Merry Christmas from the Independent Register

New Bern's city hall is shown festooned with Christmas lights early this morning. Yours truly, a veteran insomniac and amateur photographer, took to the streets of downtown New Bern as a heavy frost set in.

Unfortunately, the frost didn't show up too well, and the fountain on James Reed Lane didn't freeze over, despite temperatures hovering in the mid 20s.

But this late-night excursion lifted some of the gloom that gathers when you aren't sure how your newspaper will stay alive in the upcoming year.

All that matters is we're alive and kicking now, the downtown district beckons, and it's Christmastime in Craven County.

On behalf of William, Eric and myself, I wish everyone here a blessed and fulfilling Christmas holiday.

Merry Christmas!

Sports Guys

Are Sports Editors in eastern North Carolina that generic?

(yeah...I know the pic is a little fuzzy...do I care...no)

Register welcomes two new columnists

Craven County's alternative voice is proud to welcome two new contributors who will author columns for the Independent Register's print and online editions, respectively.

"Off the Wall," a Local & State page column by Sandra Ervin Adams, will premiere in the Dec. 20 edition of the Register. Adams, who has written for daily and weekly newspapers, will comment on life and living in Craven County.

We are proud to have a writer of her caliber join the Independent Register's stable of talented wordsmiths.

Indieregister.com this week welcomes Ben Goldstein, who will write an online entertainment column on a biweekly to weekly basis. Goldstein previously wrote an entertainment column for the Campus Communicator, the student newspaper at Craven Community College.

Both columnists have been invited to join the blog and may later do so at their leisure.

The newspaper has two other regular columnists, Stephen Lewis, who pens "Spunky Diablo's Laundromat" for the Opinion page, and sports editor/co-publisher Eric Voliva, who writes "It's All Sports."

New Bern falls to Independence 38-19

Photo by William R. Toler

Bears wide receiver Darryl Reynolds goes up to catch a pass over Patriots defender Zavis Padgett.

By Eric Voliva

The Independent Register

RALEIGH — The Bears were stunned tonight by an Independence team that had yet to lose a single game in the last six years — 91-0 was their record heading into the game — in the 38-19 loss. New Bern was out-gained on offense 224 yards to Independence’s 377, but managed to win the turnover battle by taking the ball away three times while only giving it up twice. Bears quarterback David Towarnicky was held to 166 yards passing, while completing 10 of the 29 passes he attempted, good enough for a 34 percent completion ratio. New Bern running back Kelvin Hardesty rushed for 68 yards on 15 carries, with an average of 4.5 per rush. He had some big gains — a 26-yarder in the third quarter — but mostly was held in check on the night by a tough Patriots defense. Darryl Reynolds led the Bears in receptions with five for 68 yards and a touchdown. Woody Wilson wasn’t far behind Reynolds with three receptions for 36 yards and a long of 18. Generra Taylor had an amazing 39-yard reception in the first quarter, but was shut down for the rest of the game by Independence. The Independent Register’s pick for the Bears’ player of the game was Darryl Reynolds for his 27-yard touchdown reception with 29 seconds left in the first half, and also his interception of Patriots quarterback Darryl McFadden, which he turned into a 65-yard score. Reynolds accounted for 12 of the Bears’ points in the 19 point loss.

It's 'Independence' Day for New Bern Bears

Good luck to New Bern High as this year's 4-AA East Region champion Bears face undefeated Charlotte Independence in today's state championship game.

Eric Voliva, our sports editor, and William R. Toler, photographer extraordinare, are headed for Raleigh and Carter-Finley Stadium on the campus of N.C. State University, where the Bears and Patriots will clash helmets this afternoon.

One of us will update the blog tonight with some highlights from the game.

In other Indie Register personnel news, the transformation from newsman to elf is underway. My girlfriend and I will be suited up as marching elves for this afternoon's Oriental Christmas Parade, representing the fine folks at The Boonedocks Marina and Guesthouse.

It's too much to hope that photos of that won't make it onto the blog sooner or later.

So, from all of us at the Independent Register's small, untidy compound at Fort Insanity, merry Christmas and good luck, Bears!

A rolling, sputtering, stalling ad

Every time I swerve into the neighboring lane, cut someone off or am overheard shouting four-letter words in traffic, my fellow drivers will think of the Independent Register.

After unearthing a tube of window chalk, I decided to mark up the exterior of The Albatross, my white Ford Taurus sedan that has most assuredly seen better days. I scribbled the Web address at least four times and tried -- unsuccessfully -- to duplicate the Indie Register's flag on the rear passenger side door.

If you see the Indie Register car in traffic, please oblige us with a quick visit to the Web site. To readers who may be viewing this blog for the first time, please post a comment if you got the Web address from the car and followed a link from the site to this blog.

I may soon decide to scrap this experiment and resort to a slightly neater method of on-car self-promotion, like printing the Web address on paper, sheathing it in plastic and taping it to the window or surface of the car.

But until then, long live populist paintings!

Craven County trauma care is the Pitts

That's not to say that Craven Regional Medical Center, New Bern's 313-bed hospital, provides substandard emergency treatment. To the contrary, health care and EMS professionals countywide have lauded CRMC's standard of care.

The problem is that Craven County trauma patients will probably never see the inside of their own hospital, because emergency first responders -- following established protocol -- dispatch EastCare helicopters to airlift patients to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville.

Pitt Memorial is a Level I trauma center -- the state's highest designation -- due in part to the hospital's affiliation with East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine. CRMC has no trauma center designation, but hospital spokesman Megan McGarvey told the Independent Register this week that the hospital's level of care is about equivalent with that of a Level III trauma center -- the lowest designation.

Does the local hospital have any plans to apply for trauma center designation, and in doing so, greatly reduce the number of trauma patients airlifted needlessly to Pitt?

Read the Dec. 6 issue of the Independent Register to find out more about this intriguing and complex issue facing Craven Regional Medical Center in our front-page special report, "Airlifted. Treated. Released."

New edition released today...we promise

The Dec. 6 edition of the Independent Register has finished rolling warmly off the presses in Morehead City, and William and I are leaving momentarily to pick up the bundles of newspapers and distribute them across Craven County.

The current issue contains an investigative report about the frequency of car crash victims being airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville instead of being treated down the road at New Bern's own Craven Regional Medical Center.

In our Currents section, you'll find a photo essay on the New Bern Christmas parade. The sports page (and Page A1) contains thorough coverage of New Bern High's ascent to the 4-AA East Region championship and details of the Bears' upcoming state championship bid.

The paper is available at about 25 location throughout the county, including Wal Mart Supercenter, Port City Java, Cow Cafe, Trent River Coffee Co., BearTown Bistro in New Bern.