HOPE YOU HAD A MERRY CHRISTMAS....
.....and here comes 2009......

What a year 2008 has been, both for news and news gathering in Lincoln County.

First for news gathering, myself and Elizabeth put The Carolina Scoop live on the World Wide Web.

After my last journalism job ended, I spent a lot of time around the house gainfully contributing to the household.....

Not really.

What I actually did was cry every time I heard a siren. When medic would speed past my house on a call, I'd start to run towards the car, soon realizing I wasn't (temporarily) in the media.

After two months of watching my hair grow and my cat, Linus, getting fatter, Elizabeth came into the living room and issued a challenge.

"You need to get off your butt and do something," she said to me.

So we put our heads together and came up with The Carolina Scoop.

After a four-day break for Christmas, we're talking about the biggest story to hit Lincoln County during 2008.

Some might say it's the Election of 2008, where we elected our first African-American President. Locally, we put two new faces on the Lincoln County Commission in Carrol Mitchem and George Arena. We also re-elected Alex Patton to another term as well.

You might think about the murder/suicide that occurred on Rock Dam Road the week of high school graduation. Kevin Norman called 911 and gave his address, adding "two people are dead."

When authorities arrived, they were able to make entry and find the bodies of Kevin Norman and his wife, Beth. They left a 17-year-old daughter who I hear is doing OK. Our thoughts and prayers are with her.

Other people might point to the recent power outage involving a traffic accident. Former Lincolnton Mayor Bobby Huitt crashed his vehicle into a utility pole in front of the Lincoln County Schools bus garage after suffering a mini-stroke.

Huitt, at last word, was recovering at Gaston Memorial Hospital. Family members said he was back to his "mean old self."

Best wishes, Bobby, for a speedy recovery.

Many people might say the biggest story of the year came from Westport Marina in Denver.

The explosion at Westport Marina took the life of 19-year-old Nate Coppick. Originally, authorities couldn't find the body of the former high school graduate until they raised the boat.

Since the incident, much has been said about what caused the explosion. Many say it was a spark either from the engine or the pump that Coppick was using to refill Cliff Champion's boat, "Championship II."

We've learned the state has fined Westport Marina in the aftermath of the explosion; we've also learned the family of Nate Coppick may be considering a lawsuit.

No amount of money will bring the young man back. And in the days of and following the incident, we extended our sympathy to the Coppick Family.

And we're doing it again with the last "For What It's Worth" of 2008.

Others might remember the day Chastity Spivey accidentally flipped her SUV over in a pond on Gladden Drive.

Lincoln County EMS and Rescue, along with firefighters and residents, valianty tried to save Spivey and her two children, Taylor and JP, from the water. Spivey and her daughter died within days of each other at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte; her son was supposed to be released from the hospital around Christmas.

At a county commission meeting earlier this year, those hard-working and fearless medics and firefighters were honored for their bravery in pulling the trio out of the SUV.

Some of the funnier stories of the year come from the incident reports with the Lincolnton Police Department and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

How about the intoxicated driver on Salem Church Road who was stopped by Sgt. Jeremy Wilson on suspicion of driving while impaired?

Jeremy told me he didn't have to have much probable cause to arrest the driver for being drunk: he left an opened beer on the roof of his truck.

Note to self: when I'm getting ready to drink and drive, make sure the beer is either inside the truck (open container) or ensure that it's been drunk.

How about the woman that drove from Gaston County to Lincolnton to report her debit card missing from the Walmart in Gastonia.

While she was in Lincolnton, the poor woman knocked on doors to beg for gas money, saying the police told her to ask.

When she came back to the police department, officers Tony Potts and Sgt. Willie Vaughn realized the inspection sticker and license tag were both expired on the vehicle.

At the time, the woman sighed and said "I bet they've already reported the vehicle stolen."

Here's a tip: NEVER admit to committing a crime while reporting a crime.

Officers quickly discovered the car stolen; the woman was quickly taken into custody and The Dynamic Duo of Potts and Vaughn were born.

When talking about police officers, Sgt. Willie Vaughn may just stand tall above the rest. I've known Willie since my days at another newspaper, and Sarge is always a wealth of information.

He's also a marketing genius.

Willie single-handedly coined the phrase "faster than gossip and more reliable" in talking about The Carolina Scoop. He also recently came up with the "Lincoln's Innovative News Channel" slogan that we proudly display.

Willie's in line for a raise this year, I think. That's up to management, however, and holding down the fort is my wife, Elizabeth.

We've been married for almost 14 years. And whether I've won or lost at anything, she's always been there for me.

She's even given me the ol' "kick in the butt" when I've needed it, too.....

A lot of the ideas at work in The Carolina Scoop have been hers. She even recently covered her first story -- the one vehicle wreck on Gastonia Highway -- with very little help from me.

I'm proud of her for taking the initiative in covering a story. She's not had a lick of journalism training, except what she has seen me do, and she worked like the pro I knew she could be. Kudos, Elizabeth.

So much for job security. Maybe I'll have better luck as a mail-order brain surgeon. At least you won't have someone looking over your shoulder.

During our first eight months as an online newspaper, we introduced the photography of Scott Foster, Melody Womack and Adam Diaz to our growing readership.

Tongues were wagging for the trio's work.

Scott's picture of the man dressed in chains and leathers at the downtown Spring cruise-in had people talking. Melody's wrestling pictures from the Millennium Wrestling Federation captivated readers.

Adams' photography of the light pole being knocked down in downtown Lincolnton was the talk of the town for several days.

Scott and Melody are great people whom we are fortunate to call close friends; Adam is a fine young man and a good friend. He's a natural with the camera and he's also a splendid driver.

Adam was an unfortunate passenger and witness to my creative driving one day. After the event, he insisted on driving and has driven me to stories for several months.

Yes, I'm rarely driving on the roads these days. Take a moment and say "whew."

As you can probably tell by now, I'm truly blessed to be associated with such a fine online newspaper as The Carolina Scoop. I'm especially grateful for every single advertiser we have. If it wasn't for their support, we wouldn't be here.

And thanks to our growing loyal readership, we'll be here for a long time to come.

Thank you for making The Carolina Scoop the most-read online newspaper in the Charlotte region.