Recount Flips Council Race
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•South Columbus pulls Coming Thursday out a 2-A overtime play- The Nov. 19 issue of The News Reporter off win over Red Springs while Whiteville falls will include the Fall/Winter 2015 edition to Mt. Airy in the 1-AA of 954 Magazine. Sports playoffs. ThePublished News since 1890 every Monday and Thursday Reporterfor the County of Columbus and her people. Monday, November 16, 2015 Recount flips Volume 125, Number 40 Whiteville, North Carolina council race n Power outage at Election office 75 Cents blamed for error. By ALLEN TURNER Inside Staff Writer The outcome of Chadbourn’s Nov. 3 town 2-A council race changed Saturday after a recount • Council votes to was held at the Columbus County Board of keep fence require- Elections in Whiteville. James Green now has a one-vote win over ment at shopping challenger Jay Suggs Jr. center. Following the official canvass last Tuesday, Suggs had a 202-197 lead over Green. The new 5-A vote count gives Green a 197-196 lead over • ‘A Vineland Christ- Suggs. Brunswick’s totals after the recount did mas’ planned for Dec. not change what was reported on canvass day. 3-12. Green requested the recount because the canvass tally showed Suggs receiving 15 absen- All in the family tee votes but only 10 absentee ballots actually Sam Leder, left, son of Whiteville City Council member Robert Leder, won a seat on the Concord City were cast. Council Nov. 3 with 64 percent of the vote in his first effort at elected office. This is Robert Leder’s sixth Elections director Carla Strickland said term. Also pictured are Bennett and Matthew Leder. Saturday that the recount would have been conducted even if Green had not requested it. A temporary power outage at the board of elections during the canvass caused a malfunc- Father, son win city council seats tion and faulty results were reported, she said. Strickland was not present during the canvass because of health issues involving a By JEFFERSON WEAVER Leder was the highest vote-getter up to replace him.” member of her family. “Upon my return,” she Staff Writer of all the candidates, with 64 percent Sam Leder said that after lengthy of the vote, or 2,286 ballots. discussions with his wife, he threw his told about 20 people gathered for the recount, District One is apparently a lucky In Whiteville, Leder’s father also hat in the ring. He gave his wife credit “we found something that was not correct charm for the Leder family, regardless won his two-seat ticket race, and also for the landslide win. in the absentees, so we would have done this of the zip code. was the recipient of the most votes, “She was really my campaign man- recount, regardless.” Robert Leder has served in the Dis- with 202 votes, or 38.5 percent. ager,” he said, laughing. “The county maintenance department trict One seat on the Whiteville City Robert Leder said he never expected Leder said he was always interested came over and started playing with (circuit) Today’s Council for five terms, as well as 12 his son, a certified public accountant in his father’s political career and the breakers in our building, causing the power American Profile years on the city school board. and partner in a CPA firm with several mechanics of local government, but to go out momentarily, and it did affect the His oldest son Sam Leder, in his offices, to enter politics. was ambivalent about seeking office absentees in Chadbourn, so we will be doing features “Gobble first foray into politics, handily won a “I’m just proud of him for wanting on his own. all votes cast – election day, absentee, provi- Gobble! Readers District One seat in the city of Concord to serve his community,” Robert Leder “Dad was on the school board, then sional and one stop – for both Chadbourn and Tuesday night as well. said. “He never expressed any political city council,” Leder said. “I was famil- Brunswick this morning,” Strickland said at share their go-to “I can’t tell you how proud I am of intentions with me until he called to iar with how things worked – public Saturday’s recount. Thanksgiving reci- him and all our children,” the senior ask my advice on running.” service was always a big thing in our In Brunswick, commission candidate Nan- Leder said. Sam Leder, who turns 48 later this household, giving back to the com- pes and tips.” Concord’s city council operates month, graduated from Whiteville City munity.” See Recount flips, page 2-A similarly to Whiteville, in that there Schools in 1986 and later, UNC-Chapel Although he loves his hometown, were two seats from each district on Hill. He and his wife Shannon, whom Leder said that Concord, which has the ballot. Each seat runs in a separate he met in college, have two children. 85,000 people, is now home to his family. DIDYOB? race in Concord, however, while in A resident of Concord for more “Concord has been good to me, good Will the winter Whiteville the top two candidates are than 20 years, the younger Leder said to us,” he said. “I’m looking forward to Did you observe ... winners. he hadn’t seriously considered elected helping keep our city be a good place to Sam Leder led the field against two office until a visit from a neighbor, live and raise a family. Volunteers decorat- worms win? other candidates running for one of the veteran Concord councilman Dave “There’s a lot going on here, and ing trees at Northwood two District One seats. A total of six Phillips. there’s still a lot of potential,” he nMeteorological mishmash may Assembly Sunday for the candidates were on the ballot for two “He and I were talking,” Sam Leder added. “It’s really an honor to be able to mean wicked winter. seats in the Concord race, according said, “and he said that there were sev- serve my community, and my dad gave Festival of Trees, which eral people who had brought my name me a good example on how to do that.” to election results. By JEFFERSON WEAVER runs today through Sat- Staff Writer urday, Nov. 21?... Samuel Linden’s daughter Jayne A wooly prognosticator is at odds with science when it comes to predicting the local Gore and granddaughter WWII vet turnout surprises hosts weather this year. Sarah Otstot gather- By BOB HIGH Wooly worms, the larval stage of the Staff Writer Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia Isabella), ing information about are large caterpillars with long hair and al- Linden’s World War II The Navy far outnumbered the ternating bands of black and brown. They’re service as a medic in the other military services Wednesday more correctly known as wooly bear worms, night at the American Legion Post according to Aboutinsects.com. Tradition has Pacific Theater for him No. 137’s fish fry where 15 World War it that the more black on a wooly worm, the to use in interview about II veterans appeared. The number of worse the winter. veterans surprised their hosts, but The caterpillars are extremely long-lived, his war experiences? there was ample room for the men compared to other bugs, and go from the and women, almost all accompanied pupae to larval (caterpillar) stage during the by family members. warmer months. They then spend autumn eat- County Deaths The average age of the vets was ing everything they can find, preparatory to 92, with Mary Collier Williamson’s hibernating through the winter and hatching total of 98 years easily topping the as large tiger moths in the spring. The width Lake Waccamaw list. The Lake Waccamaw woman of the brown bands seen on many varieties of Marie P. Tate is the lone survivor of the five Col- the worms is said to be an accurate predictor lier siblings who served in various of the coming winter season. Tabor City branches of the military more than Whether the tradition is true is up for 70 years ago. Mary Ann Hardee debate. They walked slowly through the In the 1950s, Dr. C.H. Curran, former cura- Villa Mae Cox pine trees as they approached the Le- tor of insects at the American Museum of gion building. Several used walking Natural History in New York City, tested the Riegelwood devices to aid their movement, while Ray Williamson, right, World War II veteran and former Whiteville woolly worms’ accuracy. His surveys found Eugene Simmons others were impressive by being able police officer, talks with fellow WWII serviceman Ervin Stocks dur- an 80 percent accuracy rate for the woolly to get around without assistance James “Jimmy” William ing last week’s Veterans Day salute by American Legion Post No. worms’ weather predictions, according to the from a device or family member. 137 here to the dwindling number of men and women who actively museum. Bordeaux Jr. Nine of the 15 vets said their served during the 1941-45 war. Other researchers have not been able to rep- Rickey Recardo Blanks military days were in the Navy. licate the same success rate, although amateur H.E. “Cookie” Cooke’s description served – North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Army Air Corps and the Army. observers in western North Carolina — home of what food was available to those France, Belgium and Germany. This Frank Gault noted he served with of the annual Wooly Worm Festival — swear serving on ships impressed most of meant these men didn’t miss a Eu- the Navy and the Merchant Marine.