Editorials
This, too, shall pass
Tuesday, Sampson County Commissioner Sue Lee took an aerial tour of a devastated Sampson County. What she saw, and how she felt about what she witnessed, is a testament to the emotions we are all […]
Opinion
Columns
Woman of amazing grace
She was an old fashion “Amazing Grace Woman,” one of those quiet “Mercy Me Women” who would stand out in any century. A beatitude in an old print dress with a bonnet to match, both […]
Editorials
Surviving Florence days after storm
There were more people out and about in Clinton Tuesday, as restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations and downtown businesses began to open, some with reduced operating hours. But, there are still a lot of people […]
Opinion
County schools, students show stellar performance
There is much to celebrate in Sampson County Schools this week, despite a hurricane breathing down our necks. Parents, community members and potential industrial candidates, alike, should see great promise in report card results released […]
Columns
Means justify results in politics
North Carolina politics can be exhausting. The past few weeks have brought us wrangling over redistricting and constitutional amendments, conflicts between Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican lawmakers over disaster relief and a gas-pipeline fund, and […]
Columns
These few precious days
“Oh, it’s a long, long, time from May to December, but the days grow short when you reach September … These few precious days, I spend with you….” A wonderful old song that catches the […]
Editorials
Ride out this one with extreme caution
As we write this, Hurricane Florence still sits a ways off the coast of both Carolinas, a menacing monster of a storm bearing down on places that we here in Sampon and Duplin love, especially […]
Opinion
Are taxes fair in North Carolina?
Wealthy North Carolinians pay a higher share of their incomes in taxes than do middle-income North Carolinians, who in turn have a higher effective tax rate than the poor. This is a factual statement. Yet […]
Columns
Chewing the fat with a friend
I recently had the unique opportunity to sit down to a delicious gourmet feast at Alfredo’s on the square in downtown Clinton with a charming, new-found friend. We talked about life, love and what drives […]
Editorials
Remember 9/11; be the Americans we can be
It’s been 17 years since the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda coordinated four attacks on America, killing 2,996 people, injuring over 6,000 others and causing at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. But no […]
Editorials
Please prepare now!
It was good to see Sampsonians and their neighbors in Duplin hauling boats in from the lake and the coast Sunday, a sign that some residents are already preparing for the worst and praying for […]
Editorials
Receiving the full measure of equality
As descendants of Cato and Venus Sutton, who both were born slaves in the 1850’s in Duplin and Sampson County, respectively, the Sutton family recently celebrated the life and legacy of our early ancestors, something […]