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Columns

  • You decide: Should we worry about monopolies?

    By Dr. Mike Walden

    Guest Columnist

    One of my favorite games as a child was Monopoly. On a Saturday morning, my mother would announce, “tonight is Monopoly night.” That evening, the family would gather around the dining room table and play Monopoly for hours. An added bonus was the availability of snacks, something my mother usually prohibited after dinner.

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  • Recovering from illness as flu season kicks off

    Hello again! I took last week off from column writing for two reasons:

    One, we had eight letters to the editor plus guest columns that left no space for my column.

    Two., I was still recovering from a mystery illness that robbed me of the previous weekend. My parents thought I sounded so sick, they alerted my kid brother to come down from Wilmington and take me to the nearest emergency room, believing I was too weak to put up a fight. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.

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  • Weighty issue prompts lifestyle change

    By Mike O'Hare

    Guest Columnist

    When John Schliewenz did what many of us have done — retire and move to Brunswick County — little did he know he would do something that would prove to be inspirational to many others.

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  • District 17 House update

    By Rep Frank Iler

    Guest Columnist

    Last week, the North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate were in special session Oct. 4 and Thursday, Oct. 5.

    We welcomed a new member, Bob Muller of Pender County, passed a major elections bill, passed new districts for our judges and District Attorneys, and we overrode the governor’s vetoes on two important bills, including the GenX funding.

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  • You decide: Should North Carolina make a bid for Amazon’s second headquarters?

    By Dr. Mike Walden

    Guest Columnist

    When I joined the faculty of North Carolina State University four decades ago, buying books — an occupational necessity for academics — was tedious and time-consuming. I’d first contact the NCSU bookstore, which then ordered the book from the publisher. When it arrived, usually weeks later, I would then spend at least 45 minutes walking to and from the bookstore to retrieve the book.

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  • On Campus with BCC: Seeking individuals who want to make a life-saving difference

    By Dr. Susanne Adams

    Guest Columnist

    Employees of all ages generally agree on the qualities

    that make a career truly rewarding: teamwork,

    purpose and lasting value, family sustaining wages, and a balance of excitement and routine. It would be difficult to list careers that encompass all these qualities without including emergency services.

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  • In remembrance of my lifelong friend, Nikki Smith

    I thought by now it might be easier for me to write that my friend, Nikki Smith, died suddenly the night of Sept. 9 of complications from a chronic brain disorder.

    It isn’t.

    What comes much more naturally is telling the world about the light she brought into my life.

    Nikki and I first met when we were second-graders in Mrs. Dottie Saffer’s class at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School. I can’t recall many details from that year, but I remember Nikki went out of her way to be my friend.

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  • District 17 House update

    By Rep. Frank Iler

    Guest Columnist

    The North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate were not in session last week. However, we had an important first meeting of the new House Select Committee on N.C. River Quality. We had a daylong visit from the N.C. Commissioner of Insurance, and we had interesting county events Saturday.

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  • District 17 House update

    By Rep. Frank Iler

    Guest Columnist

    Recently, we had a big part of the N.C. House of Representatives right here in Brunswick County. House Speaker Tim Moore was in Brunswick County all day Sept. 13. It was my privilege to help arrange his schedule and show him around. When we found out he would be able to come to a couple of events here, we made sure that he stayed busy and saw as many parts of the county as possible.

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  • How was your hurricane weekend?

    A little more than a week ago, I had the chance to break out on a long weekend and bounce up and down the East Coast on a four-day trip that took me to two of the biggest cities in the U.S.: New York City and Clemson, S.C., on a football weekend.

    A couple years ago, I lived out a childhood dream of going to New York to catch David Letterman’s show before he finally closed up shop and grew a giant, white beard.

    On this trip, I was again reliving my youth by going to see guitar legend Eric Clapton at Madison Square Garden.

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