Folks are doing whatever they can to stay cool, with heat indexes soaring well into the triple digits across the region and heat warnings issued for several days. These youngsters found a respite from the hot temps at the Asheboro-Randolph YMCA’s splash pad. In Chatham County, the Knight Farm Community Park Splash Pad is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 362 Vine Parkway in Pittsboro.
Gunman who killed 4 in N.Y. was trying to get to NFL o ces, claimed to have CTE
New York Police say a gunman who killed four people in a Manhattan skyscraper before taking his own life claimed to have a brain disease linked to contact sports and was trying to target the National Football League’s headquarters in the building. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says investigators believe the gunman wanted to get up to the NFL’s o ces on Monday but entered the wrong elevator. Police say Shane Tamura, a Las Vegas casino worker, had a note in his wallet that suggested he had a grievance against the NFL and asked that his brain be studied. He played high school football in California but never played in the NFL.
Brain-eating amoeba kills boy swimming in S.C. lake
Columbia, S.C.
A 12-year-old boy died from a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a South Carolina lake over the July Fourth weekend. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and causes a fatal brain infection. Fewer than 10 cases are reported annually in the U.S., but almost all are deadly. More than 160 people are known to have died from the amoeba in the U.S. in the past 60 years. The boy’s parents were unaware of the amoeba when they let their son swim in Lake Murray. The amoeba is common, even if the infections caused by it are rare. Other dangers in lakes include E.coli and harmful algae, which can cause severe health issues.
Seventy percent that run their own water systems violated safe drinking water rules
By Michael Phillis, Travis Loller and M.K. Wildeman
Associated Press
The
THE WORST WATER Colt
Smith has seen in 14 years with Utah’s Division of Drink-
ing Water was at a mobile home park, where residents had been drinking it for years before state o cials discovered the contamination. The well water carried cancer-causing arsenic as much as
10 times the federal limit. Smith had to put the rural park under a do-not-drink order that lasted nearly 10 years.
“The Health Department refers it to us like, ‘Why aren’t you guys regulating it?’ We had no idea it existed,” he said.
More than 50 years after the Safe Drinking Water Act was passed to ensure that Americans’ water is free from harmful bacteria, lead and other dangerous substances, millions of people living in mobile home parks can’t always count on those basic protections. A review by The Associated Press found that nearly 70% of mobile home parks running
See WATER, page A10
By Graham Lee Brewer The Associated Press
SINCE THE 1980S, the Lumbee Tribe has lobbied Congress to acknowledge it as a sovereign
nation. There was renewed hope last year when both major party candidates in the presidential election promised to intervene on behalf of the Lumbee.
In his rst week in o ce, Pres-
ident Donald Trump appeared to be making good on his endorsement. He issued an executive order directing the Interior Department to create a plan for federal recognition, a move Lumbee Chairman John Lowery called a “signi cant step forward.” But several months later,
“Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Appalachian Trail.”
Jake Stowe, Appalachian Trail Conservancy
There are still signi cant detours in several places along the trail
By Erik Verduzco and Makiya Seminera The Associated Press
UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn.
— In a rugged patch of the Appalachian Trail in eastern Tennessee, volunteers size up a massive, gnarled tree lying on its side. Its tangled web of roots and dark brown soil, known as a root ball, is roughly the size of a large kiddie pool. The collection of volunteers and sta from the Appalachian
Trail Conservancy and local organizations, doesn’t plan to move the tree. Instead, their job is lling the gaping holes left by it and many other downed trees along iconic East Coast trail. Almost a year since Hurricane Helene tore through the mountains of the Southeast, restoration is still ongoing. In places like the Appalachian Trail, it’s powered primarily by volunteers at a time when federal resources are strained and uncertain. That labor, made up of people spanning several generations and continents, aims to not only return the trail to its
it remains unclear if Trump will take further action.
The plan was submitted to the White House in April, according to the Interior Department. However, a White House o cial told The Associated Press last week that the Lumbee will have to achieve its goal through legislation — which the Interior Department also con rmed.
“We anticipate the tribe will work with Congress on a path forward to be formally recognized,” Interior spokesperson Elizabeth
See LUMBEE, page A7
July 21
• Jacob Ray Phillips, 31, of Bear Creek, was arrested for possessing a stolen motor vehicle, larceny of a motor vehicle, purchasing a rearm in violation of a domestic order, nancial card fraud, and identity theft.
• Billy Tanner Gray, 33, of Ramseur, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill causing serious injury, assault causing serious injury in the presence of a minor, and assault with a deadly weapon in the presence of a minor.
• Ricky James Graves, 57, of Siler City, was arrested for possessing marijuana paraphernalia, possessing cocaine with intent to sell or distribute, selling cocaine, delivering cocaine, tra cking cocaine, and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for controlled substances.
July 25
• Billy Tanner, 33, of Ramseur, was arrested for second-degree trespassing.
• Martavelin Paul Witherspoon, 23, of Siler City, was arrested for possessing marijuana with intent to sell or distribute, possessing up to ½ ounce of marijuana, and possessing marijuana paraphernalia.
Police said the man had recordings of ve girls between 7 and 14
By Leah Willingham and Michael Casey The Associated Press
BOSTON — A ight attendant accused of taping his cellphone to the lid of an airplane toilet to secretly lm young girls was sentenced to just under 20 years in prison last Wednesday.
Former American Airlines ight attendant Estes Carter Thompson III received a sentence of 181⁄2 years, followed by ve years of supervised release. Boston U.S. District Court Judge Julia Kobick called his behavior “appalling” and said child victims’ “innocence has been lost” because of his actions.
Thompson was arrested and charged in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, after authorities said a 14-yearold girl on his ight discovered his secret recording setup in the lavatory. He was indicted last year on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of pos-
PHOTO
Estes Carter Thompson III
session of child sexual abuse images depicting a prepubescent minor.
He apologized in court last week, describing his actions as “sel sh, perverse and wrong.”
Police alleged Thompson, of Charlotte, had recordings of four other girls between the ages of 7 and 14 using aircraft lavatories over a 9-month period.
In a sentencing memorandum submitted in court, U.S. government attorneys
He “robbed ve young girls of their innocence and belief in the goodness of the world and the people they would encounter in it, instead leaving them with fear, mistrust, insecurity, and sadness.”
DOJ sentencing memorandum
said Thompson “robbed ve young girls of their innocence and belief in the goodness of the world and the people they would encounter in it, instead leaving them with fear, mistrust, insecurity, and sadness.”
Thompson, who will serve his sentence at FMC Butner in North Carolina, intends to undergo sex o ender-speci c treatment, his attorneys said.
A lawyer for Thompson said via email last Wednesday he wouldn’t be commenting.
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Chatham County:
31
Opinionation Trivia at House of Pops
6-8 p.m.
Two sessions of this “Family Feud”-style game are held each Thursday evening, rst round at 6 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m., o ering contestants two opportunities to win House of Hops gift cards worth $15 and $25 each.
12 Russet Run Suite 110 Pittsboro
Aug. 1
Neville’s Quarter at Bynum Front Porch
7-8:30 p.m.
Free musical performance: donations are welcome. This is a family-friendly event with food and beverages available for purchase on-site.
Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum
Aug. 2
Chatham Mills
Farmers Market
8 a.m. to noon
Producers-only farmers market o ering a wide variety of goods from fresh produce to other groceries, including eggs, cheese, meat, health and wellness items, and crafts. Everything is created by the vendors themselves. Lawn of the historic Chatham Mills 480 Hillsboro St.
Photographing the Haw 10-11 a.m.
Presentation by Dr. Kevin Ricker of his nature photographs taken at the Haw River. This event is free, open to the public and cosponsored by Friends of Lower Haw River and the Chatham Community Library. Chatham Community Library Holmes Family Meeting Room 197 N.C. Highway 87 N Pittsboro
Aug. 6
Jazz Night at The Sycamore at Chatham Mills
6-9 p.m.
Every Wednesday night from 6-9 p.m., The Sycamore at Chatham Mills hosts live Jazz Nights. The series features a rotating list of local musicians. The Sycamore also o ers its Lounge Menu in the dining room on Wednesday nights. Reservations are highly recommended.
480 Hillsboro St.
Suite 500 Pittsboro
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
By Jordan Golson Chatham News & Record
RALEIGH — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will relocate thousands of employees from Washington, D.C., to ve regional hubs across the country, including Raleigh, as part of a reorganization plan announced Thursday by Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins.
The move will shift approximately 2,600 workers — more than half of USDA’s Washington workforce — to hubs in Raleigh, Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City. The department will also maintain two additional administrative support locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Minneapolis.
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler welcomed the announcement, noting the state’s existing partnership with the USDA.
“We are certainly tickled to be selected as a regional hub,” Troxler said. “We have a long-standing partnership with USDA with National Agricultural Statistics Service o ces housed in our building for many years, and we look forward to continuing to build on this partnership.”
The reorganization aims to bring USDA closer to the farmers, ranchers and rural communities it serves while reducing costs associated with the living in the nation’s capital, where federal employees receive a locality pay adjustment of 33.94%. By comparison, the Raleigh area’s locality rate is 22.24%.
“American agriculture feeds, clothes, and fuels this nation and the world, and it is long
past time the department better serve the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers we are mandated to support,” Rollins said in a statement. “President (Donald) Trump was elected to make real change in Washington, and we are doing just that by moving our key services outside the beltway and into great American cities across the country.”
The reorganization follows four key principles: ensuring the workforce size aligns with nancial resources, bringing USDA closer to its customers, eliminating management layers and consolidating redundant support functions.
As part of the management restructuring, several USDA agencies will see signi cant changes. The National Agricultural Statistics Service will consolidate its 12 existing regions into ve aligned with the new hubs over a multiyear period. The Food and Nutrition Service will reduce from seven regions to ve, while the Forest Service will phase out nine regional ofces over the next year.
The department expects to retain no more than 2,000 employees in the Washington area after the reorganization is complete. The plan will unfold over several months, with senior USDA leadership providing more details to a ected o ces in the coming weeks.
Beyond the relocation, the plan follows a voluntary workforce reduction earlier this year in which 15,364 USDA employees elected deferred resignation through the Deferred Retirement Program. O cials emphasized this was completely voluntary and that the reorganization is not conducting a large-scale workforce reduction.
Troxler said having more USDA sta in North Carolina could bene t the state’s $111 billion agriculture industry.
“Agriculture production and
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needs are di erent across the country, and I think it will be bene cial to our agriculture industry to have more USDA sta and contacts in our state,” he said. “We will work with them on whatever they need.”
The reorganization also calls for vacating several Washington-area buildings with signi cant deferred maintenance costs. Beyond the South Building, which has approximately $1.3 billion in deferred maintenance and operates well below capacity, USDA will also vacate Braddock Place and eventually the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The department will retain the Whitten Building as its headquarters, along with the Yates Building and National Agricultural Library.
Critics, including the American Federation of Government Employees, have raised concerns about the plan, arguing it could disrupt services and disconnect the agency from Congress. The union noted that 95% of USDA employees already work outside of Washington, D.C.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, called it a “half-baked proposal” and demanded department o cials appear before the Senate to explain their reasoning.
USDA o cials said critical functions will continue uninterrupted during the transition, including wild re response, food safety inspections and other essential services. The department speci cally exempted 52 position classi cations carrying out national security and public safety functions from earlier hiring freezes to ensure these services remain fully sta ed, though these employees may still be subject to relocation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
e nal deadline for all grant applications is Sept. 15, but don’t wait to apply. Applications submitted prior to the early-bird deadline on Aug. 15 will be entered to win one of ve $100 Visa gi cards. Scan the QR code or visit NCBrightIdeas.com for more information or to apply!
like shovels, rakes and pruners to do the job, rather than heavy equipment.
former glory but make it more resilient against future inclement weather.
“Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Appalachian Trail,” said Jake Stowe, a program support specialist with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
Stretching more than 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine, the trail attracts over 3 million people every year, according to the conservancy. Some committed hikers traverse its entire length to cross it o their bucket list. Others visit sporadically just to indulge in its scenic views.
Last September, Helene killed more than 200 people and wrecked entire towns. Many rural businesses have struggled due to the drop in tourism, Stowe said, such as in places seeing fewer trail hikers. Directly after the storm, more than 430 miles of the trail were closed, the conservancy said. That’s down to 5 miles today. Hikers still have to take detours around two damaged sections of the trail, both in Tennessee, according to the conservancy.
One spot where a bridge collapsed requires a 3.6-mile walking detour. The other location is near the destroyed Cherry Gap Shelter, where an Associated Press journalist accompanied volunteers this week making the area passable again for visitors who currently have to take a 6-mile detour.
Fixing trails is hard work
Local groups typically take on day-to-day trail maintenance, such as hacking back plant overgrowth, Stowe said.
Larger organizations like the Appalachian Trail Conservancy step in to assist with severe damage, although in Helene’s case, safety concerns delayed restoration.
“At the time, we weren’t really in the position to put people in the woods,” Stowe said.
“It was such bad damage that it was just — you couldn’t safely do that.”
The area near Cherry Gap has already been “sawed out,” meaning downed trees that blocked the trail have been cut and moved out of the way. But root balls are still a major problem because of how labor-intensive it is to deal with them.
When a tree tips over, the root ball lifts a big chunk of earth with it. Filling that hole can sometimes take a week, said Matt Perrenod, a crew leader with the conservancy. The trail runs along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains, and the rough terrain means crews must rely on hand tools
The conservancy also has to consider more sustainable improvements to the trail, such as building steps or features like water bars, which are essentially little ditches that divert rainfall o the side of the trail.
It’s a slow process, Perrenod said, but a worthwhile venture to improve the experience of hikers.
“You don’t actually want to think about the thing you’re walking on very much. You just want to walk on it,” said Perrenod, who hiked the Appalachian Trail’s entirety about a decade ago. “Well, if we don’t do the work, you won’t be able to do that. You’ll spend all your time climbing over this tree and walking around that hole.”
Volunteers travel the world to help out
Partnering with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service has long been a critical component of preserving the Appalachian Trail. Through contracts, Perrenod said the agencies fund equipment, gas and the wages of some Appalachian Trail Conservancy sta members like himself. The Forest Service also helps the group lug their gear up to the trail, he said.
That’s why Perrenod says it’s imperative the federal government does not slash those agencies’ budgets and workforces. Disrupting support for volunteers could be detrimental for the trail’s restoration, as volunteers provide “a lot of muscle” to complete the vast majority of its maintenance, he said.
In Helene’s aftermath, volunteerism across the region was “super high” because everyone wanted to help, Stowe said. This year, interest in volunteering has dipped, Stowe said, but he’s heard from people all over the country — and the world — who cited Helene as a major reason they wanted to come out and help.
Among the volunteers on the July maintenance trip were three visitors from Japan who work on long-distance trails back home. They were enthusiastic to learn about best practices for improving trail longevity and take those ideas back to Japan.
The trio was also motivated by their own experience with natural devastation. After Japan’s massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami, volunteer Kumi Aizawa said people from across the globe came to rebuild.
By restoring part of the Appalachian Trail, she’s returning the favor.
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
Time, paradoxically, not only progresses forward but also curves back to its beginning like a circle.
HOROLOGY is the study of time, which can refer to the art of making clocks and watches. However, I had a lesson of another kind upon returning for Homecoming Sunday at the church I once served as pastor.
Just before I left eight years ago, the congregation had cut down three dying trees right outside the sanctuary and replanted three saplings in their place. Standing at the pulpit last Sunday, I could see that the young trees had grown into view through the sanctuary windows. I thought there was a sermon in that.
The congregation noticed the growth of my three kids, the youngest of whom was a baby when we left. In turn, I saw that their children were now teenagers and their teenagers were adults, some of whom had kids of their own. Fathers were now grandfathers, and grandmothers were great-grandmothers.
There were also people missing from the
pews whose bodies and ashes rested in the cemetery on the other side of those trees.
The passage of time results in change, and with change comes loss and grief.
After the worship service, we gathered for a potluck feast on the lawn outside the sanctuary. Tables had been set up end to end and heavy-laden with food: fried chicken, ham biscuits, mac and cheese, deviled eggs, green bean salads, slabs of watermelon and a smorgasbord of desserts — apple pie, strawberry cake, cookies, brownies, lemon bars and homemade ice cream. The youngest children needed help scooping food on their plates, while adult children escorted their elderly mothers through the potluck line and lled their plates in a comparable way to how their moms had assisted them many decades ago. Time, paradoxically, not only progresses forward but also curves back to its beginning like a circle. For example, I
noticed that both the very young and very old skipped right to the desserts!
I took a seat at one of the tables that had been set up around the magni cent oak tree, which has shaded homecoming potlucks for generations. It seems like this venerable tree will last forever, but I know that is not true.
A mother, whose children are now grown, spoke of that sermon I’d preached about my rstborn. When he was a toddler with only a handful of words, he used to point at the church and declare, “Food!” I’d forgotten that story, but it rushed back as sweet as the taste of the homemade banana pudding, and, for a moment, I was once again a young dad.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman’s newest book is “This Is the Day.” He serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church as well as a writer, pizza maker, co ee drinker and student of joy.
Today’s tools bring back a ‘voice’ from long ago
It still amazes and amuses me to see people walking around, thumbing away on their gadget, oblivious to anyone or anything around them.
FROM TIME TO TIME, I have used this space to moan about how technology is, in my opinion, often taking us places we don’t — or shouldn’t, if we really thought about it — want or need to go.
I don’t mean that to mean such things as the advances in medical science, for instance, like the kind that took away my back pain and sti hip, and such. Rather, I mean society’s growing love and dependence on the latest communication device.
Seemingly, many people simply cannot live without them. It still amazes and amuses me to see people walking around, thumbing away on their gadget, oblivious to anyone or anything around them. I wonder why more people don’t walk into other people, columns, brick walls or in front of a semi hauling a load of hogs. And how many folks are there who cannot eat dinner without their trusty device next to their plate?
Having said all that now and at other times, let me do a complete about-face on a certain part of today’s technology that I do nd not only fascinating but maybe a bit overwhelming, namely the internet.
I know years ago Al Gore said he invented the internet, and maybe he did and maybe he didn’t, but I do know that it’s one amazing thing. And I know there are advances and changes that make Facebook look like something Christopher Columbus might have used. And no ... I haven’t just discovered that. I have, instead, come to realize more and more the good stu that is on it.
There is, of course, a lot of really rotten stu . That’s another story. And I still wonder who puts all the stu that’s on there on there.
Among the really good things and places, I think, is the discovery of such things as clips of Otis Redding singing “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and all sorts of renditions of “City of New Orleans,” not to mention Warren Zevon performing “Werewolves of London.”
I also use it to look up people. For instance, did you know that there is a fellow with my same exact name who, according to the info out there, is a college basketball coaching “legend” in North Dakota? And I not so long go reconnected with a good buddy from my college days who now lives in Georgia.
And before I let Doc cut on my back recently, I read countless articles about what he would be doing … and did. All that and much more is really engrossing, but it’s the history that’s out there that pulls me in so far.
A cousin who is far more technically literate than I am lit a re under me some time ago when he presented me with some research on an uncle of ours who made the supreme sacri ce in World War II. He lost his life when his Army Air Corps B-29 bomber crashed in Kansas on a night training ight. Four years after that day, my mama named me after him in his honor and memory.
I’d always known some few details of that event from family stories. And for the longest time in my childhood years, my folks had a humongous jigsaw puzzle of such a plane, and I used to look at the gun turret in which he sat and wonder how he did it. And these days I see his grave often, there beside his parents and other of my family members, in the little cemetery of a local church.
But I never knew until my cousin gave
me a few key words to use in looking up some reports on the crash that his plane went down in ames and crashed into a farmhouse, taking the lives of two people inside the house.
For the longest time I sat and read and reread the newspaper account of that night and I wondered ... wondered what was going through the minds, in those last moments, of the teenage servicemen on that plane and my 23-year-old never-to-know Uncle Bob and the young pilot who had the same last name as my uncle, wondered what kind of chaos there was at the house where a young mother lost the infant she and her overseas Army Air Corps pilot husband had loved for only a few months, wondered what my grandparents did during the days between the crash and when the men in uniform drove up to their Bynum home, the rst notice they had that something wasn’t right.
I know hundreds of thousands of families lost sons and daughters and husbands and wives and mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters in that con ict — and all those since — but for just a moment, it was like I was in that Kansas farm community that night and I wondered who my uncle was and what he was like.
That, my dear readers, is power ... and powerful. And in that way, it’s a good thing, if for no other reason than it helps us treasure today.
Try it yourself, if you haven’t already ... and don’t forget to tune in Otis when you look up “The Andy Gri th Show” and you’re visiting Mayberry.
Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.
Such an incredible sigh of relief and, yes, accomplishment. Know that feeling?
STOP WITH THIS scanning stu ! Please! Just stop, already. What’s with this drama-laden storyline? It began with the hum-drum task of food shopping. Groceries in the cart, I headed for self-checkout. Electronically scanned each item (correctly, the rst time, I might add). Turned my attention to paying. No, sorry, I’m jumping ahead of myself. Apologies. The rst step to completing a purchase is deciphering all the hieroglyphics on the little doo-hickey payment module that o ers you 4,000-plus di erent ways to pay. Here we go! Um… well, gee, I failed at credit card “tapping” last time (I mean, where do you tap?) Let’s give Apple Pay a try. With bated breath and holding my iPhone at the appropriate distance, zing, it took! (Yay, Jan!) Such an incredible sigh of relief and, yes, accomplishment. Know that feeling?
Uh-oh, apparently, my sigh of relief is an abbreviated one. (I just knew it!) The purchase process suddenly becomes a continuous stream of text on the payment module, reading “scanning, scanning, scanning …”
And that “scanning” text just keeps scrolling merrily along. Not merrily for me, however. I’m looking around, in bewilderment, rather like the demonically possessed character whose head spins 360 degrees in the classic movie “The Exorcist.”
| SUSAN ESTRICH
Did I do something wrong? I was so proud of myself up until this juncture. Seriously … Apparently, my head-turning confusion garnered the interest of the self-checkout agent. She came over, ostensibly, to o er rst aid for what appeared to be my purchasing trauma. I pointed to the electronic module doo-hickey thing and shared my frustration about the endlessly scanning loop. In a very matter-of-fact voice, she said, “They’re communicating with each other.” Excuse me? “They’re communicating with each other.” I don’t know, maybe I really did fall into “The Exorcist.” It turns out this is AI — arti cial intelligence — and thank heavens, not “The Exorcist.” The payment module doo-hickey is communicating with some nearby deus ex machina (god in the machine) in order to tabulate my purchases. You’d think a “god in the machine” would take pity on this confused human and make this whole damn thing easier. I mean, you’d think, wouldn’t you?
Have I mentioned that feeling embarrassed, in public, is my middle name? Oy! Now I just can’t wait for my next interaction with that payment module doo -hickey thing. Sure. Right. You bet.
Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.
Treason, the only crime de ned by the Constitution, requires that one give “aid and comfort” to our enemies.
IT’S NOT JUST Trump being Trump. We — and by “we,” I mean both the public and the media — have gotten so used to President Donald Trump repeating outrageous lies that we tend to dismiss them out of hand. But this is much, much worse. For Trump and his top o cials to accuse former President Barack Obama of treason, much less to call for an investigation by the Justice Department (his puppet, Attorney General Pam Bondi, has already announced the formation of a “strike force,” whatever that is) is a plain abuse of power.
Trump’s most recent attack on Obama came after last weekend, when he posted an AI-generated video of Obama supposedly being arrested by the FBI. Not funny. Then Tulsi Gabbard, struggling to get back on Trump’s good list after annoying the president with a self-serving video she made on her trip to Asia (after which she was excluded from some critical meetings) took to the podium at a White House brie ng to call on the Justice Department to investigate what she called the “treasonous conspiracy” relating to the investigation of Russian e orts to in uence the 2016 election in Trump’s favor. It worked. Referring to Gabbard, Trump said: “She’s, like, hotter than everybody. She’s the hottest one in the room right now.”
As for who should be the target of the Justice Department and what should be the focus, Trump left no doubt: “It would be President Obama. He started it. ... This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever even imagined, even in other countries.”
That’s just another lie. The investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 election focused on the Russian hacking and dissemination of Hillary Clinton’s campaign emails — something Trump well knows, since he referred to those emails on the campaign trail. The only thing Obama did was to encourage his intelligence o cers to complete their investigation before he left o ce,
understanding — rightly — that Trump, once he took o ce, could not be trusted not to interfere or block it. Telling a federal agency to nish its work is not a crime. Indeed, every investigation of the 2016 election found exactly what the Obama investigation did.
In 2018, the Senate Intelligence Committee “found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling,” according to then-senator and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which is precisely what the Obama team found. Treason, the only crime de ned by the Constitution, requires that one give “aid and comfort” to our enemies. It is punishable by execution. Of course, because of the Trump Supreme Court decision a ording the president near-absolute immunity for “o cial acts” (which Trump desperately needed to hide behind to escape responsibility for inciting a riot on Jan. 6), the Justice Department investigation of Obama is a useless task and a waste of time and money. But Obama, unlike Trump, doesn’t need the shield of immunity. There are no facts supporting Gabbard’s charges and nothing for the Justice Department’s strike force to investigate.
This isn’t about real wrongdoing. It certainly isn’t about treason. Gabbard made these charges to earn her way back into Trump’s good graces. And what better way to do it than to play to Trump’s worst instincts — his desire for vengeance and his willingness to weaponize the entire federal government to get even with his enemies. Obama is smarter, more popular and more respected than Trump will ever be. And Trump, desperate to bury his ties to Je rey Epstein, desperate to change the subject after playing ridiculous, self-serving games attacking his other predecessor, Joe Biden, for failing to release the Epstein les, was only too willing to applaud Gabbard, to put pressure on his attorney general and to suggest that Obama should be subject to execution. He has no shame and no limits.
Susan Estrich is a lawyer, professor, author and political commentator.
JOE BIDEN WAS both senile and cancer-ridden during the last years of his presidency. That much is absolutely clear. According to “Original Sin,” the new book from Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, Biden was exhibiting signs of senility for years; his sta worked to cover it up, and a compliant media did its least to investigate. This week, we found out that Biden also has stage four prostate cancer, which has already metastasized to his bones. There is virtually no way that nobody knew about the cancer until this week; prostate cancer is a slowmoving cancer that is easily detected by routine PSA tests.
This is, to put it mildly, one of the biggest scandals in American history. The scandal raises a series of serious questions.
The fact that the president of the United States was not the president for years, in the face of the blaring light of public attention, shows that our checks and balances have utterly failed.
The rst is obvious: Who the hell was running the White House while Biden’s brain wasn’t working? The obvious suspects include Jill Biden, who must have known about Biden’s senility and yet continued to press him to run for president; Mike Donilon, former Biden adviser; Je rey Zients, Biden’s chief of sta ; and even Hunter Biden, President Biden’s closest con dante. In fact, according to “Original Sin,” the answer appears to be the convicted felon and former crack addict: Tapper explained this week, “He was almost like a chief of sta . ... It’s bizarre because I think he is provably, demonstrably unethical, sleazy, and prone to horrible decisions.” Well, yes.
The second question is similarly obvious: How long did the Biden family know about Biden’s in rmity? Where the hell was Jill? Where was Hunter? Or were they all so focused on grifting o the family name that they couldn’t be bothered to truly care for their ailing patriarch? That question turns extraordinarily dark when we consider the question of Biden’s cancer. Was Biden deprived of necessary treatment? Did he go undiagnosed because the family didn’t want to know the answer? We do know that the Biden family has covered up cancer before: When Beau Biden, then the attorney general of Delaware, was su ering from brain cancer, the family worked to lie about it. Then there’s a third question: Where the hell was the legacy media while all of this was happening? The job of the media is to investigate signs and symptoms of corruption or misconduct. It was perfectly obvious to everyone with a prefrontal cortex and working retinas that Biden was in dire mental condition by 2022. Why weren’t the media demanding answers? Were they so committed to the defeat of Donald Trump and the Republicans that they decided to simply look the other way ... until precisely the moment Biden’s condition became undeniable, the rst debate with Trump? Finally, there’s a fourth question: Who can be trusted at this point? It’s easy to point to the Democrats’ coverup of Biden’s ailments as proof of their unique dishonesty. But the reality is less comforting: Self-interest and malfeasance are human universals — and if the American public are entitled to know the truth about any of their elected o cials, they require systems that demand answers. This means, at the very least, that Congress ought to immediately pass a bill demanding yearly complete and transparent physical and mental tests on the president. Our government was not built on trust; it was built on checks and balances. And the fact that the president of the United States was not the president for years, in the face of the blaring light of public attention, shows that our checks and balances have utterly failed. The greatest sign of an imperial presidency is that the president is so unanswerable that he can be nearly clinically dead in public without serious repercussion. Enough is enough. Americans’ trust has been abused over and over and over again over the course of the last decade. And it’s not enough simply to blame those who abused that trust. It’s time to rebuild systems that verify. And that requires actual forethought, honesty and realism about the aws in human nature — and the willingness of the politically motivated to justify just about anything in the name of desired ends.
Ben Shapiro’s new collection, “Facts and Furious: The Facts About America and Why They Make Leftists Furious,” is available now. Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author.
July 20, 2025
In Loving Memory of Teresa Hrabak Cooper Passed peacefully on July 20, 2025
It is with deep love and sorrow that we announce the passing of Teresa Hrabak Cooper, who left us on Sunday, July 20, 2025.
Teresa was a woman whose heart beat strongest for her family, especially her
Jan. 26, 1955 –July 22, 2025
Peter Anthony Krupp, 70, died unexpectedly at home Tuesday, July 22, 2025. He was born on January 26, 1955, in the Bronx, New York to Felix and Mary Krupp.
Pete graduated from Manhattan College in 1976 with a degree in accounting. After marrying his wife, Kathy, in 1980, they started their family while continuing to live in the Bronx. In 1987, life took them down South, and they moved their family to Pittsboro, NC after buying a plot of land on a whim. During the transition of moving, Pete decided to become a Duke fan so as not to choose sides during a job interview in North Carolinaa loyalty he held for the rest of his life. He worked as a nancial investigator for the North Carolina Department of Justice’s Medicaid Investigations Division until his retirement in 2020. His role perfectly blended his love for crunching numbers and true crime. Upon retirement as the unit’s Deputy Director, he was honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Governor
beloved grandchildren. She took immense joy in their laughter, their milestones, and the everyday moments spent together.
She will be remembered for her kindness and the strength she carried through life.
Teresa’s greatest legacy lives on in the love that she so freely gave to those around her.
She is survived by her husband, Buddy Cooper, children, Justin Cooper and Ashley Cooper, grandchildren Mariah Rone and Bryson Totten, her brother, Michael Hrabak, and sister Donna Gates.
She is preceded in death by her parents Donald and Dorothy Hrabak, sister-in-law
Tracy Hrabak and brother-inlaw Billy Gates.
A Celebration of Life will be held on September 20, 2025, at 4:00pm at the home of Ashley Cooper. We encourage family and friends to come together to honor Teresa’s memory.
Roy Cooper for his many years of service to the state of North Carolina.
In retirement, Pete embraced his favorite role: Dadu. He was an avid reader and a passionate sports fan (especially of Yankees baseball and Notre Dame football). He loved to bake, have a beer on the beach with friends, great music (especially Motown cassette tapes), schweinshaxe, playing the lottery, tinkering in his garage, and sharing a good laugh. Known a ectionately as “Sweetie Petey,” he never met a stranger and was always ready to lend a hand.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Andrew, and his sister Teresa Orsogna. He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Kathy Wegman Krupp; his children, Kristina and Jason Miles, and Andrew and Dyane Krupp; his sister, Mary Pinto; his brother Arthur and Nancy Krupp; and his favorites, his granddaughters, Olive and Vera Miles.
In lieu of owers Pete’s family asks that donations be made to the Brave Like Gabe Foundation, PO Box 6227 Minneapolis, MN 55406 (https://www. bravelikegabe.org/donate), a foundation that was near and dear to his heart during his own cancer battle with the motto “Running on Hope”, or donate to a charity of your choice that supports humanitarian e orts in today’s world.
A celebration of Pete’s life will be held this Fall. Please come ready to share your favorite stories. Pete would want nothing more than to be remembered with a smile and a beer in hand.
Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Krupp Family.
Nov. 2, 1942 – July 24, 2025
Jay Herbert Gatlin, 82, of Sanford, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2025, surrounded by his loving children and listening to the music of his favorite artist, Neil Diamond.
Born in Sedalia, Missouri, on November 2, 1942, Jay was the son of the late Frances and Herbert Gatlin. He proudly served four years in the United
Feb. 1, 1969 – April 8, 2025
Andrea “Andy” Forster, of Siler City, North Carolina, formerly of Albany, Oregon, passed away at the age of 56.
Born in Albany, Andy graduated from South Albany High School in 1987, where she played varsity
States Air Force, stationed in Bermuda. After his service, he continued his commitment to public service with the United States Weather Bureau, including a year-long assignment in the Arctic.
Jay eventually settled in Siler City, North Carolina, where he launched and ran a successful desktop publishing business before retiring. He was a dedicated member of the Siler City Rotary Club, serving as president and earning the honor of Rotarian of the Year.
An avid UNC Tar Heels fan, Jay rarely missed a March Madness tournament, always cheering passionately for his team. He found joy in the outdoors— tending to his yard, shing in the lake, and simply being in nature. Jay had a deep love for animals, a quick sense of humor, and an endless curiosity for learning. More than anything, he cherished time with his family.
Jay is survived by his beloved wife, Diane; son Brian (Kris
basketball and softball. She was known for her bright spirit, athletic drive, and active life.
In her youth, Andy was a member of the Albany Boys and Girls Club and enjoyed soccer, softball, and basketball. She had a lifelong love of the outdoors, especially beachcombing, boating, shing, and walking along the ocean with her beloved dogs.
Andy worked for UPS in Corvallis before moving to Portland, where she bartended and hosted at local venues.
In 2003, she moved to North Carolina to be near her mother, later joining the U.S. Postal Service as a rural carrier—a job she loved deeply, along with her coworkers, customers, and their pets.
A passionate animal lover, Andy supported rescue e orts and was known for taking in stray dogs and caring for them like children. She was adventurous,
We offer an on-site crematory with many options of Celebration of Life services, Traditional, and Green Burials. Call us to set an appointment to come by and learn more.
Risi); daughters Wendy and Kelli; stepson Gary (Debi); granddaughter Jayden; stepgrandchildren Laina, Christina, Julie, Tyler, April, and Daniel; brother Carl and sister Linda. He was preceded in death by his parents and his stepdaughter Lenore.
Jay’s compassion, warmth, and wit touched everyone who knew him. He will be deeply missed.
A Memorial Graveside service will be held 11:00AM, Saturday, August 9, 2025 at Chatham Memorial Park in Siler City, NC.
In lieu of owers, the family asks that donations be made in Jay’s honor to AFRP of Greensboro to support animal rescue and care—an organization close to his heart.
Donate here: https://www. arfpnc.com
Smith & Buckner is assisting the Gatlin family.
Online condolences may be made at: www.smithbucknerfh. com
compassionate, and full of life, with a love of music—especially the Grateful Dead—and made everyone feel welcome.
She is survived by her father, Jerry Forster of Albany, OR; her mother, Linda Forster of Siler City, NC; her sister Cindy (Rob) Orahood of Keizer, OR; her niece Kristen (Tyler) Beyer of Salem, OR; and her goddaughter Harley Dority of Siler City, NC. She was preceded in death by her sister Daphne Forster. Andrea will be remembered for her kindness, her beauty inside and out, and the love she gave so freely. She will be deeply missed and forever held in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.
A celebration of life will be at Smith & Buckner Funeral Home, Siler City, NC, on August 16, at 1:00 PM. Then, a memorial at the Liberty Tavern, Liberty, NC, at 5:00 PM, where refreshments will be served.
WILLIAM RAY NEWBY
JULY 7, 2025
William Ray Newby passed away on Monday, July 7th, 2025 at Beacon Place, AuthoraCare Collective, in Greensboro, NC. He was born in Siler City, NC and graduated from Chatham High School in 1968.
William was the son of the late Thomas and Willa Newby. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Janice Lee, and brother Winford Terry Newby.
A memorial service will be held at Genesis Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC on August 1, 2025 at 1:00pm.
RUSSELL ODELL COX
JULY 11, 1938 – JULY 24, 2025
Russell Odell Cox, age 87, of Bennett, passed away on July 24, 2025. He was born on July 11, 1938, in Chatham County, North Carolina, to Robert and Annie Belle Phillips Cox. He spent his life surrounded by the land and community he loved where he formed long and enduring friendships with his neighbors.
Russell was a man of simple joys and strong roots. He found happiness in the outdoors. He was an avid hunter who enjoyed quail hunting and running his coon hounds and beagles. Russell also found pleasure in tending his garden or sharing the fruits of his labor with neighbors and friends. A country ham biscuit with hot black co ee and a side of blackberry jelly was his idea of a perfect morning. He had a deep appreciation for bluegrass and gospel music and would often be found at a local singing. He was a devoted member of Riverside Baptist Church.
Russell’s quiet strength, kindness, and devotion to his family and community will be remembered always. He leaves behind a legacy of hard work, faith, and love for the land.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Kathy Maness Cox; brother, Frank Cox and great-nephew, Casey Jones.
Russell is survived by his daughters, Vickey Cox Wright and Teresa Cox Smith (David); son, Randy Cox; sisters, Mary Joyce Auman (Dalton), Paulette Brechtel (Jack), Joleen Webster (Kenneth); brothers, Pete Cox (Sylvia) and Roy “Bud” Cox; grandchildren, Leslie Smith, Ryne Smith (Kristen) and Amanda Smith; great-grandchildren, Mattie, Kamryne, Jamie, Rylane and Rynslee; special friend, Joyce Deaton; numerous nieces and nephews and a host of family and friends.
CHARLES ARTHUR COOPER
SEPT. 11, 1942 – JULY 26, 2025
Charles Arthur Cooper, 82, of Pittsboro, NC, passed away peacefully in his home on July 26, 2025.
Born on September 11, 1942, in Pittsboro, Charles was a talented mechanic and musician. He was known for his generosity and love for God and family.
He is survived by his wife Brenda Cooper; children Je rey and Julia, six grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. Charles was predeceased by his parents Eddie London and Irene Cooper and brothers Tave Cooper and Eddie Cooper Jr. A Graveside service will be held at Mt. Gilead Baptist Church Cemetery on July 30, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. with Pastor Jerry L. Sanders o ciating.
In lieu of owers, donations may be made to Solid Rock Baptist Church, 3903 US Hwy 64 West, Pittsboro NC 27312.
ROBERT “ROB” HENRY COX JR. JAN. 7, 1958 – JULY 26, 2025
Robert “Rob” Henry Cox Jr., 67, of Goldston, passed away on Saturday, July 26, 2025 at his home surrounded by his family. The memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 2, 2025 at Antioch Baptist Church with Pastor Josh Conrad and Pastor Doug Gri th presiding. The family will receive friends in the fellowship hall following the interment and at other times at the home of Ronnie and Bonnie Scott. Rob was born in Taylor County, WI on January 7, 1958 to Robert Henry Cox Sr. and Margaret Clanton Cox. He was a member of Antioch Baptist Church and a Veteran of the US Navy. Rob was a former deputy in Davidson County and a call assistant at Joyce-Brady Chapel. He was a volunteer reman with the Bennett Fire Department. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by an infant son. Rob is survived by his wife of 20 years, Stephanie Scott Cox, of the home; children, Shannon Cleaton (Jamie), of Charlotte, Coleene Cox, Graham Cox, Caleb Cox, Ryan Cox, Alex Cox, Gabriel Cox and Lindsay Cox, all of the home; grandchild, Stella Cleaton; mother-in-law and fatherin-law, Ronnie and Bonnie Scott, of Goldston, sisters in-law, Allison Hussey (Je ), of Seagrove and Megan Saunders (Ryan), of Goldston; numerous nieces and nephews; faithful fur baby, Mocha and a host of family and friends.
Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Stanly News Journal at obits@chathamrecord.com
from page A1
Peace said in a statement.
Federal acknowledgement comes with a bevy of resources owed to tribal nations through treaty rights and acts of Congress, including health care through the Indian Health Service, access to certain federal grants, and the ability to create a land base such as reservations through the land-to-trust process.
Many of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. have been acknowledged through legislation. Dozens more have been recognized through the O ce of Federal Acknowledgement, which determines if applicants have a documented history of political and social existence as a tribe.
Critics of the Lumbee Tribe, including several tribal nations, argue it has not been able to prove its historic and genealogical claims and it should do so
through the formal federal process. The tribe is recognized by the state of North Carolina.
“The gaps in the Lumbee’s claims are staggering,” said Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Principal Chief Michell Hicks. He said the Lumbee have yet to show who they descend from and recognizing them through legislation would open the door for fraudulent groups to gain federal acknowledgement. “Congress wouldn’t be recognizing a tribe, it would be manufacturing one,” he said.
Lowery argues that the Lumbee can prove who they descend from but that the application and vetting process through the Ofce of Federal Acknowledgement is too long and arduous and could take decades complete. He has been working closely with U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) to pass a bill that would federally recognize the Lumbee Tribe.
“For anyone, from any tribe, to
New Classes: 7/14-7/18 • 7/21-7/25
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8/1 - 5:00pm-8:00pm; 8/2&8/3 - 9:00am-3:00pm
8/8 - 5:00pm-8:00pm; 8/9&8/10 - 9:00am-3:00pm
somehow think that a tribe that receives federal recognition via legislation is somehow circumventing the process,” Lowery said, “is being disingenuous.”
The Lumbee Tribe applied for recognition in 1987. But Arlinda Locklear, a Lumbee attorney who has worked on the issue for decades, said sta at the O ce of Federal Acknowledgement o ered con icting opinions because a 1956 congressional act acknowledged the Lumbee exist but denied them access to federal resources. She said they asked the o ce to issue a formal opinion regarding the 1956 bill.
“If we’re not eligible then tell us at the beginning so we can ask for it from Congress,” she said.
The O ce of Federal Acknowledgement determined the Lumbee Tribe was ineligible for recognition, but that decision was reversed in 2016 by Interior’s Ofce of the Solicitor. Despite being allowed to reapply since 2016,
both Locklear and Lowery said that process remains too lengthy and have opted instead to urge Congress to pass legislation. That could prove di cult in the current climate, as Trump and Republicans lawmakers are slashing federal spending. In 2011, the Congressional Budget O ce estimated that recognizing the Lumbee Tribe and providing the necessary federal resources would cost the U.S. more than $840 million in the rst four years. A 2022 CBO estimate put that number at more than $360 million. This month, a Brookings Institution report found that the Trump administration’s directive to freeze federal grants could disrupt $24 billion that go to tribes.
Tillis, the author of the bill, has also been the subject of the Trump’s ire recently, after he voted against the president’s tax bill in June. Trump threatened to campaign against him, and Tillis said he would not seek reelection.
His bill, the Lumbee Fairness Act, was referred to the Senate Committee on Indian A airs in January.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who chairs the committee, said she will work with Tillis on the bill.
David Wilkins, a Lumbee author and professor at the University of Richmond, has advocated for federal recognition for decades. But he said the Lumbee face opposition across Indian Country, and he’s concerned that gaining it with Trump’s endorsement will add to that.
“The way he’s battering Indian Country with his cuts or with his layo s,” Wilkins said. “If we do slip through because Trump convinces his secretary of Interior to either expedite the acknowledgement process or get Congress to nd a move on the Lumbee bill and get it through, I worry about how that’s going to be received in Indian Country.”
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NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
25E000371-180
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of James E Beatty late of Chatham County, NC this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before October 27, 2025 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to said estate are noti ed to make immediate payment.
This is the 27th day of July, 2025 James A Beatty 5200 Beechwood Road Milford, OH 45150 Send claims to: Wells Law, Attorneys at Law 380 Knollwood Street, Suite 710 Winston-Salem, NC 27103
336.793.4378 July 24, 31 Aug 7, 14, 2025
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION
Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Muriel Crowley Harris, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present them, duly veri ed, to the undersigned at 344 West John Street, Matthews, NC 28105, on or before October 18, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate settlement with the undersigned. This the 17th day of July, 2025. John T. Harris, Executor of the Estate of Muriel Crowley Harris, Chatham County File No. 24E001335-180, c/o Garrity & Gossage, LLP, 344 West John Street, Matthews, NC 28105.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Chatham County 25E000382-180
Having quali ed as Co-Executors of the Estate of Kaja Finkler aka Kay Finkler aka Kaile Nehame Dvora Finkler, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, the undersigned do hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claim against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned c/o Guido De Maere, P.A. at 100 Europa Drive, Suite 160, P.O. Box 3591, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 on or before the 31st day of October, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This the 31st day of July, 2025. Guido De Maere and Dan Oren, Co-Executors of the Estate of Kaja Finkler aka Kay Finkler aka Kaile Nehame Dvora Finkler Attorney for the Estate: Guido De Maere, P.A.
P.O. Box 3591 Chapel Hill, NC 27515-3591
To be published: July 31, August 7, 14 & 21, 2025
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of RICHARD JAMES MARION, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ces of Munson Law Firm PLLC, P.O. Box 1811 Pittsboro, NC 27312, on or before the 24th day of October, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment. This 24th day of July, 2025.
LYNN MARION, ADMINISTRATOR ESTATE OF RICHARD MARION
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION
Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Margot Ann Friedrich, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present them, duly veri ed, to the undersigned at 344 West John Street, Matthews, NC 28105, on or before October 17, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate settlement with the undersigned. This the 17th day of July, 2025. Heather N. Anschuetz-Je ers, Executor of the Estate of Margot Ann Friedrich, Chatham County File No. 25E000357-180, c/o Garrity & Gossage, LLP, 344 West John Street, Matthews, NC 28105.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator CTA of the Estate of Richard Drayton Peter late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of October, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 9th day of July, 2025. Linda P. Crabtree, Administrator CTA of the Estate of Richard Drayton Peter 25 Joe Brown Road Bear Creek, North Carolina 27207 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE
ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000314-180
The undersigned, HOLLY MEREDITH O’NEILL, having quali ed on the 23RD Day of JUNE, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of JESSE KENNETH BOGGS, JR., deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 31ST Day OF OCTOBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 31st DAY OF JULY 2025.
HOLLY MEREDITH O’NEILL, EXECUTOR 427 MILLINGPORT LANE NEW LONDON, NC 28127
Run dates: Jy31,A7,14,21p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed as Co-Executors of the Estate of Eleanor Joyce Moore, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, do hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ces of Tillman, Whichard & Cagle, PLLC, 501 Eastowne Drive, Suite 130, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, on or before the 24th day of October, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment.
This 24th day of July, 2025.
JENNIFER JOYCE MOORE AND SUSANNA MCHUGH
MOORE, CO-EXECUTORS, ESTATE OF ELEANOR
JOYCE MOORE
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Jacobus E. de Vries aka Jacobus Egbert de Vries, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ces of Tillman, Whichard & Cagle, PLLC, 501 Eastowne Drive, Suite 130, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, on or before the 24th day of October, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment.
This 24th day of July, 2025.
SARAH ELIZABETH TILLMAN, EXECUTOR
ESTATE OF JACOBUS E. DE VRIES AKA JACOBUS
EGBERT DE VRIES
EXECUTOR’S
NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY All persons having claims against the estate of Nancy Meltzer, of Chatham County, NC, who died on July 11, 2022 are noti ed to present them on or before October 15, 2025 to Robert N. Maitand, II, Executor, c/o Maitland & Sti er Law Firm, 2 Couch Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Michele L. Sti er MAITLAND & STIFFLER LAW FIRM 2 Couch Road Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Attorney for the Estate
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Nina W. Moore quali ed before the Chatham County Clerk of Court on July 17, 2025 as The Executor of The Estate of Richard Devon Moore, 11229 Siler City Glendon Road, Bear Creek, NC 27207. This is to notify all persons, rms and corporations, as required by NCGS 28A-14-1, having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the attorney designated below on or before the 31st Day of October, 2025 or this notice will be pled in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payments to the undersigned. Payments and claims should be presented to M. Andrew Lucas, P.O. Box 1045, Sanford, NC 27331-1045.
Please Publish: July 31st, August 7th, 14th, 21st, 2025
Notice to Creditors
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of Nancy Paschal Price late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of October, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 9th day of July, 2025.
Thomas King Price, III, Executor of the Estate of Nancy Paschal Price 301 South Dogwood Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp
Notice to Creditors
All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Edith Fomby Gibbons, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before October 20, 2025 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 17th day of July, 2025. Donna M. Beaudoin, Administrator c/o W. Thomas McCuiston 200 Towne Village Drive Cary, NC 27513
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHATHAM COUNTY VIRGINIA LYNN NEAL, Petitioner v. TIMOTHY MICHAEL HOGAN and AMY FORDHAM COOK, Respondents (25SP000046-180) TO: AMY FORDHAM COOK Take notice that a petition seeking relief against you was led on March 19, 2025 in the above partition action. The nature of this action is as follows: petition for partition and sale of real property. You are required to make defense to such petition no later than 40 days after the date of the rst publication of this Notice and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the Court for the relief sought. Wesley A. Stewart, Esq., 5410 Trinity Rd., Ste. 210, Raleigh, NC, 27607, Petitioner’s Attorney. J24, 31 and 7
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
25E000323-180 ALL persons having claims against Darrell Lloyd Cole, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Oct 24 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 24th day of July, 2025.
Alesia J Purvis, Executor C/O Bowen Law Firm PC 590 New Waverly Pl Ste 120 Cary, NC 27518 J24, 31, 7 and 14
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000365-180
The undersigned, MELYNNA JOHNSON DOWD, having quali ed on the 9th Day of JULY, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of FAYDEENE R. JOHNSON, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 17TH Day OF OCTOBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 17TH DAY OF JULY 2025.
MELYNNA JOHNSON DOWD, EXECUTOR
148 VALLEY OAK COURT
LEXINGTON, NC 27295
Run dates: Jy17,24,31A7p
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
TOWN OF PITTSBORO, NC
On Monday, August 11, 2025, at 6:00 pm, the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will hold the following public hearing in person at the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center at 1192 Hwy 64 Business West, Pittsboro, NC: A RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO PERMANENTLY
CLOSE A PORTION OF SUTTLES ROAD IN THE TOWN OF PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
WHEREAS, it appears that permanently closing a portion of Suttles Road within the Town of Pittsboro is not contrary to the public interest and that no individual owning property in the vicinity of said portion of Suttles Road proposed to be closed would thereby be deprived of reasonable means of ingress and egress to his or her property; NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Pittsboro as follows: That pursuant to Section 160A-299 of the North Carolina General Statutes, the Town intends to permanently close that portion of Suttles Road containing 57,853 square feet (1.328 acres) that is depicted on a survey by Thomas M. Grzebien, Professional Land Surveyor entitled “Right Of Way Abandonment Exhibit Suttles Road Adjacent Property Owned By Chatham Park Investors LLC”, dated 6/6/25, revised 6/23/25, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A, and that is described by metes and bounds in a description attached hereto as Exhibit B. This portion of Suttles Road to be closed is part of “New Tract 12” on a plat recorded in the o ce of the Register of Deeds for Chatham County, North Carolina in Plat Slide 2020, Pages 50 through 56, and it connects the road known as Chatham Park Way to the remaining portion of Suttles Road (North Carolina Secondary Road No. 1809), which is a service road for U.S. Highway 64 Bypass in the right of way of U.S. Highway 64 Bypass. That a public hearing on the issue of such road closure be, and it hereby is, scheduled for August 11, 2025. That a copy of this Resolution shall be published once a week for four (4) successive weeks prior to the hearing. That a copy of this Resolution shall be sent by registered or certi ed mail to all owners of property adjoining said portion of Suttles Road to be closed as shown on the Chatham County tax records, and a notice of said proposed road closure and the public hearing thereon shall be prominently posted in at least two (2) places along said portion of Suttles Road to be closed. Adopted this 14th day of July, 2025.
TOWN OF PITTSBORO
By: Kyle Shipp
Mayor ATTEST: Carrie Bailey Town Clerk
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25000253-180
The undersigned, JEROME LEE FORSTER, having quali ed on the 6th Day of MAY, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ANDREA CLAUDINE FORSTER, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 24TH Day OF OCTOBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 24TH DAY OF JULY 2025.
JEROME LEE FORSTER, EXECUTOR 261 JIM GILLILAND RD. SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: Jy24,31,A7,14p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against RICKEY MICHAEL RIDDLE, deceased, of Pittsboro, Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before October 17, 2025, or this notice will pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 17th day of July, 2025. Nicholas Michael Riddle, Executor, c/o Elizabeth K. Arias Esq., Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, 555 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1100, Raleigh, NC 27601.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000306-180 The undersigned, RICHARD DAVID WOOD, having quali ed on the 2ND Day of JULY, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of RICHARD JOHN WOOD, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 31ST Day OF OCTOBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.
All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 31st DAY OF JULY 2025. RICHARD DAVID WOOD, EXECUTOR 65571 AVENIDA CADENA DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA 92240
Run dates: Jy31,A7,14,21p
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
TOWN OF PITTSBORO, NC
On Monday, August 11, 2025 at 6:00 pm, the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will hold the following public hearings in person at the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center at 1192 Hwy 64 Business West, Pittsboro, NC:
1. A legislative public hearing on a voluntary, contiguous annexation petition (A-2025-02/PB25-278) from Chatham Park Investors, LLC. The applicant is requesting to annex 12.999 acres at Hillway Road and North Village Parkway (Parcel ID 0094479, partial).
2. A legislative public hearing on a voluntary, contiguous annexation petition (A-2025-03/PB25-275) from Chatham Park Investors, LLC. The applicant is requesting to annex 15.040 acres east of Chatham Park Way and north of Business 64 East (Parcel ID 00095803).
The hearings will be held in person. The public can also watch the hearings live on the Town’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ townofpittsboronc/streams. Members of the public must attend in person if they wish to speak at a hearing.
Contact the Town Clerk, Carrie Bailey, by 4 pm on August 11, 2025 with written comments or to sign up to speak a hearing. You can contact Carrie Bailey at cbailey@pittsboronc.gov, (984) 282-6647, or PO Box 759, Pittsboro, NC 27312.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000317-180
The undersigned, JENNIFER LEE GOODSPEED, having quali ed on the 11th Day of JUNE, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of JUDITH KAYE BREYER, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 10TH Day OF OCTOBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 10TH DAY OF JULY 2025. JENNIFER LEE GOODSPEED, EXECUTOR 697 FEARRINGTON POST PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: Jy10,17,24,31p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#23E000694-180 The undersigned, ANGELA VENDEN WALKER, having quali ed on the 16th Day of JULY, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of JOYCE LILIAN BERRY, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 31ST Day OF OCTOBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 31ST DAY OF JULY 2025. ANGELA VENDEN WALKER, EXECUTOR 955 BEAVER DAM RD. CHAPEL HILL, NC 27517 Run dates: Jy31,A7,14,21p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION COUNTY OF CHATHAM FILE NO. 25CV000703-180
NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION GILDA H. LAMBERT, Plainti , vs. JOHN DOE and MRS. JOHN DOE, if married, and other UNKNOWN OWNERS, in esse and not in esse, being the owners of the Property described herein unknown to the Plainti , together with all assignees, heirs at law, and devisees of MARY LEE HORTON, together with all of her creditors, and lienholders regardless of how or through whom they claim, and any and all persons claiming any interest in the estate of MARY LEE HORTON Defendants. TO: JOHN DOE and MRS. JOHN DOE, if married, and other UNKNOWN OWNERS, in esse and not in esse, being the owners of the Property described herein unknown to the Plainti , together with all assignees, heirs at law, and devisees of MARY LEE HORTON, together with all of her creditors, and lienholders regardless of how or through whom they claim, and any and all persons claiming any interest in the estate of MARY LEE HORTON Take notice that a Complaint has been led in the above entitled action. The nature of the relief being sought is to quiet title and obtain a declaratory judgment on real property in Chatham County, North Carolina described in the Complaint. You are required to le a response to the Complaint not later than the 26th day of August, 2025, said date being 40 days from the rst publication of this notice in order to participate in and receive further notice of the proceeding, including notice of the time and place of any hearing, and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the Court for the relief sought.
This the 11th day of July, 2025. GUNN & MESSICK, PLLC By: /s/ Paul S. Messick, Jr. N.C. State Bar No. 2979 Post O ce Box 880 Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312 Telephone: (919) 542-3253 Facsimile: (919) 542-0257 Email: pm@gunnmessick.com Attorney for Plainti
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA WAKE COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE DISTRICT COURT DIVISION 25CV014284-910
NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION
Pursuant to N.C.G.S. §1A-1, Rule 4(j1) ULADA ANDREYEVNA HARANINA, Plainti , vs.
NICHOLAS JAMES DANIEL, DEFENDANT.
TO: NICHOLAS JAMES DANIEL, Defendant Pursuant to N.C.G.S §50-6, take notice that a pleading seeking relief against you has been led in the above-entitled action. The nature of the relief being sought is an absolute divorce.
You are required to make defense to such pleading not later than September 14, 2025, and upon your failure to do so, the party seeking service against you will apply to the Court for the relief sought. This the 31th day of July, 2025. Ulada Haranina Plainti 316 Fayetteville St, Raleigh, NC 27601 Telephone: 336-639-2817 July 31, August 7, 14; 2025
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000215-180 The undersigned, PENNY REDDY, having quali ed on the 16th Day of APRIL, 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of MUTYALA KRISHNA REDDY, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 10TH Day OF OCTOBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 10TH DAY OF JULY 2025. PENNY REDDY, ADMINISTRATOR 125 CEDAR ELM RD. DURHAM, NC 27713 Run dates: Jy10,17,24,31p
their own water systems violated safe drinking water rules in the past ve years, a higher rate than utilities that supply water for cities and towns, according to Environmental Protection Agency data. And the problems are likely even bigger because the EPA database doesn’t catch all parks.
Even where parks get water from an outside source — such as a city — the clean water coming in can become contaminated if it passes through problematic infrastructure before reaching residents’ taps. Because the EPA doesn’t generally require this water to be tested and regulated, the problems may go unseen. Utah is one of the few states to step in with their own rules, according to an AP survey of state policies.
“If you look back at the history of the Safe Drinking Water Act, like in the ’70s when they were starting, it was, ‘Well, as long as the source … is protected, then by the time it gets to the tap, it’ll be ne.’ And that’s just not how it works,” Smith said. The challenge of being “halfway homeowners”
In one Colorado mobile home park, raw sewage backed up into a bathtub. In a Michigan park, the taps often ran dry and the water resembled tea; in Iowa, it looked like co ee — scaring residents o drinking it and ruining laundry they could hardly a ord to replace. In California, boxes of bottled water crowd a family’s kitchen over fears of arsenic.
Almost 17 million people in the U.S. live in mobile homes. Some are comfortable Sun Belt retirees. Many others have modest incomes and see mobile homes as a rare opportunity for home ownership.
To understand how water in the parks can be so troubled, it’s useful to remember that residents often own their homes but rent the land they sit on. Despite the name, it’s di cult and expensive to move a mobile home. That means they’re “halfway homeowners,” said Esther Sullivan, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado in Denver who lived in several mobile home parks as she researched a book. Residents often put up with “really egregious” property maintenance by landlords because all their money is tied up in their home, she said.
Pamela Maxey, 51, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, said she had forgotten what it was like to have reliable, clean water until she traveled to her state Capitol last year to advocate for better mobile home park protections and stayed in a hotel. By then, she had spent eight years in a park where sewage backed up into homes and the ow of tap water was sometimes weak or discolored.
“It wasn’t until I went into the bathroom to take a shower that I realized, ‘I don’t have to jump in here and squint my eyes closed the entire time and make sure water doesn’t get in my mouth because I don’t know what’s in it,’” she said. “I went to brush my teeth, and I just turned the faucet on and I brushed my teeth from the water coming from the faucet. I haven’t been able to do that for over a year.”
Victoria Silva, a premed student in Fort Collins, Colorado, estimates the water in Harmony Village Mobile Home Park where she lives went out or lost pressure 20 to 30 times over roughly three years there.
“People don’t realize how much water they need until the
water is out for ve minutes when they need to ush, when they need to rinse something o their hands, when they need to make some pasta,” Silva said.
The park’s owner says a licensed professional ensures water is maintained and tested, and outages are minimized.
Small water companies, serial problems
The U.S. has some 50,000 water utilities, most serving small towns and rural areas. Many struggle to nd expert sta and funding, and they violate clean water rules more often than the handful of large utilities that serve cities. But even among the hard-pressed small utilities, mobile home parks stand out.
The AP analysis found that more than half these parks failed to perform a required test for at least one contaminant, or failed to properly report the results, in the past ve years. And they are far more likely to be repeat o enders of safe drinking water rules overall.
But that’s only part of the story. The true rates of mobile home park violations aren’t knowable because the EPA doesn’t track them well. The agency’s tap water violation database depends on information from states that often don’t properly categorize mobile home parks.
When Smith rst searched Utah’s database in response to an AP request for data from all 50 states, he found only four small water systems identi ed as belonging to mobile home parks. With some keyword searches, he identi ed 33 more.
Other parks aren’t in the databases at all and may be completely unregulated.
One July day in 2021, o cials with the EPA were out investigating sky-high arsenic levels in the tap water at Oasis Mobile Home Park in the Southern California desert when they realized the problem went way beyond just one place.
“It was literally us driving around and going, ‘Wait a minute, there’s a bunch of mobile home parks!’” said Amy Miller, who previously served as EPA’s
JAE C. HONG /
Gerardo Sanchez, an outreach coordinator with the immigrant and farmworker justice group TODEC, helps deliver bottled water to mobile home residents in Oasis, California, in April.
head of enforcement for the Paci c Southwest region.
The water in these other parks had been o their radar. At some, testing found high levels of cancer-causing arsenic in the water that had been provided to residents for years.
It’s impossible to know how many unnoticed parks are out there. Most states aren’t actively looking for them and say they nd very few. In Colorado, after the state passed a new law to require water testing at all mobile home parks, o cials uncovered 79 parks with their source of water unknown. That’s about a tenth of the total parks in the state.
Pipes “like spaghetti” in the ground
Many parks are decades old with aging pipes that can cause chronic water problems, even if the water that supplies the park is clean when it enters the system.
Jake Freeman, the engineering director at Central States Water Resources, a Missouri-based private utility company that specializes in taking over small water systems in 11 states, said substandard and poorly installed pipes are more common to see in mobile home parks.
“A lot of times, it’s hard to nd the piping in the mobile home parks because if there’s any kind of obstruction, they just go around it,” he said. ”“It’s like spaghetti laying in the ground.”
After a major winter storm devastated Texas in 2021, Freeman said, the company found pipes at parks it had taken over that “were barely buried. Some of them weren’t buried.”
When pipes break and leak, the pressure drops and contaminants can enter water lines. In addition, parks sometimes have stagnant water — where pipes dead-end or water sits unused — that increases the risk of bacterial growth.
Rebecca Sadosky is public water supply chief in North Carolina, where mobile home communities make up close to 40% of all water systems. She said owners don’t always realize when they buy a park that they could also be running a mini utility.
“I think they don’t know that they’re getting into the water business,” she said.
It doesn’t have to be like this
Utah is a rare state that enforces safe drinking water standards even within mobile home
parks that get their water from another provider, according to AP’s survey of states. A small number of other states like New Hampshire have taken some steps to address water safety in these parks, but in most states frustrated residents may have no one to turn to for help beyond the park owner. In Colorado, when Silva asked o cials who enforces safe drinking water rules, “I just couldn’t get clear answers.”
Steve Via, director of federal regulations at the American Water Works Association utility group, argued against regulating mobile home parks that get their water from a municipality, saying that would further stretch an already taxed oversight system. And if those parks are regulated, what’s to stop the rules from extending to the privately owned pipes in big apartment buildings — the line has to be drawn somewhere, he said.
Via said residents of parks where an owner refuses to x water problems have options, including going to their local health departments, suing or complaining publicly.
Silva is among the advocates who fought for years to change Colorado’s rules before they succeeded in passing a law in 2023 that requires water testing in every mobile home park. It gives health o cials the ability to go beyond federal law to address taste, color and smell that can make people afraid to drink their water, even when it’s not a health risk. The state is now a leader in protecting mobile home park tap water.
Smith, the Utah environmental scientist, said stopping the contaminated water owing into the mobile home park and connecting it to a safe supply felt like a career highlight.
He said Utah’s culture of making do with scarce water contributed to a willingness for stronger testing and regulations than the federal government requires.
“There’s sort of the communal nature of like, everybody should have access to clean water,” he said. “It seems to transcend political ideologies; it seems to transcend religious ideologies.”
Woods Charter student Miles Brown eld zooms by in his kart during a race.
Miles Brown eld won his rst national heat this summer
By Asheebo Rojas
Chatham News & Record
SOMETIMES A NAME can tell you all about a person.
For local 9-year-old Miles Brown eld, that couldn’t be truer.
Brown eld, a student at Woods Charter, puts in the miles as a competitive kart racer who’s been making a name for himself around the country. Sporting the No. 26, his favorite number, he competes locally at Trackhouse Motorplex in Mooresville, and he’s raced at national events held in Char -
lotte Motor Speedway, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Earlier this summer, Browneld won his rst national heat at the 2025 Cup Karts North America Summer Nationals in Cincinnati amongst some of the best racers in the country. He edged out Drew Schneider by .014 seconds at the nish line, and in the nal race, he nished fth (third on the track) after a penalty.
Throughout this year, he’s racked up more wins at Atlanta Motorsports Park, Carolina Motorsports Park and Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia.
“When I get the wins, it makes me feel really good because I know that a lot of my hard work has paid o ,” Brown eld said.
The grind from Chatham County to the other parts of the country started with a Christmas present four years ago.
“When I was 5, for Christmas, Dad got me my kart,” Brown eld said. “I was just like, ‘Let’s try it out,’ and when we did, I really liked it.”
Brown eld, a fan of Formula 1’s Lewis Hamilton with dreams of driving race cars around the world, unknowingly took his kart exactly where he needed to go. He went to Trackhouse Motorplex, the closest track to his home, just to test it out.
“We didn’t know it at the time, but it’s also the hardest club race series in the country in terms of the competition,” Sam Brown eld, Miles’ father
Dave Doeren speaks at the 2025 ACC Kicko on July 24.
“When I get the wins, it makes me feel really good because I know that a lot of my hard work has paid o .” Miles Brown eld
said. “So we kind of jumped right into the deep end on that.”
Brown eld spent much of his rst year in the sport practicing his skills and getting up to speed.
“For the rst year, we were doing kid kart, which is restricted power, and they only go about 36 miles an hour,”
Sam Brown eld said. “And
then when he was 7, we started doing cadet kart, which is the next step up, where they get up to about 60 miles an hour, and that’s when it kind of got real.”
As he moved into the next level, Brown eld found a coach in Dalton Hanes, a kart racer who won an IAME Grand National Championship in 2023. The connection started when Miles’ mother, Kathryn, crossed paths with Hanes’ mom in the Trackhouse lobby and found out Hanes was starting to give lessons.
“Ever since then, Miles has been working with him as much as we can because every time Miles works with Dalton,
KART, page B2
Chatham County teams will begin play Aug. 12
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
THE NORTH CAROLINA High School
Athletic Association volleyball season is set to begin Aug. 11. Here are the schedules for the local teams taking the court this fall.
Seaforth
The former Chargers will team up for the Wolfpack this fall
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
CHARLOTTE — In the midst of countless questions about his team and its 2025 expectations at ACC Kicko last week, NC State coach Dave Doeren made time for a couple of local guys.
Former Northwood standouts Gus Ritchey and Jake Mann will run with the Wolfpack this fall. Ritchey is entering his freshman season as a tight end, and Mann, a redshirt senior, is returning as a long snapper. When asked about his rst impressions of Ritchey, Doeren praised his work ethic.
“We’re excited Gus is in the program,” Doeren said. “He’s a young guy that’s developing. He works hard. Has a great at-
titude. Very high-spirited kid that’s going to keep getting better.”
Ritchey joins six other tight ends on the NC State roster, and he and Preston Douglas are the only two true freshmen in the position group. He’ll follow the lead of returning starter Justin Joly, who had 43 receptions for 661 yards and four touchdowns in 2024.
Joly said Ritchey’s versatility
Aug. 12 at Apex Friendship; Aug. 13 vs. Northwood; Aug. 20 —at Northwood; Aug. 23 vs. Cleveland; Aug. 26 at Carrboro*; Aug. 27 at Chapel Hill; Aug. 28 at Cedar Ridge*; Sept. 2 at Durham School of the Arts*; Sept. 3 vs. Ayden-Grifton; Sept. 4 vs. Cardinal Gibbons; Sept. 9 vs. J.F. Webb*; Sept. 11 at South Granville*; Sept. 16 at Orange*; Sept. 17 at Green Level; Sept. 18 vs. Carrboro*; Sept. 23 vs. Cedar Ridge*; Sept. 25 at Durham School of the Arts*; Sept. 29 vs. Union Pines; Oct. 2 — at J.F. Webb*; Oct. 7 vs. South Granville*; Oct. 9 vs. Orange* Northwood
Aug. 12 at Union Pines; Aug. 13 at Seaforth; Aug. 14 at Lee County; Aug. 18 vs. Southern Lee; Aug. 20 vs. Seaforth; Aug. 21 vs. Lee County; Aug. 25 vs. Durham School of the Arts; Aug. 27 at Southeast Alamance; Sept. 3 vs. Southeast Alamance; Sept. 9 vs. Eastern Randolph8; Sept. 11 at Jordan-Matthews*; Sept. 16 at North Moore*; Sept. 18 at Southwestern Randolph*; Sept. 23 vs. Uwharrie Charter*; Sept. 25 at Eastern Randolph*; Sept. 30 — vs. Jordan-Matthews*; Oct. 2 vs. North Moore*; Oct. 7 vs. Southwestern
VOLLEYBALL, page B3 See ACC, page B4
Chatham Central, baseball
Chatham Central’s Carson Jackson earns athlete of the week honors for the week of July 21.
Jackson played for Chatham County’s Colt 16U East Zone Championship team last week. In a 12-6 loss to Greensboro White, Jackson had the best day at the plate, going 2 for 4 with two runs and a walk.
Jackson is entering his junior year at Chatham Central. Last season, he saw signi cant varsity action for the rst time and recorded 14 hits, 10 runs and nine RBIs. On the mound, he made seven appearances, striking out 12 batters and walking 24.
from page B1
he gets faster,” Sam Brown eld said. “He’s a great coach and a great guy.”
Brown eld’s training and preparation for races takes a lot of forms. Sometimes he’s on the track, working to improve his tendency to overdrive, or he and his team look at data to nd ways to change driving styles.
Other times, he’s racing against British adults on an at-home race car simulator as a challenge and a way to get some racecar experience before he makes it big.
“It helps me with not overdriving, and the long races help build endurance,” Brown eld said.
Another key factor to being successful in racing is branding and money. With the main-
The former Chargers are looking to make big plays this fall
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL season is a month away, which means preseason awards are rolling in for local players.
Former Northwood linebacker Brendan Harrington was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt First Team defense, and former Northwood punter Aidan Laros earned a nod to preseason All-SEC Third Team.
Harrington, a seventh-year newcomer at Georgia Southern, earned preseason all-conference awards from the league for the second time in his career. He has two postseason All-Sun Belt honorable mention selections in his six seasons at App State. In 2024, Harrington had one of his best seasons with a career-high 66 tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Wearing No. 2 this season, Harrington will make his debut with the Eagles at Fresno State on Aug. 30 at 9:30 p.m.
Laros, entering his senior season at Kentucky, was selected to the preseason All-SEC team for the rst time after joining the Wildcats in 2024. Last season, Laros had 49 kicko s for 3,064 yards and 32 touchbacks. He was the primary punter in the last nine games of the season, and he recorded 1,453 yards, three touchbacks, 10 fair catches and a 45.4-yard average on 32 punts.
Prior to Kentucky, Laros was a standout specialist at UT Martin in the 2023 season. That year, he was named the Big South-OVC Football Association Special Teams Player of the Year after leading the FCS with an average of 47.3 yards per punt.
Before UT Martin, Laros spent the rst two seasons of his college career at Charlotte. He
tenance of gear, the kart and travel, racing can be expensive.
Brown eld has built quite the following on Instagram with more than 5,000 followers, and he’s picked up sponsorships from various business such as The Pig, Lady Edison Country Ham, Rocket Wraps and Tints, Nextzett USA and Rocky River Hemp.
“Heart goes a long way, but it won’t help you beat money,”
Kentucky punter Aidan Laros (48) warms up during halftime of a game against Florida last season. The Northwood grad earned a spot on the All-SEC team this preseason.
45.4
Yards per punt for Laros in 2024
redshirted his freshman season in 2021, and he handled all the 49ers’ kicko duties in 2022. Earlier this month, Laros used a “Happy Gilmore” reference to poke fun at his tough-
Sam Brown eld said. “So we’re always kind of trying to gure out new partnerships, how to grow the program. So we’ve been focused on social media in a lot of ways.”
Brown eld doesn’t often have as much funding as the other teams, especially in the national races, but he still competes like it.
He also keeps those who have helped him along the way
ness rating of zero on EA Sports College Football 26. In a video posted to Kentucky football’s social media accounts, the punter lined up in front of the jugs machine and took footballs to his chest.
When a teammate asked what he’s doing he responded, “364 days until next year’s college video game. Got to toughen up.” Laros will put his toughness to the test when Kentucky opens the season at home against Toledo on Aug. 30 at 12:45 p.m.
in mind. His dream to become a worldwide racecar driver isn’t just for him — Brown eld said it’s “our” goal in reference to him and his dad. His name isn’t Miles because of racing, but it ts him anyway.
“His mom came up with the name Miles, and I thought it was a pretty awesome name because it means gentle — gentle warrior,” Sam Brown eld said.
The Chargers’ coach will lead the East next summer
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
NORTHWOOD BOYS ’ basketball coach Matt Brown will coach more than just his Chargers next year.
Brown was named the head coach of the East for the 2026 men’s basketball North Carolina East-West All-Star Game, per a release by the N.C. Coaches Association on Monday. The three-time state runner-up will have Southern School of Energy and Sustainability coach Greg Motley by his side. Eastern Guilford coach Joe Spinks will lead the West team with Lavar Batts of Jay M. Robinson as his assistant.
The game will take place on
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Randolph*; Oct. 9 at Uwharrie Charter*
Jordan-Matthews
Aug. 12 at Asheboro; Aug. 13 at Chatham Central; Aug. 18 at Wheatmore; Aug. 19 vs. Providence Grove; Aug. 21 vs. Chatham Central; Aug. 25 vs. Phoenix Academy; Aug. 27 at Providence Grove; Aug. 28 vs. Asheboro; Sept. 3 at Union Pines; Sept. 4 vs. East Davidson; Sept. 8 at Phoenix Academy; Sept. 9 at North Moore*; Sept. 11 at Northwood*; Sept. 16 vs. Southwestern Randolph*; Sept. 17 at Southern Lee; Sept. 18 at Uwharrie Charter*; Sept. 23 vs. Eastern Randolph*; Sept. 25 vs. North Moore*; Sept. 30 vs. Northwood*; Oct. 2 at Southwestern Randolph*; Oct. 6 vs. Southern Lee; Oct. 7 vs. Uwharrie Charter*; Oct. 9 at Eastern Randolph*
Chatham Central
Aug. 12 vs. Western Harnett; Aug. 13 vs. Jordan-Matthews; Aug. 14 at Eastern Randolph; Aug. 18 vs. Eastern Randolph; Aug. 20 at Lee County; Aug. 21 at Jordan-Matthews; Aug. 25 at North Stokes*; Aug. 27 vs. Lee County; Aug. 28 at Wheatmore; Sept. 2 at Carolina Prep and Leadership Academy*; Sept. vs. Wheatmore; Sept. 9 at South Stokes*; Sept. 11 vs.
Wins for the Chargers in their 2024-25 campaign
July 20, 2026, at the Novant Health Field House in Greensboro. The men will tip o at 8:30 p.m. Brown is coming o his winningest season as Northwood’s coach. In the winter, the Chargers went 30-3 overall and 16-0 in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference (62 straight regular season conference wins dating back to 2021) with a state title appearance. Northwood won 26 games by a double-digit margin, including four victories by at
South Davidson*; Sept. 16 vs. Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy*; Sept. 17 at Western Harnett; Sept. 18 vs. North Stokes*; Sept. 22 vs. Bishop McGuinness*; Sept. 24 vs. North Moore; Sept. 25 vs. Carolina Prep and Leadership Academy*; Sept. 30 at Bishop McGuinness*; Oct. 2 vs. South Stokes*; Oct. 6 at North Moore; Oct. 7 at South Davidson*; Oct. 9 at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy*
Woods Charter
Aug. 13 at Oxford Prep; Aug. 15 vs. Raleigh Charter; Aug. 18 vs. Cary Academy; Aug. 19 vs. River Mill*; Aug. 21 at Chatham Charter*; Aug. 25 vs. Eno River Academy; Aug. 28 at Ascend Leadership*; Sept. 2 vs Leadership Academy; Sept. 4 at Central Carolina Academy*; Sept. 9 vs. Clover Garden School*; Sept. 11 at Southern Wake Academy*; Sept. 15 at Burlington Christian Academy; Sept. 18 vs. Chatham Charter*; Sept. 19 at River Mill*; Sept. 22 at Leadership Academy; Sept. 25 vs. Ascend Leadership*; Sept. 26 vs. Southern Wake Academy*; Sept. 30 vs. Central Carolina Academy*; Oct. 1 at Clover Garden School*; Oct. 8 vs East Wake Academy
Chatham Charter
Aug. 12 vs. North Moore; Aug. 14 vs. Providence Grove; Aug. 15 at Research Trian-
least 15 points in the playo s.
Brown took over the program in 2017 after the Chargers won eight games the year prior. After a 9-16 campaign in his rst season, Brown led Northwood to a 19-10 record and the playo s in his second year. From that point, the Chargers have yet to lose more than four games in a season nor miss the playo s. In Brown’s third season, Northwood made a regional nal appearance, and it went on to make the state championship in 2021 and 2023.
Over the years, Brown has coached several Division I players, including Drake Powell (now a Brooklyn Net), Max Frazier (Central Connecticut), Kenan Parrish (Harvard), Fred Whitaker Jr. (ETSU) and Jarin Stevenson (UNC) when he was a freshman.
Seaforth and Chatham Central face o in a conference match in
in di erent conferences this season.
gle; Aug. 18 vs. Phoenix Academy; Aug. 19 at North Moore; Aug. 21 vs. Woods Charter*; Aug. 26 vs. Central Carolina Academy*; Aug. 28 at Providence Grove; Sept. 2 vs. Clover Garden School*; Sept. 4 at
Southern Wake Academy*; Sept. 9 at River Mill*; Sept. 11 at Ascend Leadership*; Sept. 15 at Phoenix Academy; Sept. 17 vs. Eastern Randolph; Sept. 18 at Woods Charter*; Sept. 23 vs. Central Carolina Acade -
my*; Sept. 25 at Clover Garden School*; Sept. 26 at Bethany Community School; Sept. 30 vs. Southern Wake Academy*; Oct. 2 vs. River Mill*; Oct. 6 at Eastern Randolph; Oct. 7 vs. Ascend Leadership*
The Japanese star and longtime ace are part of the ve-man class of 2025
By Mark Frank The Associated Press
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. —
Ichiro Suzuki was always known for his meticulous preparation during his 19-year Major League Baseball career. For his induction into the Hall of Fame? Not so much.
“Of course, I’m nervous and I probably should be preparing more, but this morning I actually went to the eld, long tossed and kind of ran and did my workout, so I guess for me that was more important,” Suzuki said through an interpreter on the eve of his enshrinement.
Suzuki is the rst Japanese player chosen for the Hall and fell one vote shy of becoming the second unanimous selection. He was joined by CC Sabathia, a six-time All-Star who won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award, and relief pitcher Billy Wagner. Dave Parker, who died a month before he was to be inducted, and Dick Allen were honored posthumously.
Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes (99.7%) from the Baseball
“This is the place where I’d come (during the season) and kind of cleanse myself and get a great feeling again.”
Ichiro
Suzuki on Cooperstown
Writers’ Association of America. Sabathia was on 342 ballots (86.8%) and Wagner on 325 (82.5%), which was 29 votes more than the 296 needed for the required 75%.
Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outelder, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle, the New York Yankees and Miami.
He is perhaps the best contact hitter ever, with a season-record 262 hits in 2004.
Suzuki visited the Hall seven times during his career, but this time is di erent.
“I had a purpose. I would come to the basement and look at some of the artifacts,” he said.
“This time around, though, I didn’t come to have one purpose to see something. I just want-
ed to experience Cooperstown, take it all in. That’s the di erence this time around.
“This is the place where I’d come (during the season) and kind of cleanse myself and get a great feeling again.”
For Sabathia, his induction represents a full-circle moment because his plaque will have him sporting a Yankees cap with the interlocking NY.
A native of Vallejo, California, Sabathia “thought I wanted to be close to home,” but his wife persuaded him to sign with the Bronx Bombers.
“My wife was the one that said ‘You’re trying to do all these different things, gure out all these contracts. You need to go where they want you. All you talk about is you want to win, be a winner and all these things. How can you not go to New York? That’s the one place they try to win every single year.’ When she put it that way, it was like I was born to be a Yankee,” Sabathia said.
“And I think for the longest time I tried to run away from that because my father would always tell me I was going to play for the Yankees. He passed
Wallace becomes rst black driver to win major race on Indianapolis’ oval
Ty Gibbs clinched the In-Season Challenge
By Michael Marot The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace climbed out of the No. 23 car Sunday, pumped his sts, found his family and savored every precious moment of a historic Brickyard 400 victory.
He deserved every minute of it.
The 31-year-old Wallace overcame a tenuous 18-minute rain delay, two tantalizing overtimes, fears about running out of fuel late and the hard-charging defending race champ, Kyle Larson, on back-to-back restarts to become the rst black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. No black driver has won the Indianapolis 500 or Formula 1 raced on the track’s road course.
“This one’s really cool,” Wal-
ACC from page B1
and play making ability has stood out this o season.
“He made some good catches,” Joly said. “He’s got some hands.”
Said Joly, “Gus has been doing good. Sometimes, I’ve got to get on his back just because I love him. I want him to succeed.”
Ritchey rose as a highly touted recruit at Northwood and played his senior season at Cary. At 6 feet, 2 inches, Ritchey played both sides of the ball, causing trouble to opposing secondaries as well as opposing back elds as a defensive end.
On the o ensive side, Ritchey had 104 receptions for 2,100 yards and 22 touchdowns. As a defensive end, he totaled 255 tackles, 28 sacks, 75 tackles for loss and nine forced fumbles.
During his recruitment, Ritchey received other offers from schools across multiple power conferences, notably Georgia, Oregon, Miami, Notre Dame and Michigan, to name a few. He initially committed to UNC in August 2023, but weeks later, he ipped to the Wolfpack.
“He’s a great t here,” NC State football coach Dave Doeren said about Ritchey after signing day. “I always felt when I rst got to know Gus that this was the right school for him.
lace said. “Coming o Turn 4, I knew I was going to get there — unless we ran out of gas. I was surprised I wasn’t crying like a little baby.” His third career NASCAR Cup victory delivered Wallace’s rst win in the series’ four crown jewel events, the others being the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. It also snapped a 100-race win-
“He’s got some hands.”
Justin Joly on Gus Ritchey
You could tell he’s a tough, blue-collar guy. He loves contact. He’s physical. He’s been at every game we’ve played for two years. Getting around his family, it’s a great t.”
Doeren also spoke on Mann at ACC Kicko , saying he “looks forward to having him back.”
Mann, a 2021 graduate of Northwood, served as the long snapper for punts in every game last fall, and he took over as the snapper for eld goals and PATs against Cal. He’ll once again contribute a veteran presence on special teams this fall.
While at Northwood, Mann played both football and lacrosse. He was ranked the No. 1 long snapper in his class by ESPN and Kohl’s.
Mann began his college career at Oklahoma, where he redshirted and saw action in one game.
He then transferred to App State and made an immediate impact. In 2022, Mann snapped every punt and kick in all 12 of the Mountaineers’ games. The following season, Mann didn’t see any action and transferred again to NC State ahead of last fall.
less streak that dated to 2022 at Kansas and locked up a playo spot. His only other win came at Talladega in 2021.
The nal gap was 0.222 seconds, but that was no measure of the consternation he faced.
Larson cut a 5.057-second de cit with 14 laps to go to about three seconds with six laps left as the yellow ag came out for the rain. The cars then rolled to
a stop on pit lane with four laps remaining, forcing Wallace to think and rethink his restart strategy.
“The whole time I’m thinking, ‘Are we going? Are we not?’” he said. “I will say, I leaned more towards, ‘I know we’re going to go back racing. Be ready. Don’t get complacent here.’”
Wallace made sure of it.
He beat Larson through the second turn on the rst restart only to have a crash behind him force a second overtime, forcing his crew to recalculate whether they had enough fuel to nish the race or whether he needed to surrender the lead and refuel.
In Wallace’s mind, there was no choice.
“The rst thing that went through my mind was, ‘Here we go again,’” he said. “But then I said, ‘I want to win this straight up. I want to go back racing.’ Here we are.”
He beat Larson o the restart again and pulled away, pre-
away when I was 23, so he wasn’t there to tell me it was OK if I failed. I think I was scared to go there and fail. But it ended up being the best decision I ever made. I ran from that decision for a long time. I thought I wanted to play on the other coast, but I think I was born to play with the pinstripes.”
Sabathia went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Yankees.
venting Larson from becoming the race’s fourth back-to-back winner.
The victory also alleviated the frustration Wallace felt Saturday when he spent most of the qualifying session on the provisional pole only to see Chase Briscoe claim the No. 1 starting spot with one of the last runs in the session.
On Sunday, he made sure there was no repeat, providing an added boost to the 23XI Racing team co-owned by basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin, as it continues to battle NASCAR in court over its charter status.
“Those last 20 laps there were ups and downs, and I was telling myself, ‘You won’t be able to do it,’” Wallace said. “Once I’d seen it was Larson, I knew he won here last year, and he’s arguably the best in the eld. So to beat the best, we had to be the best today.”
The other big race — the In-Season Challenge — went to Ty Gibbs, who had a better car than Ty Dillon in qualifying and on race day. Gibbs nished 21st to win the inaugural March Madness-like single-elimination tournament and collect the $1 million prize.
Kansas basketball
coach Self released from hospital after heart procedure
Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas basketball coach
Bill Self was released from Lawrence Memorial Hospital, two days after having two stents inserted to treat blocked arteries. “I feel strong and am excited to be home,” Self said. The 62-year-old felt ill after having run Kansas’ nal practice of its summer session. He missed the 2023 Big 12 and NCAA tournaments because of a heart condition, getting a standard catheterization and having two stents inserted to help treat blocked arteries. Self led Kansas to national titles in 2008 and 2022, and he is the school’s career victory leader.
MLS
MLS suspension of Messi, Alba “draconian,” Inter Miami owner says Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The owner of Inter Miami called Major League Soccer’s suspension of Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba for skipping the All-Star Game a “draconian” punishment. Owner Jorge Mas said Messi and Alba don’t understand the one-game suspensions. They did not suit up for the match between the MLS and Liga MX of Mexico despite being voted to the game. Messi wanted to rest amid a packed schedule, and Alba was dealing with a previous injury. Mas said the club made the decision for Messi and Alba to sit out of the All- Star Game.
American team battles case of “acute gastroenteritis,” a ecting performance
Singapore The United States team at the swimming world championships in Singapore is battling a case of “acute gastroenteritis” that compromised performances on the opening day of eight days of competition in the pool. Nikki Warner, the spokeswoman for USA Swimming, con rmed the outbreak and said it had its roots at a training camp the American team held in Phuket, Thailand, before arriving in Singapore. She said all American swimmers had traveled to Singapore. Warner declined to say how many had been a ected above the three that are known.
MLB Orioles, Rockies keep playing after fans evacuated seats
Baltimore The Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies played through rain even after fans were told to move due to potential lightning. The game at Camden Yards continued because the decision to clear fans and the decision to pause the game are made by di erent authorities. The umpires didn’t see lightning close enough to stop play. Fans were moved around the sixth inning but could return by the end of the seventh.
Baltimore interim manager Tony Mansolino praised the decision to prioritize fan safety. The game was never delayed.
By Dennis Waszak Jr. The Associated Press
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. —
Aaron Glenn has been mapping out exactly how he wants to lead an NFL team for a few
years.
Before he was hired as the New York Jets’ head coach in January, Glenn spent four seasons as the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator and was empowered by coach Dan Campbell to make some crucial calls for the team o the eld.
“He allowed me to make those decisions to get me ready to be in this position,” Glenn said.
Glenn is one of ve rst-time head coaches in the league. All ve are longtime assistants who now each face distinct challenges and must balance the responsibilities of managing an entire roster and sta .
Aaron Glenn, Jets
Background: Jets’ rstround pick (No. 12 overall) in 1994 out of Texas A&M. Played 15 seasons in the NFL, then served as the general manager of the Houston Stallions of the indoor Texas Lone Star Football League in 2012. He had stints as an assistant with Cleveland, New Orleans and Detroit. Task: He and new GM Darren Mougey focused on making the Jets’ roster younger. Glenn, who considers his former coach Bill Parcells a mentor, spoke often during the oseason about changing the Jets’ culture. Ending their long postseason drought will help and there’s key foundational talent, but the youth movement could temper some rst-year expectations.
Liam Coen, Jaguars
Background: Played quarterback at UMass. Spent last
season as Tampa Bay’s o ensive coordinator before being hired by Jacksonville in January to replace the red Doug Pederson. Coen had two stints with the Los Angeles Rams, including serving as Sean McVay’s o ensive coordinator in 2022.
Task: Coen was hired for his o ensive prowess after he helped Baker May eld to the best season of his career with the Buccaneers. Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, has not yet fully lived up to expectations, and that will be the focus for Coen.
Ben Johnson, Bears
Background: A former backup QB at UNC, Johnson was Detroit’s o ensive coordinator the past three years and helped Jared Go and the Lions lead the league in scoring.
Task: The Bears drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick last year, and Chicago is hoping Johnson will be
“He allowed me to make those decisions to get me ready to be in this position.”
Jets coach Aaron Glenn
able to develop the quarterback into a playmaking star. Getting Williams to get rid of the ball faster and improve on his accuracy should help.
Kellen Moore, Saints
Background: A former backup quarterback with Detroit and Dallas over six NFL seasons, Moore was long considered a head coaching candidate during his stops as an offensive coordinator with the Cowboys, Chargers and Eagles. In his only season in Philadelphia, he guided a high-scoring o ense that powered the Eagles to the Super Bowl.
Task: Moore doesn’t have the talent-rich roster he had last season. He also isn’t quite sure who his quarterback will be. The o ense has some talent, but the defense needs to improve after allowing the second-most rushing yards.
Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys
Background: The son of the late Marty Schottenheimer was a surprise pick by Jerry Jones. But the younger Schottenheimer has a lengthy resume in both the pros and at the college level, with stints as an o ensive coordinator with the Cowboys, Seahawks, Rams and Jets among them.
Task: Schottenheimer will need to build a rapport with quarterback Dak Prescott. The coach made some headlines during the o season when he said Prescott is still “in the developmental phase” of his career and the team is tweaking some things with him.
The former Duke and Giants passer looks to start in the NFL again
By Michael Marot
The Associated Press
WESTFIELD, Ind. — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson insists he’s healthy.
Daniel Jones embraces the chance to compete for a starting job. And coach Shane Steichen has a broad outline of how he intends to split the snaps over the next several weeks, with no timetable to make a decision, as the competition began in earnest at Indy’s training camp.
“And just with the way the reps are going to play out, those guys are going to get the same amount of reps . We’ll ip both to get reps with the ones every day,” Steichen said. It’s the second time in Steichen’s three years with the Colts he’s presided over a quarterback competition. The rst ended after one preseason game in 2023 with Steichen selecting Richardson, then a rookie, the starter over Gardner Minshew. In addition to splitting snaps with the starters at practice, general manager Chris Ballard said he wants to see both quarterbacks in action against other teams. It remains to be seen if the scheduled joint practices against Baltimore and Green Bay can provide enough information to produce a decision or whether Richardson and Jones may play in the less controlled environment of preseason games. If rst impressions suggest anything, there wasn’t much di erence on the eld.
Each struggled against Indy’s defense, which knocked away multiple passes thrown by both in 11-on-11 drills. Jones also threw an interception on what he described as a “bad decision” before throwing a pretty completion on a long ball to Anthony Gould near the end of practice.
“I think like any Day 1, there was some good, some bad,” Jones said. “There are always things to clean up. We’ll look back at the tape and then improve on it, but I thought for Day 1, we did a lot of things that you look for on Day 1.”
Jones has been around long enough to understand expectations.
The New York Giants made him the No. 6 overall draft pick out of Duke in 2019. He became the starter in Week 3 of his rookie season and, after struggling for three years, led the Giants to the playo s in 2022. New York rewarded Jones with a four-year, $160 million con-
tract, but Jones made only six starts in 2023 and threw eight TD passes and seven interceptions last season before he was released by New York and signed by Minnesota.
Now he’s back, looking to start again.
“There’s so much work to do, especially for me — learning the system, getting to know the guys, learning communication with the coaches,” Jones said. “It’s a long process. There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but kind of the way you go about it is focusing on that day, that practice, that meeting or whatever at the moment.”
Richardson’s injury history, meanwhile, has limited him to just 15 starts over the past two seasons, and he missed the team’s nal minicamp practice because of a sore throwing shoulder.
He also acknowledged he did not throw to his teammates when they worked out in California this summer.
“I had surgery a year and a half ago, so I’ve been dealing with on and o soreness with that,” Richardson said, noting he thought it was just a normal part of the recovery process.
“But it was something else, and I wouldn’t necessarily worry about it. I was just trying to do what I could do to help the team.” Richardson also has struggled with accuracy, completing just 50.6% of his throws, including 47.7% last season when he had the lowest completion rate of any regular starter in the league.
Richardson pronounced himself healthy and ready to win yet another quarterback competition.
“Everybody wants success like right here, right now,” he said. “There were de nitely things I could have worked on last year, so I’m trying to improve on that and make sure I’m just available for the team whenever they need me.”
Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” went for $32.5 million last year
By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A
whip wielded by Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” that once belonged to Princess Diana has sold at auction for $525,000.
Last Thursday’s sale came a day after the Rosebud sled from “Citizen Kane” went for a staggering $14.75 million, making it one of the priciest props in movie history.
They were part of the Summer Entertainment Auction being held all week by Heritage Auctions.
Heritage says the overall take has made it the second-highest grossing entertainment auction of all time, and there’s still a day to go.
Yet to be up for bids are Macaulay Culkin’s knit snow cap from “Home Alone,” a Kurt Russell revolver from “Wyatt Earp,” a pair of “Hattori Hanzo” prop swords from “Kill Bill Vol. 1” and a rst edition set of Harry Potter novels signed by J.K. Rowling.
“The bullwhip is the iconic symbol of an iconic character of cinema history, Indiana Jones, and has been a highlight of this auction.”
Joe Maddalena, Heritage Auctions VP
The whip sold last Thursday was used during the Holy Grail trials that Ford’s character goes through at the climax of 1989’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
Ford gave it to then-Prince Charles at the lm’s U.K. premiere. It was given as a gift to Princess Diana, who gave it to the current owner, who was not identi ed. The buyer also was not identi ed.
“The bullwhip is the iconic symbol of an iconic character of cinema history, Indiana Jones, and has been a highlight of this auction,” Joe Maddalena, Heritage’s executive vice president, said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The $525,000 price includes the “buyer’s premium” attached to all auction items for the house that sells it.
Heritage said the nearly $15 million bid for the Rosebud sled puts it second only to the $32.5 million that Judy Gar-
land’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” fetched in December. Neither of those buyers were identi ed either.
The sled was sold by longtime owner Joe Dante, director of lms including “Gremlins.”
“Rosebud” is the last word spoken by the title character in director Orson Welles’ 1941 lm “Citizen Kane,” and the hunt for its meaning provides the lm’s plot. Many critics have regarded it as the best lm ever made.
Long thought lost, the sled is one of three of the props known to have survived. Dante stumbled on it when he was lming on the former RKO Pictures lot in 1984. He wasn’t a collector but knew the value of the sled and quietly preserved it for decades, putting it as an Easter egg into four of his own lms.
Dante’s friend and mentor Steven Spielberg paid $60,500 for another of the sleds in 1982, and an anonymous buyer paid $233,000 for the third in 1996.
The whip wielded by Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” was sold at auction for $525,000.
MTV debuts, Jesse Owens takes Berlin Olympics, U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima
The Associated Press JULY 31
1715: A eet of Spanish ships carrying gold, silver and jewelry sank during a hurricane o the east Florida coast.
1777: The 19-year-old Marquis de Lafayette received a commission as major general in the Continental Army.
2012: At the London Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps won his 19th medal, becoming the most decorated Olympian in history.
AUG. 1
1876: Colorado was admitted as the 38th state in the Union.
1936: Adolf Hitler presided over the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Berlin.
1966: Charles Whitman, 25, killed 14 people in a shooting spree from the University of Texas clock tower in Austin.
1981: MTV launched its U.S. broadcast, debuting with “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
AUG. 2
1921: A jury in Chicago acquitted seven former members of the Chicago White Sox baseball team and two others of conspiring to defraud the public in the notorious “Black Sox” scandal.
1790: The rst United States Census began under the supervision of Thomas Jefferson.
1876: Frontiersman “Wild Bill” Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, by Jack McCall.
AUG. 3
1492: Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on his rst voyage that took him to the present-day Americas.
1916: Irish-born British diplomat Roger Casement, a strong advocate of independence for Ireland, was hanged for treason.
1936: Jesse Owens of the United States won the rst of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he took the 100-meter sprint.
AUG. 4
1790: President George Washington signed a law au-
AUG. 5
1936: Jesse Owens won the 200-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics, collecting the third of his four gold medals.
1962: Marilyn Monroe, 36, was found dead in her Los Angeles home from probable suicide by acute barbiturate poisoning.
1962: South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was arrested for inciting a strike and leaving the country without a passport — marking the start of his 27-year imprisonment.
AUG. 6
thorizing revenue cutters to enforce tari s and prevent smuggling, laying the foundation for the U.S. Coast Guard.
1944: Fifteen-year-old Anne Frank was arrested with her family and others by the Gestapo after two years in hiding in Amsterdam.
1964: Forty-four days after their murders, the bodies of missing civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were found in Mississippi.
1806: Emperor Francis II abdicated, marking the end of the Holy Roman Empire after nearly a thousand years.
1945: During World War II, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000 people.
1962: Jamaica gained independence from the United Kingdom.
1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting.
1991: The World Wide Web debuted to the public as a way to access webpages via the Internet.
Pee-wee’s bike is at the Alamo, but not where you think
Actor Paul Ruebens died in 2023 at age 70
By Andrew DeMillo The Associated Press
IT TOOK 40 YEARS, but Pee-wee’s bike is now at the Alamo. Just not the basement.
The Alamo announced last week it had acquired and would display the iconic bike from the 1985 Tim Burton lm, “Pee -wee’s Big Adventure.”
The San Antonio landmark plays a key role in the lm chronicling Pee-wee Herman’s search for his stolen bicycle when a devious fortuneteller tells him the bike is located in the Alamo’s basement. Pee-wee, played by the late Paul Reubens, learns the Alamo doesn’t have a basement, but that hasn’t stopped tourists from tongue-in-cheek inquiries.
“It’s the most common question our guest services team hears is, ‘Where is the basement at the Alamo?’” said Jonathan Huhn, senior communications director for the Alamo Trust, Inc., the nonpro t organization that oversees the Alamo’s operations. “It’s an iconic piece of Alamo pop-culture history.”
The red-and-white bike — or, as Pee-wee calls it in the movie, “the best bike in the whole world” — is adorned with streamers on the handle -
“It’s an iconic piece of Alamo pop-culture history.”
Jonathan Huhn, Alamo Trust, Inc.
bars and a lion emblem at the front. Huhn said it was acquired from an auction in Los Angeles.
The bike will serve as a centerpiece in the Mays Family Legacy Gallery, which examines the Alamo’s cultural impact, part of a new visitor center and museum slated to open in fall 2027. It will join other pop culture items including memorabilia from the 1960 movie about the Alamo that starred John Wayne.
“It’s really a pop culture bridge” that will bring people to learn about the Alamo’s history, Huhn said.
But before then, the bike will go on display for a limited time at the Ralston Family Collections Center. The Alamo also plans to host a free public screening of “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” in Plaza de Valero. More details about dates for the display and the screening will be released later.
Unlike the Alamo, the building where Pee-wee’s bike will eventually be located does have a basement. But, before you ask, that’s not where the bike will be.
Blues guitarist Robert Cray is 72, former Tar Heels coach Roy Williams turns 75, lifestyle icon Martha Stewart hits 84
The Associated Press THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.
JULY 31
Entrepreneur Mark Cuban is 67. Rock musician Bill Berry (R.E.M.) is 67. Jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan is 66. Actor Wesley Snipes is 63. Author J.K. Rowling is 60.
AUG. 1
Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is 75. Blues musician Robert Cray is 72. Rock singer Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) is 66. Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy) is 65.
AUG. 2
Actor Mary-Louise Parker is 61. Filmmaker Kevin Smith is 55. Actor Sam Worthington is 49. Actor Edward Furlong is 48.
AUG. 3
Actor Martin Sheen is 85. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 84. Film director John Landis is 75. Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady is 48. AUG. 4
Football Hall of Famer John Riggins is 76. Actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton is 70. Former President Barack Obama is 64.
AUG. 5
Actor-singer Maureen McCormick is 69. Author David Baldacci is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing is 63. Director-screenwriter James Gunn is 59.
AUG. 6
Actor Michelle Yeoh is 63. Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson is 60. Movie writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is 55. Actor Soleil Moon Frye is 49.
‘The
Criterion Channel series spotlights ’90s lms with unforgettable soundtracks
By Jocelyn Noveck
The Associated Press
BENICIO DEL TORO starring in Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” and Reneé Rapp’s second studio album are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also, among the streaming offerings worth your time: Jason Momoa brings his passion project “Chief of War” to Apple TV+, there’s a coxy Hobbit video game in Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game, and “Project Runway” tries out a new network home for its 21st season.
MOVIES TO STREAM
Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” (streaming now on Peacock) stars Del Toro as Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda, a wealthy and unscrupulous European industrialist. After the latest assassination attempt on his life, he decides to leave his estate to one of his many children, Lisel (Mia Threapleton), a novitiate. Michael Cera co-stars as a Norwegian insect expect named Bjørn. In her review, the AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that the lm nds Anderson “becoming even more, well, Wes Anderson than before.”
The Net ix romance “My Oxford Year” (streaming Friday) follows a young American student named Anna (So a Carson) in her long-dreamt-of year at Oxford University. Corey Mylchreest co-stars as a local love interest in the lm directed by Iain Morris.
Movie soundtracks once played so much more of a role in popular culture. A new series on the Criterion Channel collects some of the lms from the soundtrack’s heyday, the 1990s, when songs from movies like “Trainspotting” (1996) and “Singles” (1992) dominated the airwaves and MTV. Also running this month on Criterion are “Grosse Pointe Blank” (1997), “So I Married an Axe Murderer” (1993) and “Judgement Night” (1993).
MUSIC TO STREAM
The King of Rock ’n’ Roll has returned. On Friday, to celebrate what would’ve been Elvis Presley’s 90th birthday year, a massive collection of 89 rarities will
So a Carson appears in a scene from the lm “My Oxford Year.”
“The Phoenician Scheme nds Anderson becoming even more, well, Wes Anderson than before.”
Jocelyn Noveck, AP Film Writer
be released as a ve-disc CD boxset — and on all digital platforms. Titled “Sunset Boulevard,” the series pulls from Presley’s 1970-75 Los Angeles recording sessions and rehearsals at RCA’s studios. There is no greater gift for the Elvis a cionado. Rapp will release her second studio album on Friday, the appropriately titled “Bite Me.” The 12-track release is imbued with Rapp’s edgy, lighthearted spirit — catchy R&B-pop songs about bad breakups and good hook-
ups abound. It’ll put some pep in your step.
SERIES TO STREAM
“Project Runway” has had quite a life since it debuted in 2004 on Bravo. After its rst six seasons, the competition show is about fashion design moved to Lifetime for 11 seasons, then back to Bravo for a few years, and its new home for season 21 is Freeform. Christian Siriano — who won the show’s fourth season — is an executive producer, mentor and judge. He joins “Project Runway” OG host Heidi Klum, celebrity stylist extraordinaire Law Roach and fashion editor Nina Garcia. It premieres Thursday and streams on Disney+ and Hulu.
Comedian Leanne Morgan stars in her own multicam sit-
com for Net ix called “Leanne,” debuting Thursday. Inspired by her own stand-up, Morgan plays a woman whose husband leaves her for another woman after more than three decades of marriage. Morgan stars alongside sitcom vets Kristen Johnston and Tim Daly. Anthony Mackie’s “Twisted Metal” is back on Peacock for a second season beginning Thursday. The show is adapted from a popular video game franchise and picks up about seven months after the events of season one. Momoa brings his passion project “Chief of War” to Apple TV+ on Friday. Set in the late 18th century, Momoa plays Kauai, a nobleman and warrior, who plays a major part in the uni cation of the Hawaiian Islands. The series is based on true events
and is told from an Indigenous point- of-view.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY Games set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth usually want to drag us back to Mount Doom for another confrontation with the Dark Lord. But what if you’re a Hobbit who just wants to hang out with your friends in your peaceful village? That’s your mission in Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game. It’s a cozy sim from Weta Workshop, the company behind the special e ects in Peter Jackson’s lms. You can grow a garden, go shing, trade with your neighbors and — most important for a Hobbit — cook and eat. It’s about as far from Mordor as it gets, and you can start decorating your own Hobbit Hole now on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch or PC.