Havelock Scoop

It’s never too late to say goodbye.

Though I left the Havelock News last month and have since neglected this blog, I wanted to give those of you who read the Havelock Scoop a proper farewell. I’ve transferred to a sister newspaper, The Gaston Gazette, where I work as the Belmont and Mount Holly reporter.

Thank you to everyone who’s read this blog since I began posting. Double thanks to anyone who posted a comment, and triple thanks to those whose comments disagreed with me. I’m an unapologetic debate junkie, and I think more often than not, we all benefit from having our views challenged and our perspectives broadened.

Thanks for making my two years and four months in Havelock so memorable. I had some great times chasing stories, chatting with readers and taking in all that the Gateway City has to offer.

Editor Ken Buday and reporter/photographer Drew C. Wilson are doing some excellent work at the Havelock News. Please keep reading your hometown paper. Become a registered user on HaveNews.com through the Pluck SiteLife feature so you can comment on stories, post your photos and videos and write your own blog.

If any of you who know me personally would like to keep up with my work, read my new blog at GastonGazette.com. I’ll add the link in a few days when it’s all up and running. And you can always reach me via e-mail at cfriedman@gastongazette.com.

I may be 300-some miles away, but I’ll always remember — and often miss — the great folks in my former stomping grounds. Farewell!

Havelock voters want to send Barack Obama to the White House, Beverly Perdue to the governor’s mansion and Walter Jones to the Capitol, according to unofficial results from tonight’s primary.

Obama beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by more than 100 votes in Havelock’s two precincts, and New Bern native Perdue spanked Richard Moore by a wide margin. Despite a groundswell of conservative support, Republican challenger Joe McLaughlin was edged out by the incumbent Jones.

News services already are projecting that Obama will win North Carolina’s Democratic primary. Check the Havelock News online for late-breaking results tonight — Ken and I will be in the office until we have all the Havelock-area numbers.

Did you vote? Did your candidate win? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought about this year’s primary races.

Is the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Havelock charging more money for the same products sold at its sister store in New Bern? Havelock Scoop reader Clyde Shaeffer thinks so.

He wrote that a student desk sold at the New Bern store is $44.94, and an identical one in Havelock costs $49.99. A $49.99 chair in New Bern is $54.99 in Havelock, he said in a blog comment yesterday.

What are your observations about the new store? Are prices really higher here?

Today’s edition of the Havelock News features three stories on city transportation issues.

Residents of the North Harlowe and Cherry Branch communities got some good news, as the state Department of Transportation announced that a 13-mile stretch of N.C. 101 will be widened and resurfaced within the next year.

Traffic patterns have shifted since the recent removal of the Ketner Boulevard traffic signal, and at least one resident is so steamed that he or she posted a protest sign — which city officials quickly removed.

Havelock Scoop reader Andrew Callaway has applauded whomever’s responsible and offered to display the sign in front of his business.

Finally, a story details Havelock’s bid for a vote on the Super 70 Corridor Commission. The city currently pays $5,000 per year in membership fees, but doesn’t have a voice in the highway enhancement group’s decisions.

Havelock commissioners are split over whether outstanding city workers should be eligible for a 10 percent retention raise when they’re recruited by other employers.

At last month’s annual planning retreat in Goldsboro, commissioners voted to give the city manager the authority to offer well-qualified recruits a 10 percent increase over the posted starting salary. It’s since been suggested that the manager should be able to offer the same 10 percent raise to existing employees to keep them in Havelock.

Should the city compete with other employers to keep its best and brightest, or should it let them move on to greener pastures and focus on recruiting and training their replacements? Let me know what you think.

The behemoth is open for business.

Havelock’s largest-ever retail store, a 184,000 square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter, opened its doors this morning after a brief reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Click here to see our coverage of the store’s opening — including a video interview with the first customer.

What do you think about the new Wal-Mart? Will it help attract more business to Havelock and boost the local economy or drive smaller competitors out of business?

Photo courtesy of Havelock Planning and Inspections

A handpainted sign placed on a utility pole in apparent protest of the Ketner Boulevard traffic signal trade was removed by Havelock city workers earlier this afternoon.

The sign, which reads “Help. I’m stuck in Westbrook and can’t get out! 1-877-DOT-4YOU” was taken down from a utility pole near the Childcare Network at 270 U.S. 70 West, Havelock’s city planner confirmed today. The city code of ordinances prohibits the placement of signs on traffic light poles, utility poles and trees on public property.

Havelock Public Services will hold the sign for five days and then can discard it if it goes unclaimed.

Tell us who’s behind this roadside populist protest. Comment on this post, call me at 444-1999 or e-mail me at cfriedman@freedomenc.com.

UPDATE (March 11, 4:40 p.m.) — Click here to read the Havelock News’ coverage of the protest sign and residents’ reaction to the city’s new traffic patterns.

My column for tomorrow’s edition of the Havelock News offers five tips for shopping at America’s largest retailer now that Havelock has its own Wal-Mart store.

In the last paragraph, I ask readers to share their tips for shopping “Wally World.” I’ll post your suggestions in a separate blog entry, but feel free to comment on this post if you have any additions to my list.

You can read the column in its entirety below.

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Havelock and Craven County residents this month will have two opportunities to weigh in on the Super 70 Corridor Commission’s plans for U.S. 70.

As detailed in Wednesday’s paper, a public work session for Havelock residents is scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center. A work session for New Bern and James City-area residents is planned for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Brinson Elementary School.

The Havelock News will be there — scribbling and snapping furiously, I’m sure — and we hope you’ll be there to tell the engineers what’s right and wrong about their plans for a streamlined 70. Click here for the Super 70 Web site, which includes updated information and corridor concept maps.

Stand-up comic D.L. Hughley is headlining this year’s Kiss Comedy Jam, set for 8 p.m. Saturday at the Greenville Convention Center. Tickets for the Greenville show, presented by WIKS-FM 101.9, are on sale locally in Havelock and New Bern.

A comedian and actor who starred in the ABC sitcom “The Hughleys” and was the first host of “Comic View” on BET, Hughley will bring his Unapologetic Tour to Greenville with guest host Darren “D.S.” Sanders and musical guest I-15.

Tickets are $41 for general admission and $51 for VIP seating and are available at Image Update on East Main Street in Havelock, Flyin’ High Wireless in New Bern and on the Kiss FM Web site.

It’s a pricey show, but Hughley is a marquee comic who’s worth every penny.