Birdie: By Whispering Pines Police Chief Louis Gregory, who announced his retirement (we should have called it that in our headline, instead of "resignation"), for displaying such grace under pressure during his five years of service. A small group whose members favored a local hire over the amiable Gregory did their best to make Gregory's tenure as difficult as possible. While these zealots succeeded in being pests, they could not stop Gregory from transforming the village's cop shop into a professionally managed law-enforcement agency. Thanks, Chief, for reminding us that it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

Birdie: By Rick Baker, longtime Southern Pines fire chief and current assistant town manager, for serving our community so well for 11 years. Baker, 49, announc-ed his retirement from North Carolina service last week and will move to Conway, S.C., as fire chief. While he was a stickler for fire safety, the easy-going Baker always managed to find a solution that protected the public and was palatable to a home or business owner. Good luck in the Palmetto State, Rick.