Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. William E. Thurman will be the keynote speaker for the 10 a.m. Saturday ceremony at the Moore County Veterans Memorial in Carthage.

The ceremony will also be highlighted by the addition of the names of three members of the Armed Forces who were killed in action. Another 100 names of other veterans have been added in the past year to the monument near the intersection of U.S. 15-501 and N.C. 24-27 in the Carriage Oaks complex.

The band and Naval Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps from Union Pines High School will participate. Music by Rose Cooper and Summer Hennings is also among the features of the ceremony, which annually attracts hundreds of veterans, their families and other patriotic supporters.

The ceremony is open to the public.

MORGAN — Richard Morgan, a former co-speaker of the state House of Representatives, enjoyed “I told you so” moments after the Nov. 2 general election.

The Under the Dome column in The News & Observer of Raleigh recalls that his Republican critics complained that the legislative redistricting plan drawn up on his watch would mean that there would never be another GOP majority in the House. But this year, the election resulted in the Republican Party capturing both legislative chambers, the first time that’s happened since the late 19th century.

“Listen carefully,” Morgan said in an e-mail to the N&O. “See if they hear that deafening silence from some of my Republican critics that said we drew districts that would not allow another Republican majority this century. I listen, and I hear silence. Could be just me.”

Morgan, a Republican, lost a bitter race for re-election to the state House in 2006, when his opponent, Joe Boylan, received financial and other support from the state GOP and a key critic, businessman Art Pope, of Raleigh.

Since then, Morgan has run unsuccessfully for two offices, state superintendent of public instruction and state Senate.

MCTS — At a Nov. 1 meeting, the Moore County Board of Commissioners approved a grant agreement between the N.C. Department of Transportation-Public Transportation Division for 2010-11 funds to continue operation of Moore County Transportation Services.

The total, $547,415, includes $437,932 (80 percent) in federal funds, $66,780 in local funds, the remaining five percent from the state.

INSTANT — Voters probably won’t know the winner of one seat on the state Court of Appeals until Nov. 29.

Cressie Thigpen, the incumbent, and John McCullough received the most votes in the first priority column on the Nov. 2 ballot, but they must wait until votes cast in the second and third priority columns are tabulated to determine the winner.

Thigpen and McCullough were among 11 candidates participating in the state’s first ever instant runoff vote (IRV). This system allows voters to vote for their first choice, then to mark second and third choices.

The purpose is to determine the winner without the expense and time needed for a runoff election, which is usually poorly attended.

Gov. Bev Perdue appointed Thigpen to fill a vacancy left last summer when then Appeals Court Judge James Wynn resigned to accept appointment to the federal bench.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at florence@thepilot.com.