THE CASH STUFF FOR 10-8-15

NNPA STORIES -

CASH IN THE APPLE FOR 10 – 8- 15

By Cash Michaels

            DR. JOCKO – Earlier this year I got the unique chance not only to meet, but to conduct the last interview with radio disc jockey legend Ray Henderson, better known as “Dr. Jocko” of the old 570 WLLE-AM. There’s no question that Ray was a man of history, given that WLLE (also known as “WiLLiE”} was Raleigh’s first black-formatted radio station, and he was one of the first personalities on their.

            Well as you may know by now, Ray Henderson died in Detroit in March. He had a graveside burial in Oakwood Cemetery, but his gravesite, right next to the legendary J. D. Lewis of WRAL (Ray’s mentor) has no headstone. So a fundraising effort, headed up by Thad Woodard, the former head of the NC Banking Association, and Jimmy “JJ’ Johnson, former air personality at WLLE-AM, has begun to raise $2,000.00 to get Uncle Jocko is proper headstone by Thanksgiving.

            So for any amount you can spare, please make your donation out to “Oakwood Cemetery,” and in the memo line at the bottom left of your check, please write “Ray Henderson Memorial.” Kindly send your donation to Thad Woodard, 616 Lakestone Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609.

            Honoring Ray “Dr. Jocko” Henderson is honoring part of our proud history here in Raleigh’s African-American community. Let’s all do our part.
             "ROOTS" RETURNS - TV One will exclusively debut the remastered, high definition version of the Emmy® Award winning film "Roots" beginning Sunday, October 18 at 8PM. The six-part, special enhanced version of Roots, the highest rated television series, will air in its entirety during the week each night at 8PM/ET (preempted on Friday, October 23) and finale on Saturday, October 24. 

              "Roots" is based on Alex Haley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book telling the stirring, sweeping saga of his unforgettable family and its struggle over many generations to survive slavery and regain freedom. In 1750, slave traders abduct the proud African warrior Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) and a new American story begins. Forged in blood, sweat and tears, a dream of freedom sustains Junta and his descendants through more than a century of hardship and oppression. Cicely Tyson, Edward Asner, John Amos, Louis Gossett, Jr., Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Uggams, Ben Vereen and O.J. Simpson costar in this groundbreaking historical epic.

          OLBERMANN TO MEET WITH MSNBC - This week surfaced reports that Keith Olbermann is scheduled to meet with the suits at his old haunts, MSNBC, about possibly returning to the fold with a new nightly show. 
         You'll recall that Keith did "Countdown" at MSNBC until 2011, when he left after a contentious relationship to start a show on Current TV. But that didn't work out, and Keith also left there in disgust, suing the channel. It wasn't long before ESPN came-a-callingm wanting Keith to come back and do a nightly sports commentary show, which he did for a year until a few months ago, when ESPN decided Keith was no longer welcomed. So the guy is very good, one of the best, but just hard to work with.
             If Keith did return to MSNBC, it would certainly add some snap, crackle, pop to the mix over there as they continue to retool everything. Here's hoping the two sides can agree, and that Keith is back home, where he can deliver some more sizzling political commentary just in time for the 2016 presidential elections. And boy, could we use it!

            “THE WALK” – I remember as a school kid growing up in New York City that crazy day back in the mid-1970s, when it came over the news about some weird French guy who walked a wire between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and actually made it from one rooftop to the other.

It was absolutely the craziest thing ever, and even though the cops arrested the guy after he got to the other side, no one wanted him tried and convicted because he just did was tremendous and impossible. Indeed that stunt cemented New York as the showplace of the world where anything can, and will happen.

No, King Kong never really climbed the Empire State Building as in the famous 1933 movie, but what Phillippe Petit did at the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974 was the real deal, and never to be forgotten. It took him six long years to carefully plan his walk, but he did it.

Well truth be told, the world has forgotten it. I had forgotten it until one day over a year ago when my youngest daughter KaLa and I were channel switching, and came across a documentary called “Man on Wire” about Petit’s historic tightrope walk. I’ll never forget how fascinated she was, and I certainly enjoyed reliving the story and filling in the blanks for her. In fact, based on the documentary, there was much I didn’t know about the true story, so I was riveted as well.

So this Friday comes the major motion picture about that extraordinary event in 1974 titled, “The Walk,” starring Joseph Gordon – Levitt, and directed by Academy Award winner Robert Zemekis, who made “Forrest Gump” and the “Back to the Future” series.

From the trailers alone, the film looks like fun, and something even kids can get into (though I would caution the real young ones that doing high wire acts between tall buildings is definitely a no-no). Bottomline is the story proves beyond doubt that if we all put our minds to it, we can do it!

So I haven’t had the chance, obviously, to see the film, but I will, and hopefully I will feel that same spirit of marvel and wonder. The Twin Towers were a tremendous symbol of man’s achievement when they stood as the tallest buildings in the world, so to have Phillippe Petit conquer them in the dramatic fashion that he did has to be ranked as one of the greatest achievements in human history.

TREVOR NOAH – Last week, comedian Trevor Noah took over the “The Daily Show” after former host Jon Stewart departed back in early September. Noah is South African and a virtual unknown in the United States, but possesses a youth and charm about him that can be alluring.

But here’s the problem…Jon Stewart was a witty, sharp and certainly insightful humorist who went after the powerful with extraordinary, yet biting news analysis that made him not only unique, but powerful as well. Noah did show that he can do political shtick during his premiere last week (Donald Trump would be the first African president of the United States because he acts like an African dictator), but won’t be as caustic as Stewart, but rather playful, with a reassuring smile after ever quip.

No question that Trevor Noah has skills, and certainly his South African accent will take a little getting used to. But give him time, especially once the 2016 presidential elections get here. I think he can grow on us. I commend Comedy Central for giving a black South African comic an opportunity to head up their flagship show.

            LOTS OF MOVIE TV SHOWS – Right now there’s lots of buzz about popular old movies, and even old TV shows that are being brought back as new TV series. According to the website “Den of Geek”, roughly 39 old movies are being adapted into new TV shows. Among the list includes “Lethal Weapon,” “Taken,” “Training Day,” and “Friday the 13th. This season we already have “Minority Report” on Fox.

Plus there’s word that CBS is bringing the old “McGyver” TV series back.

So is Hollywood just running out of ideas that they have to recycle the old ones? Actually, because many studios already own the rights to thousands of titles, it just makes sense to remake these properties for a new generation. Indeed I’ve alwys wondered when I watch an old movie on cable how it would do if it were released for the first time now. Some of those films, like “Terminator 2” Judgment Day” hol;d up pretty well.

So next TV season, don’t be surprised is some of the shows that make it on the air are updated versions of many of you favorites old movies. That’s the show business, folks.

Make sure you tune in every Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. for my talk radio show, ''Make It Happen'' on Power 750 WAUG-AM, or online at www.waug-network.com. And read more about my thoughts and opinions exclusively at my blog, ‘The Cash Roc” (http://thecashroc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cash-roc-begins.html).

           Cash in the Apple - honored as the Best Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Columnist Cash Michaels was also honored by the NNPA for Best Feature Story Journalist of 2009, and was the recipient of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP’s President’s Award for Media Excellence in Sept. 2011.

          Until next week, keep a smile on your face, GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian in your life. Bye, bye.

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                                               RAY "DR. JOCKO" HENDERSON

FUNDRAISING EFFORT FOR

DR. JOCKO BURIAL SITE

By Cash Michaels

Editor

            On March 24^th, 2015, the “music stopped”, as the old saying goes, when word came from Detroit, Mich. that Ray Henderson, better known to many of his 570 WLLE-AM fans as “Dr. Jocko,” had died at the age of 74.

            Henderson was subsequently brought back to his hometown of Raleigh, and buried in Oakwood Cemetery right next to his broadcasting friend and mentor, J. D. Lewis of WRAL-AM and WRAL-TV fame. Now some of Dr. Jocko’s closest friends are raising funds to procure a headstone to appropriately mark Henderson’s gravesite.

            “Ray Henderson was a local hero,” says Thad Woodard, former president of the NC Bankers Association, and the man heading up the fundraising effort. He says with community support, he’d like to see the headstone fundraising goal of $2,000 reached by Thanksgiving.

            Woodard was one of Dr. Jocko’s earliest and most devoted fans from the day that the old “WiLLiE” radio signed on in February 1962. Henderson would allow the teenage Woodard to hang out backstage with him when big acts like James Brown and Gladys Knight and the Pips would come to the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in the old days for a show.

            “His biggest thrill to date is having met James Brown,” Henderson told The Carolinian last January about his young protégé. “Thad just fell in love with James, and James loved him.”

            Woodard remained close to Henderson through the many years, especially when Henderson left Raleigh to work in Detroit in the early 1970s.

“Ray Henderson was an achiever who never forgot his friends as he climbed the ladder to high levels in the world of music,” Woodard told The Carolinian. “He was always looking for ways to help young people, to boost the career of talented musicians and, all the while, never forgetting that he was from Raleigh, North Carolina. His legacy continues to "Rock Raleigh".

Working closely with Woodard is former WLLE-AM radio personality Jimmy “JJ” Johnson of “JJ’s House Party,” who credits Dr. Jocko with inspiring him to get into radio. Today Johnson’s company, Johnson Broadcast Ventures, Ltd.,.  owns several radio stations throughout North Carolina, and credits Henderson for that inspiration.

“Back in the early 60s, Ray Henderson touched so many people in this community,” Johnson told The Carolinian. “When he left for Detroit, he never forgot his roots. We are proud of our native son. This project is our way of giving back to him because he meant so much to so many."

Indeed Henderson is fondly remembered as a pioneer of black radio in Raleigh. A graduate of all-black J.W. Ligon High School and St. Augustine’s College, Henderson learned his craft at the feet of J. D. Lewis, the first African-American on radio in Raleigh when he worked at 1240 WRAL-AM in the late 1950’s.

“My line to him was, ‘when I grow up, I want to be like you,” Henderson recalled telling Lewis when  he spoke to The Carolinian last January. Lewis hired the young man part-time, trained him, and allowed him to sit-in for him when the announcer went on vacation.

It wasn’t long before Henderson heard that a small white-owned 500-watt daytimer radio station in town at 570 AM called WSHE-AM, was going to change its call letters to WLLE-AM, and be black formatted for rhythm & blues and gospel music. Henderson, with a good reference from Lewis and WRAL management, applied to become an announcer there, and modeling himself after popular Philadelphia disc jockey Doug “Jocko” Henderson (no relation), Ray Henderson got permission to use the moniker “Dr. Jocko” on the air.

Right after an hour of morning gospel music from Bro. James Thomas, Dr. Jocko would sign-on weekday mornings to the delight of black families getting ready for their day.

“Hi-de-ho and hi-de-hee, why don’t you have breakfast with me? I’ve got the sausage and I’ve got the eggs, and the rock and roll music here by the kegs. If you get out of bed and put your feet on the flo’, you’ll be on time for a taste of breakfast with Dr. Jocko,” would be his famous monologue.

Dr. Jocko was also on the air when students from both St. Augustine’s College and Shaw University took to the streets demanding civil rights during the mid-1960’s. WLLE radio became a conduit for their message, having black leaders on the air, and reporting the latest news from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the NAACP.

            “We wanted equality, and were willing to fight for it…but we talked in a sense of trying to keep everything cool,” Henderson said, urging the community to “carry yourselves with respect and dignity.”

            In 1966, Dr. Jocko left his hometown for the big time radio market of Detroit, where he also became a legend. While there, he hosted a weekly TV dance show for teens called “The Scene,” modeled after the popular “Teenage Frolics” on Raleigh’s WRAL-TV hosted by his mentor, J. D. Lewis.

            During his career, Henderson also had stints in the record industry, working for both Motown and Mercury Records in their promotions departments.

            He also toured with James Brown around the world.

            In recent years, Ray Henderson fell onto hard times and ill health in Detroit. Thad Woodard and other loyal friends helped him all they could so he could pay the bills and stay active in retirement.

            In January 2013, Woodard brought Henderson home to Raleigh briefly so that he could be honored with the Citizenship Award at the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast at the Sheraton in Research Triangle Park.

            “I said in my acceptance speech that you can go home again, because if you’ve done good for people, you will be remembered. Fortunately, we did our best.”

            In his later years, Henderson always found joy in meeting someone who remembered him from his old radio days who would tell him how much they enjoyed him.

            “I’ve had people just come to me and tell me what they used to hear me say, and I smile because, at that time, we never knew we had that kind of following that we did. A lot of the stuff I said was just silly stuff, but if it made you smile, “ Ray “Dr. Jocko” Henderson said, “it made me happy.”

Donations for the “Ray Henderson Memorial Fund” should be made by check to Oakwood Cemetery, with “Ray Henderson Memorial” written in the memo line, and sent to Thad Woodard, 616 Lakestone Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609. Any amount donated is appreciated to help reach the $2,000.00 goal by Thanksgiving.

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TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 10-8-15

DISTRICT C’S WEEKS LOSES TO COREY BRANCH 52 TO 47 PERCENT

            With just about ten percent of voters coming out, Raleigh’s municipal elections Tuesday saw the re-election of Mayor Nancy McFarlane, along with councilors-at large Mary Ann Baldwin and Russ Stephenson, but also cost two long-term incumbents their seats. District B Councilman John Odom went down to defeat at the hands of challenger David Cox, 52 – 47 percent. But the big surprise was the race in Southeast Raleigh’s District C, where veteran Councilman Eugene Weeks lost his seat after five years to AT&T technical engineer Corey Branch. Branch called Weeks “a good man who believes in the community, but the community decided to move forward.” Also victorious Tuesday night were District D incumbent Kay Crowder and District E’s Bonner Gaylord. The District A three-way race between J.B. Buxton, Dickie Thompson and Eddie Woodhouse was too close o call at press time.

BELL WINS DURHAM MAYORAL PRIMARY

            Durham Mayor Bill Bell cruised to an easy victory in Tuesday’s mayoral primary, far outpacing challengers James Lyons, Tammy Lightfoot, and John Everett by more than nine thousand votes. Mayor Bell and Lyons, the second place finisher who only received 915 votes, will face off in November. In the Fayetteville mayoral primary, incumbent Mayor Nat Robertson will faceoff against second place finisher Val Applewhite next month.

WAKE SCHOOL BOARD REVIEWS SECOND DRAFT OF STUDENT ENROLLMENT PLAN

            Looking to maximize student enrollment at five new schools opening in the 2016-17 school year, the Wake County Board of Education Tuesday reviewed the second draft of a proposed student enrollment plan. An estimated 40,000 more students are expected to be enrolled over the next ten years, and planners are trying to make sure that there is adequate capacity for the growth. Beginning tonight, parents will be able to give feedback on the new draft at Scotts Ridge Elementary School, on Oct. 12 at Leesville Road High School, and Oct. 15 at River Bend Elementary School, all starting at 7 p.m. A third draft is expected on Oct. 20^th.

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STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 10-8-15

NCNAACP STATE CONVENTION IN WINSTON – SALEM NOW THROUGH SATURDAY

            [WINSTON-SALEM] The 72^nd Annual State Convention of the NC NAACP is underway starting today at the Benton Convention Center. This year’s theme is “Pursing Liberty in the Face of Injustice” and featured speakers include civil rights attorney Lani Guinier; Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes, III; MSNBC National Reporter Joy-Ann Reid; Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-12); journalist Ari Berman and SEIU Pres. Mary Kay Henry.

HALIFAX SCHOOL BOARD TO REINSTATE SUPERINTENDENT

            [HALIFAX] The Halifax School Board is scheduled to meet this evening to reverse the unexpected firing of school Supt. Dr. Elease Frederick after three members voted  Monday behind closed doors to terminate her.  The Board and Dr. Frederick have been at loggerheads for several years, and after the state DPI took over the system’s personnel and financial operations, the school board was prohibited from making any personnel changes without prior state approval. State officials demanded that Dr. Frederick be reinstated Halifax County schools have been academically underperforming for several years amid controversy.

MCCRORY SURVEYS FLOODED BRUNSWICK COUNTY

            [CALABASH] Though not as impacted as neighboring South Carolina, North Carolina sustained its fair share of flooding with the recent torrential rain fall over the weekend. Hardest hit in the state was Brunswick County, where 400-500 people had to be evacuated from Calabash, Carolina Shores and Sunset Beach. Several homes were flooded and cars damaged. Gov. Pat McCrory flew over the area Tuesday to survey the flooding and see what residents needed from the state. One common problem was several drainage ditches were clogged up, while several roads washed out.

                                                                  -30-

[EXCLUSIVE]

WAS WILMINGTON JOURNAL

BOMB SCARE MISHANDLED?

By Cash Michaels

An analysis

            [WILMINGTON] Unless you saw a photograph with a caption on the front page of The Carolinian Newspaper in Raleigh last week, or read a short piece about it in The Wilmington Journal the next day, you would have been hard pressed to learn that an electronic device with loose wires and plugged into an outside building outlet was found operating inside a Journal vending machine just outside the newspaper’s offices on South Seventh Street on Wednesday, Sept. 30^th at 9 a.m.. The Wilmington Police Dept. Bomb Squad had to be deployed.

            “Suspicious electronic device found outside of black newspaper, bomb squad probes” should have been the headline.

            But instead, no television station in Wilmington, let alone the state, reported it. Neither did any other newspapers in town, or anywhere else, except The Carolinian and Wilmington Journal. Indeed a partial police report on the incident was not made available to either newspaper by the Wilmington Police Dept. until Tuesday, Oct. 6^th, five days after it was requested on Thursday, Oct. 1st.

            And during the time that the Wilmington Bomb Squad was on the scene investigating the strange device, while the street was reportedly blocked off to stave off traffic, there was no evacuation of any of the residents on either side of the Journal’s building, across the street, or on the block at all.

            Outraged citizens are now asking the Wilmington Police Dept., “Do our black lives matter?”

            First the facts.

            According to the Wilmington Police Dept. partial report (only one page of the report was made public), at 9 a.m. on Wednesday Sept. 30^th, a “suspicious package” was discovered at 412 S. Seventh Street in Wilmington, the “reporting person” listed on the report at Shawn Jervay Thatch, the Wilmington Journal’s office manager.

            Outside of giving the reporting officer’s name and listing the case status as “inactive”, nothing else of relevance is noted on WPD report page.  But Linda Rawley, Public Affairs Officer for the WPD, did answer a number of questions about the police investigation that are referenced in this story.

            In an interview, Ms. Shawn Thatch said she was reporting to work that morning at 9 a.m., and as she was about to enter the building, she heard a noise coming from a Journal newspaper box that housed copies for the public to purchase.

Upon closer inspection, Thatch determined that it was music that she was hearing coming from inside the box. She also discovered a wire going from the box to an outside outlet, as if something from inside was drawing current. Deciding that it wasn’t safe to open the box for closer inspection, Ms. Thatch then immediately called WPD at 9:05 a.m., which sent out two officers.

            The officers also declined to open the box, and called the WPD Bomb Squad to come to the scene to further investigate. According to Ms. Thatch, the first officers responded within ten minutes of her call, and the bomb squad arrived closer to 10 a.m..

            Ms. Rawley confirms that, “the Bomb Squad requested that the roads be blocked when they arrived. Officers blocked off both sides of S. 7th Street at Church and Nun Streets.”

            Rawley also indicated that, “Our personnel spent a total of 3 hours and 37 minutes for the entire call. Unable to determine exact time that roads were block, however we estimate that the streets were blocked for about 3 hours.”

            During that time, a Bomb Squad robot was deployed to actually probe the vending machine and suspicious device, determining its nature. Ms. Thatch confirms that she was not able to actually enter the Journal office building until after 1 p.m., and that was after the Bomb Squad had already checked inside to make sure there was no evidence of a break-in or possible other device planted.

            When asked if any of the residents were evacuated on South Seventh Street during the course of the Bomb squad investigation, Ms. Rawley replied, “No. Through the Bomb Squads professional assessment of the device they were able to determine that this device was not a significant threat to the homes and/or properties in the surrounding area. Evacuations and alerts are only initiated when there is a significant threat to the area. Our Bomb Squad Unit looks at the size of the device and other criteria to determine possible threat level. The Bomb Squad Unit advises the commanding officer about the need to evacuate any areas then the Commander makes the necessary orders to evacuate. This was not done in this incident.”

            Asked if the device, and subsequently a Bible that was found the following day in the same newsbox and turned over to the WPD, are part of a continuing investigation into perhaps an attempt to intimidate the Wilmington Journal, WPD spokesperson Linda Rawley replied, “This is an open, in-active investigation with limited evidence. The only item we removed from the scene was a radio (no bible).  After our officers canvassed the area we were not able to find anyone who had additional information on this incident. There were no witnesses. Our CSI Unit was unable to collect any prints on the radio or the newspaper box because of the surfaces. No crime was committed, there were no laws broken. Without knowing the intent of the individual who left the radio we are unable to say if it was meant to intimidate.”

            Ms. Rawley added that thus far in 2015, the WPD Bomb Squad has made a total of 38 “call-outs.” She adds that also this year, police have responded to 21 calls of suspicious packages, and “…none of the areas were evacuated…one bridge (on Murrayville Road) was closed for a short time.”

            Rawley sent a spreadsheet indicating the dates this year and locations where a “suspicious package” was found. Under the heading of “Evacuation,” “N/A” is listed next to each of the 21 incidents, except next to Sept. 14, 2015 when traffic was stopped on the Murrayville Road bridge.

            When asked what the normal or average cost of the WPD deploying its Bomb Squad was, Ms. Rawley indicated that she was unable to calculate that “at this time” because “several of the officers were already working their normal shifts.”

            Even if the WPD Bomb Squad, by virtue of experience, was indeed able to tell by experience that the device  - an old radio with wires hanging out and a cord that was plugged into the outside outlet - found in front of the Wilmington Journal’s office on Sept. 30^th was nonlethal once they had a chance to x-ray it, the logical question remains, how were the residents in the immediate area and community supposed to know that? They knew something was wrong when they saw police block off the street, and the WPD Bomb Squad truck in full view in front of the Journal.

            And they were buying the police theory that a homeless man must have plugged the device in the outlet just to listen to music at night. Why would a homeless man spend 50 cents to open the vending machine to put the device inside and turn it on, instead of just putting the device on top of the machine, plugging it in, and listening to it clearer…for free?

            And many longtime residents knew that in the early 1970’s, a white supremacist actually did firebomb the Journal building in anger over the black newspaper’s outspoken positions on the issues.

            Add to that the fact that that very South Seventh Street black is where a historical marker notes the November 1898 firebombing of The Daily Record, the black newspaper targeted by white supremacists after the editor published a fiery editorial decrying racism.

            So the WPD had to know that the Wilmington Journal was historically a target for recrimination, and should have, according to local residents, at least publically explained why it saw know reason to evacuate the area to the local media.

            But that didn’t happen. In fact, Journal supporter, Linda Pearce, said she called a local television station about the incident, and said she was told by the station that WPD said there was nothing to be concerned about.

            “I was upset because the police told the media it was no big deal,” Pearce wrote in a piece published in the Journal Oct. 1. “I know because I called them and they told me that’s what they were told. There were no alerts that the neighbors could have seen on their phones; known something was afoot and gotten out of their houses on their own since nobody saw fit to inform them. The police there told me when I inquired about an evacuation that the people should just stay in the back of their houses. How were they supposed to know to do that if nobody had even told them about this possible threat?”

            Ms. Elise Muhammad, who actually spoke with officer on the scene during the incident, offered the same concerns, asking if it were any other community, would the WPD or the media feel compelled to give a full public accounting, if not initial warning.

            “It just seems like the urgency just wasn’t there,” Ms. Muhammad said.

            Indeed, at the very least, a WPD advisory should have been sent out to the media warning the public to steer clear of South Seventh Street because of police activity in the area. There’s no reported record of even that being done.

Community leader James Hankins was also upset.

            “Our local news media outlets are licensed by the FCC to cover the news, but yesterday they did not report on a potential deadly action,” Hankins wrote on Oct. 1, the day after. “The big three who participated in the news blackout are WWAY, WECT and The Star News. Our police department also failed to do a professional job. They did not inform or evacuate the residents in the danger zone. It is an old predominantly black neighborhood where many are senior citizens and some have disabilities. I wonder if they would have been so lackadaisical in a predominantly white neighborhood???”

            Even though the WPD supplied at least 21 instances this year of suspicious packages found where no evacuation was called for, there are a number of incidents in Wilmington at least since 2003 where the exact opposite occurred and people were adequately warned.

            February 22, 2003 - the Wilmington Police Headquarters itself had to be evacuated when a mysterious bag was brought to the building.

            October 25, 2003 -  after two female teens were arrested for calling in three false bomb threats to area schools, Sheriff Sid Causey said that bomb threats cost money and time and scare parents.”

            February 21, 2008 -  The Ports Authority gave employees at the Cape Fear River Port the option of not reporting to work after a bomb threat was made. In a statement the authority said, “The Ports Authority’s first concern is for the safety of its employees, tenants, customers and the public.”

            Oct. 1, 2008 - an office building at 17^th Street and Independence Blvd. was evacuated after an employee reported to work at 7:30 a.m. and reported finding a “small suspicious object” there. It was later determined to be a piece of equipment left behind by some workmen.

            August 17, 2012 – no device found, but a bomb threat called into the Columbus, Ga. Headquarters of Carmike Cinemas had WPD officers checking the Carmike Theater on Cinema Drive. In that instant, people in neighboring businesses were told to remain in the buildings until the search was over and the area declared safe. If a device had been found, those instructions might have very well changed.

                                                                    -30-