Quick hits: L-R gets gift and new destroyer to be commissioned in Wilmington

Lenoir-Rhyne gets $2.5 million gift

"Former Hickory resident Thomas Mott Jr. has left an estate gift of about $2.5million to Lenoir-Rhyne University, it was announced Tuesday," according to the Charlotte Observer.

"The gift will provide approximately $112,000 each year in scholarship aid to Lenoir-Rhyne students.

"The scholarships will be awarded to students of any academic major who have demonstrated outstanding academic and leadership skills.

"A member of one of Hickory's most prominent families, Mott attended Lenoir-Rhyne and earned a master's degree in textile chemistry from N.C. State University in 1929. He was a captain in the Marine Corps Reserves and served in the Pacific during World War II. ..."

Destroyer USS Gravely to be commissioned in Wilmington

"Another U.S. Navy ship will be commissioned in the fall in Wilmington, city spokeswoman Malissa Talbert announced late Tuesday," says the Star-News.

"The 509-foot-long guided-missile destroyer Gravely (DDG 107) is part of the Navy's only active class of destroyers, which are among the largest and most powerful destroyers ever built, Talbert said.

"The Gravely is named after Vice Admiral Samuel Lee Gravely, who was the Navy's first African-American vice admiral, Talbert said. ..."

Submarine 'North Carolina' arrives in Wilmington

The new nuclear-powered submarine "North Carolina" arrived at the state port in Wilmington on Monday, "beginning a week’s worth of special events leading up to its commissioning Saturday," writes the Star-News. "After that event, the 377-foot vessel will officially carry the same name as the battleship that sits across the Cape Fear River from downtown Wilmington – USS North Carolina."

The submarine "North Carolina" cost a mere $2.5 billion to construct.

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Quick hits: Military industry grows, while tobacco interest slows

Military industry growing in N.C.
"For anyone familiar with the state's ravaged textile industry, First Choice Armor's sewing room would be a shock: 100 workers stitching, their humming machines a cheerful undertone to a radio blaring 'Same Old Lang Syne.'

"The state is dotted with dozens of vast, empty mills -- or their wreckage. First Choice, though, moved into one of those shells in 2006 and is running six days a week -- two shifts in some departments -- making body armor, helmets, and bulletproof shields for SWAT teams. It has 200 workers and hopes to expand, said General Manager Paul Koren.

"One reason for its success: Its customers include the military," says the News & Observer. "That makes it exactly the kind of company that state and local leaders are trying to woo, or nurture from local roots. That push, which began in 2004, is aimed at capitalizing on the presence of some of the nation's largest military bases to replace jobs and income from faltering industries such as textiles, furniture and tobacco. There are signs that the efforts are paying off.
..."

Tobacco state bans smoking in state government buildings
"On New Year’s Day, smoking will be prohibited in all state government buildings in North Carolina, a state in which tobacco was once king.

"While North Carolina continues to be the leading producer of tobacco in the country, research linking secondhand smoke to health problems has prompted the change for state buildings.

" 'I have a good friend who says that just because tobacco is our history doesn’t mean that tobacco has to be our future,' said Ashley Bell, chairwoman of the N.C. Alliance for Health, which pushed for the new law. 'It’s a change in thinking publicly.'

"Bell said that the law is meant to protect employees and people who visit government buildings," writes Freedom Press.