VOLUME 146 ISSUE 36 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
C HATHAM NEWS & R ECORD THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL
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BRIEF this week
Rep. Hudson announces re-election bid Congressman Richard Hudson R-NC, announced he will run for re-election in the North Carolina 9th Congressional District. First elected in 2012, if elected, Hudson would be serving his seventh term in Congress. He has raised more than $540,000 in the last quarter, with support from more than 2,500 donors and $2.1 million in campaign funds on hand. “As your Congressman, I am proud to have worked alongside President Donald Trump to make America the most prosperous and safe country on Earth,” said Hudson in a press release announcing his campaign. “But Joe Biden’s failed leadership is destroying all of that work. I want to continue fighting for our men and women in uniform, veterans, parents’ rights, farmers, the Second Amendment, and small businesses “You can also count on me to stand up to out-ofcontrol spending and the failed policies of President Biden that have made us less safe, less prosperous, and less free. I look forward to remaining the Sandhills’ Congressman and again earning the support of the people of the 9th District.” Hudson, his wife Renee, and their son live in Southern Pines.
Chatham Park wins community awards Chatham Park, an 8,500acre master-planned community by Preston Development Company, has been recognized with three awards by the North Carolina Home Builders Association (NCHBA). The awards were presented at the annual STARS Awards Gala, which honors the achievements of home building industry professionals across the state. Chatham Park received the 2023 STARS Awards for Community of the Year, Best Sustainable Project for its Water Recovery Center, and Best Community Amenity Center for the Knight Farm Community Park. The STARS Awards recognizes excellence in several categories, including marketing and advertising, web design, sales and information center, landscape design, interior merchandising, architecture and floor plan, remodeling and renovation, and special projects.
GENE GALIN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
‘Sunshine on my shoulders’ Local youths ride low-rider tricycles at the Pittsboro Street Fair on Oct. 28. Check out chathamnewsrecord.com for a gallery of more photos from the event.
Chatham County Chatham County hosts new Emergency truckers brace for Operations Center potential diesel grand opening Dispatchers and emergency operations get new, state-of-the-art facilities By Ena Sellers and PJ Ward-Brown Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — Chatham County held a grand opening ceremony for its new 37,435-square-foot Emergency Operations Center on Friday, Oct. 27, at 112 Innovation Way in Pittsboro. Steve Newton, Chatham County Emergency Operations Center manager, shared that he is proud of the multiple layers of redundancies built into the new Emergency Operations Center for critical systems and equipment. “There is no one system that will fail and then leave us stranded, whether it’s telephony, whether it’s data and computers,” said Newton, who has been with Chatham County for the last six years. “We’ve got a number of telephones that go over different infrastructure. So we may lose one, we may even lose two, but chances are either another system will heal itself or we improvise and come up with another solution.” Newton explained that the built-in redundancies come in through different pathways, multiple services and vendors, as well as satellites, so if one
fails, it can easily switch over to another one. The state-of-the-art facility allows for flexibility in different missions whether they are dealing with a natural disaster or a man-made crisis, and municipalities can operate out of the facility if they need to. Sheriff Mike Roberson noted that the EOC plays a critical role in connecting deputies who are answering calls a lot of times by themselves. “Having a dispatcher back here that can connect them back to other help or other resources, communicating with the fire department and ambulances — all that’s critical,” said Roberson. He explained that when situations like the tornado in Siler City happen, they could get into an overload situation, but “we still have to take the heart attack call… or the missing person call… so managing all that is why you need a space like this.” For Chief Deputy Steve Maynor, the new facility provides dispatchers with an quiet setting that keeps them focused on incoming calls and relaying pertinent information to the field. “The distractions are not there anymore,” said Maynor, explaining that first responders can now better hear what is being said over the radio. Dispatchers can hear better See EMERGENCY, page A12
PJ WARD BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
911 Call Center during the Chatham County Emergency Operations Center Grand Opening in Pittsboro, NC on October 27, 2023.
price hike Local trucking industry fears rising costs and lack of government support could force smaller fleets out of business By Cooper Metts for Chatham News & Record SILER CITY — Chatham County truckers are on edge with how inflamed conflict in the Middle East, coupled with The U.S. Treasury Department’s recent statement reinforcing Russian oil limits, will impact their businesses. Truck company owners often can’t pass any price increases on to their consumers because the trucking market is so tight and competitive, according to Headen. This means that truckers ab-
sorb almost all the costs of price increases. Many truckers in Chatham County struggled to absorb these costs when average diesel prices were around $5 per gallon last year, and it forced Keith Alston, owner of Alston Transport in North Chatham County, to temporarily stop operating. “A lot of carriers are already stretched too thin,” said President and CEO of the North Carolina Trucking Association Ben Greenberg. “A long-lasting increase in diesel prices could force more smaller fleets and owner-operators out of the market.” The potential hike in diesel prices could come during the holiday season, when business often slows down for many in the trucking industry, according to See TRUCKERS, page A8
A cut above: O’Quinn’s Butcher Shop holds open house By Ena Sellers and PJ WardBrown Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO – O’Quinn’s Butcher Shop held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Friday, Oct. 27, at 193 Lowes Drive in Pittsboro. The family-owned business, which has been operating for a little over three months, was inspired by Rodney O’Quinn son’s desire to see his family work for themselves. O’Quinn, who is semi-retired, decided to take the leap. He plans to run the butcher shop for a few years and then pass the torch to his son Patrick O’Quinn. “When I get tired, he is going to run the business,” O’Quinn said. “This is going to be his.” For O’Quinn, butchering runs in his blood — he has been cutting meat since he was 18 and has 33 years of experience work-
ing in the corporate world. The entrepreneur shared that his time working in the meat industry has given him the ability to incorporate what he has learned into his own family business. “I learned a lot of secrets and little knick-knacks through the years and I brought that here,” O’Quinn explained. ”Different cuts of meats, different ways to buy meat — the whole business aspect.” O’Quinn’s Butcher Shop carSee BUTCHER, page A4
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