The holiday shopping season was in full effect as local businesses kicked off the holiday season with Small Business Saturday, an endeavor that has been ongoing for years now. This was the sixth year that local groups will worked together to promote shopping local, a partnership between the Clinton Main Street Program, Sampson Community College Small Business Center, Clinton Development Corporation, Town of Roseboro, Town of Newton Grove, Sampson County Economic Development Commission and two dozen businesses across Sampson County. Participating businesses offered deals in an effort to get shoppers out locally to support the mom-and-pops. Coinciding with Small Business Saturday, ‘Brunch and Bows’ was held at Alfredo’s in Downtown Clinton. featuring Scott Mason of WRAL’s the Tar Heel Traveler. Mason had copies of his books available during the event to be purchased and signed.

After nearly three decades of service, Star Communications stalwart Jeff Nethercutt is retiring.

A fun-filled, winter-themed event hosted by Sampson-Clinton Public Libraries for all families, parents and their children gets started this week.

FOUR OAKS, N.C. — Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site will host its annual Christmas Open House, “A Civil War Christmas,” on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

More than 80 buildings have been decorated in downtown Clinton as Sampson’s seat has been transformed into a winter wonderland, with scenes from classic holiday movies, picturesque Hallmark snapshots and the true reason for the season adorning local storefronts and windows of local businesses. The holiday splendor has been the product of hours upon hours of work from merchants, business owners and volunteers to decorate buildings, fluff Christmas trees and string lights. Along with volunteers and merchants, members of the Clinton Main Street Program Promotion Committee and Christmas in the City Committee have put unprecedented effort into this year’s decorating. ‘Never have we seen a small town decorated on this level,’ said Mary Rose, director of Clinton Planning Department and Clinton Main Street manager. ‘The storefronts will be decorated throughout the holiday season so visitors from near and far can come to experience this spectacular display of Christmas cheer.’ The winner of the Christmas Decorating Contest will be announced during the City of Clinton’s Annual Tree Lighting, which will kick off the first of two nights of ‘Christmas in the City’ on Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. in front of the ‘Milling Around’ public art piece. Christmas in the City will continue on Dec. 8, with a plethora of activities on both nights aimed at getting everyone in the holiday spirit.

The Tree of Love project for decades has sought to honor those instrumental in Sampson Regional Medical Center’s success, while raising funds to continue its mission. This year, the event is changing, with the goal of making the project a community-wide endeavor.

ROSEBORO — Another big and unexpected blow has come to the town with the closure of a second bank, as it has been announced that Truist Bank will be shutting its doors. That comes on the heels of the closure of First Citizens Bank’s Roseboro branch earlier this year.

We have been accused of always being so negative in our teaching. Why not more lessons on peace, joy, love and other such comforting topics and less on strictly obeying the world of God? There is certainly a need for all those “comforting” topics to proclaimed. Indeed “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). And, it is true that we can “rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). It was the apostle John who is often called “the apostle of love”, but it was Paul who said, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (I Cor. 13:1). There is certainly a need and a place for all such teaching. However, is that what is needed most of the time? Paul told the Thessalonian brethren, “But as touching brotherly love ye need not, that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another” (I Thess. 4:9). One might say that such teaching is the milk for the babes rather than the meat for the mature. The Hebrew writer said of those to whom he wrote, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat” (Heb. 5:12). As the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem progressed in the days of Nehemiah, he told them, “…The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us” (Nehe. 5:19-20). They did not waste time and manpower covering ground that did not need to be covered. This brings us to our first real answer to those who want to be continuously comforted with hope, joy and love stories.

As lights and decorative trees begin to go up and signs of the Christmas holiday become more evident, the celebratory events marking the season are close behind — and they’ll be happening all over Sampson County.