CHARLOTTE - With mixed results in the first two games, the Panthers start down the home stretch of preseason play Saturday when they host the Washington Redskins at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers have split their first two preseason contests against Indianapolis and Philadelphia while Washington has won all three of its games.

Getting a read on the most recent game at Philadelphia proved difficult in the first half, which was played in a driving rainstorm around a 58-minute weather delay and saw the Panthers take a 10-0 lead into the locker room.

British oil company BP PLC said that testing will begin Wednesday on the closed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which runs through conflict-stricken Georgia, ahead of a move to restart full operations as early as next week.

by Jim Kouri



The Republican National Committee (RNC) published an update at its BarackBook.com website yesterday that accuses Barack Obama presidential campaign bundler Jodie Evans of supporting the insurgency in Iraq. Evans is co-founder of the so-called antiwar group Code Pink.

The RNC quoted a January 15, 2006 column by Robert Novak that said, "Code Pink, At A Mock War Crimes Tribunal In Istanbul June 27, Signed A Declaration That The Iraqi Insurgency 'Deserved The Support Of People Everywhere Who Care For Justice And Freedom.'"

Evans represented Code Pink at the mock war crimes tribunal. In addition to expressing Code Pink's support for the insurgency, Evans published a statement from Istanbul personally endorsing the insurgency that has killed thousands of American troops and free Iraqis:

"We must begin by really standing with the Iraqi people and defending their right to resist. I can remain myself against all forms of violence, and yet I cannot judge what someone has to do when pushed to the wall to protect all they love. The Iraqi people are fighting for their country, to protect their families and to preserve all they love. They are fighting for their lives, and we are fighting for lies." (AlterNet, June 26, 2005)

LINCOLNTON - The community is invited to visit Salem Industries today at 1636 Salem Church Road.

"Bookin' It", a mobile bookstore, will be parked outside and open for business.

Bookin' it! is the only independent mobile bookstore in the Carolinas.

The mobile bookstore will be at Salem Industries today from 8:30 until 3:00 p.m.

You’ll find a terrific selection of hot new titles and some of your old favorites too!

Pricing ranges from $1.99 – 12.99 for activity books, sticker books, flash card, & Fun kits. Books for a variety of literacy levels and interests ranging from $2.99 -29.99 for kids & Adults.

Bookin’ it! , LLC is a member of the American Booksellers Association and The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.

Profile America — Wednesday, August 20th. One of the nation’s first radio stations began broadcasting in Detroit on this day in 1920 — station 8MK, now operating as WWJ. The station was owned by the Detroit News, and its daily program was called “Tonight’s Dinner.” For some reason, the station was granted an amateur license, which later was changed to commercial.

The first station granted a commercial license was KDKA in Pittsburgh, which began broadcasting in October of 1920. Radio soon caught the public’s fancy and the number of stations grew rapidly.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON – The Lincolnton/Lincoln County Interagency Narcotics investigators arrested the two men following a four month long investigation. Officers stopped a van occupied by the two men at the intersection of East Main Street and Huss Street Monday night. The driver, David Michael Philbrick, 51, of Ralph Ward Trail, Iron Station, gave officers permission to search the van. Inside they discovered the workings of a mobile meth lab including equipment and working chemicals.

Philbrick is charged with maintaining a Vehicle for a Controlled Substance, Possession with the Intent to Manufacture a Controlled Substance, and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

His passenger Kenneth Wayne Johnson aka “Milo”, 48, of 475 Whitfield Road, Choctaw Beach, Florida was charged with Manufacturing a Controlled Substance, Possession with the Intent to Manufacture a Controlled Substance and Possession of Meth Precursor, all felony charges.

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry joined local employers at a rally and seminar in opposition to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act, otherwise known as “card-check” legislation. The event was hosted by the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce.

Card-check eliminates the right to secret ballot elections for workers deciding whether to unionize in the workplace. Labor unions would now only have to get signatures on a card from a majority of employees to form a union.

STAFF REPORTS LINCOLNTON - The following listing represents incident and arrest reports from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

This listing does not necessarily mean anyone at the listed address was accused of any crime, only that a report was made at that location. Also, it is advisable to understand that many people may have the same or similar names.

Local law enforcement asks that anyone with information about any of these incidents or to report a crime call CrimeStoppers at (704) 736-8909. CrimeStoppers allows you to remain anonymous and pays up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

INCIDENTS
2008-06184
Found Livestock
Assigned: Officer Brown
Location: 920 Old Lincolnton Crouse Rd.
Victim:
Livestock found on Property
Date Reported: August 18, 2008
District A

LINCOLNTON--School will be back in session at the end of August and many students will not have the tools needed in the classroom. Communities In Schools (a United Way Agency) anticipates that many more students will need school supplies this year and has set a goal of collecting enough school supplies to fill the inside of a school bus. CMC-Lincoln would like to lead the way in this School Tools Drive and help CIS exceed their goal.

Candidate ‘truly understands the critical roll small business plays’ in state’s economy CARY, N.C. -- The National Federation of Independent Business has endorsed Pat McCrory in his campaign for governor of North Carolina. McCrory received the grassroots endorsement from small business owners in Cary at Frantz Automotive Center, an NFIB/North Carolina member.

“Pat McCrory understands the problems facing small business owners, and his commitment to solving them resonates with North Carolina’s entrepreneurs and small, family-run companies,” said Gregg Thompson, state director of NFIB/North Carolina, the state’s leading small business association.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Nine physicians who practice in the Lake Norman area have chosen to join Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS).

The following physicians are now affiliated with CHS:

• Daniel T. Biondi, D.O.- Family Medicine
• Aubrey D. Calhoun, M.D.- Internal Medicine
• Stephen D. Ferguson, M.D.- Internal Medicine
• Patrick L. Fry, M.D.- Internal Medicine
• Holly M. Layman, D.O.- Family Medicine
• T. Basil Mathew, M.D.- Internal Medicine
• John L. McGuinness, D.O.- Internal Medicine
• Yvette Pellegrino, M.D.- Family Medicine
• Vesna Tomovich, M.D. - Family Medicine

LINCOLNTON, N.C. -- An elderly woman hit by a car early Monday died at the hospital.

Police said the 86-year-old woman was struck just before 7 a.m. on East Court Square in Lincolnton. She was transported to Gaston Memorial Hospital, where she died around 9 a.m.

Police have not released the woman’s name or said if the driver will face charges.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The following listing represents incident and arrest reports from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

This listing does not necessarily mean anyone at the listed address was accused of any crime, only that a report was made at that location. Also, it is advisable to understand that many people may have the same or similar names.

Local law enforcement asks that anyone with information about any of these incidents or to report a crime call CrimeStoppers at (704) 736-8909. CrimeStoppers allows you to remain anonymous and pays up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

INCIDENTS
2008-06028
Animal Bite
Assigned: Animal Control
Location: 803 Low Bridge Rd.
Victim: Kenneth Gross
Animal Bite
Date Reported: August 11, 2008
District B

Profile America — Monday, August 18th. We’re all used to thumbing through the catalogs that arrive in the mail almost daily for the latest bargains. However, this pastime may be older than you think. The first such catalog was sent out by Montgomery Ward on this day in 1872. That first catalog consisted of only one page, but the idea was so successful that by 1904, the Wards catalog weighed in at 4 pounds. It sparked so many dreams in mostly rural America, it became known as the “Wish Book.”

Today, the mail-order business is still thriving, generating an increasing amount of sales on the Internet. There are more than 64,000 electronic shipping and mail-order houses, and each year they sell more than $122 billion worth of goods.

By Cindy Jones

Recently a friend and I were running some errands together. Well, actually I thought we were going to only two places. Next thing I knew we were going in an odd direction and I questioned her. “Oh, we’re going to such and such… “, she replied. We got done with that stop and had one more stop to make on the way home. But again my friend seemed to take an odd route. So, I said, “Where are we going now?” She said, “to the place you wanted to go.” And then she looked at me with a funny look and said, “Well, you know me, I just choose any road, and as long as they connect to get me where I’m going I’ll take them even if it’s the long way around.”

We both laughed.

Then I started thinking about Jeremiah 6:16a – “…Stand at the crossroads and look…” I thought, “What can help us stay on the “highway of holiness” as mentioned in Isaiah 35:8? Upon reading Psalm 119 I think we can glean a few truths that will helps choose the proper road for our lives.

By Warren Shiver

A spiritual was a song, created spontaneously by slaves, before emancipation. These songs were often expressions of their religious faith. They were originated by enslaved Africans in the United States. Slavery was first introduced to the European Colonies in 1619. The slaves were brought in for two reasons. One, the Europeans was selling Africans as slaves in the 17th Century because it was a great moneymaker for slave traders. Two of the best-known slave traders were John Newton and his father, John.

Johns father, Captain John Newton, bought and sold slaves until he retired. The young Newton then took over the slave ship. He was one of the wickedest men on the sea. During a terrible storm, God spoke to him, and after six years of being under conviction, John accepted the Lord and became a minister. He gave us one of the most popular hymns ever written, "Amazing Grace." After his salvation experience he wanted no part of slave trading.

The second reason for selling slaves and bringing them to America was for economic reasons. Slaves could be worked, and their master's only obligation was to give them a place to live and furnish them food to eat. Some slaves received better treatment than others. In some cases the slaves took the last name of their masters. Some were allowed to worship, but they could not shout, chant, or beat bongos or drums as they would in their native land.

LINCOLNTON – The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office ACE (Accelerated Criminal Enforcement) Team set up six community police checkpoints during the month of July.

The checkpoints were set up at High Shoals and Salem Church Road in July 6th, Cat Square Road and Palm Tree Drive on July 22nd. And Old Plank Road and Cabin Lane on July 26th. The also worked the Park Circle area and Sedgebrook Drive.

Some 21 citations were issued for drug violations, equipment violations, no operator’s license, driving while license were revoked and expired registration.

By JOHN HOOD

RALEIGH – I know that if I asked most readers of this column to list the top-10 issues facing North Carolina, few would think to include “auto-insurance reform.” There are many other things to worry about, needless to say, and I admit that insurance reform doesn’t exactly sound like a scintillating topic. But perhaps I can arrest your attention with this one statistic from a recent John Locke Foundation report:

North Carolinians make up 3 percent of American motorists. But they account for 60 percent of all U.S. motorists who can’t buy auto insurance on the open market.

“That’s insane,” says Eli Lehrer, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the author of this new study of North Carolina’s auto-insurance system. That may be putting it mildly. The state has constructed a wacky regulatory structure that overcharges low-risk drivers and undercharges high-risk drivers such as young men in sports cars. In essence, the system imposes a tax on most of us to subsidize the accident risks of a few.

“That hidden tax penalizes the state's safest drivers, including women and older drivers,” Lehrer said. “The tax is linked to the fact that nearly one out of every four North Carolina drivers cannot find insurance coverage in the private market.” In most states, the share of drivers who can’t get market policies and must buy from a state-run reinsurance pool – where the price of coverage is subsidized by surcharges on the insurance premiums of other N.C. drivers – can be measured in the low single digits. In South Carolina, the grand total of drivers in the reinsurance pool last year was two – not two percent, but two individuals. North Carolina’s total in the same year was 1.5 million individuals.

Powerball numbers for 08/16/2008 were:

05 34 40 43 52 Powerball 20
Powerplay 5

The estimated Grand Prize was $34,700,000 ($16,900,000 cash).
There was no Grand Prize Winner.

The next Powerball drawing will be on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 with an estimated Grand Prize of $43,000,000 ($21,200,000 cash).

by Jim Kouri, CPP

Russia's invasion of the sovereign nation of Georgia has pushed major news stories off the front-pages of newspapers and news magazines, and usually is the lead story on broadcast news shows. The images of Russian tanks pouring into Georgia is a reminder that Putin's Russia is not to be ignored by US officials.

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union embarked on the most massive military buildups in history. Part of President Reagan's strategy for winning was to entice the Soviets into a competition it could never even hope to win. A communist economy by its very nature is ill-equipped to compete with a free-market, capitalist system whether it's foreign trade or weapons technology.

And so, slowly the Soviet economy became a basket case due to the communists desire to exceed America in an enormously expensive arms race.

After the Cold War, with the Soviet threat gone and with Democrat President Bill Clinton in the White House, terms such as "the peace dividend" became commonplace within the Washington Beltway and in the mainstream news media. No longer was the political establishment interested in defense, and the new agenda for the US was domestic.

Profile America — Saturday, August 16th. From just about any perspective, Amos Alonzo Stagg, who was born on this date in 1862, was an amazing man. He played in the first public game of basketball and on the first All-American football team, and was a gifted baseball player. But it’s his impact as a football coach for which he is remembered.

In his coaching career, Stagg developed the lateral pass, the man in motion, the use of helmets, the tackling dummy, and putting player’s names on the backs of their uniforms. He died at the age of 102. Now, many of Stagg’s innovations are an accepted part of college football — played by 615 colleges, whose games are watched by almost 48 million people annually.

STANLEY, N.C. - The following are results from dirt track racing action at East Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, August 16, 2007:

Grand American Stock CARS
1. Matthew Patterson Kings Mountain, NC
2. Mickey Anderson Statesville, NC
3. Tracy Tapley Kannapolis, NC
4. Andy McGinnis Mount Holly, NC
5. J Barnett Statesville, NC

Late Model Modified Sportsmen
1. Ronnie White Charlotte, NC
2. Jonathan Jennings Maiden, NC
3. Jeff Mundwiler Statesville, NC
4. Bryan Robinson Gastonia, NC
5. Keith Bowman McAdenville, NC

RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley announced this week he has signed the following three bills into law:

Senate Bill 1875, “An act to recodify the State Auditor's Hotline authority, to clarify the authority of the State Ethics Commission with regards to referrals from the State Auditor, and to make other conforming changes.” The bill was sponsored by Sen. Daniel Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg). The law becomes effective upon the governor’s signature.

“This bill ensures that the State Auditor’s hotline remains open and the Auditor’s authority to investigate and deal with waste, abuse or mismanagement of state resources is not diminished,” said Easley. “Furthermore, the bill requires the Auditor’s office and the Ethics Commission to communicate with each other on matters of mutual interest.”

Profile America — Saturday, August 16th. From just about any perspective, Amos Alonzo Stagg, who was born on this date in 1862, was an amazing man. He played in the first public game of basketball and on the first All-American football team, and was a gifted baseball player. But it’s his impact as a football coach for which he is remembered. In his coaching career, Stagg developed the lateral pass, the man in motion, the use of helmets, the tackling dummy, and putting player’s names on the backs of their uniforms. He died at the age of 102.

Now, many of Stagg’s innovations are an accepted part of college football — played by 615 colleges, whose games are watched by almost 48 million people annually.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Lincoln County Health Department hosted a site visit review with 4 state and regional pharmacists to review its Strategic National Stockpile plan.

The Strategic National Stockpile is a national repository from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of antibiotics, antivirals, and medical supplies used to supplement federal, state, and local public health agencies in the event of a terrorist attack or other emergency.

Until this year, the Health Department did not have a working plan.