Chatham News & Record Vol. 148, Issue 44

VOLUME 148 ISSUE 44 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2025

CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM

THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

ALEX BRANDON / AP PHOTO

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign event last Friday in Rocky Mount.

the

BRIEF this week

Minaj surprises conservatives with praise for Trump, Vance at Arizona event Rapper Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance at a gathering of conservatives in Arizona. Speaking on stage at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest convention, the artist praised President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, calling them “role models” for young men. The rap star was interviewed by Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who has since taken over as leader of Turning Point.

Kirk asked Minaj about her newly found support for Trump, whom she had condemned in the past.

Minaj’s appearance Sunday at the flagship event for the powerful conservative youth organization may shore up her status as a MAGA acolyte.

“60 Minutes” pulls critical piece on Trump deportation policy Hours before airtime on Sunday, CBS News’ “60 Minutes” held a planned story on President Donald Trump’s deportation policy at the order of the network’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss. Weiss, the founder of the Free Press website, had sought to get Trump administration perspective included in the story. The move is sure to increase scrutiny on CBS and “60 Minutes,” which Trump sued last fall over an interview with Kamala Harris and has recently complained about stories critical of him.

Weiss said in a statement that holding stories that aren’t ready, because they lack context or are missing critical voices, happen every day in newsrooms.

Trump touts economic progress during Rocky Mount visit For many, the promised golden age hasn’t yet arrived

By Makiya Seminera The Associated Press ROCKY MOUNT — She had worked 22 days straight in her job as a technician at an engine plant to save up, and now Daijah Bry-

Christmas all at the same time, it is very, very hard,” she said with exasperation.

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s Friday evening visit to Rocky Mount, some residents said they were feeling an economic squeeze that seems hard to escape. The uneasy feeling spans political affiliation in the town, which is split between two largely rural and somewhat impover-

Chatham County commissioners make change in leadership Amanda Robertson will serve as chair with Franklin Gomez Flores serving as vice chair

By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Board of Commissioners has new leader-

ship figures as part of its yearly restructuring.

At the board’s Dec. 15 meeting, the board elected Amanda Robertson as board chair and Franklin Gomez Flores as Vice Chair, both by 3-2 votes.

“I would like to thank all the commissioners for the work in the past year serving this county,” Robertson said. “I think we’ve done an exceptional job

together, we’ve done some great work together. I look forward to working with you all in the coming year.”

Previously serving in those roles was Karen Howard and Katie Kenlan respectively.

“I would like to thank the board for entrusting me with the leadership of vice chair,” Kenlan said. “I’ve learned a lot serving in that role and I plan

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, family among 7 killed in Statesville plane crash “One thing is certain: They were low.

They were too low to make a safe landing on that runway.”

Jeff Guzzetti, former NTSB and FAA crash investigator

$2.00

ant could finally do what she was putting off: Christmas shopping.

Bryant pushed her cart out of a Walmart in Rocky Mount and loaded her sedan’s backseat with bags of gifts. While they would soon bring joy to her friends and family, it was difficult for the 26-year-old to feel good about the purchases.

“Having to pay bills, if you happen to pay rent and try to do

Investigators are trying to determine what happened

By Gary D. Robertson and Josh Funk The Associated Press STATESVILLE — Federal investigators are trying to figure out why a business jet carrying retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and six others tried to return to Statesville Regional Airport just after takeoff but plowed into light poles and a tree line short of the runway, killing everyone on board.

The Cessna C550 erupted

into a large fire when it hit the ground last Thursday morning, about a third of a mile from the airport’s runway.

They also don’t know who the was the lead pilot. Biffle was one of three people on board with a pilot’s license.

The jet had departed Statesville, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, 10 minutes earlier, but crashed while trying to return and land, authorities said.

Flight records indicate the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board began See CRASH, page A7

ished counties, although some were more hopeful than others that there are signs of reprieve on the horizon.

It was Trump’s second event this month aimed at championing his economic policies ahead of a consequential midterm election next year, both held in presidential battleground states. Similar See TRUMP, page A2

to continue that leadership in the other boards and committees that I serve on.”

Howard did not seem keen to seek reelection for the leadership positions, but urged the board to appoint Kenlan to both the chair and then ultimately the vice chair position after she wasn’t elected as chair.

“We want to be cautious and thoughtful in how we place people in these positions,” Howard said. “They’re not greater power, but it is a voice for Chatham and missing an opportunity to have elected leadership that is See CHATHAM, page A3

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

THURSDAY

12.25.25 #122

Deputy shot, hostage rescued CHATHAM happening in Pittsboro standoff Senior Deputy Matthew Mitchell is expected to make a full recovery Chatham News & Record staff

“Join the conversation” Chatham News & Record www.chathamnewsrecord.com

North State Media LLC 303 West Raleigh Street Siler City, North Carolina 27344 Copyright 2025 Trip Hoffend Publisher Jim Sills VP of Local Newspapers Jordan Golson Local News Editor Shawn Krest Sports Editor Dan Reeves Features Editor Asheebo Rojas Sports Reporter Ryan Henkel Reporter PJ Ward-Brown Photographer BUSINESS David Guy Advertising Manager Chatham News & Record (USPS #101160) is published weekly, 52 weeks a year, by North State Media LLC 303 West Raleigh Street Siler City, NC 27344 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Chatham News & Record PO Box 290 Siler City, NC 27344 CONTACT US For a vacation hold or to report a delivery problem: 919-663-3232 To place a classified or display ad: 919-663-3232; Fax: 919-663-4042 To submit a news tip or correction: 919-663-3232; news@chathamnewsrecord.com

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CRIME LOG Dec. 15 • Billy Tanner Grey, 33, of Ramseur, was arrested for assault on a government official/employee and resisting a public officer.

• Yshecia Evette Smith, 45, of Stoneville, was arrested for felony possession of a schedule 2 narcotic, possession with intent to sell and distribute a schedule 2 narcotic and felony possession of marijuana.

Dec. 16 • Jostin Josue Ramirez-Duarte, 18, of Durham, was arrested for first degree burglary, larceny after breaking and entering, breaking and entering into a motor vehicle, breaking and entering, breaking and entering into a motor vehicle with theft, larceny of a firearm and larceny.

• Randall Lee Stitt, 66, was arrested for communicating threats.

Dec. 18 • Kimberly Quay Williams, 53, of Chapel Hill, was arrested for misuse of 911 system.

• Billy Joe Phillips, 36, was arrested for assault by strangulation, felony stalking and assault on a female.

Dec. 19 • Daniel Forest Kloeffler, 24, was arrested for assault inflicting serious bodily injury, damage to property, assault on a female and attempted breaking or entering.

• Andres M. Diaz, 35, was arrested for child support violation.

Dec. 20 • Cody Jerad Nettles, 32, was arrested for assault by pointing a gun and injury to personal property.

• Jose De Jesus Munoz Gonzalez, 35, was arrested for indecent liberties with child and sexual battery.

Dec. 21 • Trey Alexander Robinson, 22, was arrested for assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious bodily injury and sexual battery.

A Chatham County sheriff’s deputy was shot and a hostage rescued after an armed standoff at a Pittsboro-area residence on Dec. 16.

Senior Deputy Matthew Mitchell sustained gunshot wounds to his arm and leg during the incident on Pittsboro Goldston Road. He was transported to a hospital and is in stable condition, according to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. Mitchell, who has served with the department since January 2020, is expected to make a full recovery.

The suspect, Kevin Dean Hammer, 50, of Goldston, is

COURTESY CCSO

Senior Deputy Matthew Mitchell deceased. The Sheriff’s Office has not released details about the circumstances of his death.

Hammer had pending criminal charges in Lee, Moore, Randolph and Chatham counties at the time of his death, including domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon, communicating threats, resisting a public officer and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Deputies responded to the residence last Tuesday afternoon and encountered an armed standoff that escalated into a hostage situation. After developing serious concerns for the hostage’s safety, deputies made entry into the residence and successfully rescued the hostage.

Pittsboro Goldston Road was closed for several hours during the incident. A portion of the road near the intersection with U.S. Highway 421 remained closed as investigators continued their work.

The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is conducting an independent investigation, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings. The Moore County Sheriff’s Office, N.C. Highway Patrol and FirstHealth EMS assisted at the scene.

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Chatham County:

Dec. 26 Live Music at The Plant 5-8 p.m.

Featuring musician Ryan Melquist, also known as Qwister, playing a variety of genres. No cover charge, tips encouraged.

The Plant 220 Lorax Lane Pittsboro

Dec. 27 Bluegrass Jam Circle

TRUMP from page A1 to Trump’s earlier stop in Pennsylvania, Rocky Mount sits in a U.S. House district that has been historically competitive.

But earlier this year, the Republican-controlled legislature redrew the boundaries for the eastern North Carolina district to favor their party as part of Trump’s push to have GOP-led states gerrymander their congressional districts to help his party retain its House majority for the last half of his term.

Rocky Mount may be in a politically advantageous location, but the hardships its residents report mirror the tightening financial strains many Americans say they are feeling, with high prices for groceries, housing and utilities among their top concerns. Polls show persistently high prices have put Americans in a grumpy mood about the state of the economy, which a large majority say is performing poorly.

Trump has insisted the economy is trending upward and the country will see some relief in the new year and beyond. In some cases, he has dismissed affordability concerns and encouraged Americans to decrease their consumption.

In his Friday night speech, he leaned into a persistent refrain: Democratic President Joe Biden alone was to blame for any economic distress Americans may be feeling, but things are getting better under his watch.

He boasted that steps he’s taken — including generating billions of dollars of revenue through tariffs, pressing pharmaceutical giants to slash the prices of some medicines, and a so-called $1776 “warrior dividend” for U.S. troops that is being paid through a provision in a tax cut extensions and expansions bill he signed into law in July—will have real impact on American’s pocketbooks.

“I inherited the mess. I got the prices down and they are going down still further,” Trump

10 a.m. to noon

said. He added, “Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in the history of our country.”

“Without the businesses, it’s dead” Crimson smokestacks tower over parts of downtown Rocky Mount, reminding the town’s roughly 54,000 residents of its roots as a once-booming tobacco market. Through the heart of downtown, graffiti-covered trains still lug along on the railroad tracks that made Rocky Mount a bustling locomotive hotspot in the last century.

Those days seem long gone for some residents who have watched the town change over the decades. Rocky Mount has adapted by tapping into other industries such as manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals, but it’s also had to endure its fair share of challenges. Most recently, financial troubles in the city’s government have meant higher utility prices for residents.

The city has been investing to try to revitalize its downtown, but progress has been slow. Long stretches of empty storefronts that once contained restaurants, furniture shops and drug stores line the streets. Most stores were closed Thursday morning, and not much foot traffic roamed the area.

That’s left Lucy Slep, who coowns The Miner’s Emporium jewelry store with her husband, waiting for Trump’s promised “Golden Age of America.”

The jewelry store has been in downtown Rocky Mount for nearly four decades, just about as long as the 64-year-old said she has lived in the area. But the deterioration of downtown Rocky Mount has spanned at least a decade, and Slep said she’s still hoping it will come back to life.

“Every downtown in every little town is beautiful,” she said.

“But without the businesses, it’s dead.”

Slep’s store hasn’t escaped the challenges other Rocky Mount small businesses have endured.

Instead of buying, more people have recently been selling their jewelry to the shop, Slep said.

Customers have been scarce.

About a week out from Christmas, the store — with handmade molded walls and ceilings resembling cave walls — sat empty aside from the rows of glass cases containing jewelry.

It’s been hard, Slep said, but she and her husband are trying to make it through.

“This year is just not a jewelry Christmas, for whatever reason,” she said.

Better times on the horizon — depending on whom you ask Slep is already looking ahead to next year for better times. She is confident that Trump’s economic policies — including upcoming tax cuts — will make a marked difference in people’s cost of living. In her eyes, the financial strains people are feeling are residual effects from the Biden administration that eventually will fade.

Optimism about what’s to come under Trump’s economy might also depend on whether residents feel their economic conditions have changed drastically in the past year.

Shiva Mrain, an engineer in Rocky Mount, said his family’s situation has not “become worse nor better.” He’s been encouraged by seeing lower gas prices.

Bryant, the engine technician, feels a bit more disillusioned. She didn’t vote in the last election because she didn’t think either party could enact changes that would improve her life. Nearly a year into the Trump administration, Bryant is still waiting to see whether the president will deliver.

“I can’t really say ... that change is coming,” she said. “I don’t think anything is going to change.”

This free acoustic jam session is open to musicians and singers of all ages and skill levels. There is no admission fee, and the public is welcome to attend.

Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum

Dec. 30 Yoga at BFP 6-7 p.m.

Yoga class for all fitness levels. Bring your own mat.

Free to attend; suggested donation of $15.

Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum

Jan.3 Holidays at Carolina Tiger Rescue 2-4 p.m.

Spend the holidays with the cats at this nonprofit rehab center. Tickets are $32 each.

Contact 919-542-4684 to order tickets.

1940 Hanks Chapel Road Pittsboro

Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

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Everything you need to know about Christmas, including how it’s evolved into global holiday From Father Christmas to nativity scenes, the holiday has different meanings everywhere

By Luis Andres Henao The Associated Press CHRISTMAS is a Christian holiday that observes the birth of Jesus. But did you know that the earliest followers of Jesus did not annually commemorate his birth? Or that Santa Claus is inspired by the acts of kindness of a fourth-century Christian saint?

And have you heard about the modern-day Japanese tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas?

Since the early 20th century, Christmas has evolved from a religious holiday to a hugely popular cultural holiday observed

by Christian and secular people across the globe who gather with families, exchange gifts and cards and decorate Christmas trees.

Here’s a look at the history, beliefs and the evolution of Christmas.

MICHAEL PROBST / AP PHOTO

An annual Christmas Market is a hub of activity in the city center of Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday.

Origins, early history of Christmas Early followers of Jesus did not annually commemorate his birth but instead focused on commemorating their belief in his resurrection at Easter.

The story of the birth of Jesus appears only in two of the four Gospels of the New Testament: Matthew and Luke.

They provide different details, though both say Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

The exact day, month and even year of Jesus’s birth are unknown, said Christine Shepardson, a professor at the University of Tennessee who studies early Christianity.

The tradition of celebrating Jesus’ birth on Dec. 25, she said, only emerged in the fourth century.

“It’s hard to overemphasize how important the fourth century is for constructing Christianity as we experience it in our world today,” Shepardson said.

It was then, under Emperor Constantine, that Christians began the practice of gathering at churches instead of meeting at homes.

Some theories say the date coincides with existing pagan winter solstice festivals, including the Roman celebration of Sol Invictus, or the “Unconquered Sun,” on Dec 25.

While most Christians celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25, some Eastern Orthodox traditions celebrate the holy day on Jan. 7. That’s because they follow the ancient Julian calen-

ALESSANDRA TARANTINO / AP PHOTO

dar, which runs 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, used by Catholic and Protestant churches as well as by much of the secular world.

Rowdy medieval celebrations For centuries, especially during the Middle Ages, Christmas was associated with rowdy street celebrations of feasting and drinking, and for many Christians, it “was not in good standing as a holiday,” said Thomas Ruys Smith, a professor of American literature and culture at the University of East Anglia in England.

“Puritans,” he said, “were not fond of Christmas.”

But in the 19th century, he said, Christmas became “respectable” with “the domestic celebration that we understand today — one centered around the home, the family, children, gift-giving.”

The roots of modern-day Christmas can be traced back to Germany. In the late 19th century, there are accounts of Christmas trees and gift-giving that, according to Smith, later spread to Britain and America, helping to revitalize Christmas on both

A 27-meter fir tree from the Ultimo valley in South Tyrol, Italy, is lit up as Christmas tree together with a crib in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican last Monday.

sides of the Atlantic.

Christmas became further popularized with the publication of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens in 1843, and the writings of Washington Irving, who was a fan of St. Nicholas and helped popularize the celebration of Christmas in America.

The first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was put up by workers in 1931 to raise spirits during the Great Depression.

The tradition stuck as the first tree-lighting ceremony was held in 1933 and remains one of New York City’s most popular holiday attractions.

America’s secular Santa inspired by Christian saint St. Nicholas was a fourth-century Christian bishop from the Mediterranean port city of Myra (in modern-day Turkey). His acts of generosity inspired the secular Santa Claus legend.

The legends surrounding jolly old St. Nicholas — celebrated annually on Dec. 6 — go way beyond delivering candy and toys to children. He is believed to have interceded on behalf of wrongly condemned prisoners and miraculously

saved sailors from storms.

Devotion to St. Nicholas spread during the Middle Ages across Europe and he became a favorite subject for medieval artists and liturgical plays. He is the patron saint of sailors and children, as well as of Greece, Russia and New York.

Devotion to St. Nicholas seems to have faded after the 16th century Protestant Reformation, except in the Netherlands, where his legend remained as Sinterklaas. In the 17th century, Dutch Protestants who settled in New York brought the Sinterklaas tradition with them.

Eventually, St. Nicholas morphed into the secular Santa Claus.

Not just Santa who delivers gifts In the U.K., it’s Father Christmas; in Greece and Cyprus, St. Basil (who arrives on New Year’s Eve). In some parts of Italy, it’s St. Lucy (earlier in December) and in other Italian regions, Befana, a witch-like figure, who brings presents on the Epiphany on Jan. 6.

Instead of a friendly Santa Claus, children in Iceland enjoy favors from 13 mischievous troll brothers, called the Yule Lads. They come down from their mountain cave 13 days before Christmas, according to folklore.

Christian traditions of Christmas One of the oldest traditions around Christmas is bringing greenery — holly, ivy or evergreen trees — into homes.

But determining whether it’s a

CHATHAM from page A1 experienced and has been in these conversations is not a personal preference, but is one that certainly does Chatham some good and it’s a disservice to disregard that.”

“I think all board members up here are qualified,” Robertson said in response. “Nobody is any further privileged to be chair or vice chair than any other members.”

The board also approved the first plat review for the Riverbend Estates, a 107-lot, 622-acre major subdivision, located off of Rock Rest Road.

The development will have lot sizes of at least three acres

Share with your community!

••• Send your birth, death, marriage, graduation and other announcements to community@chathamnewsrecord.com.

Weekly deadline is Monday at noon.

Christian tradition is harder.

“For many people, the evergreen can symbolize Christ’s promise of eternal life and his return from death,” Smith said. “So, you can interpret that evergreen tradition within the Christian concept.”

The decorating of evergreen trees is a German custom that began in the 16th century, said Maria Kennedy, a professor at Rutgers University— New Brunswick’s Department of American Studies. It was later popularized in England and America.

“Mistletoe, an evergreen shrub, was used in celebrations dating back to the ancient Druids — Celtic religious leaders — some 2,000 years ago,” Kennedy writes in The Surprising History of Christmas Traditions.

“Mistletoe represented immortality because it continued to grow in the darkest time of the year and bore white berries when everything else had died.”

Other traditions include Christmas services and Nativity scenes at homes and churches.

More recently, Nativity scenes — when erected on public property in the U.S. — have triggered legal battles over the question of the separation of church and state.

Christmas caroling, Kennedy writes, can also be traced back to European traditions, where people would go from home to home during the darkest time of the year to renew relationships within their communities and give wishes for good luck, health and wealth for the forthcoming year.

“They would recite poetry, sing and sometimes perform a skit. The idea was that these acts would bring about good fortune to influence a future harvest,” Kennedy writes.

Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas in Japan Among the many Christmas traditions that have been adopted and localized globally, there’s one that involves KFC. In 1974, KFC launched a Christmas campaign where they began to sell fried chicken with a bottle of wine so it could be used for a Christmas party.

KFC says the idea for the campaign came from an employee who overheard a foreign customer at one of its Tokyo restaurants saying that since he couldn’t get turkey in Japan, he’d have to celebrate Christmas with Kentucky Fried Chicken.

“That really stuck,” Smith said. “And still today, you have to order your KFC months in advance to make sure that you’re going to get it at Christmas Day.”

and overall, have an average size of five acres.

“This is a by-right plat application, which must be granted by state law because the objective standards of the ordinance have been met,” said attorney Nicolas Robinson, who was representing the client. “Not asking for any rezoning, we’re not asking for a special-use permit, we’re just fulfilling the requirement as set out in your ordinance.”

The project will have 36 months to submit construction plans for Phase 1 once the first plat is approved.

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners will next meet Jan. 20.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

THE CONVERSATION Trip Hoffend, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor VISUAL VOICES

COLUMN | ANDREW TAYLOR-TROUTMAN

Dear Santa I confess that I am prone to fits of unbelief about the world and the people in it.

YOU ALREADY KNOW from his Christmas wish list that my middle child loves basketball. Instead of “visions of sugar-plums,” video highlights of slam dunks dance in his head. Like a well-known poem, he can recite the stats of LeBron, Shaq and George Mikan — George Mikan!

Doesn’t that take you back, Santa?

For my son, Saturday morning is the holy day, for that’s when his rec team plays their games. Thursday evenings are sacred, too, because his team practices at Perry Harrison Elementary School. But ’twas the week before Christmas, and when we arrived for practice, not a creature was stirring — the parking lot was otherwise empty and the school gym darkened. I would have driven back home, but he insisted on checking the doors. Of course, they were locked. But he began to knock anyway, whether out of desperation, faith or a combination of both.

Then, the doors opened! And there you stood. White hair, white beard and festive red shirt. You had a broom in your hand instead of a pack and a trash can instead of a sleigh. But your eyes — how they twinkled! Your dimples, how merry! I won’t comment about your belly, but your laugh echoed in the hallway as you invited us inside, opened the gym and turned on the lights. You of all people, Santa, know how to make wishes come true.

I confess that I am prone to fits of unbelief about the world and the people in it. Things can seem cruel and cold instead of merry and bright.

And yet, without glossing over any suffering, it’s also true that there is kindness, tenderness and generosity — Christmas magic. There are people who do their jobs and

ALEX BRANDON/ AP PHOTO

still go out of their way to help others, and sometimes those people make all the difference.

As my son dribbled onto the court, I turned to thank you once again. But you had already gone back to work, disappeared into the school as if up a chimney. You’ll forgive me, then, if I steal your line: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

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, coffee drinker and student of joy.

COLUMN | BOB WACHS

There’s more than just one side to Christmas Christmas at its simplest and its best is about gifts and giving, starting with the Gift of God, and that’s a tradition the world needs more of.

CHRISTMAS, LIKE MANY THINGS, means different things to different people. Baskins and Robins figured that kind of thing out long ago; that’s why they have 31 flavors.

As we wind down to the day — and by now it’s here — I find myself thinking about what it means to me and a couple of thoughts keep jumping to the head of the line.

One is traditions. The other day the older of the two 40-somethings who used to be one of the two teenagers who lived at my house long ago and I did our regular daddy-daughter outing that we’ve been doing for years, the one where she helps me select gifts for her mother. I think I could probably do it but then I wouldn’t get to be with her and it wouldn’t seem like Christmas. She says that, too, which is also a part of the tradition.

What makes this outing different from how it started is that usually one or more of her own brood accompanies us. This year, among the crowd of grandkids who went, was her first-born, my oldest grandchild, who is no longer the little guy, except in my heart, but who is in his second year of college. Long ago, I took him Christmas shopping for his mama and watched him pick out chewing gum, pencils, rubber balls and an assortment of gifts for her.

He took seriously the idea that you should buy as presents for other folks the things you would like to receive yourself. This year, his siblings and some of his cousins were also with us.

Not complaining.

Along with that bit of activity is the tradition which says I must wait until the last minute anyway. Maybe it’s my own feeble nature or weakness or who knows what but it’s hard for me to get caught up in the mood in mid-November or even early December. But when that mood does show up, well, then I’ve got it.

Another tradition for me is the music. I can’t quite get into “Black Sabbath Sings the Great Carols of Christmas”

or whatever LP or CD is on the “must-have” list of the hour. But let me hear Burl Ives do “Frosty” or Gene Autry conjure up “Rudolph” or The Percy Faith Orchestra take off on “Joy to the World” and it’s a different game. Throw in Harry Simeon’s Chorale with the official version of “Little Drummer Boy” and I’m with my dad, who loved that tune. And when I break out the Kingston Trio’s album “Last Month of the Year” then I’m a little boy in the warmth of my mama’s living room and kitchen.

I miss my folks at Christmas. One of their traditions was the shoe boxes of candy and fruit and gum and nuts they helped Santa put together for my brothers and me.

Being the youngest of three boys, I got the short end of the stick quite a bit and it was never more obvious than at Christmas when my two older brothers would raid my shoe box, swapping their Brazil nuts for my Mr. Goodbar, something I never would have done, of course … or even thought about.

There are others; I’m sure you have yours if you have Christmas. But at the same time there’s another side to what Christmas is and it’s not just the memories.

It’s the future. It’s the promise we can do better and things can be better and there’s a second chance in many things in many ways.

I love the traditions, the ones that were mine as a child and the ones that have come along later with other people.

But I also love the realization that Christmas at its simplest and its best is about gifts and giving, starting with the Gift of God, and that’s a tradition the world needs more of.

Merry Christmas … and may you find your own traditions and a bright future.

Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record.

He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

COLUMN | JAN HUTTON

COLUMN

So much for my being the sun …

I’m sad for the life stories I missed when I mistakenly thought I was the sun, and only my light mattered.

TELLING ON MYSELF …

I was born an only child to much older parents who had been “trying” for years to have a bundle of joy. I (finally) received the message and made my appearance on planet earth. Ta dah! Not too many years thereafter, my father died and I became the sun in my mother’s life. A perk of being the sun in someone’s life is the belief that all the other planets (also known as people like you) revolve around me.

I was spoiled! Really spoiled. There was no negative intent in creating this condition of being spoiled. My life circumstances were a result of my mother’s deep desire for all the best directed toward this late-in-life only child, who was also fatherless very early on. I was cocooned in deep caring and over-protection to avoid more loss to my remaining parent.

I mean, I was the sun, what else were all you planets going to do, but revolve around me? (Ouch.) For the most part, my expectation was that all the other orbs would be interested in my life. Hearing or asking about the lives of others just never occurred to me. As the sun, after all, people turned their faces, with great interest, toward me.

Honesty can be a bitch.

Somewhere in my life’s evolving journey, I began to realize I wasn’t really the sun, but

just another regular ‘ol planet, riding around that real shining orb. Riding in tandem with all you other planetary bodies, held in thrall by the universe. We all mattered. All of us…

Whoa, it was akin to the clouds parting! I wanted to know more about all you heavenly orbs sharing space and gravity with me.

How our paths impacted each other’s orbital trajectories. Suddenly, I was swimming in this collective pool of planetary sharing.

Wow! I’m sad for the life stories I missed when I mistakenly thought I was the sun, and only my light mattered. Now, however, I welcome curiosity and excitement about you, all of us in the same constellation of planets.

Currently, we orbs are all inhabiting the proverbial Holiday Season. Please remember that each person in our planetary path has a different story to share this time of year.

Some are difficult and lonely, others are joyous. Let’s each bring the gift of caring to the seasonal darkness we collectively inhabit.

We can be a light — small, blinking maybe — but still a light for our fellow planetary travelers.

For Sue. Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.

COLUMN | KEVIN FRAZIER

Trump AI executive order protects Americans from Tower of Babel approach The problem is that many states have misinterpreted their expansive authority.

THE ANSWER TO two questions will shape the future of AI in the United States: Who gets to write the national rules for AI development?

Who gets to write the rules for how AI is adopted at the state level?

This is not a pop quiz. These are the same questions that we had to answer in the late 1700s with respect to shipping in the late 1800s with respect to the railroads, and in the late 1900s with respect to the Internet.

The right answers then, remain the correct answers today.

The executive order on AI announced by President Donald Trump provides a clear answer to the first question: Congress. It’s the right answer given the unequivocal allocation of constitutional authority to Congress to resolve matters that implicate America’s economic and national security.

AI development refers to the training, evaluation and deployment of AI models.

In short, it’s the tasks that determine how quickly U.S. companies can continue to push the technological frontier as our adversaries race to do the same. Any pause, delay or diversion to these efforts may have irreversible effects on our ability to economically and militarily keep pace. It’s not hyperbole to stress that America requires a cohesive strategy on this frontier so that our leading AI labs and emerging startups can focus more on AI research, rather than attempting to navigate a patchwork of state AI laws.

The order also answers the second question. States may dictate who uses AI, for what purposes, and subject to what limitations.

Again, this is the right answer as mandated by the Constitution and its reservation of extensive police powers to the states. It has long been recognized that it is the duty “of a state to advance the safety, happiness, and prosperity of its people, and to provide for its general welfare.” That’s precisely why the order does not contest the authority of states to enact and enforce laws related to child safety, data centers, state government use of AI and other issues that reflect that important duty.

To use an imperfect analogy, the order acknowledges and welcomes state laws related to speed limits, road designs and driver’s license requirements, so long as they do not interfere with how the engine is designed and distributed.

The problem is that many states have misinterpreted their expansive authority.

Some have enacted laws that will impede the ability of other states to look out for the distinct wants and needs of their respective

community. As mentioned in the order, states like Colorado want to dictate how AI models respond to certain queries — this akin to messing with the engine of AI. If labs comply, then the rest of America will have to live with what Denver thinks is best.

Other states — namely, California — have enacted laws with the explicit purpose of shielding the rest of the nation from speculative risks. That’s akin to Californians prohibiting Montanans from driving trucks with V8 engines because Californians think they are too powerful. Worse yet, such laws may inhibit the ability of American innovators to move forward on devising new strategies to deploy more capable and reliable AI systems.

Congress alone has the authority to dictate such consequential decisions. Americans are rightfully eager for Congress to use that authority. But impatience must not become acquiesce to efforts by state legislators to step into the shoes of U.S. representatives and senators.

The order’s core provision — the creation of an AI Litigation Task Force — will protect the American people from a Tower of Babel approach to AI development. States may think they’re enacting similar laws with similar provisions related to AI training, but they’re oftentimes speaking different languages — their bills are riddled with contradictory definitions and vague standards.

This task force is overdue but far from an overreach of presidential authority.

The order does not grant the U.S. attorney general any new authority nor permit the task force to “neuter” any constitutionally valid state laws, as alleged by The New York Times. Instead, the order is again to the president putting certain questions at the top of the AG’s agenda: specifically, challenging unconstitutional, unlawful or preempted state laws. None of that is new. It has been and always will be the case that state laws that run afoul of the Constitution or otherwise violate the law can and should be challenged. The order merely directs a focus on state AI laws that fall within any of those categories.

State legislators may be forgiven for rushing to regulate AI amid the public’s uncertainty over how the technology will impact our economy, our schools, and our communities. AI’s disruptive effects warrant a national framework and soon. Congress must act. However, as signaled by this executive order, that forgiveness has limits: states that intentionally seek to impose their legislative will on others must be held accountable.

Kevin Frazier is the AI and innovation fellow at the University of Texas School of Law.

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SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE

Sharia law fuels jihadist terror in Nigeria; is America next?

OVER THE LAST few months, I’ve been increasingly vocal about the rise of radical Islam in the U.S. As a result, the left has predictably lost their minds — calling me a “racist” and an “Islamophobe.” The truth is I’m an American, and I care about the safety of our country. I’m not afraid of Chuck Schumer calling me names.

What I am afraid of is losing the greatest country on Earth to radical Islam. Look no further than the Thanksgiving shooting of two National Guardsmen in D.C. by a Biden-imported Afghan Islamic terrorist to know that we are under attack.

There’s a lot of good people that come from Middle Eastern countries who go by our laws and assimilate with our culture. But if you come here otherwise, refuse to go by our laws and chant “Death to America,” I have a message for you — we do not want you here. If you’re a peaceful Muslim who has assimilated, now is the time to speak out and condemn these acts of Islamic terrorism.

What’s taking place in Nigeria is a sad example of the dangers of Islam. We are seeing firsthand the poisonous impact that Radical Islam can have on a country when it is allowed to take root.

In the 1990s, Nigerian Christians and Muslims lived in relative harmony. But Muslims began gaining a foothold, and sharia law was soon installed by 12 of Northern Nigeria’s states in the early 2000s. There are now 101 references to sharia law and Islam in the Nigerian Constitution and zero references to Christianity. Now, 35 Christians a day are being murdered in Nigeria for their faith. Unfortunately, this statistic isn’t surprising. Islam openly teaches to “kill all infidels” — which includes Christians.

Since 2002, an estimated 62,000 Christians in Nigeria have been murdered, and 350,000 people have died because of the instability that Radical Islam breeds. In 2024, 70% of all Christians martyred for their faith in the entire world were in Nigeria. Kidnappings in Nigeria are also on the rise because Jihadists use this to extort ransom payments and fund more terrorism.

In November, the world reacted with horror when 315 schoolchildren were kidnapped from a Catholic school in Niger State.

Yet you won’t hear much about any of these tragedies because the mainstream media in America would rather bury their heads in the sand than report the facts. They don’t cover the wholesale slaughter of Christians, and when they do, they claim it’s equal opportunity murder of Christians and Muslims alike.

Thankfully, President Donald Trump recently reclassified Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” placing a spotlight on persecuted Christians in the country. I also appreciate other members of Congress like Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana and Republican Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia who have joined me in the fight to end the slaughtering of Christians in Nigeria.

However, there is much more that needs to be done to hold the Nigerian government accountable for the genocide happening right under its nose. I am grateful for organizations like Across Nigeria that are working day and night to bring the killing to an end. I recently heard from Brad Brandon, who serves as CEO of Across Nigeria. He described the horrors of Islam firsthand, and how he has stood at the edge of large graves filled with entire families and villages of Christian believers. In 2021, a pastor who worked for Brandon’s organization was hacked to death by machetes in his bed. His church, home, and village were set on fire — all because he refused to deny his Christian faith and stop spreading the gospel. It reminds me of some of the disciples in the earliest days of the church who were martyred for their faith rather than denying Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, this isn’t just a problem overseas. I’ve said it many times and have taken some heat for it, but Islam isn’t a religion, it is a death cult. And this type of poisonous ideology is alive and well in this country, just waiting to attack. Just this week, FBI Director Kash Patel announced they caught several Islamist terrorists who had planned terror attacks for New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles and New Orleans. If we don’t act now, these types of attacks will become commonplace.

That’s why I refuse to be silent about this. Islam is fundamentally opposed to our Constitutional values. These people openly chant “death to America” and would like to see every single freedom-loving American dead. The threat of sharia law becoming a reality in America is not a hypothetical. It’s a real and present danger lurking in our own backyards. Nigeria is an example of what can happen when Radical Islam and sharia law overtake a once prosperous and free nation. Those who practice Radical Islam would love nothing more than to destroy this country. Our freedom is a gift, and I hope that more of our leaders will wake up and defend it before it’s too late.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate. This column was first published by Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

obituaries

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396 West St., Pittsboro, NC 27312 | 919-542-3057 | www.donaldsonfunerals.com Lord and was active in his church. He was a member of Shiloh Baptist Church in Garner where he was a Sunday School teacher, sang in the church choir, worked the sound system, and he was a deacon and was awarded Deacon emeritus. Don loved his church and his church family. In his The iconic show ran on spare time, Don loved music, NBC from 1979 to 1981 computers, and taking photos.

Don and Ruth lived on a farm and raised horses while living The Associated Press in Asheboro. Don’s biggest love was his family and making GIL GERARD, who played memories with them all. television’s hunky sci-fi hero WilLeft to cherish Don’s liam “Buck” Rogers soon after the memory is his wife of 43 years, Ruth Simmons Heard; Star Wars franchise took hold in his children, Donna Smith, the late 1970s, has died. He was and Tonya McManus and her 82.

REED SAXON / AP PHOTO husband, Al, and Joseph Heard; Gerard died Tuesday in hoshis grandchildren, Hannah pice as a result of a rare, aggres- Actor Gil Gerard poses in Murphy and her husband, Dan, sive form of cancer, said his man- Los Angeles in 1990.

Elaina Staley, Adam Rierson, ager, Tina Presley Borek. His and Caitlin McManus; his wife, Janet Gerard, posted a three great grandchildren, posthumous Facebook message ties I’ve had, the people I’ve met Zoe Murphy, Avery Murphy, he left behind for fans that read and the love I have given and reand Charlie Parrish; his sister, ceived have made my 82 years on in part: Carole Barr, and her husband, the planet deeply satisfying.”

“Don’t waste your time on anyWayne; his niece, Keri Henley As the TV story goes, Rogthing that doesn’t thrill you or and her husband, Mark, and bring you love. See you out some- ers was a 20th century NASA their daughter, Kiya; and his pilot who was placed in frozen where in the cosmos.” nephew, Chris Barr and his wife, Gerard starred in NBC’s animation when his ship was Michelle, and their sons, Alex campy “Buck Rogers in the 25th hit by a meteor storm. He pops and Andrew.

Century,” which ran for two sea- awake 500 years later in the year A Celebration of Life service sons from 1979 to 1981. A theat- 2491. He gazes upon a futuristic, will be held January 4th, rical film based on the series also domed Earth with all its threats, 2026, at 3 pm, at Smith & Buckner Chapel. There will be delighted youngsters and their including aliens, space pilots and a visitation from 2-3 pm prior parents alike. It was Rogers’ sec- the evil Draconians. to the service. Services will He had helpers: The robot ond turn on TV after a show in be officiated by Pastor Mitch the 1950s, a radio series and a sidekick Twiki and a beautiLockamy and Pastor Matt ful space pilot Wilma Deering, 1939 film serial.

Whaley.

The story was based on Phil- played by Erin Gray.

In lieu of flowers, memorials A native of Little Rock, Arkanip Francis Nowlan’s serialized can be made to Randolph 1928 pulp novella “Armageddon sas, Gerard worked steadily in TV Hospice, 416 Vision Dr., 2419 A.D.” Nowlan’s character commercials. He was featured in Asheboro, NC 27203 in Don’s was named Anthony Rogers. The a number of other TV shows and name. name was changed when the sto- movies, including starring roles Smith & Buckner Funeral ry began running in newspapers in the 1982 TV movie “Hear No Home will be assisting the Evil” as Dragon and the shortas a comic strip.

Heard family. lived “Sidekicks” in 1986.

“My life has been an amazing Online condolences can be In 1992, he hosted the realijourney,” Gerard wrote in his somade at www.smithbucknerfh. ty series “Code 3,” following firecial media post.

“The opportunicom

‘Buck Rogers’ star Gil Gerard dead at 82

Donald “Don” Melvin Heard July 17, 1950 – Dec. 14, 2025 Donald “Don” Melvin Heard, 75, of Garner, went to his Heavenly home on December 14th, 2025, at TerraBella Asheboro, surrounded by family.

Don was born on July 17th, 1950, in Cherokee County, GA, to the late Claude Junior and Dorothy Ellen Bobo Heard.

He is preceded in death by his parents and his grandchildren, Sarah and Haley Rierson.

Don was a 1968 graduate of Jordan-Matthews High School.

Then he went to Wingate College where he graduated in 1970 with his associates. He then went back to college and graduated in 1975 from Rowan Technical Institute where he received his associates degree in fire protection technology.

In 1972, Don was a firefighter for Guilford College Fire Department, after which he worked briefly in insurance. He then worked for Mecklenburg County Fire Administration Office. In 1979, he started working with the Randolph County as Fire Marshall and stayed with them until 1988. After that, he went to work for the North Carolina Crime Control and Public Safety Division in Emergency Management. Don loved the

“Greg spent countless hours of his time helping the citizens of North Carolina during the disasters that followed Hurricane Helene. His tireless work saved lives.”

NASCAR statement fighters responding to emergency calls around the U.S. Gerard and Gray were together again in 2007 for the TV film “Nuclear Hurricane.” They also returned to the Buck Rogers universe as Rogers’ parents in the pilot episode of James Cawley’s “Buck Rogers Begins” internet video series in 2009.

Gerard spoke openly about addictions to drugs, alcohol and compulsive overeating. He was the subject of a one-hour documentary, “Action Hero Makeover,” in 2007 after his weight ballooned to 350 pounds.

Done by Adrienne Crow, the film documented his progress after gastric bypass surgery.

Gerard was married and divorced four times before Janet.

He had a son, actor Gilbert Vincent Gerard, with model and actor Connie Sellecca. Their divorce included a bitter custody battle for “Gib,” who was born in 1981. Sellecca was granted main custody.

“My journey has taken me from Arkansas to New York to Los Angeles, and finally, to my home in North Georgia with my amazing wife, Janet, of 18 years,” Gerard wrote in the post put on Facebook after his death.

“It’s been a great ride, but inevitably one that comes to a close as mine has.”

NASCAR mourns loss of Greg Biffle, family He died last week in a Statesville plane crash

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press CHARLOTTE — Greg Biffle was picked by NASCAR as one of its top 75 drivers in history. He was a Hall of Fame nominee for the stock car series and he drove for 18 years at the top of the sport.

Yet for all the races and the handful of memorable wins, he is perhaps best remembered for his selfless and tireless work helping others as a helicopter pilot supplying aid a year ago in the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene.

Biffle loved flying and he was in the air again last Thursday, aboard a small jet that crashed at the Statesville airport north of Charlotte, authorities said.

He was among seven people killed, including his wife and two children. He was 55.

“This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words,” said a joint statement released on behalf of the victims. “Greg and Cristina were devoted parents and active philanthropists whose lives were centered around their young son Ryder and Greg’s daughter Emma. Emma was a wonderful human being with a kind soul who was loved by many people. Ryder was an active, curious and infinitely joyful child.”

The statement identified the others on board as Dennis Dutton, his son, Jack. and Craig Wadsworth, all “beloved by many in the NASCAR community.”

“Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives,” the statement said.

Biffle won championships in both the lower-tier national Truck and Xfinity Series — the first driver to do so — and spent almost his entire career driving for Roush Fenway Racing, headquartered about 40 miles south of the crash site.

BRYNN ANDERSON / AP PHOTO

NASCAR driver Greg Biffle holds his daughter, Emma Elizabeth, during driver introductions at Talladega Superspeedway in 2016.

“I have lost a dear friend and partner in our NASCAR program,” team owner Jack Roush said on social media. “His contributions to our race team over the years are immeasurable.”

Anguish swept across the closely-knit auto racing community, from drivers to team owners like Chip Ganassi. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein singled out Biffle for his “courage and compassion” and for helping the hurricane victims. So did NASCAR. “Greg was more than a champion driver, he was a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many,” the series said. “Beyond his racing career, he gave of himself for the betterment of our community. Most notably, Greg spent countless hours of his time helping the citizens of North Carolina during the disasters that followed Hurricane Helene. His tireless work saved lives.”

A native of Vancouver,

Washington, Biffle made more than 800 starts across NASCAR’s three series and won the Truck Series title in 2000 and the Xfinity title in 2002. In all, he won 54 races across NASCAR’s three national circuits, including 19 at the top Cup Series level. He finished second in the championship standings to Tony Stewart in 2005, his best season, and three years later become the first driver to win two playoff races in a single year.

Biffle made his Cup debut in 2002. He earned his slot with Roush through its old “Gong Show” method of picking drivers in which candidates would go head to head trying to earn a job with one of the top teams in NASCAR. He transitioned into semiretirement in 2016 but returned in 2022 to run five races, including the Daytona 500. He was 52 at the time.

“I had such tremendous respect for Greg as a driver, and we shared countless tough

battles on the track,” retired Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon wrote on social media. “Like so many others, I was inspired by his tireless relief work during Hurricane Helene. My heart goes out to the Biffle family and everyone hurting.”

Piloting was a deep love, and Biffle’s YouTube channel and social accounts were filled with joyful outings with friends and family. In 2024, Biffle won the National Motorsports Press Association’s Myers Brothers Award for his humanitarian aid efforts in the wake of Helene.

Biffle piloted his personal helicopter to deliver supplies and aid to hard-hit communities in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee.

During one of his trips to the mountains, a trapped man signaled Biffle for help with a mirror. After multiple attempts, Biffle was able to land his helicopter and provide supplies to the man and his neighbors. He returned this year to check in.

“I had no idea at that point in time how devastating this storm was,” Biffle explained later.

“What started out to be rescuing one family … turned into 4,000 messages. … It went viral.”

One of his partners in the effort was friend Garrett Mitchell, a YouTuber and race car driver known as Cleetus McFarland.

Mitchell said the Biffle family was on its way to spend last Thursday afternoon with him in Florida.

“We are devastated,” Mitchell wrote on Facebook.

So was U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina.

“The Biffles flew hundreds of rescue missions in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene,” Hudson wrote on social media. “The last time I spoke with Cristina, just a couple of weeks ago, she reached out to ask how she could help with relief efforts in Jamaica. That’s who the Biffles were.”

Roush, the team owner, was involved in several plane crashes during his years as a pilot and nearly died in a 2002 crash in which he landed upside down in a lake near Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

Larry Hicks, a retired member of the U.S. Marine Corps, rescued Roush from the overturned wreckage before Roush drowned.

Many of his former drivers have gone on to achieve their pilot’s licenses, including Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin, all Hall of Fame drivers.

Biffle spent his years in retirement fabricating cars in his shop, running a quarry in Virginia and keeping up with his two children. Less than a week ago, Biffle posted a video of his family — 14-year-old daughter Emma, 5-year-old son Ryder and wife Cristina — picking out a Christmas tree on an outing that included a trip for ice cream.

“It’s been a successful day,” Biffle said. “Now it’s time to get the decorations out and get her going.”

Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

Prosecutors say $9B in Minnesota social safety net claims may be fraud Authorities describe “industrial-scale” schemes targeting Medicaid and child nutrition programs The Associated Press HALF OR MORE of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen, a federal prosecutor said last week, describing the massive and multilayered fraud schemes as staggering.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said the scale of fraud puts services at risk for people who need them, including adults leaving addiction treatment centers who needed help finding a stable place to live and children with autism who were seeking one-on-one therapy.

While prosecutors typically see fraud manifest as providers overbilling, Thompson said during a news conference in Minneapolis that companies have been created to provide zero services while submitting claims to Medicaid and pocketing federal funds for international travel, luxury vehicles and lavish lifestyles.

“The magnitude cannot be overstated,” Thompson said.

“What we see in Minnesota is

not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”

Somali Americans make up 82 of the 92 defendants charged so far, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota. Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S. Local community leaders have urged officials and the public not to stigmatize Somali Americans in the state, warning against conflating alleged crimes by a handful of defendants with more than 80,000 people of Somali descent in the Twin Cities.

“Fraud is an issue of individual wrongdoing, not community identity,” said Yusuf Abdulle, the Minneapolis-based imam who directs the Islamic Association of North America.

Thompson said a significant amount of the fraudulently obtained funds have been sent abroad, and much of it has been used to purchase real estate in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, which has a large Somali diaspora.

While Thompson said money sent to Somalia might have indirectly gotten into the hands of al-Shabab, he emphasized that there was no evidence that defendants were sending money to or otherwise supporting terrorist organizations.

“There’s no indication that the

“Every day, we look under a rock and find a new $50 million fraud scheme.”

Joe Thompson, First Assistant U.S. Attorney defendants that we’ve charged were radicalized or seeking to fund al-Shabab or other terrorist groups,” Thompson said.

The announcements follow years of investigation that began with the $300 million Feeding Our Future scheme, for which 57 defendants have been convicted. Prosecutors said the Feeding Our Future nonprofit was at the center of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud scam, when defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program intended to provide food for children.

Thompson said the investigation into a state program to support children on the autism spectrum, the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention benefit, grew out of Feeding Our Future.

“Roughly two dozen or so Feeding Our Future defendants were getting money from autism clinics,” Thompson said.

“That’s how we learned about the autism fraud.”

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Prosecutors named a new defendant accused of defrauding the program, alleging he approached parents in the Somali community to “recruit their children” for the clinic and paid them kickbacks to drive up enrollment, according to court filings. His clinic ultimately submitted $6 million worth of claims for Medicaid reimbursement, prosecutors say.

Five new defendants were charged in connection with a Minnesota housing services fraud, in which they stole the money instead of helping Medicaid recipients find stable housing, Thompson said. The program has been shuttered entirely.

Authorities also served a search warrant in an investigation of a third state-run program, Integrated Community Supports, which was intended to support adults with disabilities who want to live independently. Payments to providers are on track to reach $180 million this year — exponentially more than when the state program was introduced in 2021 — leading prosecutors to believe it’s another program that has been abused.

“Every day, we look under a rock and find a new $50 million fraud scheme,” Thompson said.

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CRASH from page A1 examining the wreckage last Friday to help determine the cause of the crash and why the plane had returned to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.

Investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder, which could provide important clues about what happened. They were not aware of any emergency calls from the jet, NTSB member Michael Graham said at a Friday news conference.

There were three pilots on board. Federal Aviation Administration records show Biffle was rated to fly helicopters, and single- and multiengine planes. Also on board was pilot Dennis Dutton, Dutton’s son, Jack — who had a private pilot’s license for single-engine planes — and Biffle’s friend Craig Wadsworth.

Biffle’s wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, were also killed in the crash, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

Cristina Biffle’s mother told People magazine that her daughter sent her a text message saying, “We’re in trouble,” before she didn’t hear from her again.

Federal investigators on Friday didn’t have answers yet about the crew.

Dennis Dutton was licensed and rated to fly this model of plane, but even then, he was supposed to fly with a co-pilot. Even though Biffle was rated to fly a multiengine plane, he wasn’t listed as qualified to fly this particular jet or be a second officer. Dutton’s son, Jack, also had a pilot’s license but was only rated for single-engine planes.

“There is nobody else that has a second-in-command type rating in the airplane. So there’s a question on the crew,” aviation safety expert John Cox said.

The plane’s speed and altitude fluctuated significantly during the brief flight, and its path was consistent with a flight crew that experienced an issue and needed to return quickly, said former NTSB and FAA crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti.

At one point, the plane quickly soared from 1,800 feet up to 4,000 feet before descending again. Just before the crash, it was only a couple of hundred feet off the ground.

“One thing is certain: They were low. They were too low to make a safe landing on that runway,” Guzzetti said.

It’s unclear why the pilots didn’t make an emergency call, but their top priori-

A7 payer money can be slow and incomplete. Thompson said authorities have seized between $60 million and $70 million connected to the Feeding Our Future case. About $30 million of that amount is liquid cash or funds recovered from bank accounts. The remaining assets include real estate and vehicles that must be sold, often at auction, and that process can take months or years.

Court records show Feeding Our Future defendants spent millions on homes in the Minneapolis metro area, lakefront property elsewhere in Minnesota and real estate in other states, including Ohio and Kentucky.

Prosecutors said luxury purchases included more than $88,000 on a GMC truck, $93,250 on a Porsche and over $100,000 on a Mercedes.

Some of the money, however, is permanently lost. Prosecutors said defendants spent funds on travel, entertainment and services that cannot be recovered, including a lavish honeymoon trip to a private villa in the Maldives and the purchase of a suite at a Minnesota Timberwolves game.

In October, Gov. Tim Walz initiated a third-party audit of and paused payments to the 14 high-risk Medicaid programs for 90 days.

“We will not tolerate fraud, and we will continue to work with federal partners to ensure fraud is stopped and fraudsters are caught,” Walz said in a statement.

Walz last week appointed a director of program integrity, who is tasked with finding and preventing fraud statewide.

ties are flying the plane and figuring out where to land — not radioing for help. It’s possible they were too busy trying to control the plane and dealing with the problem.

But Cox said it’s also possible that the problem they encountered wasn’t considered an emergency. And the pilots may not have made it a priority to make a radio call with no tower or firefighters at the airport.

Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.

In 2024, Biffle was honored for his humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Helene struck the U.S., even using his personal helicopter to deliver aid to flooded, remote western North Carolina.

The last time I spoke with Cristina, just a couple of weeks ago, she reached out to ask how she could help with relief efforts in Jamaica.

That’s who the Biffles were,” U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) said.

Wadsworth was Biffle’s friend and helped him with odd jobs, including delivering supplies to places hit by Hurricane Helene, roommate Benito Howell said.

“He didn’t know how to say no,” Howell said of Wadsworth, who had worked for several NASCAR teams. “He loved everybody. He always tried to help everybody.”

A memorial with flowers sprouted up Friday by Biffle’s marble star in his hometown of Mooresville, honoring him as a member of the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Steve Miller dropped by to pay his respects. He met Biffle at a huge party after he was inducted in October. He told Biffle he hoped the racecar driver could help knock an item off his bucket list — taking a flight in a helicopter.

“Come knock on my door, I’ll take you up,” Miller recalled Biffle telling him. “Never happened.”

Cessna Citations like the one that crashed Thursday are known as reliable, easy-tofly jets. While the plane is in flight, one pilot is at the controls while the other pilot is the monitoring pilot, Cox said.

Roughly 1,000 of these 550 series jets have been made, and they have a very good safety record. “What accidents have occurred in this type were mostly due to very poor pilot decisions,” Guzzetti said.

A8

Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

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A9

Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

TAKE NOTICE NOTICE NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS The undersigned, having qualified on the 20th day of November 2024, as Executor of the Estate of Scobie I. Arnott, Sr., deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 18th day of March 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 18th day of December 2025.

Roger W. Arnott, Executor of the Estate of Scobie I. Arnott, Sr. c/o Gwendolyn C. Brooks, Kennon Craver, PLLC 4011 University Drive, Suite 300 Durham, North Carolina 27707 THE CHATHAM NEWS: 12/18; 12/25; 1/1/2026; 1/8/2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY The undersigned, having qualified as Executor of the Estate of MATTHEW T. FLYER AKA MATTHEW THOMAS FLYER, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before March 19, 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms or corporations indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 18th day of December, 2025.

Lynn Marie Flyer Executor of the Estate of Matthew T. Flyer aka Matthew Thomas Flyer 177 Pine View Acres P.O. Box 535 Goldstone, NC 27252 Leigh Anne Kasia Wyatt Early Harris Wheeler LLP 1912 Eastchester Drive, Ste 400 High Point, NC 27265 336-884-4444 Publication dates: December 18, 25, 2025; January 1 and 8, 2026.

NOTICE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS COUNTY OF CHATHAM File Number 25E000652-180 THE UNDERSIGNED, having qualified on the 1st day of December 2025, as Executor of the ESTATE OF GRANT FRANKLIN KOHER, Deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 5th of March, 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 4th day of December, 2025.

Blanche Guay Koher EXECUTOR ESTATE OF GRANT FRANKLIN KOHER c/o Shirley Diefenbach, Attorney Walker Lambe, PLLC Post Office Box 51549 Durham, North Carolina 27717

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Billy Hugh Elkins, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, notifies all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned at her address, P. O. Box 266, Goldston, North Carolina, 27252, on or before the 4th day of March, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment.

This 26th day of November, 2025.

Rebecca L. Elkins P. O. Box 266 Goldston, North Carolina 27252 GUNN & MESSICK, PLLC P. O. Box 880 Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312-0880 December 4, 11, 18, 25

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#24E001626-180 The undersigned, DEREK RILE GREEN, having qualified on the 20TH Day of OCTOBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ANN BLANKENSHIP GREEN, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 4th Day OF MARCH 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 4th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

DEREK RILE GREEN, EXECUTOR 4551 STALEY SNOW CAMP RD. STALEY, NC 27355 Run dates: D4,D11,18,25p

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000588-180 The undersigned TERRY WALLACE, having qualified on the 24TH Day of OCTOBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of JOHN ROMIE WOMBLE, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 18th Day OF MARCH 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 18th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

TERRY WALLACE, EXECUTOR 866 JUNO ROAD BROADWAY, NC 27505 Run dates: D18,25,J1,8p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000644-180 The undersigned, LESLIE LEIGH LAFOSSE, having qualified on the 24TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of BETTY OLIVE FARLESS, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 4th Day OF MARCH 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 4th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

LESLIE LEIGH LAFOSSE, ADMINISTRATOR 6923 WILLIAMS COUNTRY ROAD STALEY, NC 27355 Run dates: D4,D11,18,25p

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000629-180 The undersigned REBA THOMAS, having qualified on the 25TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of LOUISE HARTON STULTZ, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 11th Day OF MARCH 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 11th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

REBA THOMAS, EXECUTOR 2459 WALTER BRIGHT RD. SANFORD, NC 27330 Run dates: D11,18,25,J1p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000651-180 The undersigned ROBIN ZENICK, having qualified on the 26TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of BEVERLY A. WHITBECK, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 11th Day OF MARCH 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 11th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

ROBIN ZENICK, EXECUTOR 725 S. CLARKSON ST. DENVER, CO 80209 Run dates: D11,18,25,J1p

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000659-180 The undersigned DELTABLUE LEFLEUR CHEVALIER, having qualified on the 2ND Day of DECEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of RICHARD MINTER NORWOOD, III, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 11th Day OF MARCH 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 11th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

DELTABLUE LEFLEUR CHAVALIER, EXECUTOR 91 WELDON DRIVE NORTH CHAPEL HILL, NC 27516 Run dates: D11,18,25,J1p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000653-180 The undersigned TATANISHEA AMINA BRANTLEY, having qualified on the 26TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of DALLAS IRVIN JACOBS, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 11th Day OF MARCH 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 11th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

TATANISHEA AMINA BRANTLEY, ADMINISTRATOR 302 LACE CAROL LANE ELGIN, SC 29045 Run dates: D11,18,25,J1p

TOWN OF SILER CITY NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION PROGRAMS Notice is hereby given that the Siler City Board of Commissioners will conduct two Public Hearings on Monday, January 12, 2026, beginning at 6:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the meeting agenda will allow, in the Courtroom at City Hall, 311 North Second Avenue, Siler City, NC 27344. The purpose of these Public Hearings is to consider program amendments to the town’s 2020 and 2024 CDBG-NR programs.

Grant #19-C-1939 (2020 CDBG-NR Program): The proposed amendment seeks additional funding for public facilities improvements and equipment.

Grant #23-C-4171 (2024 CDBG-NR Program): The proposed amendment seeks to add an additional housing unit to the project as an alternate.

All interested citizens are encouraged to attend this public hearing, and all comments are welcome.

Anyone wishing to submit written comments should do so by submitting them directly or by mail to Sara Martin at the Siler City Office of Planning & Community Development, PO Box 769, Siler City, NC 27344, email smartin@silercity.gov or phone 919726-8625. Comments should be postmarked by Wednesday, January 7, 2026.

Persons with disabilities or who otherwise need assistance should contact the Town Manager’s Office at 919-742-4731 by Friday, January 9, 2026.

Accommodation will be made for all who request assistance participating in the public hearing.

This information is available in Spanish and any other language upon request. Please contact Sara Martin, Community Development Planner, at 919-7268625 or at 311 N. Second Avenue, Siler City, NC, for accommodations for this request.

Esta información está disponible en español o en cualquier otro idioma bajo petición. Por favor, póngase en contacto con Sara Martin, Community Development Planner, al 919-726-8625 o en 311 N. Second Avenue, Siler City, NC, de alojamiento para esta solicitud.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF JENNIFER GODFREY SCOTT 25E000648-180 ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims against Jennifer Godfrey Scott, deceased of Chatham County, N.C., are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before March 12, 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. This 11th day of December, 2025. Amber Paige Bonde, Administrator, c/o The Walls Law Firm, 5511 Capital Center Dr., Ste 180 Raleigh, NC 27606.

Chatham News & Record: December 11, 18, 25 2025; January 1, 2026.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Mary L. D. Wilkinson, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to Ellen L. W. Proctor, Executor of the Estate of Mary L. D. Wilkinson, c/o Patrick E. Bradshaw, Attorney for the Estate, at Bradshaw Robinson Slawter & Rainer LLP, PO Box 607, Pittsboro, NC 27312, on or before the 11th day of March, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 11th day of December, 2025.

Ellen L. W. Proctor Executor of the Estate of Mary L. D. Wilkinson Patrick E. Bradshaw Bradshaw Robinson Slawter & Rainer LLP PO Box 607 Pittsboro, NC 27312 (For Publication: 12/11, 12/18 and 12/25/2025 and 1/1/2026)

Notice to Creditors ALL Persons firm and corporation having claims against Patsy Louise Wolfe Truelove, deceased of Chatham County, N.C. 24E001659-180, are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before March 19, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 18th day of December, 2025. Ralston Lane Truelove, Executor, C/O Horsley Law Firm, P.A. 5720 Six Forks Rd., Ste. 101, Raleigh, NC 27609, 919-847-3880.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS COUNTY OF CHATHAM THE UNDERSIGNED, having qualified on the 18th day of December, 2025, as Executor of the ESTATE OF PETER JAMES MEEHAN, Deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before March 26, 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 25th day of December, 2025.

PRUDENCE F. MEEHAN EXECUTOR ESTATE OF PETER JAMES MEEHAN c/o Jennifer Dalman, Attorney Walker Lambe, PLLC Post Office Box 51549 Durham, North Carolina 27717

NOTICE NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of Chad Eric Sexton late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of March, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

This the 2nd day of December, 2025.

Yvonne Sexton Goldston, Administrator Of the Estate of Chad Eric Sexton 1102 N. Hampton Street Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY 25E000628-180 ALL persons having claims against Gisela Hilda Hecken, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Mar 04 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This the 4th day of December, 2025.

Margit H. Iwanowicz, Executor C/O Howard Stallings Law Firm PO Box 12347 Raleigh, NC 27605 D4, 11, 18 and 25

NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF JERRY WILLIS MOODY FILE NO. 25E000339-180 All persons, firms and corporations having claims against Jerry Willis Moody, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before March 18, 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This 18th day of December 2025.

Scarlett M. Blue, Executor 148 Morrison Bridge Rd Vass, NC 28394 The Chatham News December 18, 25, January 1 and 8, 2025

4tp

24SP001109-180 AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CHATHAM COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Barry D Edwards and Sandra B Edwards to Trste, Inc, Trustee(s), which was dated January 16, 2003 and recorded on February 24, 2003 in Book 997 at Page 902, Chatham County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on January 8, 2026 at 01:00 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Chatham County, North Carolina, to wit: ALL THAT CERTAIN PROPERTY SITUATED IN THE TOWNSHIP OF MATTHEWS IN THE COUNTY OF CHATHAM AND STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA AND BEING MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN A DEED DATED 12-28-1983 AND RECORDED 12-29-1983 IN BOOK 466 PAGE 569 AMONG THE LAND RECORDS OF THE COUNTY AND STATE SET FORTH ABOVE.

And being more particularly described by metes and bounds according to said Deed as follows: FIRST TRACT: Lying and being in Matthews Township, Chatham County, North Carolina, and more particularly described as follows: BEGINNING at an iron spike in the center of U.S. Highway #421, Elizabeth C. Saunders southeast corner and running thence with Saunders’ line North 00 degrees 20’ West 503.48 feet to an old iron stake, Lyndal Joines Estate’s southeast corner; thence with Joines’ line North 00 degrees 20’ West 417.47 feet to an old iron stake and pointers, Jeff Joyce’s southeast corner; thence with Joyce’s line North 00 degrees 20’ West 539.06 feet to an iron stake in McPherson’s line; thence with McPherson’s line South 83 degrees 10’ East 421.86 feet to an iron stake the northwest corner of Parcel B as shown on a plat entitled “Division of a Portion of the Glosson & Esther Dale Edwards Land”, dated August 6, 1981, by James D. Hunter, R.L.S.; thence with the western margin of Parcel B South 09 degrees 26’ West 600.00 feet to an iron stake, Fred Burton’s northwest corner; thence with Burton’s line South 9 degrees 26’ West 1,500.37 feet to a point in the centerline of U.S. Highway #421; thence with the centerline of U.S. Highway #421 North 66 degrees 08’ West 42.96 feet; thence continuing with the centerline of U.S. Highway #421 North 67 degrees 03’ West 135.56 feet to a railroad spike, the point and place of BEGINNING, and containing 10.00 acres, more or less, and being all of Parcel A as shown on a plat hereinbefore referred to.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25000649-180 The undersigned, LORETTA WHITEHEAD BATCHELOR, having qualified on the 26TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of DIANE B. WHITEHEAD aka BARBARA DIANE BOWERS WHITEHEAD, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 4th Day OF MARCH 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 4th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

LORETTA WHITEHEAD BATCHELOR, EXECUTOR 2465 ROSSER ROAD BEAR CREEK, NC 27207 Run dates: D4,D11,18,25p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#09E000257-180 The undersigned SHIRLENE THOMAS, having qualified on the 10TH Day of DECEMBER 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of JAMES ERNEST THOMAS, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 18th Day OF MARCH 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 18th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.

SHIRLENE THOMAS, ADMINISTRATOR 3800 OLD US #1 NEW HILL, NC 27562 Mail to: ARLENE RAINEY 209 TREVOR RIDGE DR. HOLLY SPRINGS, NC 27540 Run dates: D18,25,J1,8p

SECOND TRACT: BEGINNING at an iron stake, Fred and Sharon Burton’s northwest corner and being designated Point 31 on a plat entitled “Division of a Portion of the Glosson and Esther Dale Edwards Land”,

by James D. Hunter, R.L.S., dated August 6, 1981, and running thence with the eastern margin of Parcel A as shown on said plat North 09 degrees 26’ East 600.00 feet to an iron stake in McPherson’s line; thence with McPherson’s southern boundary South 83 degrees 10’ East 348.75 feet to an iron stake; thence continuing on South 83 degrees 10’ East 46.34 feet to an iron stake, the northwest corner of Gary and Brenda Edwards; thence with Gary Edwards’ western line South 17 degrees 33’ West 655.02 feet to an iron stake, Fred Burton’s northeast corner; thence with Burton’s northern line North 74 degrees 48’ West 303.74 feet to an iron stake, the point and place of BEGINNING, and containing 5.00 acres, more or less, and being all of Parcel B as shown on a plat hereinbefore referred to.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 3476 Old US Hwy 421 N, Siler City, NC 27344.

A certified check only (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE

RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are All Lawful Heirs of Barry D. Edwards.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS

§ 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 File No.: 24-21473-FC01

A10

Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

NORAD continues decades-long tradition of tracking Santa’s trip around the world Reindeer aren’t a threat to our airspace, but they keep an eye anyway

By Colleen Slevin The Associated Press PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. — Sometimes kids drop the phone after hearing Santa won’t show up if they’re not asleep. Others who call the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline wonder if St. Nick will be able to find them.

Adults who also remain devoted to the jolly figure said to deliver presents around the world are checking up on his journey.

For 70 years, that’s been the tradition at the North American Aerospace Defense Command — a joint United States and Canadian operation charged with monitoring the skies for threats since the Cold War. More than 1,000 volunteers took calls to 1-877-HI-NORAD on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight Mountain Standard Time. For the first time this year, Santa seekers could place a call through the program’s website, which organizers say is easier for people outside North America.

The website allows people to follow Santa’s journey in nine languages, including English and Japanese.

Last year, about 380,000 calls came into a hangar festooned with Christmas decorations at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs — the home of NORAD. While Santa is no threat, the same combination of radar, satellites and jets that help NORAD carry out its mission throughout the year make it capable of tracking the progress of Santa starting from the international date line over the Pacific Ocean, said Col. Kelly Frushour, a NORAD spokesperson.

Rudolph’s nose gives off a heat signature similar to a missile that is picked up by NORAD’s satellites, she said.

THOMAS PAUL / NORTH AMERICAN AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND. VIA AP

Volunteers take phone calls from children asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their house during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation at the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last Christmas Eve.

1,000

Number of volunteers taking calls at 1-877 HI-NORAD on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight MST “Faster than starlight” Last year, Frushour said one girl was upset after hearing Santa was on his way to the International Space Station, where two astronauts were stranded.

“Thankfully, by the time the call was over, Santa Claus had moved on to another destination and the child was reassured that Santa was not trapped in space and was going to make it to her house later

that evening,” Frushour said.

A special needs man named Henry who calls every year once asked if the jet pilot escorting Santa through North America could put a note in the plane letting Santa know he was in bed and ready for him to come, said Michelle Martin, a NORAD staffer and Marine veteran.

She said she explained that Santa travels “faster than starlight.”

“I don’t know that our pilot can catch up with him fast enough.

He just waves and he goes,” she recalled saying.

A tradition started by mistake The tradition started in 1955 when NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command, was on the lookout for any sign of a possible nuclear at-

tack from the then-Soviet Union.

NORAD says a child mistakenly called the combat operations center and asked to speak to Santa Claus. The commander on duty, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup didn’t want to disappoint the child, so he ordered staffers to start tracking Santa and take calls from children.

The story goes that the first phone call was either the result of a misprint or a misdial of a number included in a Sears advertisement in the Colorado Springs newspaper encouraging children to call Santa.

The legend developed into the first call coming into a dedicated hotline that connected the command with a general in case of an attack. In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, saying a call to a public phone line was more probable and noting

that Shoup had a flair for public relations.

In a 1999 interview with The Associated Press, Shoup recalled playing along once he figured out what was happening, telling the first caller, “Ho, ho, ho, I am Santa.”

“The crew was looking at me like I had lost it,” he recalled.

He said he told his staff what was happening and told them to play along, too.

It’s not clear what day the first call came in, but by Dec. 23 of that first year, The Associated Press reported that CONAD was tracking Santa.

CONAD soon became North American Aerospace Defense Command. It used to operate inside nearby Cheyenne Mountain.

A network of tunnels had been blasted out of the mountain’s hard granite so NORAD officers could survive a nuclear attack.

TAKE NOTICE NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CHATHAM COUNTY 25 SP 000169-180 Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Alvin Ray Marguerat and Alice Kimberly Marguerat, Mortgagor(s), in the original amount of $342,087.00, to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., (“MERS”) as beneficiary, as nominee for Calcon Mutual Mortgage LLC dba One Trust Home Loans, Mortgagee, dated March 9th, 2022 and recorded on March 10th, 2022 in Book 2289, Page 0573, and subsequently modified by Loan Modification recorded on February 14th, 2023 in Book 02348 at Page 0158, Chatham County Registry.

Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Chatham County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Chatham County, North Carolina, at 2:00PM on January 6th, 2026, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being all of Lot 24, which is 7.320 acres gross, minus 0.994 acres R/W netting 6.326 acres, more or less, as shown and described on the Plat and Survey entitled “Major Subdivision for Maple Springs Estates Phase 3, Sheet 1” for Lots 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24, prepared

by Charles Eliason, RLS dated the 22nd day of March 1999, and revised March 29, 1999 and recorded in Plat Slide 99241, Chatham County Registry, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more accurate description.

Being the same property conveyed to Alvin Ray Marguerat and spouse, Alice Kimberly Marguerat from Matthew F. Grillo and spouse, Virginia C. Slane, by General Warranty Deed dated July 6, 2021, and recorded July 6, 2021, in Book 2228, Page 0235.

Parcel #72505 / PIN 8658-00-99-5022 (Lot 24, Maple Springs Estates) Property address commonly known as 88 Maple Springs Ln., Bear Creek, NC 27207.

Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 88 Maple Springs Lane, Bear Creek, NC 27207 Tax ID: 0072505 Third party purchasers must pay the recording costs of the trustee’s deed, any land transfer taxes, the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105-228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A308, in the amount of Forty-five Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of five percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred

Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certified funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing.

Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale.

This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Alvin Ray Marguerat and Alice Kimberly Marguerat .

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination (North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.16A(b)(2)).

Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of termination. If the Trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the Substitute Trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Anchor Trustee Services, LLC Substitute Trustee Anchor Trustee Services, LLC Substitute Trustee By: David Neill, NCSB #23396 McMichael Taylor Gray, LLC Attorney for Anchor Trustee Services, LLC 3550 Engineering Drive, Suite 260 Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 404-474-7149 (phone) 404-745-8121 (fax) dneill@mtglaw.com 25-002138-01

CHATHAM SPORTS

GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Seaforth’s Duncan Parker (7) hands off to Nick Gregory in a game against Orange earlier this season. The pair both won player of the year honors for Chatham County.

2025 CNR All-County Football Team Gregory named county Player of the Year

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record THE CHATHAM News & Record All-County Football Team has returned to highlight Chatham’s top high school football players from the 2025 season.

All-County selections were determined by the area’s four head coaches. The Chatham

News & Record determined the first team, second team and honorable mention designations based on the players’ statistics and impact on team success.

In addition to first and second team honors, the Chatham News & Record crowned three athletes as the county offensive, defensive and overall players of the year.

Here’s the full list of All-County honorees: Offensive Player of the Year: Duncan Parker (Seaforth, junior)

Parker led a fiery passing attack this season, throwing for 2,604 yards and 29 touchdowns. He recorded three games with over 300 passing yards, including the Hawks’ two playoff games. Parker also rushed for over 600 yards and seven touchdowns.

Defensive Player of the Year: Gavin Williams (Chatham Central, sophomore) Williams was the ultimate playmaker from the linebacker position, finishing the year with 126 total tackles (100 solos), 18

tackles for loss, nine sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. He notched multiple tackles for loss in six of the Bears’ 10 played games.

Chatham County Player of the Year: Nick Gregory (Seaforth, senior) Gregory did anything necessary to help his team win and succeeded wherever the Seaforth coaching staff put him.

As a corner, he logged 72 tackles (26 solos), 13 passes defended, and four interceptions. On offense, he caught 38 passes for

126

Tackles for Chatham Central’s Gavin Williams 753 yards and 11 touchdowns while also rushing for six scores.

On special teams, Gregory returned 11 kickoffs for 843 yards and five touchdowns. He also notched a punt return touchdown. (confirm Nick’s offensive numbers and special teams TDs).

See FOOTBALL, page B4

Sports greats we lost in 2025 J-M wrestling hosts conference foes on senior night Hulk Hogan, George Foreman, Rodney Rogers among the losses to the sports world The Associated Press THIS YEAR SAW the deaths of several spots greats who crossed over into mainstream appeal. Even the most casual sports fan has heard of boxing great George Foreman, who memorably lost a muchwatched match to Muhammad Ali but whose career had inspiring second and third acts as a world champion and successful business owner.

Similarly, baseball player turned comic actor Bob Uecker was known and beloved by all. After a Wrestlemania cameo, Uecker was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, joining one of sports-entertainment’s biggest names, Hulk Hogan, who also left us this year.

Here is a roll call of some influential figures who have died this year (cause of death cited, if available): JANUARY Bob Uecker, 90. He parlayed a forgettable playing career into a punch line for movie and TV appearances as “Mr.

Baseball” and a Hall of Fame broadcasting tenure. Jan. 16.

Dick Button, 95. He was one of the most accomplished men’s figure skaters in history, and one of his sport’s great innovators and promoters.

Jan. 30.

FEBRUARY Kultida Woods, 80. Tiger Woods credited his Thai-born mother with instilling his dominant spirit and encouraging him to wear red shirts on Sundays as his power color. Feb. 4.

Mabel Staton, 92. The

See GREATS, page B4

DON FERIA/AP IMAGES FOR WWE

Hulk Hogan poses at his WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony in 2015.

The Jets went 1-1 against conference opponents

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

91

Career wins for Jakari Blue

SILER CITY — The Jordan-Matthews boys’ wrestling team split its two conference back with a 54-30 win over dual matches at its final home Central Carolina Academy.

After a loss by fall in the meet of the season on Dec. 17.

The Jets opened their se- 132-pound match and seven nior night with a 55-24 loss to bouts decided by forfeit in the first eight matches against the Southwestern Randolph.

Jordan-Matthews led 18-3 Eagles, the Jets led 30-18. In a after two wins by forfeit and pivotal matchup, Blue pinned a pin by sophomore Jhona- Central Carolina’s Elijah Soto than Saldana against South- in 53 seconds.

The Eagles climbed back western Randolph freshman Tony Bustos Avendano in the within 12 points with another 120-pound match. The Cou- win by forfeit in the 190-pound gars stormed back with fresh- match, but Jordan-Matthews man Dante Lattanzi pinning sophomore Angel Lavariega freshman Bentley Walston in put the lead back to 18 with a the 132-pound bout, and after 54-second pin against senior winning the following match Samuel Echeverri.

Freshman CJ Crutchfield by forfeit, Southwestern Randolph took its first lead with (113) closed the night with a sophomore Ryan Owens (144) pin over Central Carolina’s Tywinning by tech fall over fresh- ler Hunter.

Southwestern Randolph man Jamari Headen.

The Cougars held the lead also defeated Central Carolithrough the rest of the dual, na 60-22.

Jordan-Matthews moved to losing one more match with Jordan-Matthews’ senior Ja- 6-8 in duals this season.

During the meet, Jorkari Blue (165) pinning sophomore Dallas Rambo sec- dan-Matthews honored its onds before the end of the first three seniors, Blue, William period.

Jordan-Matthews bounced See WRESTLING, page B2

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

NFL postseason will miss all of Mahomes, Brady, Manning for first time since 1998 season Six quarterbacks not born by 1998 could star in this year’s postseason

By Josh Dubow The Associated Press JOHN ELWAY and Dan Marino were still starting quarterbacks, Tom Brady was a little-known college player at Michigan and at least six starting quarterbacks for potential 2025 playoffs teams weren’t even alive the last time the NFL had a postseason like this.

With Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs officially eliminated from playoff contention, the upcoming playoffs will be the first since the 1998 season that don’t feature at least one of Mahomes, Brady or Peyton Manning at quarterback.

Those three prolific passers have defined the past quarter-century of NFL football, especially when it comes to the postseason. Since Manning made his playoff debut in his second season in 1999, at least one of those quarterbacks has been on center stage almost every January.

WRESTLING from page B1 Coykendall and David Kjemald.

Coykendall is 10-12 in varsity matches this season while Blue is 17-0.

“The seniors always mean something to any team,” Long said. “This is my third year coaching. I’ve created bonds with them. William Coykendall, he came into my first year of coaching. He came off his freshman year as a sophomore and had no wins. He came in and got his first win ever in wrestling my first year coaching. He’s had a huge turnaround.”

Blue reached 91 career wins, the most in Jordan-Matthews wrestling history, on Dec. 17 and is on pace to become the Jets’ first ever wrestler to reach 100 career wins. He’s also chasing former school records he once held, including single season wins, that former heavyweight Kaleb Moffitt broke last season.

“He’s different,” Long said.

“And I say that because he’s broken just about every record for wrestling at Jordan-Matthews high school. He was my first state qualifier as a coach, and now a two-time state qualifier. I’m hoping this

ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) passes against the Buffalo Bills during a game earlier this month.

In the past 26 seasons, that trio combined for 42 playoff berths, 96 postsea-

year he can get on that podium.”

Blue said wrestling on his home mat for the final time was “emotional.”

“Freshman year, coming in 13-12 at the end of the regular season, then building my strength up, my speed up, being coached by Coach Long who was helping me get better and now being able to see 17-0 is crazy,” Blue said.

With the goals of reclaiming his records and setting a historic mark for program, Blue’s mindset is to “dominate.”

Long hopes Blue and the senior class’ growth inspires his team of young wrestlers to see what work and a “don’t quit” attitude can do for a wrestling career.

“I still consider us a young team experience wise,” Long said. “I’m looking for all of them to get more experience, more wins and to be able to see the full aspect of wrestling and be able to grow from it. They’re going to see history this year. 100 wins, first wrestler at J-M to do it. And I think some of these wrestlers have built from it, even the senior ones, from year to year because they see rewards from their progress.”

son starts, 66 playoff wins and 12 Super Bowl titles, with Brady winning seven, Ma-

homes three and Manning two.

At least one of the three made it to the conference championship weekend in 20 of the 26 postseasons — including either Brady or Mahomes in the last 15 — with 18 Super Bowls featuring at least one, including when Brady beat Mahomes in Super Bowl 55 following the 2020 season.

Brady and Mahomes stand on top of the leaderboard when it comes to several postseason quarterback stats, including wins (Brady 35, Mahomes 17) and TD passes (Brady 88, Mahomes 46).

The absence of Mahomes and the Chiefs could open the door for someone like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson to make their first Super Bowl trip or even give an opportunity to a newer generation that features six quarterbacks whose teams are currently in playoff position and weren’t born during the 1998 playoffs: Drake Maye, C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix, Caleb Williams and Brock Purdy.

Carolina’s Bryce Young could be a seventh if the Panthers surpass Tampa Bay in the NFC South race.

Of course, there’s the possibility that the vacancy on the podium could be filled by a veteran quarterback who already has a Super Bowl ring. Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford and Detroit’s Jared Goff all fit that bill.

The quarterbacks from that 1998 postseason featured five future Hall of Famers in Elway, Marino, Steve Young, Troy Aikman and Brett Favre; other longtime quarterbacks like Vinny Testaverde, Mark Brunell and Randall Cunningham; as well as Chris Chandler, Jake Plummer, Doug Flutie and Scott Zolak.

Elway finished that postseason run by winning his second straight Super Bowl for Denver over Chandler and the Atlanta Falcons. He retired after that game, with Marino, Young and Aikman following in the next two years.

Brady was just about ready to step through the door left open at the time, just as Mahomes took the baton from him decades later. Now, the opportunity is there for someone else to join the elite group.

ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Jordan-Matthews’ Jakari Blue pins Southwestern Randolph’s Dallas Rambo on Dec. 17.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

Chatham Central boys, girls avenge earlier losses to J-M Albright scored 21 points to lead the Bears over J-M’s boys

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record Boys: Chatham Central 56, Jordan-Matthews 49 BEAR CREEK — Chatham Central sophomore Brooks Albright scored 21 points and helped the Bears pull away in the third quarter of a 56-49 win over Jordan-Matthews on Dec. 16.

“Just making my own shot,” Albright said. “The screens helped a lot too. They were setting good screens for me all night.”

Entering the second half with a 23-18 lead, Chatham Central outscored the Jets 19-8 in the third quarter and led by 16 going into the final period.

Albright scored eight of those 19 points, including two of his three made triples on the night.

“Sometimes you get to a point where you get up by a certain amount, and you may not be up by a certain amount, but the work is what compels you to get to the next step,” Chatham Central coach Stacey Harris said.

“At halftime, we talked about making sure we keep working and doing the right things. Big hands, boxing out, rebounding.

I thought they came out in the third quarter and did that a little bit better than they did in the first half.”

Chatham Central carried its third quarter momentum into the fourth quarter and extended its lead to as much as 23.

However, the Jets forced multiple late-game turnovers, and Jordan-Matthews senior Kamarie Hadley, junior Zaeon Auguste and sophomore Nolan Mitchell combined for 23 fourth-quarter points to bring the deficit to single digits with under two minutes left to play.

Following a timeout, Chatham Central stopped the bleeding by holding the basketball and running time off the clock.

“I thought that we had to make sure that we did a good job of not turning the ball over in that moment,” Harris said.

“And getting this group of right here with bunch of sophomores (to know) they don’t have to rush everything.”

Albright got hot early, scoring eight first quarter points and leading the Bears on a game-opening 8-0 run. Yet, Hadley, who ended the game with 19 points, and Mitchell, who finished with 16 points, combined for 10 points during a 12-2 Jordan-Matthews run in the final three minutes of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, senior Jeremiah Young, who finished the game with 13 points, came alive with five points, and junior Brett Phillips, who contributed 10 points on the night, came away with a couple of buckets and multiple steals to build Chatham Central’s halftime lead.

“Our games we’ve won is because of defense.”

Aedrin Albright Although turnovers were an issue for the Jets early on, they shot 2 for 15 from beyond the arc.

Chatham Central evened the season series against the Jets and improved to 7-3 with the win. Jordan-Matthews fell to 4-5.

Girls: Chatham Central 48, Jordan-Matthews 18 Chatham Central sophomore Addison Goldston recorded her fifth double-double of the season to help the Bears rout Jordan-Matthews 48-18 on Dec. 16.

Goldston finished the night with team-highs of 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals.

“My point guard and my shooting guard and all of them, they get the ball inside often,” Goldston said. “And if they don’t, I get put backs. Getting in the right position is really big for rebounds.”

The Bears started the game on a 12-0 run and finished the first quarter up 15-4 thanks to a combined 13 points from Goldston and junior Ansley Preslar, who scored eight points in the opening period. Preslar finished the night with 12 points.

“Working on the press of-

ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Chatham Central’s Brooks Albright (1) dribbles through Jordan-Matthews defenders on Dec. 16. fense at the beginning gave us a little bit of confidence because they ended up pulling their press off,” Chatham Central coach Aedrin Albright said.

Unlike the first meeting, a comeback effort was not in the works for Jordan-Matthews.

In the second quarter, Chatham Central stifled the Jets to one made basket while scoring 23 points. Five Bears recorded a point in the second period.

Meanwhile, Jordan-Matthews, like it did all night, struggled to hit shots. The Jets shot 6 for 51 from the field and 1 for 21 from three, and they committed 25

turnovers.

“Our games we’ve won is because of defense,” Albright said.

Said Preslar, “The first time we played J-M, we were all freaked out and jittery. And I think that loss against J-M really just showed us that we’re not getting beat on our home court by them or anyone else, so we really need to step it up and play as a team.”

Chatham Central avenged a loss to the Jets in their first meeting this year and improved to 6-3. Jordan-Matthews fell to 1-8.

Silver says NBA taking gambling scandal seriously The league may look into Heat relief over Terry Rozier

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — It is critical for the NBA to be perceived as having integrity, Commissioner Adam Silver said, adding that the gambling scandals that led to the arrests of Miami guard Terry Rozier, Portland coach Chauncey Billups and others are being taken with the utmost seriousness.

Silver’s comments were his first since Rozier, Billups and others were arrested in October. He spoke in Las Vegas, a gambling mecca that the league has used for major events like the NBA Cup final and Summer League.

“I think the fans care a lot,” Silver said. “It’s hard to make judgments, either anecdotally over what some fans are say-

YUKI IWAMURA / AP PHOTO

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, leaves Brooklyn federal court earlier this month. ing or what’s even on social media. Fans definitely care. And I mean it when I say, if this game isn’t viewed as being honest and the competition being on the level and at the highest integrity, over time we will lose our

fan base. I have no doubt about that. And so, I take it incredibly seriously.”

The NBA is not sure how long the investigations and legal processes surrounding gambling charges faced by Rozier, Billups — a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee — and others will take to be completed, Silver said.

But the league will look into the possibility of giving Miami some sort of “satisfactory relief” because Rozier currently can’t play, Silver added, though he stopped short of saying such a move would be possible.

“This is an unprecedented situation,” Silver said.

It’s a multi-layered issue for the league and the Heat, given that Rozier’s $26.6 million salary takes up about 17% of the team’s cap space — and that the team still owes Charlotte a first-round pick in either 2027 or 2028 to satisfy the terms of the trade that brought Rozier to Miami. It’s unclear who was aware that Rozier was under

federal investigation when the Heat made the trade with the Hornets.

Rozier pleaded not guilty earlier this month to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges stemming from accusations that he helped some friends win bets that revolved around his statistical performance in a game played in March 2023, when he was with Charlotte. Rozier isn’t expected back in court until March, and he remains on unpaid leave from the Heat.

Prosecutors say Rozier informed the bettors that he intended to leave the game against the New Orleans Pelicans early with a supposed injury, allowing gamblers to place wagers earning them tens of thousands of dollars. Rozier played the first nine minutes and 36 seconds of the game before leaving, citing a foot issue.

Rozier isn’t receiving his pay, but his salary is still on the Heat’s books and is being sent

Local Service Directory

to an interest-bearing account pending resolution of his case or some other agreement.

“We’re going to try to work something through, work this out with them,” Silver said. “But there’s no obvious solution here.

I would just say that there’s no doubt at the moment they have a player that can’t perform services for them. ... Obviously, he hasn’t been convicted of anything yet either — but this is an unfortunate circumstance.

Sometimes there’s these unique events and maybe sometimes they require a unique solution.”

Billups also pleaded not guilty last month to charges related to a separate scheme to fix high-stakes, Mafia-backed poker games. Rozier, Billups and former NBA guard Damon Jones were among more than 30 people — including several Mafia figures — arrested in October as part of a sprawling federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to pro sports.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

FOOTBALL from page B1 FIRST TEAM Offense Quarterback: Duncan Parker (Seaforth, junior) Running Back: Jakari Blue (Jordan-Matthews, senior) Wide Receiver: Max Hinchman (Seaforth, junior); Nolan Mitchell (JordanMatthews, sophomore); Raje Torres (Northwood, junior) Tight End: Mason Pooley (Seaforth, sophomore) Offensive Line: Max Hohenwarter (Northwood, sophomore); Connor Clark (Northwood, senior); Cole Seder (Seaforth, senior); Josiah Torain (JordanMatthews, senior) Athlete: Nick Gregory (Seaforth, senior) Defense Defensive Line: Wilson Hinshaw (Chatham Central, junior); Mickell Wilson (Northwood, senior); De’Antaye Smith (JordanMatthews, senior); Alejandro Riley (Seaforth, senior) Linebacker: Aidan Hohenwarter (Northwood, senior); Tyler Truesdale (Seaforth, sophomore); Gavin Williams (Chatham Central, sophomore); Nolan Greiner (Seaforth, freshman) Defensive Back: Nick Gregory (Seaforth, senior); Noah Williams (Seaforth, senior); Raje Torres (Northwood, senior); Namir Wiley (Jordan-Matthews, junior) Return Specialist: Nick Gregory (Seaforth, senior) Kicker: Leo Mortimer (Northwood, senior)

GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Seaforth’s Max Hinchman (11) runs past Northwood defenders in 2025 matchup

SECOND TEAM Offense Quarterback: Grayson Cox (Northwood, senior) Running Back: Tyler Congrove (Chatham Central, sophomore) Wide Receiver: Patrick Miller (Seaforth, senior); Nick Armstrong (Northwood, junior); Hance Ramirez (Chatham Central, junior) Tight End: Campbell Parks (Northwood, junior) Offensive Line: Jaxon Green (Northwood, sophomore); Kamorie Foxx (Jordan-

Matthews, sophomore); Brycen White (JordanMatthews, freshman); Austin Ingram (Seaforth, senior) Athlete: Nicholas Glover (Chatham Central, senior) Defense Defensive Line: Ben Porter (Northwood, senior); Dylan Watkins (Seaforth, senior); Kieran Pooley (Seaforth, freshman); Andrew Johnson (Chatham Central, freshman) Linebackers: Evan Minor (Seaforth, senior); Leo Mortimer (Northwood, senior); Omar Sanford (Jordan-Matthews, junior); Douglass Lucas

(Jordan-Matthews, senior) Defensive Back: Grayson Cox (Northwood, senior);Matthew Victorino (Jordan-Matthews, sophomore);Jaydin Glover (Chatham Central, sophomore);Jude O’Neill (Seaforth, sophomore) Return Specialist: Namir Wiley (Jordan-Matthews, junior) Kicker: Jacob Winger (Seaforth, senior) HONORABLE MENTION Raiden Flowers (Seaforth, running back, senior);Owen Murray (Seaforth, offensive line, junior);Robert Tripp (Northwood, running back,

senior);Willie Boynton (Northwood, defensive back, junior);Kamarie Hadley (Jordan-Matthews, quarterback, senior);Urijah McSwain (JordanMatthews, defensive line, junior);Jose Patino (JordanMatthews, defensive line, sophomore);Brooks Albright (Chatham Central, quarterback, sophomore);Jorge Gomez (Chatham Central, offensive line, junior);Jose Alva-Ibarra (Chatham Central, offensive line, senior);Logan Robinson (Chatham Central, defensive line, senior);Bryson Alston (Chatham Central, linebacker, junior);Sayvion Burnette (Chatham Central, defensive back, junior)

GREATS from page B1

Heavyweight boxer George Foreman weighs in for a 1997 fight. After winning a world title in the 1970s, he repeated the feat in the 1990s, then became a well-known grill pitchman.

Black track and field standout broke through barriers as the only woman to compete for the United States in the long jump at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Feb. 20.

Joe Fusco, 87. A College Football Hall of Fame coach, he won four NAIA Division II national championships in 19 years at Westminster College.

Feb. 22.

Boris Spassky, 88. A Soviet-era world chess champion, he lost his title to American Bobby Fischer in a legendary 1972 match. Feb. 27.

MARCH Junior Bridgeman, 71. A basketball standout who led Louisville to a Final Four, he starred for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and then launched an even more successful career as a business owner. March 11.

Eddie Jordan, 76. He was a Formula 1 team owner and media personality and popular TV pundit after selling the team.

March 20.

George Foreman, 76. The fearsome heavyweight boxer lost the “Rumble in the Jungle” to Muhammad Ali before his inspiring second and third acts as a 45-year-old world champion and a successful business owner. March 21.

APRIL Octavio Dotel, 51. He pitched for 13 major league teams in a 15-year career and won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, and died in a roof collapse in the Dominican Republic. April 8.

Steve McMichael, 67. A star defensive tackle on the Chicago Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl championship team whose larger-thanlife personality later made him a natural for professional wrestling. He died after battling ALS. April 23.

Dick Barnett, 88. A basketball Hall of Famer, he played on both New York Knicks NBA championship teams. April 27.

JUNE Shigeo Nagashima, 89. He was known in Japan as “Mr. Pro Baseball.” June 3.

CHARLES REX ARBOGAST / AP PHOTO

Jim Marshall, 87. The former Minnesota Vikings defensive end was one of four members of the famed Purple People Eaters. June 3.

Nina Kuscsik, 86. She campaigned for women’s inclusion in long-distance running and then won the Boston Marathon the first year women were officially allowed to run. June 8.

D. Wayne Lukas, 89. The Hall of Famer became one of horse racing’s most accomplished trainers. June 28.

JULY Alex Delvecchio, 93. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he helped the Detroit Red Wings win three Stanley Cups in the 1950s. July 1.

Fauja Singh, 114. An Indian-born runner nicknamed the Turbaned Torpedo, believed to be the world’s oldest marathoner, died after being hit by a car.

July 14.

Felix Baumgartner, 56.

The extreme athlete stunned the world in 2012 by skydiving faster than the speed of sound during a 24-mile leap from the stratosphere. He died in a paragliding crash. July 17.

Rex White, 95. NASCAR’s oldest living champion and a 2015 inductee into its Hall of Fame. July 18.

Joey Jones, 70. The Welsh soccer hero won two European Cups with Liverpool and was dubbed “Mr. Wrexham.”

July 22.

Hulk Hogan, 71. The mustachioed, headscarf-wearing, bicep-busting icon of professional wrestling turned the sport into a massive business and stretched his influence into TV, pop culture and conservative politics during a long and scandal-plagued second act. July 24.

Dwight Muhammad Qawi, 72. The Hall of Fame fighter took up boxing in prison and became a two-weight world champion. July 25.

Ryne Sandberg, 65. The Hall of Fame second baseman starred for the Chicago Cubs.

July 28.

AUGUST Humpy Wheeler, 86. He was a pioneering motorsports promoter as president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Aug. 20.

Ron Turcotte, 84. The Hall of Fame jockey rode Secretariat to the Triple Crown in 1973.

Aug. 22.

SEPTEMBER Ricky Hatton, 46. The former boxing world champion who rose to become one of the most popular fighters in the sport had mental health struggles and was found dead due to hanging. Sept. 14.

Bernie Parent, 80. Considered one of the greatest hockey goalies, the Hall of Famer anchored the net for the Philadelphia Flyers’ two Stanley Cup championships in the 1970s.

Sept. 21.

OCTOBER Daniel Naroditsky, 29. The chess grandmaster who started as a child prodigy quickly became one of the most influential American voices in the sport. Oct. 20.

Nick Mangold, 41. As a New York Jets center he was one of the franchise’s greatest players, twice helping lead the team to the AFC championship game. He died of complica-

tions of kidney disease. Oct. 25.

NOVEMBER Paul Tagliabue, 84. He helped bring labor peace and riches to the NFL during his 17 years as commissioner but was criticized for not taking stronger action on concussions.

Nov. 9.

Lenny Wilkens, 88. Basketball Hall of Famer as both an NBA player and a coach.

Nov. 9.

Rodney Rogers, 54. Legendary Wake Forest basketball star played 12 years in the NBA. A post-retirement ATV injury left him paralyzed from the shoulders down since 2008.

Nov. 21 Fuzzy Zoeller, 74. One of golf’s most gregarious characters, the two-time major champion’s career was tainted by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods. Nov. 27.

DECEMBER Greg Biffle, 55. The NASCAR driver and members of his family perished in a private plane crash in North Carolina.

Dec. 18.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

SIDELINE REPORT NFL

Receiver Meyers, Jaguars agree to 3-year, $60M extension Jacksonville, Fla. Receiver Jakobi Meyers and the Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to terms on a three-year, $60 million contract extension that includes $40 million guaranteed. The Jaguars traded two 2026 draft picks — fourth- and sixth-rounders — to Las Vegas to acquire Meyers at the trade deadline in early November. The 29-year-old Meyers has 27 catches for 355 yards and three touchdowns in six games with Jacksonville, becoming Trevor Lawrence’s most dependable receiver.

NCAA FOOTBALL

Mensah to return to Duke in 2026 Durham Duke quarterback Darian Mensah announced he would return to the Blue Devils next season. He had briefly explored entered the NFL draft after leading his team to a victory over Virginia in the ACC title game. The sophomore, who transferred from Tulane this past offseason, threw for 3,645 yards with 30 touchdown passes and just five interceptions for the Blue Devils. His yardage ranked third in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and he was fifth in touchdown passes.

BOXING

Crawford, boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighter, retires on top with 42-0 record Terence Crawford announced his retirement from boxing.

The 38-year-old is going out on top, having claimed the title of best pound-for-pound boxer with a convincing victory over Canelo Alvarez in September. Crawford is the only male boxer to capture three unified division titles, which he accomplished with his unanimous decision over Alvarez. That gave Crawford the super middleweight championship and a 42-0 record with 31 knockouts. His final 20 bouts came with a belt on the line. Crawford said he’s at peace with his decision.

NCAA BASKETBALL

Miami’s Allen diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, will miss remainder of season Miami Miami sophomore forward Marcus Allen has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and will miss the rest of the season. The school announced his diagnosis after routine medical tests. Allen, a Miami native, started his college career at Missouri before joining the Hurricanes this year. He averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game this season. He has already started chemotherapy treatments. Miami coach Jai Lucas praised Allen’s toughness and selflessness, saying the team will support him. Allen led Miami Norland High to a state championship in 2024.

Poggi tells signees, parents Michigan hopes to hire coach by end of month, AP source says The former Charlotte coach is leading the scandal-plagued Wolverines

By Larry Lage The Associated Press ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan interim football coach Biff Poggi had a Zoom call with the program’s signees and their parents just hours after Sherrone Moore was fired last week, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

Poggi told the players and their parents that athletic director Warde Manuel hoped to have a new coach hired by the end of the month, said the person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share details from the call.

Moore’s firing left the No. 18 Wolverines scrambling to retain recruits and give current players reasons to stay out of the transfer portal.

That’s going to be quite a challenge.

Michigan has begun practicing for its bowl game with Poggi and assistants, none of whom know if they will be a part of the team’s staff in 2026.

The Wolverines announced less than two weeks ago that 27 prospects signed commitments to play football for the maize and blue and the class was ranked No. 11 by 247Sports.

Two of those players, however, asked for and were granted their release by the school.

Matt Ludwig, a four-star tight end from Montana, has already switched his commitment to Texas Tech and Bear McWhorter, a three-star offensive lineman from Georgia, opened up his recruitment last week.

“In light of recent events, I’ve made the very difficult decision to withdraw,” McWhorter posted Friday on Instagram.

McWhorter made his decision Monday, committing to Auburn.

Moore was fired Wednesday after the school said an investigation uncovered evidence of

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL VIA AP

Michigan interim head coach Biff Poggi answers questions at a Citrus Bowl news conference ahead of his team’s New Year’s Eve appearance against Texas in the bowl in Orlando, Fla.

“You have a coaching staff, not knowing if they’ll be back, preparing for a game while trying to hold onto signees and current players — and everybody is impatient.”

Allen Trieu, Recruiting analyst his inappropriate relationship with a staffer. He was later jailed for two nights and charged with three crimes.

While a search firm helps Michigan quickly look for a new coach, other colleges are taking advantage of the opportunity to make offers to the Wolverines’ signees because they’re in

a 30-day window to potentially get released.

“Every day that a new coach isn’t in place, there’s a risk in more players asking for their release and current players planning to go in the portal,” Allen Trieu, 247Sports national recruiting analyst, said in a telephone interview. “Time is of es-

sence, if the primary goal is to keep the recruiting class in place.

“Those families are waiting with bated breath — as many are who are invested in Michigan football — to see who the next coach is going to be.”

Current players, including starting quarterback Bryce Underwood, will have a chance to enter the transfer portal between Jan. 2-16 if they don’t like the direction of the program or how they fit with the new coach.

“It’s a very unique time,” Trieu said. “You have a coaching staff, not knowing if they’ll be back, preparing for a game while trying to hold onto signees and current players — and everybody is impatient.”

ACC’s shift to football scheduling model will have 12 of 17 teams playing 9 league games in 2026 Uneven league schedules aren’t a new thing for the ACC

20

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press THE ATLANTIC COAST Conference’s transition to a nine-game football schedule will feature 12 of 17 football-playing members playing nine games next fall while the remaining five stay at eight.

The league announced details of the new model Tuesday, including the league matchups for each school. Next year will operate as a bridge to accommodate conference games already on the books, with the plan to have 16 of 17 teams playing nine football games regularly by 2027.

Reigning champion Duke will join California, Louisville, Miami, N.C. State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest in playing nine league games for the 2026 season. That leaves Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina to play eight.

The league in September announced plans to have a ninegame slate, aligning with power-conference peers in the Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences. That came after debates and disagreement about the impact of unbalanced scheduling and access to the 12team College Football Playoff.

Seasons before all ACC teams played the same number of league games

JACOB KUPFERMAN / AP PHOTO

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips (suit and tie) prepares to present Duke players with the ACC football championship trophy.

The ACC is the only one of those leagues with an odd number of football members, creating a variable that will mean one team will play only eight games once the scheduling model is fully implemented in 2027.

ACC teams regularly played a different number of conference games in the early days of the league. Teams played as few as three ACC games and as many as seven from 1953 to 1956, and the league was split between teams playing six and seven-game league schedules for much of the next two decades.

The first season that every ACC team played the same number of conference games was 1972, the league’s 20th year of existence.

The ACC’s new schedule is designed to have teams play a total of 10 games against Power Four opponents as a baseline in a so-called 9+1 model. The rotating team playing an eightgame league slate would aim to play an 8+2 model to meet that 10-game target.

The question as to how an eight-game league record might compare with a nine-game record is unclear.

The ACC used winning percentage during the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple sports with teams playing unequal totals of games because of numerous cancellations, but Commissioner Jim Phillips said publicly last week that the league is ex-

amining its football tiebreaker process for the ACC championship game. ACC officials said Tuesday an updated tiebreaker policy will be announced sometime before the 2026 season.

The current policy came under scrutiny when five-loss Duke won a five-team tiebreaker — which included now-No. 10 and CFP-bound Miami — to reach the title game and ultimately beat No. 20 Virginia earlier this month for its first outright ACC title since 1962.

The ACC had used an eightgame football schedule since Florida State’s arrival for the 1992 season, the outlier being a 10-game schedule in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That included Notre Dame giving up its cherished independent status for one year and playing a full ACC schedule.

The Fighting Irish, a member of all other league sports, typically play four to six football games per year against ACC schools. Those games would fit into the nonconference column in the 9+1 or 8+2 scheduling models.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

entertainment Songwriters Hall of Fame posthumously inducts singer Donna Summer The Queen of Disco won five Grammys

By Maria Sherman The Associated Press NEW YORK — There are giants, and then there is Donna Summer. The Queen of Disco and then some, known for such timeless tunes as “Love to Love You Baby,” “I Feel Love,” “Bad Girls,” “Dim All the Lights,” “On the Radio” and “She Works Hard for the Money,” has been posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the hall said.

Summer, who died in 2012 at age 63, was welcomed into the Songwriters Hall last week at a ceremony at The Butterfly Room at Cecconi’s in Los Angeles. It was led by Academy Award-winning songwriter Paul Williams. Summer’s husband, Bruce Sudano and their daughters, Brooklyn Sudano and Amanda Sudano Ramirez, were in attendance.

“Donna Summer is not only one of the defining voices and performers of the 20th century; she is one of the great songwriters of all time who changed the

“Donna Summer is not only one of the defining voices and performers of the 20th century; she is one of the great songwriters of all time who changed the course of music.”

Paul Williams course of music,” said Williams in a statement. “She wrote timeless and transcendent songs that continue to captivate our souls and imaginations, inspiring the world to dance and, above all, feel love.”

Summer’s smooth blend of R&B, soul, pop, funk, rock, disco and electronica launched numerous chart-topping hits in the ’70s and ’80s as well as three multiplatinum albums. She won five Grammys. She was unstoppable — both as a performer and a writer.

“It’s important to me because I know how important it was for Donna,” said Sudano in a press

release. “The backstory is, with all the accolades that she received over her career, being respected as a songwriter was always the thing that she felt was overlooked. So, for her to be accepted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame I know that she’s very happy … somewhere.”

The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969.

A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.

The annual Songwriters Hall of Fame gala does not usually include posthumous inductions; those are reserved for separate events.

Songwriter Pete Bellotte — known for his work with Summer on “Hot Stuff,” “I Feel Love” and “Love To Love You Baby” — is a current nominee for the 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame class. “Love To Love You Baby” was co-written with Summer and producer Giorgio Moroder.

One of Summer’s best-known hits, the song has been sampled many times, including in tracks by Beyoncé, LL Cool J and Timbaland.

The 2026 inductees will be announced early next year.

JOHN MCCONNICO / AP PHOTO

Donna Summer performs at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, in 2009. The “Queen of Disco” died in 2012 at age 63.

Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

this week in history

2

nd

Washington crosses Delaware, USSR dissolved, Radio City Music Hall opens

1904: James Barrie’s play “Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” opened at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London.

1932: New York City’s Radio City Music Hall opened to the public.

The Associated Press DEC. 25 1066: William the Conqueror was crowned King of England.

1776: Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey, during the American Revolutionary War. 1818: “Silent Night (Stille Nacht)” was publicly performed for the first time during the Christmas Midnight Mass at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

DEC. 26

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1908: Jack Johnson became the first black boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.

1941: During World War II, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, just

On Dec. 27, 1904, J.M. Barrie’s play “Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” premiered at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London. two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the U.S. into the war.

1991: The USSR was formally dissolved through a declaration by the Supreme Soviet.

2006: Former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93.

DEC. 27 1831: Naturalist Charles Darwin set out on a round-the-world voyage from Plymouth, England, aboard the HMS Beagle.

DEC. 30

1895: The Lumiere brothers, Auguste and Louis, held the first public showing of their films in Paris.

1908: A major earthquake followed by a tsunami devastated the Italian cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria, killing at least 70,000 people.

1945: Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.

1860: Ten days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, the state militia seized the United States Army arsenal in Charleston.

1922: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) officially came into existence.

2006: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was executed after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi High Tribunal.

2015: Actor and comedian Bill Cosby was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

DEC. 29

DEC. 31

1170: Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, was killed inside Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II. 1890: The Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota, where more than 250 Lakota people were killed

by U.S. troops sent to disarm them.

1940: During World War II, the German Luftwaffe dropped incendiary bombs on London, triggering what

1879: Thomas Edison first demonstrated his electric incandescent lights for the public by illuminating some 100 bulbs in and around his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

1904: New York’s Times Square saw its first New Year’s Eve celebration, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance.

1995: The syndicated comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes,” created by Bill Watterson, came to an end after a 10-year run.

DEC. 28

VIA WIKIPEDIA

became known as the Second Great Fire of London.

Oscars move to YouTube in 2029, leaving longtime home ABC Nearly 13% of all television and streaming content in November was consumed on the platform

By Jake Coyle The Associated Press IN A SEISMIC SHIFT for one of television’s marquee events, the Academy Awards will depart ABC and begin streaming on YouTube beginning in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced last week.

ABC will continue to broadcast the annual ceremony through 2028. That year will mark the 100th Oscars.

But starting in 2029, YouTube will retain global rights to streaming the Oscars through 2033. YouTube will effectively be the home to all things Oscars, including red-carpet coverage, the Governors Awards and the Oscar nominations announcement.

“We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round Academy programming,” said academy chief executive Bill Kramer and academy president Lynette Howell Taylor.

“The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of

MATT SAYLES / INVISION / AP PHOTO

The Oscars will move to YouTube beginning in 2029, ending their long TV run on ABC after the 100th ceremony in 2028, as the Academy shifts its marquee event to a streaming-first future. the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible — which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the film community.”

While major award shows have added streaming partnerships, the YouTube deal marks the first of the big four — the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys and Tonys — to completely jettison broadcast television. It puts one of the most watched non-

solutions

NFL broadcasts in the hands of Google. YouTube boasts some 2 billion viewers.

The Academy Awards will stream for free worldwide on YouTube, in addition to YouTube TV subscribers. It will be available with audio tracks in many languages, in addition to closed captioning.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“The Oscars are one of our

essential cultural institutions, honoring excellence in storytelling and artistry,” said Neal Mohan, chief executive of YouTube. “Partnering with the academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ storied legacy.”

The Walt Disney Co.-owned

ABC has been the broadcast home to the Oscars for almost its entire history. NBC first televised the Oscars in 1953, but ABC picked up the rights in 1961. Aside from a period between 1971 and 1975, when NBC again aired the show, the Oscars have been on ABC. “ABC has been the proud home to The Oscars for more than half a century,” the network said in a statement.

“We look forward to the next three telecasts, including the show’s centennial celebration in 2028, and wish the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued success.”

The 2025 Academy Awards were watched by 19.7 million viewers on ABC, a slight increase from the year before.

That remains one of the biggest TV broadcasts of the year, though less than half of Oscar ratings at their peak. In 1999, more than 55 million watched James Cameron’s “Titanic” win best picture.

The film academy, in choosing YouTube over other options such as Netflix or NBC Universal/Peacock, selected a platform with a wide-ranging and massive audience but one without as much of an established production infrastructure.

Still, more people — especially young people — watch YouTube than any other streaming platform.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

famous birthdays this week Annie Lennox is 71, Jon Voight turns 87, Ted Danson celebrates 78, Tiger Woods hits 50

THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week DEC. 25 Football Hall of Famer Larry Csonka is 79. Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 77. Actor Sissy Spacek is 76. Former White House adviser Karl Rove is 75. Actor CCH Pounder is 73.

Singer Annie Lennox is 71.

DEC. 26

VIANNEY LE CAER / INVISION / AP PHOTO

“America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh is 80. Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk is 78. Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith is 71. Humorist David Sedaris is 69. Rock musician Lars Ulrich (Metallica) is 62. Actor-musician Jared Leto is 54.

Singer, songwriter and poet Patti Smith, a key figure in New York’s 1970s punk scene, turns 79 on Tuesday.

DEC. 27 Basketball Hall of Fame coach Nolan Richardson is 84. Rock musician Mick Jones (Foreigner) is 81. Actor Gérard Depardieu is 77. Rock musician David Knopfler (Dire Straits) is 73. TV journalist Savannah Guthrie is 54. Rock singer Hayley Williams (Paramore) is 37.

DEC. 28 Actor Denzel Washington is 71. TV personality Gayle King is 71. Hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque is 65. Linux creator Linus Torvalds is 56. Political commentator Ana Navarro is 54. TV host-comedian Seth Meyers is 52. Actor Joe Manganiello is 49. Musician John Legend is 47.

DEC. 29 Actor Jon Voight is 87. Actor Ted Danson is 78. Actor Patricia Clarkson is 66. Filmmaker Lilly Wachowski is 58. Actor Jennifer Ehle is 56. Actor Jude Law is 53.

Actor Mekhi Phifer is 51.

DEC. 30 Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax is 90. TV director James Burrows is 85. Singer-author Patti Smith is 79. Musician Jeff Lynne is 78. Actor-comedian

RICHARD SHOTWELL / INVISION / AP PHOTO

John Walsh arrives at the Fox winter junket in 2023 in Los Angeles. The “America’s Most Wanted” host turns 80 on Friday.

Tracey Ullman is 66. TV commentator Sean Hannity is 64.

Golfer Tiger Woods is 50.

DEC. 31 Actor Anthony Hopkins is 88. Rock musician Andy Summers (The Police) is 83. Actor Ben Kingsley is 82. Filmmaker Taylor Hackford is 81. Actor Tim Matheson is 78. Actor Bebe Neuwirth is 67. Author Nicholas Sparks is 60. Businessman Donald Trump Jr. is 48.

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Chatham News & Record for Thursday, December 25, 2025

the stream

KENSLIE MCGUIRE / DISNEY VIA AP

Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters return with special performances by Gwen Stefani and others for the annual Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade.

‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Ne Zha II,’ Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Winslet Spy thriller “The Copenhagen Test” lands on Peacock

SERIES TO STREAM

The Associated Press JENNIFER LAWRENCE playing a new mother whose behavior becomes increasingly erratic in “Die My Love” and three more “Stranger Things” episodes are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week: Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade featuring Gwen Stefani and Nicole Scherzinger, the Chinese animated epic “Ne Zha II,” and Simu Liu starring as an intelligence analyst whose brain has been hacked in Peacock’s “The Copenhagen Test.”

MOVIES TO STREAM Lawrence plays a new mother whose behavior becomes increasingly erratic in Lynne Ramsay’s “Die My Love,” streaming now on Mubi. Robert Pattinson plays her husband in this story adapted from Ariana Harwicz’s novel. In his review for The Associated Press, Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote called it “a jagged, go-for-broke psychodrama” raging with a “primal punk spirit.” He added, “there’s plenty to admire in Ramsay’s uncompromising and delirious portrait of marital hell, particularly in the bracingly raw performance of Lawrence.”

The Chinese animated epic “Ne Zha II,” which is the highest grossing animated movie of all time with more than $2.2 billion in ticket sales, is now streaming on HBO Max. The film tells the story of a rebellious child, Ne Zha, born as the reincarnation of a demon to mortal parents, who is out to prove his fate is not predetermined. Michelle Yeoh lent her voice to the English language dub, which she said, “immerses you into our culture.” The first film is available to stream on Netflix, but it’s possible to just dive right into the sequel.

If you like holiday mov-

and the Disney YouTube channel on Christmas Day, music fans can tune into the annual Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade. It’s not just for the kids: The special will feature musical performances from Stefani, Scherzinger, Coco Jones, Iam Tongi, Lady A, Mariah the Scientist and Bebe Rexha.

EVAN AGOSTINI / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Ross Duffer, from left, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Charlie Heaton and Jamie Campbell Bower attend the PaleyLive “Stranger Things” final season celebration at the Paley Museum on Dec. 18 in New York.

“‘Die My Love’ is a jagged, go-for-broke psychodrama, raging with a primal punk spirit.”

Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer

KIMBERLY FRENCH / MUBI VIA AP

Jennifer Lawrence stars in the suspenseful drama “Die My Love.” ies with a side of tears, “Goodbye June,” streaming on Netflix, might just be the ticket.

Kate Winslet directs and stars in this family drama about four

adult children (Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Johnny Flynn and Toni Collette) coming to terms with the fact that their mother, June (Helen Mirren), is dying.

In my review, I wrote that it was an admirably solid, if generic, drama that’s elevated by a distinguished cast and moments of humor, grace and insight.

Speaking of holiday viewing, it’s also worth noting that Prime Video is getting two of the year’s biggest movies: “A Minecraft Movie” on Monday and “Sinners” on Friday.

MUSIC TO STREAM It’s wholesome holiday fun for the whole family! Kicking off at 10 a.m. on ABC and streaming at 11 a.m. on Disney+, Hulu

Make your Christmas stranger. The next block of installments of “ Stranger Things” — that’s episodes 5-7 — drop like a present as the fifth and final season continues. When we last checked out Hawkins, Vecna was deep into a dastardly plan, Demogorgons were menacing, and Will Byers was coming into his own powers. The very last episodes will stream on New Year’s Eve. Liu stars as an intelligence analyst whose brain has been hacked in Peacock’s new espionage thriller, “The Copenhagen Test.” In addition to Liu, the series’ regulars include Melissa Barrera, Sinclair Daniel, Brian d’Arcy James, Mark O’Brien and Kathleen Chalfant. All episodes debut Saturday.

“Members Only: Palm Beach” is a new Netflix reality show that follows the exclusive, high-end social scene of one of Florida’s most affluent areas, as experienced by five women who are part of the community. “There’s a lot more beneath the sunshine than anyone expects, because nobody goes lower than high society,” Taja Abitbol, one of the stars, explains. It premieres Monday.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY You may be getting — or giving — a new gaming device for Christmas. If so, you should look beyond heavily promoted AAA games and download some of the gems that independent studios released in 2025. Some made The Associated Press’ top 10 list; don’t miss Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, The Séance of Blake Manor and The Alters. The indie sequels Hades II and Hollow Knight: Silksong more than lived up to fans’ expectations.

Mystery lovers should test their wits against Blue Prince and The Roottrees are Dead.

And if you want a heartfelt story about an Ecuadoran kid dreaming about soccer’s World Cup (who doesn’t?), check out Despelote.