[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5206-5207]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       IN MEMORY OF MR. JOHN LONG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year the 8th Congressional 
District of North Carolina lost one of its strongest advocates, Mr. 
John Long, the editor and publisher of the Weekly Post in Stanley 
County.
  John Long was the epitome of a newspaperman who cared deeply about 
his local community, whether that local community be the city of 
Chicago or the city of Locust, North Carolina. Sadly, my friend John 
Long recently passed away.
  John grew up in Florida and attended college at Clemson University 
before taking a job with the Christian Science Monitor, working in 
their Boston and Chicago bureau. John started as a copy boy but soon 
became the youngest reporter to ever work for the Monitor. He traveled 
all over our great country in search of stories.
  In 1972 he returned to the South and spent time as an editorial 
writer with The Charlotte News. He has been the editor and publisher of 
The Weekly Post since its inception.
  John's articles and columns were widely read and widely respected in 
Stanley County. As a matter of fact, I would gladly trade a week of 
national TV interviews for a good mention in one of John's articles.
  John had a reputation for always doing the right thing in all of his 
pursuits in life. His time at the newspaper was no different. He was a 
stickler for

[[Page 5207]]

accuracy and doing the right thing during his newspaper career.
  John passed away on a Tuesday, the day they put the paper together, 
and therefore, the busiest day of the week at The Weekly Post. I am 
going to miss John, and I know that Stanley County is going to miss 
John and miss reading his weekly insights.
  He is survived by his loving wife of 39 years, Pat; three sons, John 
A. Long, III of Monroe, Matt Long of Raleigh, and Tim Long of 
Charlotte; daughters Elizabeth Vettorel of Charlotte and Laura Long of 
Charlotte; four grandchildren; and brother Michael Long of Atlanta. My 
heartfelt condolences go out to his family for their loss and the 
community's loss.
  Though we all felt a bit selfish, I know I speak for a lot of us in 
the community when I say that after the initial shock of hearing the 
bad news we all wondered if The Weekly Post was going to continue. I am 
pleased to note that his wife, Pat, and daughter Laura have pledged to 
continue publishing. I commend them for their hard work and continued 
dedication to Stanley County.
  While his presence in Stanley County will be missed, John's legacy 
will remain with us forever.

                          ____________________