Oliver Named Telegram Male Swimmer of The year

Kyle Oliver Rocky Mount High School swimmer was named the Rocky Mount Telegram male swimmer of the year. Oliver a senior in the last two swim seasons has not lost a conference race in the NEW-6.

Way to go Kyle

Dyonna Battle has signed to play basketball at Queens College in Charlotte. Dyonna has been the girls leader the last two years if not longer. If there was such a thing as the all decade team which there isn't she would make the starting line this decade. Maybe only Latoya Armstong has been a better player for the lady Gryphons this decade.

I don't know how many of you go on line every day and get your news from WRAL.com. There is a story in the local news section that I would ask you help for.

The story says fire department needs your vote to win a fire truck. The fire department is Powellsville fire department and Powellsville is five miles from Ahoskie in Bertie but it is close to the county line.

Growing up I live about two miles from Ahoskie and my father was a member of the Powellsville Lions Club. We live about half way between Ahoskie in Hertford County and Powellsville. I got the job of cutting grass at the Powellsville community building for about five years and with that came cutting the Powellsville Cemetery.

The cemetery is about two or three acres at the time most of the vaults were above ground. During the summers if I didn't have a church league ball game or a little league game that night I would push my mover to the cemetery at 8.00am and stay and cut grass all day.

There was an acre which was all grass and the other part I had to cut around the plots. I could cut the grass in about eight hours. The hard part was taking the old timey scissors and trimming the grass around the vaults and head stones. My parents when they got off work would come help me finish up the trim. It was a all day deal.

Powellsville is a community of about 400 people with a stoplight on highway 42. The fire house is about a hundred yards from the community building so to say the least all those kids that I grew up with are now volunteer firemen in Powellsville.

A community of 400 there is not a great tax base an there is always a struggle to get any equipment. I don't think they had been able to buy any new equipment in more than 30 years. If you look at the article on WRAL.com they are in a contest with five other small fire from around the USA to win a new fire truck. The most votes on line wins the fire truck.

Oddly enough the fire truck manufacturer is E-One from right here in Rocky Mount but Powellsville is the only North Carolina fire department in the running.

Please go on line and vote for some of my old pals and help them get anew fire truck. There is nothing you have to buy other than taking the time to vote.

Thanks