I parked beside this 1935 coupe in the Cherry Point visitors’ lot this afternoon and captured the Havelock Scoop’s third vanity plate sighting: RICKS 35.
Have you seen a clever, unusual or just plain silly personalized license plate on the road? Tell me about it in the comments or snap a picture and e-mail it to cfriedman@freedomenc.com.
Caught on the service road. Released on the Havelock Scoop. It’s THE FISH!
Today’s vanity plate sighting on a U.S. 70 service road prompted this post and a new category here on the blog. I’ll sporadically add photos of personalized license plates spotted around Havelock.
Why? Because it’s interesting. Some vanity plates are witty, some are hokey and some just leave me puzzled. See a custom auto tag that you think should be added? Snap a picture and e-mail it to me at cfriedman@freedomenc.com.
Happy plate-spotting!
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.
Well, I bet it’s nothing compared with the state I found mine in this afternoon.
It’s that time of year when Tar Heel State journalists enter the state press association’s annual newspaper contest. Here at the HaveNews, Ken and I have spent all day searching the morgue for old editions and clipping our contest entries.
Wish us luck — the contest deadline is Oct. 5. Maybe my office will be clean by then.
Seen through my windshield earlier this afternoon:
Either someone’s flatulent and proud of it, or it’s a vehicular reference that escapes me. Any ideas?
Hunter Bretzius, left, departing publisher of the Havelock News, receives a farewell card from former HaveNews editor Pat Coleman. Ken Buday, the current editor, looks on.
Renowned newspaper designer and accomplished oil painter Hunter Bretzius commemorated her final day as Havelock News publisher with a farewell reception at our Stonebridge Square office this afternoon.
City Manager Jim Freeman presented Hunter and her husband Jim with a resolution of appreciation from the city of Havelock. Freedom ENC Communications gave her a new desk clock/nameplate/pen holder, and the HN staff chipped in a tribute page and farewell card designed to look like the paper’s front page.
My co-workers and I will miss Hunter, and we wish her all the best as she overcomes new challenges and greets new adventures in Gastonia.
The sun was warm, the bands were pitch-perfect, the volunteers plunked good-naturedly into the dunking tank, and the afternoon’s only disappointment was that I didn’t get to enter the three-legged race after all.
Havelock celebrated Independence Day yesterday with the Freedom Festival at Havelock City Park. The festivities kicked off at 5 and continued through 9, when a fireworks extravaganza filled the sky above the adjacent Walter B. Jones Park.
Here’s a pyrotechnics photo that shows both the stellar fireworks and how difficult it is to capture them without a tripod. Sorry for the camera shake, and look for more images from the Freedom Festival in next Wednesday’s Havelock News.
The Havelock Scoop won’t be updated tomorrow, as its creator will be out of the office. Enjoy Havelock’s Freedom Festival, and take a moment to absorb the meaning of this unique holiday.
In the distance, the clouds were cracking and flashing,
Mountains shaking with every explosion.
And I remembered thinking that night –
As I looked into the sky –
More than pyrotechnics meets the eye.
-Brave Saint Saturn, “Fireworks”
City leaders in New Bern have halted demolition in historic districts for 60 days while a new demolition ordinance is written, Francine Sawyer reported in today’s Sun Journal (read the story here).
Seems the city has charted a course toward greater protection of historic buildings from owners who’d rather demolish than rebuild. The recent demolition of the McLellan building pitted property owners’ rights against preserving downtown New Bern’s historic grandeur.
Maybe the ideal solution is some sort of compromise: Since the city has an interest in keeping the historic structures up, perhaps it could provide owners with incentives to restore rather than rebuild. New Bern could help bankroll a restoration effort under one condition — the property owner agrees to adopt deed restrictions that would prevent demolition.
It’s quite an investment for city taxpayers to make, but with each majestic brownstone beaten down by the wrecking ball, more of New Bern’s historic significance — and community character — dies a brutal death.