LUCAMA &mdash; Julie Louise Bailey Anderton, 72, passed away Monday. 
She was born July 22, 1948, to the late Robert Hardy Bailey and Patricia Clement Hyde. 
Julie was preceded in death by her husband, Lewis Anderton; and his two sisters and one brother.&nbsp;
Family and friends are welcome to the home from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, April 10, to celebrate Julie&rsquo;s life.&nbsp;
Julie is survived by her children, Jamie McKee and husband, Matt, of Franklinton, Mary Baker of Lucama, Richard Colbert and girlfriend, Jamie Rose, of Nashville and Tammy Angerer and husband, Ronnie, of Durham; 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Julie loved knitting and crocheting, tending to her flowers in her garden, collecting frog figurines and most of all, spending time with her family.&nbsp;
In lieu of flowers, memorials in her memory may be made to Wesley Shelter Inc., 106 Vance St. E., Wilson, NC 27893 or www.wesleyshelter.org.
Condolences may be directed to Joyner&rsquo;s Funeral Home and Crematory at www.joyners.net.

Julie Louise Bailey Anderton

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Police charged a Wilson man with murder on Tuesday in connection to a Sunday killing. 
The suspect, 42-year-old David L. Alston, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of 25-year-old Nicholas J. Ellis. 
Alston turned himself in to authorities, according to Capt. Steve Stroud. 
Alston is being held without bond in the Wilson County Detention Center. 
Ellis was found dead Sunday in Pender Street Park. Police were initially called to accompany someone removing belongings in the 800 block of Gay Street at 4:29 p.m.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: <a href="https://restorationnewsmedia.com/wilsontimes/news/police-investigate-fatal-shooting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Police investigate fatal Wilson shooting&nbsp;</a>
While officers were responding, an update from 911 communications indicated that people were fighting at that location, police said.
Officers arrived at nearby Pender Street Park and found Ellis dead from a gunshot wound.
Police ask anyone with information to call the Wilson Police Department at 252-399-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 252-243-2255.&nbsp;

Man charged in Pender Street Park killing 

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Wilson city officials on Monday gave developers the green light to renovate the former Anderson Apartments. 
&ldquo;The historic rehabilitation of this iconic property will be the cornerstone for future investment within the Old Wilson Historic District and will have a profound immediate and long-term impact on the neighborhood,&rdquo; Wilson Chief Planning and Development Officer Rodger Lentz said in a document distributed with the Wilson City Council agenda.
Council members agreed to sell the Anderson Apartments at 503 Vance St. NE and the Anderson Duplex at 207 Bragg St. NE to Hurt LLC for $10,000. The developer plans to invest $1 million into the 1922 Colonial Revival apartments.
Work is scheduled to begin by August and should be complete by December 2022. 
&ldquo;These will become three-bedroom, market-rate townhouses, and his plan is to cater to college students,&rdquo; Lentz said of the developer. 
City staff requested proposals for the redevelopment project and Hurt LLC was the only bidder, despite others expressing interest. 
The property was part of a $9.2 million proposed housing development, but when state funding fell through, so did the project. The city eventually purchased the historic property and in 2018, Wilson invested about $20,000 to stabilize and secure the buildings against further deterioration.
In other business Monday, council members approved a request to annex a 0.216-acre parcel to make way for the Culver&rsquo;s restaurant planned in the Heritage Corner shopping center.
The Wilson City Council recessed its <a href="https://restorationnewsmedia.com/wilsontimes/news/greenlight-plans-broadband-expansion-to-4-wilson-county-towns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regularly scheduled April meeting on Thursday</a> and reconvened Monday to vote on matters discussed last week. When government bodies hold remote meetings via videoconference or teleconference, state law requires a 24-hour period for residents to submit public comments before elected officials can hold votes.&nbsp;
RELATED COVERAGE: <a href="https://restorationnewsmedia.com/wilsontimes/news/greenlight-plans-broadband-expansion-to-4-wilson-county-towns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Greenlight plans broadband expansion to 4 Wilson County towns</a>&nbsp;

City sells Anderson Apartments to townhouse developer 

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Funeral homes here and across the country are alerting clients to some potential good news. Family members who had to bury their loved ones due to COVID-19 could be eligible for funeral expense reimbursement through a Federal Emergency Management Agency program. For Carlton Stevens, operations manager for Stevens Family Funeral Home, one particular call he made to a client stood out. The widow was relieved after learning about the reimbursements. &#x201C;I can get a headstone to mark my husband&#x2019;s grave,&#x201D; Stevens said the woman told him. Over the past year, more than 500,000 people have died across the United States due to COVID-19, and more than 150 people have died in Wilson County alone. FEMA is now accepting applications for its funeral assistance program where families can receive up to $9,000 per funeral. Families can apply whether they&#x2019;ve experienced one or multiple deaths. There&#x2019;s a cap of $35,500 in total benefits per application per state. The financial assistance is for deaths related to COVID-19 that occurred after Jan. 20, 2020. &#x201C;Don&#x2019;t look at it as a handout,&#x201D; said Dell Joyner of Joyner&#x2019;s Funeral Home. &#x201C;It&#x2019;s assistance from the federal government during a pandemic. I&#x2019;m glad they are offering this to our families. It&#x2019;s unprecedented times.&#x201D; Joyner and Stevens have contacted dozens of clients to let them know help is available. Both said they&#x2019;ve pulled the information clients will need for the process, including copies of death certificates and invoices for funeral expenses. &#x201C;The family must be the first contact to FEMA,&#x201D; Joyner said, adding that he&#x2019;d apply on his clients&#x2019; behalf if he could. &#x201C;We will provide them with the death certificate and a paid funeral bill.&#x201D; <h5>‘A DIFFERENT BURDEN’</h5> Joyner and Stevens said families have struggled throughout the pandemic for various reasons. And when someone died unexpectedly, it brought more grief to those families. &#x201C;It puts a different burden on the family,&#x201D; Joyner said. Stevens said some people were unprepared. &#x201C;This person is good and healthy, and all of a sudden, they are in the ICU, and then they&#x2019;re gone,&#x201D; Stevens said. &#x201C;It wasn&#x2019;t just older people. It was all ages.&#x201D; Stevens said when COVID-19 hit, some people lost their jobs and others saw their work hours diminished. While some people received unemployment benefits, the money wasn&#x2019;t enough. Families had to make tough decisions &#x2014; whether to pay rent or put food on the table. Stevens said insurance claims were on the back burner for many families. While some insurance companies provided extensions, he said, not all did. Some families struggling in the pandemic economy had little choice but to allow their insurance coverage to lapse, Stevens explained. &#x201C;You had to decide what to pay,&#x201D; he said. <h5>‘DON’T GIVE UP’</h5> The federal assistance was made available under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. FEMA has been inundated with calls, too. But Joyner and Stevens tell clients to keep trying to get through. &#x201C;Don&#x2019;t give up,&#x201D; Joyner said. Stevens agreed. &#x201C;Over 500,000 people died,&#x201D; Stevens said. &#x201C;You are calling a number that over 500,000 people are trying to call. You cannot stop. You&#x2019;ve got to keep trying.&#x201D; Stevens said some families experiencing financial hardship had to apply for bank loans. But those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic lacked the income banks require to ensure a loan can be repaid. &#x201C;I saw other family members that were stepping in to help immediate family members obtain loans,&#x201D; he said. Or those outside family members took care of the funeral expenses so that the immediate family members could pay them back.&#x201D; <h5>‘IT’S THERE FOR THEM’</h5> Joyner said the $9,000 maximum assistance per death may not cover all funeral expenses, but it will help substantially. He said a funeral and burial can run as much as $10,000 to $11,000. &#x201C;For some families, it will just about cover it all,&#x201D; he said. Joyner said once families have established a case number through FEMA, the next step is to provide documentation. &#x201C;We&#x2019;ve got it all,&#x201D; he said. &#x201C;We are going to make sure it&#x2019;s available. These are still my clients. I still want to help them.&#x201D; Stevens said one of his funeral home&#x2019;s employees phoned and sent letters to 50-60 clients. &#x201C;We wanted to let them know we have what they need,&#x201D; he said. &#x201C;It&#x2019;s there for them.&#x201D; Stevens said while the money won&#x2019;t bring loved ones back, it will help offset families&#x2019; financial burden.

FEMA offers help with virus patients' funeral costs 

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For Wilson County animal advocates, spaying and neutering is essential to tackling the local pet overpopulation. &#x201C;Up north, they have strict spay and neuter laws, and that is what we need,&#x201D; said Jana Lake, rescue coordinator for the Wilson County Humane Society. &#x201C;We send dogs up north because they don&#x2019;t have our overabundance, but if we had stricter spay and neuter laws here, I wouldn&#x2019;t need to do this. It is very disheartening how in the South, people just think differently.&#x201D; The Wilson County Sheriff&#x2019;s Office started a spay and neuter program in late 2013 to assist poverty-stricken pet owners with the cost of fixing their dogs or cats. Roughly 400 county residents have participated in the program since its inception. Residents who are eligible for public assistance through the Department of Health and Human Services or who make less than the federal poverty level can apply for the program by visiting the shortened link https://tinyurl.com/2c9a9x7z or using the sheriff&#x2019;s office mobile app. &#x201C;Sheriff (Calvin) Woodard forged this collaboration and developed the program to assist residents with limited financial resources to have an opportunity to have their pet spayed or neutered,&#x201D; said Wanda Samuel, sheriff&#x2019;s office chief of staff. &#x201C;This program assists in preventing rabies outbreaks from unwanted litters, neglect issues from unwanted litters, prevents the overcrowding of the Wilson County Animal Shelter and decreases the euthanasia rate of companion animals.&#x201D; Before the program began, 832 dogs and 1,181 cats were put down at the animal shelter in 2012. Shelter employees euthanized 191 dogs and 610 cats in 2019. Lake and other Humane Society volunteers help reduce the euthanasia rate by rescuing pets and finding forever homes, whether locally or up north. The group uses a donated bus that can haul about 20 crated animals, but in late March, the need was so great that volunteers had to rent a van to help transport 34 dogs up north. &#x201C;Unless they are puppies that aren&#x2019;t old enough, 100% of our animals are fixed before they are adopted, and if they are too young, (adopters) have to sign a spay/neuter contract to be done at an appropriate age,&#x201D; Lake said. &#x201C;We do it as soon as we can and the vet feels it is safe. The sooner the better, because we like to know they are all spayed or neutered.&#x201D; The Maggie Society got 23 pups fixed Wednesday through the Spay-Neuter Assistance Program of North Carolina, or SNAP-NC. Laurie Robl Brumfield said the veterinary surgical service provides &#x201C;low cost, high quality&#x201D; care for pet owners, but admitted that since the clinic is mobile, it can be difficult to get an appointment. Brumfield estimated the number of calls about stray litters has tripled recently and the number of owner-surrendered pets has doubled. &#x201C;During COVID, we&#x2019;ve seen such an increase in people wanting to adopt dogs because they are home more,&#x201D; she said. &#x201C;With a lot of people going back to work, we&#x2019;ve seen more surrenders. A lot of people got into it without thinking of the long-term commitment.&#x201D; Spaying and neutering is the first step in responsible ownership &#x2014; not just to reduce overpopulation, but to improve pets&#x2019; health. &#x201C;With every heat cycle a female dog goes through, it increases her chance of certain cancers,&#x201D; Brumfield said, adding that neutering can also prevent some cancers in male dogs. &#x201C;Unaltered dogs are going to have the urge to roam and find a mate. It is part of their makeup and when they roam, they can get hit by cars, they can get lost or they can get picked up by people without the best intentions.&#x201D; The Maggie Society and Humane Society each average 1,000 dogs rescued a year, with Lake adding that her group has already saved almost 300 this year. &#x201C;There are so many different rescues available and shelters are full, full, full of dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes,&#x201D; Brumfield said.

Officials push spay and neuter for pets

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I love making weekend breakfast special at my house. Sometimes it&#x2019;s as simple as buying our favorite 12-grain bread and making egg in a frame or taking time to make waffles and cook sausage links. A few weeks ago, I made pancakes in a sheet pan. I had seen Ree Drummond make a version of this recipe on her TV show, &#x201C;The Pioneer Woman.&#x201D; The concept is simple. Instead of standing at the stove and making pancakes while the family eats the hot ones, you can mix up the pancakes, pour the batter in a sheet pan and cook it in the oven. To make the &#x201C;pancakes&#x201D; special, add such mix-ins as blueberries, strawberries and chocolate chips. If the family wants different mix-ins, it&#x2019;s no problem to accommodate. Just add the ingredients separately, in strips. Ree made hers from scratch. I did not. After a few online searches, I found many recipes that used pancake mix. I didn&#x2019;t want to spend extra time with prep work, so I used our favorite boxed pancake mix. Most of the recipes I saw were basically the same, mixing the pancake mix with milk, eggs and butter. Some added vanilla and sugar for extra flavor. One recipe just followed the directions on the box for making the pancake batter, but I&#x2019;d use the box instructions for making waffles if I were to try that. The prep work for this recipe is easy. I washed the fruit I planned to use and cut the strawberries in slices. Then I mixed up the batter and poured it into a prepared sheet pan. I visually divided my sheet pan into fourths. One fourth got strawberries, one got a mix of strawberries and blueberries, one got chocolate chips. I left the last fourth with no additions. We cooked sausage while the pancakes baked. I was very happy with the results. It was fun picking out which variety to eat. I loved the strawberry/ blueberry option. I wished I had added a little more vanilla, so that&#x2019;s reflected in the recipe. Next time you want to do something a little different for breakfast, give this a try. And unless you are feeding a crowd, you&#x2019;ll have leftovers for several days. Lisa Boykin Batts has been writing a weekly food column since 2001. Her column includes recipes she and her family enjoy.

Streamline your pancake breakfast

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The following students at Community Christian School were recognized for their academic excellence during the third nine weeks. They are listed by grade and name.
<h5>ADMINISTRATOR'S LIST</h5>
Sixth grade: Jack Beamon, Jaxon Batten, Katelyn Brown, Alexa Crocker, Sha&rsquo;miyah Hassell, Ava Johnson, Christopher Keeler, Mary Abigail Lewin, Kevin Santiago-Jimenez, Pierce Stone and Caleb Taylor.
Seventh grade: Emilee Finberg, Lillie Long, Abner Martinez-Serrano, Aubrey Parris, Tyler Spivey, Ian Whitley and Brayden Williams.
Eighth grade: Vanessa Alvarez, Gracie Beamon, Olivia Carter, Luke Faulkner, Luke Holloman, Ava Page, Sergio Santiago-Jiminez and Aaron Shelton.
Ninth grade: Abby Crocker, Ruby Curl, Brandon Holmes, Tori Joyner, Cameron Reason, Hannah Surdzial and Noah Turner.
10th grade: Gabriella Alvarez, Jackson Finberg, Seth Huston, Abigail Jackson, Abby Jackson, Montana Lamm, Bryce Pittman and Scotti Williams.
11th grade: Ashley Abrams, Meredith Brown, Loreli Ferguson, Lexi Gardner, Olivia Kelly, Cheyenne Mundy, Graham Norville and Reagan Reason, Brandon Tyner, Kendall Walsh, Madelyn Walsh and Ebony Williams.
12th grade: Alexis Langley, Abigail Lenhart, Kaitlyn Manning, Kelsie Strange, Logan Vaughan and Olivia Walker.
<h5>A/B HONOR ROLL</h5>
Sixth grade: Zakurah Baker, Morgan Campbell, Claire Carter, Eden Evans, Evan Gattis, Jaydan Hernandez, Andy Holt, Ava Johnson, Yair Martinez-Serrano, Jack Pritchard and Grant Sabattus.
Seventh grade: Ethan Arizpe, Daniel Blackmer, Nathan Harrell, Luke Johnson, Hannah Spell, Addison Tinder, Baylee Varnell, April Ventura Cruz, Lyndie Weller, Allie Whitley and Tristan Winstead.
Eighth grade: Gabrielle Borg, Jacob Farmer, Connor Ferguson, Camden Harold, Lily Lyndon, Noah Mayo, Harley Murray and Cale Pittman.
Ninth grade: Trinity Gardner, Madalyn Land, Katie Mangum, Taylor Ricks, Evelyn Vasquez-Ventura and Tavares Williams.
10th grade: Will Brantley, Rylan Gay, Tyler Medlin, Noah Pierce and Ayden Smith.
11th grade: Landon Beamon, Caleb Boyette, Krystal Brink, Khouri Carvey and Brandon Tyner.
12th grade: Andrew Gattis, Jacob Harper, Chayce Joyce, Mackenzie Mosley and Austin Simmons.

Julie Louise Bailey Anderton

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