A Decision WILL be made soon; let's FIX this problem before it goes any further!

Down East Continues to work to HOLD ON to its name ... YOUR SIGNATURE, YOUR LETTER, YOUR EMAIL will make a difference. We have word from the Kinston Free Press ... They are watching this petition as the numbers grow. YOU CAN HELP -- PLEASE pass on to others - SIGNATURES MATTER Our petition (online 1250+ and growing and on paper 300+ and growing) along with Kinston Community's petition (at 500) is a clear message that NOBODY IS HAPPY! Here are the updates as of Wednesday: - All five of their suggestions have been trademarked (but do not include Down East) so the team folks are serious about these names. - Online voting ends Thurs, 5 pm according to Channel 12. We need to SCREAM LOUD NOW. Every signature is an email to the Kinston Baseball email, the Mayor's office and the Kinston Free Press. - Carteret County Newstimes offered an excellent op-ed in this past Sunday's paper. YES -- let's fix this mess! Please read carefully ... Baseball comes to Kinston (not Down East) The Down East communities of Carteret County have a proud heritage and culture, and a big chapter of that legend and lore features the people’s love for amateur baseball. You can learn all about it at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center on Harkers Island, and view the photo gallery at www.carteretcountysports.org. The City of Kinston has its own love affair for minor league professional baseball, dating back to 1921, but the stands at historic Grainger Stadium have been empty since 2011. That’s when the Cleveland Indians pulled out of Kinston, moving its farm team from Kinston to Zebulon, and rebranded the club as the Carolina Mudcats. But you can “take me out to the ballgame” again in 2017, as the Texas Rangers have bought in to establish its “high A” minor league affiliate in Kinston. The city agreed to invest and is upgrading historic Grainger Stadium with first-class amenities for the spectators. The Kinston team will join the Carolina League and compete against the Mudcats, as well as the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Winston-Salem Dash, Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Salem Red Sox, Lynchburg Hillcats, Potomac Nationals and Frederick Keys. There was a lot of excitement when the Texas Rangers invited fans to suggest the new Kinston team’s nickname, and some 1,300 ideas were put forth. And then…the ballot came out. All five names listed abandoned the word “Kinston” and inserted “Down East.” Select from: Down East Eagles, Down East HamHawks, Down East Hogzillas, Down East Shaggers or Down East Wood Ducks. There’s been a big public uproar…for good reason. The overwhelming response from the fans has been: “None of the above!” Kinston is not Down East. Even dit-dots know that. Fans have sent a barrage of messages to the Kinston Baseball Facebook page. The people Down East aren’t happy; Kinston people aren’t happy. When the local news media queried General Manager Wade Howell last week about going back to the drawing board, he refused to consider it. Howell told News Channel 12 reporter Jaime McCutcheon that “Down East” was non-negotiable. “It’s a regional marketing concept,” he maintained. Howell told Michelle Piper of The (Kinston) Free Press: “We want to market to the entire region; we want to go down a different path….” (Could be the path to the “Eve of Destruction.”) He continued: “We have put a lot of thought and effort into the name of the team. We’ve talked to local people and officials to provide some feedback.” Apparently, Howell didn’t talk to the “right people,” including folks at the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce, the Crystal Coast Tourism Authority and Karen Amspacher at the Core Sound museum. (They’d a flat-out set him straight.) Now, an online petition drive is gaining momentum, and citizens are signing up from left field and right field, the dugout and the bullpen. Go to www.change.org and enter “Down East IS.” (This was reported by Helen Outlaw in the September 21 edition of the News-Times.) Ironically, when Texas Rangers Executive Vice President Joe Januszewski announced the hiring of Wade Howell as General Manager, he cited the man’s “people skills” as a resume asset. Perhaps Howell should put on his happy face and revisit this ill-fated decision…and take time to visit the real Down East. From Kinston, just meander down the road on US 70 beyond Beaufort. Cross the North River Bridge, and you’re there. An Outer Banks Scenic Byway Sign has been erected to define the territory. You can’t miss it. Down East is actually a nautical term. Rodney Kemp, who is Carteret County’s most celebrated storyteller and historian, tells us: “During the sailing days, the mailboat would leave out of Beaufort to make its deliveries to each eastern Carteret County community. Normally, the prevailing sou’west wind would propel the sailboat in an efficient manner. Thus, they were sailing ‘downwind to the eastern’ or Down East.” The mailboat didn’t travel up the Neuse River to Kinston. The rationale for a “regional name” for a baseball team is kind of lame. Baseball fans from Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Adrian, Ypsilanti and Traverse City consider the Detroit Tigers as Michigan’s team. Likewise, the Boston Red Sox is New England’s team. Consider the Kinston Rangers, the Kinston Graingers (silent G), the Kinston Pardners or even the Kinston Cousins. If management is determined to go regional, how about the Global TransPark World Travelers? “NCEast” has credibility. It is the name of the regional economic development agency serving eastern North Carolina, including Kinston and Down East. (Call the team the NCEast NoCeeums.) Fortunately, there’s still time to clear this mess up. The Kinston Shaggers may not be politically correct in today’s global society. (Shagger is not a complimentary term in Wales or New Zeeland.) The music gets in your head, however. There’s a beach music tune that Carolina girls love to shag dance to by The Showmen – “It Will Stand.” It speaks to the spirit of Down East people, with surnames such as Willis, Lewis, Lawrence, Gillikin, Guthrie, Davis, Taylor, Styron, et.al. Universally, they agree, if “You take some music, music; sweet flowin’ music…some movin’ and groovin’ – rock and roll will stand… “Some folks don’t understand it, that’s why they don’t demand it. They’re out tryin’ to ruin’…. “Forgive them for they know not what they’re doin.’” This song is dedicated to Wade Howell. We forgive you, sir. Now just fix it. YES --- let's fix it. Pass this along to everyone you know who loves DOWN EAST! NOW is the time .. Thank you.