North State Journal Vol. 4, Issue 43

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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 43

SPORTS

WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2019

Charlotte gets MLS expansion franchise

ROBERT CLARK | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Hogs in one of farmer Josh Coombs’ finishing houses on his farm in Clinton, North Carolina.

the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

Superintendent says 70K students promoted despite reading skills North Carolina’s superintendent of Public Instruction is alleging that more than 70,000 thirdgrade students have been wrongly promoted since 2014 even though they did not meet mandated reading requirements. State Superintendent Mark Johnson in a memo released this week criticized the State Board of Education and former staff members of the Department of Public Instruction for “aggressive work-arounds” that he claims have “gutted” a program meant to ensure students can read proficiently before advancing to fourth grade. Lawmakers approved the Read to Achieve program in 2012. Under the program, students are to be promoted based on their academic abilities, not their age. State Board Chairman Eric Davis is denying Johnson’s allegations. He says that if the board had enacted policies that were not in accordance with the law, the General Assembly would have already taken action.

Ford to add 3,000 jobs, invest $1.45B Ford Motor Co. is adding 3,000 jobs at two factories in the Detroit area and investing $1.45 billion to build new pickup trucks, SUVs, and electric and autonomous vehicles. The company said Tuesday that about $750 million will go the Michigan Assembly Plant in the Detroit suburb of Wayne, where 2,700 jobs will be added during the next three years. Another $700 million will be invested in the truck plant in Dearborn, where 300 new jobs will be added. Hiring will begin next year.

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Pork industry highlights modern methods

JOURNaL

By David Larson North State Journal

STATE ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

Guskiewicz named chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill By A.P. Dillon North State Journal CHAPEL HILL — On Dec. 13, University of North Carolina System interim president Bill Roper named Dr. Kevin M. Guskiewicz as the 12th chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Kevin Guskiewicz possesses the leadership qualities needed to take Carolina forward: strength, poise, humility, vision, the strong proficiency to listen, and the ability to bring people together,” said Dr. Roper in a statement. Guskiewicz succeeds Carol Folt, who served as chancellor for almost six years, from July 2013 until the end of January 2019. “Over the past 10 months, Dr. Guskiewicz has guided this University with a stable and sure hand. He is deeply committed to our University and its mission, prioritizing student success, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and addressing the critical needs of North Carolina and the world,” said UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees Chair Richard Stevens. “Carolina has been my home for almost 25 years, and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve every member of our community,” Chancellor Guskiewicz in a statement. “My vision for Carolina is that we will move forward into the future with boldness and confidence because our work is vital for the people of our state, the nation and the world.” While serving as interim chan-

cellor, Guskiewicz dealt with the controversy over the Silent Sam Confederate monument, including criticism and protests about the recent agreement between the UNC Board of Governors and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. That agreement turns over the statue to the group and includes a payout of $2.5 million for the housing and preservation of the monument. Silent Sam was one hurdle for Guskiewicz, and a report on campus crime was another. As students were heading back to class at UNC Chapel Hill at the end of August, a U.S. Dept. of Education report containing was also being delivered to the university. The Dept. of Education report detailed nine Clery Act violations and was the result of a six-year long investigation into accusations the school wasn’t properly reporting crime on campus. Among the charges were that UNC Chapel Hill had failed to properly warn students of threats and did not track and report all crime on campus for a seven-year period spanning from 2009 to 2016. Guskiewicz released the report in mid-November in a message to the campus. “We will continue to invest in resources and training to ensure the University has the right tools and procedures to accurately prevent, respond to and report crimes, and issue timely notice of any known safety threats to the campus community,” Guskiewicz See UNC page A2

CLINTON — As nuisance lawsuits are waged against the hog farming industry in federal court, media were invited to tour a Sampson County farm to see for themselves how hog houses and waste lagoons operate. The tour was organized by Feed the Dialogue NC and the NC Pork Council. The Clinton farm is operated by Josh Coombs, a local firefighter whose family has owned the land for more than a century, in cooperation with Prestage Farms, which contracts for the pigs. The Dec. 11 tour was split into two sections — one looking at a finishing house, where hogs

grow until they are ready to be harvested, and the other at the hog waste lagoon where the waste is collected. “We want people to understand what we do, and we depend on accurate media for that. So, that’s really the main purpose of this,” said Andy Curliss, CEO of the NC Pork Council, before the tour. The media were driven from a nearby fire station to the site in two vans and then gathered in front of a row of hog houses. Coombs’ neighbors, Michelle and Adam Radford, who live on the property, were made available for questions. “We’ve enjoyed living out here,” Michelle Radford said. “The farm See PORK, page A2

Trump objects to impeachment, calls it ‘abuse of power’ By Lisa Mascaro The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump is objecting to the House of Representatives’ articles of impeachment, accusing Democrats of “perversion of justice and abuse of power” in their effort to remove him from office. In a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the eve of the expected House vote on impeachment, Trump maintained that he did nothing wrong in his dealing with his Ukrainian counterparts which are the basis for the Democrats’ call for his removal from office. Trump accused Democrats of focusing on impeachment rather than other important issues. Trump repeated his objections to the process of the House inquiry, claiming “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.” Trump says he doesn’t believe his letter will change anything, but that he is registering his objections “for the purpose of history.” Meanwhile at the Capitol, House Democrats and Republicans sparred over the rules of debate for Wednesday’s historic See TRUMP page A2


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