Only About 10 years too Late..

Baseball's steriod scandal will finally be investigated. A little late...

ButI appreciate the selection of Former Senator George Mitchell to lead the investigation and he's sure to be thorough and fair.

I talked baseball with Sen. Mitchell when he visited Greensboro a couple of years ago. The following week he was selected to be President of Disney. Commissioner Selig is in a no-win situation as Barry Bonds chases the home run record.

Let's hope Sen. Mitchell can find truth, and it will free the game.

Finally, A Real Debate Among Evangelicals!

Let's get it on in Ohio!

Jim Wallis of Call to Renewal and Rev.Russell Johnson of the Ohio Restoration Project debate faith and politics in America....

Smash Mouth Volleyball!

This past weekend the Cape Fear 15 yr. old Bronze Team won a Gold medal over at Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem. Brittany "Beast" Brown (who will attend Hoggard HS) and Cassie "Wy-can'tgethernameright" budding Pender Patriot volleystar with their gold medals!

It was a great game against the team from Asheboro. While I pulled for the home team from Cape Fear, I thought the Asheboro team girls were great and their coach showed real leadership. The match went to third and final game. Brittany served out the win!

Congressman Brad Miller kisses baby!

Congressman Brad Miller fighting for our children and the Register of Deeds in the Fightin' 13th District!

Thanks Joey....

and John Hammer as well.

Bring Our Troops Home Safely...

Congressman Jack Murtha is worth watching on NBC's Meet the Press.

GOIN' COUNTRY #6- Country Music Bands

Best overall music:

1) Willie Nelson
2) Johnny Cash
3) Waylon Jennings
4) Alabama
5) Gatlin Brothers
6) Conway Twitty
7) George Jones and Tammy Wynette
8) Charlie Pride
9) Hank Williams Jr.
10) Kenny Rogers (Picked a Fine Time to leave me Lucille got him in)

BOC Meeting Thursday, March 16th.

A heavy agenda was desposed with in record time. Steve Arnold chaired the meeting. He did a great job and was even handed with all. The recommendations on salary increases were made to the Board and several department directors received 5% raises.

I was lucky enough to be included in that group. That was a real validation that we are doing some really great work in the Deeds office.

I appreciate the vote of support from the Board. We still have lots of work to do to become the best office in NC, but we are making great strides. Our employees are doing a great job and we are working to have another successful year.

GOIN' COUNTRY: #5- All Time Nascar Favorite Drivers

1) Dale Earnhardt
2) Bobby Allison
3) Bill Elliott (80's)
4) Davey Allison
5) The King RP
6) Junior Johnson
7) Dale Waltrip
8) Hendrick Motor Sports
9) Stroker Ace
10) Lee Petty

"March Madness" at Register of Deeds Conference!

March Madness took over the Register of Deeds Legislative Conference this week on Tuesday. Inttek, a Register of Deeds software vendor located in Wilmington, NC sponsored a nerf basketball free throw contest! There were over 50 participants.

Best out of 3 shots. The prize $500.

Now, the JT NASCAR HONORIN' SPECIAL EDITION "GOIN' COUNTRY" saw the blog entry on Fly Swatters the other day. But GOIN' COUNTRY athletics is more than just fly swatters, it's NERF too! NERF anything...football, baseball, and yes, NERF BASKETBALL. They had to be joking...every kid in eastern NC WENT COUNTRY on nerf!

Flu-ridden and sniffling, 2 out of 3 put me in the finals with Charity Lewis, Bladen County Register of Deeds, and Lee Warren, Register of Deeds of Cumberland County. (All finalists from Eastern North Carolina in adjoining counties) That tells you something about Nerf and GOIN'COUNTRY.

What happened next turned the laws of competition on its head!

In the finals, I hit 1-3. Yes, the pressure was enormous with a huge crowd. Lee went second and missed his attempts. (I certainly understood because I had missed my first two). Third, Charity hit her first shot. She had great nerf form. But then missed the final two. 1-3. Jeff and Charity were the two finalists. The crowd was on its feet!

But GOIN'COUNTRY is about more than the moment, or the checkerd' flag. GOING COUNTRY is Holy. There's a bond in there. Sportsmanship and honor have a place. It's about grace and being a gentleman, or gentlelady and spreading the love. Charity and I looked at each other, looked over the abyss of cut throat, win at any cost culture of athletics, and had already quietly cut the deal. If we're finalists....

LET'S SPLIT THE MONEY!!! The crowd was disappointed, but we both won $250 and received our own nerf basketball goals! Call it what you will, but Pender (via Guilford) and Bladen County WENT COUNTRY.

NC Association of Register of Deeds meet in Raleigh

Spent much time coughing and hacking and attending the NC Association of Register of Deeds in Raleigh on Monday.

The highlights included a visit from Sec. of State Elaine Marshall; review of legislative issues (from Randloph County ROD Ann Shaw!); a resolution to create an Advanced Certification for Register of Deeds staff (I fully support it!); and a review of about 18 problem documents that are common to ROD offices.

The conference will focus on vital records issues on Tuesday.

Dept. Directors Get Evaluations

Met with the County Manager Willie Best, Deputy Manager David McNeill, HR Director Sharisse Fuller, and Commissioner Skip Alston this past Thursday. I spent about 45 minutes reviewing my past year as Register of Deeds.

We've established three clear priorities in the Deeds office: 1) Enhanced Technology; 2) Better Customer Service; 3) Improving Internal Operations. We are making progress on these priorities. There have been so many changes in the past year it was hard to get through them in that amount of time.

Regardless, I proud of the staff in the office for hanging in there through the many changes. I'll be posting the Year End Report on www.guilforddeeds.com shortly.

GOIN' COUNTRY #4- Pender County to Expand Angola Bay Game Land

Pender County is home to more than 80,000 acres of game lands, which consumes one-third of the county. Pender and Hyde County, which includes Ocracoke Island, have the most acreage devoted to game land on the North Carolina coast.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is working on buying 4,000 acres to add to Angola Bay Game Land in western Pender County from the N.C. Coastal Land Trust and Nature Conservancy. A portion of Angola Bay crosses into Duplin County.

County Commissioner Steve Holland sees the importance of these efforts, but understands you give up some tax base when you do this kind of preservation. If you get off the Hwy. 210 exit, grab a Paul's Place hot dog or hamburger, just drive a few hundred feet and you'll see all the development in that area. New gas station, Food Lion, and much more is to come. Those areas used to be prime land for wildlife. It's clear there should be a balance.

GOIN' COUNTRY means you need to keep up on these kinds of things.

Frist wins with hometown crowd!

The first straw poll of the post-Bush Era came this weekend in Memphis. The Southern Republican Leadership Conference results.. ehh, you decide what it means.

Goin' Country #3: How Improve Hand-Eye Coordination and Speed as Athlete!

The ZEN OF SWAT. Fly Swatters were an intregal part of my development into an athlete. Hand-Eye Coordination is important in baseball, basketball, football, pool, poker...etc. After all, goin' country is about playing the hand you got and making due.

Four Great Tips to Improve Your Games!

1) Fly Swatters and Roaches- Try this exercise late at night. Once everyone goes to bed, let it get REALLY, REALLY quiet. Have your trusty fly swatter at hand, or, at a relay-able location....then sprint to the light switch in the kitchen. Turn it on quickly, run to the baited location (preferably a table connected to loose chips, bread crumbs, etc) and HAVE AT IT! Nail every one of those jokers! Keep score, hits and misses. VERY IMPORTANT: Body is stiff, use elbow and wrist action! No wasted motion. Oh yeah, clean up is a must!

2. Fly Swatters and Ants- Go outside and find some ant hills near concrete. This is a rapid fire drill. Put out something sweet like a piece of pimento and cheese sandwich or candy. Let the ants form a strong line to and fro the object. Then, once you know how many are in the freeway, rapidly HAVE AT IT! The goal is rapid motion in a small confined area. Remember, body stiff, use elbow and wrist action. More wrist will be needed as you will see.

3. Fly Swatters and Flys- This one is a full body, aerobic exercise that calls for agility and peripheral vision. Summer afternoons are great before or after cook outs, or when you sense them. You'll need multiple outside walls, like a car port. Flys on steps, walls, concrete, cars, poles, you name it. Tightly grip the your weapon, and HAVE AT IT! The goal is to position oneself to take out multiple targets on first strike, cover ground quickly to get from wall to steps, to concrete if needed. This exercise is good every 15 minutes in 1 minute intervals. Rapid feet motion, wrist and elbow, and, peripheral vision a must. This exercise is good so when you play basketball you can find the open player!

And last, but not least.... DON'T TRY IT UNLESS YOU'VE MASTERED THOSE 3 ABOVE!

4. Fly Swatters and Wasps, Bees and Dirt Dobbers- You are in the big leagues now. There is no play at this level. Execution is a must. The ability to take on multiple bogeys in mid air. You must not only swat, but crush. Have good shoes for the task. Boots are good but may impede motion. No Flip-Flops! To be proactive, find the nest and just rattle it a bit. They will fall like pro Fighter pilots. Be ready to engage, disengage, assess, and reengage. Good exercise after watching Top Gun. If one sting- go back to #2. If multiple stings, go back to #1.

Tom Fox

Please remember the family of Tom Fox, hostage killed in Iraq, in your thoughts and prayers. As a member of a Christian Peacemaker Team, Tom was working to help support Iraq citizens and standing for a more peaceful world through his lifes' work.

GOING COUNTRY PART 2: Transportation

1. THE BIG WHEEL- Without a doubt, the first great transportation memory in 70's. This model doesn't have the plastic streamers, but that's ok. Peddin' on dirt, gravel, asphalt....this was THE FIRST Low Rider. Whether you were in a trailer park, or lucky enough to go brick, Big Wheels are fast, affordable, and get good gas mileage. Fun for all!

2. Tailgates- Ridin'on em and grabbing the latches. Hold on tight. If you are carrying debris, can your converse hit the road or dirt along the way? If going down sandy or dirt roads, seeing the lines in the dirt from draggin' your feet. Jumpin' off before the truck stops. Those tail numbing trips were great!

3. Bicycles- The pain of shoes stuck in the spokes; tail numbness on handlebar trips; Rough grips on handlebars; THE THROTTLE (Vroomm! Vroom!) 20 yellow lines- the # of lines I passed in a wheelie contest. Ride 'em through ditches and do a wheelie on the other side baby.

4. Farm Equipment- (Future topic)

5. The Dirt Bike- Honda XR-50. Model design of a mota cross mota bike, with the handle and manuverability (yeah, I mispelled it) specifically for a 10 year old. Bought used for $50, but memories priceless. 1 mile- exact distance from my house to the river via dirt road. The smell of gas and oil mixed with exhaust. The tinge of pain from rubbin' your calf against the motor is a guilty pleasure while the air (and an assorment of gnats, dragonflys, and sand beat your face like pellets. Grab it and ride it hard over plowed roads and spin through the puddles!

6. The Tobacco Harvester- While this is for Farm Equipment, driving the tobacco harvester is the height of vehicular upward mobility for the cropper Planting, hoeing, top and suckering are all a part of parenting a young tobacco plant. While the weak and packaging specialists head for the barn, the real men and hard women "Lug" tobacco. With increased knowledge, pacing, and leadership, advancement to drive this beast shows you are a real winner in Goin' Country.

7. Pat and Charlie- Good ole Pat and Charlie. Couched in Pro-keds, Chuck Longs, boots (never had a good pair) and those affordable plastic and rhythmic $1 pair of flip flops. The heal, toe, socked, unsocked, smelly Pat and Charlie... Let's Roll!

Goin' Country... Burgaw style! In Honor of NASCAR...

As a result of the NASCAR Hall of Fame announcement, I'm going country over the next few weeks. I got to do it (and my writing will reflect my drawl too) Randomly, I'll pick a staple of my own southern background and culture and reflect, or...just write about whatever comes to mind about it. For Example:

TOPIC- HUNTING:

4-10- (My first shotgun)

Raccoon Hunting- Listening to the dogs back in the distance and freezing my #$@ off! Selling the meat and hides to neighbors. And the look of a skinned raccoon.

Deer Hunting- In a field on Batson's Farm. Shot 3 times at deer, maybe 100 yards away. Missed horribly. Only Deer I ever hit was while I had four wheels in motion.

Rebel- My brother's dog. He loved that old dog. Good hunting dog. My first dog was named Soul. He would defend me with his life...until my mom ran over him with her car. He lived, but was never quite my defender, God bless Soul...and Rebel.

On Dogs- There was a hunting dog that jumps off an Interstate bridge...and lived. Craziest thing. He hit the ground...was motionless for a few moments, then staggered up and around.

Squirrels- Guilty feeling. I shot one late in the afternoon. I didn't find it, bury it, or eat it. Shooting a 22 rifle from quite a distance. It just fell. I later thought "what a waste". Why shoot a squirrel. I always took extra time with squirrels at Guilford College.

Bear- Time I saw a Bear. Yeah, a real one. That is what I told everyone. No one believed me. Only me and the Bear know the truth. I saw that bear.

Snakes- No. Never hunted snakes, but killed a few. I jumped over one while running through a plowed up field. Went back, it was gone. But a copperhead was wrapped around a tobacco stalk as I was cropping around the stalk. While my tightie-whitties were looked questionable upon washing, that was one DEEAADD snake after me and my friends beat it like a... mad dog with the mange. Never killed a snake at the river. Saw many and up close. But I just felt like if I killed one, they'd get me. Bad luck.

BB guns- Shot a few birds with it. Stray cats. Had to pump it for pressure. I think my brother shot me with one. Can't remember. He did push me on a garbage bag with broken glass. Have the scars to prove it. My sister got him back. Potato rake to the head and the neighbors dog got him too. I got him back too. For another topic. Baseball.

2nd Amendment- Support it. Got my dad a bunch of stickers and patches while I worked for NRA in college. No joke. Don't agree with their politics, but my dad really liked the hat. That meant alot to me.

Duck Hunting- I've already mentioned it. Cheney, decoys, and foam. No further comment.

Boots- Never had a good pair of hunting boots. Jumped out of some once running home through pig slop. Late afternoon..winter. Tried to take a short cut. Bad idea. They were my brother's. I borrowed, well, liberated them. The mud was freezing my toes and I got stuck. The mud was deep and syrupy. I was 10 years old. I cried. My feet warmed eventually as I ran across the last field to get home.

And last but not least...



Possums. I really detest possums, even little ones. I don't even like that itty-bitty one in the sink. They are dirty, rotten, and stink up the road, field, whatever. I've found them in trash cans, run over them, and chased them. A waste of a good round.

NASCAR Hall of Fame Goes to Charlotte!

Yes, I like NASCAR and I'll blog about it! All over they are talking about it.

Charlotte gets the Hall of Fame....as if it would go anywhere else.

So, who am I with....you might ask?



Hendrick Motor Sports! Jimmy Johnson, Kyle Busch, and even Jeff Gordon.

48, 24, and 5.

Chris Parrish for NC Court of Appeals

Guilford County Assistant District Attorney Christopher "Chris" Parrish is running for NC Court of Appeals. Scroll to the bottom and you'll find his name.

Chris is a personal friend and lives in Oak Ridge. He has worked in the Guilford County DA's office for the past 7 years. He'd make a great judge! He'll have a website up in the next few weeks and will be traveling across the state.

Good luck Chris!

No, I wasn't ignoring it...

Poor Jeff Thigpen needs an annual raise was in the Rhino Times on Thursday. I figured I'd wait till the online version to post it for all!

The article is pretty good. The headline...well, you can decide.

Champions! And this is why I like UNC!

Game Over!

UNC Player Latoya Pringle with Geraldine "Carolina Mama" Thigpen!

The Troops!

BIAS IN DEEDS

The BIAS IN DEEDS article was in the News and Record this morning.

UNC Women to ACC FINALS!

Covenants of Racism: A Documentary Coming Sunday in News and Record

Reporter Nate DeGraff writes about the racially restrictive covenants that hang over local homes this coming Sunday in the News and Record.

Audio and Video work by Jerry Wolford is currently on the their homepage.

Randolph County Register of Deeds Ann Shaw does not file for Re-Election.

Republican Register of Deeds Ann Shaw decided not to file for re-election in Randolph County. Ann has been Register for around 20 years and a real leader for issues involving NC Register of Deeds offices.

I really like Ann and appreciate her kindness and insight given to a young Register of Deeds in Guilford County. She has had great pride in our Association with lots of sweat equity through her diligent work. Much of the legislation passed through the General Assembly in recent years has had her fingerprints written all over it (in a very good way).

Krista McDaniel Lowe, who worked in the Randolph Register of Deeds office from 1987-1995 was the only candidate to file for the office. I wish Krista the best.

I'm not worried about Ann. She started in the Deeds office as a teenager and now at the age of 34 has decided to move on to new challenges.

I wish her the best!

Vernon Robinson files against Brad Miller...

Vernon "Liberals are liberals and Conservatives are liberals" Robinson filed to run against US Rep. Brad Miller.

As a resident of District 13, I look forward to a values and issues oriented campaign in a carnival atmosphere!