent Lillian L. Graham has filed for re-election, but 2 seats are available in East Arcadia. No one has filed …..

      No filings in the past couple of days of candidates for the November municipal elections.  A brief recap as of closing time Monday. Bladenboro: Mayor Kenneth Charles Kelly Rufus R. Duckworth, III (I) Larry Waitus Simmons Town Commissioners (3 seats) Kenneth Rodney Hester Billy Ray Benson (I) Jeffrey Duane Atkinson (I) Clarkton: Town Commissioner (2 seats) Tim Tart (I) Dublin Mayor Town Commissioner (1 seat) East Arcadia Town Commissioner (2 seats) Lillian Graham (I) Elizabethtown Town Commissioner (3 seats) Robert Leonard Kinlaw Paula Hobbs Greene (I) Rufus Dewitt Lloyd (I) Herman Leonard Lewis (I) Tar Heel Mayor Town Commissioner (3 seats) White Lake Town Commissioner (3 seats) Paul …..

American League over National League in All Star baseball game last night, 2-1 in 10 innings.  Ended when Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano hit home run off Cubs closer Wade Davis for the victory.  Cano was MVP, picked a Corvette over a Chevy pickup, as his prize. 8.6 million viewers watched the Home Run Derby. What a mess we have in the USA. Been reading polls related to R’s and D’s. Most trusted person on Trump team, according to a couple of polls, is Keith Shiller.  He is a Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Oval Operations.  Not familiar with him.  He is former NY police officer and …..

Filing for the November municipal elections continues through noontime July 21, 2017. Yesterday, a couple of filings for the Bladenboro political race, one for Mayor and one for Town Commissioner.  Larry W. Simmons became the 3rd candidate for Mayor and newcomer K. Rodney Hester filed for commissioner.  Simmons, a former Town Commissioner, will face incumbent Rufus P. Duckworth, III and newcomer Kenneth Charles Kelly in the fall election. Clarkton incumbent J. Tim Tart filed for re-election as Town Commissioner. Others who filed earlier: Elizabethtown incumbents for Town Commissioner include: Paula H. Greene Rufus D. Lloyd Herman L. Lewis and newcomer and former police chief, Robert (Bobby) Kinlaw. 3 White Lake incumbent commissioners …..

  Recently I Googled, ‘most trusted news sources’, did not specify newspaper, TV or other, just news sources. Discovered some interesting info from numerous sources. New York Times, Wall Street Journal were at the top or near the top in most, including one circulated by Forbes, conducted by The Berlin School of Creative Leadership.  The author was Paul Glader.  There top 5: 1) The New York Times 2) Wall Street Journal 3) The Washington Post 4) BBC 5) The Economist Do your own search, if you are interested. TV news sources tend to appeal to one or more segments of the population, primarily sources that viewers tend to agree with, liberal, conservative, whatever. Holidays are …..

We have heard much about Fake News. What is Fake News? I decided to research the issue, went to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. “Fake news is a type of yellow journalism of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional print and broadcast news media or online social media. Fake news is written and published with the intent to mislead in order to gain financially or politically, often with sensationalist, exaggerated or patently false headlines that grab attention…………..Fake news often employs eye-catching headlines or entirely fabricated news stories to increase readership, online sharing and Internet click revenue…..Fake news also undermines serious media coverage and makes it more difficult for journalists to …..

Bladen County Elections staff had a busy day yesterday, first day of filing for the upcoming municipal elections. 9 filed: 4 for 3 seats on Elizabethtown City Council, including the 3 incumbents and the former police chief; 3 incumbents filed for re-election to the White Lake Council, and 2 candidates for Mayor of Bladenboro, including the incumbent. Check our news page for details. In all, 7 incumbents and 2 newcomers paid their filing fee and signed on the dotted line. The filing deadline is noontime July 21. Elections will be held in all 7 towns in the county. If you think you have something to offer, and live in one …..

Steve Ballmer, of Microsoft fame, launched USAFacts earlier this year to created a way to track government spending.  I enjoy browsing through some of his findings.  Ballmer and Bill Gates became friends while attending Harvard in the 70s and eventually formed Microsoft, made a pot full of money, retired and then the two drifted apart. According to one source, Gates now spends most of his time with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and still provides advice for Microsoft leaders.  Ballmer now owns the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team and a huge chunk of Twitter.  Since severing ties with Microsoft, he has spent millions on worthy projects, USAFacts to track …..

As of April 2017, the unemployment rate in North Carolina was 4.3%, slightly higher in Bladen County at 5.5%.  The labor force in Bladen, according to this report, totals 14,721 with 807 unemployed. Been checking around with some locals and have been told jobs are available, problem is too many prospective employees offer very little in the way of skills, desire, etc.  They just want a pay check. Yet, I still hear from some of our leaders, we need more and better jobs, and I agree, but better check the available labor force. One of the answers to the situation is for unemployed and under employed to learn a skill …..

Now that the NC State budget has been passed, vetoed by the Governor and soon to be overridden by the legislature, ‘silly season’ begins.  Strange action on the part of the leadership, been that way as long as I can remember.  Democrats were guilty years ago and Republicans ‘screamed’ foul, now the Republicans are in charge and Democrats will be screaming.  Hold on, the ride is interesting, many time worrisome.  Would be good to see both parties acting like adults.  The sooner they adjourn, the better off we will be. And in Congress, repealing and replacing Obamacare is proving to be more difficult than first thought.  Senators are opposed for …..

Ever have one of those nights when you wake up early, toss and tumble, finally decide to get up and do something…just ‘slept out’?  Some need lots of sleep and for others of us, about 5 or 6 hours is all needed. New census info is available, several sources with slightly different numbers.  Google US Census Bureau QuickFacts, and look up Bladen County, NC.  Another is AccessNC, slightly different statistical info for those who enjoy comparisons. This time next week, many will be making final plans for July 4th activities. Reminder of the ceremony to dedicate the Tar Heel bridge over the Cape Fear River today at 2 PM at the Fire Department.  It will be the David B. Melvin …..

Woke up this morning to hear my favorite bird chirping, singing, not sure which, but helped me to rise and give thanks for another day. Small things mean a lot. We have birds, squirrels, some deer that ‘bed down’ in a creek behind our house from time to time, see very few rabbits, but a few turtles, waterfowl and more. Happy I live where I do and have all to enjoy. A storm roared through the area late yesterday, rainfall varied greatly, I am sure. At the Hester household slightly southwest of E-town, we received about 1.4 inches, and it came in a short period of time. Can you believe …..

Ever wonder what the most commonly ask questions are? Depends on who ask who I suppose, but Google compiled their most ask questions in 2011: #10 – What is Google? #9 – What is gout? #8 – What is Lupus? #7 – What is Autism? #6 – What is Dubstep? #5 – What is Skype? #4 – What is gluten? #3 – What is Twitter? #2 – What is planking? #1 – What is love? None I ask, so what were the most commonly ask questions in 2016, as compiled by Google? #10 – What is Superdelegate? #9 – What is Citizens United? #8 – What is the European Union? …..

This may not be the ideal weekend to “piddle” outside.  Hot, windy and the chance of rain increasing from 20% today to 40% tomorrow, 60% Saturday night.  Think that means cut my weeds early today, or watch them grow. Happy Birthday to Rev. David Wade, former pastor at Wesley’s Chapel UMC.  He and some members of his family have had health issues over the past weeks, months, years.  Hope this is a good day for all. Repeal and replacement of Obamacare is apparently a more difficult task than originally thought.  Especially difficult for Senators facing re-election next year. Watched a little of the NBA draft last night.  Many young men will receive huge bonuses …..

  Missed a special event Monday I should have attended. I missed the ribbon cutting at Lloyd Park in Elizabethtown, and I am sorry. The new park is named in honor of Elizabethtown Mayor Pro-tem Rufus Lloyd, a man who has given much as an Elizabethtown city councilman, a long time member of the planning board, and as an educator in the public school system in Bladen County. A great honor for a very deserving individual. The Lloyds, (Mr and Mrs). are good folks. A belated congratulations and THANKS. I missed it because I forgot. Had had a couple of meetings during the day and forgot to check my calendar. …..

I enjoy searching the web for any number of reasons, recently I typed in ‘Little Known Facts about Bladen County’, and one site that I discovered was produced by DATAUSA.  And, today, I am sharing some of what I discovered. DATA is from 2015: Bladen County, NC is the 67th largest county in North Carolina by population and contains 10 census places.  The largest places by population are Elizabethtown, Bladenboro and White Lake. The median household income in Bladen County, NC was $30,096 in 2015, which represents a 1.91% growth from the previous year.  Additionally, there were 13,040 residents in Bladen County with jobs in 2015, which is a 1.12% …..

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY. Dads and moms are special.  A visit from children and grandchildren is the gift most appreciated. For many, their parents have passed on, for the lucky ones, they are still around. Some churches, recognize the oldest and the youngest dad and the dad with the most children. Bladen County commissioners have a couple of meetings Monday (tomorrow).  A Special Meeting at 5 PM to attempt to continue work on the FY 2017-18 budget, followed by the regular meeting at 6:30 PM, both in the commissioner’s meeting room on the lower lever of the courthouse and both open to the public. Remember how we communicated prior to our many social websites; Facebook, …..

Bet there will be many hustlin’ around, doing their last minute shopping for father, dad, daddy, papa, pappy, whatever. Your presence is all the gift most need. Bows and wrapping paper are nice, but, your presence, if possible is the best gift of all. Remember when we read about ‘hoodlums’ in our larger towns and hoped it never comes near. They, the ‘hoodlums,’ are here, now. So sad. Little education, no job, strung out on drugs and alcohol, anything that provides a temporary high, shooting up the neighborhood. Not sure we can build enough jails and prisons to house them. Wish they could/would learn a trade, and become prosperous, good …..

I am at a business meeting being held at Myrtle Beach, tough assignment. As usual, after a couple of early morning visits to the bathroom, and naps in between, I began to focus on Thoughts While Shaving, prior to an early breakfast and opening session of the conference. Not sure why, but begin to think back to late 2007, and the early days of BladenOnline.com. My partner-to-be, and long time friend Mike Simmons suffered a heart attack and died, you no doubt remember that situation, my plans were shelved and then I began to re-think what our goal was, to begin an online newspaper that concentrated on Bladen County and …..

Father’s Day is Sunday. Received a nice note from organizers of the Annual Jail-A-Thon fundraiser, Bladen County Educational Foundation, Inc. They held their 9th annual in late April, raised over $7,000. Proceeds benefit our school system. East Bladen Graduation set for Friday, June 16, 6-7 p.m. at the school and West Bladen Seniors will march across the stage Saturday, June 17, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the school.  Congratulations to all. A reminder of the Sunset Jams Concert at White Lake, featuring Soul on the Beach, 6 p.m. today, it’s free and it will be a fun event, sponsored by the Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce and supporting members. …..

As expected, Whiteville native Mackenzie Gore was the third overall pick in the Major League baseball draft yesterday. The San Diego Padres selected Gore. The Wolfpack pitcher/hitter earlier committed to play college ball at East Carolina. That is on hold, I would assume. The #3 pick value is listed as $6,668,100. I am learning more about the pick value. Quoting from a MLB.com post by Jim Callis. “MLB has notified teams of the official allotments. Every choice in the top 10 rounds has an assigned value, and the total for each of a club’s selections equals what it can spend in those rounds, without paying a penalty. Any bonus money …..

Hopefully, summertime returns today. TV ratings must have been very high during yesterday’s during the Senate hearing featuring former FBI Director James Comey. Constant updates of the Russian investigation into U.S. elections, are available at FactCheck.org. This morning (Friday), Bob Woodward of Watergate fame, stated on ‘CBS This Morning’, that we know about 5% of the evidence of the Russian intervention in our elections, more to come, much more. A Spring Fling will be held tomorrow (Saturday) at the Bladenboro Farmer’s Market, from 11 AM to 4 PM. Condolences to the family of baby J.T. Higgs. According to info on a Facebook page that provided updates on his sickness, the …..

On the June 6 edition of “On This Day in History” I ‘goofed’. I failed to include several facts related to D-Day. Hopefully, better late than never. 1944 – 82nd Airborne division WWII D-day-landing at Ste Mere Eglise. 1944 – Baseball cancels all games honoring D-Day invasion. 1944 – Operation Neptune, D-Day: 150,000 strong Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy, France in WWII. 1944 – German submarines U-955, U-970, U629 and U-373 sink in Bay of Biscay. D-Day is a very important event in our history. When you ‘mess up’ you ‘fess up’ Recent rains have done wonders for lawns, including weeds. Fields are turning green, corn crop looks good. …..

Local crops appear to be in good shape. Timely rainfall helps. Understand the damage to the blueberry crop varies from farm to farm, with more eastern farms, overall, appearing to have suffered less ‘freeze damage’ than those further inland. Blueberries are one of Bladen’s best cash crops, maybe #1. Remember when tobacco was king? From the ‘did you know’ department….The average American male is 5 feet, 9 1/2 inches tall and weighs 195.5 lbs. Several surveys produced similar results. As if that is important…… Average high & low June temps for Bladen County: High 87 – Low 69. Annual rainfall averages 49 to 50 inches, or about an inch per …..

Received a nice note from Dr. Robert Taylor, Bladen County School Superintendent, expressing his appreciation for funds raised during the recent annual jail-a-thon. David Wall, local attorney, has been one of the leaders of the effort for many years. We recorded nearly an inch and a half rainfall over the past few hours, had some high winds, in fact, the weather station at Curtis Brown airport recorded wind gust of 28, 22 & 17 MPH yesterday afternoon. Strong enough to down a tree or part of a tree in our backyard. The NC House of Representatives approved their version of the state budget early this morning. The Senate approved a …..

Our thoughts on politics tends to bring out the worst in many of us, and we know so little, other than what our news sources tell us. And, the news sources are so different. I am making an extra effort to engage my brain before I open my mouth. Looking back over previous administrations and wonder how today’s experts would respond if Presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton or Reagan were carrying on business as we see today? Maybe the same, kinda doubt it. The Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce kicks off their Sunset Jam Concert series tomorrow (Thursday) 6 PM at Goldston’s Beach featuring The Holiday Band. It’s free, sponsored by …..

I love this time of the year. As a youngster (14-17), growing up near Bladenboro, it was baseball time and the Bladenboro Spinners, a semi-pro team, was the best team in the USA, so far as I was concerned. Nothing better than heading out to Spinner Field, just west of Bladenboro and behind the cotton mill, where they played for many years in the 40s, 50s, and into the 60s, as I recall. The old ballpark was abandoned many years ago and replaced by low cost housing. In my mind, I can still see it and hear the cheers and chatter, including the questioning of umpire’s sight and judgment.. Many …..

Today is Memorial Day, a day of honoring American soldiers who died serving the country in wars. Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May. Several towns claim to be the originators of Memorial Day but in 1966, Congress declared Waterloo, NY, to be the birthplace of the holiday. Memorial Day originally honored military personnel who died in the Civil War (1861-1865) The holiday now honors those who died in any war while serving with the United States. Austin Dillon won the Coco-Cola 600 last night, leading just 2 laps. Dillon passed Jimmy Johnson, who ran out of gas. It has been another good week for BladenOnline. May …..

For high school seniors, the big day is fast approaching. We honor those veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice to make our country free. Remember them year round, but especially on Memorial Day. White Lake traffic picking up this weekend. Many motels with ‘no vacancy’ signs, more boats on the lake, more traffic at eating establishments and amusement parks, and the weather has been perfect. Elizabethtown merchants always appreciate White Lake visitors Blueberry farmers are busy, busy after a few days of rain. They suffered some loss due to a late freeze, but, for many, a better crop than originally expected. Rain over the past week or so was welcomed, …..