Editor and Publisher
John H. Walker
TARBORO —
Visiting with some farmers at Conetoe on Saturday, there was one common thread in the conversation — a need for a slow, soaking rain.
And less than seven hours later, after the skies darkened and rumbled a bit and the wind started whipping through the trees, the rain started to fall.
Just like Manna from heaven.
As the water levels drop — have you checked out the Tar River lately? — the ground dries a bit more and more and, as one producer noted, one area he works and is usually just shy of being called wet this time of the year is just that same bit from being called dry.
A nice, soaking overnight rain was just what the farmer ordered and we could use a couple of days more of the same type.
• • •
Down at the roundabout — or traffic circle, if you prefer — there is a project under way to add some landscaping and improve the appearance as drivers head into downtown Tarboro.
The Edgecombe Master Gardeners have taken on the design and maintenance of the new roundabout in partnership with the Ag Extension Office, the town and Department of Transportation.
On Saturday, Buddy Hooks, Anne Boone Urquhart and Valerie Strickland were on-site with a variety of colored landscaping paint to mark out the plan.
The centerpiece will be a burgundy cotton crepe myrtle, which grows taller and won’t block the vision of the drivers.
As Buddy noted Saturday morning, he didn’t realize the “conversations” that the negotiation of the roundabout created as drivers blew horns at one another and occasionally yelled back and forth.
“It was an eye-opening experience,” he said.
• • •
We’re told things were busier this year than last at the Shred-it project in the parking lot at Lowe’s.
While things got off to a slow start, a lined formed quickly and participation from that point on was pretty steady.
The Shred-It truck was busy taking care of paper documents, while officials from the local landfill and volunteers from the Boy Scouts loaded electronics gear on a truck so that it might be destroyed.
That was just one of the Earth Day efforts locally, as employees of the Piedmont Natural Gas Tarboro work center cleaned a section of Sara Lee Road on Thursday.
On Sunday, even with the wet weather, there were diehards who showed up at St. Anne’s Chapel for a scheduled afternoon of seminars and programs on ways to conserve energy and save both money and Mother Earth.
• • •
We’re looking for some help from our readers, and what better way to get it than ask?
Our June issue of Welcome to Tarboro is going to center on items made locally — such as western boots, guitars and more.
I’ve been told of a man who makes wild game calls and carves hummingbirds and another who builds large scale remote controlled model aircraft. I’ve also heard of folks who sell various jams and jellies that are well known in the region.
It doesn’t have to be something made to sell ... it can be a hobby and the items can be collected or given away ... we are looking to write about the talent here at home.
Those are the folks we are seeking out ... for a ‘MADE HERE AT HOME’ issue of your magazine.
If you know someone, please send their name and contact information to me at jwalker@dailysoutherner.com or call 823-3106 and leave a message.
And since you were, thanks for reading!
