At the start of 2020, it was like our world fell out of orbit.
As we watched the news, it took a while to absorb it.
The sickness, the death and the respirators that hold the breath
To save the ones who are not so strong
While everyone wonders what went wrong.
As we spin in this alternate reality, if COVID isn&rsquo;t enough, there is police brutality.
Instead of giving us protection, some illuminate a projection of hatred built up in their heart.
Please, God, tell me where to start.
Love the next person, no matter the color of their skin
So we can make a better place of this world that we live in.
What are we putting in our children&rsquo;s faces?
A world divided, a world not safe.
So as we ring in 2021, let&rsquo;s pick up the pieces and put down the guns.
We are battling something deadly, something unseen
A virus that threatens our existence, like something in bad dreams.
From prisons to churches, schools to streets, help your neighbors onto their feet.
When our grandchildren read about all of this in their history
Do you want it to be a mystery of what you did to help in this time of need?
Saving a life or finding a family to feed.
I&rsquo;m gonna say it one more time for all to hear:
We have to stand together and fight for a change in the New Year.&nbsp;
James Coley
Norlina
The writer, a Wilson County native, is an inmate at Warren Correctional Institution.&nbsp;

Fighting for a change in 2021

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Police say a man shot and wounded a coworker Friday morning at a Wilson air filter business.&nbsp;
Authorities arrested 29-year-old Brandon Devon White of Wilson on charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury in the shooting of 35-year-old Donnie Moore, according to Wilson Police Capt. Kendra Howell.&nbsp;
Police responded to Second Nature at 11:38 a.m. regarding an employee who had been shot inside the business, Howell said. The 1920 Farrior Ave. SE business is at the end of Cargill Avenue in the former Tobacco Processors plant.&nbsp;
Howell said officers and emergency personnel arrived and found Moore suffering from a gunshot wound.&nbsp;
Moore was taken to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville for emergency treatment, Howell said.&nbsp;
She said the department&rsquo;s investigation resulted in White&rsquo;s identification and arrest.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Both victim and suspect work together at the business,&rdquo; Howell said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.&nbsp;
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Howell said no one else was injured in the shooting.&nbsp;
The Wilson location is a fulfillment center for Second Nature, an air filtration company headquartered in Raleigh. Attempts to reach the company Friday were unsuccessful.&nbsp;
&lsquo;EVERYBODY TOOK OFF RUNNING&rsquo;
Second Nature employee Brandon Carr said workers were minding their own business when gunfire rang out.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Next thing I know, I heard a shot,&rdquo; said Carr, who works in the facility&rsquo;s shipping section. &ldquo;I thought it was a pallet jack at first and then I heard continuous shots and then everybody took off running.&rdquo;&nbsp;
While Carr said he didn&rsquo;t see his coworker get shot, he witnessed the aftermath. He said he saw the victim &ldquo;fly to the ground.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;We just all just took off and ran,&rdquo; Carr said. &ldquo;No questions asked. Nobody had to tell us to take off and run or nothing, just instinct.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Carr said about 30 employees were in the shipping area. He said he didn&rsquo;t hear any threats or hints of violence prior to the shooting.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Nobody was fussing or arguing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everybody was cool, I thought. Everybody gets along very great.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Carr, who&rsquo;s worked at the facility for four months, said he hasn&rsquo;t noticed confrontations or conflicts between any of his coworkers.&nbsp;
Stefonia Andrews, another employee who was on the shipping floor, said while she didn&rsquo;t see anything, she did hear gunshots.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I saw everybody running, so I just ran,&rdquo; said Andrews, who noted she was able to evacuate quickly because she works near a exit door.&nbsp;
Investigators ask anyone with information to call the Wilson Police Department at 252-399-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 252-243-2255. &nbsp;

Police: Wilson man shot, injured coworker

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Spring Arbor of Wilson was briefly evacuated Wednesday after a clothes dryer caught fire, sending white smoke into the memory care unit. Wilson Fire/Rescue Services Deputy Chief Jim Campbell commended Spring Arbor employees for their quick response. &#x201C;They were very efficient in getting them outside,&#x201D; Campbell said. Campbell said firefighters were called to the 2405 Ward Blvd. assisted living center at 4:29 p.m. &#x201C;Wilson Fire/Rescue Services was dispatched in reference to a fire alarm. Companies arrived at Spring Arbor assisted living to find white smoke coming from the rear of the building,&#x201D; Campbell said. &#x201C;Upon investigation, crews encountered a fire inside of a clothes dryer. Crews gained entry to the dryer and extinguished the fire.&#x201D; &#x201C;The fire damage was limited to the appliance, and there was mild smoke spread throughout the facility,&#x201D; Campbell continued. &#x201C;The occupants were sheltered in an established safe area while ventilation efforts to remove the smoke were in progress.&#x201D; No firefighter or civilian injuries were reported. &#x201C;Servpro responded to remove the smoke odor from the building before returning the occupants to their rooms,&#x201D; Campbell said. The Wilson Police Department and Wilson County EMS also responded. &#x201C;The staff at Spring Arbor did an exceptional job in evacuating the residents in such a smooth and methodical manner,&#x201D; Campbell said. &#x201C;The fire alarm alerted the occupants and fire department early, which assisted in the evacuation and life safety.&#x201D; Deborah Jones, executive director at Spring Arbor, said 14 residents were in the memory care unit when the fire started. They were moved to another location within the facility until the smoke was cleared. The fire&#x2019;s cause is undetermined.

Dryer fire evacuates Spring Arbor assisted living facility 

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A Wilson mother of three has a warning for parents with small children: Don&#x2019;t keep pocket lighters within youngsters&#x2019; grasp. Kademah Whitley and her three young sons, Cjay, 5, and twins Zy&#x2019;Mere and Zy&#x2019;Maiz, 4, escaped with their lives after their apartment was severely damaged in a Jan. 6 fire. Whitley, a 26-year-old 2014 graduate of Hunt High School, said her family was in bed about 10:50 p.m. when Zy&#x2019;Maiz and Cjay got up to get a drink of water. Zy&#x2019;Maiz found a lighter, lit a piece of paper towel and dropped it on the floor. &#x201C;I guess he was scared,&#x201D; Whitley said. &#x201C;I guess he thought it wasn&#x2019;t going to catch anything on fire. &#x201C;Thankfully, my 5-year-old went in there with him. All I know is my 5-year-old came to my door and said, &#x2018;Maiz started a fire.&#x2019; He was loud and I jumped up out of bed, and I went in there and it was really on fire.&#x201D; An upholstered loveseat in the living room was ablaze. Whitley thought about picking the chair up and trying to put it out. &#x201C;I&#x2019;m glad I didn&#x2019;t lift it up, because flames would have went up and probably the fumes would have knocked me out,&#x201D; Whitley said. Instead, Whitley, a single mother, called 911, and the dispatcher directed her to immediately gather her children and leave the apartment. Once safely outside, she went to alert neighbors in the apartment building. &#x201C;I started banging on everybody&#x2019;s doors to make sure everybody was out,&#x201D; Whitley said. &#x201C;It was horrible. I still can&#x2019;t believe it.&#x201D; Wilson Fire/Rescue Services responded to the fire at Forest Hills Manor Apartments, 2712-4D Forest Hills Road. The first floor of the two-story unit was engulfed when firefighters arrived. A video of the scene captured that night shows flames streaming out a window. Whitley said she had a lighter in the house because of her work. Whitley braids hair and sells clothes for a living. Her mobile business is called Mommy and Sons Ambitious Boutique. &#x201C;The only reason I had a lighter is I had it for braiding hair to cut off the fly-aways,&#x201D; Whitley said. <h5>BENEFIT FUNDRAISER</h5> Stephen Holzworth, general manager of Pizza Inn in Wilson, said Whitley and her children had eaten dinner at the restaurant the evening the apartment burned. &#x201C;We go there a lot,&#x201D; Whitley said. Pizza Inn, located at 700 Ward Blvd. in the Winoca Shopping Centre, is holding a fundraiser on Monday for Whitley and her family. &#x201C;What we are going to do is take 10% of what we bring in that day and donate that to her, and we are also going to be taking in donations for her,&#x201D; Holzworth said. Holzworth said his employees wanted to do anything they can to help Whitley. &#x201C;If we don&#x2019;t support the community, the community is not going to support us,&#x201D; Holzworth said. &#x201C;Right now, with everything that is going on in the community, we just need to unite together and help each other out. That is what being an American is about, for me anyway. I served in the military and I try to do anything I can for anybody who needs help. We&#x2019;re just trying to get all of the support we can for her and help her and her kids get back on their feet.&#x201D; Whitley said she appreciates the restaurant&#x2019;s support. &#x201C;I think that is a blessing,&#x201D; she said. &#x201C;I really, truly appreciate it, and I am grateful that they chose to do that for us.&#x201D; Whitley and her boys have been living with her mother since the fire. The fire destroyed all the boys&#x2019; clothes and the family&#x2019;s possessions.

Pizza Inn raises funds for fire victims

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A man accused of selling heroin that caused the deaths of two people pleaded guilty Wednesday in Wilson County Superior Court.&nbsp;
James Jerome Bass, 53, who initially faced two counts of second-degree murder and other drug charges in the 2018 and 2020 deaths, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and the sale of heroin in connection to the cases.&nbsp;
Bass entered an Alford plea &mdash; where a defendant doesn&rsquo;t admit guilt but acknowledges there is evidence that could lead to a conviction.&nbsp;
THE DEATHS
The Wilson County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office charged Bass with second-degree murder in 36-year-old Rebecca Ann Kemp&rsquo;s overdose death on Dec. 1, 2018.&nbsp;
Prosecutor Joel Stadiem told the court Wednesday that Bass sold heroin to Kemp&rsquo;s then-boyfriend, 41-year-old Bennie Thomas Amerson. Amerson bought the drugs from Bass for himself and Kemp and took the heroin back to the house to use, officials said. Kemp subsequently died of an overdose.&nbsp;
After being charged with Kemp&rsquo;s death, Bass bonded out, prosecutors said. He was then arrested in a second overdose death that claimed the life of 26-year-old John Clayton Price.&nbsp;
Stadiem told the court that on Jan. 11, 2020, Bass met with Price and sold him heroin laced with fentanyl &mdash;&nbsp; a powerful opioid that&rsquo;s 50 to 100 more times potent than morphine. Price returned home, took the drugs and died of an overdose, according to officials.&nbsp;
Wilson County Superior Court Judge Lamont Wiggins sentenced Bass in both cases Wednesday under North Carolina&rsquo;s structured sentencing laws. Bass, who had no prior criminal history, was sentenced to an active term of 12 to 24 months for the involuntary manslaughter charge. He also received credit for time served in pretrial confinement, which equaled more than a year, according to court proceedings.&nbsp;
Bass was sentenced to 13 to 23 months for the drug charge. That sentence was suspended for 36 months and he will be placed on supervised probation for 36 months. Bass will also be electronically monitored for a year.&nbsp;
Other sentencing conditions include bans on alcohol and drug use and possessing guns or drug paraphernalia. He also received a $1,000 fine and will be required to complete 96 hours of community service within two years.&nbsp;
AMERSON SENTENCED
Amerson, Kemp&rsquo;s boyfriend at the time of her death, was also charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and the delivery of heroin in July 2019 on the condition of testifying truthfully for the state against Bass if he were to go to trial.&nbsp;
Wiggins sentenced Amerson to 17 to 30 months in prison, which was suspended for 36 months. Amerson will be placed on supervised probation for three years. For the first year, he will also be electronically monitored.&nbsp;
Other conditions of his sentence included a $1,000 fine, 96 hours of community service and bans on possessing drugs, drug paraphernalia and guns. &nbsp;

2 sentenced in heroin overdose deaths

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We had a special breakfast at my house recently, overnight French toast filled with fruit and pecans. Breakfast on weekdays is usually cheese toast, grits, frozen waffles, fruit and granola or cereal, but I had the ingredients on hand, so I mixed up the recipe and popped it in the fridge to chill and work some magic. Not only did I want to eat the fruity French toast, I also wanted to experiment with an adaptable recipe that would work well for a special breakfast or brunch for company. I think I succeeded. All you have to do is prepare the French toast the night before, take it out of the fridge and bake while getting ready for the day. Because it was just my husband and me, I made a small recipe of the baked French toast that would equal four servings. Earlier in the week, we had eaten part of a large loaf of French bread I had gotten in our Walmart pickup order. There was plenty left for our breakfast. Most baked French toast recipes follow a basic guide: dice some bread; stir a mixture of milk, eggs, vanilla and maybe spices; add fruit or nuts. Some recipes include cream cheese and a buttery topping, but I don&#x2019;t like overly-sweet breakfast recipes, so mine was simple. Although I used French bread, I would have loved using a loaf of challah for my French toast. I also used skim milk, but some prefer cream. I had fresh blueberries in the refrigerator that needed to be eaten soon, so I used those, as well as some peaches from the freezer. You could also skip adding the fruit to the mixture that bakes, and instead could top plain French toast with fresh fruit. Chopped pecans topped our breakfast treat. There are so many ways you can adapt this basic recipe. Change the bread, switch the milk, experiment with fruit. My husband would have loved diced apples. And you can always use walnuts or almonds if you prefer. I was happy that I could use what I had on hand. Since the pandemic, I&#x2019;ve really learned to rely on the foods I have in the house and have come up with many substitutions that have worked just fine for us. Lisa Boykin Batts has been writing a weekly food column since 2001. Her column includes recipes she and her family enjoy.

Baked French toast a morning treat

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Kenneth and Leisa Houghton of Statesboro, Georgia, announce the engagement of their daughter, Kendra Sharon Houghton, to Eric Milliken Via, both of Warner Robins, Georgia. The bride is the granddaughter of the Sharon Robertson of Harrison, Arkansas, and late Harrell Robertson, and Wanda Houghton and Nadean Houghton of Harrison and the late Bill Houghton Parents of the groom are Michael and Mary Sargent and Dr. B. Scott Via, all of Wilson. He is the grandson of the late Eugene Via and the late Jeanne Via; Conrad and Anne Odden of Wilson; Harrison Givens of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the late Marylou Givens; and Richard and Mary Sargent of Wilson. A Nov. 13 wedding is planned in Savannah, Georgia.

Fighting for a change in 2021

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Baked French toast a morning treat

Via-Houghton