The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Local News

Related Photos

  • Judith Moss, senior games participant and ambassador, played a game of bocce' Thursday morning at the E.L. Roberson Senior Center.

    USE senior games3.jpg

  • Charles Copeland (left) and Freida Crigger played a game of shuffleboard Thursday morning at the E.L. Roberson Senior Center in preparation for the North Carolina Senior Games State Finals. For The Daily Southerner

    senior games4.jpg
September 14, 2012

Seniors prep for state competition

The Daily Southerner MIRANDA BAINES

TARBORO — Those passing by the lawn of the E.L. Roberson Senior Center on Thursday would’ve thought the locale was an athletic field, rather than a gathering place for folks over the age of 55.

Johnnie Fay Taylor, 70, drew her arm back and launched a football. She was one of the seniors warming up for the North Carolina Senior Games State Finals, slated for Wednesday, Sept. 26.

“I’ve done it 12 years. I get gold every year,” said Taylor. Judging from the force behind Taylor’s throw and her upbeat attitude, she’ll be a winner in this year’s football throw competition, too. Taylor is back in the state competition after a one-year hiatus because of breast cancer.

“I did the county [games], but they found the cancer in August and I had to have the surgery in October,” said Taylor. She has had a full recovery and was wearing a pink breast cancer awareness bracelet Wednesday. Taylor said she enjoys the “friends, fun and fellowship” of the senior games, not to mention the exercise she gets during practice.

“It’s kept me well,” she said. Taylor competes in the football throw, softball, discus, shot put, running long jump, standing long jump and fun walk. The running long jump is the most challenging competition for her.

For 74-year-old Judith “Judy” Moss, senior games participant and ambassador, the running long jump is a favorite event. This is Moss’ 17th year as a participant in the state senior games competition.

“It’s the best thing I’ve done for myself since I retired,” she said. She and her husband, Reggie, found out about the senior games from their daughter, who volunteered at the state finals, and they’ve been participating every year since. Moss competed in the race walking, long jump and football throw her first year and said she, “kept signing up for something new every year.”

“People are living longer anyway. Why not get out and be active?” said Moss.

Morgan Whitehurst, senior citizen activity coordinator, agreed that this generation of seniors has a more active lifestyle.

“Seniors are an active breed this days,” she said. “They’re not your ‘grandma sitting in the rocking chair.’”

The senior games aren’t just for athletic types into high-impact sports, either.

“A lot of it is low-impact, like shuffleboard and bocce,” said Moss. “The whole program is designed to have something for everybody.”

Another low-impact senior game is croquet. Charles Copeland, 76, Mattie Mooring, 79, and Opal Sills, 73, played a practice game of croquet Thursdayday morning in preparation for the competition.

“It can be challenging,” said Sills with Mooring in agreement.

“It takes patience,” she said, adding that she is learning croquet because she has always admired the skill of golfers. A new game in this competition that Mooring practiced Wednesday is cornhole. The objective of the game is to get the most bags into the holes of the cornhole board.

“It has taken off really well. It was very popular in the local games,” said Whitehurst. She looks forward to traveling to Raleigh with the group of 18 seniors from Tarboro for the state competition. She said the seniors made their fundraising goal to cover the cost of the hotel accommodations for Sept. 26-29.

“We had such a great response from the local businesses and personal donations,” she said.

Text Only
Local News
  • AIB judging under way

    The America in Bloom (AIB) judges are in town, and Tarboro’s AIB committee rolled out the red carpet for them, beginning with Sunday supper at the home of AIB committee member Candis Owens.
    “I am really excited about these judges,” Owens said “It looks like they have been selected specifically for Tarboro, because they’re both historic preservationists.”
    James R. “Jim” Abraham is a professor of historic preservation at the Savannah College of Art and Design, while Ed Hooker, III is the historic architect and cultural resource manager for Fort Riley, Kan., according to the judges’ biography.

    June 17, 2013

  • lemonade.jpg Brother, sister offer relief from the heat

    Madelyn Gay, 9 left, pours lemonade in a cup that her brother Peyton Gay, 10, is holding in front of their St. Andrews Street home last Thursday. With the temperature reaching 96 degrees, the sister and brother tandem sold the refreshing liquid.

    June 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • Summer Food Service Program for children kicks off

    Edgecombe County Public Schools is working to make sure that no children in Edgecombe County go hungry while school is closed this summer by sponsoring the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) for children. Summer meals will be offered at Carver Elementary, Pattillo, Phillips Middle, Princeville Elementary and West Edgecombe Middle schools starting today. The meals will be offered from Monday through Thursday until Aug 8. Breakfast will be served from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

    June 17, 2013

  • Gun permits on the rise

    The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Department reported a spike in the number of citizens applying for gun permits and carrying concealed weapons. From Dec. 1, 2011 to June 13, 2012, the sheriff's department issued 88 gun permits as well as 213 concealed weapon permits. From Dec. 1, 2012 to June 6, 2013 the sheriff's department issued 492 gun permits and 364 concealed weapon permits.

    June 14, 2013

  • Heat.jpg Warmest day this year reaches mid 90's

    Beating the heat was the name of the game Thursday in Edgecombe County, as temperatures soared into the mid 90’s.
    “Right now the temperature is 95 degrees. This is the warmest day so far across central North Carolina,” said Shawna Cokley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, at 2 p.m. Thursday. She said the average June temperature for the Raleigh area is 86, 87 degrees.

    June 14, 2013 1 Photo

  • Art Council offers summer camps

    Art camps this summer will get children’s creativity flowing.
    Edgecombe County Cultural Arts Council is offering several camps for children ages 3 to 12. Art teachers for the camps include Ashley Myers, Genevieve Govoni and Taylor Owens, as well as guest artists.
    “It will be a chance for them to create and explore different mediums that they might not be exposed to in school,” said Joyce Turner, executive director of Edgecombe Arts. “Each camp will more or less be themed.”

    June 13, 2013

  • Vines Cobb.jpg Pinetops mayor satisfied with 2013-2014 $4.6 million budget

    PINETOPS — The board of commissioners stayed in line with surrounding towns by adopting its budget without implementing a property tax increase, although water and sewer rates increased by an average of 6.5 percent.
    "It's a good budget, said Pinetops Mayor J. Vines Cobb. "There was no tax increase, so we are holding the line,"

    June 13, 2013 1 Photo

  • Drugs found on THS student at school

    A Tarboro High School senior was hit with drug charges on campus three days before graduation.
    According to Tarboro Police Sgt. Al Braxton, a teacher spotted Rasheen Travon Council, 18, 404 Lincoln Road,. Tarboro, engaged in suspicious activities. The teacher notified a police officer.
    Upon the officer's investigation, he found Council was in possession of 29.4 grams of marijuana in small bags. Braxton said he doesn't know whether or not Council made a transaction at the school.

    June 13, 2013

  • RIVER.jpg Rising Waters on the Tar

    The Tar River has risen to 16 feet-four inches over the past four days. On Saturday, the water levels were very low, but since the rains have come, the water levels have risen. The gates at the Tar River on River Road are shut with padlocks on them, because the water has gone over the path that runs adjacent to the river.

    June 13, 2013 1 Photo

  • Flag.jpg WWII veteran Cobb honored at 118th flag raising

    The American Flag flying at the home of World War II veteran Walfield Cobb was only one of signs he was proud of his country.
    Cobb was honored Tuesday during the 118th Memorial Flag-Raising Service sponsored by Tarboro Golden K Kiwanis. His five children, Teresa Cobb, Tim Cobb, Polley Briley, Trudy Gallinotto and Karen Mobley attended the event.
    Cobb served in World War II from Sept. 1, 1944 to June 2, 1945. He returned to his Edgecombe County home and began a family, retiring from Glenoit after 32 years. Cobb died Sept. 30, 2011 at the age of 86.

    June 12, 2013 1 Photo