I remember looking with horror at my county’s vaccination rate in August when we were about to go back to teaching in-person classes at East Carolina University: 43 percent. Surely the rate on my campus will be better than that, I thought.

A year that began with the promise of a new administration has given way to increased divisiveness among Americans. A mere six days into 2021 our nation was almost toppled by a few thousand thugs, who when prompted by a would-be dictator, tried to take control of our government.

As we begin a new year with upcoming national elections, epidemic concerns, violence in the streets and uncertainty for our nation’s direction, how might we retain some sense of historical perspective that, with faith in God’s providence, can provide some hope for a favorable future?

The subject of abortion is much in the news recently. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled a challenge can go forward on a Texas law which prohibits abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detectable. It also heard arguments on a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.

Growing up in rural North Carolina, I experienced the benefits of physically attending a school where teachers lectured. I watched how schools transformed from a traditional system with teachers and whiteboards to students using Google Classroom and Pearson.

Sometimes things that sound the same are not really the same at all.

The radio talk show host asked his listeners, “What is the best Christmas present you have ever received?” One gift I remember as a kid was a pair of socks when I was hoping for a toy train. But probably the best gift I got was a new bike.

Everyone knows the U.S. immigration system is badly broken — but many don’t realize how badly visa-related logjams hurt North Carolina’s high-tech businesses and our innovation economy.

Seems like now would be when we’d hope to see many of our nation’s best and brightest working diligently to solve the many crises we face — Workhorses ready to do the difficult work.

Over the last 18 months, much has been written in these pages concerning public schools and education in Moore County. I would like to focus this piece on the topic of infrastructure. So, let us set the stage and then look at a solution or two.

While I would much rather pen a column that introduces a new subject for consideration, there are times when a column by another person must be responded to to ensure the full story is told. Such is the case with this column.

With the recent blocking of the Voting Rights Bill by the GOP, we are again hearing how Republicans are trying to stop people’s right to vote. Instead of writing an entire new article, I am going to recycle parts from an older one. As always, I am not supporting or opposing the bill but simp…

Each fall, UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz co-teaches a seminar for graduate students — professors of the future — called “The American Professoriate.” The class focuses on the role of public universities. This year, he teaches with Matt Springer and Buck Goldstein from the Schoo…

The North Carolina General Assembly remains poised to make open government history next week when lawmakers return to Raleigh for the last time in 2021.

We are well into autumn, and winter is nudging the thermometer southward. As I picked up the morning paper, the thermometer on the porch read 28. The frost was definitely on the pumpkin, although the flowers in my wife’s garden had not succumbed — yet.

The Oct. 19 column by Michael Smith about Critical Race Theory is an example of someone who has exhaustively researched a subject and then chosen the definition that suits his purpose.

Help New Arrivals Learn What Makes Us So Special Here

For the first time in three years, North Carolina will have a budget for 2021-23.

A recent column by Nick Lasala suggested that a good way to determine a political candidate’s suitability for office might be to check his position on issues relating to our founding documents.

When you see a politician on TV it’s easy to assume he’s acting more in his own interest than ours. But that wasn’t the case on Oct. 18.

In a recent letter to the editor, a constituent questioned my absence at the NAACP forum on Thursday, Oct. 14, at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church. She contrasted that I attended the Pinehurst Forum at the Carolina Hotel on Friday, Oct. 15. She then questioned how I could claim to be pr…

More than one in 10 people in North Carolina are living without health insurance. They’re working in construction, retail or manufacturing. They’re cooks and nursing assistants, janitors and truck drivers. From the Nantahala Forest to the Outer Banks, the uninsured are our neighbors and comm…

With elections wrapping up — and a new campaign season about to commence — now is a good time to reacquaint ourselves with the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.

Beginning this week, countries across the world are coming together in Glasgow for COP26 to discuss how the world will address our climate crisis.

On Aug. 25, the Biden administration announced COVID-19 vaccinations would be required for all nursing home workers or facilities would risk the loss of federal funds supporting care.

The final words of the North Carolina constitution are not about the beauty of the state, or the liberty of the people.

The future legitimacy of the North Carolina Supreme Court is at stake.

Complaints ranged from undrinkable water, termites and even sewer flies. There was extreme crowding near a world-class golf resort and old air conditioners that triggered water leaks, mold and breathing concerns but not enough cold air.

Several weeks ago the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released school performance scores for what are known as End-of-Grade (EOG) and End-of-Course (EOC) tests for the 2020-2021 school year.

History buffs and Rhode Islanders have all heard of Roger Williams. Born in 1608 in England and baptized in the same London church as John Harvard (founder of Harvard University), Williams was an extraordinary early American settler and religious man who sought to preserve the rights of indi…

I am writing in response to an editorial in The Pilot’s Sept. 15 issue claiming that FirstHealth of the Carolinas “continues to hold out” on mandating our employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. This is incorrect, and as chairman of the FirstHealth of the Carolinas Board of Directors, I want …

Reprinted with permission by The News & Observer of Raleigh

If you sat down in the dentist chair, you would think it crazy if the receptionist barged in to say, “Good morning, we’re still trying to hire a hygienist. So between phone calls and scheduling appointments, I’m here to clean your teeth.”

The recent decision to remove the 131-year-old Robert E. Lee memorial statue from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., raises observations from history.

COVID is like a houseguest that drops in for a few nights but who then decides to stay.

In the months leading up to the emergence of COVID vaccines, few expected there might be significant resistance to getting inoculated. Fewer still expected that the resisters would include nurses and nursing home workers.

Fort Bragg is going to be renamed. 
Last year, Congress passed a law that forced the renaming of military bases with ties to the Confederacy like Fort Bragg, named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.

In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln called this nation a government “of the people, for the people, and by the people.” He was so enamored with the “we the people” concept that he further said that the specific concept should not be allowed to vanish from this Earth.

North Carolina is not a “home rule” state. Here, there is no constitutional authority empowering municipalities to regulate on local matters.

After the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 and the inauguration two weeks later, I penned an article that suggested ways political entities needed to change to preserve our democracy and basic ways of governing in this country. Included were suggestions to individuals, business and labor, and …

We Are Lacking Rational Talk About COVID-Related Risks

If you were considering a move to the Sandhills, you would probably pick up the local newspaper to get a feel for the real estate market.

In a recent editorial piece written by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, she reminded Alabamans and other Americans that the only thing that will keep us safe from the ravages of COVID-19 is the “true miracle” of the vaccine developed during the Trump administration under Operation Warp Speed, the vacc…

Reprinted with permission by The News & Observer of Raleigh

The Sandhills region is in trouble. The good news is there’s a solution right around the corner — if our legislators will just reach out and grab it.

The Pinehurst golf calendar is packed this summer, as it always is, with golf tournaments, and especially tournaments inviting younger golfers.

Fort Bragg is known as the “epicenter of the universe,” and for good reason. Not only is it our nation’s largest military installation in terms of personnel, it is also the home of many components including the 82nd Airborne Division, the nation’s Immediate Response Force, the XVIII Airborne…

It was 50 years ago this month that North Carolina became the final state needed to ratify the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, lowering the national voting age to 18.

In 2012-2013 I wrote a regular opinion column for this newspaper. One of those columns, published in the May 31, 2013 edition, was headlined “Endangering What Makes Us So Special.”