Russell Killen signs a lot of proclamations as mayor of Knightdale.

But one he signed recently that hit especially close to home.

“That one was very different for me,” said Killen of the document declaring November Pancreatic Cancer month. “My mother and two of her sisters died of pancreatic cancer. We all are very directly affected by that disease.”

Killen’s mother, Linda Killen, died last Dec. 11 and his aunts Annie Bogue and Ruth Mercer also were victims of the disease.

Killen said lots of families go through the pain of cancer illnesses and deaths, but what stands out for pancreatic cancer is that there are very few survivors.

“Ninety-five percent of the people die within 18 months,” he said. “Most people diagnosed with it don’t live long enough to be spokespeople for it.”

And being a spokesperson for it means getting dollars for pancreatic cancer research which is why Killen is doing his part.

Pancreatic cancer begins when abnormal cells grow out of control within the pancreas.
Now Killen is doing his part to fight the cancer.

Killen, his sister, Karen Banks, and several cousins are participating in a study on pancreatic cancer at UNC.

“When mom was alive, she went to investigate some study treatments at UNC,”said Killen. “The folks conducting research saw the history of pancreatic cancer in our family and asked us to participate in the study.”

Killen and his daughter Rachel attended a Pancreatic Cancer Network fundraiser at Mimi’s Café in Cary last Monday night. Morrisville Mayor Jan Faulkner, Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht and others came out to raise money and awareness about the disease, he said.

Wendell commissioner Sid Baynes says new board will have the power to overturn any decision by the current commission.

Eastern Wake & Johnston County viewers follow me!

Here are some tips from a random Google search on how to avoid getting sick:

1. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue, when having to cough or sneeze. Make sure the tissue is disposed when done. Don’t have a tissue? Sneeze or cough into your sleeve.

2. Using your backhand or forearm, when needing to rub your eyes or mouth, will help protect from germs.

3. After coughing or sneezing, make sure your hands are sanitized.

4. Do not share things like drinks, eating utensils, Chapstick or any other personal items.

5. Make sure to bring hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes.

6. Hand washing stations will be on site at the fair. Use them.

Practicing these tips will keep you and your family safe from H1N1.
Be sure to check out the H1N1 Twitter page at http://twitter.com/H1N1Info.

The East Wake Football League is in week six of nine right now, and with a new team from Riley Hill things are as competitive as they can be in eastern Wake County.

 The addition of that team means there now teams in Wendell, Zebulon, Knightdale, and now one smack in the middle of Wendell and Knightdale. 

Riley Hill plays Wendell this Saturday at East Wake High School — an all-day affair for those that want to see some little men going pad-to-pad like big men.

Those that have never been ought to know the games and teams are no joke — Zebulon, Wendell and Knightdale have all had a taste of dominance in the past, and Wendell (which won last year's Super Bowl over Knightdale) has won the Super Bowl two years in a row. 

The Minis are cute, but tough. The Mightys aren't so cute anymore, but tough-er, and the PeeWees are flat out tackling maniacs — just big enough to run faster than you, but just a bit too young to play at the middle school. 

In order of age, the Minis, Mightys and PeeWees will play on the East Wake High School football field pretty much all day, from 4-10 p.m.

Check them out now before it gets too cold. 

The Knights travel to East Wake this afternoon for their first match up of the year at 6:30.

A little background: East Wake was a serious state playoff contender last year (a 30-plus win team) that got dropped in the first round by Fuquay-Varina. Ever since the team has struggled with "knowing how good it is, but not playing to that level" as coach DeLane Hayes has stressed several times this season.

Knightdale, which was no show-stopper last year, had a rough start to the 2009 season, but the team impressively knocked off Wake Forest Rolesville in its first win and showed, even if only for a couple hours, it can contend when needed. 

Those that like soccer need to check this one out, especially in light of the rivalry. It will be interesting to see which team can hold off for the big W.  

Wendell race figures to be the marquee event this fall in eastern Wake County.

The Zebulon Dash-N convenience store, at 1312 N. Arendell Ave., has been known best for its hot dogs. They have been serving hot dogs and other kinds of food for more than 15 years. On May 1, they decided not to sell any more food. The reason for this is because the Wake County Health Department wanted the convenience store to be remodeled. According to Garry Yousef, the owner, it would cost more than $25,000 to remodel the store.


“We just can’t afford it,” Yousef said. “So we decided not to sell any more food.” So next time when you walk into Dash-N, try not to feel so disappointed that you cannot get a hot dog with mustard, ketchup, chilly, onions and coleslaw.

On an August night recently when some of the heat had retreated with the day’s sun, I sat in the N.C. Art Museum amphitheater and listened to the Piedmont blues. The Piedmont blues swept through the South in 1920s and 30s and featured among its ranks many of the musicians from our area.

I got to hear a few of those old timers last Saturday – John Dee Holeman, and Algia Mae Hinton, who hails from Middlesex. They are both 80. And I listened to other blues and string band performers. (Lightning Wells, Phil Wiggins and Wayne Martin and the Buggy Riders).

Brian High, our on-line editor shot video, and I listened with an ear for something to write about that could capture that evening. How do you write about lyrics as rich as “I love my baby like she loves peach pie.”?

One thing’s for sure. As all the introducers of the music observed, the evening was a tribute to the best of the South, a celebration of a musical interplay between African Americans and Anglo-Americans.

The concert was part of the museum’s larger series about the southern plantation revisited. It preceded the showing of the movie “Midway, “by Raleigh native and New York film critic Godfrey Cheshire. It’s a moving tale of the relocation of Cheshire’s family home, Midway Plantation, from development along Knightdale Boulevard to a rural setting outside Knightdale. The house is better known in these parts as Charlie and Dena Silver’s home. (Charlie is Godfrey’s cousin.)

The movie not only tells the story of the house’s uprooting, but also tells the story of the myth of African Americans in film.

Wayne Martin, the director of Folk life at the N.C. Arts Council, said despite the long shadow that the antebellum period has cast on our culture, it also provided the seedbed for the development of great music -- the blues, country, bluegrass and rock and roll.

But it’s all better said by the music anyway.

From Lightnin' Wells, “Me and My Dog, we don’t have no friends now,” to Phil Wiggins “She’s gone, but I don’t worry cause I’m sitting on top of the world,” to John Dee Holeman’s “I am a stranger,” to Algia Mae Hinton’s “Why should I worry, it makes my hair turn gray?, the blues all tell us a story. And with music, at times, both plaintive and playful.

And then there was the string band, Martin and his Buggy Riders, old-timey fiddle music, and banjo and guitar. The lively plucking also has its roots in the early 20th century.

Algia Mae Hinton’s son, Willette Hinton, took the stage not only for a demonstration of some buck dancing, but of pure bliss. Later he and Haywood County’s Aaron Ratcliff, a student at UNC, danced together, Aaron’s shuffle, and Willette’s buckdancing, a style he learned from his mother who was a great dancer in her day. It also was the dance of Holeman before his back got too stiff, he noted.

Martin said Monday after the concert that this one was a one-of a time event. Having these blues artist together might never happen again.

The crowd broke into Happy Birthday at the announcement that it was Algia Mae’s 80th birthday and again when a birthday cake was brought out on stage, with candles flaming. Holeman, who also celebrated his 80th birthday this year, joined her and was added to the Happy Birthday chorus.

It, indeed, was a night worth celebrating