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Opinion
From a lone hen to backyard chicken ranching
Several of the staffers who frequent the cublet environs of the news side of our building have urged me to do a chicken column. Previously, I have flatly stated I was an active beekeeper until absolutely awful tactical judgment resulted in the loss of my only two hives. It is a tribute to The Mount Airy News staff’s compassion they frequently endure stories of my adventures as a small-scale chicken rancher, which was heretofore a lesser kno...
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Saying good-bye to one of the NBA’s class acts
The NBA lost one if its best ambassadors this week when Grant Hill announced his retirement. The former Duke star was one of the class acts in sports, even earning the respect of this lifelong Tar Heel fan. I didn’t want to like Grant Hill when he first arrived at Duke. Not only was he going to the wrong school, his dad was a former Dallas Cowboy and his mom was a college roommate of Hillary Clinton. He wasn’t one of those underprivileged...
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Explore the state during 2nd Saturdays
The fact that state historic sites are available to visit year-round doesn’t mean everyone is going to go spend time at them, so the 2nd Saturdays series sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources is a way to have more available to attract visitors to our state’s treasures. Yes, they are treasures. Locally, Horne Creek Living Historical Farm is a North Carolina Historic Site participating in 2nd Saturdays, which kicks ...
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Summer swimming season leads me on nostalgic path
The opening of public swimming pools has always marked the start of the summer season for me, even though summer doesn’t officially start until summer solstice, June 21. Summer vacation and pools opening always happened around the same time when I was growing up, and this year schools released earlier than in previous years, so area pools are anticipating record seasons. It was a trip back in time for me when I went to Reeves Community Ce...
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Hoping the Superman is super good and the wisdom of remakes
I am hopeful the newest Superman movie will be good. The character deserves no less. Admittedly, I do not envy the scriptwriters in their task of making Krypton’s favorite son believable in the light of how hard bitten culture is now. Life is full of the sacrifice and altruism of others but it rarely makes it into the cinema. We are a nation obsessed with the anti-hero with a suspicion George Orwell was right after all. Don’t get me wrong. ...
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New fee in Dobson a fair, reasonable cost
As is always the case this time of year, local residents and businesses have been watching area governments deliberate their respective budgets for fiscal year 2013-2014. In recent years the county and municipal governments have, overall, done a commendable job in keeping tax rates stable even as financial pressures mount. In the case of Mount Airy, the commissioners have even enacted tax cuts. Other fees, however, haven’t all fared so we...
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Treasures await at the zoo
Just a short hour and a half drive from Surry County is one of our state’s treasures, and Monday it was filled with thousands of children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, couples. With school out and many people off work, in addition to honoring the country’s fallen soldiers, which I thought of on many occasions throughout the weekend, Memorial Day provides a chance for families to enjoy quality time together, and what better...
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Monday a time to remember, honor those who have fallen
We are in the midst of the annual Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of summer when pools generally open, vacationing starts in earnest, and the feel of summer permeates the air. And while the weekend is a great time for visiting relatives, relaxing while burgers or hot dogs cook on the grill, tomorrow — the actual Memorial Day — should be a time of solemn remembrance. Historians point to a number of different people, groups, or ...
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Despite nervousness, ‘Showville’ passes the test
I’m not much of a television watcher. I do watch a couple of shows faithfully, and some sports, but outside of that I’m not much of a TV fan. I did carve out an hour Thursday night, though, sitting next to my youngest daughter watching the premiere of “Showville.” Most of you no doubt know the show visited Mount Airy earlier this year, conducting a talent search and show similar to the one televised Thursday night on AMC. The premise of t...
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Thumbs Up
To organizers of this weekend’s Memorial Day activities in Mount Airy, Rockford, and elsewhere around the county. While often thought of as a fun-filled holiday, Memorial Day is at its core a day set aside to remember those who have died in service to the United States. The day got its start shortly after the Civil War and has changed through the years, but the intent remains the same, to remember those who died in military service. Whether...
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Is gay Boy Scout issue germane to the Real World?
Never mind the argument over whether openly gay youths should or should not be allowed to join the Boy Scouts. The fact that they have been permitted to do so, through a vote Thursday by the 1,400 members of Boy Scouts of America, is just another sign of the times. But the bigger issue, in my mind, is how this change in policy by the 103-year-old organization will play out in that place called the Real World. The Real World is a land fa...
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Educators should forget holding onto turf, start focusing on teaching
You’ll notice in today’s Mount Airy News a letter to the editor from Ed Dunlap, executive director of the North Carolina School Boards Association. In the letter Dr. Dunlap, as many others have done, is critical of a movement in the General Assembly toward instituting a voucher system for school enrollment. Essentially, this would allow the government to issue a certificate, or voucher, to parents who opt to send their children to private s...
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Memories scattered by the wind
Chilling occurrences happened across Oklahoma after the tornado, besides the terrible damage. Photographs floated down from the sky. A woman went outside and found friendly and colorful songbirds perched in her trees. Scared and confused dogs and cats were found many miles away. It’s tornado season, and we were all reminded of the terrible destruction of nature this week with tornadoes across Texas killing six, tornadoes in other states kil...
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Stop trying to make sense of tragedy and keep loved ones close
There are those interviews which leave impressions in your mind. Others set up shop in your heart. I was recently saddened by the news Triple J Great Dane Rescue program founder John Sasser had died. In case you don’t remember, he and wife Diana operated the Triple J Great Dane Rescue program which was featured at a Petsense Pet Adoptathon. John was responsible for teaching me that generations of selective breeding of the Danes had left t...
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Tougher alcohol and driving regulations should be passed
Recently the National Transportation Safety Board issued recommendations aimed at reducing the number of car accidents which occur as a result of drivers being under the influence of alcohol. Chief among those recommendations is that states reduce the allowable blood-alcohol concentration from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. According to statistics provided by the NTSB, roughly 10,000 deaths occur on American highways each year as a result ...
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