Archive - Nov 25, 2011
Ray Cletus Cansler, 77, of Newton, died Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 at Palliative CareCenter & Hospice of Catawba Valley. The Cansler family has entrusted arrangements to Jenkins Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Newton.
Louise Berry Sites, 82, of Newton, died Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 at her residence. The Sites family has entrusted the arrangements to Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home & Crematory in Newton.
Now that Thanksgiving dinner is out of the way, the busy season has started for North Carolina's multimillion dollar Christmas tree industry.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says fresh, state-grown Christmas trees will be available at stands and farmers markets this weekend, as well as at farms in the western part of the state, where most of the trees are grown.
Joey's Christmas Trees off 321 Business in Maiden set up trees at its stand this week. Richard Williams was busy drilling holes in the bottoms of trees to stand them up.
A customer sat in the Conover Hardware parking lot at 6:30 a.m. Friday.
The store opened at 7 a.m., manager Penny Corpening said. When it did, the customer bought one of everything in Conover Hardware's sale circular.
"She said 'these are great deals, I need this,'" Corpening said. "We have a lot of great deals, but it's not just about sales. It's about building relationships."
Dozens of local businesses across Catawba County hope to maintain those
Catawba County's Riverbend Park has a new attraction.
It's only inches long, colorful and may soon be gone.
An Allen's hummingbird is visiting the park off N.C. 16 near the line between Catawba and Alexander counties.
The adult male bird has a rusty-colored head, back and sides, metallic green on his back and a bright orange-red throat. He is only the second Allen's hummingbird ever recorded in North Carolina, according to Catawba County parks officials. The breed usually spends summers in western California and southern Oregon.
Chris Willard’s quest on Black Friday started at 4 p.m. on Wednesday outside the Best Buy in Hickory.
Arriving to a half-empty parking lot and sidewalks free of shoppers, Willard sat down next to a sign outside Best Buy that read, “Line Starts Here.”
He was the first in line.
“As soon as I got off work, I came up here,” said Willard, a Taylorsville native. “When I saw there was no one here, I didn’t even think twice to start waiting."
For the next 32 hours that included near-freezing overnight temperatures, almost no sleep and a growing crowd, Willard waited.
Holiday events abound this week in Catawba County with a homes tour to benefit education, a duct tape crafts workshop, a visit by Santa Claus to Sherrills Ford and a concert at Lenoir-Rhyne.
The week also includes a World AIDS Day ceremony in Hickory and a Hmong New Year Celebration at Catawba Valley Community College.
For more events throughout each week, pick up a print edition of The Observer News Enterprise. For breaking news each day, visit observernewsonline.com.
Monday
The O-N-E's latest reader poll is up at observernewsonline.com.
This week, share whether or not you participated in Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping.
Look for a new poll each Friday at observernewsonline.com, and check The O-N-E's Weekend Edition for results from the previous week's poll.
Conover-resident Judy Baxter is this week's winner of $100 in The Observer News Enterprise's Hometown Christmas program.
Baxter registered to win at Newton-area business Midway Carpet, one of 70 area businesses supporting The O-N-E's holiday "shop-local" campaign. Her entry was drawn from among hundreds of others just before 8 a.m. during the Wacky Wake-up Crew on WNNC and WAIZ.
On the day after Thanksgiving, The O-N-E edition arriving at homes today focuses on community efforts to deliver a happy holiday on the area’s needy.
While those community servants serve other area residents, Maiden native Joe Lineberger is serving his nation - just as he has for more than 60 years. Lineberger, 80, served 28 years in active duty with the U.S. Airforce and since then he has served 32 years as a civilian. He recently received the Spirit of Service Award and The O-N-E tells his story in the print and online at www.observernewsonline.com.
