Saturday, May 28, 2016

Miller Brewing: Re-opening in one year

Note: The following story has been read more than 10,000 times.  It may needlessly outrage some of you who feel a need to be outraged at somebody about something.  That is unfortunate, but please don't label me as "irresponsible" because you don't like what we've reported.  This is exactly as it was told by an Eden City official.  I will not name the official or the place or circumstance where we were given the information.  If you don't like the story (I'm not sure why because it is somewhat hopeful), don't complain to me...contact the City of Eden.


We just attended a really nice Memorial Day weekend cookout in Eden.  Very nice...hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken breasts, all kinds of sides.  Good food and beverage.  Nice, friendly people.

We knew practically no one at the party, but we did meet a highly placed Eden City official.  He told us production has completely halted at Miller Brewing.  No more beer is being made in Eden, NC.

Only a few maintenance workers remain to monitor the Eden plant.  According to the highly placed Eden City official, all production workers have been shipped off to the Atlanta area or the Shenandoah area.  He did not say, but we assume Shenandoah refers to northern Virginia.

Again, according to the highly placed Eden official, Miller plans to keep the Eden plant closed for about a year until its contract with the Teamsters Union runs out.  After the contract with the Teamsters expires, the plant will be re-opened and production will resume without union protection for its workers.

Asked why Miller Brewing would bother to re-open the Eden plant, if production was being made in Atlanta and Shenandoah,  the highly placed Eden city official said production in Atlanta and Shenandoah would not make up for the loss of Eden.  Miller would be short on beer production for a year while the Eden plant was closed.  The temporary shortage of beer will be well worth getting rid of the union in Eden.

The highly placed Eden City official told us this was the straight of it. 

He also told us he has a high school education.  He seemed like the smartest man we've ever met.  He seemed to know everything.  At least that's the way he sounded.



Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Review poll sets new endurance record


This is either a mighty important poll or the poll writer has simply run out of new ideas.
The Reidsville Review's poll on Duke Power has now been up for more than a month. The "read the story" link in the headline does not work and never has. On a more positive note, the number of votes cast has increased above the initial 16 votes.


Today's Question

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Oink and Ale Hullabaloo


Click images to enlarge.

Honored guest and convicted felon W.L. Pryor was out and about greeting well-wishers.  Pryor pressed the flesh, made friends, and influenced people at Eden's Second Annual Oink and Ale event.

W.L. pulled up his pants in case of an unexpected flood.  He arrived around 6:00 PM and was immediately mobbed by admirers rather than a flood.  This is about as close we dared get to him.  Felons are often skittish around our camera.  We've found they will either attack us or cut and run when spotted.

Anyway it was great seeing W.L. Pryor has put that messy legal annoyance behind him and is back in the saddle and making people happy again.  Long live W.L. Pryor!

Oink and Ale is a half block of music, barbecue, and beer that has replaced the worn out and tired Ribfest.  There was less oink at Oink and Ale, but more ale than Ribfest.  Three or four barbecue vendors were aided by three or four beer vendors.  A $15 ticket got you 12 3-oz samples of beer.

Lemonade and pop were also available.  A booth or two offered cookies and cakes and there could have been a trinket vendor or two.

WGSR-TV spokesmodel Debbie Moore made repeated trips to the PIG POUNDER taps to refill her 3-oz sample cup.  I have to say the PIG POUNDER brew was very tasty.

Lemonade sales were a tad slow, but it was nice having a choice.

Miller Brewing is closing its Eden plant in four months.  It will be gone forever.  Nevertheless, the Miller folks were nice enough to appear at Oink and Ale and serve some beer.

The sign speaks for itself.

This girl sang for MOOSH.  MOOSH and RUN FOR THE BORDER provided entertainment for Oink and Ale.

This cute girl was collecting signatures to get Eric Fink on the ballot to run against Phil "Bathroom" Berger in November.  No matter how many times we told her that she was fighting for a hopeless cause, she kept smiling and encouraged me to sign her petition.  I did sign.  She has a little more than three weeks to collect 10,000 signatures.  Berger has ruffled a few feathers, but he is considered a GOD in Rockingham County.  Berger "represents" Rockingham County and northwest Guilford County.

Spokesmodel Debbie Moore pounds more PIG POUNDER and a barbecue sandwich.

I don't know who the guy on the right is.  We watched as a video cameraman followed him around, recording everything he did.  He is obviously standing beside a cop, but before he joined the cop, we had decided he is some sort of policeman.  Let us know if you know him.  Second guess is a minister.

Here is the reverse side of the guy.  Maybe this view will help you identify him.

Here is the City of Eden's ad for Oink and Ale.  Notice "several other local craft brewers" and "a commemorative tasting glass" beside an image of a glass.

Here is the commemorative tasting glass everyone received.  It is made of thin, lightweight plastic, not glass.

Did we mention W.L. Pryor attended Oink and Ale?  W.L. went to Carolina, did you know that?

Click images to enlarge.

Click here to read our restaurant reviews.










Thursday, May 12, 2016

Trump is the best, said no one ever!

After 42 primaries and caucuses, Donald Trump is the Republicans’ presumptive nominee for president. And as the new leader of the party, it’s up to Trump to live up to his claim that he’s “a unifier.”
He’s going to have a tough go of it. Trump’s fellow Republicans haven’t held back when it comes to a candidate they believe to be unqualified and dangerous.
Here, in their own words, is what Republicans have said about Trump and his views:

TED CRUZ

1. A pathological liar [5/3/16]
2. Doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies [5/3/16]

3. A narcissist at a level I don’t think this country has ever seen [5/3/16]

4. Utterly amoral [5/3/16]
5. A bully [5/3/16]
6. Lying to his supporters [5/3/16]
7. Cynically exploiting [5/3/16]
8. A sniveling coward [3/24/16]
9.
10. Beneath the office we are seeking [3/25/16]
11. Using great wealth and power trying to bully others [2/21/16]
12. Intricately involved in the corruption of Washington for 40 years [3/9/16]
13. Out of his depth [3/27/16]

GEORGE PATAKI

14. The know-nothing candidate [12/15/15]

CHRIS CHRISTIE

15. Carnival barker [1/5/16]
16.

MARCO RUBIO

17. Has not proven an understanding of these issues or the preparation necessary to be the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful military force in the world [10/25/15]
18. Not going to be able to serve as Commander-in-Chief [9/4/15]
19.
20. The most vulgar person ever to aspire to the presidency [3/4/16]
21. Absurd [7/19/15]
22. Offensive [7/19/15]
23. Ridiculous [7/19/15]
24. Potentially unelectable [3/2/16]

25. A con artist [2/29/16]

26. An embarrassment [3/15/16]

JEB BUSH

27. A jerk [1/6/16]
28. Not a serious candidate [12/23/15]

29. One part unhinged and one part foolish [12/23/15]

30. An actor playing the role of the candidate for president [10/18/15]
31. Not qualified to be president [12/14/15]
32. Not the Commander-in-Chief we would need to keep our country safe [12/15/15]
33.
34. Does not believe in the greatness of our country [9/4/15]

LINDSEY GRAHAM

35. A nutjob [2/25/16]
36. Ill-suited for the job [2/25/16]
37. A loser as a person [2/25/16]

38. Race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot [12/8/15]

39. So unfit to be Commander-in-Chief [8/17/15]
40.
41. Would lead to another 9/11 [5/1/16]
42. Helping the enemy of this nation [12/8/15]
43. Empowering radical Islam [12/8/15]
44. I don't think he has a clue about anything [12/8/15]
45. Undercutting everything we stand for [12/8/15]

CARLY FIORINA

46. Extremely divisive [1/5/16]
47. A man who seems to only feel big when he’s trying to make other people feel small [12/3/15]

JOHN KASICH

48.
49. A leader that’s separating us [11/29/15]

RAND PAUL

50.
51. Used to buying politicians [8/6/15]

BOBBY JINDAL

52. Unserious and unstable narcissist [9/10/15]
53. Has no understanding of policy [9/10/15]
54.

MITT ROMNEY

55.
56. Lacks the temperament to be president [3/3/16]
57. A phony [3/3/16]

58. A fraud [3/3/16]

59. Playing the American people for suckers [3/3/16]

BEN CARSON

60. Very dishonest [1/27/16]
61.

RICK PERRY

62.“His comments ... should completely and immediately disqualify him from seeking our nation’s highest office.” [7/20/15]
When Trump said he could bring people together, this probably wasn’t what he had in mind.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Mow your grass or else!

A reader sent these interesting photos.


This first one shows a sign posted by the City of Reidsville on a private piece of property.  The sign warns that the grass must be mowed or the city will mow the yard and fine the property owner $350.  This is a fairly common practice of the City.  Mow your grass or else!


Just down the street is another piece of property owned by the City of Reidsville.  Obviously the City is not caring for its own yard.

Your money or your life


During the more than 20 years I've been reporting the news, I've met a lot of very strange people.  There are a lot more crazies out there than I would have ever imagined.

There are crazy newspaper people.  There are crazy politicians...lots of crazy politicians  There are crazy poor people and crazy rich people.  It's truly a bizarre world.

Some of these crazy people threaten you (and your family).  Some of the crazy people sue you.  Some of the crazy people take you to court.  A lot of them threaten to beat your ass for writing about them.

The threats come because you've written the truth about the crazies, not because you've made up fantastic lies about them.  The truth stings, but it's often very funny.  Crazy people don't like being the butt of someone's joke.

But, I thought my days of dealing with the crazies were behind me.  It's been years since I published a newspaper about the crazies.  I thought my life had settled down...then I got an email.

I got my first real death threat.  The crazies were back.  

It was from Don Paris.  According to Don's email,  I was under constant surveillance, being watched 24 hours per day.  I should not contact the police.  I either had to pay $15,000 or I would be executed.

According to Don, he had already been paid for the job by my "friend" because I was "too stingy".  I had 72 hours to comply.

Funny I don't remember being particularly "sitngy" to any of my friends.  I'd be glad to take any of them out to dinner or maybe even give them a few dollars if they were in a desperate way.

Immediately you should see a problem with Don's proposition.  Don's been paid to kill me unless I come up with $15,000.  What does Don do if I don't pay?  Does he refund his payment from my "friend" and then kill me?  That seems a waste of effort and money.  Does he keep the money and not kill me for my $15,000?  That wouldn't make my "friend" very happy.  He's paid Don, who also collects $15,000, for doing nothing.  What does my "friend" get out of the deal?  I'm alive and Don is $15,000+ richer.

I know this sounds convoluted, but we're talking about a nut case here.  Worse yet, the email featured very poor English composition...horrible grammar and sentence structure.  It was much like what you expect when reading an email written by a Rockingham County educated author on a cell phone, using a number keypad with the alphabet on the number keys.

It was a very stupid email, but I had to do something about it, other than go to the bank and withdraw $15,000.  I value my life, but not enough to send Don $15,000.

I immediately contacted the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department.  Well, it was actually the next morning.  I received Don's death threat around 11:30 PM.

I sent Sheriff Sam Page a copy of Don's email and waited for a response.  Very soon I was speaking to Sheriff Page on the phone.  Much to my surprise, he seemed to take the email seriously.  Page said he has not heard anything about me for many years back when I was publishing my newspaper.  This death threat was something out of the blue.

The next day Sheriff Page sent Detective Marcus Marshall to my home to investigate.

I was impressed.  The last time I contacted the Sheriff's Department for help I was told to call back if "he" returned.  The "he" was someone who was in my home when I returned late at night.  I came in the front door and they scooted out the back through an opened window.  That was more than 40 years ago when Sheriff Bobby Vernon was the big cheese.  Well, "he" never returned, but I carried a shotgun in my car for quite a while after the incident.

I gave Detective Marshall a copy of Don's email.  Marshall asked questions, took notes, and talked to someone on his cell phone.  Marshall assigned me a "case number" and said he would contact the State Bureau of Investigation with details about Don's email.  Apparently the SBI is the go-to organization for email death threats.  Marshall may have spent as much as half an hour with me.  However long it was, it was much better than call us back if "he" returns.

Marshall said he was particularly concerned about this email death threat because the sender knew my name and email address.  According to Marshall, email death threats are very rare, but an email death threat directed at a specific named individual in this state has not been seen since 2007.  Marshall referenced 2007 several times.  I'm not sure why.

Marshall told me he had set up a "keep watch" on my home.  A "keep watch" means that twice a shift a deputy sheriff would check my home to see that all was well.   Over the next ten days or so I never saw but one sign of a "keep watch".  One afternoon a marked deputy's car pulled into my driveway, turned around, and immediately pulled back out.  That's not to suggest "keep watch" was a disappointment.  A deputy may have checked many times during the period, but I just didn't see them, especially in the middle of the night.

Marshall called my home maybe three times over the next 72 hours to check on me.  I had to report Don had sent a second email.  This was to repeat his threat and remind me the clock was ticking.  Marshall said the SBI was hot on the source of Don's email.  A subpoena had been rushed through to serve on Google to obtain details on the email.  Don was a Gmail user.

I had been pretty calm until Don's second email arrived.  That second email agitated me.  I pulled my pistol out of the drawer, loaded the clip, and kept it beside me day and night.  Ironically, I had purchased the pistol many, many years ago, with the assistance of a police officer, to protect my family from another deranged family member.  My family has some genetic issues.

I reminded Detective Marshall that not only did I not want to die, but this whole affair would be pretty embarrassing for the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department if I turned up dead after they had been warned about a threat on my life.

A half day later Marshall called to report the SBI had traced Don's email to Africa.  That's it...Africa.  I reminded Detective Marshall that Africa is a continent, not a country, not a city, not a street, not a house number.  Marshall might as well told me North America, or Asia, or the Arctic Circle.  Telling me Africa was not very useful.  Marshall said at least I had the comfort of knowing the email's source was not from my next door neighbor.  Apparently, Africa was as precise as the SBI could be.

Marshall had me file an internet crime report with the FBI.  I'm not sure what will become of that.

I asked Marshall what would happen now.  He didn't know.  Call us if anything happens.

Well, that's my report on a death threat made on me.  That's where it stands...the Sheriff's Department has been informed, the SBI has been informed, and the FBI has been informed.  Now you know. 

The crazies are back and this time they want money.













Saturday, May 7, 2016

Please pray for Commissioner Travis


Rush Limbaugh fan and Libtard-Hater Craig Travis is reportedly facing an extraordinary dilemma.  Travis is the Rockingham County Commissioner.

 Travis must decide whether to raise county property taxes by 2¢ per $100 of property value or cut the county allocation to the school system by $1.2 million.  Travis says every County department has been cut to the bone.

Commissioner is currently seeking advice and prayers on Facebook.  Feel free to pray Commissioner Travis will make the best decision or contact him on Facebook.

We should have prayed for the Commissioner when he declared bankruptcy

Here's some of the Commissioner's plea for advice:


Click images to enlarge.




Sunday, May 1, 2016

Gone and forgotten: Horse Park of the South


Tens of thousands of dollars spent on consulting fees, millions spent on property investment, illegal secret meetings held to hide it all from competing counties, and, of course, promotions like the one shown here (amount unknown)...and all I got was a lousy Horse Park hat!  Thanks a lot!

This is one of the more notorious legacies of the Rockingham County Commissioners and County Manager Tom Robinson (and his horse consultant buddy).  It all came to nothing, except to remove many acres of land from the property tax roles and maybe a half dozen part-time stable hands with no manure to shovel.

Do you remember this debacle that was supposed to be the economic salvation of our county?  It wasn't that long ago that this fiasco went down here in Rockingham County.


Here's a rear view of the Horse Park of the South hat, declaring Rockingham County, NC to be the proprietor of the next wonder of the world..  

This fine hat was presented to us by Reidsville Mayor James Festerman.  Festerman was a big proponent of the Horse Park of the South

Festerman and the County Commissioners have been wrong about so many things, but we keep re-electing them - time and time again.  Festerman was even caught in a beach Food Lion incident and it didn't affect him roaring back into office.  Keith Mabe was stripped of his Commissioner chairmanship and served time in jail, but he will be re-elected.

We have no one to blame, but ourselves.

Gone and forgotten: Horse Park of the South


Tens of thousands of dollars spent on consulting fees, millions spent on property investment, illegal secret meetings held to hide it all from competing counties, and, of course, promotions like the one shown here (amount unknown)...and all I got was a lousy Horse Park hat!  Thanks a lot!

This is one of the more notorious legacies of the Rockingham County Commissioners and County Manager Tom Robinson (and his horse consultant buddy).  It all came to nothing, except to remove many acres of land from the property tax roles and maybe a half dozen part-time stable hands with no manure to shovel.

Do you remember this debacle that was supposed to be the economic salvation of our county?  It wasn't that long ago that this fiasco went down here in Rockingham County.


Here's a rear view of the Horse Park of the South hat, declaring Rockingham County, NC to be the proprietor of the next wonder of the world..  

This fine hat was presented to us by Reidsville Mayor James Festerman.  Festerman was a big proponent of the Horse Park of the South

Festerman and the County Commissioners have been wrong about so many things, but we keep re-electing them - time and time again.  Festerman was even caught in a beach Food Lion incident and it didn't affect him roaring back into office.  Keith Mabe was stripped of his Commissioner chairmanship and served time in jail, but he will be re-elected.

We have no one to blame, but ourselves.