If you don’t think Sean Taylor still isn’t in the hearts and minds of his fellow Redskins you weren’t with me today.

I never expected the reaction I got from offensive lineman Chris Samuels when I reached into my shirt pocket and asked him to sign a ticket stub from the Dec. 6, 2007, game against the Bears, three days after they buried Taylor, whose picture was on the stub.

He shook his head and called his slain teammate a warrior, which was what Taylor was, a warrior, a force, a beast.

Samuels was in the area with his girlfriend, Monique Cox, to check the progress Cyrus W. Ahyoung III of Wags and Wiggles Pet Resort off Thelma Road was making on the training of their dogs, Coach and Blue.

I went as a fan, to take photos and post them to Facebook. When I pulled the ticket out and asked him to sign it he halted, shook his head and became visibly nostalgic. He called Sean a warrior and talked of how senseless his death that November was, done at the hands of people he was trying to help, Samuels said. A car crash would have been different, tragic but different, the murder, however, was senseless, preventable and Samuels, a 305-pound Pro Bowler became quiet when he saw the ticket stub, said Sean’s name and clearly remembered as I remembered that cold December night, the victory, the electricity that pulsed through the stadium, the fans and the players, an emotional night and Chris Samuels called Taylor a warrior.

The unfortunate thing is Samuels and his girlfriend were in Roanoke Rapids to prevent what happened to Taylor from happening to them, death at the hands of intruders.

In our celebrity-crazed world athletes and other stars become the stalked and just because you live your life unassuming and down-to-earth as Samuels appears to live his, you never know.

The dogs will not only be their friends, but be their protectors and Samuels and Cox were also going to receive some firearms training for waylaying intruders, self-defense.

This is life in the NFL, this is life everywhere.

It did my soul good to see Samuels react this way, it made me see not all athletes are pompous millionaires and he is well compensated for what he does.

When I saw that hesitation, the flashback, however, I knew there was a heart, a person, a gentle giant in a man who after meeting him I also consider a warrior, a man who stopped, reflected and truly misses another warrior. I will never forget the moment. Thank you, Mr. Samuels — LM.

The Roanoke Rapids Police Department reported the following:

• Counterfeit $10 bills were passed at Jackpot Bingo Saturday. It is under investigation, Chief Jeff Hinton said.

• Officer Terrence Tyler stopped Michael Fahey after an apparent traffic violation and charged the 19-year-old Roanoke Rapids man with the following: Possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver schedule II, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving with no registration, failure to stop at a stop sign, flee to elude arrest, no operators license and no insurance. He was jailed on $4,500 bond and has an Aug. 26 court date. Tyler stopped the man at 9 p.m. yesterday.

A home owner was shot last night during a breaking and entering, according to the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office. Lt. Bobby Martin said in a news release the crime occurred around 10:52 p.m. Officers responded to a residence on Little Deep Creek Road in the Roanoke Rapids area where the victim told Deputy Corey Griffin he was shot in the leg. Deputies Joe Sealy and Travis Clark arrived on scene to assist, along with Lt. Neil Aycock. The deputies learned from the home owner he and a friend were returning from a trip they took earlier in the day. When they arrived at the victim's home, the victim noticed his lights were on and the front door was locked. This was odd, Martin said in the release, because he left no lights on and the front door was not supposed to be secure when he left. The victim told the deputies he went around to the back of the home and got near his back steps when about five males ran from the house. The victim tried to run after them but one turned and fired shots at him, striking him in his upper leg. The victim’s friend heard the shots and ran across the street to call for help. The victim said the five males ran into and along the wood line near his home and got into a vehicle, speeding off towards U.S. Highway 158. Lt. Aycock called for the bloodhounds from Tillery Correctional Center, which tracked through the woods and to the side of the road on Little Deep Creek Road. Officers believe it is there the suspects got into the car and fled the scene. The home owner was transported to Halifax Regional Medical Center by EMS where he was treated. There were no other injuries reported. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Halifax County Crimestoppers at 583-4444.

Halifax County Sheriff’s Deputy J. Sealey arrested a Gaston area man for larceny of his mother’s checkbook. According to a news release quoting Deputy Sealey, Bobby Dale Turner stole his mother’s checkbook and wrote several checks to three local Roanoke Rapids area businesses — Drugco, Walgreen’s and CVS/Pharmacy. Turner was charged by Deputy Sealey with 21 felonies and one misdemeanor including; seven counts of forgery of instrument, seven counts of uttering forged instrument, seven counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and one count of misdemeanor larceny. Warrants were served late Monday evening and Turner is currently under a $10,000 bond, according to Lt. P.N. Aycock.

Halifax County School Superintendent Geraldine Middleton announced in a press statement improvements in the district’s academic achievement, with six of the county’s 14 schools meeting Adequate Yearly Progress as part of the federal No Child Left Behind standards for the 2008–09 school year, a decrease in the dropout rate for students in grades 7-12 and gains in reading and math according to North Carolina’s ABC education model.

“We’ve made great strides over the past year to improve curriculum, expand educational opportunities, and increase teaching effectiveness in our classrooms,” Middleton said. “Last year none of our schools made AYP.  I think we’re starting to see pockets of success as a result of some of the plans my team implemented when I came to the system almost two years ago.”

The six schools achieving AYP are Brawley Middle School and five elementary schools: Aurelian Springs, Everetts, Hollister, Pittman and Scotland Neck Primary.

On the ABCs Growth Model, Pittman Elementary School achieved “High Growth” and Aurelian Springs and Scotland Neck Primary achieved “Growth.”

Following a comprehensive needs assessment, the district modified students’ daily schedules to allow for 45 minutes of additional tutorial time, had district-wide assessments of each student’s progress every six weeks, and conducted extensive professional development for teachers.

The district also entered into partnerships with Halifax Community College, Elizabeth City State University and North Carolina State University’s School of Math and Science to provide additional training for classroom teachers.

Under North Carolina’s ABCs program, which is designed to monitor students’ yearly growth on the End of Grade tests, Halifax students at several of the district’s schools achieved what the state calls “High Growth” in 3rd grade math and “Expected Growth” in 4th and 8th grade math.   Several schools met growth in reading in grades 4, 5, and 8.

Another sign of the district’s improvement was a reduction in the number of students in grades 7-12 who dropped out of school.  The rate decreased from 6.73 percent to 6.27 percent.

“While we see these successes as the first fruits of our labor, we recognize that as a district we must continue on this course to reach students and improve the quality of education they deserve,” Middleton added.

Improving elementary reading and math scores are still essential priorities for the 2009-10 school year. Eighty-two percent of students in grades 3-8 scored at or above grade level in reading and or math. At the high school level, a third of students proved themselves proficient on end-of-course tests.

In addition to weeks of intensive professional development for teachers and administrators over the summer, 12 full-time master educators will be working with the district this coming year to help classroom teachers improve instruction.

“This is a pivotal time for Halifax County Schools,” Middleton said. “Never before in our state’s history has a district come under such heavy fire politically, economically, and socially.

“It is my resolve that the children of Halifax County not be reduced to a set of negative statistics or part of someone’s political profile, but are allowed the opportunity to achieve and excel,” Middleton concluded.