Chatham County Sheri K-9 Uno dressed up as Batman — Bat-dog? — to greet kids and parents at the Siler City Trunk or Treat last Friday.
In a post on Facebook, K-9 Uno encouraged everyone to “stay pawsitive, keep smiling, and don’t forget: not all heroes wear capes… some wear collars.”
Republicans send Biden autopen report to Justice Department, urge investigations
House Republicans have released a long-promised report on former President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen and the alleged cover-up of his mental state while in o ce. Tuesday’s report issues a scathing critique of Biden’s team but cites largely public information and no speci c instances of illegal activity to back up the report’s explosive conclusions. While Republicans did not cite a speci c case of the autopen being misused in the Biden White House, they called all actions taken by the previous administration void. Congressional Republicans also sent letters to Attorney General Pam Bondi and the D.C. Board of Medicine calling for further investigations into Biden’s former aides and his doctor.
Musk launches Grokipedia to compete with Wikipedia
Elon Musk has launched Grokipedia, a crowdsourced online encyclopedia that the billionaire seeks to position as a rival to Wikipedia. Musk announced on social media that “Grokipedia.com version 0.1 is now live” and promised further improvements. The site aims to present “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Grokipedia currently has a minimalist design with a search bar and claims to have more than 885,000 articles. Unlike Wikipedia, which relies on volunteers, it’s unclear how Grokipedia’s content is created.
$2.00
The proposed Reeves Farm development could have up to 1,700 residences
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
PITTSBORO — The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners has opted to push o a decision on another potential major development project.
At its Oct. 13 meeting, the board held public hearings for multiple items related to the Reeves Farm development, a 500-acre neighborhood mixed-use project located along U.S. Highway 64 West.
The board rst held a hearing for the voluntary annexation of the property, however, the board approved it only on the condition that the development agreement was approved as well.
“The development agreement is required in this particular instance because of a condition that you all put on the rezoning of this property back in 2023 that says prior to the site plan or preliminary subdivision approval, the applicant is supposed to submit and obtain the approval of a development agreement,”
See PITTSBORO, page A3
The commissioners voted to table a rezoning request for a potential 371 units
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
SILER CITY — The Town of Siler City Board of Commis-
sioners dealt with a handful of subdivision items at its most recent meeting.
At its Oct. 20 meeting, the board held three public hearings, with the rst being for major modi cations to a previously approved conditional zoning for approximately 177 acres of property located on West Third
Street, otherwise known as the Fox Haven subdivision. The prior rezoning request was approved on April 17, 2023, changing the zoning district from Agricultural and Residential to a conditional Residential zoning, with the original plan being to construct 776 dwelling units split amongst detached
When the government shutdown will a ect SNAP, Head Start, military pay
This week could be a tough one for those who rely on the government
By Meg Kinnard The Associated Press
WITH THE federal government shutdown nearing the one-month mark, Americans are starting to see the cascading e ects of programs shuttered by lapses in federal funding. Some states are scrambling to nd ways to account for shortfalls in food and child development assistance, and members
of the military are also about to miss their rst paychecks. Some federal workers have already gone without pay for weeks. But nearly a month in, reserves that had kept some programs a oat since the shutdown began are dwindling, meaning new layers of complications as Congress remains unable to reach a new agreement to fund the federal government.
A look at what millions of Americans can expect this week.
“We meet once a month, and this is entirely unacceptable.”
Commissioner John Foley on receiving an amended agreement just hours before the board’s meeting
single-family homes, multifamily townhomes and apartments.
The proposed changes, however, include the removal of the 288 planned multifamily apartments, instead replacing the units in that area of the plan with detached single-family dwellings.
This change also lowers the density per acre from 4.4 dwelling units to 3.2 and places the total proposed dwelling units at 560 between the detached single-family units and multifamily townhomes.
See SILER CITY, page A3
Oct. 20
• Rebecca Cheryl Poe, 32, of Bear Creek, was arrested for possession of controlled substance on prison/ jail premises, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Oct. 21
• Robert Lee Mason Jr., 39, of Siler City, was arrested for communicating threats.
Oct. 25
• Daniel Austin Everwine III, 58, of Siler City, was arrested for conspiracy to tra c methamphetamine.
• Robert Ray Antlitz, 53, of Sanford, was arrested for conspiracy to tra c methamphetamine.
Oct. 26
• Tony Alexander Ledwell, 57, of Siler City, was arrested for communicating threats.
• Milton Eugine Clark, 54, was arrested for larceny from a merchant.
Oct. 27
• Jessica Rose Flanagan, 42, of Durham, was arrested for larceny and felony conspiracy.
• Brandon Douglas Massey, 35, of Pittsboro, was arrested for breaking and entering, assault on a female and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
The annual program recognizes older adults’ contributions to the community
Chatham News & Record sta CHATHAM COUNTY Aging Services is accepting nominations for the fourth annual “6 over 60” Awards, which recognizes older adults who have made signi cant contributions to the community. The awards ceremony will be held Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Pittsboro Center for Active Living.
To be eligible, nominees must be 60 years or older as of Jan. 1, 2026, and must have
The deadline for nominee consideration is Jan. 23, 2026.
made or continue to make meritorious contributions in Chatham County. Award winners must live in Chatham County or have spent the majority of their life or career in the county.
Nomination forms are available at the Pittsboro Center for Active Living at 365 Highway 87 North and the Siler City Center for Active Living at 112 Village Lake Road. Residents can also submit nominations online at
chathamcountync.gov/agingservices by clicking on the “6 over 60” tab. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Jan. 23. Award recipients will be noti ed shortly after the deadline.
The program, which began in 2023, aims to showcase that age doesn’t have to be an impediment to community service. Nominations are submitted by the public and reviewed by a selection committee. Nominees who are not selected remain in consideration for future years unless they request removal. Posthumous awards are not given, and current Chatham County Aging Services employees cannot be nominated or submit nominations.
NAM Y. HUH / AP PHOTO
A customer lls up his vehicle’s gas tank at a gas station in Bu alo Grove, Illinois, on April 23, 2024.
People’s assessment of their current economic situation improved, however
By Matt Ott The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumer con dence weakened slightly in October as Americans remain anxious about their future nancial prospects.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer con dence index fell by 1 point to 94.6 in October from an upwardly revised September reading of 95.6. Economists were expecting the reading to come in unchanged from the previous month. One year ago, the reading was 109.5.
A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market dipped by 2.9 points to 71.5, remaining well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead.
However, consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation rose 1.8 points to 129.3. Write-in responses to the survey showed that prices and in ation remained consumers’ biggest concern. Mentions of tari s declined again this month but remain elevated, the Conference Board said.
Last week, government data showed that in ation in the U.S. remained elevated in September as gas prices jumped while the cost of rents cooled, painting a mixed picture for consumers. While the economy is still growing steadily, hiring remains slow
94.6
The consumer con dence index for October, down from 95.6 in September
and more high-pro le companies have recently announced layo s.
Consumer prices increased 3% in September from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, the highest since January and up from 2.9% in August.
The report on the consumer price index was issued more than a week late because of the Oct. 1 government shutdown. Federal Reserve o cials had signaled it would cut its key interest rate at its meeting Wednesday. It would be the second time this year even though in ation is above the central bank’s 2% target. Fed o cials have cited increasing concerns about the U.S. labor market, which, while broadly healthy by historical standards, is showing signs of deterioration this year.
Responses to the Conference Board’s latest survey revealed that while respondents were slightly more positive about current job market, they are growing more concerned about their future employment prospects.
The most recent government jobs report showed that U.S. nonfarm employers added a paltry 22,000 jobs in August, following July’s disappointing 79,000 job gains. Worse, revisions to the May and June gures shaved 258,000 jobs o previous estimates. The unemployment rate stands at
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Chatham County:
Nov. 8
Mocha Market 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
An assortment of vendors will o er a variety or holiday décor and gift items. For more information, call 919-799-7127.
Mystic Mocha 111 Siler City Crossing Siler City
Nov. 9
Sunday Funday Market at The Plant Noon to 4 p.m.
The market o ers a wide range of vendors from crafts to eatables and beverages. Live musical performances will be showcased throughout the day. Free admission.
220 Lorax Lane Pittsboro
Nov. 11
Chatham Women’s Exchange
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This conference centers around women’s issues, including empowerment and nding ways to resolve challenges and make a di erence in the community. For more information and to register, contact Cheryl Littleton at 984-265-9172.
Splendour Estates 621 Siler City Snow Camp Road Siler City
Nov. 14
4.3%, the highest since October 2021. The government did not issue its September jobs report due to the shutdown.
In addition to the lingering e ects of 11 interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023, economists say the recent hiring slump may also be a result of Trump’s policies, including his sweeping and ever-changing tari s on imports, a crackdown on illegal immigration and purges of the federal workforce.
Many companies have been locked in a “no hire, no re” position, fearful of expanding payrolls until the e ects of Trump’s tari s are more clear. But in the past two weeks, there have been notable exceptions from major U.S. corporations.
On Tuesday, Amazon said it will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs as the online retail giant ramps up spending on arti cial intelligence while trimming costs elsewhere. Last week, Target said it would eliminate about 1,800 corporate positions.
Also last week, Meta Platforms said it was cutting roughly 600 positions and in September, Starbucks announced plans to close hundreds of stores while laying o 900 nonretail employees.
Survey respondents who said they intended to buy a new or used car in the near future rose. While the share of those saying they planned to purchase a home declined slightly this month, the broader six-month trend is still rising, the Conference Board said. Plans to buy big-ticket items like appliances was little changed from September.
Where the Stars, Stripes and Eagles Fly 9:30-10:15 a.m.
Participants aged 3-5 will be introduced to patriotic symbols through craft and story time, explaining how these things came to be associated with U.S. history and identity. Registration, which is required and costs $7, is now open and closes on Nov. 3. Contact 919-642-7086.
Chatham Grove Community Center 1301 Andrews Store Road Pittsboro
Nov. 15
Mill Town Yarns presents the Regional NC Storytellers Showcase at BFP
7-8:30 p.m.
An evening of professional storytelling by members of the NC Storytelling Guild: Ron Jones, Cynthia Brown, Steven Tate, Willa Brigham, Peg Helminski and Robin Kitson. No admission, but donations are encouraged.
Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum
Don’t toss your
pumpkin — bake, compost or feed it to farm animals instead
Old gourds still have value even after being carved up
By Kiki Sideris The Associated Press
DON’T LET your Halloween pumpkin haunt the land ll this November.
More than 1 billion pounds of pumpkins rot in U.S. landlls each year after Halloween, according to the Department of Energy.
Yours doesn’t have to go to waste. Experts told us your pumpkins can be eaten, composted or even fed to animals. Here’s how.
Cooking with pumpkin waste
If you’re carving a jack-o’lantern, don’t throw away the skin or innards — every part is edible.
After carving, you can cube the excess esh — the thick part between the outer skin and the inner pulp that holds the seeds — for soups and stews, says Carleigh Bodrug, a chef known for cooking with common food scraps. You can also puree it and add a tablespoon to your dog’s dinner for extra nutrients. And pumpkin chunks can be frozen for future use.
“The seeds are a nutritional gold mine,” Bodrug said. They’re packed with protein, magnesium, zinc and healthy fats, according to a 2022 study in the journal Plants.
One of Bodrug’s recipes involves removing the seeds, rinsing and roasting them with cinnamon for a crunchy snack or salad topper. Then you can use the stringy guts to make a pumpkin puree for mu ns. This version di ers from canned purees in grocery stores — which typically use a di erent type of pumpkin or squash — because carving pumpkins have stringier innards and a milder avor.
“A large percentage of what ends up going to the land ll is stu that could have been composted.”
Dante Sclafani, compost coordinator
A carving pumpkin’s guts can still be used for baking — you’ll just have to amp up the seasoning to boost the avor.
If you don’t want to eat your pumpkins, you can donate them to a local farm, which might use them to feed pigs, chickens and other animals.
Edible parts should be collected while you’re carving and before it’s painted, decorated or left on your porch for weeks. Paint and wax aren’t foodsafe, and bacteria and mold can grow on the skin in outdoor climates.
Once you’ve cooked what you can and donated what’s safe to feed, composting the rest is the easiest way to keep it out of the land ll.
“That way, even though they’re not safe to eat, they can still give back to the earth,” Bodrug said.
Composting at home or donating to a farm
Composting pumpkins keeps them out of methane-emitting land lls and turns them into nutrient-rich soil instead. You can do this at home or drop them o at a local farm, compost collection bin or drop-o site.
“A large percentage of what ends up going to the land ll is stu that could have been composted,” said Dante Sclafani, compost coordinator at Queens County Farm in New York. “So even just cutting down something like pumpkins could really help curb how many garbage bags you’re putting out every week.”
Before composting, remove any candles, plastic, glitter or other decorations — they can contaminate the compost. A little glitter or paint won’t ruin the pile, but it’s best to get it as clean as possible before tossing it in. Then, chop up the pumpkin in 1-inch pieces so it can break down easier.
“Pumpkins are full of water, so it’s important to maintain a good balance of dried leaves, wood chips, sawdust, shredded newspaper, cardboard, straw — anything that’s a dry organic material — in your compost bin,” Sclafani said. If you don’t maintain this balance, your compost might start to stink.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a healthy compost pile should include a mix of “greens” — like pumpkin scraps and food waste — and “browns” like dry leaves, straw or cardboard, in roughly a three-to-one ratio. That balance helps the pile break down faster and prevents odors.
And if your pumpkin’s been sitting on the porch all month? That’s actually ideal. “It’s never too far gone for compost,” Sclafani said. “Even if it’s mushy or moldy, that actually helps, because the fungus speeds up decomposition.”
“Composting anything organic is better than throwing it out because you’re not creating more refuse in land lls, you’re not creating methane gas,” said Laura Graney, the farm’s education director.
Graney said autumn on the farm is the perfect opportunity to teach kids about composting since it gives them a sense of power in the face of big environmental challenges.
“Even though they’re little, composting helps them feel like they can make a di erence,” Graney said. “They take that message home to their families, and that’s how we spread the word.”
ing units while maintaining the previously promised open space.
“As our clients were going through their marketing and reacting to the sales demand that they expect, they just didn’t see the apartments in this location, so far removed from 64, as being viable,” said LJA Engineering Vice President Mark Ashton, who was representing the applicant. “Our client has several pieces of land in that western area, which is designated as a growth zone on your land use plan, and a couple of those are closer to the 64 corridor. They think that the apartments would be viable closer to that in a future phase, not associated with this project.”
According to the applicant, the changes in essence just reduce the number of dwell-
Following the hearing, the board approved the request. The second hearing was for a conditional rezoning request of approximately 27 acres of property located o of Jones Road for the development of a major subdivision with cluster option consisting of 18 single-family lots.
“For rural zoning, it is usually low-density residential, with larger lot developments consisting of detached, single-family dwellings,” said Planning and Community Development Director Tim Garner. “The developer is also proposing septic and wells for this development.” Currently, the property is vacant.
The board also approved the request following the hearing.
The nal hearing was for another conditional rezoning request for approximately 135 acres of property located o of Harold Andrews Road for a major subdivision.
The proposed development would consist of 371 residential units in a mix of detached single-family residential lots and townhomes.
However, neighboring residents brought up concerns surrounding tra c and density, so the commissioners voted to table the item to allow time for more discussions between the developers and neighbors to occur.
The Town of Siler City Board of Commissioners will next meet Nov. 3.
from page A1
said town attorney Paul Messick Jr. According to the town’s UDO, the purpose of the development agreement is to “ensure the adequacy of public facilities and encourage sound capital improvement planning while providing certainty in the process of obtaining development approval and reducing the economic cost of development by providing greater regulatory certainty.”
The agreement states that the developers are proposing to construct up to 1,700 residences and up to 1.012 million square feet of retail and commercial space within the property.
In addition, the developers are also proposing more than 100 units of a ordable housing, the dedication of over 45 acres of land for a public, recreation area, $500,000 in an escrow fund as a fee in lieu payment to be used to construct improvements on the dedicated land, a 6,000-foot-long paved greenway and pedestrian trail and a multi-use path.
Per the applicants, the project is projected to take around seven to eight years to complete.
However, following discussions, the board voted to table the item until the next meeting due to outstanding questions and to give town sta and the commissioners more time to review the agreement as the current version was only received a few hours before the meeting.
“I received four amendments to the agenda in four
days,” said Commissioner John Foley. “We meet once a month, and this is entirely unacceptable. It doesn’t make us look good when we receive a copy of this agreement hours before the meeting.”
“It seems like there are a lot of things sort of up in the air and without concrete answers, so we need concrete questions so they can give us concrete answers,” said Mayor Pro Tem Pamela Baldwin
The board also held a public hearing for a general use rezoning request for just under four acres of property located at 102 Park Drive to go from Medium Residential to Highway Business (C-2) According to the applicant, the plan is to utilize that space for o ce and residential uses, namely small-scale apartments, medical o ces, retail, restaurants and/or inn/bed and breakfast.
However, the commissioners expressed concern over the openness of the C-2 zoning, which allows more than 40 di erent uses per the town’s UDO.
“C-2 just opens this zoning up to anything,” said Commissioner Jay Farrell. “Just about anything can go there. Tire capping, adult establishments, it just goes on and on.”
Following discussions, the applicant elected to withdraw their request in order to come back with a conditional rezoning application, which will more than likely limit the allowances within the requested C-2 district.
The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will next meet Nov. 10.
Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
COLUMN | ANDREW TAYLOR-TROUTMAN
“The love of the love that I have for myself.”
MY CHURCH volunteers at least once a month in Siler City with the Chatham Youth Development Center. North Carolina’s Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention operates this facility for children under 18 years of age who have committed crimes. Chatham’s site is the only such center that serves females. From a “cognitive-behavioral treatment approach,” the sta works in a service planning team that operates under a child- and family-centered model. Each service planning team develops an individualized plan to meet each child’s needs. There is also follow-up with the child and their caregivers upon their release from the facility.
Our volunteers play a much smaller role; we teach art and poetry to the residents. I’d like to tell you about one of the poems I keep on my desk. The prompt was Billy Collins’s “Aimless Love,” and the child’s poem is indebted to that poem’s structure and even repeats some of the words. But the most striking lines are all her own:
COLUMN
“The love of the love that I have for myself.”
Come on, how beautiful is that? Collins’ poem is about noticing the little things — the wren’s nest, the clean white shirt and the hot evening shower. I do think that such attention can call gratitude and wonder to mind for, as the hymn has it, “all things bright and beautiful; all creatures, great and small.”
However, the piercing insight of the child’s poem is that love of the created world must also include ourselves as part of the creation — we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139).
Elsewhere in her poem, the child acknowledged the negative voices in her life, which she names as “the bad a rmations I used to feed myself.” This is a fascinating choice of words, don’t you think? “A rmation” is generally a positive term, yet in this poem, it refers to negative self-talk and is imagined as toxic food or chemicals. In contrast, “the love of the love … for myself” was prompted by her own “beautiful re ection.” Another ancient poet
wrote that, in this world of sorrow and woe, we see only a dim re ection of our true selves as “through a glass, darkly.” I imagine that many residents of Chatham’s YDC are tempted toward negative self-re ection that results in shame.
I recognize that most are likely guilty of their crimes, but I wish to emphasize the distinction between guilt and shame. As sociologist Brené Brown de nes the terms, guilt is knowing that I have done something bad; shame is believing that I am bad. Guilty actions have consequences, yet the abiding sense of shame will not help a person learn from their mistakes or grow into their best self.
That’s why I return to this child’s poem, which I keep on my desk: “This is the best kind of love, I thought… The love of the love that I have for myself.”
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.
We start o in spring, as little folks like buds on owers or the newly born lambs. We nd, as Bill Cosby often said before his fall, that we indeed “started out as a child.”
THERE’S A CHILL in the air. Fall is here. The calendar says so; the weather con rms it.
Sure, there are still warm days. And it’s been said by natives and transplants alike if you don’t like the weather here, just wait ve minutes; it’ll probably change.
I had an up-close, personal reminder of that early one morning recently. My better half was o being grandmother, and I was on our front porch in my rocking chair o ce, cup of co ee in hand. A modest breeze was coming from the east and, when coupled with the quiet of the morning, it made things pleasantly cool. And good.
All of that was nice, those external sensations — the breeze, the quiet, the stout java. But there was more.
As I’ve always been prone to do — and apparently am doing more — my mind began wandering. Sometimes it goes o on long trips, moving from one thought to another until I can’t get back to where I started. That’s been known also at times to happen in Sunday morning sermons to the good folks at Bear Creek Baptist. Other times, the mind takes those lengthy excursions and I can return to the starting line; the latter are more preferred than the former. And then there are those short trips somewhere of someone or some place at some time.
As I was exploring those mind roads, a thought came: Life is like that. We start o in spring, as little folks like buds on owers or the newly born lambs. We nd, as Bill Cosby often said before his fall, that we indeed “started out as a child.”
Then comes summer, and it lasts a long time, from youth to young adulthood, until mid-life sometimes. We grow, strive,
prosper in all sorts of ways, just like the trees of the forest or crops in the eld. We reach upward toward the sky, con dent we’ll always be like this. That’s one reason when tragedy intrudes into the world of youth we are so shocked.
Sitting in the rocker, alternately drinking and smelling the co ee, I thought of some of the folks of those two seasons in my life … my long-gone maternal grandparents whom I barely remember, my dad’s folks whom I do, my folks whom I remember well and miss … aunts and uncles and cousins … my brothers when we all wore younger men’s clothes, even young men’s clothes … my better half (thankfully), her folks, my own children and grands … some long ago girlfriends, wondering how their lives turned out … some high school buddies, including one who left us when tragedy entered our summer world … some college friends I was sure I’d never lose sight of until I saw their names on the obituary pages.
There were folks of di erent careers — long ago at The Chatham News, the Asheboro Courier-Tribune when I thought I wanted to be a reporter on a daily, of a corporate communication career with an out t that doesn’t exist anymore (not my fault) … of folks encountered during a journey into vocational ministry … pastors and seminary professors, all good, some better than others — Dr. Horne, Dr. Dale, Dr. Durham … a dear friend as close as a brother who crossed the Great Divide in his sleep one night when he was way too young … and on and on.
Somewhere in the midst of all that, it occurred to me that the seasons of the year and the seasons of our lives can — and do — often easily transition from one to
another. After all, it wasn’t so long ago, the weather was hot and as summer was in full swing. Then came cooler days and nights, and autumn. So with our lives. I realized, for me, summer’s long over and it’s fall. Winter’s next. Part of that is because I’ve had a few birthdays. Part is because my shoulders are shot and it’s hard to hold my arms upward for very long. Part of it is the realization I’ve had a few visits with surgeons for various necessities, and while things basically went well, they did not turn back the clock to spring … or even early summer.
The key, I think, to all this awareness of the seasons of time and life is rst, to know where we are. As much as I’m able, I want to stretch out fall as long as possible. That’s why for the weather forecast, there’s wood under the shelter, some of it in wife-size pieces, and for the body there’s Ben-Gay for aching joints.
Then, secondly, it’s to make the best of the season you’re in. I enjoyed remembering all those people, places and things while in the rocking chair the other day, but the reality is, I can’t change a thing or live there. That’s not to say I won’t visit again, maybe soon when it’s cool again and the co ee pot is on, but the key will be not only to remember but to learn.
My hope for you is that you have similar places to visit, good folks to remember and life lessons learned. If so, enjoy and pass along those lessons. If not, take a look at your calendar and see where you are. It’s likely not too late to start.
Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.
I’m a strong advocate of lifting people up. Lifting the spirits, mood, emotional outlook (you get the drift) of my fellow humans.
SMALL TALK? You’re going to write about small talk?
Well, yes … OK, I’m outta here! Small talk? Give me a break.
No, no, how ‘bout giving me a break? Have I bored you to tears in past columns?
No. OK, let’s give it a go …
Just a heads up, the “small talk” stu doesn’t come until later, if that helps. We’re o !
I’m a strong advocate of lifting people up (well, not literally, since my back would o er a strong dissent in that direction.) Lifting the spirits, mood, emotional outlook (you get the drift) of my fellow humans. Plain and simple acknowledgment of the other. You, you and even you, over in the corner with your back turned to the rest of us. I don’t see you as just another piece of furniture in a room to be stepped around or ignored. I love seeing a glimmer of light appear in another person’s eyes that wasn’t there previously. (Cheap therapy for the world? You think?) Light? Really happy you’re a purveyor of light. More power to you. But please, tell me what the heck this “light” thing is? I’m lost in metaphor land. We’re nally getting to small talk. (Told you it wouldn’t be until later.) Small talk, we’re on the journey to pull you out of
The intent is to focus on what’s best for Siler City, not what’s best for any political group.
SILER CITY’S write-in candidates are challenging more than an incumbent — they’re challenging us to care again.
As Siler City approaches another mayoral election, the community nds itself divided — not by party or ideology but by misunderstanding. Too many conversations about the mayor’s race have turned personal when they should be about purpose. It’s time we take a clear look at what the mayor’s role actually is and what kind of leadership our town truly needs.
Siler City operates under a council–manager form of government. In this structure, the mayor serves as the chair of the Board of Commissioners, guiding meetings, helping set agendas and representing the town at o cial functions. The town manager, not the mayor, oversees the daily operations of government — managing sta , departments and the implementation of policy. The mayor’s in uence, therefore, isn’t about control; it’s about leadership, collaboration and vision.
It’s also important to remember that our local elections are nonpartisan. Candidates do not run under political party labels. The intent is to focus on what’s best for Siler City, not what’s best for any political group. Local government, at its best, is about community, not party lines.
This year, the mayor’s seat carries a four-year term. While the incumbent appears unopposed
the ditch of misconception! Hang in!
Allow me to surprise you. Upfront and personal, I nd small talk to be boring and arti cial, but that’s small talk with people I know well. Small talk, as a social savior, is something of a di erent order.
Excuse me, small talk as a social savior? Aren’t we overdoing this a bit?
Nope. Research (my ace in the hole) shows that small talk “enhanced daily positive emotions for people … and enhanced well-being.” Oh, come on, is that not cool or what? We’re all unique human beings, no matter what roles we embody in this life. Abbreviated small talk can be an easy way to acknowledge the belonging of each of us in that great human smorgasbord. (Don’t you like belonging? I do.)
Small talk, for heaven’s sake! Who would have thought?
Should you run into me at a gas station’s checkout counter, I’m the one who’s brie y chatting up the cashier. I love seeing her come alive for a moment. She’s not solely a machine operator behind a counter. Real person! Real person! I’m an avowed dealer in righteous small talk. Is that so bad?
Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.
IT’S GREAT NEWS that the Trump administration agreed this week with Australia to take steps toward breaking Communist China’s chokehold on rare earth minerals. In addition to a July announcement of a project to extract rare earths from coal mined in Wyoming, President Donald Trump is moving us in a desperately needed direction. But our vulnerabilities to China go much deeper, and much more and faster action is needed.
Rare earth minerals are essential for modern technology. The good news is that they are available virtually everywhere. The bad news is that they generally require strip mining to produce ore, and then the ore must be processed and re ned.
Because environmentalists oppose both mining and processing, neither activity has been undertaken on a meaningful scale in the U.S. for decades. And while a few western nations allow rare earth strip mining, about 90% of rare earth processing occurs in China, where there is no green activism or bureaucracy to obstruct operations.
on the ballot, two residents have stepped forward as write-in candidates. That’s not a small thing.
An uncontested race doesn’t always re ect universal approval — sometimes, it highlights deeper issues like voter disengagement or a sense that community voices aren’t being heard. The emergence of write-in candidates is a signal that people care enough to speak up, to challenge assumptions and to push for renewed accountability.
Still, this election shouldn’t become a popularity contest. Leadership isn’t de ned by how many events one hosts, how many murals one is involved in creating or how many books one writes. Those contributions matter, but they don’t de ne the o ce. What truly matters is this: Who can best represent all of Siler City? Who can unite the Board of Commissioners, inspire cooperation and ensure that every resident — across every neighborhood and background (even those outside the city limits) — feels part of the town’s progress?
This election is more than a vote. It’s a moment to reconnect — with each other and with the principles of service and accountability that local government depends on. We all have a stake in what comes next.
Siler City’s future will be shaped not by titles or personalities but by our shared commitment to good leadership — the kind rooted in listening, inclusion and integrity. The opportunity before us is not just to elect a mayor but to remind ourselves what leadership should look like.
Douglas Allen is a Siler City resident, teacher, caregiver and community observer who writes about civic engagement, church, local government and leadership in small-town North Carolina.
Most Americans are normal people who want the same things Americans have always wanted
THREE WEEKS AGO, The New York Times released a poll of Americans on the question of whether America’s political system could still solve the nation’s problems. The overwhelming response: no. In September 2020, 51% of Americans believed that America’s system could still address America’s problems; by September 2025, that number had declined to 33%. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of Americans believe that America’s political system is too politically divided to solve the nation’s problems. It’s easy to attribute this growing dissatisfaction with some sort of unique period of gridlock. But that’s not what the data suggests. The number of bills passed into law by Congress has not markedly declined since the Obama era — in the 111th Congress (2009-11), for example, there were 383 public laws passed; in the 117th (2021-23) there were 362. And major laws — huge omnibus packages costing trillions of dollars — continue to be signed into law on a regular basis, of course.
It’s also easy to attribute Americans’ growing sense of dread about our political divisions to the rise of social media. And there’s more truth to this: Social media exacerbates our divisions by highlighting the most extreme opinions and signaling on all sides, thus incentivizing creation of such radicalism. The monetary and attentionladen bene ts of such radicalism are clear and obvious to anyone who spends any time on X, for example.
But even that isn’t enough to explain why Americans are so frustrated with their political system. Americans, of course, have been extraordinarily divided before over politics: violent radicalism was a regular feature of life in the 1960s and 1970s, for example. And yet this time feels unique. It feels unique because there are no institutional brakes on such radicalism.
Every major institution in American life — many of which were designed to act as
moderating in uences on popular passions — have completely lost their credibility. From universities, which promoted propagandistic leftism to generations of college students, to churches, which emptied their pews by embracing liberalism above eternal values; from the FBI, which destroyed itself by targeting President Donald Trump, to the media, which wrecked itself on the shoals of Russiagate, BLM, COVID and Joe Biden’s incompetence; virtually all the institutions that would have authority to speak on behalf of truth and decency have collapsed. The result is chaos. And that chaos means mistrust. What can restore that trust? Only leadership. Consistent, capable and able leadership: a willingness to speak the moral truth, to speak facts in a vacuum, to reach across the aisle to others willing to do the same. In an era in which utilitarianism has replaced Biblical morality, in which decency is now perceived as unilateral disarmament, only a bipartisan embrace of rules and decency can provide a path forward. Will that happen? It’s unlikely, but it has happened before. America has undergone spiritual revival; leaders have risen. But it cannot happen unless Americans are willing to tentatively trust one another again. And that cannot happen unless Americans get to know each other once again, o ine, in real life situations. Most Americans are normal people who want the same things Americans have always wanted: a better life for their children, freedom to pursue that life and communities rooted in traditional virtue. The normies must nd each other and must nd solidarity with each other. America does need a revolution — but it needs a Normie Revolution. The time is now. It cannot wait.
Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and co-founder of Daily Wire+.
This means that virtually all our technology is dependent on China, even military technology like the advanced F-35 ghter jet. Imagine not being able to build war planes without China’s cooperation. Even if China was neutral toward the U.S., this situation would be unacceptable.
China’s plan is to become the lone global superpower by 2049, if not sooner. Toward that goal, China is quietly but certainly preparing itself for confrontation, if not war. This is evidenced, in part, by China’s focus on electrifying its economy to reduce dependency on the global oil and natural gas market dominated by the U.S.
China has also cleverly worked to avoid war against a superior foe by simply checkmating the U.S. and western nations through economic and energy dependence, and even sabotage. After being mildly criticized by Australia during COVID, China announced it would use trade as a weapon and then promptly stopped trading with Australia. More recently, in response to U.S. and European e orts to build EV batteries domestically, China announced export limits on the rare earths and processed graphite needed to make batteries.
The Trump administration moved to stymie this part of the Chinese plan through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted last July.
Our China-dependent technology includes all the wind turbines, solar panels, grid batteries and EVs that greens have induced us to buy over the past two decades. Worse than just the $250 billion in solar subsidies China expected to reap from U.S. taxpayers through the Green New Scam is the fact that electricity prices and equipment availability in the U.S. would be almost entirely dependent on the goodwill of China. The OBBBA reduced Green New Scam spending by about $500 billion, but there is still another $500 billion or so left over from its passage that can be spent on technology from China.
Further, there are genuine concerns that our electricity grid may already be contaminated with presabotaged Chinese technology. In 2024, Duke Energy removed Chinese-made batteries from the U.S. Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune over concerns that China could communicate remotely with the batteries. In the U.K., there is concern that China can remotely control EVs.
At this point, we don’t even know how vulnerable to China we really are. It’s almost too scary to think about. But we must nd out. Here is how to start.
In the wake of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commission noti ed publicly traded companies that, given the war, they might have to disclose their dependence on, or involvement with, Russia. Because our economy relies to a much greater extent on China than Russia, I subsequently petitioned the SEC to require that publicly traded companies report to their shareholders on their dependency to China. I didn’t expect the Biden administration to do anything, and it lived up to my expectations. But the Trump administration should follow up.
Over the past few decades, our political and business leaders have allowed and/or made us completely vulnerable to our chief geopolitical rival, if not enemy, China. We don’t actually know how vulnerable we are and can’t possibly even develop a plan to do something about it. We need to nd out before it’s too late.
Some may think that if we are vulnerable to China then they must somehow be vulnerable to us, and the vulnerabilities would be o setting. But Communist China is a ruthless totalitarian state that is willing to do unspeakable things and impose conditions on its own population that westerners can’t imagine or don’t appreciate. If economic and societal pain comes from war or confrontation, China’s zero tolerance for internal dissent will be a key advantage.
To be prepared to defend ourselves, we must understand our vulnerabilities as soon as possible. Communist China already knows them and may be ready to exploit them at any time.
Steve Milloy is a biostatistician and lawyer who posts on X at @JunkScience. This column was rst published by Daily Caller News Foundation.
Nov. 11, 1937 – Oct. 24, 2025
Harry Franklin Knepp Jr., 87, of Bear Creek, went to his Heavenly home on Friday, October 24th, 2025, while at UNC Chapel Hill hospital.
Harry was born on November 11th, 1937, in Clinton County, PA, to the late Harry Franklin Knepp Sr. and Kathleen Merritt Knepp. He is preceded in death by his
parents; his sister, Sandra Williams; his wife, Jean Lupold Knepp; and his son, Robbie Knepp.
Harry worked as a computer engineer for the Navy and IBM in the technical eld. He is survived by his daughter, Erin K. Warrick and her husband, Donnie; his grandchildren, Catilin Brown and her husband, Matt. Jesse Knepp, Cheyenne Warrick, and Isaac Knepp and his wife, Becca; his great grandchildren, Oliver Brown, Sawyer Brown, and Emily Knepp. He is also survived by his four-legged best friend, Briscoe.
A graveside memorial service will be held at a later date in Avis, PA.
Smith & Buckner Funeral Home will be assisting the Knepp family. Online condolences can be made at www. smithbucknerfh.com
SHIRLEY AUSTIN PHILLIPS
APRIL 27, 1935 – OCT. 24, 2025
Shirley Austin Phillips, 90, of Bear Creek, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 24, 2025, at Alpine Rehab in Asheboro, NC.
Shirley was born in Durham County, NC on April 27, 1935, to the late W.A. and Hattie Welch Austin. Shirley grew up in Siler City on a family farm in the Brush Creek community and she attended Henry Siler School and Paul Braxton. She attended Brush Creek Baptist Church as a child and loved it dearly. Shirley was married to the late James Madison until his passing in 1978. She was a long-time member of Hickory Grove Baptist Church. It was her instilled faith as a child that led her to serve the Lord through directing many Christmas programs, singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School, and spending many years leading the youth, Gas and Acteens. Shirley loved to cook for her family and was known for her turkey dressing.
She is survived by her daughters, Cathy P. Brewer (Sammy) and Beckie P. Spivey (Danny) and her son, Darrell Phillips; daughter-in-law, Lynn Phillips all of Bear Creek. She is also survived by 5 grandchildren, Shalon Matthews, Bristin Brewer (Ashley), Hailey Phillips, Sumner Reaves (Andrew), and Spivey (Brooks); and six great-grandchildren, Ella, Ava, Rhyatt, Colby, Hatleigh “Hattie” and Holt; and many special nieces and nephews.
He helped build the team into one of the best of the 1970s
By Josh Dubow The Associated Press
GEORGE ATKINSON, a hard-hitting former Raiders safety who struck fear in the opposition, has died. He was 78.
The Raiders said Atkinson’s family informed the team of his death Monday. The team said he died in Georgia without revealing a cause of death.
The Raiders called Atkinson the anchor of the team’s “Soul Patrol” secondary of the 1970s that helped lead the team to its rst Super Bowl title. Atkinson remained connected to the organization until his death.
“George’s contributions as a friend and mentor to everyone in the Raiders organization continued long after his playing career, and his genuine personality and wonderful sense of humor will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him,” the team said in a statement.
Atkinson played 144 games in his career, spending 10 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and a nal season with the Denver Broncos. He played in seven AFL or AFC championship games and helped the Raiders win the Super Bowl following the 1976 season.
His 33 career interceptions in the regular season and playo s rank fourth all-time for the Raiders but he was most known for his physical play.
“Football is a collision sport,” Atkinson told the San Jose Mercury News in a 2016 interview. “If you don’t have a certain mentality, you will get run out of the game.”
Atkinson had disclosed he was su ering symptoms consistent with CTE in that interview.
Atkinson joined the Raiders after being drafted in the seventh round in 1968. He was part
of a stellar draft class that included Hall of Famers Ken Stabler and Art Shell, as well as running backs Marv Hubbard and Charlie Smith, who all helped build the team into one of the top in the league in the 1970s.
“We became part of the nucleus for the Raiders from that draft,” Atkinson once told the team website. “We wore the Silver and Black with pride. We understood what the tradition was and what we had to live up to.”
Atkinson was a major part of that almost from the start, scoring on an 86-yard punt return in his professional debut. He made the AFL Pro Bowl in his rst two seasons for his play as a returner and defensive back and later became part of the most feared safety duo in the NFL after Jack Tatum was drafted in the rst round in 1971.
In an era when receivers had little or no protection when going over the middle, Atkinson and Tatum doled out harsh punishment to anyone who tried.
“We never go out on the eld with the intention of trying to hurt anyone but we go out with intentions of getting our jobs
done,” Atkinson said at the time. “If you don’t want to get hit, it’s best not to show up when we play Sunday. I guarantee you will get hit.”
Atkinson’s most famous hits came against Pittsburgh and Hall of Fame receiver Lynn Swann. He knocked him out in the 1975 AFC championship game and then again in the 1976 season opener with a forearm to the back of the head on a play when Swann didn’t even get the ball.
“Maybe a little outside of the rules but that was George’s way of setting the tone for the game,” Stabler later said in an interview with NFL Films.
The second hit on Swann led Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll to refer to Atkinson as part of the “criminal element” in the NFL. Atkinson sued Noll for defamation but lost the suit.
Atkinson’s twin sons George III and Josh both played football at Notre Dame with George Atkinson III having a brief NFL career that included a stint with the Raiders. Josh died by suicide in 2018 and George III died by suicide in 2019.
He won two Grammy awards and worked with Miles Davis, Chet Baker and more
By Jocelyn Noveck The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Jack DeJohnette, a celebrated jazz drummer who worked with Miles Davis on his landmark 1970 fusion album and collaborated with Keith Jarrett and a vast array of other jazz greats, has died at 83.
The acclaimed drummer, bandleader and composer died Sunday in Kingston, New York, of congestive heart failure, surrounded by his wife, family and close friends, his assistant, Joan Clancy, told The Associated Press.
A winner of two Grammy awards, the Chicago-born DeJohnette began his musical life as a classical pianist, starting training at age 4, before taking up the drums with his high school band. He was in demand in his early years as both a pianist and a drummer.
Over the years he collaborated not only with Davis and Jarrett but also with names like John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Betty Carter — “virtually every major jazz gure from the 1960s on,” wrote the National Endowment for the Arts, which honored him in 2012 with a Jazz Master Fellowship.
In an interview for the NEA at the time, DeJohnette described what he felt was the nature of his talent.
“The best gift that I have is the ability to listen, not only listen audibly but listen with my heart,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play with a lot of musicians and leaders who allowed me to have that freedom.”
He added: “I just never doubted that I would be successful at this because it just feels like something’s going through me and lifting me up, and carrying me. All I had to do was acknowledge this gift and put it to use.”
In 1968, DeJohnette joined Davis and his group to work on music leading up to Davis’ 1970 in uential studio album, “Bitches Brew.”
In a Sessions Panel interview, DeJohnette spoke of how he he’d been freelancing in New York when the opportunity arose to join Davis in the stu-
“The best gift that I have is the ability to listen, not only listen audibly but listen with my heart.”
DeJohnette
Jack
dio, at a time when experimentation with genres had become “the new frontier, so to speak.”
“Miles was in a creative mood,” DeJohnette said, “a process of utilizing the studio to go in every day and experiment with grooves. A lot of the music is not that structured. ... It was a matter of grooves, and sometimes a few notes or a few melodies. You’d turn the tape on and just let it roll.”
“Days and days and days of
American jazz drummer, pianist and composer Jack DeJohnette performs at the Five Continents Marseille Jazz festival in Marseille, France, in July 2018.
try and western music, rhythm and blues, swing, jazz, whatever,” his website quotes him as saying. “To me, it was all music and all great. I’ve kept that integrated feeling about music, all types of music, and just carried it with me.”
As a sideman on piano and drums and also with his own groups, DeJohnette had become part of the Chicago jazz scene by the mid-1960s. He was active with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and later drummed alongside Rashied Ali in the John Coltrane Quintet. It was his involvement with Charles Lloyd’s quartet, where he rst performed with Jarrett, that brought him international recognition.
this would go on,” DeJohnette added. “We never thought about how important these records would be, it was just we knew it was important because Miles was there and he was moving forward with something di erent.”
Rolling Stone, which listed DeJohnette as one of the top 100 drummers of all time (at No. 40), cited the drummer’s “own innate knack for turning a memorable tune.”
Born Aug. 9, 1942, in Chicago, DeJohnette grew up in a family that placed great importance on music and its appreciation, according to background material on his website. He studied classical piano as a child privately and then at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. He turned to the drums at age 14, when he joined his school band.
“I listened to opera, coun-
In 1968, DeJohnette joined Davis’ group ahead of the recording of “Bitches Brew,” and remained with him for three years, contributing to further albums while also recording his own as a leader, beginning with the 1969 release “The DeJohnette Complex.”
DeJohnette recorded on various labels during his career but mostly on ECM. In addition to his own many projects and bands, he was a member of the Standards Trio, with Jarrett and Gary Peacock, for more than 25 years.
His two Grammys were for new age album (“Peace Time”) in 2009, a continuous, hourlong piece of music, and for jazz instrumental album (“Skyline”) in 2022.
DeJohnette is survived by his wife, Lydia DeJohnette, and two adult daughters, Farah DeJohnette and Minya DeJohnette, Clancy said.
Several states, including North Carolina, have remade their Congressional maps
By Olivia Diaz and David A. Lieb The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Democrats are taking steps to redraw their state’s U.S. House districts, hoping to boost their party’s chances in next year’s midterm elections and counter President Donald Trump’s push for more partisan districts in Republican-run states.
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott sent a letter last Thursday to members telling them to convene Monday for a special session but did not state a reason. The purpose includes congressional redistricting aimed at gaining more Democratic-held seats, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they are not authorized to publicly discuss them.
Virginia would be the second state with a Democratic-led legislature after California to enter a national redistricting battle with enormous stakes. If Democrats gain just three more seats, they would take control of the House and e ectively impede
Trump’s agenda.
Republican lawmakers in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina already have approved new congressional maps aimed at helping their party win more seats and retain the slim GOP House majority. And even more states are considering redistricting as the battle front widens.
A spokeswoman for Democrats’ House campaign arm characterized Virginia’s e ort as the party pursuing “every available tool to counter Republicans’ desperate attempts to steal the midterms.”
“Virginia’s decision to convene and preserve the right to consider a new map in 2026 is critical in the ght to ensure voters have fair representation,” said Courtney Rice, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Republicans vowed to ght.
Virginia House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore said Democrats missed their opportunity to carry out this procedure by 2026 and that it’s “too late constitutionally” to do so.
“We are going to do everything legally we can do to stop this
power grab,” Kilgore said. Voting districts typically are redrawn at the start of each decade to account for population changes noted by the census. But Trump took the unusual step over the summer of urging Republican-led states to reshape key districts to try to buck a historical trend of a president’s party losing seats in midterm elections.
Virginia currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and ve Republicans who ran in districts whose boundaries were imposed by a court after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to agree on a map after the 2020 census.
The e ort to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts comes in the nal weeks before the Nov. 4 state legislative and statewide elections. But Monday’s session is just the start of what could be a long legislative process, running past the election.
Because Virginia’s redistricting commission was established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment, the electorate must sign o on any changes. And any proposed change to the constitution must rst pass the legislature in two separate sessions. Democrats are scrambling to hold that rst vote this year so that they can approve the change a second time after a new legislative session begins Jan. 14.
Voters still would have to ap-
SNAP from page A1
Friday
According to the Trump administration, funding will run out for the food assistance program that is relied upon by 42 million Americans to supplement their grocery bills. The administration has rejected using more than $5 billion in contingency funds to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program owing into November.
SNAP helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries using debit cards normally loaded each month by the federal government. Some states have pledged to keep the bene ts owing even if the federal program halts payments, but a memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture — which administers the program — says states would not be reimbursed for temporarily picking up the cost.
Another program that helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples, like baby formula, will likely run out of funds the following week. Earlier this month, WIC received a $300 million infusion from the Trump administration, but those funds are running out, too.
Also on Friday, the nation’s 1.3 million active-duty service members are at risk of missing a paycheck. Earlier this month, the Trump administration ensured they were paid by shifting $8 billion from military research and development funds to make payroll. But it is unclear if the Trump administration is willing — or
prove a change in the constitution to allow using the new House map. And that vote would need to occur before congressional primaries, which are currently set for June 16 — though dates for such elections have been pushed back in the past.
In many states, congressional districts are drawn by state lawmakers, subject to the approval of the governor. But North Carolina’s new map, which received nal approval last Wednesday from the Republican-led legislature, did not have to go to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. Those changes target a swing district held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis by adding areas that contain more Republican-leaning voters.
Like Virginia, California has a constitutionally established redistricting commission, which approved maps after the 2020 census. California voters are to decide in a Nov. 4 election whether to temporarily suspend those districts and instead use a map approved by the Democratic-led legislature that could help Democrats pick up as many as ve additional seats.
No voter approval is necessary for the revised districts in Missouri, North Carolina or Texas, though opponents in Missouri are gathering petition signatures to try to force a statewide vote on their new map.
able — to shift money again. Last week, the Pentagon con rmed that it had accepted an anonymous $130 million gift to help pay military members during the shutdown, a bequest that amounted to a small contribution toward the billions needed to cover service member paychecks.
More than 130 Head Start preschool programs won’t receive their annual federal grants on Nov. 1 if the government remains shut down, according to the National Head Start Association. Centers are scrambling to assess how long they can stay open, since nearly all their funding comes from federal taxpayers. Head Start provides education and child care for the nation’s neediest preschoolers. When a center is closed, families may have to miss work or school.
With new grants on hold, a half-dozen Head Start programs have already missed federal disbursements they were expecting Oct. 1 but have stayed open with fast-dwindling reserves or with help from local governments. All told, more than 65,000 seats at Head Start programs across the country could be a ected.
Also Saturday, the window opens for enrolling in A ordable Care Act health plans. In past years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has allowed consumers to preview their health coverage options about a week before open enrollment. But as of this week, Healthcare. gov appeared to show 2025 health insurance plans and estimated prices, instead of next year’s options.
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CREDITOR’S NOTICE
Having quali ed on the 1st day of October 2025, as Administrator of the Estate of Shannon Lee BaileyHill, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 9th day of January, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the estate should make immediate payment.
This is the 2nd day of October 2025. Ariel Clower, Administrator of the Estate of Shannon Lee Bailey-Hill 19429 Elkhart Street Harper Woods, MI 48225
Attorneys: Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A. 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330
Publish On: October 9th, 16th,23rd and 30th 2025.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA, CHATHAM COUNTY
All persons, individuals and companies, having claims against Gerald M. Bernstein, deceased, Chatham County le no. 25E000373-180, are noti ed to present them to the executor named below, on or before January 23, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. Marc Bernstein, 220 Amber Wood Run, Chapel Hill NC 27516, 910-446-8028.
NOTICE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CHATHAM NOTICE
The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of THOMAS HENRY FERGUSON, late of CHATHAM County, North Carolina; This is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before January 16, 2026 or this Notice will be pled in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make payment to the undersigned.
This the 13th day of October, 2025 Henry S. Morphis, Administrator ESTATE OF THOMAS HENRY FERGUSON PO Box 3149 Hickory, NC 28603 Henry S. Morphis, Attorney MORPHIS LAW & MEDIATION Post O ce Box 3149 Hickory, North Carolina 28603 (828) 328-5297
PUBLISH: October 16 , 23, 30th and November 6th, 2025
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Sandra Portnoy Hirschman, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the decedent to present them to the undersigned on or before January 16, 2026, 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 16th day of October, 2025. Daniel Hirschman, Executor of the Estate of Sandra Portnoy Hirschman 13001 Droughton Court Chapel Hill, NC 27517
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
24E001488-180 NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
The undersigned, Daphne Hill, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Albert Roland Cooke, Jr., deceased, late of Chatham County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the day of January 21, 2026, or this notice will be plead in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This the 23rd day of October 2025.
Daphne Hill Executor
Marie H. Hopper
Attorney for the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of Charlene Margaret Gaddy 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 15th day of January, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.
This the 7th day of October, 2025. Charles David Elder, Administrator of The Estate of Charlene Margaret Gaddy 4428 Huntsman Court Castle Hayne, North Carolina 28429 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE
ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CHATHAM File Number 25E000558-180
Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of D. GABRIELLE BROUILLETTE, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of January, 2026, 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.
This the 16th day of October, 2025.
Executor for the Estate Joseph J. DeGeorge 140 Bell Flower Court Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Attorney for the Executor Jennifer C. Noble
N.C. Bar No. 33481 230 N. Elm Street, Suite 1200 Greensboro, NC 27401
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed as Co-Executors of the Estate of Kathleen H. Braxton, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, noti es all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned at their address, 386 Old Siler City Road, Pittsboro, North Carolina, 27312, on or before the 30th day of January, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment.
This 24th day of October, 2025.
Kathy B. Shuping 386 Old Siler City Road
Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312
Michael E. Braxton 296 Old Siler City Road Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312
GUNN & MESSICK, PLLC
P. O. Box 880
Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312-0880 October 30, November 6, 13, 20
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
25E000546-180 All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against Mary H. Hodges, deceased, late of Huntington, West Virginia, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of January, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 9th day of October 2025. Audy M. Perry, Jr., Ancillary Executor c/o Hemphill Gelder, PC PO Box 97035 Raleigh, NC 27624-7035
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED, as Executrix of the Estate of Floyd Teague, Jr., 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 January 29, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 22nd day of October, 2025. Diane T. Campbell, Executrix 1982 Epps Clark Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344 (919) 663-2533
Town of Fuquay-Varina Interbasin Transfer Certi cate NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, 6 p.m., sign-in starting at 5:30 p.m.
Fayetteville Technology Community College Cumberland Hall Auditorium, 2220 Hull Road, Fayetteville, N.C. 28303
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, 6 p.m., sign-in starting at 5:30 p.m.
Ground Floor Hearing Room, Archdale Building, 512 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, N.C., 27604
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, 6 p.m., sign-in starting at 5:30 p.m.
Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center
1192 U.S. Hwy 64 West Business, Pittsboro, N.C. 27312
The Town of Fuquay-Varina (Town) currently relies on wholesale water purchased from neighboring water systems; however, this supply is projected to fall short of future demands, with shortfalls projected by 2030. The preferred alternative will source water from the Tri-Rivers Water Treatment Plant in the Cape Fear River Basin. This requires an Interbasin Transfer (IBT) Certi cate; therefore, the Town is seeking approval to transfer 6.17 million gallons per day from the Cape Fear River basin (2-3) to the Neuse River basin (10-1).
The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission will hold three public hearings on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the IBT Certi cate request. The draft EIS is available on DEQ’s website (link below) and via the North Carolina Department of Administration Environmental Review Clearinghouse. Access to the hydrologic model used in the EIS is also available upon request through the DEQ’s website (link below).
DEQ’s website for the Town of Fuquay-Varina’s IBT request: https://www.deq.nc.gov/about/ divisions/water-resources/water-planning/ water-supply-planning/interbasin-transfercerti cation/fuquay-varina-ibt.
The public is invited to attend the public hearings to provide relevant comments on the draft EIS document for the requested IBT Certi cate. Speaking time may be limited based on attendance. Please submit written copies of verbal comments.
In addition to accepting comments at the hearings, written comments may also be submitted by mail to Maya Holcomb, Division of Water Resources, 512 N Salisbury St, Raleigh, N.C., 27604, or by email to maya.holcomb@deq.nc.gov by Feb. 1, 2026. O30
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
25E000548-180 ALL persons having claims against Sandra Kay Wicker Cameron, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Jan 16 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 16th day of October, 2025.
JOHN B. CAMERON, III, Executor C/O Privette Legacy Planning 1400 Crescent Green, Suite G-100 Cary, NC 27518 O16, 23, 30 and 6
NOTICE
NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS OF Duane Lee Fraser All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Duane Lee Fraser, late of Chatham, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit them to Joseph Duane Fraser as Executor of the decedent’s estate on or before January 31, 2026, c/o Janet B. Witchger, Attorney at Law, 1414 Raleigh Rd., Ste. 203, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, or be barred from their recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the above-named Executor. This the 30th day of October, 2025. Joseph Duane Fraser, Executor c/o Janet B. Witchger, Atty. TrustCounsel 1414 Raleigh Rd., Ste. 203 Chapel Hill, NC 27517
NOTICE
NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS OF Rosemond Rocco
All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Rosemond Rocco, late of Chatham, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit them to Kathleen Rocco as Executor of the decedent’s estate on or before January 24, 2026, c/o Janet B. Witchger, Attorney at Law, 1414 Raleigh Rd., Ste. 203, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, or be barred from their recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the above-named Executor. This the 23rd day of October 2025. Kathleen Rocco, Executor c/o Janet B. Witchger, Atty. TrustCounsel 1414 Raleigh Rd., Ste. 203 Chapel Hill, NC 27517
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000490-180
The undersigned, BEATRICE BARON, having quali ed on the 12th Day of SEPTEMBER, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of BEATRICE CANTIN, 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 16THDay 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 16TH DAY OF JANUARY 2026.
BEATRICE BARON, EXECUTOR 121 ANGEL WAY CHAPEL HILL, NC 27516
*SONYA LINTON MAGNOLIA LEGAL 3001 ACADEMY RD., SUITE 120 DURHAM, NC 27705 Run dates: O16,23,30,N6p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000341-180
The undersigned, JO ANNE RUSSO AND JULIE C. RUDOWSKI, having quali ed on the 14TH Day of JULY, 2025 as ADMINISTRATORS of the Estate of BRENDA GRAHAM DOWLING, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 16TH Day JANUARY 2026, 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 16TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2025. JO ANNE RUSSO, ADMINISTRATOR 1113 RUSSET LANE APEX, NC 27523 *MAIL TO:
JULIE C. RUDOWSKI, ADMINISTRATOR 10520 SABLEWOOD DRIVE #103 RALEIGH, NC 27617 Run dates: O16,23,30,N6p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000542-180
The undersigned, RACHEL MITCHELL, having quali ed on the 29TH Day of SEPTEMBER, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of GERALDINE WALSER, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 9TH Day JANUARY 2026, 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 9TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2025.
RACHEL MITCHELL, EXECUTOR 3794 NC HWY 751 APEX, NC 27523
Run dates: O9,16,23,30p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25000587-180
The undersigned, MARSHAY A. PRICE, having quali ed on the 24th Day of OCTOBER 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of JIMMY LOUIS PRICE, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 30th Day OF JANUARY 2026, 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 30th DAY OF OCTOBER 2025.
MARSHAY A PRICE, ADMINISTRATOR 803 NEW YORK AVE. SILVER SPRING, MD 20910 Run dates: O30,N6,13,20p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000545-180
The undersigned, MICHAEL P ROULEAU, having quali ed on the 1ST Day of OCTOBER, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of PATRICIA JOAN PAIT, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 16TH Day JANUARY 2026, 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 16TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2025.
MICHAEL P ROULEAU, EXECUTOR 209 PARKGATE DRIVE CARY, NC 27519 Run dates: O16,23,30,N6p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Warner Smith Rackley, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them to the undersigned, whose mailing address is c/o CharlotteAnne T. Alexander, Colombo Kitchin Attorneys, 1698
E. Arlington Blvd, Greenville, NC 27858 on or before the 23rd day of January, 2026, 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 23rd day of October, 2025. Warner Cooper Rackley, Executor of the Estate of Warner Smith Rackley Colombo Kitchin Attorneys c/o Charlotte-Anne T. Alexander 1698 E. Arlington Blvd. Greenville, NC 27858
CHARLOTTE-ANNE T. ALEXANDER COLOMBO, KITCHIN, DUNN, BALL & PORTER, LLP Attorneys at Law 1698 E. Arlington Blvd. Greenville, NC 27858 NOTICE
TOWN OF SILER CITY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO PERMANETLY CLOSE SPEEDWAY STREET WHEREAS, Section 160A-299 of the North Carolina General Statutes prescribes the procedure to be followed by a city in order to permanently close a street or alley; and WHEREAS, Speedway Street is located within the municipal corporate limits of the Town of Siler
the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE TOWN OF PITTSBORO, NC On Monday, November 10, 2025 at 6:00 pm, the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will hold a legislative public hearing for the following requests at the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center at 1192 Hwy 64 Business West: A legislative request by Town Sta to amend the Open Space and Recreation Area Fee-in-Lieu provisions found in the UDO Section 5.2.3.B.2. and the
Here’s what happens to your body when clocks ‘fall back’ an hour
Despite proposals, daylight saving time is still here
By Lauran Neergaard
The Associated Press
PLAN ON A glorious extra hour of sleep as most of America “falls back” into standard time. But make sure to get outside for some morning sun, too — it’ll help your body clock reset faster.
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, which means you should set your clock back an hour before you go to bed. Standard time will last until March 8 when we will again “spring forward” with the return of daylight saving time.
There’s a lot of grumbling about the twice-a-year time changes. The spring switch tends to be harder, losing that hour of sleep we allegedly recover in the fall. But many people also mourn fall’s end of daylight saving time, when days already are getting shorter and moving the clocks can mean less daylight after school or work for exercise or outdoor fun.
Some health groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have long urged adopting standard time year-round.
New research from Stanford University agrees, nding that switching back-andforth is the worst option for our health. The study showed sticking with either time option would be a bit healthier, but they found permanent standard time is slightly better — because it aligns more with the sun and human biology, what’s called our circadian rhythm.
“The best way to think about
Clockmakers Rich Finn, left, and Tom Erb adjust the time zone controllers on a series of clocks that’ll be installed at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at the Electric Time Company in Med eld, Massachusetts, last October.
it is as if the central clock were like a conductor of an orchestra and each of the organs were a di erent instrument,” said Jamie Zeitzer, who co-directs Stanford’s Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences.
More light in the morning and less at night is key to keeping that rhythm on schedule — all the instruments in sync. When the clock is regularly disrupted by time changes or other reasons, he said each of the body’s organ systems, such as the immune system or metabolism, “just works a little less well.”
Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do — mostly in North America and Europe — the date that clocks are changed varies. In the U.S., Ar -
izona and Hawaii don’t change and stay on standard time.
Here’s what to know about the twice-yearly ritual.
How the body reacts to light
The brain has a master clock that is set by exposure to sunlight and darkness. This circadian rhythm is a roughly 24 -hour cycle that determines when we become sleepy and when we’re more alert. The patterns change with age, one reason that early-to-rise youngsters evolve into hardto-wake teens.
Morning light resets the rhythm. By evening, levels of a hormone called melatonin begin to surge, triggering drowsiness. Too much light in the
evening — whether from later time outdoors doing daylight saving time or from arti cial light like computer screens — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.
And that circadian clock affects more than sleep, also inuencing things like heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and metabolism.
How do time changes a ect sleep?
Even an hour change on the clock can throw o sleep schedules because even though the clocks change, work and school start times stay the same.
2 a.m.
You’ll get an extra hour of sleep Saturday night
Some people with seasonal a ective disorder, a type of depression usually linked to the shorter days and less sunlight of fall and winter, may struggle too.
Many people easily adjust, like how they recover from jet lag after traveling. But a time change can add pressure on shift workers whose schedules already are out of sync with the sun, or those regularly sleep-deprived for other reasons.
About 1 in 3 U.S. adults sleep less than the recommended seven-plus hours nightly, and more than half of U.S. teens don’t get the recommended eight-plus hours on weeknights.
Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to heart disease, cognitive decline, obesity and numerous other problems.
How to prepare for the time change
In both fall and spring, changing bedtimes by as little as 15 minutes a night in the days before the change can help ease into it.
But sunshine in the morning is critical to helping reset your circadian rhythm for healthful sleep. If you can’t get outdoors, sit by windows.
Will the U.S. ever get rid of the time change?
In Congress, a bill named the Sunshine Protection Act that proposes making daylight saving time permanent has stalled in recent years.
The spring change to daylight saving time can be a little rougher as darker mornings and lighter evenings make it harder to fall asleep on time. Those rst few days have been linked to increases in car crashes and even an uptick in heart attacks.
FALL SPORTS ROUNDUP
The Wolves are in the regional nal for the rst time
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
Volleyball
(NCHSAA playo s)
5A: The fourth time was the charm for No. 5 Seaforth in its fourth-round win over conference foe No. 1 Cedar Ridge on Saturday.
After losing the opening set by 13 points, the Hawks won three straight sets to down the Red Wolves 3-1 and advance to their second straight regional nal. Seaforth, in the East region, beat Cedar Ridge for the rst time this season after los-
ing the rst three meetings. Freshman Naomi Stevenson led the way with 19 kills and ve aces. Junior Taylor Perry recorded 19 digs, an senior Josie Valgus logged a career-high 40 assists.
1A: In the East bracket, No. 2 Woods Charter advanced to its rst regional nal after defeating No. 3 East Columbus 3-0 in the fourth round Saturday.
Following a close opening set, the Wolves gained more control over the game, winning the nal set by 12 points.
Before earning a Final Four berth, Woods Charter defeated No. 7 Bear Grass Charter 3-1 on Oct. 23.
In the West bracket, No. 7 Chatham Charter fell to No. 10 River Mill in the second round
3-2. The Knights led 2-0 before River Mill won three straight sets, including a 26-24 extra play victory in the third set.
No. 13 Chatham Central ended its season with a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Bethany Community in the second round.
3A: No. 20 Northwood ended the year with a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Farmville Central in the second round of the East bracket.
Girls’ tennis (Dual team and individual playo s)
Dual team 5A: In the East bracket, No. 10 Seaforth defeated No. 3 Western Alamance 7-2 in the fourth round Oct. 22 to advance to its rst regionalnal. The Hawks played No. 8
J.F. Webb’s Josiah Daniel runs through the tackle of a Seaforth defender.
The Warriors clinched the Big Seven 4A/5A conference title.
Seaforth falls despite three fourth quarter scores
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
OXFORD — Seaforth’s exhilarating comeback e ort at J.F. Webb fell short of its historic rewards in a 44-39 loss Friday.
Down 44-21 with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Hawks scored three touchdowns on consecutive drives to make it a winnable game.
“We just simply ran out of time.”
Tolbert Matthews
Junior quarterback Duncan Parker hit Nick Gregory on a screen pass, and Gregory took it 14 yards to the end zone to make it 44-27 de cit with under seven minutes to play. After forcing a bad J.F. Webb punt that landed on its own 23-yard line on the ensuing possession, the Hawks cashed in on the favorable eld position with a 4-yard touchdown run by Parker, bring-
ing them within 11 points with over three minutes left in the game. Seaforth recovered the following onside kick at the Warriors’ 46, and a minute later, Parker found Gregory again on a 20-yard catch-and-run touchdown that brought the Hawks within one score.
J.F. Webb went to the rushing attack, its bread and butter, to ice the game in itsnal drive. With Seaforth out of timeouts, senior Josiah Daniel broke a 14-yard run to crush the Hawks’ hopes at its rst conference title.
2
Northwood golfers qualifying for the state championships
Durham School of the Arts for a spot in the state nal.
1A: No. 4 Chatham Charter ended its season in a 9-0 loss to No. 1 NCSSM-Morganton in the second round of the West bracket. Individual 1A: Chatham Charter’s Mak Allen and Maggie Moody fell to NCSSM-Morganton’s Gina Byon and Kristen Boyd in the second round of the state doubles tournament. The Knights’
duo defeated Kara Price and Elizabeth Smith from Bear Grass Charter in the rst round.
5A: Seaforth’s Mackenzie Wray fell to East Lincoln’s Karsyn Sink in the rst round of the singles state tournament. In the doubles tournament, Seaforth’s Ella Kristiansen and Tatum Dell came up short against North Buncombe’s Natalia Cogdill and Aubrey Gilliland.
Girls’ golf
Northwood seniors Briana Graham and Taylor Thompson quali ed for the NCHSAA 3A state championship. Both Graham and Thompson quali ed
Cougars take conference title in win over J-M
Fernando Hernandez-Dominguez scored four goals in the victory
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
ASHEBORO — Southwestern Randolph clinched the Four Rivers 3A/4A boys’ soccer conference title thanks to senior Fernando Hernandez-Dominguez notching a season-high four goals in the team’s 6-3 win over Jordan-Matthews on Oct. 22.
“That’s checking o boxes,” Southwestern Randolph coach Jimmy Walker said. “Winning conference is the rst box to be checked o . I’m proud of the boys for the way they hung in there, and they got after it and created good chances, and we nished our share of them.”
Hernandez-Dominguez scored the Cougars’ rst goal three minutes into the game, and six minutes later, junior Yael Rebollar-Ortiz knocked in a goal for a 2-0 Southwestern Randolph lead. With its back against the wall, Jordan-Matthews started chipping away at the de cit with a score from sophomore Humberto Vargas, facilitated by a cross from senior Samuel Basilio in the rst half’s 16th minute. Less than a minute later, Vargas scored again to tie the game, and within two minutes, senior Jeremey Alvarado put moves on a defender and scored from the left side of the net to give the Jets a 3-2 lead.
“We got down early, but we didn’t lose faith,” Jordan-Matthews coach Paul Cuadros said. “Really just knocked them for a loop. That stunned them and threw them o their plan.”
Southwestern Randolph’s response was as quick as the Jets’ eeting comeback.
With 21 minutes left to play in a
“They got after it and created good chances, and we nished our share of them.”
Jimmy Walker, Southwestern Randolph coach
Seaforth, volleyball
Seaforth senior Josie Valgus earns athlete of the week honors for the week of Oct. 20.
In the fourth round of the NCHSAA 5A playo s, the standout setter recorded a career-high 40 assists to help the fth-seeded Hawks overcome No. 1 Cedar Ridge and advance to their second straight regional nal. Valgus notched 30 assists in Seaforth’s third round win over No. 4 West Carteret.
Valgus, a TCU commit, has been a crucial piece to Seaforth’s success this season. She’s recorded a combined 104 assists in the Hawks’ rst three playo games.
The former Charger started his pro career in his home state
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
DREAMS CAME true for former Northwood High School basketball star Drake Powell.
Powell, a guard with the Brooklyn Nets, made his NBA debut in his home state Oct. 22 as Brooklyn lost its regular season opener to the Charlotte Hornets 136-117. With two minutes left in the third quarter, Powell checked in for the rst time, and in seven minutes, he logged two points, two rebounds four personal fouls and a turnover. Early in the fourth quarter, Powell scored his rst NBA bas-
ket. He rebounded a blocked shot on the defensive end and went coast to coast for a layup.
Later in the fourth quarter, Powell had to leave the game due to an ankle injury. He didn’t return, and the injury kept him out of the Nets’ home opener against Cleveland Friday and Sunday’s game against the Spurs.
Powell tested his ankle in a workout Sunday morning and said he felt “pretty good,” according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. As of Sunday, he was day to day.
Over the summer, Powell
missed the Summer League as he was dealing with knee tendinopathy. He made his preseason debut against the Suns in early October, combining for 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal in two games against Phoenix. At his rst regular season game, members of the Northwood and Chatham County community were in attendance, including, but not limited to, Northwood Athletic Director Cameron Vernon, Chatham County Schools Director of School Safety Bradford Walston (formerly the principal at Northwood), Jordan-Matthews Principal Adam Lutterloh (formerly an assistant principal at Northwood) and Northwood boys’ basketball coach Matt Brown, who coached Powell in high school.
and J-M face tough battles in Week 11
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
Southwestern Randolph 20, Northwood 14
Northwood (3-6) came up short in a defensive battle against Southwestern Randolph (6-3) on Friday.
The Chargers came away with three rst half takeaways. They recovered a fumble at their own 2-yard line, junior Willie Boynton notched an interception in the second quarter, and minutes later, senior Grayson Cox returned an interception 10 yards to the end zone to tie the game at 7-7 because of a blown-up screen play by senior Ben Porter.
However, Northwood had trouble containing Southwestern Randolph’s senior running back Brody Sheppard. Sheppard rushed for two touchdowns, including an 11-yard run for a 7-0 lead in the rst quarter and a 42-yard sprint to give the Cougars a 14-7 advantage just before halftime.
Senior running back Robert Tripp returned to the Northwood o ense and ran in a 20 -yard score to tie the game at 14 midway through the third quarter. But on fourth down deep in Northwood territory, the Cougars had the nal say with a 7-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Levi Dalke early in the fourth quarter.
Week 11: Northwood vs. West Carteret (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
Northwood will end its regular season hosting a nonconference opponent in West Carteret (5-4) on Friday.
The Patriots, a 5A program, have lost three of their last four, including a 49-21 loss to Croatan in Week 10. Senior running back Joshua Bauman leads their o ense as he’s accumulated more than 1,100 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Senior quarterback Tanner Payne has also been productive in the passing game with 24 touchdown passes and more than 2,000 yards this year.
While scoring hasn’t been a problem for West Carteret, stopping opponents’ o enses has. The Patriots have given up at least 20 points in every game this season with opponents scoring at least 35 points in six contests.
With Tripp back in action for the Chargers, Northwood will need a big night from its o ense, which slowed down against Southwestern Randolph.
The game is a chance for Northwood to boost its RPI,
which determines positioning in the state playo s.
South Davidson 48, Chatham Central 6
South Davidson (9-0) senior Gage Underwood led the Wildcats’ rushing attack in a big win over Chatham Central (1-8) on Friday.
Underwood accounted for 106 of South Davidson’s 342 rushing yards and three of its seven rushing touchdowns. The Wildcats outscored Chatham Central 28-0 in the rst half.
Four other Wildcats scored a touchdown, and they averaged 12.7 yards per carry as a team.
Week 11: Chatham Central vs. Winston-Salem Prep (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
Chatham Central’s regular season nale against Winston-Salem Prep (1-8) could be a good chance for the Bears to collect a win.
The Phoenix are coming o a 34-0 loss to South Stokes in Week 10. Winston-Salem Prep started the season 0-7, with its only win coming against Col-
lege Prep & Leadership (20-14). Its o ense has had trouble nding the end zone in nearly every game this season, being shut out ve times.
Chatham Central has been hobbled with injuries and a thinning depth chart that forced a forfeit in Week 9. The last time the Bears faced a team with less than four wins was against CPLA, when Chatham Central quarterback Brooks Albright su ered a season-ending injury early in the contest, and the Bears still lost by one possession.
Coming into the game on an eight-game losing streak, the Bears will need to nd a way to keep the game close and execute o ensively late in the game to pick up their second win.
Week 11: Jordan-Matthews vs. Eastern Randolph (Thursday at 7:30 p.m.)
Coming o a bye, Jordan-Matthews (5-4) will look to pull o an upset at Eastern Randolph (7-2).
Eastern Randolph is on a four-game winning streak, including a 56-0 rout over North
Moore last week. The Wildcats have outscored opponents 166 -16 in that stretch.
Juniors Kobe Walker and James Combs combine for what has been a lethal running back duo at times this season, but junior quarterback Cade McCallum has been really good at spreading the wealth to multiple receivers, especially senior Caden Revelle and freshman Cainin Glover, who leads the team in receiving yards per game and receiving touchdowns.
To avoid a season-closing three-game slide, the Jets will need its best defensive game. O ensively, protecting senior quarterback Kamarie Hadley and opening lanes in the run game will be key for Jordan-Matthews to put up points.
Week 11: Seaforth vs. Carrboro (Friday at 7 p.m.)
Seaforth (4-5) will look to bounce back from a close loss against Carrboro (1-8) at home Friday.
Carrboro avoided falling to the bottom of the Big Seven 4A/5A conference last week with
a 14-0 win over Cedar Ridge. Before last week, the Jaguars were on a seven-game losing streak, losing by more than 20 points in all but one game during that stretch.
Against a defense that has given up over 35 points in six games this season, Seaforth should be in for a big day o ensively. The Hawks showed how explosive their o ense can be at the end of the J.F. Webb loss, and if they can continue their successful rushing attack with Nick Gregory at running back, they shouldn’t have a problem putting points on the board. The key will be a fast start for Seaforth, especially on the o ensive end.
Conference standings (overall, conference)
Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. Eastern Randolph (7-2, 3-0, clinched conference title); 2. Southwestern Randolph (6-3, 2-1); 3. Northwood (3-6, 2-2); 4. Jordan-Matthews (5-4, 1-2); 5. North Moore (3-6, 0-3) Greater Triad 1A/2A: T1. South Davidson (9-0, 5-0); T1. Bishop McGuinness (8-1, 5-0); T3. South Stokes (4-5, 3-2); T3. North Stokes (3-6, 3-2); 5. Winston-Salem Prep (1-8, 1-4); 6. CPLA (1-8, 1-5); 7. Chatham Central (1-8, 0-5) Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. J.F. Webb (7-2, 4-0, clinched conference title); 2. Seaforth (4 -5, 3-1); 3. Orange (2-7, 2-2); 4. South Granville (3-6, 2-2); 5. Carrboro (2-7, 1-3); 6. Cedar Ridge (1-8, 0-4)
Power rankings (after Week 10)
1. Seaforth
2. Northwood
3. Jordan-Matthews
4. Chatham Central
Last week’s rankings:
1. Seaforth; 2. Northwood; Jordan-Matthews; 4. Chatham Central
Score predictions
• West Carteret 28, Northwood 21
• Winston-Salem Prep 12, Chatham Central 6
• Eastern Randolph 35, Jordan-Matthews 12
• Seaforth 41, Carrboro 6
Prediction record: 18-10 (since Week 2 and excluding forfeited games)
Playo picture (RPI rankings, 48 teams qualify per classi cation, except 1A) 1A: 22. Chatham Central (.26540); 3A: 36. Northwood (.42538); 4A: 42. Jordan-Matthews (.40400); 5A: 41. Seaforth (.43811)
high-scoring opening half, Hernandez-Dominguez found another scoring opportunity o a corner kick to tie the game.
“It was crazy to me,” Hernandez-Dominguez said. “I didn’t think it was going to come like that. That little corner, I had to take the ball. It landed on me and I took a shot, and it went it. It was like, ‘OK, we got this game.’”
From that point, the game went 16 minutes without another score. Both teams had chances to go ahead until senior Aaron Avina, who had multiple close misses throughout the night, broke through with his only goal of the night to give the Cougars a 4-3 lead with ve minutes remaining before the break.
Jordan-Matthews had a chance to tie the game once again just before halftime when Alvarado broke free and forced Southwestern Randolph goalkeeper Jonathan Perez-Dominguez, who nished the night with three saves, to come out of the net. However, Alvarado’s shot went too far left and hit the front bar.
“The message at halftime was to solidify together, keep ghting together, and to look for op-
from page B1
with scores of 110 (+38) at the 3A East regional on Oct. 21 at Washington Yacht & Country Club.
Cross-country
State Championship qualiers (Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex, Friday and Saturday)
1A (Friday): Boys: Chatham Charter (as a team), Woods Charter (as a team), Torris Price (Chatham Charter, 1A Central Regional champion), Eli Coleman (Chatham Charter), Adam Reese (Chatham Charter), Andrew Bednar (Chatham Charter), Joshuah Hayes (Chatham Charter), Rilen Wright (Chatham Charter), Lawson Cotton (Chatham Charter), Holton Mody (Woods Charter), Aidan O’Neil (Woods Charter), Youssef Reyad (Woods Charter), Baird Ritter (Woods Charter), Connor Cole (Woods Charter), Mack Oliver (Woods Charter), Connor McInerney (Woods Charter), Jackson Hughes (Chatham Central); Girls: Woods Charter (as a team), So a Rodriguez (Woods Charter, 1A Central Regional champion), Grace Murphy (Woods Charter), Leah Marshall (Woods Charter), Sonia Messick (Woods Charter), Melina Rodriguez (Woods Charter), Emily Scheidt (Chatham Charter), Ansley Pressler (Chatham Central)
3A (Friday): Boys: Northwood (as a team), Jordan Wiley (Northwood), Drew Yell (Northwood), Coleman Wiley (Northwood), Leo Druest (Northwood), Owen Zsuppan (Northwood), Easton Evans (Northwood), Austin Parenti (Northwood); Girls: Northwood (as a team), Sydney Gray (Northwood), Shiloh Teta (Northwood), Penelope Faris (Northwood), Ashley Perry (Northwood), Gabby Ghitta (Northwood)
5A (Saturday): Boys: Seaforth (as a team), Samuel Neil (Seaforth), Waylon Vose (Seaforth), London Crowling (Seaforth), Will Lippers (Seaforth), Josh Phillips (Seaforth), William Morgan (Seaforth), Joshua Stuckey (Seaforth); Girls: Seaforth (as a team), Chloe Freeman (Seaforth), Madison Putnam (Seaforth), Katie Leonard (Seaforth), Ada Kadwell (Sea-
from page B1
“We didn’t lose the game today,” Seaforth coach Tolbert Matthews said. “We just simply ran out of time. But again, if these guys would’ve started faster, started a little early, we don’t run out of that time.”
In the rst 12 minutes of the game, Seaforth had no answer for Daniel and senior running back Mikelis Hobgood, who combined for 417 rushing yards and six touchdowns (three each) on the night.
J.F. Webb took a 14-0 lead after capping o its two long opening drives with a 9-yard touchdown run from Hobgood and a 17-yard rushing score from Daniel.
Seaforth, struggling to nd
tions of the outside of the eld,” Cuadros said. “And to pressure cover on defense.”
Yet it was the Cougars’ adjust-
ments and two more goals from Hernandez-Dominguez that allowed them to take full control of the second half.
“That’s probably the longest talk we’ve had at halftime about some adjustments that we needed to make,” Walker said. “They were pressing a really high line, and we were sending balls to where the keeper was able to get it, and we wanted to create di erent angles to send balls through. And then we asked our outside mids to get back more and help out on defense.”
Southwestern Randolph moved to 19-1 overall and 8-0 in conference play with its 13th straight win.
After a nonconference test against Bishop McGuinness and two conference bouts with Northwood and North Moore to end the regular season, the Cougars are looking toward another deep run in the 4A state tournament. They’ll get a high seed and try to avenge last year’s state title loss by nishing the job this time around.
Southwestern Randolph was already in playo mode against Jordan-Matthews as multiple players donned blonde hair, a tradition started last season to mark the beginning of the postseason.
The Cougars are also playing for the memory of their former teammate Pedro Ortiz, who died from injuries su ered in a 2024
forth), Camryn Reinhardt (Seaforth), Tallulah Papendieck, Abigail Johnson (Seaforth)
Boys’ soccer
Northwood defeated Jordan-Matthews 4-0 Oct. 20,
an o ensive rhythm in its rst possession, responded at the end of the opening quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass from a pressured Parker to sophomore Mason Pooley. But with the o ense still nding its way, the Hawks’ defense stepped up in containing the Warriors’ outside runs. Seaforth held J.F. Webb scoreless in the second quarter, like its own offense, and forced a turnover on downs before halftime.
“The backs were fast,” Matthews said. “Some of the fastest backs I’ve seen this season. We tried to contain. Sometimes our guys will get caught inside and then you’ll see their gashes on the outside.”
Coming out of the break, the two teams traded touchdowns.
knocking o the Jets for the rst time since 2019. Freshman Johnny Santiago led the way with two rst half goals for the Chargers, including a score ve minutes into the game. The Chargers followed that
Up one score, J.F. Webb started cooking with a 35-yard touchdown run by Daniel to go ahead 22-7. On its next possession, Seaforth got itself out of a rstand-20 jam caused by penalties and completed a 31-yard receiving score from senior Patrick Miller, bringing the Hawks back within one score. Then, following a 40-yard bomb from junior quarterback Daniel Wright to sophomore Elijah Thorpe, Hobgood scored his second touchdown of the night on a 2-yard run, putting J.F. Webb ahead 28-13. Seaforth started playing with tempo o ensively and notched more points with less than two minutes left in the third quarter thanks to a
shooting. Perez-Dominguez said the team, which wears a patch on their sleeves in Ortiz’s memory, keeps him in mind “every minute of every game.”
“Every game is for him,” Hernandez-Dominguez said. “There’s not a time we don’t mention him. He’s always in our group huddles, in our prayers. Everything we have done throughout last season and this season, it’s for our brother.”
For Jordan-Matthews, its second defeat of the year to the Cougars was its second straight loss. The Jets hadn’t lost consecutive games since August, but things aren’t all worrisome with the young team.
As of Sunday, Jordan-Matthews was one of two teams to score at least three goals on Southwestern Randolph, one of the best teams in the state, this season. Cuadros is hopeful for what this team can do in the playo s and years to come as his players learn from experiences against tough competition.
“I think for us it’s unity and belief,” Cuadros said. “It’s a young squad, and they need to have mental resilience and toughness to be able to overcome tough times. And tonight, they took a big step with that.”
won three games in a row as of Sunday. After earning a conference win by forfeit over Southern Wake Academy on Oct. 22, Woods Charter ended its regular season with a 3-0 win against Ascend Leadership Friday. Chatham Charter fell to Ascend Leadership 2-1 on Oct. 22. Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference) Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. Southwestern Randolph (20 -1, 8-0); 2. Northwood (11- 5 - 5, 5-2-1); 3. Jordan-Matthews (13-7, 5-3); 4. North Moore (6 - 6-1, 3-5); 5. Eastern Randolph (6-10-3, 2-5-1); 6. Uwharrie Charter (1-10, 0-8) Central Tar Heel 1A: 1. Clover Garden School (17-3, 12-0); 2. Woods Charter (12 -3 -1, 9-2); 3. Ascend Leadership (8 - 8 -1, 5-6-1); 4. River Mill (6-13, 5-7); 5. Central Carolina Academy (5-10-1, 4-7-1); 6. Chatham Charter (5-13-1, 4-8); 7. Southern Wake Academy (4 -11, 1-10) Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. Orange (15-5, 9-1); 2. Carrboro (11-8-1, 9-2); 3. Seaforth (8 - 8 -3, 6-3-1); 4. Cedar Ridge (8-8-2, 3-5-2); 5. Durham School of the Arts (4-14-1, 4-7); 7. J.F. Webb (5-10-1, 1-8-1) RPI standings as of Sunday (top 48 make state tournament)
1A: 7. Woods Charter (.55544); 27. Chatham Charter (.36866)
3A: 16. Northwood (.55264)
4A: 17. Jordan-Matthews (.56818) 5A: 27. Seaforth (.51439)
Girls’ ag football
Seaforth 26, Eastern Alamance 24
Southeast Alamance 24, Seaforth 0 Northwood 41, Eastern Alamance 6 Northwood 15, Jordan-Matthews 6
with a 4-2 win over North Moore on Oct. 22 for their fth straight victory.
Seaforth defeated J.F. Webb twice, beating the Warriors 6-0 on Oct. 22 (hat trick from senior Jack Bali ) and 8-0 on Oct. 23. The Hawks have
2-yard touchdown run by Parker.
After consecutive penalties at the third quarter buzzer, the Warriors completed a late-quarter march down the eld with a 5-yard touchdown run by Hobgood, taking a 36-21 advantage.
The fourth quarter started with an interception by Daniel at the J.F. Webb 22-yard line, and Daniel cashed in his own turnover with a 28-yard touchdown run to put the Warriors ahead by three scores.
“We started slow,” Matthews said. “We talked about it all week — starting fast coming out, punching those guys in the mouth, and we did the opposite.”
With South Granville losing to Orange the same night, J.F. Webb clinched the Big Sev-
Final regular season standings (top four quali ed for end of season tournament Tuesday)
1. Southeast Alamance (12- 0) 2. Northwood (9-3)
3. Seaforth (4-8)
4. Jordan-Matthews (3-9)
Eastern Alamance (2-10)
en 4A/5A conference title while moving to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
Seaforth fell to 4-5 overall and 3-1 in conference play with its three-game winning streak snapped. With the loss, the Hawks slid in the 5A RPI rankings to the 41st spot, but they are still in good standing for their rst playo appearance. Seaforth will end its regular season at home against Carrboro on Friday at 7 p.m.
“We’re going to keep ghting throughout the season, whether this is our last game, or we see the playo s,” Matthews said. “People better be afraid of Seaforth football because we are coming, and we’re going to be ready to play these games. We’re not going out like this again.”
NFL
Former NFL player who died in police custody battled injuries, mental health challenges
Oakland
Many questions are unanswered about the death of former NFL running back Doug Martin. He died last weekend in the custody of Oakland, California, police, who said Martin was involved in a “brief struggle” with o cers who took him into custody. Martin’s former agent issued a statement that said Martin felt overwhelmed and disoriented, and ed his home before entering a neighbor’s home two doors down, where police confronted him. The former agent said the 36-year-old Martin privately battled mental health challenges that impacted his personal and professional life.
MLB Blue Jays manager to Ohtani: We want our hat back — and your dog’s jacket
Toronto Toronto manager John Schneider is waiting for Shohei Ohtani to return some merchandise. Before signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani met with Toronto o cials. Before Ohtani led the Dodgers back to Toronto for the World Series. Schneider joked about Ohtani returning Blue Jays merchandise taken during their meeting. “I hope he brought his hat, the Blue Jay hat that he took from us in our meeting. I hope he brought it back, nally,” Schneider said. “And the jacket for (Ohtani’s dog). It’s like, give us our stu back already.” “It’s in my garage,” Ohtani replied.
NCAA BASKETBALL
Ex-Eastern Michigan basketball players refused to cooperate with NCAA gambling investigation
Indianapolis Three former Eastern Michigan basketball players refused to cooperate with an investigation into potential sports betting violations earlier this year. The lack of cooperation constitutes an NCAA violation that could trigger permanent ineligibility, according to a decision released by the Division I Committee on Infractions. But the three former starters — Jalin Billingsley, Da’Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry — were seniors and have no collegiate eligibility remaining.
NFL Former Jets center Mangold dead at 41, less than 2 weeks after announcing kidney disease
The New York Jets have announced the death of former center Nick Mangold at age 41 from complications of kidney disease. Less than two weeks ago, he revealed on social media that he needed a kidney transplant and was seeking a donor. Diagnosed with a genetic defect in 2006, Mangold had been on dialysis. Mangold, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, was enshrined in the Jets’ ring of honor in 2022. He is survived by his wife and four children.
The record for 100-mph pitches in the postseason has been shattered
By Ronald Blum The Associated Press
TORONTO — Velocity rules in October.
There have been a record 255 pitches of 100 mph or faster this postseason, up from 105 last year and the previous high of 169 in 2022.
Right-handed relievers averaged 96.2 mph with their four-seam fastballs through the World Series opener, an increase from 95.8 mph last postseason and 93.3 mph when Major League Baseball started tracking in 2008.
“That’s crazy. That’s insane,” Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott said. “You see kids in college throwing 100 (mph) and a couple of years ago they were throwing what, 94, 95?”
Pitchers averaged a record 94.5 mph with fourseam fastballs during the 2025 regular season, a speedup from 91.9 mph in 2008. Among righties, this year’s average was 95 mph, includ-
What
ing 95.6 mph by relievers. Toronto closer Je Ho man is averaging 96.4 mph with his four-seamer in October, up from 95.6 mph during the season.
“A lot of it is adrenaline and knowing that this is it. You’ve got to empty your tank every single night,” he said. “Velocity is king. I know there are a lot of kind of con icting opinions on that, but it’s harder to hit faster pitches, so it’s important to have your best stu .”
While pitches are getting faster, o speed use is increasing. Pitchers have thrown four-seamers 32.8% of the time during the postseason, down from a high of 40.9% in 2014. Overall use includes 17.2% sliders, 15.2% two-seamers, 9% curveballs, 8% changeups, 6.5% splitters, 5.9% cutters, 4.6% sweepers and 0.7% slurves.
A study released by MLB last o season concluded rising velocities, pitch shaping and emphasis on maximum e ort are the likely causes of the vast increase in pitcher injuries. MLB decided last month to prohibit scouting of many high school prospects for three
“It’s harder to hit faster pitches, so it’s important to have your best stu .” Je Ho man, Toronto closer
months during the o season and of college prospects for two months in an e ort to mandate recovery time.
“Starting at the bottom is the best way,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said Saturday. “That’s part of a larger program that we’re going to continue to roll out in an e ort to address this issue.”
Dodgers pitchers have averaged 96.2 mph with four-seamers in the postseason, up from 94.7 mph during the regular season, and Blue Jays pitchers 95.1 mph, an increase from 94 mph. Among righty relievers, Los Angeles is averaging 97.6 mph in October and Toronto 96.8 mph.
“These are the most signi cant pitches that anybody’s thrown all year,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said. “A lot of it just happens to do with the pressure of these
situations, and I think you see it across baseball in the playo s. Everybody’s stu ticks up, for the most part. It seems like their stu is at a di erent level.” Milwaukee rookie Jacob Misiorowski reached 100 mph with 58 pitches — more than the entire postseason total as recently as 2018. He was followed by Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene (28), Philadelphia’s Jhoan Duran (25), the Chicago Cubs’ Daniel Palencia (23) and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal (22).
San Diego’s Mason Miller threw a 104.5 mph called third strike to the Chicago Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series, the fastest postseason pitch in the Statcast era.
Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen said particular playo environments can lead to faster pitches.
“When you go to places like the Padres last year, you just feel the hate, so you’re trying to counter with an ability to keep quiet,” he said. “The more you get deeper into the playo s, the more you are just competing with — it’s energy. At this point in the World Series you are trying to empty the tank.”
Skepticism over the harm from betting has increased
By Amelia Thomson-Deveaux The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
As legalized sports betting expands, recent polling suggests that Americans have become increasingly critical of its role in U.S. society and sports — although they’re more tolerant of it for professional sports. Betting scandals have multiplied since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 struck down a federal law that barred sports betting in most states. That includes a wave of incidents involving athletes and o cials. Most recently, dozens of people, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested in connection with a federal investigation into sports betting and illegal gambling, authorities said Thursday. In the years since the Supreme Court’s ruling, sports betting has brought revenue to state governments, but it’s also prompted concerns about the potential for wrongdoing, as well as the impact on athletes. Here’s what Americans think about the impact of legal sports betting, according to recent polling.
KATSANIS / AP PHOTO
ANGELINA
FBI assistant director Christopher Raia speaks at a press conference announcing the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in connection with a federal investigation into sports betting and illegal gambling.
More think legal sports betting has a negative impact on sports and society than in 2022
Americans are more skeptical of legal sports betting than they were a few years ago, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted over the summer. The survey found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults say the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the country is “a bad thing” for society and sports, up from about one-third in July 2022.
Many Americans continue to say sports betting is “nei-
ther a good nor bad” thing for sports and society, while few say it’s “a good thing” for either. Young men are particularly likely to have soured on sports betting’s social impact. About half of men under age 30 now say legal sports betting is a bad thing for society, up from 22% in 2022. At the same time, young men are more likely than older adults to say they’ve bet money on sports in the past year. But 34% of people who have placed a sports bet in the past year still say legal sports betting is bad for society, up from 23% three years ago.
Most say betting should be legal for professional sports but not college
Many Americans distinguish between betting on professional and college sports, according to an AP-NORC poll from February.
That survey shows that about 6 in 10 Americans think gambling on pro sports should be legal in their state, but only about 4 in 10 say the same thing about wagering on college sports.
A Quinnipiac poll from June found 60% of U.S. adults think legal betting on college sports is a bad thing, while 47% say this about legal betting on professional sports.
Who’s betting on sports?
Younger adults are more likely than older adults to have bet money on sports in the past year, according to the Pew poll, with about 3 in 10 adults under age 30 saying this, compared with only 12% of adults age 65 or older.
The AP-NORC poll found that while about 14% of U.S. adults say they “frequently” or “occasionally” place bets online using betting or fantasy sports websites or apps, it’s more common in casinos. About one-quarter of U.S. adults say they have bet on sports in person at casinos at least “occasionally.”
By Elise Ryan The Associated Press
IT’S BEEN 20 years since Brandi Carlile released her self-titled debut album. After two decades of extensive collaborations and accolades for her music that blends folk, alt-country, rock and Americana, she’s stripped back again for the great “Returning to Myself.”
What the title means for Carlile varies across the project. Just months after her buzzy collaborative album with Elton John and years after the debut of her Americana supergroup The Highwomen, Carlile’s vocals stand alone again — save the occasional backing vocal from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. That pensive performance takes on many forms: re ective, on “You Without Me,” about watching her children grow and become independent, and soulful, on “A Woman Oversees,” her rich tone heard above the electric notes of a Rhodes piano. But the project also serves as a celebration of her collaborators and the in uences that have shaped her.
Carlile is aware of that dichotomy. “Why is it heroic to
“Returning to Myself”
Four stars out of ve.
• On repeat: “Joni” Skip it: “Anniversary”
untether? / How is alone some holy grail?” she asks on the title track, her voice crisp over strummed acoustic guitar. Later she realizes: “Returning to myself is just returning me to you.”
Andrew Watt, Aaron Dessner and Vernon produce the album, which was written with Carlile’s longtime collaborators Phil and Tim Hanseroth. The full group comes together for “Human,” an anthemic, electric guitar-set ballad.
Dessner’s more intimate approach, most frequently recognized as the production style he contributed to Taylor Swift’s “folklore,” gives “A War with Time” a melancholic in ection. Watt takes on the bolder tracks: “No One Knows Us” is backed by a full band, while the standout “Church & State,” a roaring ballad about renewed tensions, feels the closest in sound to Carlile’s collaboration with John.
On “Joni,” a sentimental highlight, Carlile honors the great Joni Mitchell. Carlile was key in orchestrating
“I knew a wild woman / She threw a party on her grave.”
Brandi Carlile
the “Joni Jams” that brought Mitchell back into public performance after her 2015 brain aneurysm, including a surprise performance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival.
“I knew a wild woman / She threw a party on her grave,” Carlile recounts over a chorus of guitars. Her lyrics are revealing, depicting Mitchell, now 81, as both a grounded and mythic gure. For example: “She spoke in sacred language / Every soul could understand.” Energy builds toward the song’s end, when the acoustic guitar, played in a way that emulates Mitchell’s own folk style, is joined by beckoning drums and a surprising saxophone ri . An ode of this sort may seem out of place on such an introspective album. But its inclusion, and lyrics, say as much about Carlile as they do about her muse.
Carlile can’t “untether” to nd herself because she, like Mitchell, is a connector. And that’s a story she’s been telling since her debut.
“War of the Worlds” terri es radio listeners, Seabiscuit defeats War Admiral, FDR wins third term
The Associated Press
OCT. 30
1938: The radio play “The War of the Worlds,” starring Orson Welles, aired on the CBS Radio Network, panicking some listeners with its realistic portrayal of a Martian invasion.
1974: Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire.
1975: The New York Daily News headlined “Ford to City: Drop Dead” after President Gerald Ford said he would veto a federal bailout for near-bankrupt New York City.
OCT. 31
1864: President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation making Nevada the 36th state.
2026.
tional Memorial in South Dakota, which began in 1927.
1984: Indira Gandhi, India’s prime minister for more than 15 years, was assassinated by two of her security guards.
NOV. 1
1765: The Stamp Act, passed by the British Parliament, went into e ect, prompting strong resistance from American colonists.
1936: In a speech in Milan, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between Italy and Nazi Germany as an “axis” running between Rome and Berlin.
1938: In a two-horse match race, Seabiscuit defeated Triple Crown winner War Admiral by four lengths in what was dubbed the “Race of the Century” at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
NOV. 2
1783: Gen. George Washington issued his Farewell Address to the Army.
On Nov. 5,
arrested after casting an illegal ballot in the presidential election and ned $100 — a penalty she refused to pay.
nal committee that he had conspired with television producers to cheat on the quiz show “Twenty-One.”
NOV. 3
the rst animal into orbit — a dog named Laika.
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson, who became president after John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, won election to a full term, defeating Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater.
NOV. 4
1922: The entrance to King Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in Egypt.
1979: The Iran hostage crisis began as militant students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants. Fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days and released on Jan. 20, 1981.
1980: Republican Ronald Reagan won election to the White House, defeating Democratic President Jimmy Carter.
NOV. 5
1605: The “Gunpowder Plot” failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament.
1913: The Lincoln Highway, the rst automobile highway across the United States, was dedicated.
1941: Work was completed on the Mount Rushmore Na-
The items include artwork the actor both collected and created
By Morgan Lee
The Associated Press
Anna Hicks, Bonhams *Must
1947: Howard Hughes piloted his H-4 Hercules, nicknamed the “Spruce Goose,” on its only ight. The massive wooden seaplane, with a wingspan longer than a football eld, remained airborne for 26 seconds.
1959: Charles Van Doren testi ed before a congressio-
1908: Republican William Howard Taft was elected president, defeating Democrat William Jennings Bryan.
1911: The Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant.
1957: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, carrying
1872: Su ragist Susan B. Anthony was arrested for illegally voting in the presidential election and ned $100, which she refused to pay.
1930: Novelist Sinclair Lewis became the rst American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
“The sales o er an intimate portrait of Hackman’s private world.”
SANTA FE, N.M. — An auction house plans to sell o a variety of actor Gene Hackman’s possessions in November, including Golden Globe statues, a wristwatch and paintings he collected and created himself.
Hackman died at age 95 at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after transitioning from an Oscar-winning career in lm to a life in retirement of painting, writing novels and collecting.
Auction items include a still-life painting of a Japanese vase by Hackman and Golden Globe awards from roles in “Unforgiven” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.” There are annotated books from Hackman’s library, scripts, posters, movie memorabilia — and high-brow art including a bronze statue by Auguste Rodin and a 1957 oil painting from modernist Milton Avery.
Anna Hicks of Bonhams international auction house said the sales “o er an intimate portrait of Hackman’s private world.”
Listings start as low as $100 for Hackman’s everyman Winmau dart board or $600 for a shot at his Seiko diver’s wristwatch.
The catalog includes a likeness of Hackman from portrait artist Everett Raymond Kinstler, who painted U.S. presidents and drew for comic books.
Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead inside their home on Feb. 26, sending shock waves through a high-desert city refuge for famous actors and authors seeking to escape the spotlight. Authorities determined that Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease about a week after Arakawa, 65, died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by the droppings of infected rodents.
Hackman made his lm debut in 1961’s “Mad Dog Coll” and went on to appear in a range of movie roles, including as “Superman” villain Lex Luthor and as a basketball coach nding redemption in the sentimental favorite “Hoosiers.” He was a ve-time Oscar nominee who won best actor in a leading role for “The French Connection” in 1972 and best actor in a
Hackman
April 10, 1972.
supporting role for “Unforgiven” two decades later. Hackman also earned Oscar nominations for his roles as Buck Barrow in
the 1967 crime drama “Bonnie and Clyde,” a college professor in 1970’s “I Never Sang for My Father,” and an FBI agent in the
1988 historical drama “Mississippi Burning.” He retired from acting in the early 2000s.
Grace Slick is 86, Dan Rather turns 94, Henry Winkler is 80, Roseanne Barr turns 73
The Associated Press
OCT. 30
AUTHOR ROBERT Caro is 90. Football Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil is 89. Rock singer Grace Slick is 86. Songwriter Eddie Holland is 86. R&B singer Otis Williams (The Temptations) is 84. Actor Henry Winkler is 80. Ivanka Trump is 44.
OCT. 31
Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather is 94. Actor Stephen Rea is 79. Olympic gold medal marathoner Frank Shorter is 78. TV host Jane Pauley is 75. Football coach Nick Saban is 74. Rock musician Johnny Marr is 62. Rapper and guitarist Adam Horovitz (Beastie Boys) is 59. Rapper Vanilla Ice is 58.
NOV. 1
Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player is 90. Football Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks is 78. Apple CEO Tim Cook is 65. Rock singer Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 63. Actor Toni Collette is 53.
NOV. 2
Tennis Hall of Famer Ken Rosewall is 91. Political commentator Pat Buchanan is 87. Olympic gold medal wrestler Bruce Baumgartner is 65. Singer-songwriter k.d. lang is 64. Playwright Lynn Nottage is 61. Actor David Schwimmer is 59.
NOV. 3
Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is 92. Economist and Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen is 92. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) is 78. Boxing Hall of Famer Larry Holmes is 76. Comedian-actor Roseanne Barr is 73. Actor Kate Capshaw is 72. Comedian Dennis Miller is 72.
NOV. 4
Blues musician Delbert Mc-
Actor Matthew McConaughey, pictured upon arrival at the London screening of the lm “The Lost Bus” in 2025, turns 56 on Tuesday.
Clinton is 86. Former rst lady Laura Bush is 79. Author Charles Frazier is 75. Actor Ralph Macchio is 64. “Survivor” host Je Probst is 64. Actor Matthew McConaughey is 56.
NOV. 5
Singer Art Garfunkel is 84. Singer Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) is 78. TV personality Kris Jenner is 70. Singer Bryan Adams is 66. Actor Tilda Swinton is 65. Actor Tatum O’Neal is 62. Actor Sam Rockwell is 57.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth,’ ‘Sorry, Baby,’ Colin Farrell gambles
Florence + the Machine drops “Everybody Scream” on Halloween
The Associated Press
“JURASSIC WORLD Rebirth” roaring and snarling on Peacock and Florence + the Machine’s latest Halloween-ready album, “Everybody Scream,” are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming o erings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Eva Victor’s “Sorry, Baby,” one of the most exciting debuts of the year, landing on HBO Max; the nine-member Japanese boy band &TEAM releasing their debut Korean album; and comedian Rachel Sennott’s new Gen Z comedy “I Love LA” pops up on HBO.
MOVIES TO STREAM
Victor’s “Sorry, Baby,” one of the most exciting debuts of the year, comes to HBO Max on Thursday. Victor wrote, directed and stars as Agnes, a graduate student in a quaint New England town, who is assaulted by her professor. But the lm, which unfolds across ve chapters, one being “the year with the bad thing,” is less about the incident and more about life after. In his review for The Associated Press, lm writer Jake Coyle wrote, “In this remarkably fully formed debut, the moments that matter are the funny and tender ones that persist amid crueler experiences. … Just as Agnes is sarcastically and self-deprecatingly resistant to convention, Victor’s lm sidesteps the de nitions that usually accompany such a story.”
Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss are brilliant in Nia DaCosta’s ery, sensuous reimagining of the classic Henrik Ibsen drama “Hedda,” which is now streaming on Prime Video. The lm transports the “catastrophically bored” housewife to 1950s England where Hedda (Thomson) manipulates and schemes over the course of a lavish party at her country estate. DaCosta makes the story her own, seamlessly blending race, gender and queerness into the drama. In my review, I called it a “deliriously fun, intel-
ligent and impassioned spin” on a familiar tale that requires no previous Ibsen knowledge.
Colin Farrell plays a high-stakes gambler running away from his past in Macao in “Ballad of a Small Player,” streaming now on Net ix. The lm, a stylish neo-noir from “Conclave” director Edward Berger, received mixed reviews.
“Jurassic World Rebirth” also makes its Peacock debut Thursday. In his review for the AP, Mark Kennedy wrote that this installment, directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali, proves there’s “still life in this old dino series” adding that “it captures the awe and majesty of the overgrown lizards that’s been lacking for so many of the movies.”
MUSIC TO STREAM
Leading up to Florence + the Machine’s latest album, “Everybody Scream,” out on Halloween, frontwoman Florence Welch su ered the e ects of an ectopic pregnancy onstage.
A fallopian tube then ruptured and she nearly died. It’s a harrowing story, one that no doubt
“There’s still life in this old dino
Mark Kennedy, AP Film Writer
lends itself to the thematic horrors that abound on the band’s record. The title is appropriate. But for all the tragedy, there are pleasures across the release. Consider a song like “One of the Greats,” a erce indictment of double standards that also happens to be quite funny. “It must be nice to be a man and make borin’ music just because you can,” she sings. “Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan / You’re my second favorite frontman.”
The nine-member Japanese boy band &TEAM released their debut Korean album, “Back to Life,” via HYBE Japan and YX LABELS on Tuesday. It’s a big step for the group whose members rst turned heads on the South Korean survival show “I-Land” (the same that launched the popular boy band ENHYPHEN) and the Japanese program “&Audition — The Howling.” Their multigenre, multilingual
approach to pop is sure to earn them new fans.
SERIES TO STREAM
Adapting novels by Mick Herron has worked out for Apple TV with its acclaimed series “Slow Horses.” Now, they’ve got “Down Cemetery Road,” also from Herron’s catalog. It stars Emma Thompson as a brazen, brash detective and Ruth Wilson as her unlikely Girl Friday. The rst two episodes premiere are streaming now. A new “Robin Hood” reimagining on MGM+ is described as “a romance adventure.” It stars Jack Patten and Lauren McQueen as Robin (he goes by Rob) and Marian, who ght corruption together. Sean Bean plays the main antagonist, the Sheri of Nottingham. The 10-episode series debuts Sunday, Nov. 2. HBO loves a comedy about friendships and hopes it has found a Gen Z answer to ll the millennial void left by “Insecure” and “Girls.” Actor and comedian Sennott created and stars in a new Gen Z comedy “I Love LA” about a budding tal-
ent manager in Hollywood, and her friend group (featuring Josh Hutcherson as her boyfriend). It also makes its debut Sunday.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
In the galaxy of The Outer Worlds 2, three factions are battling for dominance: the hyper capitalist Auntie’s Choice, the authoritarian Protectorate and the quasi-religious Order of the Ascendant. If none of those sounds particularly appealing, that’s kind of the point. In order to accomplish your mission, you’ll nd yourself trying to meet the sometimes-preposterous demands of one faction without aggravating the other two. Developer Obsidian Entertainment brings a sarcastic edge to your usual space opera, hoping to leave you laughing while you’re hunting down radioactive mutants or malfunctioning robots. The studio has an impressive track record of role-playing games like Pillars of Eternity and Avowed, so if you’re hungry for that sort of action with rockets and lasers, prepare for lifto on Xbox X/S, PlayStation 5 or PC.