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A4 1 SEPTEMBER 27,2017 BERTIE LEDGER-ADVANCE Opinion The fabric of Bertie County since 1832 One-on-one '35 Labor Day hurricane... Why did the powerful hurricane Irma get me thinking about the football stadium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill? Think Kenan Memorial Stadium, where the Tar Heels play football, and Kenan-Fla- gler, the name of UNC’s business school. What did these names have to do with the hurricane that attacked the Florida Keys on Sept. 10? Folks in Florida are surrounded by the Flagler name. On streets, statues, colleges, museums, counties, it seems to be every where. Tolks in these Fla- Florida are flHT - i glei" ^on- surrounded h^o ~ D*G> MAETTIN 6 n r ^ ~~ Flagler. At the turn of the last century, he trans formed Florida’s East Coast from inacces sible swampland to the home of resorts. According to Lee Standiford’s 2002 book, “Last Train to Paradise; Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean,” Flagler paid for this progress from the wealth he earned as John D. Rockefeller’s partner in Standard Oil Trust. He might have been satisfied with his achievements at Standard Oil. But he wasn’t. He might have been satisfied with the Jacksonville-Miami connection of his rail road. But he wasn’t. He dreamed of connecting Key West to the mainland more than 100 miles across the narrow islands of the Florida Keys and the open ocean that surrounded them. Flagler believed that the Panama Canal, when completed, would make a mainland- connected Key West into a perfect port lo cation to serve the shipping needs of the entire Caribbean. In 1905, the Florida legislature granted Flagler approval to construct a railroad to Key West. However, Henry Flagler’s dream was an engineer’s nightmare-an impossi bility, according to almost everybody but Flagler. When Flagler told his friend, George Ward, a Presb3derian minister and president of Rollins College, of his plan. Ward said sim ply, “Flagler, you need a guardian.” Other skeptics simply referred to the Key West project as “Flagler’s Folly.” But construction began in 1905, over coming obstacles in the swampland south of Miami and then along the narrow keys and over deep ocean waters. The project came to completion in January 1912, forg ing an approximately 350-mile-route from Jacksonville all the way to Key West. When the first train arrived in Key West, the 82-year-old Flagler was aboard. News paper headlines proclaimed the completed project, “the eighth wonder of the world.” Flagler died the next year, but his Key West connection dream had been fulfilled. At his death he left more than $100 mil lion to North Carolinian Mary Lily Kenan, his third wife, whom he married in 1901. At her death, she left much of that fortune to her siblings, including brother William R. Kenan Jr. and several sisters. The siblings have been generous to Uni versity of North Carolina. William Kenan provided the initial funds for Kenan Me morial Stadium. He and the trust he es tablished and other Kenan relatives have funded professorships, buildings and oth er projects at UNC and other universities. On Labor Day in 1935, a devastating hur ricane even stronger than Irma passed over the Florida Keys and demolished Mr. Flagler’s Key West dream. It caused great destruction and permanently severed the rail line. Whenever a mighty hurricane passes near Key West, this North Carolinian re members Henry Flagler and his close and continuing connection to good projects in North Carolina. He joins others in mourn ing nature’s destruction of Flagler’s great est triumph. Small Town Girl My worries for today's children ■ ■ i Times have really changed since I was a child. While some of these changes are beneficial, sometimes I worry about how children grow up these days. One of the biggest changes has been the explosive growth of the internet, proliferation of social media and revolutionary enhance ments to electronic devices. Almost everywhere 1 look some one has his or her eyes locked on a computer, tablet or smart phone. Growing up I did not have my face stuck in a screen. My parents stressed the importance of study ing, reading and pursuit of activi ties with a purpose. I danced ballet, took piano and art lessons, and was involved in many activities I could carry with me for a lifetime. What will these modern day video games do for children in the future? The North Carolina Public School Systems are transitioning to computerized testing and as sociates computer programs for additional education guidance. My question is, what happened to the paper and pencil method? I understand the advances of modern technology, but I feel chil dren should also understand the original methods. "Times have really changed since I was a child..." - LESUE BEACHBOARO Online testing and assignments should gradually be added into the daily curriculum. The younger elementary grades can acciden tally make one wrong click that will produce the wrong answer. I also sense the public school system is trying to deviate from the basic concept of report card grading and put more emphasis of end-of-year test grading. I understand the testing is an important part of the school year but, I also believe if a child’s grades are poor throughout the year on paper, how can a parent be confident the child will show high results on the end-of-year test? I also question what has hap pened to behavior and manners in today’s children. Not all, but some children have not been taught the proper man ners and etiquette, as were chil dren of the past. My four children can be a little rambunctious at times, but they know to use proper manners when speaking to an adult. It is also things like holding the door for others and boys under standing “ladies first.” Parents should not depend on a classroom to teach their chil dren these valuable lessons. They should concentrate on these at home. I am concerned for the future of our children, when schools give parents lectures and information about the dangers of bullying and problems caused on social me dia. I firmly believe that elementary and most middle school children have no business with social me dia accounts. 1 have seen children as young as 7 with a Facebook page. This is absurd. As a mother of four, these things concern me because my children are just a few of our future. Will certain hobbies and talents become things of the past if not passed on? Parents, think about it. What are you instilling in your children? Leslie Beachboard is a tradi tional mother of four, and is the Staff Writer for the Bertie Ledger- Advance. She can be reached via email at lbeachboard@ncweeklies. com. Around here Can you see me now? D.G. Martin hosts watch. ” “North Carolina Book- Despite my current weight (which I will not divulge because I am not pregnant), I have made it through the first 54 years of my life relatively unscathed in terms of my health. As a child, I had the measles, mumps and chicken pox to go along with the normal colds. Rarely have I had the flu (if at all), and save a wisdom tooth be ing removed and a bout of bron chitis and pneumonia more than a year ago, and the throat surgery I had 12 years ago to remove pol yps, a small tumor and pre-can- cerous cells from my esophagus, I haven’t been in a hospital that much. OK, I realize the aforementioned words may make it sound like I’ve been the walking embodiment of a plague, but honestly, not really. The one constant abnormal ity that has stayed with me since birth has been my eyesight, or lack thereof. I am extremely nearsighted - so much so, in fact, that by some doctors’ standards, I am legally blind in my left eye. I have worn eyeglasses since I was about 4 years old because of my extreme astigmatism. Every picture that exists of me shows me looking off, because if I look directly at a camera, the final re sult makes it appear as if I have what is commonly known as “lazy eye.” "Everytime I visit the eye doctor I fear for the v/orst.." - JIM GREEN Remember the old Coke-bottle lenses? Yep. I had them. Of course, there have been many advances in the field of op tometry/ophthalmology since I was a child, and while the lenses are still thick, stylish frames make them bearable and me less self- conscious. Every time I visit the eye doctor, I fear for the worst. I fully expect him to tell me I am going blind. Thankfully, that didn’t happen last week. My eyes haven’t deteriorated, but they haven’t gotten better, although eye drops have helped with chronic dry eye. What about contacts? I suppose I could get them, but with my luck. I’d get them stuck sideways and not be able to remove them. My astigmatism is so bad that I am not a candidate for laser sur gery. Much of my eye strain is directly related to the time I spend on my computer, particularly at work. I try to take frequent breaks and use eye drops, but there is still the occasional discomfort. The doctor recently offered me an alternative: computer glasses. These specially-designed pre scription glasses are much cheap er (like 90 percent cheaper than my regular ones) that I would use only when I am working on my computer, which is a fixed focal length. I would wear my regular frames when doing ever34;hing else. I am seriously considering pur chasing at least one pair to see if they’d make a difference. I don’t even care they return me to the Coke-bottle days for a few hours each week. 1 am not wearing them in public, just the office and at home. The doctor did say something funny, however. He said, in a half-joking manner, that I should look forward to cata racts, which are cloudings of the lenses of the eyes that result in reduced vision. What? Why? Because surgery would remove the film covering my eyes, result ing in improved vision, he said. I don’t know. By that time I may be .too old to fully enjoy brand new eyes. I am so used to glasses, maybe I should be buried in them. Jim Green is Sports Editor of the Bertie Ledger-Advance. He still gets pictures in focus, even though he can ’t see. He can be reached at jgreen@ncweeklies.com. Bertie Ledger-Advance The fabric of Bertie County since 1832 The Bertie Ledger-Aovanoe was established in 1928 throush the HERITASE OF ThE WINDSOR LEDGER AND ThE AuLANOER ADVANCE. The newspaper traces its history to 1832 when it was first published AS the Windsor Herald and Bertie County Register 4 Kyle Stephens Deborah GrUBn Group Publisher Staff Writer kstephens@ncweeklies,cofn ilgriffin@ncweekUes.com Angela Hatne Leslie Beachboard Group Editor Staff' Writer aharne@ncweeklies.cotn lbeachboaftf@ncweeldies.com Thadd White Jim Green Editor Sports Editor twlike@ncweeklies.com jgreen@ncweekljes.com Michelle Leicester Creative Services roieicEstet@ncweeklies.com Jessica Mobley Advertising Manager jmobley@ncweeHies.com Laimy Hiday Copy Editor bertienews@ncweeHies.com The Bertie Ledger-Advance (ISSN 051-700) IS PUBLISHED EACH Wednesday for $26.69 (PLUS tax) per year (n Bertie, Hertford, Martin, Northamp ton, Chowan and Washington counties) by Cooke Communica tions North Carolina, LLC, 109 S, King St., Windsor, NC 27983. Periodicals postage paid at Windsor, NC and entered at Postmaster:' address changes to the Bertie Ledger-Advance, P.O. Box 69, Windsor, NC 27983. Contact Us: Bertie LedgerAovanoe P.O. Box 69, Windsor, NC 27983. Phone: (252)794-3185 Fax: (252) 794-2835
Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.)
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Sept. 27, 2017, edition 1
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