Publisher's Note: Delma Blinson has contibuted another inciteful article about Beaufort County's second largests employer, which is most important to the county and the region - The Beaufort County Medical Center. The Open Meetings law is the most important statute that gives promise to the public that corruption in government will be limited. The county commissioners, and moreover, the school board expect Delma to raise pointed objections should they veer from their respective government body's continual objective of basking in the anticeptic nature of sunshine. Now Delma is in the hot pursuit of the Hospital Board. This is very necessary to keep the public's interest in the forefront of all decisions made by elected officials, and the... Read More

The hospital and the county shook hands today on a deal that will provide the hospital with the means to pay its debt service to the county and have operating capital—at least for the upcoming fiscal year.

Beaufort County, which currently owns 80 percent of hospital land and buildings, offered to purchase the remaining 20 percent for $4.8 million. The county’s offer was communicated to the hospital board by Beaufort County Manager Paul Spruill at its July 13 meeting. At today’s hospital board meeting, the Beaufort Regional Health Systems Authority Board commissioners unanimously voted to accept said offer.

As per the Installment Purchase Contract Proposal offered by First Citizens Bank, which will finance the county, t... Read More

Publisher's Note: Submitted as a press release from the Ashley Woolard Campaign.

GOP First District Congressional candidate Ashley Woolard will call on Congressman G.K. Butterfield to return tainted campaign contributions from embattled Democratic congressman Charlie Rangel in a series of press conferences Tuesday.

Woolard will appear at the Pitt County Courthouse in Greenville at 10:30 AM, Woolard for Congress Headquarters in Washington, NC at 1:30 PM and the Wayne County GOP Headquarters in Goldsboro, NC at 4:00 PM.

Butterfield is a member of the House Ethics Committee investigating Rangel on charges of tax evasion. The House Ethics Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday to address this issue.

"Unless returned, this money has t... Read More

In yesterday’s primary election, Beaufort County resident Ashley Woolard defeated three competitors to win the North Carolina Republican Party’s nomination to run for the U.S. House of Representatives District 1 seat, currently held by Democrat G.K. Butterfield.

Woolard received 45 percent of the 8,302 votes cast for the Republican contenders across the 23 northeastern counties comprising District 1; whereas Butterfield received 73 percent of the 63,243 votes cast for the Democratic contenders.

Check back tomorrow for more on the Woolard-Butterfield race.

Beaufort County commissioner Stan Deatherage, candidate for U.S. Congress Ashley Woolard and Woolard's campaign manager Bill Tarpenning, from left, watch the local news channel at... Read More

Publisher's Note: Diane Rufino delves into a subject that has long been one of her major concerns - racism. Many Liberals strongly believe that, "it is high time to have a national discussion on race." Well here it begins from the bowels of Beaufort County Now: Diane Rufino Style.

The Author's Note: The theme originated as a post on my blogsite. The article below actually represents a running thread of several posts and includes comments which criticize my points. The criticisms are clearly note.

These past few weeks, I've heard all kinds of people, celebrities, groups, and even animals (ie, the New Black Panther Party) label the TEA Party as "racist." On July 13, the NAACP passed a resolution calling the TEA Party a racis... Read More

These past few weeks, I've heard all kinds of people, celebrities, groups, and even animals (ie, the New Black Panther Party) label the TEA Party as "racist." The TEA Party is the only truly patriotic group to have emerged in recent memory and it angers me to hear ridiculous claims leveled against them. If "racist" is used synonymously with "intelligent" and "patriotic," and "honorable" and "respectable," then I guess I won't mind. But hearing liberals and Democratic leaders and black activists, and the NAACP level the charge, I'm thinking they just want to distract ordinary Americans from the real strength of the party - which is a patriotic duty to return the country to one ... Read More

After emerging from the dark theater into the glaring midday sun, following a 148 minute descent into Christopher Nolan’s dream sequence, Inception, I’m not embarrassed to say that it took splashing my face with cold water to assure myself that I was really awake. Not as efficient as being ‘kicked’ awake (as they say in the movie); but it worked.

Because I knew I had to write this review, I paid extra close attention to the movie. My hyper-conscious brain followed the film as it made a linear drop through four levels of sub-consciousness—a dream within a dream, within a dream, within a dream. Without realizing it, I had become mentally vulnerable to someone else’s dreams. And though that happens to som... Read More

After watching this afternoon’s blowout performance of David (A Man after God’s Own Heart), I can now report that there is nothing ad hoc about the Rocky Hock Playhouse in Washington.

Just because it’s located in the old P.S. Jones Middle School building and is, by definition, a ‘Christian theater’, don’t assume that this theater company gives an unrehearsed performance. In fact, it was quite the contrary.

When compared with Raleigh’s Theater in the Park—ran by the prominent, wealthy Ira David Wood III, father to Hollywood star Evan Rachel Wood—where I’ve seen more than a few shows, I would give the Rocky Hock Playhouse more points for professionalism and all-around talent.... Read More

Sexual imagery used in campaign ads may sell products, but is its use ethical? Deeming what is and is not appropriate has a large gray area and is subject to interpretation. The long history of sexual imagery in advertising has only resulted in a few guidelines for limitations. There have also been some suggestions for further protecting the targeted and affected youth from these advertisements due to the found seriousness and future repercussions. Even though sexual imagery is open for interpretation; the effects on the youth alone prove that ethics should be questioned. The prevalence of these ads are growing at enormous rates, and will thusly further affect young adults and society. The use of sexual imagery targeting young adults to sel... Read More

During the month of July, there’s typically enough sweet corn in Beaufort County to adorn every dinner table, every night. If you’re lucky, you either know somebody, or know somebody who knows somebody who grows it in their garden, and you’re handed off a boxful to store in your crisper. If not, you can buy three cobs from Walmart for under $1, since local crops are thriving. This summer’s perfect formula of direct sunlight and heavy rain yielded cornfields of a rich, vibrant green—stalks standing tall; nothing at all like the drought of 1998-2002, which kept the stalks brown and brittle.

Personally, I never tire of eating my corn like an antique typewriter, finishing line by line of the kernels. Nevertheless... Read More

After watching this afternoon’s blowout performance of David (A Man after God’s Own Heart), I can now report that there is nothing ad hoc about the Rocky Hock Playhouse in Washington.

Just because it’s located in the old P.S. Jones Middle School building and is, by definition, a ‘Christian theater’, don’t assume that this theater company gives an unrehearsed performance. In fact, it was quite the contrary.

When compared with Raleigh’s Theater in the Park—ran by the prominent, wealthy Ira David Wood III, father to Hollywood star Evan Rachel Wood—where I’ve seen more than a few shows, I would give the Rocky Hock Playhouse more points for professionalism and all-around talent.... Read More

For the July 2010 Market Report I decided to shift focus from the national real estate market to the local market. I zoomed-in on Beaufort County, divided the county by area, and took unique snapshots of market activity compiled for each area during the 22 months leading up to the Sept. 2008 market collapse, and the 22 months following it.

The data confirmed national trends. Nationally and locally, since the collapse, market volume has increased, the number of days a home sits on the market has increased, sales prices have decreased, the volume of homes that make it to closing has decreased and the number of conventional loans being approved has decreased. The one slightly surprising exception to these trends was an increase in the averag... Read More

Over the last few years we know of no one who has been any more critical than have we about Beaufort County Schools. Most of those complaints were directed at the former superintendent. Fortunately in our opinion, he resigned. After a short stint by Bill Rivenbark as Interim Superintendent the Board hired Dr. Don Phipps in December, 2009.

Friday (7-23-10) Dr. Phipps gave something of a "year-end report" and reviewed his plans for the coming year and even dared to dream a bit. We were impressed.

Dr. Phipps indicated he is working with an architect to finalize the plans for a Facilities Study. This is something long needed in Beaufort County as we have previously documented. We have shown how poor planning cost the taxpayers of B... Read More

The Finnish rock band known as HIM has returned with its seventh studio album, "Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice". The five musicians from Helsinki, Finland have started off the new decade with another sonic surprise of a rock album. This album is filled with heavy, goth-tinged, guitar-driven rock tunes that beckon the music-world to relish, savor and urge them to attribute this work to their precious rock and roll compilations. As an observer and listener of HIM's previous albums, the band's February 9, 2010 release is by far the most aggressive in terms of its lyrical positivity and musical dynamics. Unlike the past more melancholic albums; it portrays love in a more optimistic light, which literally "screams" ... Read More

I found that in general, as children get older there is less parent-child physical contact. When children are between infancy and preschool the parent will hold the child’s hand, carry them, or at least keep a hand on the child and will guide/ lead them. I came across a few specific examples of child-parent interaction between different age groups as well as different parenting styles. The cases involved a pre-school child and an adolescent who both had authoritative parents; and elementary children one with a permissive parent and another with an authoritarian parent. The interactions between child and parent in each case were quite different and the child’s behavior reflected greatly on the style of parenting they were subjec... Read More