MORGANTON - New evidence about the Brown Mountain Lights has emerged in recent months, prompting local officials to host a second symposium on the natural phenomenon.

The symposium, titled "Brown Mountain Lights: What Does Our Government Really Know?" takes place Saturday, Nov. 3, at the City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium (COMMA).

Following February's first symposium, well-known North Carolina photographer Charles Braswell Jr. has come forward with never-before-seen photos and video of the mysterious lights.

Braswell, a credentialed photographer for the NASA Space Shuttle program, will speak at the second symposium and unveil some of the most detailed photos ever captured.

The photos and video were shot in 2001, after years of occasionally observing the lights.

"When Charles showed me these photos, I was taken aback," said Burke County tourism director Ed Phillips, organizer of the symposiums. "People will definitely to want to see these and hear what Charles has to say about his encounters."

CONCORD - A trio of Batmobile® replicas, an array of Carroll Shelby’s high-performance Mustangs and Cobras, the motorcycles that put America on two wheels and a water-skiing squirrel named Twiggy are just a few of the attractions scheduled for the Sept. 20-23 Food Lion AutoFair at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Batmobiles®: The Batmobile® is hands-down the most famous vehicle on planet Earth, thanks to a classic television series and a series of blockbuster films enjoyed around the world. So popular are the Caped Crusader’s sleek black cars that individual fans and companies have been building their own Batmobile® replicas for decades. The Food Lion AutoFair will feature three such privately owned rides representing versions from the 1966 television show and 1989 and 2005 movie franchises.

Shelby-American High-Performance Legacy: No single person did more to build America’s high-performance reputation from the 1960s through the 21st century than Carroll Shelby, whose 50 years of super-fast vehicles will be celebrated with a display of nearly three dozen automobiles during AutoFair. Shelby’s company was founded a half-century ago when the 1959 LeMans winner from Texas put a new Ford V-8 engine into a super-light, British-built AC Ace roadster and created the world-dominating Shelby Cobra. From there, Shelby worked his magic on the Mustang to produce the GT350 and later GT500. As the decades passed, his company enhanced cars and powerplants from all Big Three automakers. AutoFair’s Shelby display of 32 cars includes several Cobras, GT350/GT500s from 1965 through today, a Sunbeam Tiger, Series 1 and the spunky turbo-four Dodge products from the 1980s and 1990s.

CONCORD - The Rapid Raider is at it again!  Adrian Parker, the former SRHS standout, PR guru for top NASCAR drivers like Matt Kenseth, and communications director for Charlotte Motor Speedway, is back with another edition of Parker's Points!

Isn't this where someone predicted Dale Earnhardt, Jr., would win Talladega?  Oh well...AP maintains that JR will visit Victory Lane before the end of this month.  Okay, let's get to it.

BUT FIRST, THE IMPORTANT KEY TO THIS EDITION OF PARKER'S POINTS:

Last Friday Charlotte Motor Speedway paired mayors from surrounding counties with drivers who have qualified for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race next weekend. Thanks to zMAX and CMS, the driver that wins the All-Star Race will win a $20,000 educational grant for their respective mayor’s city. The cities keep their drivers for the Coca-Cola 600 for the shot at another $20,000.