In 2008, Bladen County saw changes and growth. We saw a local resident have her second novel published, some familiar faces retire, grant dollars flow into the county, new jobs created.

While the year was productive for most, some folks were gaining notoriety for their misdeeds. The county’s hospital was leased to Cape Fear Valley and the public library celebrated its 30th birthday.

Local agencies were recognized for high achievements and one of the county’s high school football teams was the first in 30 years to make it to the state championship playoffs.

n January

• Bladen County’s Nancy Evans saw her second novel published. The book, “The Heart Behind the Mask,” was set on the Cape Fear River. Many of the place names used may be familiar ones to local residents.

• Bladen County EMS received a $28,800 grant. The funds were utilized to improve service to the community.

• Long time Bladen County Tax Collector Marguerite Coble retired after 34 years of service.

• The Elizabethtown Town Council asked the town’s restaurants to voluntarily go smoke-free. The request was met with mixed reviews from restaurant owners and customers. The Corner Cafe, however, still offers a few tables in the back that allow smoking.

• The Bladen Journal launched its new Web site. 

• Repairs to the firehouse at White Lake cost the town $16,000. The repairs to the new facility were to correct problems that allowed mold to grow in the building.

• Heritage Propane purchased the propane assets of Sampson-Bladen Oil and Campbell Oil. 

• The Tobermory Fire Department purchased a new truck.

• Southeastern Regional Medical Center opened the Southeastern Health Center of Clarkton. Dr. Stephen Bridgers, formerly of Bladen Medical Associates, was hired as a physician.

n February

• Tri-County Community Health Council took over operations of the Smithfield Family Medical Clinic. The clinic was renamed to the Bladen Lakes Family Medical Center and Pharmacy and now treats not only Smithfield employees, but the public as well.

• Bladen County Schools received a $3.3 million grant. The grant was used in conjunction with Columbus County to establish an “Early Reading First” program.

• The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office received an $87,000 grant to improve crime fighting. The funds were used among several programs such as the pre-trial release program.

• The White Lake VFD received a $20,000 grant to construct two new truck bays.

• The Bladen East Medical Clinic and Zara Betterment Corporation received a $289,896 grant to start a diabetes education program in the Carvers Creek area. The grant was presented by then Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue.

• Bladen County Commissioner Greg Taylor announced he would oppose N. C. House member William Brisson for his seat.

• Stedman Graham paid Bladen County high school students a visit.

• The town of Elizabethtown hired new town manager Eddie Madden.

• A Bladenboro man held officers at bay for several hours before being shot and killed by law enforcement. The man, Thomas Lee Adams, fired several shots at officers throughout the day before he was killed. A subsequent investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation cleared officers of any wrong doing.

n March

• Nelson Squires, a local businessman and icon, passed away at the age of 83.

• West Bladen High School advanced to the state championship game in basketball, taking on Pisgah High. The Knights eventually went on to win the state title.

• Bladen County assisted in a joint drug investigation that netted about $1 million in cocaine and lead to the arrest of six individuals. The investigation involved Bladen, New Hanover and Columbus County agencies.

• The Bladen County Commissioners and the Cape Fear Valley Board of Trustees approved a merger agreement between CFV and Bladen County Hospital. CFV will lease the BCH facility and make needed improvements over the next five years.

n April

• A Bladen County seven-year-old was named a semifinalist in the Build-A-Bear Huggable Heroes program. Kyra Gensel volunteers her time at Elizabethtown Veterinary Clinic helping to care for the animals.

• The Bladen County Commissioners mulled adopting an animal control ordinance.

• High fuel prices had motorists, especially truck drivers, feeling the pinch.

• Denise Reeves Toler and Lindsey Davis saw their photography work published in “Our State” magazine.

• Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue made a campaign stop in Bladen County as she sought election to the Governor’s Office.

• Elizabethtown Fire Chief Jamie Fulk resigned and moved on to Morehead City where he will serve as deputy fire/EMS chief.

• The county’s first migrant head start opened on N.C. 210.

n May

• The Southeastern Economic Development Commission celebrated 40 years.

• Superior Fibers of Ohio acquired the Precisionaire plant in Clarkton.

• Bladen Composites, a division of Palmer Marine, opened its doors in Bladenboro.

• The Bladen County Veteran’s Memorial was dedicated in Bladenboro.

• Byron Graham was tabbed as the new Elizabethtown Fire Chief.

• The Bladen County Commissioners approved a dog ordinance.

• Chris Wilcox of the Seattle Supersonics was arrested on concealed weapons charges and aiding and abetting DWI.

• Bladen County Hospital officially turned the “keys” over to Cape Fear Valley Hospital in Fayetteville. CFV has leased the facility for five years from Bladen County.

n June

• Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-Industrial won the National Excellence and Innovation Award for Economic Development.

• Pat DeVane was named as Bladen County Tax Administrator.

• Bladen Community College named the administration building after long-time Bladen educator Essic Williams Jr.

• Dr. William Findt is named president of Bladen Community College.

• The Bladen County Solid Waste landfill caught fire, but firefighters quickly had things under control after a few hours.

• Rex Gore, district attorney for Bladen, Brunswick and Columbus counties, found no wrong doing on the part of lawmen in the February shooting death of Thomas Lee Adams.

• The Bladen County Public Library celebrated its 30th birthday.

n July

• The small community of Kelly was the site of the biggest woods fire in more than 20 years. Blazes through more than 700 acres of woods brought out most Bladen fire departments, along with two forestry helicopters, two bombers and 12 tractor plows.

• Dr. Darrell Page, president of Bladen Community College, retired after more than 34 years with the North Carolina Community College System.

• The town of Elizabethtown cut the positions of planning director and information systems administrator during its planning of the 2008-09 budget.

• Bladen County took steps to begin a countywide recycling program.

• The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office Narcotic Unit, along with the Elizabethtown and White Lake police departments, made four arrests resulting in ridding the street of more than an ounce of crystal methamphetamine.

• The Bladen County East girls softball 14 and under All-Stars won the state championship in Jacksonville.

• The real-life Patch Adams visited Bladen Community College.

n August

• Bladen County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Officer Jason Larrimore was nearly run down during a chase of a Fayetteville man. Maurice Leshawn Melvin was arrested after a three-hour manhunt. Larrimore was uninjured.

• Residents all over the state had the opportunity to save money on back-to-school items with the annual sales tax-free weekend.

• Clarkton United Methodist Church held its first service since it was damaged by fire on Dec. 24, 2007. The community joined together for an appreciation service to honor the local fire departments that assisted during the tragic event.

• Bladen County Schools were declared tobacco-free as they opened for a new year by enforcing the new policy that was adopted by the school board in June.

• The East Arcadia community was threatened when a train jumped tracks spilling denatured alcohol in the area. The incident derailed nearly 70 cars of the 138 involved.

• The second annual Mike Merritt scholarship ride raised $5,000 for the cause, with 62 bikers joining in the fundraising effort.

• Preparations for the new VIPER radio system got under way in Bladen County with its first phase of remodeling the county’s 911 call center.

n September

• White Lake Fire Department added to its fleet with the purchase of a 95-foot ladder truck.

• Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-Industrial was presented with a national award from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

• Though Tropical Storm Hanna was reportedly going to hit with full force, the county came through unscathed with only a few inches of rain.

• Bladen County Tax Administrator Pat DeVane resigned his position after only a three-month stint to become the new Elizabethtown public works director.

• Axicor, Inc., of Bladenboro achieved the ISO 9001 quality management system certification.

• Bladen County Fire Marshal and Emergency Services Director Mitchell Byrd was rumored to be leaving his position to take a similar one in Columbus County, but later announced he was staying put after Bladen matched Columbus’ salary offer.

• The 16th annual Dublin Peanut Festival turned out a record crowd under cloudy skies.

• The Bladen County School Board voted 5-4 not to renew Superintendent Kenneth Dinkins’ contract for the next school year. After a war between the board and Dinkins’ supporters, the final vote did not change. The county’s school system will be naming a new superintendent for 2009-10.

n October

• More than 1,200 cyclists made a stop in White Lake on the final evening of the 10th annual Cycle N.C. tour. The group traveled from the “Mountains to the Coast.”

• Bladen County received a $1 million grant from the office of Rural Economic Development Center for the extension of a natural gas pipe line to DuPont Fayetteville Works.

• About 800 people attended the 2008 Grape Festival at LuMil Vineyard in Dublin despite cool, misty weather conditions and gray skies.

• Ernest Bennett Bryan was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, communicating threats, and two counts of assault on an officer with a firearm after beating his neighbor, Greg Johnson, with a shovel and pointing a gun at officers after barricading himself in his home for three hours.

• Smithfield Packing Co. was fined $12,600 by the N.C. Department of Labor for safety violations that may have contributed to an employee losing an arm at the plant in March.

• The community came together to raise $8,000 for Bladen resident Crystal Call who faced surgeries to rid her body of pain from a rare genetic disorder called Multiple Ephyseal Dysplesia.

• The announcement of the closing of Georgia Pacific’s Whiteville plant left more than 60 Bladen residents jobless.

• It was another successful year for the annual Bladenboro Beast Fest, with the crowds of visitors and vendors overflowing the streets of the small town. Berry Lewis, one of the coordinators for the event, said the festival is “running out of places to put vendors.”

n November

• Lu Mil Vineyard entered the ninth annual N.C. State Fair Wine Competition and walked away with two double gold awards, two silver awards and one bronze medal, all in the first year the vineyard entered the competition.

• America voted in its first black president by awarding the majority vote to Barrack Obama. Incumbent Bladen County Commissioner Jimmie Smith was ousted from his countywide seat by newcomer David R. Gooden. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre beat out Bladen County challenger Will Breazeale to keep his seat for his seventh term in office.

• Bladen County was awarded a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant for scattered site housing rehabilitation.

• An Elizabethtown family was left homeless after fire destroyed their home on James Street off of Elkton Road.

• The town of White Lake voted unanimously to move forward on erecting a new 100,000 gallon water tank.

• Smithfield Packing and the UFCW announced that plant employees would be allowed to vote on the issue of unionization on Dec. 10 and 11.

• Bladen County Hospital was awarded its first Compass Award from Press Ganey in the outpatient services category.

• The town of Elizabethtown held its first meeting of a new anti-gang task force to concentrate on making Bladen’s streets safer.

• The Bladen County School System was requested by the Department of Public Instruction to return $217,000 to help ease the state government’s budget shortfall.

n December

• Bladen County supported an incentive agreement with Dynapar Corporation to bring more than 70 new jobs to the area.

• The East Bladen Eagles took the East Regionals, becoming the first Bladen team in 35 years to play in a state championship football game. They fell short in the championship game against Thomasville.

• The Bladen Journal Empty Stocking Fund raked in more than $6,200 in donations to help Bladen families for the Christmas holiday.

• Smithfield Packing-Tar Heel employees said “Yes” to unionization in a secret ballot vote on the issue.

• The Bladenboro Police Department helped 20 Bladenboro Primary School students have a brighter Christmas through its Christmas for Kids program.

• Several local businesses got a “face lift” with the help of facade grants.