The debate over the hispanicization of America continued at yesterday’s Beaufort County Board of Commissioners meeting.

The new Beaufort County Board of Education Superintendent Don Phipps appeared before the commissioners to discuss concerns related to the Spanish translation of the Beaufort County Schools’ Code of Conduct, which can be found on their Web site.

The Code of Conduct is, currently, the only material on the site available in Spanish.

Phipps defended the necessity of a Spanish version of the Code of Conduct citing safety concerns.

“It’s essential if you’re dealing with disciplinary actions,” said Phipps. “We want to have collaborative work between the student, the school and the parents.”

At last month’s commissioner... Read More

It is a rarity indeed when we get a four plus inch snow in eastern North Carolina. On this February 12, Friday, at 10 pm, the moderate snow started falling and continued in light flurries until about 11:00 am.

With the bread all but gone on the grocery shelves, and the uncommon fluffy snow transforming our mundane winter's day into a winter wonderland, I made a few pictures which I will share with you here below as my testimony that rare beauty of my world bathed in snow.

In the flurries on the following morning, I look down the low hill, in this very low land, toward the duck pond in my front yard: Above. The fluffy snow adorning the young magnolia tree, and azelea bushes, and the many cypress trees leading down to the pond: Below... Read More

Incumbent Senator Marc Basnight has a challenger for the seat he has held since 1984. Enter 4 term Beaufort County Commissioner Hood Richardson, who has long given voice to the unwavering conservative Resistance in eastern North Carolina for nearly 14 years, as his deceptively energetic Republican challenger. Commissioner Richardson is scheduled to meet with the State's leading Republicans in Raleigh on Wednesday, February 17, 2010, to engage their support.

Senator Marc Basnight has long been regarded as eastern North Carolina’s greatest advocate for bringing taxpayer’s money back to eastern North Carolina to fund his pet projects, and the pet projects of his political supporters as well. The Senator’s political revo... Read More

Going green is likely the last thing on the minds of those living in lower-income households. A family with an income at 200 percent below the federal poverty guidelines is understandably more concerned with paying the bills, than reducing their carbon footprint.

Thanks to the expansion of the Weatherization Assistance Program, administered through North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services Office of Economic Opportunity, lower-income households can go green and save green simultaneously.

Through this program, the homes of qualifying families are upgraded with better sealing and insulation, a water-heater tank wrap and/or other general weatherization measures to become more energy efficient. Each home is audited and diagnos... Read More

Peace, love and beer are back on the menu!

Washington’s Backwater Jack’s Tiki Bar and Grill reopened for the warm season yesterday at 11:30 a.m., with draft beer and positive energy flowing—attracting hundreds of patrons ready to eat, drink, party and, yes, toss mullets (not hair flipping; fish flinging!).

At 7 p.m., the parking lot was full, and there were lines out the door.

“It’s like a summer Friday night,” exclaimed Backwater Jack’s waitress Robin Terry of Washington.

Located at the end of East Main Street, in the self-proclaimed “Fun Zone,” between Inner Banks Outfitters and the city boat dock, Backwater Jack’s has a laidback, beach-y atmosphere, most akin to a wild Washington summer. And four wild summers they have provided—c... Read More

There's absolutely nothing wrong with not being able to buy a house. I am a Realtor and an advocate of home ownership, who is currently renting a home. Of course, I would love to build equity, feel the security of having title to my own piece of earth, or simply have a real interest in remodeling my kitchen, but I am financially unprepared for such a responsibility.

Instead I'm happily setting myself up to take on this responsibility by working hard, paying off debt, saving money and getting my files in order. One day I will have everything in place so that when I enter into the home-buying process, I will have all the right bargaining chips.

I've seen firsthand, through the experiences of my clients, how not having one?s affairs in order... Read More

For Love of Country or Love of the Rush?

Does it really matter? Staff Sergeant William James is still an American Hero - almost along the order of Audie Murphy. Sergeant Audie Murphy saved the lives of many American soldiers by killing hundreds of well armed Nazis. Staff Sergeant William James saved the lives of many American soldiers by dismantling hundreds of IED's in war torn urban Iraq.

The Staff Sergeant, portrayed by virtually unknown actor Jeremy Renner, had just disarmed a very large bomb from a just burning automobile. It was a tough disarming: So tough, and dangerous, he took off his bomb suit, stating, "If I'm going to die, I'm going to die comfortable."

His squad-mate, Sergeant JT Sanborn, played by Anthony Mackie,... Read More

Downtown Washington, North Carolina is a Regional Mecca for Art

This article is born out of two purposes: To give a short expose of some of the new art that was on display in the Washington, NC area and to finally give some exposure through our publication of some shows I attended since the first of the year, 2010. I intended to do 3 separate articles but time did not permit anything other than what I can offer at this juncture … and since this is art, and pretty fine art at that … I’ll do it mostly in pictures.

I begin with the first show at the Beaufort County Arts Council: Carolina Connections; featuring Bettie Bonner Bradshaw - watercolors, Jean Dexter - watercolors, Diane Lee -ceramics, John Lee Scott - photograp... Read More

Walt Disney Adventures: Part I, Animal Kingdom

Whether one loads up the family into the minivan and heads down Interstate 95, or they pile into the SUV and head down Interstate 75 to the sunshine state of Florida, what they have in common is that they're heading south ... deep south: where the air is hot, the men well fed and the women are better looking. Where the hordes often congregate is Central Florida, and there are advantages. Advantages such as: Interstate 75 and Interstate 95 converge at Orlando, the accommodations are plentiful, and there is much to do for energetic folks.

In and around the Orlando area, there is a plethora of theme parks; most notable among them are Sea World, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, and D... Read More

It’s gorgeous outside today. Beyond and above my computer monitor, I can tilt my head back to look up through the large window facing me and see shapes move across my vision: an albino alligator smoking a hookah, a white motorcar blowing exhaust, a blank void turning into a glittery peep show. I don't care what kind of fancy piece of technology you have; nature, plus a good imagination, always steals the stage.

I’m convinced, now more than ever, that spring was named after what it inspires: unbridled, spontaneous action. And so it is, that at the tail end of winter, with just a hint of the season to come, on a Tuesday, I’m going to make a lifestyle shift that will free up huge banks of airtime for all my spring adventures. I’m going to gi... Read More

Don’t you just hate getting letters from politicians or their political hacks that begin Dear Friend, Dear Friends or just Friend …

Well, I’ve been a very conservative county commissioner for nearly 14 years. I have angered so many liberals; many of whom have rarely experienced a rational thought, and certainly if they did, on that very rare off chance occasion, they, more often than not, cannot discuss / debate the issues that put them into their tizzy, without cussing, condescension or slander. That is why it is so remarkably odd that I must tell you: That since the 2008 General Election season, I have received a continuous stream of Democrat communiqués as if I were a member of their inner circle.

This c... Read More

I have a 30 minute commute to work in the morning. To my way of thinking, it is the perfect distance between my life at home and my job. There is both an opportunity to prepare for the day on the way in, as well as decompress and unwind after all my customers needs have been accommodated. During the drive, my mind often wanders into very predictable questions: What do I need to do today? Are there going to be any big headaches? I wonder what’s for supper? Why is that guy going 75 mph in such a rush to get to work to a job he probably hates?…you get the point.

However, there are plenty of mornings where my mind goes into much deeper areas of questioning. As I drive along the highway, I nurse my enormous mug of coffee in the s... Read More

President Obama has made the proposed Health Care Reform Bill the centerpiece of his presidency. His political fortunes will continue, or be diminished by the crafting of this partisan initiative, and its subsequent passage before the midterm election cycle. To a lesser extent at the NACo conference, there were other talking points on other issues: proposed Cap and Trade / Clean Energy Policy legislation, but what resonated with me was the simpatico culpability within the NACo (National Association of Counties) power structure with the Obama administration on all issues. This became evident to me as I made my way from the General Meetings to Education Workshops, and speaking to other commissioners along the way at the 2010 NACo Legislati... Read More

There is always a danger when one frames a complex issue that oversimplifies the issue that much will be lost. But such is often essential in order to foster a useful debate of that complex issue. Bilingualism is such a case. Having said that we will attempt here to frame that issue in a simple manner in the hopes of contributing to a significant debate here in Beaufort County that seems to only grow as the years go by.

Simply stated the issue is: To what extent must and should we accommodate those who do not speak English?

On one side there are those who believe in accommodation. They believe being able to communicate is the basic ultimate goal and anything that facilitates communication is desirable. This leads, in schools, to progra... Read More