Good morning, Gentle JOCO Readers, Part 4: The Deal Behind the Diamond Nine Weeks. Twelve Firms Later. One Ballpark. I don't know about y'all, but the more records I read, the more questions I have. When we left off, Wilson and the Tobs were fighting over Fleming Stadium. We looked at the rent, the repairs, the denied grant requests, the city's proposed renovation plan, and the disagreement that ultimately led both sides in different directions. What I assumed would happen ne

Good morning gentle JOCO Readers, Part 3 of the series... Show Me the Money: Who Paid for What at Fleming Stadium? Last time, I introduced the Tobs and their very old ballpark. This time it’s about money: who paid for what, who asked for what, and why a $17,000 rent check ended up mattering so much. The Wilson Times reported that the Tobs paid the city $17,000 a year to lease Fleming Stadium, the city maintained everything, and the Tobs dragged and painted the field. The Tobs

Good morning gentle JOCO readers, Last time, we followed the Mudcats to Wilson. This time, we're meeting the home team. Before we can untangle leases, stadium deals, public money, and how a championship baseball team ended up packing its bags for Smithfield, we need to talk about the Wilson Tobs. Because the Tobs aren't just another summer baseball team. They're Wilson history. They're tobacco roots, hometown pride, championship banners, decades of memories, and one very old

Good morning gentle JOCO readers, How I Fell Down the Tobs Rabbit Hole- I love baseball. How could you not? But I’ll be honest: I had no interest in the Tobs story. None. Then I had some time on my hands this weekend, and I started digging. What I found wasn’t a story about a ballpark or a team moving down the road. It was decades of history. I talked with people who grew up in Wilson, and what they told me about Fleming Stadium and the Tobs, the generations who went to games

Disclosure: I am a candidate for this seat. I'm sharing public records so voters can see them for themselves. I'm not alleging that anyone did anything wrong. This year, 2 seats on the Johnston Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors are on the ballot. Two current board members, John M. Langdon and Dewitt Hardee, are seeking re-election. Both have received public conservation funding while serving. Here is what the public records show. John M. Langdon: state

Court records show that a candidate for the Johnston County Soil and Water Conservation District board, was convicted of domestic violence in Wake County District Court. He pleaded guilty to assault inflicting serious injury, a Class A1 misdemeanor, in case 16CR214839-910. The court's judgment records him as convicted in a domestic violence case, with a finding of "Domestic Violence - Personal Relationship." According to the North Carolina court portal, the offense date was J

The case surrounding the death of Tucker Lyon continues to move through the Johnston County court system under case number 26CR412058-500. According to court records, Selvin Adelso Vasquez-Perez has been charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle in connection with the incident that ultimately claimed Lyon's life. Court filings show that defense attorney Michael A. Frickey has entered an appearance on behalf of the defendant, and a district court order dated September 23 revok

As Election Day approaches, voters deserve access to publicly available information about the individuals seeking to lead our county. This is not an endorsement or opposition piece. It is a review of public records and campaign finance reports so citizens can make informed decisions for themselves. Public officials often ask to be judged by their record. Past. Present. Future. A complete review of that record includes: Court records (you can access this via the Court Portal)

By now you have seen the headline regarding the forever ongoing lawsuit against the Town of Smithfield & Dvid Marshburn by Ronald Johnson- has ended. The 37-page document was an interesting read for a bedtime story. Federal Judge Ends Johnson Lawsuit Against Smithfield: After years of headlines, accusations, Facebook commentary, legal filings, and enough courtroom drama to keep a small forest supplied with paperwork, the federal lawsuit filed by former Smithfield police detec

Looking at Enrollment Growth, School Resource Officer Agreements, and the Questions Residents Are Asking As Johnston County continues to experience rapid growth, so do our schools. According to Johnston County Public Schools' 2026-2027 10-day enrollment data, more than 12,300 students are enrolled across the district's high school programs. Several traditional high schools now serve well over 1,500 students, with some campuses approaching the 2,000-student mark. At the same t

JOCO Residents, If you haven't watched last night's September 21, 2026, Johnston County Board of Commissioners Meeting, it is worth your time. The meeting highlighted what appears to be a growing disconnect between some elected officials and the concerns many residents have repeatedly raised about growth, infrastructure, and most importantly, water. Listening to portions of the discussion, you would think water is some unlimited resource that can simply be willed into existen

Patrick E. Harris wants Johnston County to re-elect him as Commissioner and keep him as Board Chairman. In his mailers are polished. His talking points are smooth. But when you actually pull the county's own records not his campaign literature, the county's numbers a pattern emerges: technically true claims, engineered to leave voters with a false impression. In his own video I shared not so long ago he believed in term limits so why are you still running? Here's what the rec

Good morning gentle JOCO readers, I love history. One thing I have been looking into for years is the Free Masons. The Masons Were Here Before Your Great-Great-Grandaddy's Tobacco Barn. Let's get one thing straight: Johnston County did not invent secrecy. Long before anybody was whispering about who really runs the county commissioner seat, a bunch of men in aprons were meeting behind closed doors, swearing oaths, and building half the historic architecture you drive past wi

Let me be clear about something before I say anything else. This isn't personal, and it isn't against any one person at the Clayton Chamber of Commerce. This isn't an attack on the staff, the board, or anyone who's put real hours into making the Harvest Festival happen. This is about a decision, a pattern, and a set of numbers — not about individuals. Bringing this into the open isn't about tearing anyone down. It's about giving the community that supports them, the facts the

I wrote this 10 years ago. Heroes are those who put their lives on the line for ordinary people. They do not question the why or the how. They just do what is a necessity. Growing up I had plenty of heroes. The one I looked up to the most was my father, Nassau County Detective Sergeant. In those days, not really so long ago, we did not have computers and cell phones. We had land lines and it was a privilege to have call waiting once it was available to you. We would have to w

9/23/2017; We began our day at the 9/11 Memorial, stepping into that sacred space where the city seems to lower its voice out of respect. The reflecting pools stretched out in front of us, water cascading into the void where the towers once stood. The names carved into bronze pulled us in, each one a life, a family, a story. You cannot stand there without feeling the weight of it all. For me, it was impossible not to think of my classmate, Firefighter John Tipping Jr., and th

Dear John, Thomas Brophy another classmate from HHS, just a year ahead of me. I remember him so clearly, the way certain people from our youth stay etched in memory no matter how much time passes. I carry so many fond memories of him, of who he was, and of the way he moved through the world with quiet strength. After graduating from Hauppauge High School, he went on to serve with the NYPD one of the Blue Bloods Finest. He dedicated himself to 16 years of service in the 114th

Dear John, Although I did not know Tufarella personally, I knew how deeply he mattered to our community. I went to school with his sister, and in Hauppauge we all understood what it meant to be an Eagle. Once an Eagle, always an Eagle. Soaring high above us all, carrying the pride of where we came from and the strength of who we became. After graduating from HHS, Michael Tufarella went on to serve with the Hauppauge Fire Department. On the day the world stopped turning, he ma

Dear John, Where were you when the world stopped turning. Everyone remembers that question because everyone remembers that day. It’s one of those moments that carved itself into the soul of a generation, a moment when time didn’t just slow down, it stopped. The sky was too blue, the world was too normal, and then everything changed. I know exactly where I was, and one day I’ll tell that story. But today isn’t about me. Today I honor another classmate, another boy from the hal

Where were you when the world stopped turning. Everyone remembers that question because everyone remembers that day. It’s one of those moments where time didn’t just slow down, it froze. The sky was too blue, the news was too loud, and the world felt like it cracked open. I know exactly where I was, and one day I’ll tell that story. But today isn’t about me. Today isn’t about my fear or my shock or the way the world tilted off its axis. Today I honor my former friend and clas