North State Journal - Vol. 1, Issue 14

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 14

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

www.NSJONLINE.com

the Sunday News Briefing

Trystan Hanna, 8, of Raleighbased Cub Scout Pack 314, places flags on veterans’ graves ahead of Memorial Day at the Raleigh National Cemetery on Friday.

1 million North Carolinians on the road Memorial Day weekend Charlotte AAA Carolinas says more than 1 million North Carolinians are taking to the road on trips of 50 miles or more over Memorial Day weekend, up 2 percent over last year. The average price of gas in North Carolina is $2.21 a gallon, about 37 cents a gallon less than it was a year ago and the lowest since 2005. Twelve thousand North and South Carolinians are expected to fly to their weekend plans instead. The top 40 domestic routes are about 25 percent cheaper than they were a year ago.

Governor threatens veto of House coal ash bill Raleigh Legislation was introduced Tuesday that would bring back the Coal Ash Management Commission, an entity Gov. Pat McCrory already dissolved once after winning a court battle in January against the Republican-led legislature. Rep. Chuck McGrady proposed the measure, bringing criticism from the governor and the Department of Environmental Quality.

Duke Energy said they support reviving the commission.

MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

Senate votes to re-establish NC/SC border Raleigh The N.C. Senate passed a bill this week that would re-establish the border of North and South Carolina, affecting almost 20 homeowners and more than 50 business owners in Gaston and Union counties.

In 1995 the two states appointed representatives to the Joint Boundary Commission to hammer out a more than 330-milelong stretch of disputed border. Researchers dug up old records and met with homeowners and business owners to determine where the line should go. On Jan. 1, 16 South Carolina homeowners will be moved to North Carolina and three will be south of the border.

Miss North Carolina USA resigns High Point, N.C. Allie Dunn, Miss North Carolina USA 2016, resigned from her position due to illness. Devin Gant, who was runner-up to Dunn, will be North Carolina’s representative in the Miss USA pageant on June 5 in Las Vegas. Gant represented Harrisburg, N.C., while Dunn represented Stallings, N.C.

INSIDE Wounded veterans compete at Valor Games B1

MILITARY EMPLOYMENT

Women veterans summit eases transition from war to workplace

By Liz Moomey North State Journal RALEIGH — Fighting in a war zone then transitioning to civilian life can be a battle for many women veterans.

The 2016 NC Women Veterans Summit & Expo on May 25 aimed to provide resources and opportunities for women to enter the workforce after military service.

Major General Cornell Wilson, the secretary of North Carolina Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, said exiting the military can often be a shock for many veterans, himself included.

“I remember when I came out of active duty, I was a tank officer, and I wanted to work for IBM, and they said ‘we don’t need tank drivers today,’” Wilson said. “It was a challenge and a wake-up call for me, because veterans don’t necessarily end up where they expect. They have been through combat. They have dodged the bullet or they have been training and now they come off active duty, and they expect to be respected for their experience.”

He said the underestimation of veterans’ potential in the workforce is a primary hurdle, which NCforME, a coalition of organizations that deals with military employment, attempts to address through educating companies on the benefits of hiring a veteran.

“When they see a resume that says I’m a marksman, sharpshooter or a tank driver, they can’t put

When you look at the skill set that companies want from their employees, veterans fit just about 99 percent of those skills.

— Sec. Cornell Wilson

See VETERANS, page A8

The Art of Catching B4 Sports In the kitchen with Matthew Register for old school barbecue and inspired sides in Garland. C4 the good life

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

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From left, Army veterans Pearl Galloway and DeJuana Alana, both of Raleigh, talk at the Women Veterans Summit & Expo on Wednesday, May 25 at McKimmon Center in Raleigh.

AFFORDABLE COLLEGE

Proposed bill would lower tuition at five schools to $500 per semester

By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH — Mallie Davis has been waiting tables since she was old enough to apply for a job. A kind girl with a quick wit, the 18-year-old graduated Saturday from Sanderson High School in Raleigh and has plans to attend Western Carolina University this fall.

“I’m going to get my bachelor’s in nursing,” said Davis, who’s interest in critical care nursing is a long-time passion. “Ever since I was younger I’ve wanted to do that, I want to make a difference.”

She and her mom were excited to hear that a bill making its way through the N.C. Senate this week would make in-state tuition at WCU and four other state colleges just $500 per semester. Davis is the oldest of three kids and her mom, Julie, is a career teacher at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. It’s a fulfilling job, but it doesn’t make putting three kids through college easy.

“Your choices are to work full time and live in an

52%

increase since 2007-2008 in average amount of debt for N.C. students who graduate

$40K approximate median earnings for North Carolinians with a bachelor’s degree

See TUITION, page A8 From right, Mallie Davis, 18, talks with co-workers Jaimie Malone and David Coyle during a dinner shift Thursday, May 26 at The Piper’s Restaurant & Tavern.

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

ELECTION 2016

Hudson-D’Annunzio race in homestretch ahead of June 7 primary

By Donna King and Jeff Moore North State Journal FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — With the June 7 primary a little more than a week away and the U.S. House race in full swing, Congressman Richard Hudson (R-8th) spent Friday talking jobs and military readiness at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. Hudson’s district was reconfigured in the redistricting earlier this year and now encompasses Fayetteville, home of Fort Bragg, the largest U.S. army base housing more than 52,000 service members. Bragg gives North Carolina the third largest military presence in the nation, so looking out for soldiers would

become a top priority if Hudson is re-elected to Congress.

“This is a very pro-America, pro-military, can-do kind of community, and of course the men and women at Fort Bragg are the best among us, so being given the opportunity to be their advocate, I’m thrilled,” he said.

Hudson brought N.C. Senator Thom Tillis and House Armed Service Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) to meet with local business leaders in Fayetteville.

They talked about the National Defense Authorization Act which recently passed the House, and Hudson’s amendment that requires the See PRIMARY, page A8

Recognizing General Assembly veterans On Murphy to Manteo, page A5

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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NS J datebook

Get around safely this holiday weekend Click It Or Ticket is in full swing from now through June 5, urging the state’s drivers to buckle up as the summer’s weekend traveling ramps up.

North Carolina first launched the now-nationwide campaign in 1993.

Law enforcement can issue citations to motorists who are not wearing seat belts without another cause for making a traffic stop. Taking an Uber or Lyft? Make sure you and your kids are buckled up, too: the biggest citations, $263, are reserved for drivers who have unbuckled 15-and-under passengers.

Uber is available in: Asheville Fayetteville Wilmington Outer Banks Triangle area including: Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill and surrounding towns Eastern N.C. including: Goldsboro, Greenville, New Bern, Havelock, Morehead City, Jacksonville and surrounding towns Piedmont Triad including: Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Thomasville, Stanley, Burlington, High Point, Asheboro and surrounding towns Lyft is available in: Cary Chapel Hill Charlotte Concord Durham Huntersville Matthews Raleigh

THE BACKSTORY Campaigning with 140 characters

By Donna King North State Journal 2012 was defined by the impact of social media, as Barack Obama’s campaign brought in millions of new voters who suddenly felt connected to him. These voters used many social media platforms, but Twitter made everyone part of the press pool, 140 characters at a time. In 2016, Twitter has proven to be an invaluable tool for national candidates reaching voters directly on their phones as speeches and campaign stops unfold. Churning out thousands of tweets, @realDonaldTrump has 8.4 million followers while @HillaryClinton

paign, you’re really going after the entirety of the state or pockets of the state. ... Twitter isn’t a hard targeting tool, whereas with Facebook you can do things like voter matches or target by location,” said LaFranco. “Only 30,000 votes determine the winner Iowa Caucus.

That’s a relatively small number, so each one counts. Taking it down to a local level, each vote becomes even more important.”

As the 2016 race to November unfolds, North State Journal will be following the candidates and seeing how they use — or don’t use — social media. We start this week with Twitter. Here is where their accounts stand on May 26, 2016.

has 6.3 million followers.

But has the impact of Twitter filtered to statewide elections?

“Every campaign is very much interested in the power of one. That doesn’t change for a down ballot race,” said Justin LaFranco, former social media director for Walker for President and CEO of OBL Creative. “Twitter is an outlet to amplify your message on a daily basis by sending our messages several times a day.”

Twitter and Facebook give candidates the chance to turn voters to their camp one at a time. Each have their benefits and challenges.

“When you are running a statewide cam-

U.S. Senator

Governor 1,433

40,858

Richard Burr* (R) | @Burrforsenate

Pat McCrory* (R) | @PatMcCroryNC

1,632

8,048 Roy Cooper (D) | @RoyCooperNC

Deborah Ross (D) | @DeborahRossNC

Lt. Governor

Attorney General 7,272

Dan Forest* (R) | @DanForestNC

799 Buck Newton* (R) | @Buck_Newton

4,663

1,235 Josh Stein | @JoshStein_

Linda Coleman (D) | @LindaForNC

State Treasurer

Secretary of State

160

3,211

Dan Blue III (D) | @BlueForNC

Elaine Marshall* (D) | @Elaine4NC

1,852

46 Dale Folwell (R) | @DaleFolwell

Michael LaPaglia (R) | @LaPagliaForNC

Insurance Commissioner

Agriculture Commissioner

1,264 we stand corrected To report an error or a suspected error email corrections@nsjonline.com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

Visit North State Journal online! nsjonline.com jonesandblount.com nsjsports.com carolinabrewreview.com chickenbonealley.com

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Neal Robbins Publisher Donna King Managing Editor Drew Elliot Opinion Editor Will Brinson Sports Editor Jennifer Wood Features Editor Published each Sunday by North State Media, LLC 819 W. Hargett Street, Raleigh, N.C. 27603 Inquiries: 866-458-7184 Annual Subscription Price: $250.00 Periodicals Postage Paid at Raleigh, N.C. and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to North State Journal, 819 W. Hargett St., Raleigh, N.C. 27603.

Mike Causey (R) | @NC4Causey

Walter Smith (D) | @votewaltersmith

State Labor Commissioner

Superintendent of Public Instruction 7,809

378 Cherie Berry* (R) | @CherieBerry2016

97 Charles Meeker (D) | @MeekerforNC

June Atkinson* (D) | @DrJuneAtkinson

407 Mark Johnson (R) | @votemarkjohnson

* indicates incumbent

PRIMARY from page A1 North State Journal ISSN: 2471-1365

Wayne Goodwin* (D) | @WayneGoodwinNC

Steve Troxler* (R) | no twitter

Pentagon to report regularly on the number of airborne jumps and evaluate the level of air support for paratroopers.

“I want to make sure that the men and women of Fort Bragg get everything they need so that they are properly trained and equipped,” he said. “They put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf I want to make sure we can make it as safe as possible and they are prepared.”

Hudson faces fellow Republican Tim D’Annunzio in the upcoming primary. D’Annunzio is a five-time candidate for U.S. House, hoping that on June 7 voters will make him the Republican nominee. D’Annunzio won the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 4th district in 2012, losing that election to the incumbent, Democrat Rep. David Price.

D’Annunzio hopes to capitalize on the anti-establishment sentiments of voters this election cycle, as he espouses limited government principles, but is not without his own challenges as a candidate.

A former Army paratrooper himself, and self-made millionaire, D’Annunzio struggled with addiction to heroin in his youth, resulting in multiple stints behind bars for stealing to support his habit, including assaulting a police officer. When he was 15, he lied about his age to enlist in the Army, but was later found out. At 19, he enlisted under a false name, but accrued an honorable record before it was discovered and therefore was allowed to remain in the

Infographic By Liz Moomey

service. Once discharged, D’Annunzio founded and built a successful company specializing in body armor for soldiers in combat.

Despite his rags-to-riches story and principled political stances, then N.C. GOP Chair Tom Fetzer said, during the 2008 campaign season, that D’Annunzio was “unfit to run for public office at any level.” Court documents from a 1995 divorce may shed light on why Fetzer characterized D’Annunzio’s candidacy in such negative terms.

D’Annunzio’s then-wife attested in court that he was diagnosed as bipolar and thought he was the Messiah, or God himself; claimed to have found the Ark of the Covenant in Arizona; and believed he could raise people from the dead.

She explained he underwent a religious conversion that led to this erratic and concerning behavior, causing her to question his suitability for unsupervised visitation with the couples’ three children.

While Republican primary voters may be interested in such allegations as they choose a representative for high office, the D’Annunzio campaign says they are irrelevant to the issues at hand.

“Not sure why you bring up stuff from 40 years ago, but I guess you are being asked by the establishment to bring up stuff that is not relevant,” said Scott Rhodes, D’Annunzio’s current campaign manager. “This is the revolution. It is time for a return to government of the people, for the people and by the people.”

Voters will choose June 7 who is best to carry

the Republican torch and put those principles into action for the 8th district. The new primary date following redistricting is putting additional pressure on the campaigns to make sure voters turn out and know what new district they are in.

“A lot of people are confused,” said Hudson.

“They think they’ve already voted, not sure which district they’re in. ... But that’s one of the challenges in redistricting.’

The North Carolina Board of Elections recommends that voters visit ncsbe.org to find out details about their district.

MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Congressman Richard Hudson talks with employees of Piedmont Natural Gas following a round table discussion with Senator Thom Tillis and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee William Thornberry on Friday, May 27 in Fayetteville.

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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BUSINESS & ECONOMY the DASHBOARD

3 p.m.

the

a nationwide moment of remembrance each year on Memorial Day

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N.C. rank nationally in veteran population

75,000

service members stationed in North Carolina served during the Persian Gulf War, providing 40 percent of the combat power

BRIEF Stihl buys minority stake in Globe Tools Mooresville, N.C. The Globe Tools Group, a Chinese tool manufacturer with a U.S. headquarters in Mooresville, announced this week the Stihl Group has acquired a “substantial minority” share of Globe Tools.

“Our stake in Globe Tools means we are systematically consolidating our strategy in the growing market for cordless power tools,” said Bertram Kandziora, Stihl’s executive board chairman.

“We will utilize synergy effects in the development and production of cordless products.”

Globe Tools employs roughly 4,000 people internationally in Hong Kong, Changzhou, Newmarket, Ontario, Moscow and Cologne, in addition to Mooresville.

AT&T supports NC troops

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Bernie Worrell, founding keyboardist for Parliament Funkadelic, plays a MiniMoog Model D at MoogFest on May 19. The three-day festival is held to celebrate the intersection of technology, art, music and ideas.

7 million reasons to stay: First Durham Moogfest ‘incredibly successful’

By Josh Hyatt North State Journal

M

oogfest 2016, its first year in Durham, still had a few hours of events scheduled last Sunday when it announced early bird ticket prices for its 2017 festival slated to return to the Bull City.

The festival, which explores the convergence of technology, art and music — and the human experience in-between — became a biennial event in 2014 to prepare for the relocation to Durham. It is biennial no more, and has officially replaced Paradoxos as the city’s forefront music and technology festival to appease the multitude of tech-savvy workers in the Durham and greater Research Triangle Park sphere of influence.

“It wasn’t so much that we were all done and everything was great, right from the beginning we had that plan,” said Casey Steinbacher, the founder and CEO of Casey’s Company. “Moogfest had the plan it was going to be a commitment to Durham for a while.

But I will tell you that I think everyone is tremendously pleased with how it ended up.”

Steinbacher, formerly the president and CEO of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, was hired by American Underground and the Capitol Broadcasting Company to help Moogfest successfully transition from its former home in Asheville to Durham.

Steinbacher says there’s still several weeks’ worth of financial data analysis to conduct on Moogfest to determine concrete results, but early estimates from the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau show the festival had a substantial impact on the city’s economy, especially for a four-day event.

Shelly Green, the president and CEO of the DCVB, said total visitor spending from the event came in at roughly $7 million.

That includes just under $5 million in direct visitor spending on things like lodging, restaurants, entertainment, retail and local transportation, as well as indirect and induced spending made by employees and venues in Durham to facilitate the festival, such as hotel dry cleaning, florists and more. That figure does not include what Durham residents who attended the event spent.

To put the $7 million in perspective, we asked Green if there are any other events that bring that high of a cash influx to the city.

“This is really big. I’m trying to think of another festival that would generate this much money,” she said. “One that comes to mind and generates slightly more is the American Dance Festival. But that happens over a six-week period.”

Charlotte Extended store hours, accessory discounts, and jobs — these are all ways AT&T says it’s trying to help support North Carolina’s wealth of military personnel during National Military Appreciation Month. The company recently announced it has extended store hours at certain locations to accommodate the schedules of military members and their families, as well as discounting select wireless accessories by 25 percent for the month of May. AT&T is also donating wireless device charging stations to the USO of North Carolina.

“Military life is rigorous and demanding,” said retired Army Lt. Col. John Falkenbury, the president of the USONC. “Providing critical services and other things that ease a service member’s burden goes a long way. AT&T has stepped up and set an excellent example.”

The company also announced it will double its military hiring commitment from 10,000 veterans to 20,000 by 2020.

Enviva fund hands out $500K in forest protection grants

Fabio Nieto of Miami builds a Moog analog synthesizer and sequencer at a MoogFest workshop in Durham on May 19.

Steinbacher said as of Monday the estimated number of ticketholders at the event came in at 7,000, with an estimated 3,000 non-ticketholders visiting each day to take advantage of the wealth of free programming.

“It was definitely, from our perspective, an economic success and a community success,” she said. “I think everybody felt really good that Durham was host to such an incredible array of talent, and I say that not just musically, but the thought leadership that was here to participate in the day programming was just really mindboggling.”

In the current environment where perform­ ers are cancelling shows left and right in North Carolina, Steinbacher said only one artist, who wasn’t a headliner, pulled out of the event.

“Moogfest came out, as did Durham, very quickly stating that we were very adamantly opposed to H.B. 2,” she said, “and we felt that Moogfest was an appropriate platform to have a conversation around that whole issue of inclusiveness and the diversity of people and the diversity of thought that really is what creativity is all about.”

Friday’s keynote speaker at the festival was Dr. Martine Rothblatt, the trans-female CEO of United Therapeutics and founder of Sirius Radio who has become a vocal advocate for

transgender rights since coming out about her gender transition in the early ’90s.

“I want to stop here and shout out a huge praise to the organizers of Moogfest for turning this into a protest festival against H.B. 2,” Rothblatt said during her keynote.

“We electronic musicians, who ride the mind waves, realize that gender is in the mind and the first commandment to respect others as we respect ourselves means to respect others’ minds, others’ souls, others’ hearts and others’ rights to use the lavatory they feel is right.”

Emmy Parker, the brand director at Moog Music and the creative director for Moogfest, said that even though she’s heard a great deal of concern from people worried about supporting the economics of the state, Moog wanted the event to promote the same inclusive environment in Durham that it employs back home in Asheville.

“We never had the intention of moving Moogfest out of North Carolina,” she said.

“North Carolina is our home. And it’s a fantastic state. We were really adamant about keeping it in the state.”

Steinbacher also said that, to her knowledge, there were no bathroom- or gender-related issues during the festival.

North Carolina The Nature Conservancy North Carolina Chapter and the Triangle Land Conservancy each received grants Thursday from the Enviva Forest Conservancy Fund to assist in the purchase and protection of land that spans more than 2,000 acres.

The Enviva fund will award more than $500,000 in 2016 as part of the first year of a 10-year, $5 million program to protect bottomland forests — low-lying, marshy areas near rivers and streams that are home to tree species such as cypress, gum and oak — in northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia.

The Nature Conservancy North Carolina Chapter will use the funds to help the organization acquire nearly 1,300 acres of forested wetlands in Washington County, and also assist the Triangle Land Conservancy with the purchase of 127 acres of wetlands in Raleigh.

Enviva Holdings is the world’s largest producer of wood pellets, a renewable energy source used in Europe in place of coal-fired plants. The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund targets harvestable forestland, though less than 15 percent of parent company Enviva’s wood supply comes from bottomland forests.

Enviva has plants in Ahoskie, N.C., and Northampton County, with facilities set to open this summer in Wilmington, N.C., and Sampson County.

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

Murphy

to

Manteo

Jones& Blount jonesandblount.com @JonesandBlount

Memorial Day activities Whether you are looking to explore the outdoors, learn more about North Carolina military history or get an up-close view of wildlife this Memorial Day weekend, the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources offers a variety of attractions for every family to enjoy. Many of the sites offer discounts to active military personnel and their families on this special day honoring the armed forces 1 as well as year-round.

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In recognition of your service

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N.C. House of Representatives Rep. Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke), U.S. Army Reserves Rep. John M. Blust (R-Guilford), U.S. Army Rep. William Brawley (R-Mecklenburg), U.S. Army

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Rep. Mark Brody, (R-Union), U.S. Naval Reserve

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Rep. George G. Cleveland (R-Onslow), U.S. Marine Corps, retired

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Rep. N. Leo Daughtry (R-Johnston), U.S. Air Force Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford), U.S. Army Reserve

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Rep. Elmer Floyd (D-Cumberland), U.S. Army Rep. Ken Goodman (D-Hoke), N.C. Army National Guard

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Rep. Larry D. Hall (D-Durham), U.S. Marine Corps Rep. Kelly E. Hastings (R-Cleveland), U.S. Marine Corps and Reserve KEY Military historic sites State historic sites Museums/Aquariums

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Thomas Wolfe Memorial, Asheville Vance Birthplace, Asheville Lake James State Park, Nebo Fort Dobbs, Statesville Horne Creek Living Historical Farm, Pinnacle Transportation Museum, Spencer Reed Gold Mine, Midland President James K. Polk birthplace, Pineville Town Creek Indian Mound, Gilead North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, Gibsonville Alamance Battleground, Burlington

west Panhandlers need a permit starting June 2 Boone, N.C. Starting June 2 those wanting to panhandle in Watauga County will need to apply for a permit through the sheriff’s office. Applicants must undergo a background check that will remove individuals with certain convictions from eligibility. Under the ordinance, a panhandling permit would be denied to anyone who has been convicted of a crime of violence, fraud, false pretenses or a sexual offense within 10 years for felonies and three years for misdemeanors.

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Buncombe County Women for Women in Buncombe County announced its Circle of Giving recipients this week, including $50,000 for Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry’s Steadfast House, a no-cost residential program for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. They also provided a grant of $100,000 to Our VOICE, an organization dedicated to helping women and girls who’ve been victims of human trafficking.

Asheville Citizen-Times

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Historic Bath Somerset Place, Creswell Historic Edenton Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island Roanoke Island Festival Park North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores Fort Macon, Atlantic Beach Battleship USS North Carolina, Wilmington Brunswick Town and Fort Anderson, Winnabow North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, Carolina Beach

Rep. D. Craig Horn (R-Union), U.S. Air Force 29

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Rep. Grier Martin (D-Wake), Lt. Col., U.S. Army Reserve, 1991-present Rep. Henry M. Michaux, Jr. (D-Durham), U.S. Army Rep. Gary Pendleton (R-Wake), U.S. Army and N.C. Army National Guard, retired Brig Gen.

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Rep. Garland E. Pierce (R- Scotland), U.S. Army Rep. Dennis Riddell (R-Alamance), U.S. Naval Reserves

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Rep. George S. Robinson (R-Caldwell), U.S. Air Force 33

Rep. Michael Speciale (R-Beaufort), U.S. Marine Corps, retired Col. Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake), U.S. Marine Corps

Infographic by Cece Pascual

Henderson County Sheriff warns of IRS scam Henderson County The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is warning local residents that a scam Internal Revenue Service phone call is circulating in the county, extorting money from people. The caller identifies himself as an IRS agent and says the victim must pay money to avoid legal action taken against them. Sheriff Charles McDonald advises residents to hang up immediately if they get such a call and not to give out personal information.

Blue Ridge Now

The Watauga Democrat

Western NC women’s charities get $254K in grants

House in the Horseshoe, Sanford Bennett Place, Durham Duke Homestead, Durham Historic Stagville, Durham North Carolina Museum of History and Natural Sciences, Raleigh Bentonville Battlefield, Four Oaks Aycock Birthplace, Fremont Historic Halifax CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center and CSS Neuse Gov. Carswell Memorial, Kinston Tryon Palace, New Bern

McCrory taps former state parks director to parks oversight board Raleigh Gov. Pat McCrory appointed Lewis R. Ledford of Wake County to the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority. Ledford is the the former North Carolina State Parks director under then-governors Beverly Purdue and Mike Easley. He worked in the state parks system starting in 1976 and was named director in December 2003 by Easley. He retired in 2013 to become the executive director for the National Association of State Park Directors.

Office of Gov. Pat McCrory

piedmont Greensboro police offer $1k for hosting teen events on July 4 Greensboro, N.C. The city of Greensboro’s first responders are offering up to $1,000 to groups if they are willing to host Independence Day activities for teens. They are hoping to line up five events, one per city council district. “I think all of us want these celebrations to be fun and, most importantly, safe,” said Captain Nathaniel Davis with the Greensboro Police Department. “We are looking to our city’s many talented youth service organizations to plan events that appeal to teenagers.” Examples of events include sports tournaments, dances, cookouts and gaming tournaments. Applications are due June 2.

Greensboro Police Department

Orange County man charged after being bitten by his cobra Chapel Hill, N.C. Orange county resident Ali Iyoob called 911 earlier this month after he was bitten by his pet cobra. Police have now charged him with owning illegal

animals. Lyoob, 21, was released from the hospital after the incident, but the charges include ownership of venomous and constricting snakes, crocodilians, and wild and dangerous animals. Orange County Animal Services removed more than 30 snakes from his home.

WRAL-TV

Goldsboro bypass opens Goldsboro, N.C. Under construction since 2008, the Goldsboro bypass is now open, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. The state Department of Transportation held a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday to officially open the $232 million 20-mile bypass for U.S. 70 that eliminates a notoriously confusing Goldsboro loop. It starts in western Wayne County and ends in Lenoir County. The opening followed news that the east has two new interstate designations. The U.S. 70 Corridor between I-40 and Morehead City will eventually be called I-42, and I-87 will be the new name for U.S. 64/17 between Raleigh and the Virginia state line.

WTCN

Rep. John Szoka (R-Cumberland), U.S. Army Roger West (R-Cherokee), U.S. Navy, retired Lt. Col.

east Men charged in home invasions Washington, N.C. Three Johnston county men have been charged in home invasions committed earlier this month. The victims were elderly couples who where found tied up and robbed. The suspects were caught after allegedly trying to sell stolen property, including guns, at pawn shops. Willie Roy Garcia Rojas, 25, and Dominic Jay Robinson, 33, are being held on $1 million bond after each was charged with first-degree burglary, kidnapping, felonious restraint, larceny, safecracking and felony conspiracy. Wenseslao Garcia Rojas Jr., 26, was charged with the same, plus cocaine possession, and is being held under a $2 million bond.

Beaufort Observer

Police say card skimmers found at town ATMs Greenville, N.C. Greenville Police say they are looking for whomever installed illegal card skimmers at area ATM machines. The devices were found by a First Citizens Bank employee with three more found at other locations.

The skimmers steal data off of ATM cards’ magnetic strip, allowing the card to be duplicated. Police say they do not believe any accounts were compromised but advised customers to keep an eye on their bank statements for suspicious activity.

WNCT-TV

Rep. Chris Whitmire (R-Transylvania), Col. U.S. Air Force, 1986-present Rep. Lee Zachary (R-Alexander), U.S. Navy

N.C. Senate Sen. John Alexander (R-Wake), N.C. National Guard Sen. Ben Clark (D-Cumberland), U.S. Air Force, retired Col. Sen. David Curtis (R-Gaston), U.S. Air Force Sen. Warren Daniel (R-Burke), U.S. Army Sen. Don Davis (D-Greene), U.S. Air Force Sen. Hartsell (R-Cabarrus) U.S. Army Reserves Sen. Jeff Jackson (D-Mecklenburg), Army National, Guard, JAG Corps Sen. Wesley Meredith (R-Cumberland), U.S. Army Sen. Louis Pate (R-Lenoir), U.S. Air Force, retired

Wilmington park to get new splash pad and playground Wilmington, N.C. Kids will have the chance to cool off in a big way this summer as the New Hanover County Parks and Garden breaks ground on a new facility that includes a splash pad, playground and zipline at Hugh McRae Park. It will also have accessibility features for all kids. The project is slated to cost $750,000 and was funded by a grant from Trillium Health Resources.

Wilmington StarNews

Sen. Bill Rabin (R-New Hanover) U.S. Army, retired Col. Sen. Tommy Tucker (R-Union), U.S. Navy North Carolina General Assembly Principal Clerk’s offices

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north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Drew Elliot, opinion editor | Ray Nothstine, deputy opinion editor EDITORIALS | RAY NOTHSTINE

Memorial Day and the need for sacrifice There are 13,732 of our service members laid to rest just in Belgium alone, a country smaller in size than Maryland.

One glaring problem in America today is that it seems like many have little time for sacrifice or even to comprehend its deeper meaning. We live in a nation of excess, consumption, and debt. We hear too little of our personal responsibility and need for sacrifice as it relates to maintaining liberty. The contrast should provide us with a powerful reminder of the necessity of offering more this Memorial Day and beyond. The monuments and stories pointing to extreme loss surround us.

In places like Belleau Wood, the Ardennes, the Chosin Reservoir, Huê′, and Fallujah, the spilling of American blood was ferocious.

Just in the Eighth Air Force in World War II, more than 26,000 Americans gave their lives. There are 13,732 of our service members laid to rest just in Belgium alone, a country smaller in size than Maryland. The total number of American military buried overseas is over 125,000. It’s a reminder of not only this country’s greatness but the cost of war.

The famed trench poet Wilfred Owen wrote in “Insensibility”: “Those who feel most for others suffer most in war.” There is still tremendous suffering from families that have lost loved ones in armed conflicts. Sometimes we see them as names or merely statistics, but the heartbreak and stories are intertwined all around us. There are Gold Star mothers all across North Carolina, many of whom have lost a son or daughter in the War on Terror. Cliff Golla of Charlotte, Jason Huffman of Conover, James Justice of Grover, Christopher Levy of Ramsuer, and David Parr of Benson are just a few of the fallen North Carolinians in recent conflict.

If a majority of citizens feel that they are entitled to feed at the trough of liberty without living out personal responsibility, American will continue to flounder aimlessly. As Lord Acton, the 19th century English baron declared, “Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the power to do what we ought.”

An important truth to remember about Memorial Day is that it’s not about you. This country faces enormous problems and one of the lessons the nation has to relearn, especially its leaders, is to have the moral courage to place society above their own personal pursuits. Such actions will take tremendous cultural shifts. But it can happen here. This is America and still land of the free; a country that liberated its own slaves at the cost of enormous bloodshed. This is the nation that believed it was morally imperative to free millions of slaves from their communist overseers across the globe.

Liberty requires cultivation. It was President Ronald Reagan who declared, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” We see evidence of that all around us. Redemption is going to require Americans to sacrifice. For most people it will not mean giving their life, but it does require actual cost. When many today act and portray a belief that freedom exists in a vacuum, they are only swept up into tyranny. However, America exists for so much more. Thousands of monuments and over a million graves eternally testify to that truth.

visual VOICES

BE IN TOUCH Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 819 W. Hargett St. Raleigh, N.C. 27603. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.

EDITORIALS | DREW ELLIOT

Chances are good for Lake’s death penalty argument Only Nixon could go to China.

Lake avoids two arguments, one specious and one frail, that those in opposition to the death penalty often tout to conservatives.

Richard Nixon, the staunch anticommunist, made an historic trip to Red China in 1972. While the adage about his journey is apt, it speaks to a wisdom that is older than the 1970s: only someone with an unequivocal record on one side of an issue has the moral and political wherewithal to bring about true changes of opinions when they are necessary.

In North Carolina, we recently have seen another example of the Nixon-China truism.

I. Beverly Lake, Republican and former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, wrote this week in the Huffington Post that he is wavering on his support for the death penalty. Not only are his arguments sound, but they seem perfectly constructed — when combined with his stature and résumé — to actually persuade those who currently support the death penalty, especially conservatives.

First, far from being an example of an erstwhile conservative falling into liberalism in his dotage, Lake makes a clear case based on new evidence; he maintains his conservative principles while avoiding some of the less convincing arguments that conservatives opposed to the death penalty have made recently.

It’s important to note that Lake does not make the argument that state execution of murderers — at least morally competent murderers — is wrong. In fact, he says that in many cases he presided over “the

death penalty seemed like the only suitable punishment for the heinous crimes that had been committed.” (While there is nothing with arguing in total opposition to the death penalty, it is unlikely to persuade many who put victims’ families and their anguish before the suffering, however real, of criminals.)

Lake’s new evidence is that, through advances in science and the work of bodies such as the Actual Innocence Commission — which Lake created — it is almost certain that North Carolina and other states had innocent persons on death row (and raises the very real possibility that the state has executed convicts for crimes they did not commit in the past). His other main argument is that many of those on death row are mentally ill.

He says that since, in his long experience, our system is not able “to determine who possesses sufficient culpability to warrant a death sentence,” the death penalty is likely unconstitutional.

But what is brilliant about Lake’s piece is that he makes only the arguments that have a good chance of winning over his audience.

When trying to persuade others, it is a common mistake to shoot every arrow in one’s quiver, regardless of the relative quality of each missile. Lake avoids two arguments, one specious and one frail, that those in opposition to the death penalty often tout to conservatives.

The specious argument is that conservatives should not support state executions of murderers if they oppose the abortion of innocent babies. Equating the welfare of

one class — murderers — with the other — the unborn — is insulting at best. (If the contention is that some on death row are wrongfully convicted, i.e., not murderers, then a different argument is at work.)

The second bum argument is cost. The problem is not that this assertion is untrue or irrelevant; cost should be part of every public policy calculus, and the death penalty amasses frighteningly high costs for taxpayers. Consider that the state almost always pays for the prosecution, defense, and court costs as well as room and board for an inmate while endless appeals are resolved.

The rhetorical snag with this argument is that conservatives bristle at the strategy whereby opponents of a project or law erect legal hurdle after legal hurdle, then claim the government should not “waste” taxpayers’ money. Rather, they argue, proponents should give in because the costs are so high. It’s like Gen. Sherman lamenting that War is Hell after he did his best to make it so.

It is too soon to say whether Lake’s opinion will hold sway over legislators or voters.

Regardless, his method of argument is a striking contrast to the let-me-insult-youuntil-you-change-your-mind tactic that passes for debate too often nowadays.

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Guest Opinion | GROVER NORQUIST

Three voting blocs that will cause Clinton problems in North Carolina

E Hillary is the candidate of the past.

ver since President Obama won the state in 2008, North Carolina has been seen by Democrats as the purple Southern state where they could make headway in a region long dominated by Republicans in presidential elections.

This is why Charlotte was the host of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. However things have not gone according to plan for Democrats. Republicans have since ended a century of Democrat control in Raleigh, winning majorities in both chambers of the legislature in 2010. Then Romney carried the state four years ago, when Republicans also captured the governor’s mansion.

With Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee, professional Democrats in Washington and Raleigh see a chance for a blue comeback in the Tarheel State. Yet Hillary Clinton is a weaker candidate than many realize due in part to several new voting blocs that have emerged since she first came to Washington, D.C. Not only does Hillary not understand these new voting blocs, her policy proposals are hostile to these new constituencies, making it harder for her to win North Carolina and the presidency in November.

Concealed carry permit holders The 2016 election will have major implications for the 2nd Amendment. The next president will likely appoint more than one Supreme Court justice, deciding the balance of the court. Hillary, as she does on many issues, works hard to obscure her true views about the 2nd Amendment, but she does reveal her true thoughts in certain company. At a private fundraiser in 2015, Clinton criticized the Supreme Court for being “wrong on the 2nd Amendment.” Earlier this month one of Clinton’s policy advisers informed the press that Clinton believes the Heller case, which overturned Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban, was wrongly decided.

Hillary and other 2nd Amendment opponents seem to think the only people who care about the right to bear arm are hunters in rural communities. What Hillary, Bernie, and their backers don’t understand is voters who are most motivated to protect 2nd Amendment rights are concealed carry permit holders, who view it as a matter of protection and personal safety, and whose numbers have greatly increased in recent years.

In North Carolina, the right to concealed carry was granted in 1995. Over 21,000 North Carolinians obtained a concealed carry permit in 1996, the first year they were able to do so. Today, the number of concealed

carry permit holders is more than 22 times greater, with nearly half of million permit holders in North Carolina at the end of 2015. The number of active concealed carry permit holders nationally is more than 13 million.

There is every reason to believe Hillary Clinton will support policies and appoint Supreme Court justices who would take away or infringe upon a right that half a million North Carolinians, including tens of thousands of women, take very seriously.

Home-schoolers and families that support school choice Three decades ago home schooling was prohibited in nearly every state. Just 806 North Carolina families home-schooled when it was first legalized in 1985. As of 2015, the number of families who home-school in North Carolina topped 100,000 for the first time. More North Carolina children are now home-schooled than attend private school. As the John Locke Foundation’s Terry Stoops points out, the number of home-schoolers in the state is likely higher, because the figure published by the state “is an estimate based on random sampling of the number of schools operating during the school year.”

In addition to home-schoolers, 4,000 North Carolina students benefit from the voucher programs enacted in 2013, and over 77,000 students in the state attend charter schools. Hillary’s early endorsement by the National Educators Association no doubt came with commitments from the candidate. Given this and the modern Democratic Party’s dependence on union cash, many parents who home-school, use vouchers, or send their kids to charter schools understandably believe Clinton would like to regulate home schooling out of existence and would work to pull back or impede the expansion of school-choice programs.

Hillary is also on the wrong side of the future when it comes to her attacks Uber, Lyft, and other gig or sharing economy companies. Hillary is the candidate of the past. Before concealed carry, before the sharing economy, before parental choice in the education.

These things are important to many voters, which is why Hillary is an even weaker candidate than she appears.

Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform, a nonprofit taxpayer advocacy organization founded in 1985 at the request of President Ronald Reagan. Norquist serves on the board of the National Rifle Association.

MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Columnist | MICHAEL MUNGER

If you care about the poor, you’ll love Uber

The idea was that profits were evil, and Uber was making profits

equations. Mercifully, Doug waved his hand and said — as if to a misbehaving 5-year-old, “Michael, the answer is ‘transactions costs!’”

I later realized that was the answer to most of the important questions in economics. Try it: why do we own chain saws, bread makers, or cars?

Transactions costs! It’s dumb to own those things, because we use them rarely and have to pay to store them. But renting is more trouble, and often more expensive.

In my garage, or a Duke parking lot, sits a shiny BMW 330i. Unless it’s on the road. But I only drive about 4 hours, or 2.5 percent of the time, in the 168 hours of the week.

The companies that lead the new “sharing economy” (AirBnB, Freelancer, Uber) are growing fast. But what are they selling? Professor North was right: The answer is transactions costs. These companies find someone with an underused thing, and match them with someone else who wants that thing for a few minutes.

Consider Uber. I need a ride. But if I knock on a car window and ask, the driver gets all mad and it becomes a “thing,” possibly involving the police.

(Don’t ask me how I know that; just trust me).

So, I have to buy a car. Unless I can find you, of course. You have a car, and few minutes; there’s a mutually beneficial deal here if we can solve three transactions cost problems: triangulation (find each other), transfer (make the payment and provide the service), and trust (it’s creepy to give, or take, rides with strangers).

Uber sells reductions in transactions costs, using software. It’s great for everyone. Except of course the over-priced, high-transactions-costs taxi drivers Uber competes with. In many cities around the

Open up presidential debates or 16 years after the 1960 debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard F Nixon, the Democratic and Republican

presidential nominees declined to debate during the general election. The Federal Communication Commission mandated that televised debates include all candidates, but the Democrats and Republicans wouldn’t risk engaging those from minor parties. However, in 1976, the two major parties discovered a loophole: as long as debates were sponsored by outside groups, the minor parties could be excluded, and the television networks could still cover the events as newsworthy. Since then, debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees have become a highly anticipated feature of the general election.

Yet the ensuing presidential debates, not surprisingly, have typically elicited more posturing than substance from the nominees. Ignoring the moderator’s question or an opponent’s challenge is to be expected from participants. Instead of meaningful debate, we are often subjected to slogans and soundbites. Campaigns in general are designed as spectacle: winning is accomplished by provoking the electorate rather than by educating them.

Furthermore, contrary to both Democrats’ and Republicans’ propaganda, the two parties, in practice, aren’t much different from each other. Although both parties claim they espouse fundamentally different philosophies of governing, the primary difference is more a matter of rhetoric than of policy.

The Democrats’ charade of progressivism and the Republicans’ corresponding charade of conservatism need to be challenged.

Hillary Clinton addresses a crowd of students and community members during a rally at Hillside High School in Durham on March 10.

n grad school, I studied with Nobel Prize winner Douglass North. At a presentation, Doug Iasked me a question, and I tried to answer using

BRADLEY BETHEL

world, Uber is hitting increasing resistance — harsh legislation and sometimes violence — from those who benefit from the current system. Austin, Texas recently outlawed Uber, in fact. The idea was that profits were evil, and Uber was making profits.

People were being exploited by all that cheap, convenient service.

But that’s not the case in North Carolina. In fact, we are in the top five states, in terms of Uber service as a proportion of population. How come?

The answer is that for once our legislature and governor put aside partisan difference and did what is actually good for voters. Legislation takes a lot of hands, of course, but the simple version of the story has one main hero: state Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Democrat representing Durham-Granville counties.

He helped sponsor the legislation, Senate Bill 541, and explained the bill in detail to his skeptical colleagues. It was passed, and signed by Gov. Pat McCrory, this past September.

Instead of the ideologically focused “I hate capitalism!” tantrum we saw in Austin, McKissick (a very liberal man, politically) stepped outside partisanship to think about poor people. Rich folks can afford taxis, or maybe limos. The elderly grandmother who needs groceries, or the diabetic man who needs to get to the doctor... well, until now, their only choice has been waiting on the bus.

With Uber, they get the convenience and cheap service that car owners take for granted.

In this season of partisan extremism, let’s stop and celebrate a victory over the transactions costs that plague the poor. Senator McKissick: You put constituents ahead of ideology, and we are all better for it. Thank you, sir.

Michael Munger is a professor of and director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program at Duke University.

Consider, for example, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare.

When Barack Obama was campaigning, he promised progressive healthcare reform, and, indeed, an early version of the ACA included a public option that would have established a government-run insurance agency. Although the bill never outlined a single-payer system like those in most developed countries, many perceived the public option as a step toward such a system. However, Democratic legislatures eventually capitulated to demands to drop the public option, and Obama signed the bill without it.

According to Democrats, the ACA is nonetheless a great progressive achievement, and according to Republicans the bill is a socialist disaster. In reality, the ACA represents a political milestone for centrism and compromise. One of the bill’s defining provisions, the state-run health exchanges, was actually an idea first championed by conservatives. Therefore, Democrats’ touting the ACA as a progressive victory is misleading, but so is Republicans’ maligning the bill as socialist.

Whether the ACA was, or is, a success is beside the point. My concern is keeping Democrats and Republicans honest about their purported progressivism or conservatism.

Hillary Clinton claims to be a progressive, but her record in the Senate and her relationships with big business suggest centrism. Donald Trump appeals to conservatives — or at least a sizable faction of them — but the incoherence of his platform makes discerning what he actually believes or would practice impossible.

The Democrats’ charade of progressivism and the Republicans’ corresponding charade of conservatism need to be challenged. One way to do so would be to include minor parties in the presidential debates.

Imagine Green Party candidate Jill Stein challenging Clinton on the environment, or Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson challenging Trump on, well, anything. The Democratic and Republican nominees, now and in the future, would be forced to clarify their positions and cease projecting false images of themselves if they were forced to acknowledge minor-party candidates.

Even Trump, as a self-proclaimed outsider, shows little courage and sincerity if he is unwilling to face challenges from minorparty outsiders.

If nothing else, Democrats and Republicans can’t deny they have this in common: a steadfast commitment to the political status quo.

Bradley Bethel is a former teacher and currently a documentary filmmaker who lives in Carrboro. His film “Unverified: The Untold Story Behind the UNC Scandal” is screening at festivals this spring.

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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NATION& WORLD Bathroom lawsuit could send transgender rights to U.S. Supreme Court

NEWS IN IMAGES

By Lisa Maria Garza Reuters PHOTOS BY ALY SONG | REUTERS

A worker checks a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25.

Masks of different politicians are displayed in the showroom of Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A lawsuit brought by Texas and other states against the Obama administration’s policy on bathroom access may move the United States closer to a resolution on transgender rights by putting the issue on a trajectory for the Supreme Court.

Conservative officials from 11 states sued the federal government Wednesday to overturn a directive that transgender students be allowed to use the bathroom matching their gender identity instead of being forced to use one corresponding to gender assigned at birth. The governor of a 12th state, Phil Bryant of Mississippi, said he planned to join the lawsuit.

The country’s high court has never ruled on a main question of the lawsuit: Do federal legal protections against sex discrimination apply to transgender people?

The plaintiffs picked a path that could get them two quick wins in lower courts.

The lawsuit is expected to be heard first by an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush and if there is an appeal by a conservative federal appeals court covering Texas.

If that appeals court ruled against the Obama administration, the Supreme Court may feel compelled to take up the matter because of a likely conflict with a ruling last month from a federal appeals court in Virginia. That ruling revived a transgender teen’s lawsuit against his school district.

The Supreme Court is more likely to agree to hear a case when there is a split among different federal appeals courts, and such a conflict does not yet exist on transgender rights.

The plaintiffs have accused the administration of President Barack Obama of overreaching its authority and said the U.S. Congress, or individual states, should set policy.

At least two provisions of federal law ban discrimination on the basis of sex: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which covers employment, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The Obama administration has argued that the education amendments encompass discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status. It said in a letter to school districts this month that their access to federal money depended on their compliance.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said he planned to join a suit by officials from 11 states to overturn an Obama administration directive that tells schools to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their gender identity.

A worker checks a just-painted mask of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory.

PHOTOS BY MIKE BLAKE | REUTERS

TUITION from page A1 apartment and go to a community college, or you go to a university for school and get student loans and come out $80,000 in debt and that’s how you start your life.” Davis said.

Davis graduated high school a semester early so she could work full time and save for college. She works at The Piper’s Tavern & Restaurant in Raleigh and sometimes doesn’t get home until 3 a.m.

“I would’ve liked to go to prom with my friends and all that stuff, but not having money to go to school now I would’ve set myself up for struggling,” she said. “This bill is the main reason I chose to go to Western Carolina.”

Sen. Andrew Brock (R-Cleveland) knows just how she feels.

When Brock applied for financial aid to go to college, his father had been hospitalized for two years and passed away shortly thereafter.

Brock had to work his way through WCU because he didn’t qualify for student aid as a result of his late father’s prior income.

“For those of us that were in that bubble, this is a godsend,” Brock said in an interview with North State Journal. “As someone who went through that process, you do everything you can do to make college more affordable.”

When Brock found out he could not qualify for assistance he considered every option to make ends meet, and it’s given him sincere appreciation for what this legislation could do for North Carolina students and families.

‘I’m sitting there, like, could I go sell plasma to pay for school?” Brock said.

Brock also explained that the North Carolina constitution requires public colleges to be as affordable as possible.

“It’s our constitutional duty and it’s gotten to be a real financial burden for students to go to school,” Brock said.

The Access to Affordable Education Act, of which Brock is a sponsor, reduces tuition at five UNC system schools that have struggled with

enrollment: WCU, Winston-Salem State University, Fayetteville State University, Elizabeth City State University and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The bill appropriates $70 million to supplement the schools for the loss in tuition revenue, but sponsors say it benefits students by keeping them in school to get a degree and, eventually, find better jobs and pay.

“You’re looking at a way to get good students to some of our schools that are underutilized,” Brock said.

“We’ve had a lot more revenue come in, so it’s given us the ability to do stuff like this.”

The bill also fixes tuition for standard degree terms at the other 11 schools in the UNC system. This means a student entering college in the fall of 2016 would be guaranteed a constant, or reduced, tuition through their senior year, up to five years for some programs. A university may raise tuition for freshman entering school in 2017, but, similarly, their rate would remain constant for at least four years.

Tuition at UNC university system schools has gone up 72 percent in the last 10 years. A 2015 study by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that only 53 percent of college freshmen earn a degree within six years. Further, a 2011 study conducted by the American Institute for Research said the nationwide cost of those college dropouts is $4.5 billion in lost earnings and taxes.

The bill sponsors believe that by lowering the price of admission for select schools and making tuition more predictable for the rest, students are more likely to complete their degrees and put those skills to work in the North Carolina economy. Additionally, Brock believes the laws of economics will result in these schools getting more applicants and increased enrollment, and thereby growth in tuition revenues over time.

The bill has its final vote in the Senate next week, before heading to the House.

“This is real change for middle class families,” said Davis. “This would make a big difference for me.”

Veterans from page A1 their mind around that, but they can put their mind around leadership, teamwork, coming to work on time and good work ethic.”

The challenges of being a veteran can be compounded for women, since women make up less than 10 percent of the veteran population in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and their individual struggles may not be as mainstream as their male counterparts.

Pearl Galloway, who is retired from the Army and is disabled, said she has applied and been denied for disability benefits three times and has seen male veterans go through the process with no delay.

“It’s definitely more of a challenge,” Galloway said. “I am still fighting for my disability benefits whereas many men aren’t.”

Galloway added that society’s perception of women as veterans is still evolving, as she recalled her own experiences in public.

“Many times they ask me if I’m a veteran, and I’m there standing alone,” Galloway said. “They are looking for some man to be with me to recognize me as a veteran.”

DeJuana Alana, who is retired from the Air Force, said the treatment of women veterans is getting better.

“They didn’t recognize us, but they are coming around,” Alana said. “But they still haven’t come all the way around.”

Wilson explained the summit provided a way to have two-way communication to understand

South Carolina governor to sign ban on abortion past 19 weeks Columbia, S.C. Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Wednesday signed into law a bill banning most abortions after 19 weeks of pregnancy unless the mother’s life is at risk, a spokesperson told Reuters. The South Carolina legislature passed the bill last week, making it the 17th U.S. state to approve such a ban.

Hundreds protest in downpour at shut McDonald’s headquarters Chicago Hundreds of protesters marched Wednesday at McDonald’s Corp. calling for $15 per hour wages and union rights, leading the hamburger chain to shut down its headquarters a day before its annual meeting. The suburban Chicago campus was shut for the third year in a row because of protests centered on the shareholder gathering.

Ohio legislature votes to allow limited medical marijuana use Columbus, Ohio Lawmakers in Ohio approved legislation Wednesday that would legalize marijuana use for medical purposes under certain circumstances, less than a year after recreational marijuana use was soundly defeated by Ohio voters. The bill, approved by both chambers of the state’s Republican-led legislature, heads to Republican Gov. John Kasich for his signature. His office said on Wednesday that he will review the bill.

women veterans and their needs.

“This is an opportunity to highlight women veterans, because they are not a very large part of the armed forces community, and so there are some unique challenges that women face as being part of the military,” Wilson said. “This summit allows us to highlight women veterans and the services they have done for our country and be able to help them.”

According to Archie Barrow, a workforce specialist for N.C. Department of Commerce, women have different experiences in the military and face situations differently.

Cheryl Malone, retired Air Force and business owner, said she has found women don’t associate with being a veteran sometimes.

“They don’t self-identify,” Malone said. “If you have served in the military, you are a veteran. We approach life differently, so we need to approach them differently.”

Alana has said she has struggled with identifying as a veteran because of the stigma.

“I don’t know whether to say I am a veteran or to say I’m not a veteran,” Alana said.

The VA Home Front in Durham has begun to look into this different approach when providing shelter for homeless women veterans. Lindsey Arledge, who is the supervisor, said women may have children or a spouse they support and need longterm housing.

“It can be different,” Arledge said. “When we started offering permanent housing options through our program, we started finding more women seeking our services.”

Chief Warrant Officer Jennifer Maloy attends a session about entrepreneurship during the Women Veterans Summit & Expo on May 25 at Raleigh’s McKimmon Center.

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

the Sunday Sideline report

valor games

1. Roy Williams undergoes successful replacement surgery on right knee.

2. Tiger Woods enters name in 2016 British Open, though still questionable to play.

3. Art Briles removed as Baylor’s head football coach after report indicated the program failed to address sexual assault concerns.

4. Steph Curry named All-NBA First Team while Chris Paul lands on AllNBA Second Team 5. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Eastern Conference Final in Game 7 to book a Stanley Cup Final meeting with the San Jose Sharks.

@Dez Bryant: #NiharJanga you just made my whole day buddy.. Congrats on winning the #spellingbee champ.. Some how some way I have to get you to a game #x

Christine T. Nguyen | north state journal

From left, coach Meredith Blum watches as Johnnie of Florida, an Army veteran, serves during the Valor Games sitting volleyball competition at the Smith Center on Tuesday, May 24.

SPORTS Nascar

By Brooke Pryor North State Journal

@nicolevogelsong: Straight from the hospital to the game, can’t keep him away. Thanks to the Pirates medical staff & AGH

HAPEL HILL — Five years ago, Johnnie went to the local Veterans Affairs hospital. He was sick, really sick, C and his doctor wanted to get creative with his treatment.

@AndrewBrandt: Get sense Goodell/owners, facing questions about concussion research and Brady case, just want to say ‘But we gave out Super Bowls today!’

Tennis

Rafeal Nadal withdraws from French Open The nine-time French Open champion withdrew from the tournament on Friday in an emotional farewell, calling it “one of the toughest press conferences in my career.”

Nadal was battling a left wrist injury over the past few weeks, but pushed through to try for a French run and simply couldn’t withstand the pain.

College Football

Ole Miss reduces scholarships

The school released its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, featuring 28 total violations (13 involving football) and 13 Level I (the most severe) violations (nine involving football). The school selfimposed an 11-scholarship reduction on the football program as a result.

College Baseball

UNCW picks up conference awards

Sophomore Nick Feight was named CAA Player of the Year and senior Ryan Foster, the nation’s winningest pitcher, was named CAA Pitcher of the Year. Seahawks manager Mark Scalf also earned his seventh Coach of the Year honor as the regular-season champions put 10 players on the all-conference squad.

NFL

Panthers players involved in car accident Panthers LB Shaq Thompson and former Duke QB Anthony Boone were involved in a collision near Weddington, N.C. Thompson was not hurt or charged with a moving violation but Boone was treated for hand and hip injuries.

Valor Games offer outlet, inspire wounded vets

Jim Dedmon | USA TODAY SPORTS images

Team owner Rick Hendrick talks with Sprint Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (24) during the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Hall of Fame 2016 class headlined

by NC owners

By R. Cory Smith North State Journal HARLOTTE — The NASCAR Hall of Famers inductC ed on Wednesday night won a

combined 19 NASCAR championships at the top level of the sport. With Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Raymond Parks added to the Hall, it now includes some of the most legendary owners to ever run a NASCAR team.

Hendrick and Childress were on the ballot for several years, but the two owners — who own 17 Cup titles between them — finally got the call. Benny Parsons and Raymond Parks, who won single championships as a driver and owner, respectively, will also be inducted.

The lone inductee who didn’t win a championship? None other than Mark Martin.

A driver who was snakebitten his entire career never finished the season in first place. Naturally he was selected into the Hall on his first attempt — Martin was a shoe-in with 96 career wins in NASCAR’s top three series.

Voting went as follows: Benny Parsons (85 percent), Rick Hendrick (62 percent), Mark Martin (57 percent), Raymond Parks (53 percent) and Richard Childress (43 percent).

While the ceremony won’t take place until January, here’s a look at the five names that will join NASCAR royalty in Charlotte in 2017.

See nascar, page B8

That’s when the double-leg amputee and Vietnam War veteran found himself in an adapted bicycle, learning a new way to manage his conditions and life in general.

“People came “I was on a whole lot of pain killers, and my doctor suggested competing to because they just help me get off of it,” Johnnie said. “And wanted to get on that’s how I got started in hand cycling. the floor. Then That was the beginning.”

Tuesday morning, Johnnie bounced up they encountered and down from a semi-seated position on something that the floor at the Dean E. Smith Center next to a volleyball net much shorter than reg- engaged their life ulation height, cheering for his teammates with a disability and razzing his opponents as his squad rallied to win a game of floor volleyball at that became the 2016 Valor Games Southeast. impactful” “It was a dare,” said Johnnie, explaining how he ended up playing in the game. “I Ashley Thomas, can’t keep my butt on the ground. I’m go- Bridge II Sports ing to get penalized so many times before executive director this is over with. I don’t have a butt. I have a gristle. I’ve been in this chair for over 46 years. So I don’t have a butt anymore, I just have a gristle, so it’s hard to keep it on the ground.”

He’d never tried floor volleyball before Tuesday, but Johnnie thrives in adapted sports. Last year he won 32 medals in competitions across the country. Later this summer he’ll head to the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics to compete in powerlifting and archery.

Johnnie’s story isn’t an uncommon one among the 100 participants in the fourth Southeast games hosted by Bridge II Sports, although far too often they go unnoticed or untold. But they are precisely why the Valor Games were created in 2011, to provide outlets for disabled veterans and wounded, ill or injured service members.

The national games, hosted in four regional events every

See valor games, page B8

inside

Madeline Gray | north state journal

Summer is rapidly approaching and the heat is on when it comes to postseason college baseball. With the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament capturing the attention of everyone across the state, our writers take a deep dive into the fortunes and prospects of local teams (B6). We also examine what life is like for various leaders behind the plate in the “Art of Catching.” (B4)

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

B2

NS J beyond the box score

05.29.16

Ryan Vogelsong: The Pirates pitcher and Charlotte native suffered facial fractures, including to his orbital bone, when he was hit by a pitch during Monday’s game.

Vogelsong was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

NBA Draft: Wednesday’s deadline to remove names from the NBA Draft included the announcements that star guard Melo Trimble would return to Maryland while Louisville big man Chinanu Onuaku was one of many underclassmen who decided to stay in the draft.

Ray Rice: Former Ravens player involved in domestic violence incident before the 2014 season spoke to Baltimore rookies during OTAs. Bryce Harper: Nationals outfielder said he cuts up his batting gloves because he doesn’t want to see people selling them on eBay. Aaron Rodgers: Packers quarterback said he believes Green Bay wide receiver Randall Cobb suffered a punctured lung because of the NFL Films mic he was wearing in the playoffs.

Jose Mourinho: Manchester United confirmed the hiring of Mourinho, the former Chelsea boss, as its new manager after dismissing Louis van Gaal earlier in the week.

POTENT QUOTABLES

Scripps Spelling Bee

11-year old Nihar Janga tied for first place in the 2016 Scripps Spelling Bee and celebrated by “throwing up the X” — the same celebration Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant uses after scoring a touchdown.

Kirby Lee | USA TODAY SPORTS images

“We never lost a fight in our life.

Ever. And we ain’t losing this one.

And that’s a true statement. Not just because we are badasses — because we are, individually — but collectively it’s a lot different.”

Rex Ryan explaining why he and brother Rob Ryan will succeed in Buffalo.

Jack Gruber | USA TODAY

nascar

NFL

NBA

11-0

The record for the Golden State Warriors the last two NBA postseasons when Steph Curry scores 30 or more points.

Only two of those games came in the 2016 playoffs as of Game 6 in the Western Conference Finals.

MLB

29

Straight games with a hit for Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley until Thursday night when the hothitting outfielder went 0-for-4 against the Rockies. It’s the longest streak of the season.

Matthew O’Haren | USA TODAY SPORTS images

NASCAR announced on Thursday it will run a lower downforce package for races at Kentucky and Michigan, meaning more passing and harder handling cars. Fans can expect wide-open racing at both tracks during an already exhilarating NASCAR season.

Kamil Krzaczynski | USA TODAY SPORTS images

At league meetings in Charlotte, the NFL announced future sites of Super Bowls with the next five taking place in Houston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, South Florida and Los Angeles. Roger Goodell also said the NFL would not “threaten the community” over H. B. 2.

nhl playoffs

The Pittsburgh Penguins outlasted the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night to set up a meeting with San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final. It’s the first time the Sharks have ever played for the Stanley Cup and the Penguins first appearance since 2009.

Schedule and TV information: Game 1: Mon., May 30 in Pittsburgh; 8 p.m. (NBC) Game 2: Wed., June 1 in Pittsburgh; 8 p.m. (NBCSN) Game 3: Sat., June 4 in San Jose; 8 p.m. (TBD) Game 4: Mon., June 6 in San Jose; 8 p.m. (TBD)

Game 5: Thurs., June 9 in Pittsburgh; 8 p.m. (NBC)* Game 6: Sun., June 12 in San Jose; 8 p.m. (NBC)* Game 7: Wed., June 15 in Pittsburgh; 8 p.m. (NBC)* * if necessary

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

B3

nascar

Jasen vinlove | USA TODAY SPORTS images

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Matt DiBenedetto (left) and David Ragan (right) walk down pit road during qualifying for the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Meet Matt DiBenedetto, BK Racing’s burrito-loving underdog driver HARLOTTE — At 24 years old, Matt DiBenedetto has C seen his racing career nearly end

seven times. He now finds himself competing in the Sprint Cup at the NASCAR level on a full-time basis.

After getting started in NASCAR with Joe Gibbs Racing as a development driver, team president J.D. Gibbs told BK Racing owner Ron Devine about the young racer. DiBenedetto since made his first Daytona 500 and captured a career-high sixth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.

North State Journal caught up with DiBenedetto at Charlotte Motor Speedway to discuss his breakthrough season before the Coca-Cola 600.

North State Journal: How has your second Sprint Cup season gone for you so far?

Matt DiBenedetto: It’s been a really great season. We’ve had our ups and downs like any team, but performance and speed-wise, we’ve shown a big improvement.

We have newer race cars and have shrunk down to two teams, hiring quality crew members from MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing). All of those things have led to huge improvements for us.

Do you feel having a two-car team has helped this program focus more on you as a driver?

It’s been a lot of things combined, but that has been a key element for me. At the race track when we had three cars, it wasn’t so bad. We could compare notes and work together. But we are short staffed, so what it did was it hurt the production at the shop. Now we have more guys focused on the day-to-day activities and finding speed before we get to the track.

How much have things changed since Bristol?

Oh, it’s been crazy. (Laughs) A lot of it has been support from fans that’s been almost overwhelming at every race.

People are sharing this feel-good underdog story with us and it’s been really awesome every week to enjoy it with them. To have a whole community like Reddit supporting me and BK Racing has been a lot of fun. I’m really appreciative to them for everything they do to spread our story.

Are you hoping to add sponsors like Chipotle or others with the nickname “DiBurrito?”

Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY SPORTS images

Sure! (Laughs) We always need some more sponsors, so the more the merrier! It’s a sponsor-driven sport, so we’re not opposed to bringing any of them on. I’m not opposed to Moe’s either, especially if it fits with the DiBurrito name. It would be a great fit. I think we need to look into it!

What has the journey been like for you to get to this point?

It’s been of a heck of a journey, I’ll tell you that. I couldn’t even list the ups and downs on 10 pages over the last few years. I thought my career was over — I counted seven times — like completely over. And then somehow another door would open.

I never questioned myself as a driver, but didn’t know where I’d land. At the end of the day, it’s all been worth it to end up here at BK Racing. I mean, I’m here living out my dream in the Sprint Cup Series. I’d say things worked out.

Did you ever think maybe you should pack it up?

Several times. There were so many times when it seemed like this would just never happen for me. I presented myself so many times without sponsors backing me, which doesn’t get you very far. I just couldn’t bring myself to call it quits, though. This is my life and I had to fight for it. I’m so glad I did.

How perfect of a situation is it to drive for BK Racing?

I’m thankful every day for them taking this chance on me. I love it here because it’s a small family team. We don’t have a huge budget, so when we do have a great run like Bristol it makes everything worth it. The most exciting thing is seeing the team’s hard work pay off with good results.

Knowing that I have their full support gives me confidence that I can push our cars to the edge each week. If you have doubt in the back of your mind that your team doesn’t believe in you, it can wear down a driver. I don’t have to worry about what happens because I know this team has my back.

How much of your career has been shaped by Joe Gibbs Racing?

I truly owe everything to Joe Gibbs Racing. They got me in the door in the NASCAR world and gave me the opportunity as a development driver when no one else would. My opportunity got cut short due to funding, not my driving, so that was frustrating.

But if it wasn’t for them, we might not be talking right now.

What is the overall importance of the Coca-Cola 600 on the NASCAR calendar?

It’s a tough one, man. (Laughs)

Matt DiBenedetto Hometown: Grass Valley, Calif.

Team: BK Racing Best Finish: Sixth at Bristol Nickname: “DiBurrito” Racing Philosophy: “I would wreck my entire family to win a race.”

Twitter: @mattdracing Favorite Current Drivers: David Ragan and Ricky Bobby

Going 600 miles is obviously something we prepare a little more for — both physically and mentally. You have to feel really good that day just to make it to the end. We always want to run well in Charlotte because it’s everyone’s home track, but the 600 means just a little more.

What are your overall expectations for the rest of the season?

We just want to run consistently each week to keep building this program. I think when we finish inside the top 20 those are good showings for us. As a small team, that means we beat a lot of teams that run with significantly more funding than us. My goal week in and week out is to keep our team competitive.

We’ve had some tough luck lately, but we can still fight our way back in the points.

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

B4

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

B5

the art of catching Dissecting baseball’s toughest position

By R. Cory Smith North State Journal

Casey Stengel once said, “No baseball pitcher would be worth a darn without a catcher who could handle the hot fastball.” Stengel won seven World Series as a manager, all coming with Yogi Berra serving as the backstop for those Yankees teams.

He’s qualified to comment.

Most fans just see a player with around 20 extra pounds of gear

Disappearing act W

trotting out to play catch with a guy throwing 80-95 mph, a human backstop who also serves as the most underappreciated player on a roster.

But a catcher impacts so much more than one person — catching is the combination of pressure, power and perfection at and behind the plate.

Without a quality catcher, you rarely get excellent pitchers.

Whether it’s for 162 games or just over 60 in college, catching is a test of mental and physical strength.

hen do you normally notice the catcher? It’s not when he frames a pitch perfectly or catches a foul tip for strike three.

No, a catcher usually doesn’t stand out until he makes a mistake. Throwing out a runner one inning means nothing if a curveball skips through the wickets for a runner to advance home the next frame.

“I think that what catchers have to understand is this is what you signed up for,” ECU catcher Travis Watkins said. “The sign of a good catcher is that you’re not noticed. If you’re catching and blocking well, no one really cares. That way the spotlight remains on other people.

“If you make one mistake, everyone knows. That’s when your nerves

take over.”

Watkins, who is also a Pirates captain, simplifies the surrounding noise with an armband on his forearm listing plays and signs the coach sends in.

This isn’t the norm for anyone at the professional level, but it certainly serves a purpose at the college level by slowing down the game for someone still growing into the position.

“It’s just something to make the game simpler,” Watkins said. “Our pitching coach calls signs in and we call it out. It’s really that easy. But it helps slow the game down for me and helps everyone on the field. I have so much other stuff to think about, so taking some responsibilities off my plate makes it simpler to do everything else.”

Madeline Gray | north state journal

UNCW catcher Nick Feight (34) runs the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning against North Carolina on May 10 in Wilmington. The UNCW Seahawks defeated the UNC Tar Heels 6-2.

Eamon queeney | north state journal

NC State third catcher Andrew Knizner (11) looks toward the dugout between pitches in the fifth inning of an ACC Baseball Championship game against Florida State at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on May 25. Florida State defeated NC State 7-3.

Catching never stops M any position players spend the offseason letting their metaphorical batteries charge. Catchers spend the offseason literally charging the battery.

Working with pitchers, developing a connection before the season begins and going over pitches/signs/etc. are all part of the offseason program.

NC State’s Andrew Knizner understands the importance.

“A huge part of being a catcher is knowing the entire staff. That doesn’t stop in the offseason,” Knizner said. “When I first started catching I was just worried about myself and how I was performing. You can’t do that. Every pitcher is different and your approach to every pitcher has to be unique.

“Our job is to make their job easier.

Working with your staff and knowing what to do in every situation helps me re-

lax as a catcher.”

Working with pitchers is key, but so is working umpires.

“Maintaining a good relationship with the umpire is crucial,” Knizner said with a laugh. “You never want an umpire on your bad side. Even if he rings you up the inning prior, you have to respect him the next inning. No other position really has to deal with that.”

Hours squatting behind home plate together creates a little closeness between the player and the man in blue. Catchers sometimes take on the responsibility of putting out fires started by other players.

“I usually just joke with them or make them laugh to keep them on our good side,” he said. “Most umpires don’t take things too personally or get too worked up. I try to do my part to soften the blow.”

Left: East Carolina catcher and captain of the team Travis Watkins (19) warms up during the game against NC State on April 19 in Greenville.

The ECU Pirates defeated the NC State Wolfpack 15-3.

Backstop balancing N

ot all catchers are created equal. Some crush at the plate, others struggle behind it. Some are capable of stopping any pitch that comes their way, but cave under the pressure in the box.

UNCW’s Nick Feight can do both and he’s proven it in a big way this season.

In 2016 Feight slugged his way to .362/.427/.763 with 19 homers and a staggering 85 RBI — which led the country in the regular season.

He matched that with a .991 fielding percentage and caught 15 runners stealing to win the AAC Player of the Year.

“The toughest part about catching is forgetting previous plays,” Feight said. “Everyone says the catcher is the quarterback of baseball, but quarterbacks don’t have to tackle wide receivers on the next drive.

“We have to go from figuring out ways to strike out batters to contributing to the lineup.”

It’s a delicate balance for catchers, finding the time to hone their craft at the plate while also working on managing all the requisite duties behind the plate.

Feight replicates his game after a catcher many believe is the perfect balance of both offense and defense in the MLB. “Behind the plate, I love watching [St. Louis Cardinals catcher] Yadier Molina,” Feight said. “He’s got great flow back there and is also one of the best offensive players in the game. He’s so majestic.”

Feight’s offense propelled the Seahawks into a top25 team at various points in the season but its his defense and staff management behind the plate that has Wilmington in position to contend in the postseason.

Madeline Gray | north state journal

From the dish to the dugout eadership is a critical facet to playing catcher. Being behind the L plate means knowing every other player’s responsibility along with keeping the pitcher in check.

General Manager of USA Baseball National Teams Eric Campbell is a former catcher, a position he says helped him earn several coaching jobs.

Seeing catchers jump to manager is

hardly uncommon. Of the current 30 MLB teams, 14 have a former catcher as their manager. Clubs saw Bruce Bochy, Joe Girardi and Ned Yost win World Series titles and continued the trend by hiring the likes of Brad Ausmus, A.J. Hinch and Scott Servais.

“You’re seeing a changing of the guard in baseball,” Campbell said.

“I don’t think it’s a shock to see this many former catchers taking MLB

jobs at the top level. It’s not a mystery that they have an advanced knowledge of the game. When you can catch at that level, you know how to control the entire game.”

For Campbell, a former catcher and pitcher with Creighton, playing both positions led gaining a wealth of knowledge across the entire spectrum of baseball. Though the pitcher is often the center of attention, it’s

the catcher who can’t take a single pitch off -- regardless of who’s on the mound.

“To me, catching is one of the most physically demanding positions, but it’s more about having a mental edge,” Campbell said. “Not that catching 180 pitches on a daily basis is abuse like it is for a pitcher, but it’s so important to understand the game. That makes leading players a seamless transition.”

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

B6 Duke baseball

Chris Pollard has rebuilt Blue Devils on verge of NCAA bid

By Shawn Krest North State Journal URHAM — The day before the ACC baseball tournament D started at Durham Bulls Athletic

Park, Wake Forest coach Tom Walter made history.

Appearing on a teleconference, Walter was asked about the following day’s elimination game against Duke. “How much more difficult does the challenge become,” the questioner asked, “when you’re playing a team that’s played 26, 27 of their home games on that field this season?”

For the first time in more than a half-century of ACC baseball, Walter was asked to comment on the possibility Duke baseball had an unfair advantage.

The program has long been a soft spot in an otherwise powerful athletic department. The Blue Devils have a .442 winning percentage since the turn of the millennium. Over the history of the ACC, Duke is 85 games below .500.

In 2006, ACC expansion made it impossible for every team to participate in the conference tournament. Over the next 10 seasons, Duke was forced to stay home eight times, a feat of futility matched only by Boston College and former conference doormat Maryland.

Duke missed the ACC Tournament the last two times it was held at the DBAP, a stadium Duke uses for several home series a year.

“It’s not a lot of fun to be here at home and know that, just a few miles down the road, a lot of really good baseball is being played,” Duke coach Chris Pollard said.

“And you’re not a part of it.”

In fact, Duke hasn’t been a part of the really good baseball that’s played in the NCAA Tournament since John F. Kennedy was in his first year in the White House.

Madeline Gray | north state journal

Since the ACC was created in 1953, Duke played almost as many tie games (13) as NCAA Tournament games (14). The Blue Devils’ last trip to the baseball tourney was in 1961. The next longest dry spell in the ACC — unless you count Syracuse, who disbanded its baseball team in 1972 — belongs to Pitt, who hasn’t been to the tournament since 1995.

In the decade between 2006 and 2015, when Duke was making it to the ACC Tournament once every five years, the rest of the teams in the ACC combined for 79 NCAA bids, with every team except Pitt and Boston College (one appearance) making it at least twice. Even lowly Maryland, now a member of the Big Ten, has made it the last two seasons.

“We talk about it,” Pollard said. “We’re open about it as a program. We discuss it with our

players. Here at Duke, we’re surrounded by excellence—basketball, lacrosse, and Coach Cutcliffe with football. The list goes on — golf, tennis, women’s soccer this past fall. Our athletic department is one of the best in the country. But it goes beyond that.

You look at the top students coming here from around the world.

We have academic excellence. We have one of the top hospitals in the country.”

“It’s a pretty high bar here at Duke,” Pollard concluded. “We have to strive to reach it like so many of our peers have.”

Under Pollard, who took over in 2013, the Blue Devils appear to be headed in the right direction. He’s one of just three Duke coaches in the ACC era to have a winning record, and the first since Steve Traylor left in 1999.

In his third year at the helm,

NCSU baseball

Pollard led Duke to the ACC Tournament for the second time.

The Blue Devils lost to Wake on the first day, but the chance to break a 55-year NCAA drought is still there.

“I think most of the folks that really know our sport had us in going into [the ACC tournament], and I can’t see where anything that happened on the field would take that away from us,” Pollard said.

“You look at our résumé,” Pollard continued, “five ACC series wins over the last month and a half, three out of the last four series wins. We’re 9-2 in the month of May. We haven’t lost a non-conference game since March.”

Even if the selection committee snubs Duke this year, Pollard appears to have his Blue Devils in position to hear their name called

Duke catcher Chris Proctor (23) dives safely back into first base during the game against Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Baseball Championship at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on May 24.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons beat the Duke Blue Devils 4-3.

in the near future, completing a rebuild at least as impressive as Cutcliffe’s with the football team.

“It’s been fun to watch a very, very young team grow up as the season has unfolded,” Pollard said. “We’re starting three freshmen and five sophomores in our starting lineup, one junior. We don’t have a senior in our starting nine.”

Pollard will need to rebuild a starting rotation that was dominated by seniors this year, but otherwise, Duke baseball appears ready to clear the bar set by the rest of the school’s programs.

At the very least, with the ACC Tournament at the DBAP for the next few years, Duke will get the chance to play a few more games in Durham.

“Our guys relish every opportunity that we get to play in that ballpark,” Pollard said.

Wake forest baseball

Elliott Avent has NC State baseball Becoming an ace: focused on bigger postseason prize Parker Dunshee’s ascension

By R. Cory Smith North State Journal

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

URHAM — Elliott Avent arrived at the postgame D press conference nearly 10

urham — Wake starter Parker Dunshee was D dominant over the last month and

minutes after his players. A loss to Florida State in the ACC Tournament opener weighed heavy on the NC State head coach, who responded to most questions with short, clipped answers.

It may have been just one game, but it was a crucial one for NC State. Looking to bolster its résumé in order to host a regional, Avent’s club got a gritty start from Cory Wilder, who handed the ball to the bullpen with a 3-1 lead intact. Six Seminoles runs later, and the Noles had a victory to seal a few more games in Tallahassee.

As for NC State, any shot at an ACC championship went out the window with FSU’s win on Thursday over Georgia Tech, but Avent didn’t waver from his ultimate goal heading into Durham. Knowing he already had a spot in the NCAA Tournament locked up, Avent immediately turned his sights to another prize.

“This isn’t just about winning the ACC championship,” Avent explained. “It’s about winning the National Championship. We’re just trying to play well, so I’m not sure about any uphill battle.”

NC State’s résumé is strikingly similar to that of Florida State and Clemson, making the margin for error slim when it comes to hosting a regional. The loss to the Seminoles and a strong showing by the Tigers (who took down defending champion Virginia) were a significant blow to the Pack’s chances.

Regardless of where State lands, it has the talent in the lineup to contend with any team in the country. The

Christine T. Nguyen | north state journal

N.C. State head baseball coach Elliott Avent reacts after a dispute with an official during the N.C. State-North Carolina baseball game on May 20 at Doak Field. North Carolina beat N.C. State, 16-4. problem late in the season, however, has been the health of the rotation.

Joe O’Donnell has been out since March 25. Ryan Williamson rested throughout the ACC tournament. Brian Brown, while healthy, has been shelled his last two appearances. That left Sean Adler and five other pitchers toeing the rubber in another meltdown 8-7 loss against No. 1 seed Miami on Thursday night.

“To win the ACC or National Championship, State has to have pitching,” Baseball America editor John Manuel said. “Ryan Williamson clearly wasn’t right against UNC, so I think Avent made the right decision resting him. But between trying to get him healthy, trying to get Wilder right and stabilize the bullpen, State is prioritizing the next tournament over ACCs. “Right now, they’re just not healthy enough to win in Durham. We’ll see how they look

when regionals start.”

Luckily, State’s offense has plenty of pop with Preston Palmeiro, Evan Mendoza and Brock Deatherage all clicking at the end of the season. Palmeiro shined against UNC before the ACC Tournament while Mendoza and Deatherage have been the steady bats all season long.

But as the Pack showed in the first two games in Durham, a strong lineup can only get you so far. Problems in the pen put even more emphasis on getting Williamson healthy to make a run. Avent still feels his team has a résumé strong enough to guarantee more games at Doak Field.

“I think the committee looks at everything and what we’ve done all year and who we’ve played,” Avent said. “I think they’ll say we’re deserving of a host. And if we’re not deserving of a host, then we’ll go somewhere else and play.”

a half of the season, leading Wake Forest into the postseason.

Heading into an elimination game to open the ACC Tournament, Wake Forest coach Tom Walter knew just what his team needed.

“Getting something going in the top of the first and having Parker [Dunshee] come out and throw a zero in the bottom of the first is the key to grabbing momentum and taking control of the game early,” Walter said the day before the opening game against Duke.

Sure enough, Steve Fairchild went deep with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning.

After that, Dunshee did his thing, showing why he earned a spot on the All-ACC third team as a junior this season.

“Parker Dunshee was awesome,” Walter said.

Dunshee struck out 10 Blue Devils — a career high in conference play — and kept them from getting a rally going by shutting the Devils with runners on base.

Nine of his strikeouts came when Duke had a runner on.

“I’ve had a lot of experience with that here at Wake Forest,” Dunshee explained. “Pitching with guys on base, being an out-of-the-bullpen guy the first couple of years. So I’m pretty comfortable out there when guys get on base. What I have to do is not let guys get on base so easily I guess. Be sharp from when the inning starts.”

The big performance in a key game was nothing new for Dunshee. He led Wake in wins, with a 9-4 record, and his 3.28 ERA was best among starters, as was his .264 batting average against.

Dunshee also fanned a teamhigh 87 on the season as he made a successful transition to starter at the top of the rotation, after bouncing between starting and long relief last year.

“He’s been our ace and our goto guy all year,” Walter said. “So obviously feel really good any time he’s on the mound.”

Dunshee went 6-2 in the ACC regular season, posting a 3.15 ERA and ranking among league leaders in wins, strikeouts, innings and ERA. Dunshee also became the first Deacon to win pitcher of the week honors in three years after a dominating performance against Florida State in April.

That performance started a late-season run for Dunshee and the Deacs.

“We went up to Parker probably six starts ago and basically said: If we are going to turn this season around and get where we need to be, you need to win out,” Walter said. “And he went out and beat Florida State and Carolina in back-to-back weeks. He won against Boston College, certainly pitched well enough to beat Louisville, didn’t get the win there, but certainly pitched and then got the win (in the ACC tourney opener).

So Parker did his part.”

As a result, Wake made it to pool play in the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2012.

“The goal is postseason baseball every year,” Dunshee said, “and we had a taste of it our freshman year (when Wake lost in a 2014 ACC Tournament elimination game) but definitely not enough. Last year was kind of a wash. Definitely our class has taken it upon ourselves to step up and lead this team, and we were able to do that.”

Walter calls Dunshee one of the team’s “vocal leaders”, and the right hander hopes to take the Deacs to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009. The elimination game win, earning Wake a spot in pool play, certainly helped in that regard.

“We’d definitely rather be here playing, that’s for sure,” Dunshee said. “We kind of had a taste of that our freshman year I guess— if we would have won a couple games in the (ACC) tournament, we might have had a chance to get in.”

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

B7

NBA

How Oklahoma City pushed the Warriors to the brink

By Brian Geisinger North State Journal

them. A big reason was the brilliance of Curry, who averaged 35 points and 6.7 assists in those contests while shooting 45 percent on 3-pointers. Westbrook has taken that away: Curry’s scoring 25.6 points per game and shooting 37.3 from deep. These are good numbers for just about anyone on planet Earth, but it’s below average for the reigning MVP, and it’s crippling Golden State’s offense.

Curry had just one 3-pointer blocked all season (on 886 attempts). Against the Thunder, though, he’s had two blocked by Steven Adams, perhaps another indicator Curry isn’t close to being 100 percent physically.

o one thought the Golden State Warriors — N winners of an NBA-record 73

regular season games — would be facing elimination in the Western Conference Finals. And yet here we are, again. These playoffs were supposed to be a coronation for the Warriors, but someone failed to inform Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder pushed the defending champions in a way that no one expected. How exactly did this happen?

Death Lineup on the operating table

Orthrus resides in OKC Everything involving the Thunder, good or bad, centers around their two superstar players: Durant and Westbrook.

We’re eight years into the Durant/Westbrook run but, honestly, it seems longer than that. It’s easy to forget they’re both just 27 years old, and entering the height of their powers and athletic prime. They’re easily two of the seven best players in the world, no matter how you slice it.

Westbrook, a snarling bundle of aggression and pent-up angst, got the better of two-time MVP Steph Curry, for most of the series, save for one quarter in Game 2 and Curry’s heroic Game 5 effort. In this series, he’s averaging 28 points, 11 assists and 4 steals per game. He’s also shooting 37 percent on 3-pointers, which is way above his normal rate. When Westbrook hits from deep, there’s no answer for him defensively. Golden State has been so worried about his offense in transition they’ve basically punted on offensive rebounds, and made sure to get multiple bodies back to curtail Westbrook’s fearless penetration.

Durant’s averaging 1.49 points per possession in transition, and shooting 73.3 percent on said possessions. He leads the playoffs in transition points with 107.

Westbrook, by the way, is second in this metric with 94. Over the last five games, the Thunder have scored 1.13 points per possession with Durant and Westbrook on the court. During the 165 minutes they’ve played together this series, OKC is giving up just .99 points per possession.

Led by Durant and Westbrook, the Thunder became the first

Jose Carlos Fajardo | USA TODAY SPORTS images

Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook (0) shoots the ball in front of Golden State Warriors Harrison Barnes (40) in the second half at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won 120-111. team since the 1987 (champion) Los Angeles Lakers to score 72 or more first half points in consecutive playoff games.

A thundering herd on defense No one doubted the Thunder’s offensive acumen. Their defense, however, was a massive concern heading into the playoffs.

Oklahoma City, the No. 12 defense in the NBA this season, gave up 103 points per 100 possessions, which isn’t necessarily bad but certainly outside of the range for a normal title-contending squad.

In their series against Golden State, the Thunder are giving up just 104.4 points per 100 possessions through Game 5. It’s a higher number, but the reality is the Thunder magically made a leap on the defensive end while simultaneously matching up against one of the greatest offensive units in league history. Such an outcome is as unlikely as it is significant and OKC looks like a totally different team.

There simply isn’t a better athlete in the league than Westbrook: cut him open, you’d find a combination of energy drink-in-

fused gears and springs. He’s built like a guy who could take over a game defensively, but Westbrook has long been plagued by lapses of attention to detail, and a desire to gamble for steals. This series he’s cut down on the needless roving, and focused on getting in a stance and staying in front of Curry. He’s still going to take chances (see his steals average), but the defensive results speak for themselves.

These two teams met three times during the regular season. Oklahoma City had leads in the fourth quarters in all three games, but went on to lose all of

Outside of Curry’s inability to connect on jumpers, the biggest surprise of this series has been the lack of production from Golden State’s vaunted “death lineup.”

Heading into this matchup, many believed the Warriors would dominate the game when they went small. The super smallball “lineup of death” featuring Curry/Klay Thompson/Harrison Barnes/Draymond Green/Andre Iguodala destroyed the league during the last two years. During this series that group has scored just .93 points per possession, while giving up 1.22 points per possession. This is the unit Steve Kerr used to close out Cleveland in the Finals last season. All of a sudden, the mojo is missing.

Oklahoma City counteracted the group not by doubling up on their size advantage but by beating Golden State at their own game. OKC was reluctant to downsize and play Durant at power forward for most of this season.

However, the Thunder rolled with Durant and Ibaka as their two big guys, and it been dominant.

The five-man lineup of Dura nt-Iba k a-We stbrook-D ion Waiters-Andre Roberson is scoring 1.26 points per possession and relenting just .78 points per possession on the defensive end. This is where Durant and Ibaka’s ability to switch out on to ball handlers following screens has been invaluable because their collective length makes passing windows tighter than usual.

It seemed like an impossibility as recently as two weeks ago, but the Thunder are running the Warriors off the court with small ball.

NFL

Redskins rank as top-five NFL pass-catching unit

By Sean Labar North State Journal he current NFL landscape is dominated T by sure hands. The league has

morphed into a pass-heavy gun show. Quarterbacks are the critical component to virtually every successful team, but they need someone to throw to.

There are dominant receivers like A.J. Green, Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones. But those depth charts aren’t stacked beyond the No.1 guy. In a few cases, there is a strong supporting cast. In others, organizations are stacking their chips on big plays from their main guy, and banking on the fact that he will draw coverages and open up holes for their run-of- the-mill backups.

Former Redskins general manager and current NFL.com contributor Charley Casserly recently made the claim that Washington will have the top-four pass catchers on the field at a given time in 2016. He said the foursome of Desean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, rookie Josh Doctson and Jordan Reed will be an unstoppable force.

This could be true. But there is too much grey area to deem the Skins group atop the leaderboard. So who are the top-five receiving corps heading into the 2016 season?

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: When healthy and not suspended, Pittsburgh boasts a terrifying unit. Antonio Brown is the best all-around receiver in the game

and finished 2015 with 1,834 yards and 10 touchdowns. This would be an easy choice if Martavis Bryant wasn’t out for the season with a year-long suspension. Markus Wheaton has proven himself as a productive guy from the three spot but needs to elevate his game this year. Heath Miller is gone, but the Steelers snagged former Chargers tight end Ladarius Green who is pegged to take Miller’s role. He had a solid 429 yards and four touchdowns playing behind Antonio Gates out west last season.

2. Arizona Cardinals: This is such an interesting group. It was amazing to see old man Larry Fitzgerald put together an ageless 2015 campaign where he had more than 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns. John Brown gives Arizona the threat of a burner, while Michael Floyd adds size and grit. Bruce Arians loves to utilize his wide outs and tightend Darren Fells has gotten lost in the shuffle. But that doesn’t change where this group falls among the best in the NFL. 3. Green Bay Packers: It was awkward to watch Green Bay struggle with Jordy Nelson sidelined for the 2015 season. Now that he’s back, the Pack should go back to its old ways of lighting up opposing squads on Sundays.

Randall Cobb is a dynamite No. 2 option who struggles as a true No. 1 and needs to avoid mental lapses. Davante Adams and James Jones (another ageless wonder) will be vying for the three spot in

Geoff Burke | USA TODAY SPORTS images

Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed (86) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the first half in a NFC Wild Card playoff football game at FedEx Field.

2016. Richard Rodgers is a nice tight end option to round out the bunch.

4. Washington Redskins: It’s a bit of a leap, but Casserly makes a point and this group belongs with the rest of the teams.

If Jackson, Garcon, Doctson and Reed are all lined up together, it could create major matchup problems. Jackson is a wildcard

to stay healthy (already not attending OTA’s) and Doctson isn’t proven at the NFL level. Reed is poised to become one of the top tight ends in the league. This is a group with a load of potential, but still needs to prove it.

5. Denver Broncos: If they can find someone to toss the rock, the Broncos will be positioned to make another run at the Su-

per Bowl. Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas are a solid pair. Denver doesn’t have a confirmed third option (Jordan Norwood, Andre Caldwell, insert whoever here), but the top-two overcompensate in production.

Tight end will be interesting as it looks like Denver will lean on five-year veteran Garrett Graham who hasn’t quite proven himself.

B8

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

“I can’t say it’s better than a suicide prevention, but it’s one of those lifesaving processes. It’s been lifesaving for me because I’ve always come back to it. Whenever I felt bad and really needed to change and whoa. It’s a growth.

You grow and become someone new and someone better. Your life is changed.”

Andy, a Valor Games participant valor games from page B1 year, were conceived to build a connection between the veterans and their community, a lifeline that so many need after retiring from military service.

When Veterans Affairs contacted Bridge II Sports executive director Ashley Thomas in 2012, she knew that she wanted to be involved in bringing the games to the Triangle. So she began lining up resources to make the concept a reality. It began with securing marquee venues simply to attract people to the events. And with UNC and Duke on board early on, she had one of the major selling points locked in from the beginning.

The first year, the Southeast Valor Games had around 50-60 participants and hosted events like ballroom dancing and ping pong. But as word of the games continued to spread, more and more veterans found their way to the event. This year, the 100-person capacity was met in February, with names piling up on a waiting list, hoping for the chance to participate in events like air rifle, boccia ball, rowing and archery at the Smith Center, Cameron Indoor and Lake Crabtree.

“If you can come on to the floor at Duke or UNC, I felt like it would inspire some people to come who were afraid,” Ashley said. “That very much was the case in year one. People came because they just wanted to get on the floor.

Then they encountered something that engaged their life with a disability that became impactful.”

Though the games are mostly recreational, serious athletes have blossomed from the events and gone on to bigger stages like the Paralympics and the Invictus Games, an international competition for both current and former wounded, ill or disabled military.

“The Invictus Games needs some grassroots to getting to elite,” Ashley said. “This has got to start somewhere.”

Christine T. Nguyen | north state journal

Army veteran Johnnie (center) reacts as his team scores during the Valor Games sitting volleyball competition at the Smith Center on Tuesday.

Andy, a retired marine corps and army service member, has been competing since he was stationed at Fort Bragg when the Valor Games began. Now, he’s a nationally ranked handicapped amateur cyclist and comes to the Valor Games to encourage the next wave of participants.

“For us, it’s to come in here and get a tuneup and also to show some of the newer guys, this is what you can achieve,” said Andy, who lost his right hand in Afghanistan in 2002. “The biggest

thing, it’s also getting people out into the public, getting around other vets, it’s not just you that’s got a problem, everybody does.

That’s one of the better benefits of being out here.”

For many veterans, just getting out in public pushes them out of their comfort zone. It’s a constructive exercise and creates a community from something that can often feel so isolating.

“To tell you the truth, I love coming to these games because I don’t suffer from nothing,” said

Thomas, a Coast Guard veteran from Chicago. “I don’t have no anxiety, no depression. Whatever I suffer from, I don’t have it. It’s kind of crazy. Because of all the camaraderie, because of all the action, because of all the happiness.”

Medals are given out for the top performers in each event, but the rewards of the games extend far beyond physical trophies.

“Sports is everything when you have an injury,” Thomas said.

“Sports helps you overcome that injury. It gives you a path, a com-

nascar from page B1

before NASCAR was founded, but the longevity of his career as an owner made him one of the early faces of the sport. Like Hendrick and Joe Gibbs Racing today, Parks took strong drivers like Byron and put them in superior equipment in the 1940s and early ’50s.

If Vince Lombardi set the stage for what the NFL is now, Raymond Parks did the same for NASCAR. Given the state of the sport today, it’s clear Parks’ footprint was a long-lasting one for racing and owners across the sport.

Benny Parsons Winner of the 1982 Daytona 500 and 1973 Premier Series champion, Benny Parsons’ career stretched nearly two decades on the track. His 21 wins might not match up with some of the greats, but the NASCAR lifer was never out of a race.

His lone championship came with just one win. David Pearson won 11 races that season, but it was Parsons’ 15 top-five finishes and 21 top 10s that edged out Pearson for the title. More than half of the races he entered at the Cup level (526) resulted in top-10 finishes (283).

“This is the biggest honor of Benny’s life,” said Terri Parsons, his widow. “It summarizes everything he has ever worked toward. Every job he has ever had, be it as a race car driver in all divisions, host of NASCAR radio shows, NASCAR color commentator for TV networks, each were just as important to him as the next.”

Parsons’ career didn’t end after his racing days. He climbed out the car and immediately into the broadcast booth for ESPN, TNT and NBC during his career, winning an ESPN Emmy award in 1996.

Named one of the 50 greatest drivers of all time by NASCAR in 1998, Parsons passed away in 2007 of complications from lung cancer. Earning 85 percent of the vote from his former colleagues, Parsons will forever have a place in NASCAR history on and off the track.

Rick Hendrick What hasn’t Rick Hendrick done at the NASCAR level? The only owner to win 11 championships as the sole owner, Hendrick built a dynasty that is still running to this day with a reinvigorated group of superstars.

Starting in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports (once known as “All-Star Racing”) was far from a powerhouse in NASCAR. The team had just five employees for a single-car team with Geoff Bodine behind the wheel of the No. 5 car. That car collected 36

munity, an outreach community.

“I can’t say it’s better than a suicide prevention, but it’s one of those lifesaving processes.

It’s been lifesaving for me because I’ve always come back to it. Whenever I felt bad and really needed to change and whoa.

It’s a growth. You grow and become someone new and someone better. Your life is changed. You grown and your outlook on life.

And to be here, where the Tar Heels are playing? Look up there.

I’m blessed.”

Richard Childress

Peter Casey | USA TODAY SPORTS images

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ty Dillon with his wife Haley Dillon and team owner Richard Childress before the PowerShares 300 at Daytona International Speedway. wins (five with Martin), but it’s the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) and No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) that have made Hendrick’s team historically great.

“I’m really humbled to be in the position I’m in,” Hendrick said of the honor. “I’ve been doing it now for 33 years, and I hope that we’ve got some more things to accomplish. But I’m very, very appreciative of the fact that I got voted in while I’m still racing.”

Between Gordon and Johnson, Hendrick groomed two unproven drivers into future Hall of Famers themselves. The tandem combined for 10 titles, with Johnson already locked into the Chase this year and contending for Hendrick Motorsports’ 12th championship.

With drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott and Kasey Kahne, this is far from a Lifetime Achievement award for a once-great owner. Hendrick is still kicking and the championships are still coming for this Charlotte-based team.

Mark Martin The one bugaboo in Mark Martin’s career was never winning a championship. But like Dan Marino in the NFL and Ted Williams in MLB, the respect for Martin’s career made him an easy selection as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Despite standing just 5-foot6, Martin was still one of the baddest men at the track every weekend. He went toe-to-toe with drivers from Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt to Gordon and Johnson, and Martin still found a way to contend for championships across three decades.

“I didn’t expect it,” Martin said. “And I’m so grateful to the people who helped me get there.

I have so many great memories of the sport. The class that I’m being inducted in, I’m humbled to no end.”

Finishing second place in the Cup standings a record five times, Martin dealt with heartbreak on a myriad of occasions. Then again, losing to Earnhardt (1990, ’94), Gordon (’98), Tony Stewart

(2002) and Johnson (’09) speaks to the remarkable stability and length of his 34-year career.

A driver for Hendrick in 1986 and 2009-11, Martin helped build several programs during his racing days. But with nearly two decades spent in the Roush Racing No. 6 car, Martin will be remembered as more than just a runner-up for the mark he made on NASCAR with the team.

Raymond Parks A true pioneer in the sport of racing, Raymond Parks captured the first Cup championship with driver Red Byron at the wheel.

While he didn’t pilot cars to 15 total titles like Hendrick or 13 like Childress, the sport’s original champion got it all started.

Starting his career as a moonshine runner, Parks helped start NASCAR and won the inaugural season. Though he would never win another championship at the highest level, Parks was a trendsetter for how team owners and drivers should function in the sport.

Much of Parks’ success came

Beginning in 1969 with a single car and a dream, Childress made his way into NASCAR as a driver. After several unsuccessful seasons in the cockpit, Childress wisely handed over the reins to Ricky Rudd and eventually a young driver named Dale Earnhardt.

That started a partnership that would be one of the most lucrative in sports history. Earnhardt won six of his seven championships with Richard Childress Racing in the No. 3 car before his passing in 2001. Childress had the honor of posthumously inducting Earnhardt in the inaugural class, but never imagined he’d be around to see his own name called.

“I was really, really honored and proud that day when they put Dale in the first Hall of Fame,” Childress said. “I didn’t really expect to get in, because I was told the only way I was going to get in was to retire or be deceased. I sure like the first one better, but I haven’t got plans to retire yet either.”

Though he hasn’t won a title in more than two decades, his team remains near the top of the sport.

With a three-driver stable in Ryan Newman, Paul Menard and grandson Austin Dillon — who is enjoying a breakout campaign in 2016 — Childress has cars capable of making the Chase each season.

Dillon drove to championships in the Xfinity and Trucks Series in the last five years, adding to the overall titles for RCR. Similar to Hendrick, the Childress stable still has several years of success ahead of them under the Hall of Fame owner.

the seed “We are taking something on a daily basis and putting it on your table to eat. We’re giving you a product that is healthy and good for you.”

— Neil Moye, owner, Simply Natural Creamery.

See page C4

the good life IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND

the table

NS J SUNDAY

5.29.16

playlist May 27-June 4 Asheville Beer Week Asheville Asheville Beer Week celebrates Western North Carolina’s flourishing craft beer culture and promotes local and regional collaborations in the craft beer industry. The event is organized by the Asheville Brewers Alliance, and the 2016 edition will feature tastings, dinners, beer education, and other beerrelated fun. avlbeerweek.com

May 30 K9 Memorial Ceremony Fayetteville The Airborne and Special Operations Museum, in partnership with the Special Operations Forces K9 Memorial Foundation, hosts a Memorial Day service ceremony to honor the bravery and dedication of the Special Operations K9 soldier. These dogs often lead their soldier team-members in the most dire conditions to save lives and complete the mission and even lose their own lives for their country. asomf.org

PHOTOS BY MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Matthew Register, left, Dulce Mejia, center, both of Garland, and Erica West, of Harells, prepare pulled pork and side dishes before the lunch rush at Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland on Friday, May 13. Register started the business with his family and now the small bbq joint is rapidly gaining popularity and notoriety.

Not your average barbecue joint Matthew Register is committed to the true heritage of eastern North Carolina barbecue. Register serves that up along with fresh sides and a strong sense of community, but get in line because this Sampson County spot is hopping.

Enjoy a fun day of Sandburginspired folk music performed by talented regional musicians. Live entertainment will include instrumentals, folk ballads, and spiritual songs.

Event will be held rain or shine at the amphitheater adjacent to the Sandburg Home. nps.gov

June 1 The Remarkable Rhododendron Ramble Linville

By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal

N

estled in the quiet town of Garland, in a small building that once was a fish market, you’ll find a chatty, chipper, humble, and down-to-earth pit master lightly chopping barbecue while conjuring up gourmet dishes as sides.

“We’re a barbeque joint. There are no frills or pretty plates.

We just want to have great barbecue with amazing sides,” said Matthew Register.

Register is both chef and owner of Southern Smoke BBQ, an upand-coming dining spot gaining recognition for its wood smoked barbecue, savory sides and sauces, and casual atmosphere.

“This started as me cooking in the backyard and kind of snowballed from there,” said Register. “I’m still learning who I am. I try to do old school barbecue with not so typical sides.”

Southern Smoke, as the name suggests, slow smokes all their barbecue in indirect heat over oak wood. There’s no rub or injections, it’s simply wood, pork, and Register’s special homemade sauce. They use local farmers to supply their produce—whether it’s fresh blueberries, tomatoes, or squash to name a few.

The chalkboard menu colorfully details the choices for the day —

Beginning June 1 and running through the middle of the month, join guides at Grandfather Mountain for special programs designed to help you get the most out of the memorable sight of Catawba rhododendron blooming up the mountain’s slopes in early summer. Staff naturalists offer programs and guided walks daily. grandfather.com

Ribs slowly finish cooking at Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland.

See bbq, page C6

Inside

Carl Sandburg Folk Music Festival Flat Rock

THE BIG SCREEN

Grab your popcorn, because summer movie season is upon us! Get ready for four straight months of sequels, superheroes, slapstick, romance, and more. Here’s your 2016 summer movie preview. See page C3

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

C2

necessities thrive!

history marked

Summer fitness tips

May 31, 1775

emorial Day is the unofficial kickoff to the M summer vacation season. Enjoy

your time off, but remember these tips in order to keep your body healthy and summerready—even while on vacation.

Get your workout in early in the day. The more you relax during the day the harder it is to hit the gym later. You should walk to your destinations during the day to help burn off some of your rich food and beverages.

Eat healthy two out of three meals a day, so you won’t feel deprived or wreck your beach body.

Drink more water.

No matter how you decide to stay on track, staying hydrated is important. If you’re an evening exerciser, make sure to drink fluid, especially water, throughout the day, not just during your workout. If you’re a morning person, drinking enough the night before is critical. Limit alcoholic beverages, which may contribute to dehydration. Eat colorful and water-rich foods to add a boost of hydration.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends drinking: 16 - 20 ounces of water two hours before moderateintensity summer exercise 8 - 12 ounces of water 10 to 15 minutes before going out in the heat 3 - 8 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes during activity when active for less than 60 minutes 3 - 8 ounces of a sports beverage every 15 to 20 minutes when exercising longer than 60 minutes

Pay attention.

How do you know if you’re getting enough fluid? Urine should be the color of lemonade or lighter. You might also weigh yourself before and after a workout to see how much fluid you lose. For every pound lighter you are after exercise, you’ve lost approximately 20 - 24 ounces of fluid, and this is weight that needs to be replaced.

Follow these tips and you will stay healthy, hydrated, and safe all summer long.

Alton Skinner is a health and fitness expert with over two decades of experience training athletes and author of “The Golfer’s Stroke Saver Workout.”

A committee led by Thomas Polk met at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse in the heart of Charlotte at present-day Trade and Tryon Streets, to adopt the Mecklenburg Resolves.

Unlike the widely disputed “Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence,” the authenticity of the resolves is not in question. This was a radical set of resolutions, denying the authority of Parliament over the colonies and investing that power in the Provincial Congress, meeting that same week in New Bern.

June 2, 1935

The Duke Chapel was dedicated in Durham. The chapel’s iconic design was the work of Julian Abele, a prominent AfricanAmerican architect from Philadelphia who designed much of Duke’s West Campus, and since Duke University is rooted in the Methodist tradition, Abele planned the chapel for the campus’s center.

just a pinch

hydrangeas

perk up your

Covet thy neighbors dark blue hydrangea? You can deepen the color of yours after your morning cup of joe. Coffee grounds are acidic in nature and adding dried coffee grounds to the soil around your hydrangeas increases the acidity of the soil. That increase in acid level is what you need to boost the blue-producing capability of the hydrangea and the ability to absorb aluminum from the soil. Be sure to monitor the pH level of the soil over time with a pH test kit; a range of 5.2 to 5.5 is best for blue blooms. Coffee grounds added to the surface or spread into the soil from time to time will slightly increase soil acidity, and you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood garden club in no time.

June 4, 1904

Potter Ben Owen was born in Moore County. Owen learned to turn clay from his father, potter and farmer Rufus Owen, and by age 16, he was a proficient potter who produced leadglazed utilitarian earthenware for his father and for neighboring shops.

Information courtesy of N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

turn the page Ready for an intriguing read?

Pick up a mystery! Sure to challenge your mind as you kick back and unwind, these suggestions came from Main Street Books in Davidson.

“The Killing Forest”

by Sara Blaedel

released February 2, 2016

“The Jezebel Remedy”

by Martin Clark

paperback releases June 14, 2016

“A Great Reckoning”

by Louise Penny

releases August 30, 2016

“A Game of Inches”

by Webb Hubbell

releases June 20, 2016

“Redemption Road”

by John Hart

released May 3, 2016

“Wilde Lake”

by Laura Lippman

the plate Strawberry Sonker Rockford General Store, Dobson Start to finish: 45 minutes Feeds: A crowd 2 tablespoons shortening, plus more to coat pan ¼ cup milk 1 cup self-rising flour, plus more to sprinkle on dough 1 gallon fresh strawberries, hulled and halved (or other fruit of your choice) 1½ cup sugar, plus more to sprinkle on dough 2 tablespoons vanilla extract 1 stick butter, sliced into thin squares

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat the sides of a 9” x 12” baking dish with shortening.

Combine milk, shortening, and selfrising flour until a nice dough forms.

Roll out half the dough and cut into four strips. Adhere the strips to the sides of the pan, leaving a half-inch hanging over the top of the pan.

“Sonker has been popular in Surry County for hundreds of years. I’ve heard that maybe the Scottish brought it, but I think it rose more out of the necessity of eating ripe fruit. If you grew apples, peaches, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or sweet potatoes, you ate them — nothing laid to waste. Sonker was a very cheap dessert to make, and it was very filling. A lady could feed a family of 12 or 15 with just a little bit of fruit, some sugar, flour, butter, and milk. I tell people it’s like cobbler, but not as bready — it’s a lot juicier. Everybody has a different way of making it, but I’ve never had a bad one. This recipe came from Catherine Hutchins, a local lady who made fried pies for Rockford General Store for 40 years. When we took over the store, she showed me how to make sweet potato sonker, and from then on out it’s been sonker this and sonker that. We serve Surry County sonker every day that we’re open.”

— Carolyn Carter, Owner

Sprinkle sugar and self-rising flour in the bottom of pan. Add fruit until pan is three-quarters full. Add sugar, vanilla, and butter on top of fruit. Roll out the other half of the dough and lay on top. Fold hanging sides over top to side make a seal. Sprinkle with sugar and flour.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

released May 3, 2016

Voices Contributors to this section this week include: Samantha Gratton Josh Hyatt Laura Ashley Lamm Cory Lavalette Alison Miller Ray Nothstine Amy Richards Alton Skinner Shelby Stephenson

Tell us Know a North Carolina story that needs telling?

Drop us a line at features@nsjonline.com.

arrangements

NC gets some, not all, of the summer’s ‘hottest’ music tours

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal Rolling Stone magazine unveiled their list of the ”Summer’s 30 Hottest Tours.” Such lists are subjective — the list touches on several musical tastes, from classic rock to R&B to country — and Rolling Stone’s largely ignores anything not mainstream.

Still, the list presents a measuring stick of the pull North Carolina has over the world’s biggest acts. Of the 30 tours, two have already kicked off summer early in the Old North State (Beyonce and Chris Stapleton) and nine more are scheduled to come through.

On June 10, two acts come to North Carolina when country star Miranda Lambert plays Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, while Dead & Co. — featuring three former members of the

Grateful Dead, along with songwriter John Mayer and Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge — plays PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte. Lambert then heads west to play the same venue in Charlotte the next night on June 11.

Alt rockers Weezer, supported by Panic!

At The Disco, plays two nights in North Carolina: June 20 at PNC Music Pavilion and the next night at Walnut Creek.

Ohio’s Twenty-One Pilots plays two of North Carolina’s mid-sized outdoor amphitheaters in late June, performing June 28 at Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre and the next night at Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater.

Pop titan Gwen Stefani will also play two dates in the state: July 23 at PNC Music Pavilion and July 24 at Walnut Creek.

Brian Wilson, the brilliant mind behind the Beach Boys, will play in Asheville at U.S. Cellular Center on Aug. 18, then the next

night at Duke Energy Center in Raleigh.

Drake and Future team up for an Aug. 23 show at Greensboro Coliseum.

If you want to get your classic rock fix (think early ’80s, not ’70s) Heart, Joan Jett and Cheap Trick have two dates together in North Carolina: Sept. 14 at Walnut Creek and Sept. 16 at PNC Music Pavilion.

Finally, Bad Boy Family Reunion — featuring Puff Daddy and several other acts from the popular record label — comes to Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte on Sept. 20.

The other 19 are not scheduled to come this summer — including the combo show featuring Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato, who pulled out of their planned shows in Charlotte and Raleigh in protest of House Bill 2. Some acts who are skipping over North Carolina include Paul McCartney, Adele, and two bands with frontman Axl Rose, Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC.

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

C3

the big screen

Me Before You

Finding Dory

The Shallows

Drama, PG-13 June 3

Animation/Family, PG June 17

Drama/Horror, Not yet rated June 24

Based on the beloved Jojo Moyes novel, starring Emilia Clarke as Louisa Clark and Sam Claflin as William Traynor, a girl in a small town forms an unlikely bond with a recently paralyzed man in her care. Bring tissues.

For all of us who have missed Dory and her short term memory, Ellen DeGeneres is back with the long awaited sequel to Finding Nemo. Degeneres brings back all of the latter’s classic cast to once again reinforce the importance of family while making us laugh.

It’s summertime did you really think we’d let the shark movie pass us by? In this thriller Blake Lively is surfing alone when she’s attacked, in what’s been described as “Gravity” in the water, Lively faces a test of wills to make it to shore.

Free State of Jones

Independence Day: Resurgence

The Secret Life of Pets

Action/Biography, Not yet rated June 24

Take the Civil War as the backdrop — insert Matthew McConaughey as a poor farmer from Mississippi leading a group of rebels against the Confederate Army and you’ve already got Oscar buzz.

Alright, alright, alright.

Summer 2016

Action/Sci-Fi, Not yet rated June 24

Another sequel coming your way, the twist here is Resurgence takes place 20 years after the prequel, where the inhabitants of Earth face a new threat.

No Will Smith this time, Jeff Goldblum must rely on a few new recruits — Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, and Maika Monroe to save the day.

Animation/Comedy, PG July 8

The geniuses behind “Despicable Me” brought a heavy cast of comedians to this animated feature – including the likes of Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, and Hannibal Buress – to voice the lives of pets in a Manhattan apartment building.

Ghostbusters

Star Trek Beyond

Suicide Squad

Comedy/Sci-Fi, Not yet rated July 15

Action/Sci-Fi, Not yet rated July 22

Action/Sci-Fi-Thriller, Not yet rated August 5

Who ya’ gonna’ call? This time, the ladies - that’s who. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon star in a fresh take on the original, bringing new life to the franchise made famous for supernatural comedy.

The U.S.S. Enterprise is back – with Idris Elba as Krall, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, and Chris Pine as Kirk – to take on a new challenge in uncharted space.

Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Batman (Ben Affleck), and The Joker (Jared Leto), among many others, are featured as a secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency.

By Josh Hyatt North State Journal

JUNE 7-12, 2016 Hurry for best seats!

Seats start at $25 +& taxes fees

Groups of 12 or more: Groups@DPACnc.com

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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the seed Simply Natural Creamery | Ayden

Left, Milk is bottled at Simply Natural Creamery. Right, cows line up to be milked on Wednesday, May 25.

Rufina V Moctezuma, of Grifton, secures the top on a milk bottle at Simply Natural Creamery.

By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal

SS

tep outside in the sunshine and the smell of fresh dairy waffles through the air. Sit on the front porch and listen to the rhythm of the rocking chairs and try your hand at a game of checkers. Take in the view of the serenity of the farmland and welcome yourself to Simply Natural Creamery.

“We take a lot of pride in what we do,” said owner Neil Moye.

“We are taking something on a daily basis and putting it on your table to eat. We’re giving you a product that is healthy and good for you.”

Moye, his brother, David, and their families have been farming in Greene County for more than 28 years. Their products—milk, ice cream, and buttermilk—are all natural and straight from their Jersey cow farm.

“We had always milked a few Jersey cows in the backyard when my children were small. As my boys grew older, we knew we wanted to continue working with cows in some way,” said Moye.

Simply Natural is the only Jersey cow farm in Eastern North Carolina and totals 4,000 acres. On the farm, 300 cows have freedom to roam the fields, grow, thrive, and eat natural food grown on the farm.

Of those cows, 170 cows are milked year-round.

Simply Natural prides itself on having the freshest milk daily as they milk their cows, process the milk, bottle, and deliver it themselves so the product remains fresh.

Jersey cows produce a higher quality of milk. Milk from Jersey cows contains 20 percent more calcium, 15-20 percent more protein, and is also higher in healthy vitamins and butterfat. Jersey cows produce all natural, Jersey milk and ice cream. Jersey milk provides a creamery texture which makes the milk a little smoother.

“All-dairy farms were once gone from Eastern North Carolina. We’ve brought back to the East a farm to produce quality milk and premium ice cream,” said Moye.

Premium ice creams is a staple of Simple Natural, and visitors travel from around the state to spend an afternoon on the farm touring, exploring, and eating a tasty treat. Guests have their choice of 42 flavors of freshly made ice cream with the most popular flavors being butter pecan, salty caramel, and black cherry.

Simply Natural produces approximately 5,000 gallons of milk and 600 gallons of ice cream a week.

The farm store sells 400 gallons of ice cream alone, though the products are offered in 135 different retail outlets as well as for dessert in local restaurants.

Whether it’s the milk or ice cream one’s taste buds are after or the adventures of visiting a farm, Simply Natural Creamery welcomes all at their front door.

Moye added, “Come out and visit our farm. Listen to us talk about why Jersey milk is the best out there.”

PHOTOS BY MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Eddie Cardinas, left, and Manuel Salazar, right, both of Ayden, milk cows at Simply Natural Creamery on Wednesday, May 25. Approximately 150 cows are milked on the farm twice a day.

Left, Dekevion Moore, of Ayden, stirs pecans into a tub of ice cream. Above, Layla Edwards, 5, of Kinston, eats ice cream at Simply Natural Creamery on Wednesday, May 25 in Ayden.

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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take note

“Three Minutes to Midnight”

By Ray Nothstine North State Journal

A A

fter the 9/11 terrorism attacks, disbelief and the improbable regarding national security have become believable in the mind of Americans. That being said, the second fiction installment of the Jack Mahegan series from former General Anthony J. Tata spins quite a tale.

The novel “Three Minutes to Midnight” is an action-packed thriller with dozens of plot twists, mayhem, and sexual deviancy. It kicks off with Maeve Cassidy, an Army geologist returning from Afghanistan fleeing Fort Bragg under gunfire and then being kidnapped in Cary. The entire story essentially takes place in North Carolina’s Triangle. Cassidy’s husband, involved in sexual orgies, is murdered and her daughter, Piper, is kidnapped for leverage.

Cassidy’s expertise is needed to pull off a heist and terrorist attack.

All of the nefarious scheming has to do with the plot of wealthy North Carolina good old boys who set up an international ring to steal natural gas reserves in the Piedmont for a $1 billion payout. However, the story soon morphs into an international terrorism conspiracy, which means impending disaster for some of North Carolina’s most popular regions. The Chinese are the vicious mastermind in their attempt to flex their muscle over the United States. While it’s somewhat unclear why N.C. is chosen for the attack, Mahegan attempts to convince the area is an essential security and economic region for the Southeast.

It’s Mahegan’s job to unravel the impending catastrophe, and he gets to settle a long personal score at the same time. Some of the conspirators, rather conveniently, are individuals who murdered his mother and father. Mahegan even made one of

them a eunuch when he tossed him through a glass door when he was just 14.

Mahegan, a former Delta Ranger, is 6’6”, and is part Croatan Indian. His main sidekick is an Asian woman named Grace Kagami who works for the Raleigh Police Department and can’t decide if she prefers men or women, but is soon romantically involved with Mahegan as the international conspiracy unfolds.

One of the strengths of Tata’s account is that given his military background he is adept at terminology and explaining the finer tactics of small arms engagements. One example, about halfway through the book, Tata explains perfectly the strategic purpose of a probing attack in battle. Readers who are not very knowledgeable of fracking may appreciate Tata’s informative explanations for drilling that do not sacrifice any of the strong narrative flow. It is unclear whether Tata has an axe to grind against fracking, which is essential for energy independence, but the account seems to slightly editorialize its danger to the environment. An anti-fracking group of women become invaluable to Mahegan in his quest to save the region from disaster.

If another small complaint can be added, it might be that some of the characters are formulaic and politically safe. The main evildoers are rural Caucasian North Carolinians fond of Civil War history, presumably the Confederacy. While the Chinese are ultimately behind the nuclear attack, lost in the account is that radical Islam is by far the greatest terror threat. While that threat is left out of this account, it’s something Tata certainly knows well.

The story seems to end rather abruptly for a 345page novel with little suggestion as to what happens to the leading protagonists at the end of the story.

While some could make the argument that this novel is short on reality, for many readers that will be its greatest appeal.

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Three Minutes to Midnight by A.J. Tata.

Lynn Register, right, of Garland, tries pulled pork made by her son Matthew Register, left, at Southern Smoke BBQ.

PHOTOS BY madeline gray | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

BBQ from page C1 smoked barbecue, ribs, fresh vegetables in the summer, soups and stews in the winter, homemade cobblers, and the occasional Kool-Aid soaked pickle.

Restaurant hours are Thursdays and Fridays for lunch only opening at 11:30 a.m., though customers 50-people deep begin lining up a mere hour beforehand as they understand one simple guideline—once the food is gone, you’re out of luck for the day.

“If we’ve served every last ounce of barbecue then people will come and just eat the sides,” said Register.

Wood floors and brick walls flank the counter. Teal picnic tables and an old convertible turned into a bar provide outdoor seating. Southern Smoke has officially been open for two years while quickly making a name for itself.

If Register’s plate isn’t quite full, catering social occasions and meetings makes up 60 percent of his business. South Catering complete with shrimp and grits, gumbo, and bacon chocolate chip cookies keeps their calendars full months in advance.

“We want people to feel at home when we cater,” said Register.

His wife, Jessica, and his parents, Lynn and Tim, all work together to make each project a success whether it’s the restaurant, the catering, or the twist on supper club.

The South Supper Series takes guests back to the traditional Supper Clubs of the South where friends gather, food is delicious, and themes like the Mississippi Delta and a Night in the Low Country dictate the menu. It’s a coveted spot to enter the Supper Series—almost underground—as dates are sent via email, and tickets sell out in three hours.

“My wife will tell you I go to bed at night with a cookbook on my chest,” said Register.

“I am awful about not writing things down. I cook with no measuring.

I cook to taste,” he added.

Register’s food has put him on the map alongside nationally known chefs, which leaves him in awe.

“It’s amazing to me,” said Register. “I’m just a guy from Garland that cooks.”

“I always want people to know they are appreciated. People don’t have to come here, but they do. And I hope when they walk out, they say, ‘that was amazing,’” he added.

In line waiting to order, customers can be overheard announcing to one another, “Get one of each; you can’t go wrong” and “It’s delicious every time.”

In the food world, that’s pretty close to saying it’s amazing.

Matthew Register chops ribs before the lunch rush at Southern Smoke BBQ. Squash and tomatoes sit on a roasting pan at Southern Smoke BBQ.

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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Sunday Poem C7

Memorial Day

By Shelby Stephenson EDITOR’S NOTE

In a poem, the words take center stage. The rhythmic quality of language, the break of a stanza — each are chosen by the poet to illustrate the story.

For the month of May we invite you to enjoy this verbal music provided by North Carolina’s poet laureate, Shelby Stephenson, in a series of poems for the North State Journal.

MacLeish said something I can’t get exactly right: In his “Memorial Rain,” time changes the skin And dries his brother’s self to rise more into what Valor might be, his face, a baby’s, down in mud On a field left for the birds, unless someone finds The newly dead to recognize a coming back, Family glad, grieving, distraught, their soldier-boy, Found, their farmboy who wanted to scratch Sparkle’s back, And feed him slops and dimpling swill from the bucket In the kitchen, far away, his other worldly Head, lonely, low, his beard, the not-to-be surprised Responses family orders across the sea.

illustration for the north state journal | amy richards

COMING UP in the good life

The Queen City with the kids

Alison Miller lends her Charlotte area expertise with day outing ideas that are either free or low-cost.

Stage Presence

The Lost Colony is the nation’s longest-running outdoor drama, and we visit Manteo as they open their 79th season.

On the Wall Indoor rock climbing is quickly gaining popularity, so we’ll tell you more about the sport and take a peek at life with a climbing family.

North State Journal for Sunday, May 29, 2016

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pen & Paper pursuits I reckon . . .

Your guide to what’s what, where, why, and how to say it.

Croatoan

Pronounced CROW-uh-tan, feels fitting this week as The Lost Colony opens their 79th season.

“CROATOAN” was the one ominous word found on Roanoke Island in 1590 by John White when he went in search of the English colonists whom he’d left behind three years earlier.

color AWAY!

Memorial Day is a federal holiday for remembering the people who died while serving in our country’s armed forces. Many times we mark this as our unofficial start of summer with beach trips, backyard cookouts, and trips to the ballpark. Commemorate this special day with us and remember to use the hashtag #coloraway to share your work.

Janric classic sudoku

Solutions to puzzles from 5.22.16

illustration for the north state journal | AMY RICHARDS