TABLE OF
CONTENTS

THE GRAPEVINE '01

IMPORTANT
INFORMATION

05/25/01
Memorial Day week has not been kind the last several years. As I mentioned in my last posting, there were two straight Memorial Day deaths of people close to me. This year, just a few days before Memorial Day, my grade school principal and one of the nicest people you'd ever hope to meet, Glenn Yoder, passed away. I think next year I'll spend Memorial Day in Canada or somewhere that the holiday is not celebrated.

Congratulations to all the East Burke graduates. I remember the feeling--you're ready to take on the world, you know it all. Trust me, you don't. Unless of course your name is Sumayra Mohiuddin who was a USA Today Academic All-American Honorable Mention. I don't know what qualifications were, but she has done us proud. No mention in the News Herald, of course, since she didn't attend Freedom. ;o)

Don't forget that the Farmer's Market on Faet Street, across from Town Hall, begins this Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. until Noon. It will be at that time every Wednesday and every Friday from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., the perfect way to warm up to a good Family Friday Night concert.

05/20/01
Happy Memorial Day! (Next Monday)  Please pause a moment and remember the terrible loss of Mayor Jim Draughn two years ago on this holiday. I lost my grandfather the prior year on this holiday also, so it hasn't been a happy one. Appropriately named, though.

We got a little rain. Could use a lot more.

The schools have their end-of-grade test results back and I'll post our local outcomes as soon as possible. On a similar note, if you know anyone interested in (and qualified for) teaching in a wonderful school system in a family-friendly county, please have them contact Steve Demiter by e-mail or phone at (828) 439-4321. We are in desperate need of quality educators, despite our high-quality facilities.

I noticed the new playground at the Valdese Elementary School. Just in time for Summer Vacation!

05/13/01
I've been told that the bell does ring, but I still don't know if it's ringing every day or hour. I don't think it is. It's actually a tape of a bell anyway.

If you're interested in the Morganton May Day 5K / Biathlon results, here are the Valdese finishers:

Not too many runners, but Josh and Robert were the top two finishers overall. 

I got some feedback on my comments about tearing down the old high school. I don't necessarily want to see it torn down. I just want to see something done. Whether it's a hotel like J.J. wants; an extension of the Gardner Webb campus; or a office building for local small businesses like realtors, insurance agents, and physicians. Anything would be better than what we have here.

I've heard that J. Pascal is in Dorthea Dix in Raleigh. Let's hope his time spent there is beneficial for him.

Before I close, I have one question. Is there some sort of contest to see who can create the largest pile of mulch around the trees in their yard? It's looking ridiculous in some cases with piles over two feet high! I understand it's to keep the water from evaporating, but it would take a monsoon to penetrate the pile, even with the little hole they leave near the trunk.

05/07/01
If you haven't seen it, here's a look at the clock tower. The clock works now, but I'm not sure if the bell rings. They're probably saving it for the dedication ceremony at the Festival. 

The weather recently has been an unexpectedly pleasant surprise with low 80's the hottest it's gotten. Hope it lasts.

I've held my tongue on this, but it's time for Jimmy Jacumin to do something with the Frances Garrou High School (my junior high.) The condition of the building is disgraceful and hazardous. The Town should condemn it and force it to be torn down.

My neighborhood, Holly Hills (just south of I-40, exit 112) has unanimously agreed to be annexed into Valdese. Basically it was a water issue. Wells (like mine) were running dry. Unfortunately for me, I just laid out almost $6,000 for a new well. Somehow I doubt the Town will give me a tax credit for that. I'll get my revenge though, when we're in the city limits, I can run for Mayor! Watch out!

04/26/01
A lot is happening in Valdese as Spring decides to linger a while and give us some nice weather. Laurel Road is really a nice drive with all the trees and flowers in bloom.

As you'll see in the next Town newsletter, we're getting a Farmer's Market, courtesy of the Downtown Revitalization Committee and the Burke County Farmer's Market. It will be open Wednesday mornings and Friday evenings beginning in June and will be held in the parking lot west of Town Hall. Sounds like a great idea to me.

The Friday night concerts are going to kick off next week. These are always a popular way to spend an evening in Valdese. Last year, while biking around Morganton, I saw their Friday night concert and almost nobody was there. I've biked through the Valdese concerts on occasion and it is very crowded. Your continued support means the concerts will continue.

Don't miss East Burke's presentation of "Cinderella" in the Old Rock School this weekend.  Unfortunately Friday, they compete with the National Wrestling Alliance which is holding a "show" at East Burke. Some of the old names, like Arn Anderson, the Rock & Roll Express, and the Midnight Express will be there. I grew up seeing these guys on Saturday mornings. I don't think I'll be there though. If you go, let me know what I missed.

04/15/01
It isn't Easter without the Easter Beagle and some good Easter movies on television. What's happening with society? I haven't even seen the commercial where the rabbit is making chicken noises and lays a chocolate egg! We seem to be losing our adherence to holiday tradition (especially Christian holidays) and treating them as just an opportunity to get off work or out of school. Sad.

The Trail of Faith is going to offer office supplies and services at it's office on main street as a draw to get people into the store. I'm not sure how far they intend to go beyond copying, but you can find out at their grand opening Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

The Valdese Voices board has only one posting, regarding a skateboarding park for the youth of Valdese. Judging by how many skateboarders we have cluttering up Main Street, it might not be a bad idea. What do you think? E-mail me.

Happy Easter, everyone.

04/10/01
Strange, but true...The BP station closed as a result of a dispute between the property owner and the father of the man who ran the station. The property owner retaliated by raising the rent beyond the financial means of the business owner, so it closed. Sad to see, the full-service feature was utilized by a lot of senior citizens and they really treated people right.

Don't know what's up with Valdese Hardware. Seems like their closed every time I go by there. Maybe Rocky's gotten too busy with the restaurant and can't always staff the hardware store. If you know, let me know.

The Waldensian Presbyterian Church is losing it's second minister in as many months. Feild Russell, the senior pastor is heading to a position in Virginia, near where his parents live. The search for a replacement begins...He's a good one, and I for one will miss him.

Finally, a bit of interesting Census trivia. When will Valdese reach 5,000 citizens, at the current growth rate?  What about 10,000? What will it be in the year 3000?

Answers: (a) 2010, (b) 2050, and (c) about 64,000.

04/04/01
Say goodbye to winter. We're looking to reach 80 this weekend. Too hot. Can't we keep this wonderful 60 degree weather a little longer?

We've apparently lost two businesses this past week. Cellular Solutions packed up and moved to Morganton (I guess she got tired of everyone complaining about phone bills and service problems.) And it looks like the BP gas station has closed up shop, but I don't know why. It looked cleaned out when I drove by recently. That was one of the last full-service stations you'll see.

I apologize for not updating the East Burke sports info recently. My News Herald subscription lapsed (actually I cancelled several months ago, but it kept coming) and I have to borrow someone's to get the results. I'll try to do better.

Let me know what you think about the new features and sections. Are the pages loading quick enough?

03/21/01
Well Valdese welcomed in Spring with a nice snow/sleet/rain storm with high winds. Don't you just love the unpredictability around here. Several businesses (even Valdese Hardware) didn't open, but this may also have been because the owners had kids out of school or couldn't get out of the driveway.

I'm going to be losing my free guestbook service, but will replace it with another one soon. I'll try to salvage all the old entries and make them available if possible.

I won't name any names, but someone is planning to open a coffee house in Valdese serving the high-brow, Starbucks-style coffees.  Hint--It's not Larry Earp or Jay Pascal (as reported last posting). And, no, it's not me!

The Town still hasn't found a new Finance Manager. Doesn't much matter though, we don't have any money.  ;o)

03/14/01
Not much to report of late. But since some people actually visit this site for news, I'm trying to pass along what I can.

I see where J. Pascal has a coffee shop in his house. Let me know if you've been there. I don't plan on going. Not a coffee drinker.

We really need to do something about the amount of trash along the side of our streets. You can't see it from your car, but walk or ride a bike along the side of the road and look in the bushes and grass. It's really pretty bad. Praley Street, near the Elementary School is terribly littered.

Any thoughts on a Founder's Day Festival which would be held on the weekend closest to May 29th?  Chuck Moseley and I have talked about the idea, with a greater focus on crafts and less of the commercial stuff that plagues our August Festival. We'd like a second festival to bring the community together and offer something earlier in the year. We have New Year's fireworks in January and the parade in December. This might fill in a gap.

If I don't post much the next few weeks, it's because I've contracted March Madness, a non-fatal but highly contagious disease that can only be treated by organizing NCAA pools and heavy doses of basketball viewing.

03/07/01
It's my mother's birthday, so I have to immortalize her in cyberspace with a happy birthday wish. No age details, though.

If you don't like the weather around here, wait a minute. Yesterday, the wind was biting enough to make you cry. A few days ago you wanted to wear shorts.

If you got the school performance report in the News Herald, give it a look. Our schools have shown marked improvements in almost every category and at every school. I've used some of the data to update the education page.

02/28/01
With the E.B. girls losing to SE Guilford, the basketball season comes to a close in Icard. Great season for both teams and something to shoot for next year.

The News Herald has finally started printing more information on college games that feature former area players. I'll track the E.B. grads as best I can. Martin Ides is doing very well at Davidson. Unfortunately, I think he's a senior and the season is nearly over so I won't be tracking him long.

There are perhaps two smells that can bring tears to my eyes, not counting onions. The smell of diesel fumes and the bakery when it gets it "just right." Both bring back memories of working there, in the garage and in the office. Wednesday, while riding my bike, they had the smell "just right."

I apologize for not having an updated picture of the clock tower posted yet. It seems like every time I'm down that way, I don't have my camera. It's coming along smoothly. The tower is now enclosed. 

Next time you're downtown after dark or at dusk, check the lanterns outside Expressions on Main Street. They are very classy, but I think it would be neat if they had those bulbs that flicker like candles. Still, I like them.

02/21/01
Well, we lost the E.B. boys basketball team, but the girls team pulled out an exciting win in Icard over Northwest Guilford.

How's this for "That sucks"? ISP Sports Network, which WSVM is contracted with to broadcast Wake Forest (my alma mater) ball games came down from their headquarters in  Winston-Salem to strong-arm the radio station in to broadcasting the Wake game instead of the E.B. girl's playoff game which ran at the same time.

My beef is this. There are only maybe ten of us in the WSVM listening area that want to listen to the Deacons at any given time and this company is worried about a small market like that not broadcasting its game?  This is the High School state playoffs, and I'd much prefer to hear my local high school team, even though I'm a loyal Deac. WMNC in Morganton preempts Carolina games and Coaches shows all the time for Freedom games and you know UNC has a larger following than Wake.

Don't blame WSVM, this is a corporate thing.

02/19/01
Be sure to tune in Tuesday & Wednesday evenings and cheer on your East Burke Cavaliers. They've had great seasons and deserve your support. Better yet, get to the game!

Old Colony Players is having a dinner theater with two old-time melodramas with an intermission in between. Tickets are $15 for the shows & meal and reservations are required. For details, call 874-0176 or e-mail ocp@hci.net. The performances will be in the Waldensian Room of the Old Rock School.

The Millennium Clock Tower is coming right along. I'll try to have an updated picture next posting.

Here's some interesting user statistics for this web site:

What's the deal with Hickory Hill being so popular? I get  a lot of e-mails asking about them also. They must be doing well. BTW - Earthgrains came in 15th.

02/12/01
Congratulations to the East Burke basketball teams on an excellent regular season. I can remember when I was at East Burke 1984-87 and the basketball wasn't that great. This year, the girls team is ranked tenth in the state (before beating third-ranked Freedom) and the boys are probably top-twenty at least. Cheer them on in the Conference tournament : The girls play the McDowell/Alexander Central winner on Thursday at 4:00pm and the boys play the Freedom/Alexander Central winner on Thursday at 5:30pm.The championship games are Friday at 7:00pm (girls) and 8:30pm (boys.) All games are at McDowell.

This doesn't deal directly with Valdese, but I've come across an interesting site: www.pagetwo.org in searching for local information. Whoever runs this site seems to be very anti-Sheriff McDevitt and anti-News Herald. He (or she) also has a lot of "gossip" and insider information that may be of interest to you. You might view the site as a Rush Limbaugh-type site focused on McDevitt and the News Herald.

Don't know about you, but I was glad to see some snow this morning even though it was the wet kind that melted away too fast. I'm not ready to let go of winter. I still  want to build some fires. The weatherman was talking about 70 degree temperatures Friday & Saturday. Oh well...

02/07/01
Got an e-mail from Ellen Schultz, who you may remember raising money for a playground last fall. Anyway, she is a member of the Valdese Football Booster Club and they are raising money for a field house at the football field behind the Old Rock School. Click here to read her letter.

Please be careful and for Heaven's sake avoid burning yard debris until it rains (a lot!)  My father and I were visiting my grandparents at Morgan Trace and spotted a brush fire (seemingly unattended) that was spreading to small pine trees and a bone-dry field. This was just a few hundred feet from the Development! We called the Valdese fire department, but for some reason Triple Community showed up.  Well, at least someone did. My grandparents weren't even aware what was happening.

FYI - Valdese Jewelry is not going out of business, despite how the sign outside reads. It was actually bought by someone else and will be reopened under a new name (Grace Jewelry or something like that, I think.)

01/31/01
The Millennium Clock Tower top has been raised and is sitting on its foundation in front of the Old Rock School. It looks like a Forest Service fire tower right now. My proposal - have it ring the fire codes the way the tower at Town Hall once did. Nostalgia! Click here for a picture of the tower.

Since everyone likes rumors, here's the latest I've heard. Earthgrains is planning on some more cuts and is selectively replacing members of the bakery's "glory days." Many of the new upper-management folk are from other plants in larger cities. Definitely not Valdese-lovers. They don't even live in town when they move here. Just a rumor though...

I'd like to thank everyone who attended the encore OCP performance of Nunsense. I was skeptical of reshowing it so soon and the licensing fee was going to be something like 40-50% higher even though we were doing fewer shows.

Next up is Drucilla's Decision, a Dinner Theater set for March 2nd & 3rd (time to be announced.) Space is limited to about 70 people in the Waldensian Room downstairs in the Old Rock School, so reserve your spot today!

Next posting, I'll have some interesting details on who visits this site so check back soon!

01/21/01
It's been pretty quiet here in Valdese lately. No major weather events (I actually wish it would be colder - more winter-like.) Wouldn't you know we'd get all this rain just after my well runs dry...

I've added a Churches area under the Community section. I've meant to do this for some time, but I felt guilty because the only one I know much about is my own. So if anyone wishes to submit to me information about their Church, please do so, and I'll post it. Also let me know if your Church is not on the list.

Our Town Finance Director, Jerry LaMaster has resigned to take a position with a U.S. defense contractor. His new office will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hope he likes the heat, I read that summer highs get up over 110! He's a nice guy and will be difficult to replace. I wish him (oil) well!

I hope you'll try the new discussion board (see lower left.) Last time I checked, only one person had posted a partial comment about a skate park in Valdese. I think he submitted the comment before he was finished. Actually, it's an idea I've thought about too. It would help get the skateboarders off the sidewalks and give them a place to meet. Maybe it could be built at Children's Park or somewhere more centrally located. It's bound to be cheaper than a swimming pool dome.

01/07/01
The latest buzz on the Millennium Clock Tower is now a concern that the clock face will be too large, given its height from the ground, and end up looking silly. The faces (there is one on each side) will be about 3 1/2 feet wide and 27 feet off the ground. The entire tower is forty feet tall. Terry Jacumin said it might take up to a year to complete, but he promises it will be ready by the next millennium.  ;o)

I think my amazon.com link on the right is broken. I'm looking into it, though no one seems to be using it anyway.

This will rub some people the wrong way, but I'd really like to see Major Electric and the Pawn Shop take down their big "Arrow" signs off the sidewalk. They look tacky and ruin the somewhat historical look of downtown. It's not unlike the McDonalds "playland." Sorry, Mr. Guigou & Mr. Swofford.

01/03/01
Welcome to the new Millennium!  Come on, admit it. You know that this is when it really begins. Anyway, I hope the next thousand years are as exciting as the last. May we all live to see Y3K!

I'm still messing around with the poll applet (on the left, below TOC.) The old one didn't work because my ISP didn't support some of the features. That one let me choose the questions. This new one is run by a third party so they pick the questions, and there will be ads. I'll see how it goes. Let me know how you like it.

I'm also experimenting with a message board, called Valdese Voices. It's run by the same company as the poll and will likely be ad supported as well. I apologize for the "commercialization" but I think that a forum for visitors to the site to voice their opinions will make a nice addition to the site. Please keep it clean and decent.