Having a spouse who spent 31 years in the arena of public education and two grandchildren in public education, I approach this subject with great respect and care. The more in-depth research I …
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By Ned Walsh
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2/11/19
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I don’t recall who said it, but last week during a local TV news segment, I heard a reporter use the term “good, brown fat” — an unusual combination of words for sure.
I made note of it …
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By Keith Barnes
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2/11/19
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Since 1970, the Greater Smithfield-Selma Area Chamber of Commerce has been a strong economic force with a big-picture outlook for Smithfield, Selma and their neighboring communities.
During 2018, …
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2/11/19
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Several years ago, I ventured into a Latin American nation to teach U.S. history at a provincial university. I asked my third-year students why they were in my class and got the reply, “Because we …
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By Ned Walsh
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2/4/19
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Unless you have been in a coma or living in a box with no electricity or phone over the past few days, you are well aware our nation experienced some mighty cold temperatures recently.
While it …
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By Keith Barnes
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2/4/19
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Occasionally, someone may be overheard saying, “This is a “dog-eat-dog world,” or “Nice guys finish last.” It sometimes seems that only the ruthless can survive, and that the weak-hearted …
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By Ray Hodge
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2/4/19
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Recently while listening to a conversation between some people in a restaurant I overheard someone use the term “whirling dervish.”
Boy, that’s one I had not heard in a mighty long time, …
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By Keith Barnes
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1/28/19
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I firmly believe in an active form of democracy and holding our elected officials to account for the positions they take on issues that are of vital importance to the lives of “we, the …
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By Ned Walsh
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1/28/19
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They should have asked. The Israelites should have asked the Lord God whether they would gain the victory. Instead, they pushed ahead without consulting Him and thousands lost their lives.
In a …
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By Steve and Belinda Kirk
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1/28/19
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He was just a boy. He couldn’t be expected to “hear from the Lord.”
Wrong.
Samuel was Hannah’s little boy who grew up in the Temple of the Lord in Shechem, under the priesthood of Eli. …
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1/21/19
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I love the comfort of my recliner and that cup of hot coffee in the morning as I catch the news on my big-screen color TV in the ease of my heated/air-conditioned subdivision home.
The bubble of …
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By Ned Walsh
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1/21/19
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Realizing how cellphones and handheld mobile phone devices have come to completely consume and dominate our world in so many ways, it might be difficult for some — especially younger folks — to …
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By Keith Barnes
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1/21/19
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North Carolina has 100 counties, and for me it is good mental exercise to try to name them. There are as many as six states with more than 100 countwies. Texas has the most, with 254, Georgia has …
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By Ray Hodge
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1/14/19
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Anyone reading this column who is not aware of the ongoing political boondoggle issue of Trump’s demand for a border wall must have just come out of a long coma.
Even prior to our president’s …
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By Ned Walsh
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1/14/19
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Shortly after arriving at my workplace at the Johnstonian News in Kenly on Friday morning, I received a phone call from fellow photojournalist Drew C. Wilson of The Wilson Times.
Although Drew and …
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By Keith Barnes
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1/14/19
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It's kinda scary when you think about it. God is sovereign. Period.
What in the world does that mean? Well, writer Jack Zavada defines it this way: "Sovereignty means …
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By Steve and Belinda Kirk
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1/7/19
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Although most of us do not enjoy the grocery store shopping experience at what comedian Jerry Clower called "super-dyna-whopping" stores, these places are nonetheless a necessary evil in today's …
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By Keith Barnes
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1/7/19
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My spouse, who taught elementary education in public schools for more than 30 years, can testify to what it's like to try to bring order in leading a group of her students on a field trip. …
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By Ned Walsh
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1/7/19
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It’s over for most of us. The strewn wrapping paper is trashed. The decorations are carefully packed away. The reds and greens of the season are exchanged for items of a different hue.
Yet, …
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By Steve and Belinda Kirk
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12/30/18
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Several years ago I received a homemade seasonal card from a young girl in the church with the words, “I wish you a ‘Merry’ Christmas and a New Year.” I chuckled at the omission of …
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By Ray Hodge
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12/30/18
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