Obituary: William Briley Smith Jr.

William Briley Smith Jr., 70, passed away on Saturday, August 29, 2026.  Briley was a 1974 graduate of South Lenoir High School   He worked in construction, concrete and trucking.  He was preceded in death by his parents, William B. and Carrol Smith; sister, Brenda Smith Taylor; mother and father-in-law, Charles and Avonna Johnson; special friend and brother-in-law Sam Colie, and Bill Mallard.

Muse and Maker - September

Community Council for the Arts has released the September 2026 edition of Muse & Maker, featuring upcoming exhibits, classes, artist talks and community events in Kinston. The issue includes details on September programs, gallery shows and special events hosted by the Arts Center.

Jones County native Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers headlines men’s leadership summit

Long before Major General Alfred K. Flowers made U.S. Air Force  history, he was a young boy growing up in a sharecropping family among the tobacco fields of  eastern North Carolina. At night, he could lie in bed in his family’s four-room home and see the  sky through holes in its tin roof, dreaming not of becoming a general, but simply of finding a  way out of poverty. 

Obituary: Margaret Maroules Thorpe

Margaret Maroules Thorpe, 88, peacefully passed away on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at Testa Family Hospice House in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. A celebration of life service will be held Sunday, August 30, 2026, at 4 P.M. at Bethel Free Will Baptist Church by Rev. Chris Truett and her son-in-law, Dr. Mike Creekmore.  The family will receive friends at the church prior to the service from 3-3:45 P.M.  The graveside service will be conducted Monday, August 31, 2026, at 11 A.M. in the Flatfield Cemetery, 5089 Pauls Path Rd, LaGrange, NC.