BOONE -- Doc Hendley, whose Wine to Water program has brought clean water to 25,000 people, didn't win the top award, but he was honored as one of 10 CNN Heroes of 2009 during a gala taped Saturday night before an audience of 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
As a finalist, Hendley received $25,000 for Wine to Water. Wine to Water, which is based in Boone, uses wine-tastings to raise money for the water projects.
The show is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. today on CNN. The 2009 CNN Hero of the Year was announced as Efren Penaflorida, whose "pushcart classroom" brings education to poor children in the Philippines.
A panel selected the finalists from among 9,000 nominations. The public cast more than 2.75 million votes during the seven weeks of online voting at CNN.com to select the Hero of the Year.
2009 Christmas tree crop one of best ever in N.C.
COLFAX -- Just as shoppers in North Carolina prepare to find Christmas gifts, some of them will be looking for a tree to put them under.
State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says the state has one of the best crops ever thanks to cool weather and adequate rainfall. Troxler said North Carolina's 2009 Christmas tree harvest should top 5 million trees from more than 1,500 growers.
More than 96 percent of N.C. Christmas trees are Fraser firs, which are grown in the mountains. Farmers in the Piedmont and coastal plain grow pines, cedars and other varieties well-suited to warmer conditions.
North Carolina was second in the nation in Christmas tree sales in 2008 at $100 million.
Bermuda Run Town Council will have public hearing
BERMUDA RUN -- The Bermuda Run Town Council will have a public hearing Dec. 8 on proposed changes to sections of the town's zoning ordinance dealing with sign regulations and design waivers.
The hearing will be at 7 p.m. in Town Hall, 120 Kinderton Boulevard, Suite 100.
For information on specific cases, call the town planner, Erin Burris, at 800-650-3925.
For more information or to request special accommodations, call town hall at 998-0906.
N.C. to pay $695,000 a year to archive employee e-mails
RALEIGH -- North Carolina has hired a California company to create an archive system designed to manage and retrieve state employee e-mails more easily.
Gov. Bev Perdue said Wednesday that the state awarded Mimosa Systems a contract to develop the archive software and maintain it for a year at a cost of $695,000.
Perdue and former Gov. Mike Easley issued executive orders directing the state to buy an archive system so messages won't have to be stored on backup tapes. Easley's order was filed partly in response to a public-records lawsuit against him and his administration.
About 41,000 state workers send and receive 1 million messages a day through an e-mail system provided by the state's information technology office.
N.C. Republican Party hires new executive director
RALEIGH -- The N.C. Republican Party has hired a former party hand in the state as its new executive director.
GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer told party leaders Wednesday that Russell Peck will begin his new job next week after being offered the post Tuesday by the party's central committee.
Peck worked most recently on get-out-the-vote efforts and coordinated campaigning for Republican candidates in New Jersey, where Chris Christie defeated incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine this month.
He held a similar position as executive director of the "North Carolina Victory" operation last year.
A party spokesman couldn't immediately confirm Peck's salary. The party had budgeted $75,000 for the position.
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