VOLUME 148 ISSUE 43 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2025
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Got the Grinch! The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office had an elaborate float in the Pittsboro Christmas Parade on Sunday, complete with the Grinch locked away in a jail cell to keep Whoville safe. For more photos, turn to page A3.
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
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Chatham Schools building practices BRIEF this week to better implement AI in classrooms Chatham County deputy shot in Pittsboro hostage situation Pittsboro A Chatham County Sheriff’s Office deputy was shot and injured Tuesday afternoon during a hostage situation involving a barricaded person inside a residence on Pittsboro Goldston Road near U.S. Highway 421. The deputy was transported for medical treatment. No details about their condition had been released at press time. The sheriff’s office said there was no active threat to the community, though the investigation is ongoing. Goldston Road was closed in both directions during the incident.
Gary Leonard and Del Turner were reelected as board chair and vice chair By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — Chatham County Schools is working to position itself strongly for
the growing use of AI in the classroom. In face of the growing impact and development of AI, the Chatham County Schools Board of Education was presented with the district’s current work and stance surrounding AI at its Dec. 15 meeting. The current stance of the district seems to be working to-
A new ballpark will be built for the college summer team By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
COURTESY REGGIE ALLRED
Fans attend a Randolph Ropin’ Roosters game last season.
COLLEGIATE SUMMER baseball is coming to Chatham County. The Old North State League, a summer wood-bat baseball league for college athletes, an-
As gerrymandering battles sweep country, supporters say partisan dominance ‘fair’ “I think that it’s going to lead to more civil tension and possibly more violence in our country.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
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“This is just technology,” said board member David Hamm. “I remember teaching first grade and digital clocks were just coming out, and we were telling our students that they still needed to learn to read the face of a clock. We’re learning, but this is nothing new.” See SCHOOLS, page A3
ONSL baseball team coming to Siler City
U.S. Army names 2 Iowa National Guard members killed in attack in Syria Washington, D.C. The two Iowa National Guard members killed in a weekend attack that the U.S. military blamed on the Islamic State group in Syria have been identified. The U.S. Army named them Monday as 25-year-old Sgt. Edgar Brian TorresTovar and 29-year-old Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to fly at half-staff in their honor. A civilian working as a U.S. interpreter was also killed in the attack Saturday, and three other Iowa National Guard were wounded. A Syrian official says the assailant had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard two months ago and recently was reassigned amid suspicions that he might be affiliated with IS. The gunman was killed.
ward teaching students how to best utilize AI as a tool in the modern world instead of shrinking away from its use. “AI is everywhere, but digital learning is not focused on technology,” said Chief Technology and School Accountability Officer Mark Samberg. “Technology is the tool, not necessarily the task.”
Both sides embrace gerrymandering when it’s convenient for them By David A. Lieb The Associated Press WHEN INDIANA adopted new U.S. House districts four years ago, Republican legislative leaders lauded them as “fair maps” that reflected the state’s communities. But when Gov. Mike Braun recently tried to redraw the lines to help Republicans gain more power, he implored lawmakers to “vote for fair maps.” What changed? The definition of “fair.” As states undertake mid-de-
cade redistricting instigated by President Donald Trump, Republicans and Democrats are using a tit-for-tat definition of fairness to justify districts that split communities in an attempt to send politically lopsided delegations to Congress. It is fair, they argue, because other states have done the same. And it is necessary, they claim, to maintain a partisan balance in the House of Representatives that resembles the national political divide. This new vision for drawing congressional maps is creating a winner-take-all scenario that treats the House, traditionally a more diverse patchwork See BATTLES, page A7
nounced it will relocate the Randolph Ropin’ Roosters to Siler City for the 2026 season. The team will be owned and operated by Chatham County Baseball LLC, a privately owned company headed by ONSL President and CEO Alec Allred and ONSL CIO Reggie Allred. Randolph went 10-23 and finished fourth in the Mountain division in its inaugural season See BASEBALL, page A10