Archive - 2011 - Perspectives
May 9th
By
O-N-E Publisher Michael Willard
It’s easy to take for granted the things we’re given in this life.
I’m not talking about the things we work for and earn in our time on this planet. I’m not even referring to material possessions we’re born into thanks to the people we spend a lifetime calling “parents.” Yes, mom and dad give us a lot in life, but even the material things they obtain and put into our hands come as the fruits of somebody’s labor somewhere along the way.
They weren’t free.
By
NPD Officer Brett Williams
Getting a traffic ticket in North Carolina can be a serious ordeal. Not only will it affect your driving record, but it will also impact your wallet. In addition to fines and court costs, insurance companies have their own points systems, separate from the DMV's. So your insurance rates could skyrocket for common violations like speeding.
Court visits are a personal inconvenience, and depending on the violation, your privilege to drive may be suspended or revoked.
April 29th
By
O-N-E Publisher Michael Willard
It’s hard to look away from pictures and videos being broadcast from Alabama and the Deep South to computer screens around the world.
A friend gave a name to the countless images of devastation captured in my home state: disaster porn. And as I spent much of Thursday as a voyeur surveying damage to places that are still whole in my memory, I felt dirty as I got an Internet-fueled glimpse into so many lives shattered by a horrible natural disaster. I felt sick as I watched videos of monster tornados grinding across commercial and residential landscapes, shredding every thing in their path.
April 4th
Laurels
Laurels to former Claremont Mayor Glenn Morrison who received The Old
North State Award. The award recognizes North Carolina citizens who have offered at least 25 years of exemplary service to the state, and Morrison is certainly deserving of the recognition.
March 14th
By
O-N-E Publisher Michael Willard
Doctor, lawyer or crime-fighting chief, which one of these things would you like to be?
That is the kind of question students at Tuttle Elementary School were asked this week, and on Friday, I joined more than 20 professionals from throughout Catawba County in trying to help provide a few answers. The school’s “Career Roundup” was a great way for young people to learn about many career options available to them as they begin charting their paths into a profession. It was also a great way for leaders of our community to share why we chose the careers we did.
March 12th
Darts
Darts to Catawba County’s justice system that allows a person to walk free even though they are directly responsible for the death of an innocent man.
Sadly, this situation is becoming a disconcerting norm in a county where drunk motorists can endanger roadways and motorists and have the very real hope of never facing punishment for any deadly crimes they might commit.
March 7th
DARTS
After the Catawba County Schools Board of Education announced a new superintendent for the county’s largest school system, we fire darts at officials who orchestrated the search.
February 28th
By
O-N-E Publisher Michael Willard
This week, a Catawba County Grand Jury officially delivered news the world has anxiously awaited the past four months. An indictment issued Monday declared that, in the eyes of this county’s prosecutors and grand jury members, Elisa Baker was involved in the death and dismemberment of a 10-year-old, disabled cancer survivor. Zahra.
February 23rd
By
O-N-E Staff Writer Jordan-Ashley Baker
Zahra Baker.
I’ve probably typed her name hundreds of times in the past five months.
Monday was another one of those days when I typed Zahra’s name over and over again as I learned more about what happened to the freckle-faced cancer survivor. The more I type Zahra’s name, the more I hope to see swift, firm justice delivered in the case.
By
O-N-E Publisher Michael Willard
With only a handful of exceptions during the past decade, I have spent at least a couple of evenings every month attending regular and special meetings of some elected government body or another. Some months, particularly when I was a fledgling cub reporter covering anything and everything that came my way, I toted a notepad and pen into a couple of meetings every week.
