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Columns

  • Things that should end or go away in the new year

    Maybe most people think of the start of a new year as an opportunity for new beginnings, but from where I’m sitting, some beginnings can’t happen without some significant endings.

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  • Effects of confiscated pot linger at Sunset Beach Town Hall

    Three years ago this past Christmas Eve, Sunset Beach police made what was believed to be the biggest marijuana bust and haul in the town’s history.

    On Christmas Eve 2010, during a seemingly routine traffic stop of a Lincoln Continental speeding through town, Sunset Beach police got a whiff of something funny and followed up with a consent to search the vehicle.

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  • Resolving not to make New Year’s resolutions
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  • Dear Santa: Strange and great gifts for children

    A few nights ago, my sister-in-law shared a photo of my nephew, who’s 3, and niece, who’s 9 months old, sitting with Santa. It reminded me to ask her and my kid brother what I should get their children for Christmas.

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  • Shallotte teen sends message, sets example for holidays

    On Black Friday this year, the only thing many of us wanted to do was brave crowds of shoppers and find the best bargains or stay put at home, safe and sound with our Thanksgiving leftovers.

    All 17-year-old Kaitlyn Shook wanted to do was raise awareness about how good we have it and how many others — including some of our neighbors — aren’t so fortunate in this season of celebration.

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  • Maps help clear path through writer’s block

    I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve got a Thanksgiving gluttony hangover or because last week’s column left me exhausted, but this week I’m facing a wicked case of writer’s block.

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  • Help clear the air in Brunswick County

    I had family vacationing on one of the islands recently.

    They missed the hurricane, the fireworks and the “Tammy” premiere but they didn’t miss all the Brunswick County happenings.

    Maybe they were keeping a lookout because they had Brunswick County on their mind in eager anticipation for their week off at the beach.

    But the county has also made it into the news for other reasons recently.

    One of the first questions I got after they arrived was, what was going on with that Brunswick County sheriff?

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  • Summer heat nothing to swoon at, but sometimes it happens

    Look at me, celebrating the Fourth of July and sunshine in Sunset Beach in red, white and blue just one day after our first (and we hope last) 2014 summer storm, aka Hurricane Arthur, blew up the Carolinas coast.

    Look at me, with my new smartphone pedometer app sauntering up Sunset Beach for a three-mile walk on one of the prettiest beaches God, with a little help from the Gores, ever invented.

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  • When is the county’s 250th anniversary party?

    So I hear it’s Brunswick County’s 250th anniversary.

    Well I didn’t hear it but I did read about it — in the Wilmington paper. They seem very excited about Brunswick County’s anniversary over there in New Hanover County.

    I think they think they are going to get cake.

    And if they have enough influence, they will get to decide what flavor it will be.

    I’ve seen that move before, coming from a family with older siblings. That’s a classic move.

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  • Busing situation lacks consistency

    In the newsroom we often hear about stories we aren’t involved in covering, but that doesn’t make them any less intriguing.

    This week, that story is the board of education’s decision to switch back to a traditional bussing schedule.

    A surprising twist considering our man with the school system, Sam Hickman, had explained the superintendent intended to switch the high school and elementary route times, but remain on a staggered bus schedule.

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