North State Journal Vol. 10, Issue 19

week

Chimney Rock reopens 9 months after Helene Chimney Rock

Iconic tourist attraction

Chimney Rock reopened to the public last Friday, nine months after Hurricane Helene brought historic ooding, destruction and loss of life. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other o cials attended a reopening ceremony at the state park, which will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make reservations, Stein’s o ce said. The park features hiking trails and other amenities, and usually attracts 400,000 people annually.

Inmate fatally shoots N.C. o cer; later captured

Murphy A federal inmate escaped from custody at a medical clinic in Cherokee County and fatally shot a detention o cer with his own gun Monday, then ed in a stolen vehicle before being captured in another county, Sheri Dustin Smith said. The inmate had been taken to an orthopedic o ce in Murphy for undisclosed treatment when a scu e began. The inmate took the o cer’s weapon and shot him, Smith said at a news conference. The inmate ran into the parking lot, jumped into a vehicle that had just arrived and took o . The inmate was later apprehended in Macon County, nearly an hour to the east, Smith said. Smith said the inmate, Kelvin Simmons, 48, will be charged with rst-degree murder. The detention o cer was identi ed as Francisco Paul Flattes, 56, a four-year Cherokee County Sheri ’s O ce employee.

House, Senate drop mini-budgets before end of scal year

The Senate proposal has a broader scope, while the House’s version focuses on pay increases

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly have dropped mini-budgets in lieu

of a full budget agreement as the end of the state’s scal year approaches on June 30.

The House passed its mini-budget, House Bill 192, on June 24 by a vote of 96-17, with 29 House Democrats voting for passage. The bill now sits in the Senate Rules and Operations Committee.

Originally, House Bill 192

Tillis won’t run for third Senate term in 2026

President Donald Trump threatened to nd a Republican primary opponent for the North Carolina senator

By Ali Swenson and Seung Min Kim The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said Sunday he will not seek reelection next year, an abrupt announcement that came one day after he staked out his opposition to President Donald Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts package because of its reductions to health care programs.

His decision creates a wide-open Senate race in a state that has long been a contested battleground. It could also make Tillis a wild card in a party where few lawmakers are willing to risk Trump’s wrath by opposing his agenda or actions. Trump had already been threatening him with a primary challenge and posted Sunday that Tillis’ announcement was “Great News!”

“In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders

Elections board addresses missing voter information

The plan includes three rounds of mailings to voters

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — The North Carolina State Board of Elections rolled out a plan to address missing information in voter records at its meeting June 24. The plan, presented by the NCSBE Executive Director Sam Hayes, would collect incomplete registration information from certain voters to comply with an N.C. Court of Appeals decision, as well as resolving outstanding lawsuits regarding the missing information.

Hayes said a previous voter registration form did not

make it clear that the driver’s license number and the last four digits of a Social Security number were required.

“As a result, we’ve got a number of folks out there, the numbers vary, but it’s certainly a large amount,” Hayes said of registrations missing required Help America Vote Act (HAVA) data. He added that number could be greater than 200,000.

The form in question and the missing data were the subject of complaints led last year by the NCGOP, the Republican National Committee and later state Supreme Court candidate Je erson Gri n.

“The bottom line is that the state board has drawn multiple legal challenges as a result of those registration

“The bottom line is that the state board has drawn multiple legal challenges as a result of those registration de ciencies.”

Sam Hayes, N.C. State Board of Elections executive director

“I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see t and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) walks to the Senate chamber last Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Tillis announced Sunday he will not run for reelection in 2026.

“That is a ne watch you have there,” said a man to his friend. “I suppose it keeps good time.”

“Yes,” was the reply, “it is adjusted to heat, cold and position. I nd it very reliable.”

Advertisements in papers and magazines have shown a watch solidly frozen in a large block of ice, with the information that that type of watch is so adjusted that it will keep the correct time even when frozen. People need adjusting too. Many people say: “Oh, if my circumstances were di erent. If the in uences around me were di erent — then I would be so di erent from what I am.”

If we wait for the world to be made over, then we shall never become what we desire to be, nor live the kind of lives we desire to live. Whatever we become, we must become in the face of all these things and in spite of them.

A wise old gentleman, giving advice to a young man, said: “You must remember that this world is pretty much made already. Success consists in adjustment. Don’t try to remake your world — adjust yourself to the situation. Make the best of what you have where you are.”

A poet has pressed the same thought in these lines:

The world will never adjust itself, To suit your whims to the letter.

Some things will go wrong

Your whole life long,

And the sooner you know it, the better.

There will always be things working to hinder us, to disturb our calculations, to overthrow our plans, to heap obstacles in our way, and to discourage us if we will let them. It is persistence in the face of such things that brings success. Almost any cheap watch will run pretty well under favorable circumstances, but that fact does not make it of real value. Just when it is most needed, it may fail; for circumstances cannot always be favorable, even to a watch. The qualities in the watch that make it run right under unfavorable circumstances are what make it valuable.

It is just the same with men and women: the qualities that enable them to adjust themselves to their circumstances and be a success, even when things are unfavorable — are the things in their characters that are really worthwhile.

Many people say, “It is of no use for me to try to live a Christian life under my present circumstances. I must wait until there is a change of my situation.”

Other people are living Christian lives under similar conditions. If you cannot be a success, then perhaps the trouble is in you, not in your circumstances. “Not that we are su cient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our su ciency is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). The grace of God will enable us to adjust ourselves so that in any situation, we can live acceptably to God.

There is no use of whining and complaining and saying, “I can’t.” There is no use of looking forward to the future and hoping for a better time. Right now is the time to win or lose. “My grace is su cient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God says His grace is su cient, and it is. You may have abundance of it if you will, and by His help you can conquer every circumstance. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

Charles Wesley Naylor is considered one of the most proli c and inspiring songwriters of the Church of God. He was bedridden for much of his adult life but wrote eight books, a newspaper column and more than 150 songs. Many of his writings are in the public domain.

sex de nitions, gender surgeries, online exploitation passes NCGA

House Bill 805 has been sent to Gov. Josh Stein

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — A bill hoping to prevent online sexual exploitation of women and minors as well as several other provisions related to biological sex and gender identity will head to Gov. Josh Stein for signature.

House Bill 805 sets guidelines and standards requiring online platforms and websites to verify consent and age for any person depicted in pornographic content.

A key provision in the bill extends the statute of limitations to 10 years for suing a doctor over gender transition procedures and surgeries. That provision is the same as the intent of House Bill 606, which currently sits in the Senate Rules and Operations Committee.

/ AP PHOTO

805.

“Democrats in the North Carolina Senate would rather pay a ne than vote on a bill to de ne what a woman is.”

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden)

lowing a urry of amendments, most of which clari ed language changes.

“Democrats in the North Carolina Senate would rather pay a ne than vote on a bill to de ne what a woman is,” wrote Berger on X. “That tells you all you need to know about the modern Democratic Party.”

During Senate oor action on June 24, Minority Leader Sydney Batch objected to the bill’s additions.

ing “present.” Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell) intervened, saying that was not an option under Senate rules.

Batch said she could nd no applicable rule and cited a law from the 1700s about a $10 ne for failing to discharge one’s duties as a senator.

Batch appeared to have prepared for the “present” vote attempt by holding up a pile of $10 bills, stating, “I have $10 for every single one of the members in my caucus who voted present.” Ultimately, the Senate counted the “present” votes by Democrats as excused absences.

A day later, on June 25, the House concurred with the Senate’s version and passed the measure by a vote of 65-43. Only one Democrat, Rep. Dante Pittman (Wilson), voted in favor.

During oor discussion, Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover) objected to a section of the bill about “transgender care” that she said was “added at the 11th hour.”

The Senate added additional provisions to the bill that legally de ne biological sex for males and females based on biology and not gender identity. Additionally, the Senate added a ban on state funds for surgical gender transition procedures, puberty blocking drugs and crosssex hormones to prisoners in the state prison system.

who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” Tillis said in a lengthy statement.

Tillis said he was proud of his career in public service but acknowledged the di cult political environment for those who buck their party and go it alone.

“I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see t and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability,” Tillis said in a statement.

Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate.

Trump, in social posts, had berated Tillis for being one of two Republican senators who voted on Saturday night against advancing the massive tax bill.

The Republican president ac-

The bill also has provisions to ban K-12 males and females from sharing sleeping spaces and requires that amended birth certi cates involving a sex change must include the original birth certi cate and the person’s original biological sex.

Another provision lets par-

cused Tillis of seeking publicity with his “no” vote and threatened to campaign against him, accusing the senator of doing nothing to help his constituents after last year’s devastating oods in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene.

The announcement from the two-term senator surprised senior Republicans with its timing, but not necessarily the substance. Tillis had planned to announce his reelection plans later this year, likely September at the latest, but had been heavily leaning in favor of retiring, according to a person close to the senator.

The GOP leadership’s decision to forge ahead with cuts to Medicaid that Tillis repeatedly warned would devastate North Carolina, and the president’s Truth Social post calling for a primary challenger to the senator made it clear to him that the

ents opt their children out of instructional materials for religious belief concerns, requires all school library catalogs to be made public online and grants parents the ability to tell schools which books they don’t wish their child to borrow from school libraries.

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 27-4 on June 24 fol-

answers to those two questions were no.

Tillis then decided he would announce his retirement, thinking that it would remove any ambiguity about whether he would ip his opposition to the GOP’s sweeping tax bill.

He informed Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Saturday night of his decision to retire.

The North Carolina Republican Party chairman, Jason Simmons, said the party wishes Tillis well and “will hold this seat for Republicans in 2026.”

Democrats expressed condence about their prospects.

Former Rep. Wiley Nickel, who announced his candidacy in April, said he was ready for any Republican challenger.

“I’ve ipped a tough seat before and we’re going to do it again,” Nickel said in a statement.

Tillis rose to prominence in

“When my Republican colleagues loaded this bill with culture war amendments, they didn’t just distract from the problem,” said Batch. “They made it impossible to solve.”

Batch and her Democrat colleagues delayed chamber proceedings by refusing to vote yes or no on the bill and instead vot-

North Carolina when, as a second-term state House member, he quit his IBM consultant job and led the GOP’s recruitment and fundraising e orts in the chamber for the 2010 elections. Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate for the rst time in 140 years. Tillis was later elected as state House speaker and helped enact conservative policies on taxes, gun rights, regulations and abortion while serving in the role for four years.

In 2014, Tillis helped ip control of the U.S. Senate to the GOP after narrowly defeating Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan. During his more than a decade in o ce, he championed issues such as mental health and substance abuse recovery, Medicaid expansion and support for veterans.

As a more moderate Republican, Tillis became known for

“I was looking forward to voting for this bill,” Butler said. “Quite frankly, one of my colleagues worked long and hard on it. And then, as we are wont to do lately, we add some stu at the end.

“So, this section of the bill, the part that talks about transgender care, is not just bad policy. It’s unconstitutional, it’s unkind, it is governmental overreach of the worst kind.”

Stein has not indicated what action he will take on the measure.

his willingness to work across the aisle on some issues. That got him into trouble with his party at times, most notably in 2023 when North Carolina Republicans voted to censure him over several matters, including his challenges to certain immigration policies and his gun policy record.

“Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party,” Tillis said, “but I wouldn’t have changed a single one.”

Democrats — who haven’t held one of the state’s Senate seats since 2008 — likely hope former Gov. Roy Cooper will choose to run for Tillis’ seat. Former Gov. Pat McCrory, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and Lara Trump — the president’s daughter-in-law — have all been mentioned as possible candidates for the GOP.

“An Allegory of Prudence” by Titian (c. 1550) is a painting in the collection of the National Gallery in London.

Part two of Helene recovery funding signed into law

The latest legislation has a total of $700 million in relief funds

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — A second Helene recovery funding bill for 2025 has been signed by Gov. Josh Stein.

The agreed-upon conference committee report for House Bill 1012 includes $700 million in relief money, $500 million in appropriations, and $270 million in reallocations from the DOT budget for storm-related road repairs.

The additional money raises the overall relief total provided by the General Assembly to $2.1 billion and is the fth relief package enacted by the legislature to date.

On June 26, the Senate passed the conference report, and the House followed suit by a unanimous vote of 106-0.

According to the House and Senate press releases, the main provisions in the bill include:

• $75 million toward construction and reimbursement of privately owned roads and bridges

• $70 million to continue pulling

down critical federal disaster recovery funding

• $70 million in funding for local government capital repairs

• $64.3 million toward the repair and reconstruction of damaged schools

• $51.5 million for the local government cash ow program

• $50 million in additional nointerest loans for impacted units of local government

• $25 million to upgrade and enhance regional airports to support disaster responses

• $25 million to aid farmers with infrastructure losses

• $18 million to invest in re stations across WNC to prepare for a high-risk re season

• $18 million in additional funding to support our frontline volunteer organizations

• $16 million in infrastructure investments to support redevelopment in Canton

• $15 million to the SelectSite fund to support economic development

• $12.25 million to repair damaged state park facilities and expedite reopening

• $10 million to support impacted public and private colleges and universities in the region

• $8 million to support apple growers in western N.C.

• $5 million for tourism support e orts

The proposal does not appear to have any provisions for small business grants.

On June 24, the House failed to concur with Senate changes made to House Bill 1012, part two of the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 and a conference committee was appointed to hammer out the di erences.

The House’s version allocated over $450 million, while the Senate’s June 23 substitute for the bill allocated $700 million, with $480 million of that total going toward “immediate needs.”

At the onset of oor discussion on June 24, Rep. Dudley Greene (R-Avery) noted the Senate had waited “until the shot clock was running out” on the session and had made signi cant changes which needed to be addressed in a conference committee.

Sinkholes in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, including one in Asheville’s River Arts District on Oct. 10, are just a sampling of the road repairs needed following last fall’s storm and ooding.

Greene, whose county had been hit hard by Hurricane Helene, also said the House remains “committed” in moving the bill forward, which it did via the conference committee.

The prior relief proposals put forth by each chamber overlapped in several areas, such as $70 million for FEMA state match, $15 million for N.C. Forest Service wild re preparedness, $20 million for ood mitigation grants and $8 million for school repairs.

Support for local government capital needs di ered slightly, with $50 million in the House versus $40 million in the Senate, $30 million in the House versus $75 million in the Senate for private roads and bridges, and re/EMS grants for the House at $18 million

McMahon headlines school choice gala

Parents for Educational Freedom in N.C. celebrated 20 years of school choice advocacy

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — The school choice advocacy group Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina celebrated its 20th anniversary at a gala at the Angus Barn in Raleigh on June 25.

The event, dubbed “two decades of unlocking opportunity,” featured various presentations, awards, video greetings and a reside chat between Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina (PEFNC) President Mike Long and U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

The 300-deep guest list in-

BUDGET from page A1

was a teacher pay raise study bill, but the language was stripped and replaced by a committee substitute. The substitute bill’s primary focus is education funding, teacher and state employee raises, bonuses for teachers and certain Medicaid funding adjustments.

The House mini-budget would give most state employees a 2.5% raise and boost teacher pay an average of 6.4%. The House proposal includes a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment for general state employees, and retirees would get a one-time cost-of-living adjustment of 1%.

The Senate passed its mini-budget (House Bill 125) on June 23, which did not include the pay raises but did have teacher pay schedule “step” increases. The passage vote was 39-6.

House Bill 125 is a much broader budget continuation bill covering reserve fund modi cations, disaster recovery, education funding, Medicaid and health services, and capital project funding.

The Senate version includes items from its main budget proposal, such as Senate Leader Phil Berger’s DAVE Act, which establishes the Division of Accountability, Value, and E ciency in the state auditor’s o ce. JetZero’s $252 economic incentive package, as well as a shift of $1 billion to the state’s Rainy Day reserve fund, are also pulled into the Senate mini-budget from its original proposal.

cluded past and present lawmakers, school choice advocates, parents, students and various school leaders.

Among those delivering video messages were Tommy

“We face many other urgent challenges across the state that need to be addressed through a scally responsible, full budget.”

Gov. Josh Stein

“The Senate and the House failed to come together to meet the needs of North Carolinians before the start of the new budget year,” Gov. Josh Stein said. “While I am grati ed that the legislature took action to get more Helene funding out the door, we face many other urgent challenges across the state that need to be addressed through a scally responsible, full budget.

“Our teachers, law enforcement, and other state employees deserve real pay raises so we can recruit and retain the best.

In addition, at a time when the federal government is proposing severe cuts to Medicaid, leaving Raleigh without taking steps to fully fund North Carolina’s Medicaid program is irresponsible.

“I stand ready to work with the General Assembly to invest in our people and expand opportunities so every person can succeed.”

On June 26, the House failed to concur with the Senate’s proposal, and a conference committee may be assigned.

Schultz, the president of American Federation for Children; North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis; and former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

In addition to paving the way for grants for students with disabilities, PEFNC has been a driving force behind the Opportunity Scholarship program (OSP).

The OSP gives state-funded scholarship grants to eligible families for tuition at the participating private school of their choice. The program was created by the legislature in 2013, and today more than 90,000 families use it.

PEFNC was founded in 2005 by former N.C. Congressman and State Board of Education member Bill Cobey, former statehouse Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam and former University of North Carolina Board of Governors member Steve Long, who currently sits on PEFNC’s board of directors.

“The General Assembly must continue to expand access to not only meet the needs

over the Senate’s $15 million.

The House had an emphasis on rural and infrastructure needs, including agricultural and general debris removal ($30 million), rural farm infrastructure repairs ($25 million), airport infrastructure for repair and expansion of emergency response ($2 million), and volunteer organization recovery support ($20M).

The Senate highlighted tourism ($5 million), dam repair/removal ($10 million), boosting the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund ($20 million), community college enrollment decline ($2.74 million), cash ow loans to local governments ($100 million) and repurposing department of transportation funds for infrastructure recovery ($560 million).

“The General Assembly must continue to expand access, to not only meet the needs of North Carolina families, but also accommodate President Trump’s vision for school choice.”

Mike Long, PEFNC president

of North Carolina families, but also to accommodate President Trump’s vision for school choice,” said Long. “It’s called the Education Choice for Children’s Act, the ECCA, and it’s before Congress right now.” The ECCA would include a federal tax credit to support nationwide school choice options. If passed, PEFNC will undertake aiding the implementation of ECCA provisions in North Carolina.

IZZY LAVALETTE FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

COURTESY PEFNC

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon and PEFNC President Mike Long talk during a reside chat at the organization’s 20th Anniversary Gala held June 25.

CHRIS SEWARD / AP PHOTO

Speaker of the House Destin Hall, top left, and Senate leader Phil Berger, top right, listen as Gov. Josh Stein, bottom, delivers the State of the State address in March. Stein called on the General Assembly’s two chambers to nd common ground on the state budget.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Tillis explains reason for not seeking reelection

North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announced he will not run for reelection in 2026. Below is the press release explaining his decision to leave the U.S. Senate.

IT HAS BEEN a blessing to go on a journey from living in a trailer park and making minimum wage as a young man to having the honor of serving as U.S. Senator for North Carolina.

I am proud of my career in public service, including hard-fought victories like passing historic tax reform as North Carolina Speaker, and working in the Senate to help pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and con rm three conservative Supreme Court justices and counting.

What I’m most proud of are the bipartisan victories: passing the rst-in-the-nation eugenics compensation as Speaker, and working across the aisle in the Senate to pass the largest investment in mental health in American history, passing the Respect for Marriage Act and monumental infrastructure investments, and reestablishing the Senate NATO Observer Group. Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

party, but I wouldn’t have changed a single one.

In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.

Democrats recently lost two such leaders who were dedicated to making the Senate more of a functional and productive legislative body. They got things done. But they were shunned after they courageously refused to cave to their party bosses to nuke the libuster for the sake of political expediency. They ultimately retired and their presence in the Senate chamber has been sorely missed every day since.

It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics. When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer. But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure them.

Too many elected o cials are motivated by pure raw politics who really don’t give a damn about the people they promised to represent on the campaign trail. After they get elected, they don’t bother to do the hard work to research the policies they seek to implement and understand

the consequences those policies could have on that young adult living in a trailer park, struggling to make ends meet.

As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven’t exactly been excited about running for another term. That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home. It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election.

I am beyond grateful for the friends I’ve made over the years in North Carolina and our nation’s capital, as well as my amazing sta who are among the very best the Senate has to o er. I still look forward to continuing to serve North Carolina over the next 18 months. I look forward to solely focusing on producing meaningful results without the distraction of raising money or campaigning for another election. I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see t and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability.

There’s something about Independence Day

In recent years, though, I found myself yearning to see the big, spectacular reworks I used to when I was younger.

WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, we lived not too far from the beach, and sometimes we’d visit the waterways around July Fourth to enjoy the Independence Day celebrations and, most importantly, check out the reworks displays.

While just closing my eyes and listening to the reworks being set o would have been enough, there was always something so magical about seeing them light up the clear night sky and also the strands of red, white and blue lights that sometimes adorned nearby boats, with the pretty colors re ecting o the water.

When we moved from that coastal part of eastern North Carolina to Charlotte in the early 1980s, we’d still go check out reworks displays uptown on occasion, and while it was enjoyable at the time, it wasn’t the same to me as seeing them at the beach.

As I got into my late teens and early 20s, I found out about reworks at the lake, which was awesome and a lot like the ones at the beach.

Some of my best memories as a young woman nding her way in the world were of parking with family and friends near the bridge at Lake Wylie to watch the various displays and the boats sail by, all decked out with the festive colors of the season, with American ags billowing softly in the wind in celebration of our country’s independence.

Somewhere along the way, however, going to see the reworks became something I did less and less. It was partly due to neighbors putting on their displays nearby, which I could walk down the street to watch, and also because I had settled

into new routines with di erent priorities. In recent years, though, I found myself yearning to see the big, spectacular reworks I used to when I was younger. But being a caregiver makes doing things like that a challenge, so Mom and I would settle for listening to the reworks that would go o in the distance on Independence Day and New Year’s Eve, since we didn’t have neighbors close by who were conducting their own displays. That all changed several years ago, though, when Mom and I had gone to bed one July Fourth only to hear loud popping

around 11 p.m. or so, which I knew were reworks.

It was closer than normal, so I peeked out the blinds but didn’t see anything at rst. Then I went back to bed, but not only did I hear reworks a few minutes later, but I also saw slivers of them through my blinds, which are older and don’t fully close at the top.

I jumped out of bed, and this time I stayed at the window for longer than a few seconds. Sure enough, a wave of reworks was being set o in the distance, but close enough that Mom and I had our own reworks displays that we could enjoy from the comfort of our bedrooms.

It was super cool, and when I went into Mom’s room and let her know, she sat up and looked out her window, with the reworks dazzling us both as they went o . We don’t know where exactly they’re being staged, but it’s been that way for the last few years to the point that if they weren’t set o so late in the evening, we’d be able to pull up patio chairs to watch the colorful lights and hear the crackling sounds they make.

The simple pleasures in life, brought to us for free by an unknown person or people who clearly enjoy the holiday and have no idea the smiles they’ve brought to our faces.

There’s something so special about Independence Day, you know?

North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

STATEMENT | SEN. THOM TILLIS

JORDAN GOLSON / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

A Big Beautiful Bill for July 4 will make America stronger

President Trump is a historic tax cutter, and this bill builds upon his success.

IT IS FITTING that President Donald Trump aims to sign the Big Beautiful Bill by July 4: Americans will have the freedom to keep more of what they earn.

The bill provides across-the-board income tax cuts for American households and powerful, job-creating tax cuts for American businesses. The tax cuts will increase takehome pay and make America even stronger and more competitive.

House and Senate Republicans will send the bill to Trump’s desk in the coming days.

To start, the bill prevents a $5 trillion tax increase on Americans. Thankfully, the GOP has full control of the House, Senate and presidency because if Kamala Harris had prevailed last November, the 2017 Trump tax cuts would expire on Dec. 31.

Harris threatened repeatedly to “eliminate” the Trump tax cuts. If that were to happen, every single American taxpayer would see their income tax rate increase back to the higher level of the Barack Obama years.

Thankfully, Trump campaigned and won vowing to make the Trump tax cuts permanent across the board.

The permanence of the bill’s tax cuts is of chief importance.

Permanently reduced tax rates and business expensing allow American companies to invest in productivityincreasing technology, purchase new trucks and equipment, and hire more employees, secure in understanding what the tax rules are now and will be in the decades ahead. This also means businesses can a ord to pay their workers more. The tax bill increases annual real wages per worker by up to $7,200 in the rst four years of implementation, according to an analysis by the Council of Economic Advisers.

Next, the Big Beautiful Bill enacts Trump’s no tax on tips promise. This includes tipped employees as well as independent contractors and the gig economy. It will help barbers, stylists, restaurant servers, bartenders, drivers, delivery workers, caddies and dozens of other traditionally tipped occupations.

The bill also expands the standard deduction, providing an income tax cut

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

and a tax simpli cation at the same time.

The bill extends small business tax relief, expands the per-child tax credit, ends the tax on overtime and provides tax relief for seniors.

The bill also reins in the IRS by repealing Biden’s 1099-K IRS surveillance law. This IRS paperwork nightmare imposed by Democrats forces Americans to deal with invasive paperwork any time they use Venmo or PayPal for more than $600 in transactions in a given year.

You’ll no longer have to prove to an IRS agent that the Venmo transfer from your roommate to cover his part of the rent is not taxable income. Or the funds you collected for ticket purchases are not taxable. Same goes for the payment you received when you sold an old bike or lawn mower out of your garage.

The Big Beautiful Bill will help the economy grow faster, creating more jobs and higher wages in the process.

Trump is a historic tax cutter, and this bill builds upon his success.

When Trump reduced the corporate income tax rate from a highest-in-thedeveloped-world 35% (even higher than China’s 25%) down to 21%, the economy grew substantially.

Before Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, many businesses “inverted” — they were bought by foreign companies and moved their headquarters overseas.

Why? Because our then-high tax rates and onerous laws required income earned overseas to be taxed again if it was brought back to the United States. That meant many companies were worth more if they moved to France or Canada.

Not now. Since the Trump tax reforms, there have not been any large companies “inverting.” Now companies move to the United States.

Trump’s signature on the big tax cuts will reward hard-working Americans and turbocharge American economic growth. And leave the Euroweenies in the dust.

Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform.

When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight

Smith’s vision transformed the logistics industry and helped pioneer the modern express delivery model.

IN MANY WAYS, Fred Smith — entrepreneur extraordinaire, innovator and super patriot, at a time when we so needed patriots — was the Ben Franklin of our time.

He was rightfully proud of his time in the United States Marines serving in combat in Vietnam.

Smith came up with the idea of Federal Express while he was a student at Yale University. In a now-famous undergraduate economics paper, he proposed an integrated air-to-ground system speci cally designed to meet time-sensitive shipping needs — something that didn’t exist at the time. Although his professor reportedly gave the paper a mediocre grade, Smith later turned the concept into a revolutionary business.

He founded Federal Express in 1971, and the company o cially began operations in 1973. Smith’s vision transformed the logistics industry and helped pioneer the modern express delivery model.

The nancing, the logistical expertise, the grit and gumption, audacity and stickto-it-ism of pulling this o and building the mightiest transportation company across the globe is unimaginable.

Who else could have pulled it o ?

He “absolutely, positively” masterminded one of the most memorable and e ective advertising slogans and campaigns in TV history.

He had a healthy contempt for big and bureaucratic government and often only halfjoked that he was blessed with competing against one of the most incompetent bureaucracies ever invented: the U.S. Postal Service. FedEx’s on-time arrival record was far superior to the Postal Service or any airline.

FedEx had more planes than any other

BE IN TOUCH

enterprise in the world other than the U.S. Air Force. The company fully takes over scores of airport operations throughout the night. He used his own weather service, air tra c control system and security system because “the government isn’t reliable.”

He employed half a million Americans and made multimillionaires out of many thousands of investors.

On a point of personal privilege: He was one of the very rst donors to my group Unleash Prosperity and was always the rst to send an unsolicited, generous donation at the start of every year, always with an inspiring note of approval.

Even to the very end, he hid from us all how sick he was. Just a few weeks ago, he called us up bitching about the amount of money the Postal Service was losing and urging us to “get on this” with all the gusto of someone who was going to live 20 more years, not 20 more days.

Every president since Ronald Reagan called on “Fred-ex” — as some of his friends called him — for expert advice in times of crisis.

Among his many patriotic acts to the nation, he kept FedEx running during those turbulent rst six months of COVID when most every other business closed its doors. The nation panicked. Fred didn’t. He helped keep the U.S. economy from imploding, and FedEx employees, of course, maintained an exemplary health record.

The nation and the planet seem somehow diminished.

Stephen Moore is a contributor to the Daily Caller News Foundation, co-founder of Unleash Prosperity and Heritage Foundation visiting senior fellow.

and the Miracle of Little Washington

JUST 70 MILES SOUTHWEST of the nation’s capital, there is a small town named Little Washington nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Rappahannock County, Virginia. It is the setting of an amazing story of the kind of entrepreneurial achievement that has made America great.

One entrepreneur named Patrick O’Connell has made Little Washington a magnet for visitors from all over the world. In the process, he has turned a town of 84 people into a thriving community with more than 300 jobs. This extraordinary achievement is the culmination of O’Connell’s improbable journey from a college drama student to a world-class chef and hotelier.

What is fascinating about the miracle of Little Washington’s success is that it was so improbable. O’Connell attended Catholic University, where he was a drama major. Prior to college, he worked part-time in a local restaurant in Clinton, Maryland. However, being a chef was not his focus at the time.

After earning his degree, O’Connell went to France, where he discovered a passion for ne dining and superb cooking. As O’Connell reminisced, “I was supposed to have become an actor but soon found the living theater of the restaurant world more compelling than the stage.”

When I asked him once how he trained the team that sustained such an extraordinary standard of excellence and customer focus, he said he insisted that they see every visit as a performance. His team is taught to focus on each guest with awareness of their mood and pleasure to ensure they leave thinking about how soon they can return. This is a standard I have encountered in few places, and it seems to be true for every person in the O’Connell system.

In 1972, O’Connell came to Little Washington in search of a nice, quiet, outof-the-way place to live. He began a catering business. The horse country folks around Middleburg, Virginia, were his major market. O’Connell’s chicken dinners became famous and quite popular.

In January 1978, he moved into an abandoned gas station (Thornton’s Garage) and turned it into a restaurant, which became the Inn at Little Washington. In the early years, he found himself in the local library reading every cookbook and trying to master the art of preparing excellent cuisine. In one of those lucky moments, just three weeks after the inn’s opening, Washington Star food critic John Rosson came to dine at the restaurant. That April, Rosson wrote that the inn was “the best restaurant within 150 miles of Washington, D.C.”

O’Connell recognized he had to keep learning, and he spent six months working with François Haeringer at L’Auberge Chez François (today, a phenomenal, worldclass restaurant in Great Falls, Virginia). O’Connell wanted to develop a combined inn and restaurant of the highest quality and knew he could with Haeringer’s instructions and inspiration.

O’Connell then turned to London-based stage and set designer Joyce Evans to create the ambiance and experience that has made the inn a destination for many notable people.

People come from around the world to dine, and often stay, at O’Connell’s Inn. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell were married at the inn in 1997. Vice President JD Vance and his wife recently had a delightful evening there. Renowned composer Andrew Lloyd Webber once said, “For my money, this little hotel provides the best overall dining experience I can remember in a long while, perhaps my best ever.”

As O’Connell grew as a chef, his fame spread. In 1989, the inn was the rst establishment ever to receive ve-star ratings for both cuisine and accommodations from Mobil Travel Guide (now Forbes Travel Guide). In 2001, he was named Outstanding Chef in America. Michelin awarded the inn three stars in 2018, the highest honor an establishment can receive from its guide. O’Connell and the inn have received six James Beard Foundation Awards for excellence over more than three decades. In 2019, O’Connell himself received the James Beard Award for Lifetime Achievement. That same year, O’Connell also received the National Humanities Medal from President Donald J. Trump, who called him “a preeminent culinary artist and trailblazing industry pioneer.” Finally, in 2021, La Liste, a French guide to gourmet restaurants, listed the inn as the eighth best restaurant in the world — and the sixth best in America.

Last weekend, Callista took me to the Inn at Little Washington as a surprise to celebrate my birthday. It was an incredible experience.

Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 1201 Edwards Mill Rd., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27607. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.

Contact a writer or columnist: connect@northstatejournal.com

Throughout his remarkable career, Patrick O’Connell has not only created a destination unlike any other but also transformed American gourmet cuisine into an art form ‚ setting a new standard for excellence and hospitality.

Newt Gingrich was the 50th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Murphy to Manteo Jones & Blount

Murphy to Manteo Jones & Blount

NC national parks

July is National Parks Month, and many North Carolinians will be headed out to points across the state to enjoy a picnic, hike or program at one of our many and varied national parks. North Carolina boasts 12 national parks, some of which are considered among the best in the U.S. for history bu s and outdoor enthusiasts alike. From the mountain trails and vistas to battle elds, historic homesites and protected seashores, these parks and sites are brimming with natural beauty, wildlife and myriad opportunities to explore the state’s rich cultural heritage. Each of these parks has a dedicated website full of information about when and how to plan a trip, and encourage visitors to add an o cial park patch to your collection!

3 dead in WNC plane crash

McDowell County

Three people were killed after a missing airplane crashed in McDowell County on Monday morning, emergency management o cials said. O cials said a small plane that had been reported missing was found near the McDowellRutherford County line. O cials said search and rescue e orts were underway and that “all available resources are being utilized.” The public was asked to avoid the area while authorities tended to the situation. The identities of the deceased have not been released. WBTV Bobby Flay’s burger restaurant opens in Charlotte Mecklenburg County Chef and TV personality Bobby Flay opened a restaurant in Charlotte last Saturday, serving customers in the SouthPark area. Flay is known for his Food Network show “Beat Bobby Flay,” which features chefs from across the country being judged by celebrities against each other, then the host himself. Bobby’s Burgers also is planning a location at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Most of the brand’s

including deputy, in head-on crash

Wilkes County Three people died and two others were hurt in a head-on crash last week, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Troopers said one of the people who died in the crash was a Wilkes County deputy. A Jeep Liberty heading north crossed the centerline and collided with a Nissan Altima going the other way. The driver of the Jeep, 62-year-old Randy Lee Johnson, of Wilkesboro, died at the scene. Troopers said he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The Nissan’s driver, 34-yearold Wilkes County Deputy Johnathan Andrew Laws, of Roaring River, was own to a hospital in Elkin but later died. A passenger, 72-year-old Vickie Gustafson Key, also died from her injuries at the scene. Two other passengers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. According to troopers, speed and alcohol are not factors in the crash. The road was closed for about two hours during the investigation.

WFMY

PIEDMONT

EAST

Winston-Salem man claims $10M lottery prize

NC A&T again has most

Forsyth County

A Winston-Salem man won a $10 million prize after buying a scratch-o lottery ticket on June 26. According to the North Carolina Education Lottery, Christopher Sink bought the $50 scratch-o ticket from the KP Food Mart on Old Thomasville Road in Winston-Salem. Sink chose the lump-sum option for his prize, taking home $4.3 million after taxes. Lottery o cials said Sink is only the second person this year to win a $10 million prize.

list.

Teacher accused of fentanyl tra cking

Daughter charged in death of 74-year-old mother

NSJ

NSJ

Guilford County A teacher at a Guilford County middle school is among the two people charged after a drug bust that included 1,250 grams of fentanyl, according to the Guilford County Sheri ’s O ce. Last week, Saadia Marie-Denise Owen, 32, was charged with multiple felonies. Investigators say that Owen was a teacher at Southern Guilford Middle School at the time of her arrest. Owen is being held under a $3 million bond in the Rowan County Detention Center.

Forsyth County A daughter accused of killing her mother on the Fourth of July is now in custody, the Kernersville Police Department said. Following a domestic disturbance call, o cers found 74-year-old Linda Turner Terrell inside her home su ering from trauma to her head. She was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. Terrell’s daughter, 51-year-old Michelle Denise DeGuzman, has been arrested and charged with the murder of her mother.

WGHP

WGHP

HanesBrands moving to downtown Winston-Salem

Greyhound bus strands passengers on I-85 after at tire

Davidson County A Greyhound bus traveling from Atlanta to New York was stuck on the side of the road for more than eight hours Saturday morning after a tire blew out, according to Greyhound and passengers on the bus. Around 2:30 a.m., the Greyhound bus stopped in Charlotte. About 50 miles and 45 minutes later, a rear tire blew out and caused the bus to come to a stop on the side of I-85 North in Lexington. According to the passengers on the bus, the bus driver ordered an Uber back to Charlotte to pick up a new bus for the passengers. Meanwhile, before he got back, another Greyhound bus saw them on the side of the road and stopped to help them out. However, only nine passengers from the brokendown bus were able to t onto the new bus. There were about 50 people on the Greyhound bus that broke down.

WXII

Forsyth County HanesBrands announced Monday that it will move its corporate o ces to downtown Winston-Salem. The company is located in WinstonSalem but is currently north of the downtown area. This move will put the headquarters inside the Park Building on North Cherry Street, according to a company press statement. “The newly renovated, modernized space will provide HanesBrands associates with an energetic environment that promotes collaboration and innovation while driving its strategic growth initiatives forward,” company o cials said. HanesBrands will move out of its current location on 1000 E. Hanes Mill Rd. and transition into the downtown building in early 2025. The company signed an agreement to sell the old property to a third party that will occupy part of the space later next year. The original Hanes outlet store was housed in a room adjacent to their factory. HanesBrands currently operates and owns around 220 HanesBrands, Maidenform and Champion retail stores across the U.S.

NSJ

Missing exotic cat found safe; returned to family

Chapel Hill campus lmed for ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’

Orange County Filming for the popular Amazon TV series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” began last week at UNC Chapel Hill. A statement from UNC communications said several roads will be closed between July 5-12 for lming, which is taking place July 8-10. According to UNC o cials, the lming has largely taken place outdoors on McCorkle Place, which is near the Old Well and the Davie Poplar, and inside surrounding buildings.

Carteret County Kenai, an African serval who escaped from his family’s home near Swansboro, Wildcat Ranch in Richlands, was found late last week and reunited with his family. African servals may resemble a bobcat or a fox, and many Swansboro residents were keeping an eye out for the exotic visitor. Kenai’s brother lives at The Wildcat Ranch in Richlands, home to various animals, including African servals, caracals, exotic cats, rescue horses, pigs, sanctuary dogs and birds.

ECU lab recognized for cardiac treatment

NSJ

Teen identi ed in Nags Head drowning

NSJ Man charged after taking $40K for un nished work

Hugo rabies case prompts public health alert Lenior County

Pitt County

The Lenoir County Health Department has con rmed that a fox found in the Hugo area has tested positive for rabies. The con rmation came from the North Carolina State Laboratory, prompting area health o cials to issue a public safety reminder. Guidance indicates that residents should not approach or touch any animal that could be rabid, notify authorities if you or your pet come in contact with a potentially rabid stray or wild animal, and con rm that your pet is up to date on rabies vaccinations.

According to ECU School of Medicine o cials, the Health Medical Center electrophysiology lab is the rst hospital lab in North Carolina to earn accreditation by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission in cardiac electrophysiology in testing and ablation, device implantation and left atrial appendage occlusion. The accreditation is recognized as a “seal of approval” assuring patients of consistent quality care and a commitment to continuous improvement. The process involves a detailed self-evaluation followed by a thorough review by a panel of experts.

NSJ

NSJ

Wayne County A man was arrested in Wayne County after three people reported that he took nearly $40,000 for promised home improvements that were never nished, deputies said last week. Anthony Tyrone Smoot, 55, of Pikeville, was charged with four counts of obtaining advances under the promise to work and pay for some, according to a Wayne County Sheri ’s O ce news release. Two of the reports were by Wayne County residents, while the third was from a South Carolina resident who owns property in Wayne County. Smoot was already out on pretrial release for a separate o ense when he was arrested on the Wayne County charges. While serving the three Wayne County warrants, o cials said that deputies with the warrant division located a fourth active warrant for the same o ense in Robeson County. Smoot was placed in the Wayne County Detention Center without bond due to violating the North Carolina Pretrial Integrity Act. WNCN

The Associated Press RALEIGH — In a legal ght involving two health insurance companies seeking to manage North Carolina’s State Health Plan, a judge ruled Monday that the plan’s board acted properly when it switched to Aetna and dropped longtime administrator

Dare County An 18-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, who died after being pulled from the ocean on Nags Head has been identi ed. Nags Head’s Fire, Rescue and Police departments were called to the Gull Street Public Beach on July 3 to help three swimmers in distress. Two of the swimmers were returned to shore, one with the help of a Nags Head lifeguard. They were both taken to Outer Banks Hospital for medical assistance. The third swimmer could not be found. A Nags Head police o cer deployed a drone to help locate the missing swimmer. After being found, the swimmer was brought to shore by Nags Head lifeguards and taken to Outer Banks Hospital. The swimmer, Ibrahim Salam Sankoh, was pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital. According to state o cials, there were nearly 200 beach rescues along the N.C. coast over the holiday weekend.

WNCN

$3

Blue Cross has administered the State Health Plan for more than 40 years. The administrator handles health care expenses for several hundred thousand state employees, teachers, their family members and retirees, ensuring claims are paid and building out a provider network. After a bid process, the plan’s trustee board voted in December 2022 to award the initial three-year contract to Aetna over Blue Cross and a unit of United Healthcare, which also competed. Blue Cross challenged the decision, arguing that the State Health Plan erred in how it decided which company would get the contract and calling the bid process oversimpli ed and arbitrary. But Administrative Law Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter, who heard the contested case in February, wrote Monday that Blue Cross had not met the burden of proof necessary to show that plan leaders had acted

erroneously or failed to follow proper procedures.

“The preponderance of the evidence showed that the Plan conducted the procurement carefully and thoughtfully, fairly and in good faith, and that its decisions were properly within its discretion,” Lassiter wrote in a rming the trustee board’s decision to give the award to Aetna. It’s unclear if the ruling will be appealed to Superior Court. Blue Cross said it was disappointed in the ruling but “grati ed that the court reviewed the serious questions we raised” about the State Health Plan’s proposal request process. “Blue Cross NC is honored to serve our teachers, public safety o cers and state employees and will continue to provide the highest level of service throughout the current contract,” the company said in a written statement.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell, the trustee board chairman, praised the ruling, saying it had been clear that the State Health Plan “performed a well-reasoned, high-integrity, and correct procurement process for third-party administrative services.”

Aetna North Carolina market president Jim Bostian said several hundred of its employees so far have worked on implementing the contract on time “while demonstrating in court that the transition to Aetna is in the best interests of the State Health Plan and its members.”

NATION & WORLD

Netanyahu will visit White House on Monday

President Donald Trump is pressing for an end to the war in Gaza

By Aamer Madhani

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday as the U.S. leader steps up his push on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a cease re and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza.

The impending visit was conrmed by two U.S. administration o cials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not autho -

2 Idaho re ghters killed in shooting while ghting blaze

Police said the shooter, who was later found dead, had started the re

By Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson

The Associated Press

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho

— A man who started a wildre and then fatally shot two re ghters and wounded another in northern Idaho was a 20-year-old transient who attacked the rst responders after they asked him to move his vehicle, a sheri said Monday.

Kootenai County Sheri Bob Norris o ered new details about the Sunday confrontation at Can eld Mountain, just north of Coeur d’Alene, a popular recreation area. He said Wess Roley, who was living out of his vehicle, had once aspired to be a re ghter and had only a handful of minor contacts with area police.

“We have not been able to nd a manifesto,” the sheri said, adding a motive was still unknown.

Norris said families of the victims are “in shock — absolutely. They’re in shock and they’re still processing it.”

Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, 42, who had been with the county re department for 17 years, was killed, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way said during a

BOARD from page A1

de ciencies,” Hayes said before referencing the latest lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the order from the state Court of Appeals.

Hayes said the voter registration form has been corrected and that he’s had discussions with the DOJ to bring North Carolina “into full compliance with the law.”

“We hope at the end of the day to enter into a consent decree with not just the Department of Justice but the plainti s in these other lawsuits as well,” Hayes said.

Earlier this month, the DOJ led a lawsuit against the NCSBE over the missing voter information, citing HAVA violations.

Hayes’ presentation included three mailings to voters to correct the missing data issues.

The rst mailing would go out in July to approximately 98,000 voters with missing data who registered after HAVA’s 2004 e ective date. Until they update their records, those voters will have to vote provisionally.

The second mailing would

news conference Monday. Harwood was married and had two children, and he was a veteran of the Army National Guard.

Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison, 52, was also killed after working with the department for 28 years.

Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Fire Engineer David Tysdal, 47, sustained gunshot wounds and was in critical condition. Authorities said he had two successful surgeries.

After the shooting, local law enforcement agencies have offered to go on every call that the re department goes on, according to Way.

“I don’t know that we’re ever going to be able to guarantee people’s peace of mind, at least for a while after an incident like this,” he said. “But we are taking every measure we can to ensure safety of our responders.”

Roley had set a re using int, and the re ghters who rushed to the scene instead found themselves under re. They took cover behind re trucks.

“There was an interaction with the re ghters,” Norris said. “It has something to do with his vehicle being parked where it was.”

Roley later killed himself, the sheri said.

He had ties to California and Arizona and was living in Idaho “for the better part of 2024,”

go out sometime this summer to around 96,000 voters who “complied with HAVA” but have no driver’s license number or Social Security data in their records. Hayes’ presentation referred to those who showed an alternate HAVA-compliant ID and said those individuals will continue to vote regular ballots.

A third mailing after the rst two are completed would repeat the rst mailing for those voters who did not respond.

County elections boards will be reviewing their active voter databases to identify records with incorrect registration dates and the missing HAVA registration information, including looking for instances when a voter provided the data but the county did not enter it, according to Hayes.

Additionally, the presentation indicated that for future elections, “in-person voters who lack required info on their record must vote provisionally” and that the NCSBE will create a related “ ag” in pollbooks to let poll workers know when a person would have to vote pro -

rized to comment publicly on it.

The trip will be Netanyahu’s third visit to the White House since Trump returned to o ce in January, and it comes after the United States inserted itself into Israel’s war against Iran by attacking Iranian nuclear sites. After brokering a cease re between the two countries, Trump has signaled that he’s turning his attention to bringing a close to the ghting between Israel and Hamas.

Trump last Friday told reporters that “we think within the next week we’re going to get a cease re” in Gaza, but didn’t o er any further explanation for his optimism.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and administration o cials were in constant communication with Israeli leadership and that bringing about an end to the Gaza con ict is a priority for Trump.

“It’s heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president

wants to see it end,” Leavitt added. “He wants to save lives.” Israeli Minister for Strategic A airs Ron Dermer is in Washington this week for talks with senior administration o cials on a Gaza cease re, Iran and other matters.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over a major sticking point — whether the war should end as part of any cease re agreement. About 50 hostages remain captive in Gaza, with less than half believed to be alive.

With Netanyahu’s visit, the timing of which was rst reported by Axios, Trump will embrace the Israeli leader while continuing to push back against skeptical questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far U.S. and Israeli strikes have set back Iran’s nuclear program. A preliminary report issued by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said the strikes signicantly damaged the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not destroy the facilities.

Norris said. “But as far as when he got here, why he was here, why he chose this place — I don’t know.”

Two helicopters converged on the area Sunday, armed with snipers ready to take out the suspect if needed, while the FBI used his cellphone data to track him, and the sheri ordered residents to shelter in place. They eventually found Roley dead in the mountains, his rearm beside him.

Roley lived with T.J. Franks Jr. for about six months in Sandpoint, Idaho, while working for a tree service, Franks said on Monday. Franks had cameras in his apartment that caught Roley throwing gang signs at them one day, which worried Franks to the point that he called police.

“I didn’t know what to really think about it,” Franks said. “I just called the cops and had them talk to him.”

The landlord also called Franks one morning because neighbors reported that Roley’s vehicle had been left running for about 12 hours. Franks said Roley was asleep in his room and said he forgot about the vehicle.

Franks said Roley “started acting a little weird” and at one point shaved his long hair o completely.

“We just kind of noticed him starting to decline or kind of go downhill,” he said.

Outpouring of support for the victims was swift in Coeur d’Alene, a city of 55,000 residents near the border with Washington. Hours after the shooting, people gathered along Interstate 90 holding American ags to pay their respects as the two fallen re ghters’ bodies were taken to the medical examiner’s o ce in Spokane, Washington, about 35 miles from Coeur d’Alene.

Gov. Brad Little ordered U.S. and Idaho state ags to be lowered to half-sta to honor the re ghters until the day after their memorial service.

“All our public safety ocers, especially our re ghters, bravely confront danger on a daily basis, but we have never seen a heinous act of violence like this on our re ghters before,” he said in a statement. “This is not Idaho. This inde-

visionally. Such voters would have to provide the missing data for their ballot to count.

Similar details about the plan were included in a post-meeting press release issued by the NCSBE, including county boards be-

ing required to train poll workers accordingly.

scribable loss is felt deeply by all those in the re ghting community and beyond.”

Though the shelter-in-place order was lifted, the sheri ’s ofce cautioned residents to be prepared because the re was still burning. The Idaho Department of Lands said it had burned about 26 acres.

Way described the re on Monday as “reasonably contained,” saying that respondents had “stopped signi cant forward progress.”

Fire is always a concern for the region, said Bruce Deming, whose property abuts the trail system. When he noticed smoke on the ridge Sunday afternoon, he wondered why no re ghting helicopters were responding. When a friend texted to tell him about the shooting, he realized why he wasn’t seeing aircraft: “Because they’re concerned about being shot at,” he said.

The North Carolina Democratic Party has yet to issue a statement on the plan.

Another item of note on the agenda included approval of appointments to all 100 county boards of elections.

“We appreciate the willingness of these new county board members to serve the citizens of our state,” said Hayes in a press statement. “Together, we will ensure that our elections are accessible, secure, and conducted with integrity.”

Those appointed serve twoyear terms that began June 25 and will end July 19, 2027.

Only ve boards still have vacancies that will be addressed at the next NCSBE board meeting.

Earlier that day, N.C. Auditor Dave Boliek announced his county board of elections chair picks, which have been updated on NCSBE’s website under the June 24 meeting folder. A comparison of the previous county board chairs with Boliek’s picks shows a change in chairs for all 100 counties.

“The State Board of Elections is acting to correct numerous errors which have been identied for years as issues,” NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons said in a statement. “This is an encouraging step towards restoring trust in state elections.”

CHRIS SEWARD / AP PHOTO

An election worker reads names from a list of more than 60,000 people whose votes were challenged by Republican state Supreme Court candidate Je erson Gri n in January. The North Carolina State Board of Elections unveiled a plan to address missing voter information.

MARK SCHIEFELBEIN / AP PHOTO

President Donald Trump, left, stands with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on April 7. Netanyahu will reportedly visit Washington, D.C., next week.

(BILL BULEY / COEUR D’ALENE PRESS VIA AP A procession from Kootenai Health heads to the medical examiner’s o ce in Spokane, Washington, after re ghters were killed Sunday when they were ambushed by sniper re while responding to a blaze near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Bu ett announces

$6B in donations

New York

Famed investor Warren Bu ett is donating $6 billion worth of his company’s stock to ve foundations. That brings the total he has given to them since 2006 to roughly $60 billion, based on their value when received. The largest tranche is going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which will receive 9.4 million shares. The Susan Thompson Bu ett Foundation will receive 943,384 shares, and the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Bu ett Foundation and NoVo Foundation will each receive 660,366 shares.

Smucker to remove arti cial colors from products by 2027

Orville, Ohio

J.M. Smucker Co. plans to remove arti cial colors from its products by the end of 2027. Orrville, Ohio-based Smucker said the majority of its products – including its Uncrustables sandwiches – are already free of synthetic dyes. But some products still have them, including sugar-free jams and ice cream toppings. Smucker said some products from Hostess, which it acquired in 2023, also contain arti cial colors. Smucker joins a growing number of big food companies that have announced plans to eliminate arti cial dyes in recent weeks, including Nestle and General Mills.

Kroger plans to close 60 U.S. stores

Cincinnati Kroger plans to close around 60 U.S. grocery stores over the next 18 months to improve e ciency and pro tability. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company announced the plan last Friday during a corporate earnings call. The company hasn’t said which stores it plans to shutter but said the closures will happen around the country and employees will be o ered jobs at other locations. Kroger said it also plans to open at least 30 stores this year. Kroger said it usually evaluates the performance of individual stores on an annual basis, but it deferred any store closings during its failed twoyear e ort to merge with rival Albertsons.

Bumble to cut about 30% global workforce

Philadelphia Bumble has announced plans to lay o about 240 employees, roughly 30% of its workforce. The dating app disclosed the decision in a securities ling last week, citing a need to realign its operations and focus on strategic priorities. Bumble expects the layo s to save $40 million annually, much of which it says it will reinvest in product and technology development. Bumble did not immediately specify which roles would be a ected or when it would implement the cuts but said it expects to incur related costs later in the year.

The shifting policies are taking a toll on the world’s two largest economies

By Elaine Kurtenbach and Will Weissert The Associated Press

BANGKOK — Washington and Beijing have signed a trade agreement that will make it easier for American rms to obtain magnets and rare earth minerals from China critical to manufacturing and microchip production, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last Friday. The agreement comes after China retaliated against steep import tari s imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese goods and moved to slow the export of rare earth minerals and magnets much needed by U.S. industrial interests.

Bessent said on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping “had a phone call” previously “and then our teams met in London, ironed this out, and I am condent now that we, as agreed, the magnets will ow.”

“Part of the agreement was tari s coming down and rare earth magnets starting to ow back to the U.S.,” Bessent said. “They formed the core of a lot of our industrial base. They were not owing as fast as previously agreed.”

His comments follow President Donald Trump announcing two weeks earlier an agreement with China that he said would ease the exportation of magnets and rare earth minerals.

That pact cleared the way for the trade talks to continue. The U.S. has previously suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies like components used for jet engines and semiconductors. It has also agreed to stop trying to revoke visas of Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses.

Bessent added of critical min-

NCDOT CASH REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING JUNE 27

Beginning Cash

$2,829,876,898

Receipts (income)

$296,802,528

Disbursements

$186,736,525

Cash Balance

$2,939,962,958

eral exports: “What we’re seeing here is a de-escalation.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV that the deal was signed earlier this week.

China’s Commerce Ministry said last Friday that the two sides had “further con rmed the details of the framework,” when responding to a question about if China was to speed up exports of rare earths to the U.S. and if the U.S. was to remove some restrictions on China.

“China will, in accordance with the law, review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items. In turn, the United States will lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China,” the ministry said.

Initial talks in Geneva in early May led both sides to postpone massive tari hikes threatening to freeze much trade between the two countries. Later talks in London set a framework for negotiations, and the deal mentioned by Trump appeared to formalize that agreement, setting the stage for Bessent’s comments last week.

With the permitting process

taking 45 days, the new requirement has caused a pause in shipments, threatening to disrupt production of cars, robots, wind turbines and other high-tech products in the U.S. and around the world. The U.S., meanwhile, took restrictive measures on exports of high tech to China. By the latest agreement, China does not remove the permitting requirement on rare earths but retains the exibility to dial up or down the approval process as needed.

Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, said Beijing has only tightened its overall policy on rare earths but has the discretion on how to implement it.

“That’s the Chinese style,” she said. “If all goes well, permit happens. If things go in a wrong direction, like U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, permits gone with wind.”

China also has taken steps recently on the fentanyl issue, announcing last week that it would designate two more substances as precursor chemicals for fentanyl, making them subject to production, transport and ex-

port regulations. Trump has demanded that Beijing do more to stop the ow of such precursor ingredients to Mexican drug cartels, which use them to make fentanyl for sale in the U.S. He imposed 20% tari s on Chinese imports over the fentanyl issue, the biggest part of the current 30% across-the-board taxes on Chinese goods.

The agreement struck in May in Geneva called for both sides to scale back punitive tari hikes imposed as Trump escalated his trade war and sharply raised import duties. Some higher tari s, such as those imposed by Washington related to the trade in fentanyl and duties on aluminum and steel, remain in place.

The U.S. economy contracted at a 0.5% annual pace from January through March, partly because imports surged as companies and households rushed to buy foreign goods before Trump could impose tari s on them. In China, factory pro ts sank more than 9% from a year earlier in May, with automakers suffering a large share of that drop. They fell by more than 1% yearon-year in January-May.

Beijing deal to speed China’s mineral exports to US, treasury chief says GoFundMe refurbishing little-known nancial tool in bid to supercharge everyday giving

Donor-advised funds o er tax breaks and time to recommend donations

By James Pollard The Associated Press

NEW YORK — GoFundMe

CEO Tim Cadogan had some complications while fundraising on his own website last fall.

Several friends wanted to help Cadogan reach his $28,000 goal as he crowdfunded for a Los Angeles area wilderness rescue team. But they tried to donate through a lesser-known wealth management tool called a donor-advised fund, or DAF, a no-frills investing vehicle for money earmarked as eventual charitable gifts. After cutting checks and waiting three weeks, Cadogan said, the money nally arrived.

“It was just a bit of a thing,” he added. “If they were using a Giving Fund, it would take 10 seconds.”

Giving Funds is GoFundMe’s latest in a urry of product rollouts with the purported goal of moving stagnant U.S. charitable contributions beyond the 2% GDP mark, where totals have long hovered. But the for-pro t company’s DAF, announced Monday, enters a crowded market of more than a thousand providers — products often with older, wealthier clients that are often criticized for warehousing gifts.

To transform how everyday users plan their donations, Cadogan will have to widen the appeal of DAFs beyond the likes of the technolo -

deadline for giving the money to a nonpro t. The idea: Account holders could invest money they wanted to ultimately donate, let the funds grow tax-free while they sit and give themselves time to identify the recipients best aligned with their giving goals.

gy entrepreneurs’ circles. And he wants to change public perceptions of his company as just a crowdfunding site.

“We’re also hopeful that more people will start using GoFundMe for a broader set of things in their lives: not just that one fundraiser they’re supporting, not just that one nonpro t. But they’re coming in and they’re managing their giving portfolio with us and through us,” Cadogan said.

A DAF boom — but for whom?

Donor-advised funds grew popular over the last decade among ultra-high net worth individuals as a tax-e cient instrument for grantmaking without the hassle of a more sophisticated charitable foundation. Donors can immediately write the contribution o on their taxes but face no

There’s since been a rush to court average givers. Legacy nancial services rms such as Fidelity Charitable lowered the minimums to open accounts. Fintech startups such as Da y contrast their at fees with the hidden expenses they allege their competitors charge. All that traction brought IRS proposals last year to impose penalties on those who abuse DAFs and Congress has considered legislation requiring some deadlines for disbursements.

GoFundMe’s Giving Funds will have no minimum balances, zero management fees and donations starting at $5. Users can load their DAF through their bank accounts or direct deposits for free. Credit card payments will be covered through the end of the year and then face the company’s standard transaction fee of 2.2% plus 30 cents. Contributions can then be invested in a choice of exchange traded funds from managers including Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors.

Cadogan pitches Giving Funds as a way to be more intentional about giving, something he said user feedback suggests more people want. As he sees it, widespread adoption hasn’t occurred because DAFs have been framed as “wealth management products.”

“This is a giving product,” Cadogan said. “It’s something for everybody. And you don’t need to know the words ‘donor advised fund.’ It doesn’t show up.”

Moving the needle

DAFs remain scrutinized for allowing donors to reap tax bene ts before they ever redistribute any money to charitable causes, even if the notion that the channel is being exploited is ercely debated in the nonpro t sector. Opaque disclosure requirements make it di cult to put a number on the overall assets held within the funds. The National Philanthropic Trust placed the total at more than $250 billion in 2023.

Cadogan believes GoFundMe’s culture is uniquely suited to nudge users with targeted spotlights of the 1.5 million charities already active on the platform. Giving Funds holders will be peppered with information about local nonpro ts, crisis responders, their friends’ charities of choice and potential beneciaries that address their selected issue areas.

That “dynamic, alive community” is very di erent from the “fairly static, passive”nancial vehicles in the current market, according to Cadogan.

“It’s essentially inspiring the money to move,” he said.

Other features seek to encourage contributions by simplifying things. Users can set annual giving goals by a percentage of their income or a xed number. Their gifts will tally up in real-time records to track their progress and ease year-end tax planning.

AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG

A container vessel passes by tourists on the Yangtze River, in China’s Hubei province.

RICHARD VOGEL / AP PHOTO

GoFundMe Chief Executive

O cer Tim Cadogan poses for a photo in Altadena, California, in 2024.

311 gets ‘down down’ at red hat, connects generations of fans

“The Blue Album” turns 30 July 11

By Dan Reeves North State Journal

RALEIGH — When 311’s self-titled third record, known simply to devotees of the Nebraska out t as “The Blue Album,” dropped, the timing was perfect. In 1995, MTV, FM radio and a blossoming internet wielded the most power and in uence over an entire generation. While “grun-

ge” bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam had gifted suburbanite teens license to be mopey and angry, emerging onto the mainstream, the likes of Sublime and 311 offered a streetwise skater ethos that melded punk rock, rap and occasionally reggae. A new generation of fans were taken by 311’s breakout hits “All Mixed Up” and “Down,” both of which dominated MTV. Thirty years later, Nick Hexum (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Aaron “P-Nut” Wills (bass), Chad Sexton (drums), Tim

Mahoney (lead guitar), and Doug “SA” Martinez (lead vocals, turntables) have kept millions of devoted fans, often referred to as “311 Nation,” while attracting younger audiences.

311’s return to Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater last Wednesday proved to the letter that the quintet hasn’t slowed down or missed a beat. Sweltering heat and torrential downpouring early in the day forecasted either a cancellation or a miserable night; still, a diverse crowd spanning Gen X, millennials and

Gen Z showed up in droves. Fortunately for all in attendance, the clouds parted, the sun came out, and with the cooled weather, 311 hit the stage and gave the people what they’ve come to expect year after year: a high-octane, visually stunning performance.

While the set was packed with fan favorites, including “Beautiful Disaster,” “Come Original,” “All Mixed Up” and “Amber,” tracks from 311’s latest record “Full Bloom” — whose title track has surged into the top 20 on the alternative charts —

a three-week run for the movie.

also stood out. Fusing alt-rock, reggae, rap-rock and funk, 311’s alluring sound and style are all their own. The enthusiasm between the band members and fans was contagious. Picture a jumping Hexum thrashing his hair while playing guitar and sharing vocal duties with Martinez. The raw enthusiasm in their performance translated into their music, giving every song an irrefutable stamp of energy.

The Omaha, Nebraska, band — which began making music together in 1988 — turned its stop in Raleigh into a celebration of 311’s enduring legacy and its ability to unite fans across generations through the power of music. For those who showed up, it was a night that proved 311’s staying power — and why they still matter after all these years.

“Karate Kid: Legends” earned $1 million

By Jake Coyle

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Apple has its rst box-o ce hit.

“F1 The Movie” debuted with $55.6 million in North American theaters and $144 million globally over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing the tech company easily its biggest opening yet.

Though Apple Original Films has had some notable successes in its six years in Hollywood — including the 2021 Oscar-winner “CODA” — its theatrical results have been decidedly mixed. Mis res like “Argylle” and “Fly Me to the Moon” and big-budget awards plays like Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” have been better at driving viewers to Apple TV+ than movie theaters.

But “F1” was Apple’s rst foray into summer blockbuster territory. It won a bidding war for the project from much of the production team behind the 2022 box-o ce smash “Top Gun: Maverick.” Apple then partnered with Warner Bros. to distribute the lm starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris and

Kerry Condon. With a production budget over $200 million, “F1” still has several laps to go to turn a profit. But for now, “F1” is full speed ahead.

“The lm’s outstanding debut re ects both the excitement of Formula 1 and the deeply emotional and entertaining story crafted by the entire cast and creative team,” said Zack Van Amburg, who heads worldwide video for Apple with Jamie Erlicht. “Their dedication and innovation have fueled an unforgettable cinematic experience.”

Car racing movies have often struggled in theaters; crash-and-burn cases include

Ron Howard’s “Rush” (2013) and Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” (2023). But “F1” built o the Formula 1 fandom stirred up by the popular series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive.” And it leaned on “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer to deliver another adult-oriented action thrill ride.

As in “Top Gun: Maverick,” the lmmakers sought an adrenaline rush by placing IMAX cameras inside the cockpit in “F1.” IMAX and large-format screens accounted for 55% of its ticket sales. IMAX, whose screens are much sought-after in the summer, has carved out

Warner Bros. expected “F1” to perform well overseas, where the sport is more popular than it is in the U.S. Je rey Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros., said Pitt was the movie’s “secret sauce.” The $144 million global launch is the actor’s biggest opening weekend.

“We came up with multiple campaigns based on where you are in the world,” said Goldstein. “We planned for an audience-winner: screen the movie and get it out there. People talking about this movie drove this movie.”

Reviews have been very good for “F1,” and audience reaction (an “A” via CinemaScore) was even better. That suggests “F1” could hold up well in the coming weeks despite some formidable coming competition in Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic World Rebirth.”

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data rm Comscore, praised Warner Bros. for making “F1” a theatrical event. The studio was also behind the year’s other big original release, “Sinners.”

“For Apple, this demonstrates to them the prestige factor of having a big theatrical release,” said Dergarabedian. “It elevates their brand.”

Universal’s “M3gan 2.0” had been expected to pose a greater challenge to “F1.” Instead, the robot doll sequel didn’t come close to matching the 2022 original’s box-o ce launch.

“M3gan 2.0” collected $10.2 million in 3,112 theaters. Memes and viral videos helped propel the rst “M3gan” to a

$30.4 million opening and a total haul of $180 million, all on a $12 million budget.

Still, the Blumhouse Productions horror thriller could wind up pro table. The lm, written and directed by Gerald Johnstone, cost a modest $25 million to make.

M3gan 2.0” ended up in fourth place. The box-o ce leader of the last two weekends, “How to Train Your Dragon,” slid to second with $19.4 million. The DreamWorks Animation live-action hit from Universal Pictures has surpassed $200 million domestically in three weeks.

After a debut that marked a new low for Pixar, the studio’s “Elio” gathered up $10.7 million in sales in its second weekend.

Top 10 movies by domestic box o ce

This list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “F1 The Movie,” $55 million

2. “How to Train Your Dragon,” $19.4 million

Damson Idris, left, stars as Joshua Pearce with Brad Pitt, right, as Sonny Hayes in “F1 The Movie.”

PJ WARD BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

From left, Doug “SA” Martinez, Nick Hexum and Aaron “P-Nut” Wills of 311 perform “Beautiful Disaster” at Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh last Wednesday.

TAKE NOTICE

Assessor’s Parcel No: 56000515020000

LAST WEEK

the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Concord, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on July 14, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Concord in the County of Cabarrus, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: The following described property: Lying and being in the City of Concord, No. 2 Township, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and being Lot No. 47 of Kings Crossing, Phase I, Sheet 1 of 3, a map of said property being on le in the O ce of the Register of Deeds for Cabarrus County, North Carolina, in Map Book 26, Page 32, speci c reference thereto being hereby made for a more complete description thereof by metes and bounds. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 5913 Moray Court Northwest, Concord, North Carolina.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

25SP000122-250

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Nathan Andrew Chinquee and Barbara Kristine Chinquee (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Nathan Andrew Chinquee and Barbara Kristine Chinquee) to Philip R. Mahoney, Trustee(s), dated January 31, 2022, and recorded in Book No. 11380, at Page 0624 in Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Cumberland County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23.

of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on July 7, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Fayetteville in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being all ofLot718 in a Subdivision known as Revision of Section Nine, Arran Lakes West, according to a plate of the same duly recorded in Book of Plats 56, Page 8, Cumberland County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 1959 Windlock Drive, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. 45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. 7A-308(a)(1).

of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on July 7, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Fayetteville in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Land being located in Cross Creek Township, Cumberland County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described Being all of Unit 103, Bldg. 1922 in a subdivision known as WOODLAND VILLAGE

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws.

A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in

The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. 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 ling of a bankruptcy petition prior to the con rmation 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 its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser

VILLAS CONDOMINIUMS and the same being duly recorded in Condo Book 7, Page 140, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina with the ownership interest, privileges, appurtenances, conditions and restrictions contained and described in the Declaration of WOODLAND VILLAGE VILLAS CONDOMINIUMS. Including the Unit located thereon; said Unit being located at 1922 Harcourt Circle 103, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Being the same property as conveyed from Elmwood Partners, LLC, to Michael Carson, Unmarried as set forth in Deed Book 08487 Page 0355 dated 09/24/2010, recorded 09/28/2010, CUMBERLAND County, NORTH CAROLINA. Parcel ID: 9496-37-7214.015 Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. 45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. 7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is

NBA Draft coverage, B3

Tears of joy

the Thursday SIDELINE REPORT

MSL

Zinckernagel kick-starts rst-half onslaught; Chicago goes on to defeat Charlotte 3-2

Chicago Philip Zinckernagel scored to open a three-goal surge in the rst half and the Chicago Fire held on to defeat Charlotte 3-2. Chicago scored three times in an 11-minute span.

After trailing 3-0 at halftime, Charlotte rallied with goals by Pep Biel and Idan Toklomati but did not manage a shot on goal after the 60th minute.

NCAA ATHLETICS

NCAA considering proposal to allow college athletes, sta to bet on pro sports

Indianapolis

The NCAA is considering a proposal to allow athletes and sta to bet on professional sports while maintaining strict bans on college sports betting. The Division I Council introduced the idea, which requires approval from Divisions II and III. The NCAA says this shift aims to focus enforcement on college sports integrity. Current rules ban betting on NCAA sports, with severe penalties.

NASCAR

Puchyr agrees to buy Ware Racing, plans to build 3-car Cup team

Charlotte

T.J. Puchyr, a founder of Spire Motorsports, entered an agreement to purchase the NASCAR Cup Series team owned by Rick Ware and is jumping back into the stock car series because he believes the current charters are grossly undervalued. Puchyr and Rick Ware Racing have a deal for him to take over Ware’s organization next season. He expects it to be a three-car team by 2027.

Hurricanes take 4 Russians among 7 NHL Draft picks

Penn State’s Charlie Cerrato (15) handles the puck as Boston University’s Quinn Hutson defends during April’s Frozen Four in St. Louis. The Hurricanes selected the 20-year-old center in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft on Saturday.

Carolina also selected a Penn State center and two Swedes

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

MORRISVILLE — The Hurricanes culminated the 2025 NHL Draft with a Day 2 that looked similar to what they did last year. More than half of Carolina’s picks were Russian, and the team’s lone Canadian juniors player taken was one who tumbled in the draft despite putting up impressive numbers last season.

After moving out of the rst round Friday night, acquiring two second round picks, Carolina opened the second day of the draft doing more of the same Saturday with the 34th overall pick it acquired the night before.

Hurricanes trade with Rangers for Miller, extend Stankoven

Carolina gave big deals to both players on the opening day of free agency

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

RALEIGH — With the freeagent market thin and winger Nikolaj Ehlers weighing his options, the Hurricanes looked to the trade market and took care of some in-house business on the rst day of NHL free agency. While Carolina is still pursuing Ehlers, GM Eric Tulsky got one of his own wingers signed to a long-term extension and also landed a top-four defenseman via trade.

Miller time

The Hurricanes took advantage of a cap-strapped division rival to add to their defense.

After the Rangers signed former Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract, several outlets reported Carolina orchestrated a sign-and-

trade deal with New York for 25-year-old blue liner K’Andre Miller. The Hurricanes reportedly sent two 2026 draft picks — a conditional rst round pick

The Hurricanes traded that pick to Montreal for the 41st and 49th selections.

At No. 41, Carolina added a goalie to their pipeline, selecting 6-foot-3, 203-pound Russian Semyon Frolov, ranked No. 74 in NSJ’s composite top 100 rankings. He was the listed No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting’s list of international goalies in this year’s draft and played in Russia’s MHL junior league the last two seasons, including going a combined 16-73 with three teams last year.

Hurricanes Associate GM Darren Yorke said Frolov was the team’s top-rated goalie in this year’s draft.

“Being able to read the play going cross crease is something our goalie coaches really liked,” Yorke said of Frolov.

Eight picks later, the Hurricanes took one of the older players drafted this year, selecting Penn State center Charlie Cerrato. Cerrato, who turned 20 in March, was not picked in either of the last two drafts but made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team

See DRAFT PICKS, page B3

and a second round pick — and defensive prospect Scott Morrow to New York for Miller after he agreed to an eight-year, $60 million extension with an annual cap hit of $7.5 million. The rst round pick will be top-10 protected and be the higher of the Carolina and Dallas picks the Hurricanes have in next year’s draft, according to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Miller was the 22nd overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Rangers and played 368 regular season games over the past ve seasons in New York. He had seven goals and 27 points in 74 games last season.

The question for coach Rod Brind’Amour and his sta will be where to play Miller. Carolina already has Jaccob Slavin, Shayne Gostisbehere and Alexander Nikishin penciled in on the left side of its defense, so where Miller will t and how the team’s pairings will shake out — particularly who will play with Slavin — still needs to be determined. It’s also possible the Hurricanes aren’t done tweaking their roster and could further

ALEX GALLARDO / AP PHOTO

The Hurricanes traded two draft picks and a prospect to the Rangers in exchange for 25-year-old defenseman K’Andre Miller.

Duke center Khaman Maluach is overcome with emotion as he greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 10th by the Houston Rockets in the NBA draft. We cover draft night for the Duke players, UNC’s Drake Powell and the Hornets on B3.

JEFF ROBERSON / AP PHOTO

ADAM HUNGER / AP PHOTO

Duke notches three top-10 picks in 2025 NBA Draft

The Blue Devils’ entire starting ve was drafted, as does UNC’s Drake Powell

By Asheebo Rojas North State Journal

FROM THE obvious No. 1 pick to a tear-jerking moment, Tobacco Road held much of the spotlight at the 2025 NBA Draft from June 25-26.

With some present at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and some watching from other places, six players from North Carolina colleges were taken o the board.

As the consensus rst overall pick for months, Duke forward Cooper Flagg started the draft with his selection by the Dallas Mavericks.

Flagg became the Blue Devils’ sixth rst overall pick in history and the fourth since 2010, joining the likes of Kyrie Irving, Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero in that span.

“It feels surreal,” Flagg said in a press conference following his selection. “I’m just playing the moments back in my head, standing up, hearing my name. It went so fast. It feels like a blur, but I just feel really blessed and honored just to be here.”

Flagg’s reputation as the No. 1 pick way before it became reality was well deserved. In his sole college season, he averaged

Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber, second from right, and Flagg’s Duke teammate Kon Knueppel before the start of the rst round of the NBA Draft.

19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, showcasing himself as an all-around offensive playmaker and an elite defender. He led Duke to the Final Four and earned National Player of the Year and National Freshman of the Year honors.

And just like his draft stock — and the hopes going into freshman year — expectations coming into the NBA will be high. Playing with the likes of a healthy Irving, who helped Dallas reach the Finals in 2024,

and an All-NBA player and champion in Davis, the Mavericks will be expected to contend for a title soon.

Flagg’s college teammate Kon Knueppel wasn’t too far behind him in the draft order as the former Duke guard landed to the Charlotte Hornets with the fourth pick. Knueppel is considered one of, if not the best, shooters in the draft class after shooting slightly over 40% from three last season. Paired next to a playmaker in LaMe-

lo Ball and a scorer in Brandon Miller, Knueppel could make guarding Charlotte’s backcourt even harder with his ability to stretch the oor.

“I feel really con dent about my ability to play with any group of guys on the oor and be an e ective player,” Knueppel said after being selected. “With talented guys like LaMelo, who has the ball in his hands a lot, and talented guys like Brandon Miller, being able to play o -ball with them and be e ective, especially as a movement shooter spacing the oor, I think it will be a good t.”

Former Duke center Khaman Maluach became the third Blue Devil drafted in the top 10 as he was drafted 10th overall by the Rockets and traded to the Phoenix Suns. Maluach shook hands and took a picture with Adam Silver with tears rolling down his face.

The 7-foot-2 South Sudanese rim protector was raised primarily in Uganda after arriving there as a refugee during a civil war. His journey through NBA Academy Africa, the Basketball Africa League and Duke, where he averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and recorded 51 blocks last year, ended in the realization of a “delusional” dream.

“No matter what the odds are against you, it shows that you can win,” Maluach said.

Cedric Coward, who committed to Duke in the transfer portal following the season, then opted to stay in the draft following an impressive performance at the combine, was taken with the next pick, 11th overall, by Portland. He was then traded to Memphis.

Drake Powell, North Carolina’s one-and-done forward, was

the only Tar Heel selected in the draft. He went 22nd overall to the Atlanta Hawks who then traded the pick to the Brooklyn Nets. Powell, the Pittsboro native who averaged 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds to go along with his elite defensive abilities, was one of the Nets’ ve draftees in the rst round.

“Brooklyn’s the best t for me with them being a young team trying to make a rebuild,” Powell said. “I just feel like it’s the right t, and I think we’ll do damage.”

Duke had two more former players selected in the second round with guard Sion James going 33rd overall to the Hornets and guard Tyrese Proctor going 49th overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Some local undrafted free agents have been signed after the draft.

Former UNC guard and ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. Caleb Love, another former Tar Heel, signed a two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers. Andrew Carr, a Kentucky Wildcat by way of Wake Forest, signed with Portland, as well. Hunter Sallis, the former Wake Forest guard agreed to a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, joining Igor Milicic Jr., who spent two years with Charlotte before transferring to Tennessee. RJ Felton, a former East Carolina guard, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the NBA runner up Indiana Pacers.

Former App State forward CJ Huntley signed a two-way contract with the Suns. Holly Springs alum Kadin Shedrick signed with the Cavaliers for the NBA 2K26 Summer League.

Intangibles highlight Charlotte Hornets’ draft class

Duke’s Kon Knueppel and Sion James join UConn’s Liam McNeeley and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

T HE CHARLOTTE Hornets won 19 games last season, which will not be enough for the team’s 2025 draft class.

“More than anything, I would say these guys are winners,” said Hornets president of basketball operations Je Peterson. “That was a huge part of the equation in wanting to draft them. Winning is the priority for them. They hate losing more than they love to win, which is what we want to be about.”

All four draft picks came from college programs that produced more wins than the Hornets last season, in less than half as many games.

The Hornets used their rst pick in each of the draft’s two rounds to take members of the Duke Blue Devils, who won 35 games last year and went to the Final Four. Freshman shooting guard Kon Knueppel was taken fourth overall in the rst round, while wing Sion James with the third pick of the second round, 33rd overall.

Both Blue Devils arrived in Charlotte preaching the importance of winning.

DRAFT PICKS from page B1

last year with the Nittany Lions. He had 15 goals and 42 points in 38 games after playing the previous year with USHL Youngstown and for the U.S National Team Development Program for the two years before that. He was not in the NSJ Top 100.

Yorke said Cerrato “plays exactly like how we want to play.”

“We didn’t want to wait too long to get him,” Yorke said of picking Cerrato 49th when few draft rankings had him in the top 100. “(He) probably could have been drafted last year after a strong season in Youngstown, and then (he) goes into Penn State and had an unbelievable year being one of the highest point 19-year-olds in the NCAA.”

Russian center Ivan Ryabkin (NSJ No. 42) was the top play-

“Kon’s a competitor,” said James. “He wants the ball, especially when moments are the biggest. He’ll make us all better players.”

“Sion is a great teammate,” Knueppel said. “He does everything a team needs to win. He’s smart with the ball, makes good decisions.”

Both players will look to bring that winning attitude to a team that currently has the NBA’s longest playo drought.

“They want to change the culture here,” Knueppel said. “They made that clear in interviews and at the combine.”

After the rst three picks of the draft went according to chalk — Duke’s Cooper Flagg

er left on the board when Carolina chose him with their third pick of the round at No. 62. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound forward — who was ranked as high as 22nd, by The Hockey News — played for USHL Muskegon for much of last season, scoring 19 goals with 30 points in 27 games. There are some work ethic and discipline concerns surrounding Ryabkin, who many believe has rst round talent.

Ryabkin is “an unbelievable goal scorer with bite to his game,” according to Yorke.

“He was somebody that we didn’t expect to just sort of slip to where he did,” Yorke added, “but we’re pretty happy that we were able to get him there in the second round.”

Carolina then moved to the top of Round 3, trading away its fourth round pick and the 2026 Dallas third-rounder landed in

to Dallas, Rutgers’ Dylan Harper to San Antonio and Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe to Philadelphia — Charlotte had its choice of Knueppel, Rutgers post player Ace Bailey and a group that included Texas shooter Tre Johnson, Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears and fellow Duke big Khaman Maluach.

The Hornets went with Knueppel, rated as the top catch and shoot player in the draft by ESPN analyst Jay Bilas. He also established his ability to score on the move and contribute o the ball in his season with the Blue Devils.

The Hornets then traded back into the tail end of the rst round, sending yet another for-

the Mikko Rantanen trade, to draft big Russian defenseman Kurban Limatov at No. 67. The stay-at-home defender is listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, and many draft experts thought he could have gone much higher had he not been Russian. He was ranked 60th by NSJ.

“Rarely do you see Russian defensemen that like to be aggressive getting up in the play and sealing and ushing down in the neutral zone,” Yorke said. “So this was someone that, after trading back and trying to look at where we may be able to select guys, we felt like we had to get back into the draft and step up and get him.”

Twenty picks later, the Hurricanes dipped into the Russian defensemen well again, selecting 6-foot-5 Roman Bausov (not ranked by NSJ) at No. 87. The right-handed blueliner is rangy

mer Blue Devil — Mark Williams — to Phoenix to get the 29th overall pick. Williams was a solid center for the Hornets, but the team attempted to trade him at the deadline last season, only to have the trade rescinded for medical reasons. So the decision to send him on his way was expected by many observers.

The Hornets took forward Liam McNeeley, a high school teammate of Flagg’s who played at 24-win UConn in his lone college season.

McNeeley was slotted to go earlier in many mock drafts and was one of the last players remaining in the NBA Draft’s green room as the rst round wound down.

“There’s no reason to be disappointed,” he said. “I just got drafted into the NBA.”

Like the rest of the Hornets’ class, McNeeley can play and defend at multiple positions.

“I’m a very versatile player,” he said. “I can be plugged into any system.”

James went early in the second round, with the rst of Charlotte’s back-to-back picks. He was a defensive presence at Duke as well as a playmaker who ran the o ense much of the time.

With the fourth pick in the round, 34th overall, Charlotte took Creighton big Ryan Kalkbrenner, the four-time Big East player of the year. Kalkbrenner led the Bluejays to 25 wins last season.

but will need to add strength as he matures.

“You look at where the game’s going in trying to take away time and space, and he’s able to do it with both his feet and his reach,” Yorke said.

The Hurricanes didn’t pick in the fourth or fth round and then used their nal two picks on a pair of Swedes. At 183rd overall in the sixth round, Carolina selected forward Viggo Nordlund. The undersized winger is a high-level o ensive player who scored 24 goals in 40 games for his junior team before being promoted and playing 15 games with top-level Skelleftea.

“This was someone that maybe slipped in the draft because of his size, and so we were pretty happy to get another o ensive player late in the draft,” Yorke said of Nordlund (not rated by NSJ).

“We just got so much better in so many di erent ways,” said head coach Charles Lee. “The biggest thing they’re going to add immediately is competitiveness, hard work and the understanding that nothing will be given to them on day one. What they love about the game is the work that goes into the game, not just tipping it up in front of crowd.”

It was clearly an approach to the draft that focused on intangibles as much as on-court success.

“All four of these guys, their most powerful tool is their mind,” said Peterson.

The class is also ready to t into the players that are already in Charlotte, including guard LaMelo Ball and forward Brandon Miller. The Hornets also added Utah guard Collin Sexton in a post-draft deal.

Several players, including Ball and Miller, sat in on the pre-draft workouts, showing a buy-in that wasn’t shared by other teams around the league.

“I had players watching my workouts,” said Knueppel. “There wasn’t that level of interest in other places.”

“They care,” Peterson said of the returning Hornets. “They’re invested.”

“We’re going to walk into a locker room full of talent,” said James. “We all want to build a high-character team, a winning team that sustainable for the future.”

The Hurricanes then closed out their draft by taking right wing Filip Ekberg, who tumbled from being an expected second or third round pick — he was No. 71 in the NSJ composite rankings — to one of the nal spots of the weekend. Ekberg, who plays for the OHL’s Ottawa 67s, dominated the U18 World Championships with 10 goals and 18 points in seven games.

“He’s got a dangerous shot but, at the same time, can also make you miss with his skills,” Yorke said.

In all, the Hurricanes drafted a goalie, two defensemen and four forwards. All seven are expected to attend Carolina’s development camp starting Monday at the team’s practice facility in Morrisville.

“I don’t think it could have gone any better than what it did,” Yorke said.

ADAM HUNGER / AP PHOTO

Cooper Flagg, center, poses for the camera along with Cedric Coward, far left, who planned to play this season at Duke,

ADAM HUNGER / AP PHOTO

Kon Knueppel poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected fourth by the Charlotte Hornets In the NBA draft.

Analysis: How bad have the Hornets drafted?

Looking inside Charlotte’s decade of NBA Draft futility

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

THE CHARLOTTE HORNETS selected three players in last week’s NBA Draft. Ideally, Kon Knueppel, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner will t in with the promising young talent already on the Charlotte roster and help form the foundation of a future contender.

If recent history is any guide, don’t hold your breath.

Nothing against the three players tapped by the Hornets in the draft, but Charlotte has a long and storied history of taking the wrong guy. It’s not even anything against the current Hornets’ braintrust, because the history goes back several generations of front o ce decisionmakers.

Charlotte fans have long speculated on the reasons for the team’s draft futility. One school of thought is that the Hornets have just had bad luck in the lottery. The team was one pick away from being able to pick Dwight Howard in 2004, Anthony Davis in 2012 and Victor Wembanyama last year. Going back even farther, they missed Shaq by one pick in 1992.

A look at the last 10 drafts, from 2015 to 2024, shows that there may be something to the bad luck hypothesis. Looking at the players the Hornets drafted who remained with the team, or the players the Hornets added in a draftday trade, it appears that there were several near misses.

Player Games Points Win Shares

Hornets pick 3,553 37,823 71.5

Chosen one pick earlier than 3,727 37,857 140.9 the Hornets

Looking at win shares, a statistical measure of a player’s overall value similar to baseball’s WAR, the Hornets settled for players half as good as the guy taken right before they were on the clock.

That seems like bad luck, until you look at the main drivers of that di erence and see that the luck was very much the Hornets’ making. Charlotte walked away from the 2021 draft with Miles Bridges, who has averaged 15.7 points and accumulated a respectable 21.3 win shares. However, Bridges was drafted by Oklahoma City and acquired by Charlotte in a trade of picks. Charlotte gave up the player picked right before Bridges — reigning NBA

MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has scored 5,000 more points than Bridges and nearly tripled the number of win shares (60.4).

The trade is the modern equivalent of the deal that the “bad luck in the lottery” proclaimers choose to conveniently ignore — when the Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant and shipped him to the Lakers. No, as the ill-advised draft trades indicate, the Hornets draft woes are largely self-in icted. Consider the fact that the teams picking right after the Hornets don’t seem to have the same dropo in quality as Charlotte sees from waiting one additional pick.

While the pick right before Charlotte is twice as good over his NBA career, the pick right after is very close to identical to the player Charlotte picked. The 5.2 advantage Charlotte has in win shares is spread over a total of 22 draft picks, meaning that each player Charlotte picks produces about one twelfth of a team win more than the player chosen next, on average, over his entire career.

In fact, Charlotte doesn’t do any better than the team picking ve spots later.

trades, where another team literally tells the Hornets who it wants them to pick. And, yes, those teams actually do better at drafting.

The ve-picks-later club includes Dillon Brooks (14.7 win shares) instead of Dwayne Bacon (0.8), Donte Divincenzo (23.9) instead of Bridges (60.4), Alpren Sengun (22.5) instead of James Boutknight (-0.3) and Obi Toppin (16.6) instead of LaMelo Ball (13.6).

Presented with this evidence, a reasonable response from the team might be, “Oh yeah? Well let’s see you do better.”

We can actually see that, if we look at the draft day

Marquee matchups highlight local ACC nonconference schedules

Three of North Carolina’s ACC schools have strengthened their basketball schedules

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

A FEW OF the men’s basketball nonconference schedules around the ACC have started to drop, so we took a look at some of the top games to keep an eye on this upcoming season.

Duke 2024-25 Nonconf. Record: 9-2

The Blue Devils will kick o their season taking on the Texas Longhorns (Nov. 4) in Charlotte as part of the inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational, a new event intended to honor and recognize the legendary hall-of-fame broadcaster.

“Dick is the heart of college basketball, and his kindness, generosity and courage are a constant inspiration to us all,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a press release.

“Through the creation of the Dick Vitale Invitational, we will celebrate him and his profound impact on the sport.”

Duke will then be taking part

MILLER from page B1 alter their defense to get back to a preferred split of right- and left-handed defensemen.

Signing Stankoven

Forward Logan Stankoven became eligible for an extension Tuesday, and the Hurricanes wasted no time signing the 22-year-old to an eight-year contract worth $48 million.

Stankoven, whose new deal will kick in at the start of the 2026-27 season and cost $6 million against the salary cap, was acquired at the trade deadline in the deal that shipped Mikko Rantanen to Dallas. He totaled 14 goals and 38

in two big city classics, facing the Kansas Jayhawks (Nov. 18) at Madison Square Garden as part of the State Farm Champions Classic and the Arkansas Razorbacks (Nov. 27) at United Center for the CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic

The ACC-SEC Challenge also returns for its third iteration as the Blue Devils are slated to go up against the Florida Gators (Dec. 2) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Last year, the ACC did not fare too well in the conference head-to-head, winning just two of the 16 games, but Duke was one of the few teams to secure a win, defeating at the time No. 2 Auburn, 84-78.

The Blue Devils will also be taking on both of Michigan’s top schools, facing the Michigan State Spartans (Dec. 6) in East Lansing and then taking on the Michigan Wolverines (Feb. 21) in D.C. for the Duel in the District.

UNC 2024-25 Nonconf. Record: 7-5

The UNC Tar Heels will start their 2025-26 season with their 14th all-time meeting with Kansas (Nov. 7), but for the rst time at the Smith Center.

UNC hasn’t won a game

against the Jayhawks since 2002, having lost each of their last ve meetings, including a 92-89 loss last season.

The Tar Heels will be taking part in the Ft. Meyers Tip-O in late November, which will pit UNC against both St. Bonaventure (Nov. 25) and Michigan State (Nov. 27).

UNC will also be looking to avenge its ACC-SEC Challenge loss last season – a 92-79 defeat at the hands of then No. 10 Alabama – this time with a matchup against fellow blueblood Kentucky (Dec. 2) on the road.

The Tar Heels will also once again be taking part in the CBS Sports Classic, with a matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes (Dec. 20) in Atlanta.

Both UNC and Ohio State secured wins last season in the event when it was hosted at MSG.

Finally, the Tar Heels will host a trio of nonconference intrastate games, taking on Winston-Salem State (Oct. 29), NC Central (Nov. 14) and ECU (Dec. 22).

Wake Forest 2024-25 Nonconf. Record: 8-3

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons will look to start the year hot as they travel to Lit-

points in a combined 78 games with the Hurricanes and Stars, and he then had ve goals and eight points in 15 playo games with Carolina. The signing locks up another piece of the Hurricanes’ forward

Hurricanes forward Logan Stankoven signed an eight-year, $48 million contract that will kick in starting with the 2026-27 season.

core: Stankoven joins Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, William Carrier and Eric Robinson among players signed through at least the 2028-29 season. That doesn’t mean Carolina

Finally, let’s look at how the Hornets draft compared to two teams generally considered to be well-run — the San Antonio Spurs and the current NBA champions, Oklahoma City.

We compared the Hornets’ draft acquisitions (kept picks and draft day trades) over the last 10 years to the next player in that draft that San Antonio and OKC drafted. Obviously, the Spurs and Thunder are at a disadvantage. San Antonio’s next pick came an average of 9 picks after Charlotte’s, and OKC’s came 12 and a half picks later, on average. There were also several drafts where San Antonio and/or Oklahoma City didn’t draft anyone after Charlotte’s pick, so their respective pools of players are smaller.

Both teams picked later, came away with fewer players but ended up with more NBA production. In other words, the talent has been there when Charlotte picked in the last 10 drafts. It’s just that someone else found it.

tle Caesars Arena to take on the Michigan Wolverines (Nov. 11) for the Wolverine-Deacon Challenge.

In last year’s matchup, Wake Forest rallied to take a 72-70 win over the eventual Big Ten champions.

The Deacons will also take part in the Baha Mar Championships, the annual tournament down in The Bahamas.

They’ll rst face the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Nov. 20) and then one of either the Purdue Boilermakers or Memphis Tigers (Nov. 21).

The Deacons will then look to better represent their conference in the ACC-SEC Challenge this year as they host the Oklahoma Sooners (Dec. 2).

is done adding up front. Ehlers, the Jets forward who is the biggest name on the open market, is surely being pursued by the Hurricanes. But reports are that the 29-year-old Dane is taking his time deciding where to sign his next deal after spending a decade in Winnipeg.

Adding depth

Wake Forest fell 57-44 to Texas A&M in the challenge last season.

Finally, the Demon Deacons will also host another SEC opponent in the Vanderbilt Commodores (Dec. 21) as the rst part of a home-and-home series.

NC State

2024-25 Nonconf. Record: 7-5

At the time of publishing, NC State hadn’t released their 2025-26 nonconference schedule yet, but we do know that they’ll be travelling to take on the Auburn Tigers (Dec. 3) as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge. The Wolfpack is 0-2 in the challenge, having lost 63-59 to Texas last season at home.

The Hurricanes also signed Russian goalie Amir Miftakhov. The 25-year-old was drafted in the sixth round of the 2020 draft by Tampa Bay and played one season in North America but has spent the last three seasons in the KHL.

Carolina also added veteran depth defenseman Mike Reilly. The 31-year-old has played for six NHL teams over 10 seasons, including playing 76 games over the past two seasons with the Islanders.

Carolina reworked its goaltending depth during the week. On Monday, the Hurricanes traded a 2026 seventh-round pick to Montreal for Cayden Primeau. Primeau, the son of former Hurricanes forward Keith Primeau, was a 2017 seventh-round pick by the Canadiens and bounced between the NHL and AHL during his six professional seasons. With AHL Laval last season, he was 21-2-2 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. He is a restricted free agent in need of a new contract.

BEN MCKEOWN / AP PHOTO

ESPN college basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale poses in front of the Cameron Crazies before a game at Duke. The Blue Devils will be playing in an event named after Vitale this fall.

KARL DEBLAKER / AP PHOTO

TRENDING

Montrezl Harrell:

The Tarboro native — who played at North Edgecombe Louisville and spent eight years in the NBA, including one with the Hornets — was accused by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency of failing Chinese Basketball Association in-competition tests in April Harrell and fellow American Troy Akeem Gillenwater reportedly tested positive for Carboxy-THC The CBA will impose penalties on the players once the anti-doping agency decision

Michael Jordan:

A 1986-87 Fleer rookie card autographed by the NBA legend sold for $2.5 million It was one of nine cards signed in a blue sharpie at his private golf course in Florida last year The $2.5 million is the most paid for a Jordan rookie card — signed or unsigned and the third-highest price in a public sale for any Jordan card

Chase Burns:

The second pick in last year ’ s MLB Draft made his major league debut with the Reds Burns who spent the 2024 season with Wake Forest was 7-3 with a 1 77 ERA in the minor leagues He pitched the Yankees striking out eight Longtime Durham Bull pitcher Joe Rock also made his MLB debut last week after getting promoted to the Rays

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES NASCAR

“Probably this is not the r ight place to do this competition.”

Chelsea manager

Enzo Maresca after his team s Club World Cup game in Charlotte had a t wo-hour lightning delay

“I’m glad the fans got to see me get punched in the face

a lit tle bit ”

YouTuber-turned-boxer

Jake Paul after winning a decision over Julio César Chávez Jr

since Apr il 2024 The race ’ s second cra sh early in Stage 2 took out many of the spor t’s biggest names and lef t others w ith damaged cars Keselowsk i wa s second, followed by A lex Bow man

Striker Patrick Ag yemang is repor tedly close to leav ing Charlotte FC for English club Derby Count y The third-year member of Charlotte’s team is currently play ing for the U S national team in the G old Cup Charlotte is repor tedly negotiating a $7 million transfer fee to send Ag yemang across the Atlantic

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal R aleigh, who leads MLB in homers, w ill par ticipate in the Home Run Derby on July 14 in Atlanta It’s the 28-year-old Cullowhee native and Smoky Mountain High graduate No catcher has ever won the Derby

Average age, in years, of the 2 16 million people that watched

Ser ies race broadca st on Pr ime Video

That’s nearly seven years younger than the average age of the net work T V audience so far this sea son (62 8) The audience wa s 17% smaller than la st year ’ s ratings on Fox.

Dave Parker, a hardwho w ill be inducted into the Ba seball Hall of Fame nex t month, died at 74 Nick named “the Cobra ,” Parker played 19 major leag ue sea sons, w inning NL M V P, t wo batting titles and t wo World Ser ies Parker batted 358 w ith 11 homers and 18 steals in 197 1, his second pro sea son, w ith the Cla ss A Monroe Pirates

RUSSELL

for the Estate of Sharon Kay Cipriano 8711 Coats Road Linden NC, 28356

Notice to Creditors

Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Barbara Ann Joyner, deceased, Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of September, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This is the 6th day of June, 2025. Lashaunda Jackson, Administrator of the Estate 265 Fieldspar Lane, Clayton NC 27520 Publication Dates: 6/12, 6/19, 6/26, 7/3.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE NO. 25E000917-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Johnnie Frank Dennis, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before September 12, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 12th day of June, 2025. Eula Barrett AKA Eula Dennis-Barrett, Executor of the Estate of Johnnie Frank Dennis NICOLE A. CORLEY MURRAY & CORLEY, P.A. N.C. BAR NO. 56459 2517 RAEFORD ROAD FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28305 – 3007 (910) 483 – 4990 COUNSEL FOR EXECUTOR

Notice to Creditors & A davit of Publication

to Creditors

TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as

ed as Executor of the Estate of Joyce Tucker Pittman, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 26th day of September, 2025, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 18th day of June, 2025. Administrator of the Estate of Joyce Tucker Pittman Linda Ward Johnson 7600 Autryville Road Autryville, NC 28318 Executor

NOTICE

CUMBERLAND NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE 2024 E 001558 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Deborah Lynn Horne Deborah Lynn Locke, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does here y notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 5431 Marsh Road, Fayetteville, NC 28306 on or before September 12, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 12th day of June, 2025. Donna Jackson, Executor of the Estate of Deborah Lynn Horne Deborah Lynn Locke 5431 Marsh Road Fayetteville, NC 28306

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF PATRICIA ANN LEWIS

CUMBERLAND County Estate File No. 25E000594-250 All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Patricia Ann Lewis, deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to Davis W. Puryear, Administrator, at Hutchens Law Firm, LLP, 4317 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28311, on or before the 20th day of September (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Executor/Administrator named above.

This the 16th day of June, 2025. Davis W. Puryear Administrator of the Estate of Patricia Ann Lewis Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311 Run dates: June 19, June 26, July 3, and July 10, 2025

Notice to Creditors

Having quali ed as Executor/ Administrator of the Estate of Julia Experience , deceased, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 65 White Birch Ln Angier NC on or before September 19, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate are asked to make immediate payment. This the 13th day of June 2025. Charlanta Anescar Executor/Administrator of the Estate of Julia Experience 65 White Birch Ln Angier, NC 27501

NOTICE

In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File No. 25E000820-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE

The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Kimberly Ann Howard, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of September, 2025, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 12th day of June, 2025.

Montanna Christine Howard 3125 Nontucket Lane Hope Mills, NC 28348 Administrator of the Estate of Kimberly Ann Howard, deceased Publish June 12, 19, 26 and July 3, 2025.

NOTICE In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File # 25E000931-250 State of North Carolina Cumberland County Administrator’s Notice

The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Don Del-Raye Jones, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before 22nd day of October, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of thier recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 22nd day of June 2025.

Dayana M. Jones 540 E. Benton St Benson NC 27504 Administrator of the Estate

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA In the General Court of Justice County of Cumberland

Superior Court Division Estate File #25E000885-250

Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice

The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Wilbur Duke Johnson, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of September, 2025, (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 12th day of June, 2025. Marsha Denise Johnson 25173 Aleppo Way, Moreno Valley, CA 92553 Of the Estate of Wilbur Duke Johnson, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF RICKY DENNIS HUFF

CUMBERLAND County Estate File No. 25E000971-250 All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Ricky Dennis Hu deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to Denver Ralph Hu , Administrator, at 2919 Breezewood Ave., Suite 100, Fayetteville, NC 28303, on or before the 27th day of September 2025 (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Administrator named above. This the 19th day of June, 2025. Denver Ralph Hu Administrator of the Estate of Ricky Dennis Hu Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311 Run dates: June 26, July 3, July 10 and July 17, 2025

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE NO.

25E000856-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Giovanni R. Quevedo, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before September 12, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 12th day of June, 2025. Reyna Quevedo, Executor of the Estate of Giovanni R. Quevedo NICOLE A. CORLEY

MURRAY & CORLEY, P.A.

N.C. BAR NO. 56459 2517 RAEFORD ROAD

FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28305 – 3007 (910) 483 – 4990

COUNSEL FOR EXECUTOR

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA Cumberland COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION

25E000893-250

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Robert Louis Robinson Sr., deceased, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the Estate of said Robert Louis Robinson Sr. to present them to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of September, 2025 (this date being 3 months from the rst publication date of this notice) or same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.

This the 3rd day of June, 2025. Robert Louis Robinson Jr. 2943 High Plains Dr. Hope Mills, NC 28348

Executor of the Estate of Robert Louis Robinson Sr.

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division

Estate File#25E000922-250

County of Cumberland The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Doris Sykes deceased,late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 15th day of September 2025 ( which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 6th day of June, 2025 Sue Stephens 5110 Rodwell Road Fayetteville, NC, 28311 Of the Estate of Doris Sykes, deceased

NOTICE

In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File # 23 E 000964-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND

ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE Having quali ed as Executrix of the Estate of Tandra Adams, late of

DURHAM

bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the above-named Executor. Kendall H. Page 210 N Columbia Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Bar # 14261 Notice to Run: 6/19/2025,6/26/2025, 7/03/2025 & 7/10/2025

NEW HANOVER

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY FILE# 25E001778-640 Having quali ed on June 3, 2025 as Administrator of estate for CYNTHIA ANN CARLTON, deceased, of New Hanover County, N.C. does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the said estate to present such claims to the undersigned LARRY NEEDHAM BROWN, at 205 Maultsby Road, Delco, NC 28436 on or before September 26, 2025. Run dates: June 26, July 3, 10,17.

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, Lynn S. Stepnowski, having quali ed on the 15th day of May 2025, as Executor of the Estate of Gale A. Durham (25E001646-640), deceased, does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Estate that they must present them to the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 22nd day of September, 2025, or the claims will be forever barred thereafter, and this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make prompt payment to the undersigned at the above address. This 19th day of June 2025. Lynn S. Stepnowski Executor ESTATE OF GALE A. DURHAM

David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411 Publish: June 19, 2025 June 26, 2025 July 3, 2025 July 10, 2025

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS

Having quali ed as Personal Representative of the Estate of Alisa Jan Morris Wright, deceased, late of New Hanover County, North Carolina, the undersigned hereby noti es all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them, duly veri ed, to the undersigned, care of their attorney, on or before September 19, 2025 (which date is at least three (3) months from the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make immediate settlement with the undersigned, care of their attorney. This the 19th day of June, 2025. Gordon William Wright, Administrator C.T.A. of the Estate of Alisa Jan Morris Wright, Deceased c/o Randall S. Hoose, Jr. Hoose Law, PLLC 705 Princess Street Wilmington, NC 28401-4146 Please publish 06/19, 06/26, 07/03, 07/10

ORANGE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Probate #25E000359-670

All persons, rm and corporations having claims against Suzanne Van Houten Sauter, late of Orange County, North Carolina are hereby noti ed to present them to Edward N. Tostanoski, Jr., as Executor of the decedent’s estate in care of Kendall H. Page, Attorney, 210 N Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 on or before the 26th day of September, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the above-named Executor. Kendall H. Page 210 N Columbia Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Bar # 14261 Notice to Run: 6/26/2025,7/3/2025, 7/10/2025 & 7/17/2025

RANDOLPH

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Elizabeth Harris Hinshaw, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at P.O. Box 5994,

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION FORSYTH COUNTY 24SP480 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY FREDDIE H. JARRETT DATED MAY 24, 2013 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 3126 AT PAGE 1757, AND RE-RECORDED ON JUNE 6, 2013, IN BOOK 3127, PAGE 2072 IN THE FORSYTH COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in payment of the secured debt and failure to perform the agreements contained therein and, pursuant to demand of the holder of the secured debt, the undersigned will

on July 10, 2025 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Forsyth County, North Carolina, to wit: ALL THAT CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY SITUATED IN THE COUNTY OF FORSYTH STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEING KNOWN AND DESIGNATED AS LOT NUMBER 21 AS SHOWN ON THE MAP OF WACHOVIA HIGHLANDS as recorded in Plat Book 8, Page 78 in the O ce of the Register of Deeds of Forsyth County, North Carolina, to which reference is hereby made for a more particular description. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 1024 Franklin St, Winston Salem, NC 27101. A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever

expose for sale at public auction at the usual place of sale at the Forsyth County courthouse at 11:00AM on July 10, 2025, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Forsyth County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Freddie H. Jarrett, dated May 24, 2013 to secure the original principal amount of $184,500.00, and recorded in Book 3126 at Page 1757 of the Forsyth County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modi ed by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended. Address of property: 1783 Rye eld Ct, Kernersville, NC 27284 Tax Parcel ID: 6865-74-7648.000 Present Record Owners: The Heirs of Freddie H. Jarrett

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered 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

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 Peter Austin. An

The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are The Heirs of Freddie H. Jarrett. The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property o ered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is subject to all prior liens and encumbrances and unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. Cash will not be accepted. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. After the expiration of the upset period, all remaining amounts are

immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY

PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

and

Iredell

Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, or the customary

is commonly known as 111 Midway Lake Road, Mooresville, NC 28115. A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve 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

location designated for foreclosure sales, at 11:00 AM on July 17, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Statesville in the County of Iredell, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of LOTS 61 AND 62 of COUNTRY LIFE ESTATES, Section 3, as the same is platted, planned and recorded in Plat Book 19, Page 60, Iredell County Public Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 129 Fox Run Drive, Statesville, North Carolina.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered 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 o ered 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 Derek Rodney McQuain and spouse, Desire Domanique McQuain.

An Order for possession of the property may

o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form

to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered 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

the BRIEF this week

Chatham library to hold blood drive

Pittsboro

The Chatham Community Library will host a blood drive for the American Red Cross on Monday, July 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is a particular need, as ever, for Type O blood, and Type O donors will receive a bonus gift card as a thank you. Visit chathamlibraries.org to make an appointment or to learn more.

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in Rowan County with manufacturing investment

Salisbury

The electronics company

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in central North Carolina by building a new manufacturing plant. The company is investing $500 million toward a facility to support cloud computing and arti cial intelligence data centers. O cials announced Monday that the facility will be in Rowan County, northeast of Charlotte. The project includes a $264 million capital investment and 1,181 jobs by the end of 2030. North Carolina competed with Florida for the project and o ered more than $21 million in incentives. Jabil already operates three facilities in the state, employing about 1,000 workers.

Drake Powell headed to Brooklyn with 22nd pick

The Pittsboro native celebrated the 2025 NBA Draft in his hometown

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — This dateline marked the site of many unforgettable basketball moments over the years.

Slam dunks, deep playo runs, 1,000 career points and a commitment to UNC all took place there.

But for the rst time, Chatham County’s seat pinpoints the location of an NBA draftee.

Drake Powell, the former Northwood High School ve-star athlete, was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 22nd overall pick in the rst

round of the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25. The Hawks traded the pick to the Brooklyn Nets, sending Powell to The Big Apple to begin his professional career.

Powell, who became the rst Tar Heel selected in the rst round since Brooklyn picked Day’Ron Sharpe in 2021, watched the draft and celebrated the news with his immediate family at his home.

Powell shared the moment with his family — parents Dedric and Cherice, his siblings Cera and Deuce, his cousin Jalen Mcafee-Marion — and agent Ty Sullivan, and the smiles radiating throughout the living area told all about the emotions of the moment.

“The biggest (emotion) is just happiness,” Powell said. “I kept my circle pretty small. Honestly could have had a big party, invited a bunch of di erent people. But I just wanted to keep it small with the people I think know me best as a person, and I’m excited that I enjoyed this moment with them.”

See POWELL, page A7

Commissioners adopt 2025-26 operating budget

The county will have a property tax rate of $0.60 per $100 valuation

By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Board of Commissioners met June 16 for its regular business meeting.

The area was one of the hardest hit by the hurricane

The Associated Press

CHIMNEY ROCK — An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public last Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic ooding, destruction and loss of life.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other o cials attended a reopening ceremony at Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 25 miles southeast of Asheville. The main portion of the park will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make reservations, Stein’s o ce said.

Stein also signed into law before the ceremony’s crowd another state Helene recovery bill nalized by the General Assembly on Thursday that sends $700 million to the state’s Helene relief fund and appropriates $500 million of that. And Stein announced a new tourism campaign to encourage travel and spending in the North Carolina mountains.

“Today’s reopening is a huge achievement,” Stein told attendees. “Chimney Rock is just one of the many places that make western North Carolina unforgettable.”

Last September’s storm swept away the ornate stone and concrete bridge across the Broad River to reach the portion of the park that contains

The budget also sets a property tax rate of $0.60 per $100 valuation.

While this rate is lower than the prior year’s rate ($0.725), it is still nearly seven cents higher than the revenue neutral rate, meaning that most residents will still more than likely see an increase in their tax bill.

The commissioners o cially adopted the 2025-26 operating budget, which has a general fund balanced at just under $213 million. Highlights of the budget include substantial increases in funding for both education and public safety, a 4% salary adjustment for employees and an expansion of county positions (16).

“Thank you to sta for all of the work that went into the preparation of the draft and the recommended budget and then to this board for the work that went into our work sessions,” said board chair Karen Howard.

The board also held three public hearings for rezoning requests,

See BUDGET, page A3

“Chimney Rock is just one of the many places that make western North Carolina unforgettable.”

Gov. Josh Stein

THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Drake Powell is all smiles after being selected in the rst round of the NBA Draft.

We stand corrected To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@nsjonline.com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

CRIME LOG

June 24

• Demetris Christian Goins, 29, of Siler City, was arrested for breaking into a building and stealing after breaking in.

• Maurico Eugene Long, 41, of Durham, was arrested for violating a domestic violence protective order, driving under the in uence, driving with a revoked license, and driving without insurance.

• Billy Farrell Kiser, 57, Homeless, was arrested for trespassing on private property.

• Anthony Wayne Byrd, 19, of Liberty, was arrested for carrying a weapon to intimidate others, possessing alcohol under age 21, and having an open alcohol container in a vehicle.

June 25

• Christopher Dallas Fry, 43, of Sanford, was arrested for taking indecent liberties with a child.

• Colin Maciyah Starnes, 45, of Moncure, was arrested for violating a domestic violence protective order.

June 26

• Raquel Nicole Phifer, 48, of Greensboro, was arrested for possessing a stolen vehicle and displaying a fake license plate.

• Jonathan James Livingston, 36, of Pittsboro, was arrested for driving while impaired, having an open alcohol container, and driving on the wrong side of the road.

June 27

• Lenton Mayo, 61, of Durham, was arrested for stealing and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Pottery camp educates children on getting creative

There are still openings for the July 14-17 session

By Melinda Burris Chatham News & Record

EACH DAY at Pittsboro pot-

ter Lara O’Keefe’s youth summer camp generally begins with a nature walk on her property. The idea is for kids to take in their surroundings and use their observations for inspiration in their pottery making.

“I love teaching children,” O’Keefe, who has been instructing all ages since 2007, said.

The summer pottery camp, for children ages 8 and up, runs July 14-17 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day. A handful of spots remain available.

The pottery summer camps have proven to be an excellent way for O’Keefe to reach out to kids who are shy or are apprehensive when placed in an unfamiliar environment.

“I was that shy kid,” O’Keefe said, “I was scared of big kids, of just going somewhere new. ... So we try to make the process really humbling.” Her teaching strategy has been e ective, with many campers returning for the next year. “I have a counselor that helps me, so it’s really good,” O’Keefe said.

“No one’s left alone, and I’ve had really timid campers, especially the younger ones, and their parents always say, ‘I can’t believe it, my child wants to come back.’ That always feels really good because I was that shy kid.”

Tools and supplies are provided, and students do one main project each day. The classes focus on the hand-building pottery method, where kids learn how to roll out clay, cut piec-

“I have a counselor who helps me, so it’s really good, no one’s left alone, and I’ve had really timid campers, especially the younger ones, and their parents always say, I can’t believe it, my child wants to come back.”

Lara O’Keefe

es, assemble them and then let imagination take over to create something with personal meaning.

O’Keefe points out that in the current culture of instant grati cation via the internet, working with clay and creating pottery teaches kids a valuable lesson because they learn it is a process that requires patience.

“You can’t bring home a pot right away because you can’t re it immediately,” she explained. There is a parent pick-up for the children’s pieces the week after the camp.

To register your child or get more information, email okeefepottery@gmail.com.

CHATHAM happening

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

July 5

Chatham Mills

Farmers Market –Summer Pie Sale

8 a.m. to noon

Don’t miss the special pie sale at this weekly outdoor, producers-only farmers market. O ering a wide variety of goods from fresh produce to other groceries, including eggs, cheese and meat, along with health and wellness items and crafts, everything is created by the vendors themselves.

Lawn of the historic Chatham Mills

480 Hillsboro St. Pittsboro

July 7

Ukelele and Songwriting Lessons with Sarah Perry at Bynum Front Porch

2:30-6 p.m.

Group music lessons for ages 10-plus and ukulele players, from beginners to practiced players, are welcome. This session will concentrate on improving playing, performance and songwriting skills.

Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum

July

9

Jazz Night at The Sycamore at Chatham Mills

6-9 p.m.

Every Wednesday night, from 6-9 p.m., The Sycamore at Chatham Mills hosts live Jazz Nights. The series features a rotating list of local musicians. The Sycamore also o ers its Lounge Menu in the dining room on Wednesday nights. Reservations are highly recommended.

480 Hillsboro St. Suite 500 Pittsboro

July 11

MOSAIC’S Summer Jam Music Series: The Castaways 7-9 p.m.

Food and beverages are available on-site for purchase. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket. Free admission.

Philip H. Kohl MOSAIC Family Commons 457 Freedom Parkway Pittsboro

Create, Sip & Pour Candle Making Class 7-9 p.m.

This hands-on workshop teaches you how to make soy massage candles, combining aromatherapy and skin-nourishing oils in one. For more information, call 984-312-5820.

Starrlight Mead 130 Lorax Lane Pittsboro

COURTESY LARA O’KEEFE

Lara O’Keefe runs a camp at her Pittsboro pottery studio.

Hundreds spot meteor streaking across the southern sky

The space rock, about the size of a shopping cart, was caught by dash and doorbell cams

By Je Martin The Associated Press

ATLANTA — More than 200 people across a half-dozen southern U.S. states have now reported witnessing a mysterious object streak across the sky last Thursday, and the nation’s space agency now believes it was a remarkably bright meteor known as a bolide.

Most sightings of the streak of light and reball came from Georgia and South Carolina around 12:30 p.m., according to a report from the National Weather Service o ce in Peachtree City, Georgia.

NASA determined that it was about the size of a shopping cart as it streaked through the sky. Scientists were able to track the meteor’s path after analyzing eyewitness accounts, images from cameras and data from satellites and weather radar.

The meteor was rst spotted over Oxford, Georgia, as it moved southwest across the sky, according to Bill Cooke, a scientist at NASA’s Meteoroid Environments O ce in Huntsville, Alabama.

It broke apart over the small community of West Forest, Georgia, “unleashing an energy of about 20 tons of TNT,” Cooke said in a statement. That created booms heard by many residents in the area.

The meteor falling to the ground was detected by multiple weather radars, and many meteorites are believed to be on the ground in the Blacksville, Georgia area, NASA said.

As of last Friday afternoon,

at least 215 reports of the object have poured into the American Meteor Society with many people expressing wonder and amazement in their reports.

“It was a bright reball,” a woman in Bethlehem, Georgia, wrote.

“It did have a bright tail that disappeared with it, and left behind a smoke trail,” she added. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

A man in Milledgeville, Georgia, reported, “I believe it hit the ground.”

A resident of Henry County, Georgia, reported a rock coming through their roof around the time they heard the sonic boom from the reball. It left behind a hole in the ceiling about the size of a golf ball and a crack in a laminate oor at the home southeast of Atlanta, according to the National Weather Service o ce in Peachtree City, Georgia.

“We are presuming that a piece of the object fell through their roof,” the weather service said in

a brief statement on social media.

Dashboard and doorbell cameras across several states in the southeastern U.S. states caught glimpses of the reball that appeared to be plummeting straight down.

Meteors and other space debris frequently enter Earth’s atmosphere, but it is rare for an object to be so bright it can easily be seen in broad daylight. Videos of the event showed clear skies last Thursday, allowing many to see the meteor falling.

“First time to ever see an event in daylight like this,” a man in Cumming, Georgia, north of Atlanta, said in his report to the meteor society.

“It was so bright in the middle of the day ... brighter than the sun,” a woman in Dublin, Georgia reported.

Bright reballs are caused by friction as an object enters the atmosphere and slows down considerably. Almost all objects break into minuscule pieces before striking the ground, according to NASA.

I-40 reopens faster than expected after latest rock slide, ooding

The troublesome corridor in Pigeon River Gorge was damaged in Helene

The Associated Press

HARTFORD, Tenn. — Crews on Friday reopened a section of Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains after ooding and a rock slide closed the major cross country highway for nine days.

The highway was already undergoing major repairs from massive damage and washouts during Hurricane Helene last fall and is down to one lane in each

direction in far western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

About 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain fell in the area over about three hours on June 18, swamping I- 40 around Exit 451 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North Carolina, o cials said.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation originally thought I- 40 would be closed until July 3.

The damaged section is part of 12 miles of I- 40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that were washed away or heavily damaged by ooding that roared through the Pigeon River gorge

during Hurricane Helene in late September.

Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in March. The lanes are separated by a curb several inches high.

The permanent x to stabilize what is left of the road will involve driving long steel rods into bedrock below the highway, lling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cli face to hold them in place. It will take years. I- 40 runs from Wilmington on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Barstow, California.

get your applications in for a

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e nal deadline for all grant applications is Sept. 15, but don’t wait to apply. Applications submitted prior to the early-bird deadline on Aug. 15 will be entered to win one of ve $100 Visa gi cards. Scan the QR code or visit NCBrightIdeas.com for more information or to apply!

the rst being for just under 20 acres of property located at 2676 Farrington Point Road from Conditional Neighborhood Business to Residential (R-1).

The property was initially rezoned in 2024 for the purpose of an event venue, but according to Planning Director Jason Sullivan, the property owners decided to reconsider that plan and want to revert the property back to its original R-1 zoning.

“In their application, it says that they want to turn it into an agricultural use and then look into maybe an agritourism type of activity, but they’d have to qualify for that like anyone else.”

“For agritourism, if they ended up qualifying for it, is actually exempt from local regulations.”

The second hearing was for just over nine acres of property located at 4920 Old U.S. 421 South from Residential Non-Conforming Use to Light Industrial.

“The R-1 zoning was applied in 2016 when you rezoned the western part of the county. The property owners at the time did not choose to rezone to

match the use, so now the current owner is coming forward and requesting a rezoning.” According to Sullivan, the property already has heavily intensive industrial use, and the rezoning essentially allows the property owner to have the zoning that was initially offered to the property.

The third hearing was for approximately four acres of property located at 14897 U.S. 421 South from Residential to Regional Business Conditional District for the purpose of a self mini warehouse storage facility.

The nal hearing was to rezone portions of ve parcels located at 0 and 2501 Corinth Road in order to allow for the already approved expansion of the existing RV park on the property.

“The RV park and an expansion were approved, but they can’t move forward with the expansion because they don’t have the suitable soil on the current site for the septic system,” Sullivan said. Following each hearing, the requests were submitted to the planning board for nal approval.

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners will next meet July 21.

PARK from page A1 the 315-foot high geological formation that’s shaped in keeping with the park’s name. The park, which also features hiking trails and other amenities, usually attracts 400,000 people annually.

A road had to be paved and a temporary bridge made from old railroad cars was laid over the river.

The reopening provides needed encouragement to those in adjoining Chimney Rock Village, where a third of the hamlet’s businesses were destroyed as river waters removed buildings from their foundations.

“It almost wiped us o the map,” village Mayor Peter O’Leary said on Friday. “The village knew one thing that was of utmost importance to our survival. We had to have Chimney Rock State Park open again.” Some village businesses are reopening.

Before Friday’s bill signing, the General Assembly already had appropriated or reallocated more than $1.6 billion for Helene recovery.

The new Helene law is the fth relief package approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly since last fall. The Democratic governor said he’s still seeking direct aid for small businesses and more funds for a ordable housing. But he was still pleased with the legislature’s action.

“We have a lot of work to do, but it’s also good to take stock and recognize that today is a good day,” Stein said.

The governor is also seeking more federal funds for Helene recovery beyond the billions already received by the state and by those harmed by the storm.

State o cials say the storm caused more than 100 deaths in North Carolina and generated roughly $60 billion in damages and needs.

PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

A U.S. ag ies on Chimney Rock mountain in 2019.

BRYAN JENNINGS UPDYKE VIA AP

A bright object traveling in the sky in McDonough, Georgia, last Thursday was recorded by a vehicle dash cam shows.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

COLUMN | ANDREW TAYLOR-TROUTMAN

A road to kindness

But road rage disregards the humanity of other drivers and pedestrians, human and nonhuman alike. Belligerence evokes more volume and aggression.

THIS MORNING, I witnessed yet another egregious loss of temper: a shouting, red-faced man blaring the horn of his sinfully large SUV at the small car in front of him, which had only slowed down in deference to an elderly woman and her terrier in the crosswalk. Keep in mind that the neighborhood speed limit is 25 mph, and we have all ages of humans crossing the street, not to mention dogs, geese, goslings, frogs and the occasional turtle.

I write to vent, admittedly, but also because I think the best way to deal with frustration is to be curious about its causes. Why does this road rage bother me, even when I’m not directly involved?

I can easily imagine why my fellow driver would have less than a Mister Rogers-type attitude. I know what it is like to have a terrible night (a sleepless kid, a restless dog) or a rough morning (cold co ee, stained shirt). And I know what it’s like to have bills to pay, places to go and people to see.

But road rage disregards the humanity of other drivers and pedestrians, human and nonhuman alike. Belligerence evokes more volume and aggression. There are plenty of blaring horns and middle ngers but precious little grace. I don’t know the name of the dude blaring his horn. I only know him as a jerk. This is regrettable, as there was a time when he was a child,

likely capable of putting his foot in his mouth in an adorable way. Although I can’t peer into the past, I wish to see beyond his rage.

Philo of Alexandria said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is ghting a great battle.” We don’t all su er the same, yet the world knocks everyone down and bruises every heart. To live is to lose some whom we love. We forget our shared reality and lose the possibility of tenderness at the moment we lash out.

If it’s true that the whisper of a butter y’s wings can cause a tsunami on the other side of the world, does it not follow that a deep breath and a gentle wave of the hand might bring peace to a war-torn world? At least a dose of patience might provide a balm to a hurting present.

In writing this column, I remembered another morning in the neighborhood when I was speaking with a friend at an intersection. A car slowed, thinking we might cross the street. My friend cheerfully waved it on, but before he left, the driver leaned out of his window and called, “Have a great day!” I didn’t know his name, but suddenly we were strangers no more.

Andrew Taylor-Troutman’s newest book is “This Is the Day.” He serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church as well as a writer, pizza maker, co ee drinker and student of joy.

Holidays, special days come in all sizes

In my childhood days, Pittsboro and Siler City had day-long community celebrations of hot dogs and ice cream, baseball games, games for little folks, political speeches and parades, and so forth.

SOMEONE — or several someones — has created a calendar that has a holiday on every day. For instance, May 11 might be “National Be Kind to Yellow Cats Day,” or Oct. 19 is “Eat a Cheeseburger With Peanut Butter Day.” Funny, maybe even silly, but no real harm done. But those all pale, however, when stacked against “real” holidays — religious, civic or otherwise. There is no substitute for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, even the Fourth of July, just this week.

Granted, they’ve taken on di erent forms and traditions through the years, for numerous reasons. July Fourth, for instance, was once a big deal in many places, especially Small Town, USA. In my childhood days, Pittsboro and Siler City had day-long community celebrations of hot dogs and ice cream, baseball games, games for little folks, political speeches and parades and so forth. Shoot, that went on beyond my boyhood days, even as I moved into parenthood. There’s not so much of that anymore in our nation. We’ve become too sophisticated. Politicians seek to divide us; nutritionists tell us hot dogs aren’t good for us; PETA says we shouldn’t chase a greasy pig; safety experts tell us we shouldn’t be climbing greasy poles. Far better, all those folks and others tell us, is it for us to do all these things virtually or at a Zoom gathering. Funny, I always thought “zoom” was what Superman did in the sky or how I rode my bicycle down the dirt road between Allen and Hazel Money’s house and the one where Mal and Ruby White lived.

So while some things change, we still have those holidays after a fashion. But this year a new perspective about holidays dawned on me, namely that while all folks have some in common, there are others — I’ll

call them personal holidays or special days — that are unique to each of us and, while they aren’t a holiday to the general public, they’re mighty important personally.

The one I speak of here is July 1, 1933, to be speci c. Ninety-two years ago. My parents’ wedding anniversary. They weren’t around to take note of it; I did. They were young; Dad was 21 and Mama only 15. Today, that would be a crime, especially since they, like so many Depression-era couples, ran o to Bennettsville, South Carolina, just across the state line, where you could do such things. Took another young couple with them as witnesses.

On returning home, Dad knocked on the door of his in-laws’ place and inquired of his father-in-law, “Should I run?” To that, the man who would become my grandpa 15 years later said, “I think you’ve run enough, Frank. Come on in.”

He did. And they worked it out for almost 60 years. Today, as I look at old photos, I try to imagine and understand that they were once young, a phase of life I’ve passed by myself some time ago. And when I read through some of the letters between them written when my dad was working in another state, I feel as if I’m eavesdropping. They might blush, but I think they’d forgive me.

Holidays, it’s been said, serve as reminders. Ways to stay grounded and appreciative. I’m pretty sure that’s what July 1 does for me. I hope you’ve got some “special days” on your heart, if not your calendar. Celebrating them can be mighty good for a body.

Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.

COLUMN | BOB WACHS

The noises only I could hear

Suddenly, I began hearing what sounded like running water, an owl hooting, and birds chirping, all in my very own quiet bedroom. Was I nuts?

I have an amazing capacity (not wishing to boast or anything) for creating mountains out of molehills. A lifelong gift that has not abated with the passage of time. I question, however, when there’s enough pain and sorrow in the Middle East, whether my molehills-to-mountains track record deserves airtime.

Judge for yourself.

Recently, around 10 p.m., I’d already put myself to bed. Long day. Suddenly, I began hearing what sounded like running water, an owl hooting and birds chirping, all in my very own quiet bedroom. Was I nuts? (There are some who would happily agree with that assessment.) Ms. Kind Of Scared But I’ll Be Brave got out of bed and walked through the kitchen to my back door. Opened, stuck my puzzled head outside and heard … nothing. Did a quick walk-through of the rest of the house and heard … nothing My bedroom seemed to be ground zero for the weird noise follies. Placed an inquiring ear to several bedroom walls, and heard … guess what? Nothing. Ungrounded in any reality I could explain, the cornucopia of nature sounds was still present. Well, just great! Super! (Keep breathing, Jan.) As a self-identi ed princess-and-thepea su erer, I desperately tried not to hear what I was clearly hearing. Maybe a very late-night call to my nearby neighbor, to say, to say … to say what, exactly?

Suddenly, I remembered my stash of rarely-used-but-e ective silicone earplugs. Such a relief! Found, applied, but oh … stop, stop! Was I at risk of physical harm due to my “I am staying put tonight despite whatever the hell this is?”

“Come on, universe, help me out! No, no, I take that back. Just forget it! I’m too tired. Haven’t I been a (mostly) good girl in this life? Doesn’t that count for something? Just let me go to sleep, safely. Deal?”

Morning has broken, and I’m still around! Removed my savior earplugs,

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

Who is an American

Let him rule like a king of the Disunited States until we get back to town.

SO NOW ALL THE BABIES born to undocumented parents in the 28 states that didn’t challenge President Donald Trump’s executive order will have to sue (anonymously, of course, lest this administration deport them, which it would if it could nd them) to demand that the Constitution be followed in their state and get an injunction of their own. Or else you can have a patchwork of rights, with an authoritarian dictatorship in some states and the rule of law for the litigious.

That’s the result of a bitterly divided (6-3) decision of the Supreme Court last Friday holding that federal district courts don’t have the power to issue nationwide injunctions against a president who is blatantly overreaching his powers.

Even though the king may have reached too far, the courts can only stop him state by state. So much for one nation, under law.

This is the much-watched case of birthright citizenship, playing out Trump’s obsession with stripping immigrants to this country of their dignity. The Original Birther, who challenged President Barack Obama’s entitlement to citizenship, baselessly.

The court was careful to point out that it was not deciding the merits of the president’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. It did not decide he had the unilateral power to rewrite the Constitution; it did not even assume that. The law be damned, but we won’t enforce it now.

Wait till next year. Let him rule like a king of the Disunited States until we get back to town. The Supreme Court won’t rule on the merits of the case — whether what Trump did is constitutional — until it makes its way back to the court next term. When it strips the lower courts of their power to limit a would-be king — as it did this week — it renders the rule of law a travesty. For now.

knowing, just knowing, those ba ing sounds would be gone. They weren’t. Water softly gurgling, birds chirping … oh, geez!

I reached out to a level-headed neighborhood friend for reality testing. She kindly came down the hill to oblige my … whatever the heck this whole thing was. First listening stop, my (very quiet) living room. A quick trip through my (also very quiet) kitchen. Now, my bedroom. We entered, and I, gingerly, asked if she heard it, you know, those running water noises and bird calls. She listened intently, nally saying, “No.” Oh, super great! (I am nuts!) She did, however, notice some di cult-to-discern sounds emanating from Alexa, my AI (arti cial intelligence) unit. I’d pushed it against a wall, on the oor, so my new knee would have one less thing to trip over (with the exception of my own two feet, but that’s another story.)

I leaned down to better hear Alexa, realizing with a jolt, we’d hit pay-dirt! Those aberrant nature sounds were the Alexa unit’s Rainforest soundtrack. Yep, running water accompanied by bird and owl sounds. Bingo! Oh, major bingo! We laughed, me, pretty damn hysterically. I wasn’t nuts! I wasn’t! My AI device likely heard something it interpreted as a request for “Rainforest” sounds and complied. All night long. The AI unit was far enough removed from my sight line that I never even considered its possible contribution to the weirdness of “you’re hearing what exactly, Jan?”

In our shared moment of hilarity, I felt such a weight lift. I can’t even begin to tell you. There was room enough for us to experience an unexpected gift of merriment, even amidst our Mideast sadness. Hey universe, help me remember this. Please?

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

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard brings back meritocracy

TWO YEARS AGO, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by ruling that universities could no longer use a rmative action to determine admissions for students.

In the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court explained in the majority opinion that the color of a student’s skin can no longer determine his or her entry into a school.

When ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) in a companion case, the court decided in a majority 6-3 opinion that using a student’s race to determine admissions is in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that a student “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual” rather than race. The admissions process for both schools were seen as penalizing Asian American students.

While the process for universities to fully correct course to abide by the decision may take several years, the results are already positive with meritocracy appearing to return to the forefront of academia in America.

In the time since the Supreme Court’s decision, several prominent universities have already adopted new admissions processes as well as now requiring students to submit standardized testing scores once again with their applications.

At Harvard University, admissions previously had optional writing components where potential students could write about topics pertaining to them and their interests or experiences with their identity. After the court’s ruling, the school altered the questions asked to applicants. The school then reinstated the submission of standardized test scores as mandatory for applicants applying for the fall 2025 semester.

Other prominent universities have also reinstated standardized test scores for their admissions.

Dartmouth College was the rst Ivy League school to require SAT or ACT scores again after the ruling. Yale, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania are among those that followed suit. Even UNC updated its process for applicants.

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted. In the two years since the Supreme Court’s decision, there appears to have been an impact.

Anyone born here (with narrow exceptions) is an American. That’s what rati cation of the 14th Amendment provided. It is what Trump is trying to singlehandedly repeal. Federal judges, hearing these cases, have expressed shock and awe that Trump would try to do this by executive order. So much for the oath to uphold the Constitution. A new exception for the 14th Amendment, or any other amendment or provision he doesn’t like. As of last Friday, members of Congress were still waiting for their brie ng on the war against Iran, which began the preceding Saturday. So much for the war powers provision of the Constitution.

Never have we seen an administration so forthright about its willingness to out the law, disobey court orders, misinform the courts about what the administration is doing and is not doing. It has been repeatedly, but not universally, rebuked by courageous federal courts who are holding the line against most of the worst abuses of power. This is the rst administration whose leaders, up to and including the White House, openly speculate about not following the decisions of the Supreme Court. For Stephen Miller, who reportedly has the president’s ear, it’s not even a question. JD. Vance answered it years ago when he said, referencing Andrew Jackson, that when the courts stop the executive, the president should “stand before the country ... and say: ‘The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it.’”

The federal courts today need the support of the Supreme Court. It is no time to cut o their wings.

The Supreme Court announced that its decision would not take e ect for 30 days. More lawsuits to come.

Susan Estrich is a lawyer, professor, author and political commentator.

Letters to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or mailed to 1201 Edwards Mill Rd., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27607. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.

Contact a writer or columnist: connect@northstatejournal.com

In recent years, a rmative action generally impacted white and Asian students negatively while positively impacting black and Hispanic students. The end of a rmative action in schools has appeared to even the playing eld, with merit now playing a more signi cant factor in determining a student’s admittance. That can be seen in the data of students now enrolled in these schools.

After the court’s ruling, UNC saw a dip in the percentage of black and Hispanic students, but the percentage of Asian students increased. Harvard saw a decrease in the percentage of black students but an increase for Hispanic students. The percentage of Asian students at Harvard stayed the same.

At Columbia, the percentage of Asian students jumped from 30% to 39% within a year, while the percentage of black students dropped from 20% to 12%. This is a common trend among elite universities.

Seeing the percentage of black and Hispanic students decrease is nothing to celebrate. The goal should be to see all students thrive regardless of skin color. However, until we solve the separate problem of why black and Hispanic students struggle more than their peers, seeing merit as a core focus again in admissions is a positive shift.

There is an understandable concern that universities will attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling to a certain extent. University leadership is open about attempting this.

Schools are trying other means to indirectly use a rmative action to admit students.

While Yale leadership did administer changes to the university’s admissions process, the school is still promoting a “culture of diversity and inclusivity” by expanding outreach plans and creating new talent pipelines. Brown University also intends to indirectly implement a rmative action through “pathway programs, targeted outreach, and pipeline programs.” This is happening at other universities as well.

President Donald Trump and his administration will need to work to ensure that universities follow the Supreme Court’s ruling and additionally make sure they drop all initiatives that promote student admissions based on race. In fact, the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools in February demanding exactly that. With an administration in charge that values merit, America’s universities are well advised to follow the law.

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions in schools in 2023 is already having a positive impact by ensuring institutions of higher learning prioritize meritocracy above immutable characteristics. The era of schools judging potential students by the color of their skin is thankfully coming to an end.

While there is still a lot of work to accomplish to ensure that all students who want to attend the nation’s elite universities are on par academically with their peers, ending a rmative action is the rst step in achieving true equality for all.

Casey Ryan is a writer and investigative reporter at Defending Education and a contributor to Daily Caller News Foundation.

obituaries

IN MEMORY

LENORE ELIZABETH ZIMMERMAN BRYDEN

SEPT. 21, 1961 – JUNE 16, 2025

Lenore Elizabeth Zimmerman Bryden, 63, of Siler City, went to her Heavenly home on Monday, June 16th, 2025, at her home.

Lenore was born on September 21st, 1961, in Union County, New Jersey to Gene Zimmerman and Diane Gatlin. She is preceded in death by her former husband, John Bryden, and her father, Gene Zimmerman.

Lenore graduated in 1979 from West Morris Central High School. She was a machinist at Caterpillar in Sanford, NC. She has also done retail management for WalMart. She loved going to the beach and watching the dolphins. She never met a stranger. Lenore was very crafty and loved making things. Besides her children and family, she loved her cats. She was a very spiritual person.

Left to cherish her memory is her mother, Diane Gatlin; her stepfather, Jay Gatlin; her three daughters, Laina Peck-Bostwick, Christina Jenrette, and Julie Bilello; her son, Tyler Bryden; her six grandchildren; her brother, Gary Zimmerman; and her stepsiblings, Wendy, Kelli, and Brian Gatlin.

CATHY SUE MOON HENSLEY

SEPT. 3, 1959 – JUNE 23, 2025

Cathy Sue Moon Hensley, age 65, of Sanford, passed away on Monday, June 23, 2025 at Sanford Health and Rehabilitation.

She was born in Chatham County on September 3, 1959 to the late Joe L. Moon and Ollie Inez Welch Moon. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by brother Joey Moon and sister Marie Moon. Cathy worked 13 years at Ron’s Barn where customers became like family. She also worked at Carolina Pet Grooming. She enjoyed crocheting and making quilts for the homeless. She loved all her cats deeply, but none more than her beloved “Babyboy,” who held a special place in her heart. Cathy is survived and loved by many cousins and friends who will miss her dearly, especially her long time co-worker and friend, Christine Tolman and her fellow resident, Gordon, at Sanford Health and Rehabilitation.

James Stuart “Jimmy” Vann

June 8, 1932 –June 26, 2025

James Stuart “Jimmy” Vann, 93, of Siler City, went to his Heavenly Home Thursday, June 26th, 2025, at Parkview Health and Rehabilitation Center in Chapel Hill, surrounded by family.

Jimmy was born in Chatham County on June 8th, 1932, to the late Robert White and

Roy Clayton Foushee

Aug. 19, 1944 –June 26, 2025

Roy Clayton Foushee, 80, of Gulf, went to his Heavenly Home on Thursday, June 26th, 2025, at home surrounded by family.

Roy was born on August 19th, 1944, in Chatham County, to the late William Thomas and Viola Jones Foushee. He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Martha Ann Gaines Foushee; his son, Harold C. Foushee; and his brother, John Robert Foushee.

Roy was retired after

Wayne Paul Powers

Aug.3, 1946 – June 26, 2025

Wayne Paul Powers, 78, of Siler City, NC, passed Thursday, June 26, 2025 at his home in Silk Hope. Mr. Powers was born in Chatham County on August 3, 1946, the son of Benjamin Paul and Annabel Teague Powers. Wayne was a 1964 graduate from Silk Hope High School and he attended the University

Virgie Raye Dowdy Vann. He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Ellen Dry Vann; his brothers, R. Rawdon Vann and Barclay Vann; his sisters, Dorothy Vann Collins, Peggy Vann Reid, and an infant sister; and his twin infant granddaughters, Grayson and Katelyn Vann. Jimmy was a 1951 graduate of Siler City High School and then served in the United States Navy in 1952 where he served in the Korean Con ict aboard USS Hanson. After his military career, he opened his own insurance agency, James S. Vann Insurance in Siler City in 1965, which was formerly Nell Lane Insurance Agency, from which he retired. Jimmy was a member of First Baptist Church and the Rachel Allred Sunday School class. Jimmy was a former member of the Siler City Country Club and the Siler City Moose Lodge. He loved working in his yard and just being outside and enjoyed spending time

having worked at the following companies, Pomona Pipe as a forklift driver, Cougar Trucking as a mechanic, and nally at Structural Woods Preserving of Coleridge as maintenance in the wood preserving industry. He enjoyed going shing and talking on the phone. Roy loved wearing a hat. He was a joker. He loved to make people laugh. Roy loved his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He loved having cookouts and family gatherings. Cooking Sunday dinner for his family was very special to him. Roy also loved watching the hummingbirds. Left to cherish his memory are his four daughters, Lori Ann Stack and her husband, Tommy of Sanford, Martha Jean Woody of Broadway, Jeanette Christine Foushee (of the home), and Annette Keyser and her husband, Arvil of Broadway; his grandchildren, Ginger Sparks and her husband, Gavin Sockel-Cummings of Sanford, Holly Stack, Ashley Hardin, and her husband, Jason, Barbara Jean Woody, William Woody and his wife, Nicole, Skylar Keyser, Leia Keyser, Christopher Foushee, Eli

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For 30+ years, he was an OTR ( Over The Road) long distance truck driver who loved driving coast to coast.

Wayne loved spending time with his family, grandkids and his cats. He enjoyed taking cruises, listening and dancing to bluegrass music, attending sporting events, especially hockey and baseball games. His favorite teams were the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes. Wayne was a member of Loves Creek Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents. Wayne is survived by his daughters, Jennifer Judge and Brandi Gilbert (Eric); son, Tim Burns ( Danyce); grandchildren, Christopher Judge, Caroline Burns, Jessica Seney, Caer Burns, Michael Seney, Jackson Gilbert, Lindsay Gilbert and Emme Gilbert; his sister, Elaine Powers Partin (Ben); nieces, Melissa “Hey Baby” Wright,

We offer an on-site crematory with many options of Celebration of Life services, Traditional, and Green Burials. Call us to set an appointment to come by and learn more.

with granddaughter. Left to cherish his memory are his sons, Mitchell S. Vann and his wife, Kristen of Siler City, and Derrick Vann of Washington, DC; his granddaughter, Karsyn Vann of Siler City; his brother, Dennis R. Vann and his wife, Linda of Valrico, FL; and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral service will be held at First Baptist Church on Monday, June 30th, 2025, at 11 AM. A visitation will be held an hour before service from 10 – 10:45 AM and other times at the home of his son, Mitchell S. Vann. A private burial will follow. Services will be o ciated by Reverend Jim Wall and Dr. Allen Admire. In lieu of owers, memorials can be made to the First Baptist Church, 314 N. 2nd Ave., Siler City, NC 27344. Smith & Buckner Funeral Home will be assisting the Vann family. Online condolences can be made at www.smithbucknerfh. com

Foushee, and Olivia Foushee; his great grandchildren, Max Hardin, Daisey Baker, Gerald Blackmon, Jr., Bentley Blackmon, Aubrey Woody, and Ella Woody; his sister, Mary F. Gunter of Goldston; his brother, William T. “Buddy” Foushee of Bear Creek; and his brother-in-law, Dennis Gaines of Goldston. Funeral services will be Tuesday, July 1st, 2025, at 10 am, at Smith & Buckner Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will be held Monday, June 30th, 2025, from 6 –8 pm, at Smith & Buckner Chapel. Burial will follow the service Tuesday at Gaines Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, 3956 Bonlee Carbonton Rd, Goldston, NC 27252. Services will be o ciated by Pastor Mike Garner. Memorials can be made in Roy’s name to Gaines Grove Cemetery, c/o Lucy GainesEmerson, 137 Oren Gaines Rd., Goldston, NC 27252. Smith & Buckner Funeral Home will be assisting the Foushee family. Online condolences can be made at www.smithbucknerfh. com

Anna Ruth Crouse, and Aimee Garner; and nephews, John Partin and Jason Parish.

The family wishes to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to Wayne’s caregivers, Edward “Buck” Wiley, Sandra Bonilla and Blondene Dalton. They have been phenomenal.

The funeral will be held 1:00 PM, Tuesday,July 1, 2025 at Loves Creek Baptist Church, 1745 East 11th Street, Siler City, with Rev. Pat Teague and Rev. Kenny Black o ciating the service. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends in the church fellowship hall following the burial. Memorials may be made to CARE: Chatham Animal Rescue and Education - PO Box 610, Pittsboro, NC 27312 or https:// www.chathamanimalrescue. org/ Smith & Buckner Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Online condolences may be made at. www.smithbucknerfh. com

Debbie Horton

Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose bronze spheres decorate prominent public spaces around world, dead at 98

His shiny, smooth bronze globes are instantly recognizable

By Nicole Win eld The Associated Press

ROME — Arnaldo Pomodoro, one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary artists whose bronze spheres decorate iconic public spaces from the Vatican to the United Nations, has died at age 98, his foundation said.

Pomodoro died at home in Milan last Sunday, the eve of his 99th birthday, according to a statement from Carlotta Montebello, director general of the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation.

Pomodoro’s massive spheres are instantly recognizable: shiny, smooth bronze globes with clawed out interiors that Pomodoro has said referred to the super cial perfection of exteriors and the troubled complexity of interiors.

In a note of condolences, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said Pomodoro’s “wounded” spheres “speak to us today of the fragility and complexity of the human and the world.”

The Vatican’s sphere, which occupies a central place in the Pigna Courtyard of the Vatican Museums, features an in-

POWELL from page A1

When NBA commissioner Adam Silver called his name, the house erupted. Powell said his ears were ringing from the cheers, and his dad ran around the house in excitement.

“It’s been such a long, long journey to get to this point,” Dedric Powell said. “He expressed interests like when he was small. Just to see him get to this point and ful l his dream is beyond words.”

Powell’s path to the pros was an all- Chatham County a air as he attended Woods Charter in his early years.

ternal mechanism that rotates with the wind. “In my work I see the cracks, the eroded parts, the destructive potential that emerges from our time of disillusionment,” the Vatican quoted Pomodoro as saying about its sphere.

The United Nations in New York received a 10 -foot, eight-inch diameter “Sphere Within Sphere” sculpture as a gift from Italy in 1996. The U.N. sphere has refers to the coming of the new millennium, the U.N. said: “a smooth exterior womb erupted by complex interior forms,” and “a promise for the rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world,” Pomodoro said of it. Other spheres are located at museums around the world and outside the Italian foreign ministry, which has the original work that Pomodoro created in 1966 for the Montreal Expo that began his monumental sculpture project.

Pomodoro was born in Montefeltro, Italy, on June 23, 1926. In addition to his spheres, he designed theatrical sets, land projects and machines. He had multiple retrospectives and taught at Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley and Mills College, according to his biography on the foundation website.

“The biggest (emotion) is just happiness.”

Drake Powell

About 15 minutes away from his home, Powell had the Northwood and Pittsboro community cheering him on during a draft party hosted by Northwood Athletics at Hops and Berry Taproom.

As a freshman at Northwood, he became an impact player immediately, helping the Chargers reach the 3A state title game. Through the next three seasons, Powell led Northwood to three straight trips to the fourth round of the playo s, including another state runner-up nish in 2023. By his senior season, Powell reached star status as he was ranked as one of the best players in the class of 2024, and he was named a McDonald’s All-American.

After averaging 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and leading UNC in plus/minus 10 times (three more times than any other Tar Heel) in his freshman campaign, Powell declared for the NBA Draft on April 23. He shined at the draft combine, nishing rst among all participants in the max vertical leap and standing vertical leap. Prior to the draft, Powell worked out for 11 teams.

“Brooklyn’s the best t for me with them being a young team trying to make a rebuild,” Powell said. “I just feel like it’s the right t, and I think we’ll do damage.” Powell will wear No. 4 for the Nets. He’ll join another Tar Heel in Sharpe. Powell will also join a large cohort of rookies as the Nets picked four other prospects in the rst round, including guard Egor Demin (BYU) with the eighth pick, guard Nolan Traoré (France) with the 19th pick, guard Ben Saraf (Israel) with the 26th pick and forward Danny Wolf (Michigan) with 27th pick. The new Nets will hit the court in the NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas on July 10, starting against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

“I’m not just attacking my rookie season by myself,” Powell said. “I have these guys along by my side.”

A crowd of all ages dressed in UNC Powell jerseys and Northwood gear kept their eyes on the big screens as the picks rolled on. They roared in cheers every time Powell’s name came up on Jay Bilas’ best available prospect list.

But as soon as Silver called “Drake” at the podium, everyone’s hands went up in the air with some jumping up and down.

“That’s just nothing but love, really,” Powell said when he heard about the crowd’s reaction. “Just the community of Pittsboro coming together and supporting me in a big way, that just means a lot.”

Matt Brown, Powell’s high school coach, had to leave the draft party early, but he brought the crowd’s energy to his home.

“I had my phone out the whole time, recording it just in case,” Brown said. “But when he got picked, we all went crazy. Screamed, yelled. So happy for him. Gave him a call that evening. He was so happy, so giddy. Just told him how proud I am of him and how great he’s going to do in Brooklyn.”

Powell reciprocated the love the morning after the draft, stopping by Brown, former coaches, community members and a sea of campers at Northwood’s youth basketball camp before heading o to New York later that day.

“It’s just the type of person he is,” Brown said. “To take the time after being drafted, leaving that afternoon, to come in and talk with the kids and take a picture with them, I think that meant a lot to those kids but also to the community.”

Said Brown, “When I rst met him, he was at that same camp my very rst year, and he was just a little lanky kid, and he was just tearing it up.”

For Brown, Powell and the Northwood community, the draft closed a full- circle journey of a local kid fullling his pro dreams — a path that started and ended in Pittsboro.

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NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

25E000284-180

ALL persons having claims against Barbara M. Perkin, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before October 1, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This the 3rd day of July, 2025.

MARTIN JACK PERKIN, Administrator

C/O Monroe, Wallace, Morden & Sherrill, PA 3225 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 117 Raleigh, NC 27612 July 3, 10, 17 and 24

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against Louise Barrett Derr, deceased, of Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC, are noti ed to present such claims to Diane Adkins, Executor/Personal Representative of the estate, at P.O. Box 2651, Taos, NM, 87571, on or before September 13, 2025. All claims not presented within this time will be forever barred.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Nellie D. Tripp, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, are hereby noti ed to present them to April Tripp Parker, Executrix of the Estate of Nellie D. Tripp, Estate File Number: 25E000251-180, on or before September 29, 2025, in care of the below address, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to Nellie D. Tripp, please make immediate payment. Publication dates: June 26. 2025, July 3, 2025, July 10, 2025, and July 17, 2025. This 26th day of June, 2025 April Tripp Parker, Executrix c/o Lisa K. Vira, Attorney at Law The Vira Law Firm, P.A. 205 West Main Street, Suite 207 Carrboro, NC 27510 919-918-8000 (telephone) 919-919-7887 (facsimile) info@vira-law.com

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Graham Camp Oldham, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before September 19, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This June 19, 2025. c/o Shea Maliszewski, Barringer Sasser, LLP, 111 Commonwealth Court, Suite 101, Cary, NC 27511.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Robert D. Shinney, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before September 12, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This June 12, 2025. c/o Shea Maliszewski, Barringer Sasser, LLP, 111 Commonwealth Court, Suite 101, Cary, NC 27511.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

25E000289-180 NORTH CAROLINA

CHATHAM COUNTY

The undersigned, Lori Delbridge, having quali ed as Limited Personal Representative of the Estate of Barbara Ann Headen, deceased, late of Chatham County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the day of September 10, 2025, or this notice will be plead in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 12th day of June, 2025. Lori Delbridge Limited personal Representative

Marie H. Hopper Attorney for the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

NOTICE

HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of Norva Marie Fisher late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 18th day of September, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 12th day of June, 2025. Mary Lois Oldham, Executor of the Estate of Norva Marie Fisher 1450 Reno Sharpe Store Road Bear Creek, North Carolina 27207 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Judith J. Milikofsky aka Judith June Milikofsky, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ces of Tillman, Whichard & Cagle, PLLC, 501 Eastowne Drive, Suite 130, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, on or before the 12th day of September, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment. This 12th day of June, 2025. DENA ROBIN SPECTOR, EXECUTOR ESTATE OF JUDITH J. MILIKOFSKY AKA JUDITH JUNE MILIKOFSKY

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

All persons having claims against Rolf Peter Lynton of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present them to Rebecca Nandani Lynton, Executor of the Estate of Rolf Lynton, at NextGen Estate Solutions, 1340 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, NC 27517 or before September 26, 2025. Failure to present a claim in timely fashion will result in this Notice being pleaded in bar of recovery against the estate, the Executor, and the devisees of Rolf Peter Lynton. Those indebted to Rolf Lyton are asked to make prompt payment to the Estate. This the 26th day of June, 2025. Rebecca Lynton, Executor C/O Brittany N. Porter, Attorney NextGen Estate Solutions 1340 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, NC 27517

25E000315-180

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Loretta Bernice Chegash, also known as Loretta B. Chegash and Loretta Chegash, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit them to Daniel E. Chegash Sr. as Executor of the Estate of Loretta Bernice Chegash on or before September 22, 2025, c/o Thomas J. Neagle, Attorney at Law, 605 W. Main Street, Suite 104, Carrboro, North Carolina 27510, or this notice will be pled in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the above-named Executor. This the 19th day of June, 2025. Daniel E. Chegash Sr., Executor c/o Thomas J. Neagle, Attorney 605 W. Main Street, Suite 104 Carrboro, North Carolina 27510 Attorney for Estate: Thomas J. Neagle Neagle Law Firm, PC 605 W. Main Street, Suite 104 Carrboro, North Carolina 27510 (919) 368-3536 For Publication: June 19, 26, July 3, 10, 2025

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

TOWN OF PITTSBORO, NC

On Monday, July 14, 2025, at 6:00 pm, the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will hold the following public hearings in person at the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center at 1192 Hwy 64 Business West, Pittsboro, NC: PB-25-242 - A legislative public hearing on a voluntary, contiguous annexation petition (A-2025-01) from Ransdell Farms, LLC. The applicant is requesting annexation of 33.528 acres at Old Graham Roadbetween Oakwood Drive and Brookstone Lane (Parcel ID 0006844). PB-25-175 CMUC-CZ - Lyle Estill (The Plant) has petitioned to have 16.83 acres of land, Parcels 62530, 82361, 82951 and 89681, currently zoned M-2 (Heavy Industrial) to be reclassi ed as CMUC-CZ (Community Mixed-Use Conditional). The property, located on Lorax Lane, has been in use since 2005 as a manufacturing site and as an entertainment destination. The primary rationale for this conditional rezoning is to bring most of the existing uses into conforming status. Adaptive reuse of one of the primary structures to create an indoor event space is also a key motivation of this proposal. The hearing will be held in person. The public can also watch the hearing live on the Town’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ townofpittsboronc/streams. Members of the public must attend in person if they wish to speak at the hearing. Contact the Town Clerk, Carrie Bailey, by 4 pm on July 14, 2025 with written comments or to sign up to speak at the hearing. You can contact Carrie Bailey at cbailey@pittsboronc.gov, (984) 282-6647, or PO Box 759, Pittsboro, NC 27312. # E N D # (do not print the below information) Chatham News & Record: ADVERTISE TWICE – 7/03 & 7/10/2025 PLEASE SEND (1) THE ORIGINAL PUBLICATION AFFIDAVIT TO THE TOWN CLERK AT PO BOX 759, PITTSBORO, NC 27312 AND (2) THE DIGITAL CERTIFICATION OF ADVERTISEMENT TO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AT RCAHOON-TINGLE@PITTSBORONC.GOV.

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE# 25E000303-180 The undersigned, CATHERINE A. HELMEKE, having quali ed on the 5th Day of JUNE, 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of KERRY DEAN HELMEKE, deceased of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to her on or before the 12th Day of SEPTEMBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms or corporations indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 12th DAY OF JUNE 2025.

CATHERINE A. HELMEKE, EXECUTOR 1302 Ventnor Pl Cary, NC 27519 Run dates: June 12, 19, 26, July 3p.

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY

HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of Paul David Justice late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 18th day of September, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

This the 12th day of June, 2025.

Vicky P. Justice, Executor of the Estate of Paul David Justice 1353 Siler City Glendon Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Probate #25E000174-180_____

All persons, rm and corporations having claims against Earl S. Settlemire, late of Chatham County, North Carolina are hereby noti ed to present them to Kendall H. Page, as Executor of the decedent’s estate in care of Kendall H. Page, Attorney, 210 N Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 on or before the 19th day of September, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the above-named Executor.

Kendall H. Page 210 N Columbia Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Bar # 14261 Notice to Run: 6/19/2025,6/26/2025, 7/03/2025 & 7/10/2025

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA Chatham COUNTY

25E000296-180 All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against William Lambert Jernigan, deceased, late of Chatham County, NC, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 13th day of September, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 12th day of June 2025. Rachel Lee Jernigan, Executor c/o Hemphill Gelder, PC PO Box 97035 Raleigh, NC 27624-7035 Chatham News and Record June 12, 19, 26, 2025 and July 3, 2025

NOTICE

ALL PERSONS, rms, and corporations having claims against Donna Marie Spring Ring, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before October 3rd, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 3rd of July, 2025. Michelle Lynn Ring Romanowicz, Administrator of the Estate of Donna Marie Spring Ring, c/o Amanda Honea, Attorney, 1033 Wade Avenue, Suite 104, Raleigh, NC 27605.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

25E000299-180 ALL persons having claims against Jacqueline O’Gorman, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Sep 26 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 26th day of June, 2025.

PATRICIA HURLMAN, Co-Executor

DENISE M NOWAK, Co-Executor

C/O Brown Estate Planning and Elder Law

P. O. Box 920 Graham, NC 27253 J26, 3, 10 and 17

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS OF Suzanne Simmons Daily

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Suzanne Simmons Daily, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit them to Kathryn Daily as Executor of the decedent’s estate on or before September 13th, 2025, c/o Janet B. Witchger, Attorney at Law, 1414 Raleigh Rd., Ste. 203, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, or be barred from their recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the above-named Executor. This the 12th day of June, 2025. Kathryn Daily, Executor c/o Janet B. Witchger, Atty. TrustCounsel 1414 Raleigh Rd., Ste. 203 Chapel Hill, NC 27517

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against James D. Seitzer a/k/a James Donald Seitzer, deceased, of Chatham County, NC, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 2nd of October, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 3rd day of July, 2025. Bruce F. Seitzer Jean S. Storrs c/o Hutson Law O ce, P.A. 3518 Westgate Drive, Suite 401 Durham, NC 27707 July 3, 10, 17, 24, 2025

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS COUNTY OF CHATHAM THE UNDERSIGNED, having quali ed on the 22nd day of May 2025, as Executor

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 3RD DAY OF JULY 2025. JANET COOK FARRELL PO BOX 156 PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: Jy3,10,17,24p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000291-180 The undersigned, MATTHEW JOHNSON AND BELINDA C. MURRAY, having quali ed on the 2ND Day of JUNE, 2025 as CO-EXECUTORS of the Estate of RANDY LYNN JOHNSON, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 12TH Day OF SEPTEMBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 12TH DAY OF JUNE 2025. MATTHEW JOHNSON, CO-EXECUTOR 1104 BOWERS STORE RD. SILER CITY, NC 27344 BELINDA C. MURRAY, CO-EXECUTOR 95 NC HWY 22/42 BENNETT, NC 27208 Run dates: J12,19,26,Jy3p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#24E001582-180 The undersigned, BONNIE LYNN LEONARD, having quali ed on the 6th Day of NOVEMBER, 2024 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of OLLIE WALTER WRENN, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 26th Day OF SEPTEMBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 26th DAY OF JUNE 2025. BONNIE LYNN LEONARD, EXECUTOR 637 SILVERBERRY PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: J26, Jy3,10,17p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#24E001437-180 The undersigned, PAMELA KITZMAN, having quali ed on the 10th Day of SEPTEMBER, 2024 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ELIZABETH E. JOHNSON, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to him on or before the 26th Day OF SEPTEMBER 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 26th DAY OF JUNE 2025. PAMELA KITZMAN, EXECUTOR 1096 EPPS CLARK RD. SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: J26, Jy3,10,17p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

All persons having claims against Paul Franklin Stiller, of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present them to Susan Morrow, Executor of the Estate of Paul Franklin Stiller, at NextGen Estate Solutions, 1340 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, NC 27517 or before September 19 , 2025. Failure to present a claim in timely fashion will result in this Notice being pleaded in bar of recovery against the estate, the Personal Representative, and the devisees of Paul Stiller. Those indebted to Paul Stiller are asked to make prompt payment to the Estate. This the 19th day of June, 2025. Susan Morrow, Executor C/O Brittany N. Porter, Attorney NextGen Estate Solutions 1340 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Federal task force nds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students

A report said the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment

By Collin Binkley

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s administration intensi ed its battle with Harvard University, formally nding the school tolerated antisemitism — a step that could jeopardize all of Harvard’s federal funding, including federal student aid.

In a letter sent to Harvard on Monday, a federal task force said its investigation had found the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment of Jewish students and faculty. The task force threatened to refer the case to the Justice Department for a civil rights investigation “as soon as possible,” unless Harvard comes into compliance.

The nding escalates the White House’s battle with Harvard, which has faced mounting sanctions after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions. Already, the government has slashed more than $2.6 billion in research grants. But a civil rights violation could jeopardize Harvard’s eligibility to accept federal loans or grants for students to attend the university — a penalty often re-

ferred to as a “death sentence” in higher education.

“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal nancial resources and continue to a ect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” o cials said in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and rst reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration for months has accused Harvard of tolerating antisemitism on its campus, but a formal investigative nding gives the administration a channel to block more federal funding.

Trump personally has railed against Harvard, but on June 20 suggested a deal resolving the monthslong con ict could be coming soon. In a post on social media, Trump said Harvard has “acted extremely appropriately” during negotiations. He did not elaborate on the terms of a potential resolution.

Harvard has not commented on whether it is negotiating with the White House. On Monday, Harvard said it strongly disagrees with the government’s ndings and is committed to ghting bias.

“Antisemitism is a serious problem and no matter the context, it is unacceptable,” the university said in a statement. “Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community.”

Federal o cials made their case in a 57-page report detail-

ing an investigation by the civil rights o ce of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is among several represented on a federal antisemitism task force.

The government’s investigation largely relied on a campus antisemitism study commissioned by Harvard and released in April. Federal o cials cited numerous details from that report, including accounts of Jewish students who said they were spit on and faced chants on campus including “Heil Hitler.”

It focuses heavily on last year’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war. In the letter to Harvard, federal o cials said the campus was “overrun by an impermissible, multiweek encampment” that left Jewish and Israeli students fearful and disrupted their studies. It accuses Harvard of imposing lax and inconsistent discipline against students who participated in the encampment, noting that none were suspended.

Harvard President Alan Garber has acknowledged problems with antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias on campus, but he says Harvard has made strides to ght prejudice. He announced new initiatives in April upon release of the antisemitism study.

“Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry,” Garber wrote at the time.

The Monday letter nds Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Such ndings have almost always been resolved through voluntary resolutions between schools and the federal government. The Trump administration has taken a much sharper edge than its predecessors, however.

It has been decades since an administration even attempted to strip a school or college of its federal funding over civil rights violations. Trump ocials are seeking that outcome in a Justice Department lawsuit against Maine over transgender athletes, and it’s threatening the

same action in a similar investigation into California.

Trump o cials have barraged Harvard with sanctions after it became the rst university to defy White House demands addressing accusations of antisemitism and liberal bias. Along with research cuts, the administration has attempted to bar Harvard from hosting foreign students, and President Donald Trump has said the school should lose its tax- exempt status. Some of the actions have been blocked by courts after Harvard sued, accusing the government of illegal retaliation.

Harvard’s previous funding cuts were carried out under a provision allowing the government to end grants and contracts that no longer align with federal priorities. That strategy is believed to be unprecedented and is being challenged in court. But by invoking a civil rights violation, Harvard has an established path to further penalties.

International Space Station welcomes rst astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary

They arrived on a Dragon capsule from SpaceX

By Marcia Dunn

The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

— The rst astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station last Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private ight.

The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments. They launched last

Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. America’s most experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, is the commander of the visiting crew. She works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered ight. Besides Whitson, the crew includes India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, a pilot in the Indian Air Force; Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer; and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, a radiation expert and one of the European Space Agency’s project astro -

nauts on temporary ight duty. No one has ever visited the International Space Station from those countries before. The time anyone rocketed into orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets.

Speaking in both English and their native languages, the new arrivals shared hugs and handshakes with the space station’s seven full-time residents, celebrating with drink pouches sipped through straws. Six nations were represented: four from the U.S., three from Russia and one each from Japan,

India, Poland and Hungary.

“We have so many countries at the same time on the space station,” Kapu said, adding that seven of the 11 astronauts are rst-time space iers “which also tells me how much space is expanding.”

Added Uznanski-Wisniewski: “We will all try to do the best representing our countries.” Shukla rated the experience so far as “fantastic ... wonderful.”

The space station’s commander, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, said he was happy to nally see their smiling faces after “waiting for you guys so long.”

Whitson also made note of the lengthy delay and pre ight quarantine.

To stay healthy, the four newcomers went into quarantine on May 25, stuck in it as their launch kept getting delayed. The latest postponement was for space station leak monitoring, NASA wanted to make sure everything was safe following repairs to a longtime leak on the Russian side of the outpost.

It’s the fourth Axiom- sponsored ight to the space station since 2022. The company is one of several that are developing their own space stations due to launch in the coming years. NASA plans to abandon the International Space Station in 2030 after more than three decades of operation, and is encouraging private ventures to replace it.

CHARLES KRUPA / AP PHOTO

Students walk through Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in April 2022.

COURTESY NASA

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew from Axiom Space approaches the International Space Station on Thursday as both spacecraft were orbiting 263 miles above the coast of southern Madagascar.

CHATHAM SPORTS

Jarin Stevenson visits campers at his alma mater

The former Hawk returned to Seaforth and spoke to the youth

By Asheebo Rojas

Chatham News & Record

Aiden Allred, pictured last summer with the Sandhills Bogeys, made the ONSL

Allred competes in ONSL All-Star Game

The rst-time all-star started for the West Region team

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

CHATHAM COUN-

TY’S Aidan Allred played in the Old North State League All- Star Game Saturday at Jack Amyette Park in Jacksonville Saturday. Allred, a member of the Randolph Ropin’ Roosters, was named an ONSL all-star for the rst time and started at shortstop for the West Region team. The East Region team won the game 9-3 after outscor-

ing the West 5-0 in the nal four innings. Allred went 2 for 5 from the plate and scored a run. With the West down 4-1 in the top of the fth inning, Allred started a three-hit streak with a single to right eld. Cutter Womack of the Hendersonville Honeycrisps doubled in the next atbat to bring Allred home, and Markus Kirksey of the Lexington Flying Pigs then followed with his own double to score Womack and bring the East within one run. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Allred singled on a y ball to center eld. The former Chatham Charter standout is having a solid

summer, boasting a .400 batting average that leads all Randolph batters with at least two at-bats as of Sunday. Amongst those same batters, Allred has recorded the third-best OPS (.842), second-best slugging percentage (.467) and is tied for the team’s most hits (6) through 12 games. Allred was the Ropin’ Roosters’ only all-star this season. Randolph is 4-8 this season after winning two of its last four games. After appearing in 12 games during his freshman year at Brunswick Community College this spring, Allred committed to William Peace to continue his collegiate baseball career. Prior to college, Allred was a two-time Central Tar Heel 1A conference player of the year during his four seasons with the Knights. As a senior, he recorded a .612 batting average with 52 hits, 46 RBIs and seven home runs.

With what he accomplished at the high school and college level, many of the kids may have already put a face to the name. But instead of just looking up at his name on the wall, campers on June 25 got to look up at the man himself.

The former Seaforth basketball star returned to his alma mater to spend time with

PITTSBORO — As the kids at Seaforth’s summer boys’ basketball camp worked on their skills, Jarin Stevenson’s 2022-23 Gatorade Player of the Year banner hung above them.

the campers, sharing his experience as a successful basketball player, signing autographs and taking photos with the young athletes.

“I love to inspire other people,” Stevenson said. “I try to help people become successful, and hopefully I can inspire other kids, and they can do well.”

Willard’s big night pushes Randolph County over Chatham

The Post 45 shortstop homered on the game’s rst pitch

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

SILER CITY — Randolph County Post 45 shortstop Ethan Willard smashed the rst pitch of the game over the left eld fence, setting the tone for a 5-3 road win over Chatham County Post 305 on June 26.

“He got a fastball up and got it up in the air,” Post 45 coach Ronnie Pugh said. “It was also hit to the shortest part of the park, too, so that helped. That was a good start for us.”

Willard went 3 for 4 at the plate (single, double and home run) with team highs of three RBIs and two runs.

“He’s

Randolph pitcher Sean Jennison earned the win on the mound with his own stellar performance. He gave up zero earned runs, threw three strikeouts and walked three batters while allowing four hits in six innings. Jennison allowed two hits in the rst four innings.

“His last two outings have been good, but this one was by far the best he’s had this year,” Pugh said. “He stayed in the strike zone, kept his pitch count down and did the things he needed to do.”

a leader on our team.”

Ronnie Pugh

He also made a double play in the bottom of the fourth inning, sending Chatham back to the dugout with its fourth straight 1-2-3 batting turn.

“He’s a leader on our team,” Pugh said about Willard. “He does a lot of little things, and as you witnessed, he runs exceptionally well. He’s real aggressive, and he keeps the defense back on their heels.”

Following Willard’s rst-inning bomb, Chatham pitcher Anthony Lopossay quickly settled into the game as he got out of the inning without any more damage. Lopossay nished the game with 11 strikeouts, but he and the Post 305 defense struggled to close the two-out situations.

In three straight innings, Randolph collected runs while facing two outs. After back-to-back strikeouts by Lopossay in the top of the second, four straight batters reached a base by a walk or single. With bases loaded, Willard, the fourth batter in the

POST 45, page B5

See STEVENSON, page B5

GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Jarin Stevenson poses with campers and coaches at the Seaforth boys’ basketball camp.

ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Jarin Stevenson speaks to campers at the Seaforth boys’ basketball camp.

PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

All-Star team this year.

Emma Burke

Chatham County Post 292 18U Heroes League

Chatham County Post 292’s Emma Burke earns athlete of the week honors for the week of June 23.

In Post 292’s 15-0 win over North Wake on June 23, Burke went 2 for 3 at the plate and recorded four RBIs and two runs. With her team up 5-0 in the top of the second inning, Burke tripled on a line drive to center eld, bringing Marcy Clark, Avery Kiger and Abigail Johnson home. She later doubled in the fourth inning and scored Chatham County’s 13th run on a single by Taylor Hussey.

Burke recently earned her third all-district selection from her senior year at Chatham Central. She will attend Clemson to study communications.

Local softball players earn NCSCA all-district honors

Kaczmarczyk is the District 5 1A Pitcher of the Year

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

THE NORTH Carolina Softball Coaches Association announced the 2025 all-district teams last week.

Multiple local players earned all-district honors for District 5. Here are the county’s all-district selections and what they accomplished this past season.

1A

Maddie Kaczmarczyk (Chatham Central, 1A Pitcher of the Year)

Sophomore Maddie Kaczmarczyk was named the District 5 1A Pitcher of the Year as she earned all-district honors for the second straight season. Kaczmarczyk nished the season with a 13-1 record, achieving a 2.45 ERA and striking out 153 batters.

Emma Burke (Chatham Central)

Senior third baseman Emma Burke earned her third straight all-district selection. Burke

logged career-highs in hits (25), RBIs (27), runs (27), OPS (1.105) and doubles (nine) with a .397 batting average.

Addison Goldston (Chatham Central)

Freshman shortstop Addison Goldston stepped into a big role for the Bears this spring. Goldston led the Bears in batting average (.529), on-base percentage (.581) and home runs (three).

Sallie Oldham (Chatham Central)

Junior out elder Sallie Oldham earned her second consecutive all-district selection after leading Chatham Central with 25 stolen bases. She batted a .457 average with 32 hits, 24 RBIs, two home runs and a 1.381 OPS.

2A

Lilli Hicks (Jordan-Matthews)

Junior pitcher Lilli Hicks earned all-district honors for the second straight year. The standout pitcher had an exceptional season in the circle with two no-hitters, and she was one of the Jets’ best hitters.

Cami Brinkley (Seaforth)

Junior outfielder Cami Brinkley earned her first all-district selection. Brinkley recorded 21 hits, 16 RBIs, two doubles and a home run with a .328 batting average.

Emma Grace Hill (Seaforth)

Sophomore pitcher Emma Grace Hill earned her second all-district selection. Hill was dominant in the circle, achieving a 12-3 record and a 2.49 ERA. She recorded 163 strikeouts and four run-rule no-hitters. At the plate, Hill batted a .448 average with 30 hits, 21 RBIs, two home runs and an OPS of 1.304.

Annika Johansson (Seaforth)

Sophomore shortstop Annika Johansson earned all-district honors for the second time. Johansson led the Hawks in batting average (.485), on-base percentage (.550), runs (33), hits (33), RBIs (26), doubles (11) and slugging percentage (.868). She also hit three home runs and achieved an OPS of 1.418 this spring.

PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Maddie Kaczmarczyk throws a pitch against Seaforth during the 2025 season.

Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku is congratulated after scoring his team’s second goal during the Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Charlotte.

CHRIS CARLSON / AP PHOTO

Nkunku’s extra-time goal sparks Chelsea to win in Club World Cup

turned, Chelsea was called for a handball in stoppage time when the ball hit Malo Gusto’s hand.

Angel Di Maria converted the penalty to even the match.

By Steve Reed The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — Christo -

pher Nkunku scored o a rebound in extra time and Chelsea went on to beat Ben ca 4-1 in a Club World Cup Round of 16 match Saturday at Bank of America Stadium that was delayed for two hours due to lightning and took nearly ve hours to complete. Chelsea advances to play Palmeiras in the quarterfinals Friday in Philadelphia. Palmeiras beat Botafogo 1-0 on Saturday.

Nkunku’s tiebreaking goal came in the 108th minute with Ben ca playing a man down after Gianluca Prestianni received a red card. Moisés Caicedo’s left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved in the center of the goal by Anatolii Trubin, but an alert Nkunku was there to bury the de ection into the top right corner before being mobbed by teammates.

Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added insurance goals in extra time for the nal margin.

Reece James scored on a free kick in the 64th minute to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.

But with four minutes left, the match was stopped because of lightning and delayed for two hours. When the teams re-

After dominating most of the rst half, the English club nally broke through when the 25-year-old James laced a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

The Portuguese side had a chance to tie it in the 78th minute, but Gianluca Prestianni sent a right-footed shot from the right side of the box just left of the goal. Prestianni held his head in his hands in agony after the miss.

In the closing minutes, players were pulled o the eld and fans told to seek cover due to lightning strikes in the area, although it did not rain at the stadium.

Only a few thousand fans returned for the conclusion.

Chelsea entered with a 3-0 record against Ben ca and controlled the tempo in the rst half with a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. But despite possessing the ball more than 60% of the time, the Blues headed to locker room at halftime in a scoreless tie.

The match was not well attended.

More than half of the lower bowl of 75,000-seat Bank of America Stadium was empty and all but a few hundred seats in the upper deck were remained unclaimed as the event continues to struggle with ticket sales in the United States

even as it moved into the knockout round.

Key moment

James’ goal gave Chelsea momentum after it failed to convert some decent looks in the rst half.

Takeaways

Ben ca seemed content to play defense most of the match and try to take advantage of its few chances. But the o ense could not capitalize on the opportunities it generated.

Noteworthy

It was the rst two Round-of-16 knockout games at the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Inter Milan meets Fluminense on Monday, with the winner facing either Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarternals.

What they said

“For 85 minutes we were in control. After the break, the match changed. It’s not the same game. You suspend a game (for two hours), to me that’s not football. I struggle to understand it. ... We have been here two weeks and they have suspended six or seven games, so something is not working here.” — Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca.

“In the rst half our objective was to come forward although we were facing a very tough side.” — Ben ca coach Bruno Lage.

Northwood boys continue to build depth at NC Live Team Camp

The Chargers test themselves against sti competition before next winter

By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record

BERMUDA RUN — The Northwood boys’ basketball team put itself to some more early tests over the weekend. The Chargers played six games at the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Live Team Camp at RISE Indoor Sports in Bermuda Run from Friday to Sunday. Northwood went 3-3 at the camp. The Chargers started strong with a 72-59 win over Cave Spring (Virginia) and a 65-46 win over Watauga Friday. They split Saturday’s games, falling to West eld (Virginia) 72-42 and beating Lake Taylor (Virginia) 53-38.

On the nal day, Northwood dropped both games with a 63-34 loss to Independence and a 64-56 loss to Chambers.

In the win over Cave Spring, junior guard Josiah Brown hit seven 3s and nished with 25 points. While running point in a fast-paced, constant-moving o ense, he showcased the ability to create his own shot with his shifty handle. Senior guard Cam Fowler got his on the inside, slashing his way to 21 points. Senior forward Chad Graves, who received his rst college o er from Dean College on Friday, poured in 13 points, and soph-

omore guard Grant Locklear added eight. Against Watauga, Northwood found itself down 22-21 after two quarters, but Fowler, who put on another 20-point performance, led a 26-11 run in the third quarter to boost the Chargers to victory.

Fowler scored from all levels of the court in the run, hitting three 3s and a reverse slam on an alley-oop pass from Brown.

As Northwood’s veterans, including quick and pesky guard Raje Torres, continue to ne tune the chemistry, some new faces, looking for bigger varsity roles next winter, are getting a lot of game experience this o season.

Locklear and junior guard

Asher Brooks played big minutes over the weekend as Locklear provides another scoring threat and Brooks looks to be a facilitator. Both are also solid defenders who’ve shown the ability to cause turnovers and nish in transition.

Junior forward Nivan Lauano and freshman Tolson O’Daniel also played at the Live Team Camp, providing another two-way post option alongside or behind Graves.

“We can play all 10 guys,” Northwood coach Matt Brown said. “We’re actually missing a couple of guys today. So we’re going to be really deep. They’re relentless on o ense and relentless on defense, and that’s kind of how we want to play this year. Get a little bit more fast-paced, play a lot of guys, score a lot of points.”

ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD Matt Brown talks to his team during a game at the NC Live Camp.

The Blues advanced by beating Ben ca in the Round of 16

SIDELINE REPORT

NFL Tucker suspended 10 weeks for violating league’s personal conduct policy

New York

The NFL suspended former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker for the rst 10 weeks next season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Tucker is eligible for reinstatement on Nov. 11. He is a free agent after the Ravens released him last month in the aftermath of reports that he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by massage therapists. A ve-time

All-Pro, the 35-year-old Tucker has played his entire 13-year career with Baltimore and is considered one of the best kickers in NFL history.

NBA James formally opts in for a 23rd season, will make $52.6M in 2025 -26

Los Angeles LeBron James is exercising his $52.6 million option with the Los Angeles Lakers for 2025-26, further con rming that he will become the rst player in NBA history to play a 23rd season, breaking a tie with Vince Carter. James turns 41 in December. James, who recently returned to on- court workouts after taking several weeks to recover after spraining a knee ligament in the Lakers’ nal game of this past season’s playo s, said he expected to be ready for training camp.

NHL

NHL, NHLPA close to 4-year CBA extension that includes 84 -game season

New York

Two people familiar with negotiations tell The Associated Press the NHL and NHL Players’ Association are close to an agreement on a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement. They con rmed that going to an 84-game season from 82 is among the changes coming. The league and union have been in talks since April and are on the verge of a deal more than a year before the current CBA expires. Other changes include shortening the maximum length of contracts and adding a playo salary cap.

NCAA FOOTBALL

Harbaugh added to lawsuit about hacking allegations against former assistant

Detroit

NFL coach Jim Harbaugh has been added to a lawsuit against the University of Michigan and a former assistant football coach who is accused of hacking into the computer accounts of college athletes to look for intimate photos. Matt Weiss worked for then-Michigan coach Harbaugh in 2022. The lawsuit says Harbaugh and others knew Weiss was seen viewing private information on a computer. But he was allowed to stick around for a big playo game. Harbaugh is now with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer headline ’26 NBA Draft’s top lottery prospects

UNC and Duke freshmen, transfers and returning players are featured on the NBA prospects list

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press

THE NBA has had Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg as obvious No. 1 overall draft picks in recent years. AJ Dybantsa has been headed toward that status for 2026. The BYU signee has been a favorite to sit atop draft boards next summer and ranks as the nation’s top recruit by ESPN, On3 and Rivals. Kansas signee Darryn Peterson tops the list for 247Sports to make it a more open race for No. 1.

Here’s an early look next summer’s potential lottery prospects:

1. A.J. Dybantsa, BYU

The 6-foot-9 forward chose the Cougars over Kansas, UNC and Alabama. Athleticism and versatility shine through his rangy scoring skillset, notably when he attacks o the dribble and nishes at the rim.

2. Darryn Peterson, Kansas

The 6-5 guard from Ohio o ers perimeter size with ability to play on or o the ball. He was co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game.

3. Cameron Boozer, Duke The 6-9 forward joined twin Cayden in winning a high school national title and fourth straight Florida state title. The son of former Duke and NBA forward Carlos Boozer showed his inside-out game (22 points, 16 rebounds, six assists) leading the U.S. past the World team in the Nike Hoop Summit. He joined Peterson as the McDonald’s game co-MVP.

4. Nate Ament, Tennessee

The 6-9 forward is a McDonald’s All-American and Gatorade player of the year for Virginia.

5. Caleb Wilson, UNC

The 6-9 forward from Atlanta and McDonald’s All-American o ers two-way potential with his athleticism and length, including as a shot blocker. The McDonald’s

All-American announced his UNC commitment on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” show.

6. Chris Cenac Jr., Houston ESPN and 247Sports rank Cenac as the nation’s top center, o ering rangy skills and outside shooting that made him the MVP of the NBPA Top 100 camp in summer 2024.

7. Karim Lopez, New Zealand Breakers (Australia)

The versatile 6-8 wing from Mexico is part of the National Basketball League’s “Next Stars” program designed to develop high-end prospects.

8. Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky

The 6-9 forward was a top-10 recruit last year entering Arizona State. He later transferred to join the Wildcats.

9. Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville The 6-3 McDonald’s All-American is big signee

for Pat Kelsey, ranking as the No. 1 point guard prospect for Rivals.

10. Darius Acu Jr., Arkansas

The 6-2 Acu is the top point guard prospect for 247Sports (No. 5 overall) and ESPN (No. 7). The McDonald’s All-American operates smoothly in the pick-and-roll.

11. Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor ESPN’s ninth-ranked recruit o ers a sturdy frame (roughly 6-5 and 210 pounds) and versatile athleticism while being known for a high-motor style.

12. Dash Daniels, Melbourne United (Australia) The younger brother of Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels will play for the NBL’s “Next Stars” program.

13. Isaiah Evans, Duke The 6-6 guard withdrew from this year’s draft and must add strength to a 175-pound frame. But there’s clear upside with his explosive scoring potential,

such as hitting six rst-half 3s out of nowhere against Auburn in December.

14. Labaron Philon, Alabama

The 6-4 freshman point guard was a last-minute draft withdrawal.

Others to watch (in alphabetical order):

Alijah Arenas: The son of former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas is a McDonald’s All-American.

Miles Byrd: The 6-7 guard from San Diego State as a redshirt sophomore. Ian Jackson: The 6-4 guard averaged 11.9 points while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range at UNC as a ve-star freshman before transferring to St. John’s.

Yaxel Lendeborg: The 6-9, 240-pound forward has gone from junior college to UAB and now Michigan. Tahaad Pettiford: The 6-1 freshman averaged 11.6 points and shot 36.6% on 3s for Auburn.

Meleek Thomas: The 6-4 guard is a McDonald’s All-American who signed with Arkansas.

Lawson, always a basketball trailblazer, has legit chance to lead USA squad in LA

The Duke coach has already led the 3-on-3 team to gold but wants to coach 5-on-5

By Doug Feinberg

The Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.

— Kara Lawson has always been a basketball trailblazer and now the Duke women’s coach has a legit chance to lead USA to another gold medal. She has already done it once.

Lawson guided the Americans to a 3-on-3 Olympic gold medal and could have the chance to lead the USA’s 5-on-5 squad at the Los Angeles Games in three years. First up is coaching the U.S. AmeriCup team playing in Chile.

Coaching is something she wanted to do since she was a young girl growing up in Virginia. She just didn’t know it would be for her country.

“I played for a long time, and, so I got into coaching a little bit later just because I had a long playing career, which is as a good excuse as any to get into coaching later,” Lawson said.

“So I was always drawn to it. I just didn’t know what my entry point was.”

Fast forward 37 years and she’s in charge of the group

ball team. Dawn Staley was the coach in 2020.

Lawson didn’t want to look at this opportunity as a tryout to be the 2028 Olympic coach or even next year’s World Cup which she is on the short list to coach. That decision will be made by Sue Bird, the national team managing director.

“In my experience in life, if you just keep that mindset of being in the moment, more opportunities tend to happen for you,” said Lawson, who helped the USA win gold in 2008, where she and Bird were teammates. “And if you’re so worried about where you t and who goes where, and am I next in line? I just never found that to to be productive and drives you crazy and it’s a waste of energy.

of college players heading to South America.

“I’m fortunate enough to be assigned something as important as America’s head coach, my goal is to do the best job possible,” Lawson said during a break as she prepared her team for the World Cup qualifying tournament.

The 44-year-old Lawson could become the second African American to lead the USA women’s Olympic basket-

“So I try to just lock in on like, ‘what do I need to do at this job to be really good?’ ” Now she’ll try and lead the team to another victory and the automatic berth to the World Cup next year in Germany.

“I think the mentality for every team is to win,” Lawson said. “Our group understands that we’re on the lower end of the experience totem pole entering this competition and that we’re going to face some very good teams. So the race is on for us to gain continuity, pick up our playbook as quickly as we

can and get on the same page.” She knows the pressure that comes with coaching a USA team. Anything less than a gold medal is considered a failure.

Lawson doesn’t let the lofty expectations create additional pressure on her.

DeLisha Milton-Jones was a teammate of Lawson’s on the 2007 AmeriCup team and now is coaching with her. She’s been impressed with what she’s seen so far from Lawson as a coach.

“She has a knack for the game,” Milton-Jones said. “Kara is well versed when it comes to the game. Started o at an early age going to games with her father. Going to college and being coached by one of the greatest ever to coach. Having experiences from NBA, WNBA, international side of things.”

In the AmeriCup, Lawson will be coaching some of the most talented players in women’s college basketball, including Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU), Olivia Miles (TCU) and Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame). Lawson has made quite an impression.

“The intensity she brings every day, you feel it like that’s a pro right there,” Johnson said. “Just learning from her I learned so much in these (few) days, it’s been amazing.”

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO

Head coach Kara Lawson directs players during a USA Basketball women’s Americup Trials practice at the USA Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this month.

GREGORY PAYAN / AP PHOTO

Cameron Boozer directs teammates during a high school game at the Hoophall Classic in Spring eld, Massachusetts.

Home-state favorite Elliott wins Cup race in Atlanta

The Georgia native passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap

By Charles Odum The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — Homestate favorite Chase Elliott passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap and won the the crashlled NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night for his 20th career victory.

Elliott, the popular driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, earned a spot in the Cup Series playo s with his rst victory since April 2024 at Texas. It was his rst win in Atlanta since 2022.

“I’ve never in my whole life, this is unbelievable,” Elliott said.

“This is something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Keselowski was second, followed by Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammate, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick. Bowman helped block Keselowski following Elliott’s lastlap pass.

“The 48 and 9 just got together,” Keselowski said, referring to Bowman and Elliott. “... At they end they were able to double-team me.”

Elliott climbed into the stands to celebrate with fans after ending a 44-race winless streak.

“I’m happy for the 9 team,” Bowman said. “It’s a big win for him in his hometown. ... I’m glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us.”

The race’s second crash early in Stage 2 took out many of

the sport’s biggest names and left others with damaged cars. Pole-winner Joey Logano, who led the rst 36 laps before light rain forced the rst caution, was among the many drivers caught up in the big crash.

Among others knocked out of the race: William Byron, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez.

“It wrecked the whole eld,” Logano said. “I still don’t know exactly how it started ... but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible.”

Added Denny Hamlin, who su ered damage to his Toyota in the crash: “Some zigged. Some zagged. Most crashed.”

The Atlanta race at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known

as Atlanta Motor Speedway, was the debut of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a ve-race, bracket-style tournament.

The parade of highly regarded drivers to be knocked out so early in the race showed the perils of trying to pick NASCAR winners on a March Madness-style bracket sheet. The top two seeds were among the early casualties.

Hamlin, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, nished 31st and lost to Ty Dillon, who nished eighth.

Chase Briscoe, who held o Hamlin for his rst win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, was the No. 2 seed before being knocked out in a crash and losing to Noah Gragson in the tournament.

Bracket busters

Ryan Blaney, the race favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, was knocked out on a wreck late in the rst stage. Christopher Bell hit the wall, triggering the crash that ended the stage with Cindric in the lead.

Cindric was involved in the bigger crash early in Stage 2.

were among others involved in the crash.

A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Elliott and Keselowski were on the front row when a caution with 33 laps to go forced a decision on whether to pit for fresh tires. Both stayed on the track and Elliott faded following the restart until making his decisive charge at the very end.

In front of about 50 campers, Seaforth basketball coach John Berry asked Stevenson questions about being home, his work ethic and advice he’d give to the young players. Berry was the boys’ junior varsity basketball coach during Stevenson’s two seasons at Seaforth.

The kids got to ask questions as well, and one asked if Stevenson, wearing slides, could dunk for them.

Stevenson couldn’t ful l his request, but standing on the Seaforth court did bring back

POST 45 from page B1

streak, got a lucky bounce on a groundball to center eld and scored Jake Riddle and Grat Dalton for a 3-0 lead.

Facing two outs once again in the top of the third with Braxton Walker on rst due to an error, Jackson Hill doubled to send Walker home for a 4-0 advantage.

In the fourth inning, Lopossay started with two more strikeouts, but Willard singled and was batted home in the next at-bat by Caleb Coggins for a ve-run lead.

“We got another out,” Chatham coach Bryce Marsh said. “That’s the biggest message for it. Just because you got two outs doesn’t mean they’re go -

memories of when he threw down dunks in high school. In two seasons with the Hawks, Stevenson averaged 21.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. Standing at 6-foot-10, he was an all-around two-way threat who could do damage in the post and knock down 3s. He led Seaforth to two playo appearances in its rst two years of existence, including its rst conference title and rst playo win in 2023. With the accolades he collected and the unforgettable moments made in a Seaforth jersey, like scoring a career-high

ing to give up. Ronnie Pugh teaches his guys to be very aggressive throughout the whole game.”

Although hitting was a struggle for Post 305 on the offensive side, Chatham didn’t go down without a ght.

In the sixth inning, Eduardo Gutierrez, who came in as a courtesy runner for Jace Young on rst base, scored Chatham’s rst run on a single from Colin Dorney.

After holding Randolph to its rst 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth with two strikeouts, Chatham pitcher Daniel White continued his impressive relief performance with two more strikeouts and zero runs in the top of the seventh. He nished the game without

42 points against Jordan-Matthews in 2023, Stevenson most remembers the work he put in to take his game to the next level.

“Going out there, getting better, working on my handle as a big, I feel like it’s really important,” Stevenson said. “Working on my shot too, as a big. It really makes me versatile. And again, just going in the gym and getting stronger too.”

The work showed almost immediately during his freshman season at Alabama, where he played 16 minutes per game primarily o the bench and poured

giving up a hit, throwing 17 strikes in 32 pitches.

With one last chance for a tie or walk-o , Chatham’s Ian McMillan walked, and Zach Cartrette singled to get on base. Facing two outs after a line out by Jake Bowden, Young smashed a y ball to the left center eld fence, but it was dropped by the left elder and allowed McMillan and Cartrette to score.

The comeback attempt ended with a y out from Matt Murchison in the next at-bat. Randolph improved to 13-4 on the season with the win, and Chatham fell to 4-9.

The two teams will meet for the third time this season Thursday at 7 p.m. at McCrary Park in Asheboro.

in 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per night. In the 2024 NCAA Tournament, he scored a season-high 19 points ( ve made 3s) in an Elite Eight win over Clemson, helping the Crimson Tide reach their rst Final Four in program history.

As a sophomore, Stevenson started 22 games and contributed to Alabama’s second straight trip to the Elite Eight. He entered the transfer portal shortly after the end of the season and committed to the Tar Heels days later.

In an April interview with Inside Carolina, Stevenson

named being “closer to home” as a main reason for his decision to transfer to UNC.

Being back in Chapel Hill has allowed him to be around family again, whether it’s hanging out with former friends and teammates, like future Campbell runner Sebastian Calderon, or getting motivation from his parents and sister.

“My family, they’ve also pushed me to get better,” Stevenson said. “They helped push me to get in the gym, and even when I don’t feel like it, they help push. To see my family again, it’s an amazing thing.”

STEVENSON from page B1

ASHEEBO ROJAS / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Randolph County’s Ethan Willard loads up before taking a swing against Chatham County on June 26.

Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace

BUTCH DILL / AP PHOTO

Driver Chase Elliott celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

Bassist Carol Kaye declining Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ‘permanently’

Her credits include major hits by the Beach Boys and the Monkees

By Andrew Dalton and Hillel Italie The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Carol Kaye, a proli c and revered bassist who played on thousands of songs in the 1960s, including hits by the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and Barbra Streisand, told The Associated Press last Friday that she wants no part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“I’ve declined the rrhof. Permanently,” the 90-year-old Kaye said in an email to the AP. She said she has sent a letter to the Hall saying the same thing.

Her remarks come two days after a Facebook post — since deleted — in which she said “NO I won’t be there. I am declining the RRHOF awards show.”

Kaye was set to be inducted in November in a class that also includes Joe Cocker, Chub -

BOOK REVIEW

“I’m turning it down because it wasn’t something that re ects the work that Studio Musicians do and did in the golden era of the 1960s Recording Hits.”

Carol Kaye

by Checker and Cyndi Lauper. She said in her deleted post that she was “turning it down because it wasn’t something that re ects the work that Studio Musicians do and did in the golden era of the 1960s Recording Hits.”

Kaye’s credits include the bass lines on Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound,” the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.” Along with drummer Hal Blaine and guitarist Tommy Te-

desco, she was part of a core of heavily used studio musicians that Blaine later dubbed “The Wrecking Crew.”

Kaye hated the name and suggested in her Facebook post that her association with it was part of the reason for declining induction.

“I was never a ‘wrecker’ at all,” she wrote, “that’s a terrible insulting name.”

Kaye’s inductee page on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website makes no mention of the moniker.

Hall representatives had no immediate comment.

Many artists have been inducted in their absence or after their death, and in 2006 the Sex Pistols became Hall of Famers despite rejecting their induction.

In 2022, Dolly Parton initially declined her induction, saying someone more associated with rock ‘n’ roll should get the honor. But she was convinced to change her mind and embrace the honor.

Wally Lamb explores human cruelty, grace in prison with ‘The River is Waiting’

Oprah has picked three of the author’s novels for her book club

By Anita Snow The Associated Press

CORBY LEDBETTER is in trouble.

In Wally Lamb’s new novel, “The River Is Waiting,” Corby has lost his job as a commercial artist and has developed a secret addiction to alcohol and pills, setting him on a dangerous path that leads to an unfathomable tragedy.

Corby starts staying at home during the day with his twin toddlers — one boy and one girl — while his wife works as the family’s sole breadwinner. Lying to his spouse that he’s looking for a job, he starts his mornings drinking hard liquor mixed with his prescription pills for anxiety, leaving him incapable of properly caring for the children he loves.

A tragic mix up one morn-

ing results in the death of Corby’s young son when he accidentally drives over the boy in their driveway. Devastated by the loss of little Niko, Corby now also faces a three-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

“The River Is Waiting” is Lamb’s rst novel in nine years and a new chance to explore human imperfection as he did in earlier best-selling novels that included “She’s Come Undone,” about an obese adolescent girl awash in depression, and “I Know This Much Is True,” the story of a man ghting to protect his paranoid schizophrenic twin brother. Oprah Winfrey announced that she picked “The River Is Waiting” for her book club, the third time she’s selected a Lamb book.

Almost all the action in Lamb’s latest book plays out in prison, an ideal setting to examine the worst and best of humanity. The author taught writing workshops for incarcerated women over two decades, an experience that has helped him

to draw a vivid picture of life behind bars, with all its indignities and a few acts of grace. While Corby is tormented by two excessively cruel guards, he also befriends the prison librarian, who shares book recommendations and homemade cookies with inmates who stop by. She even encourages him to paint a mural on the library wall. Several other prisoners also become friends, including a kind cellmate who looks out for him. Corby later tries to look out for someone else — a severely troubled young inmate who shouldn’t have been locked up with hardened criminals. During his imprisonment, Corby worries about whether his beloved wife, Emily, and their daughter, Maisie, can ever forgive him. But the experience hasn’t left him especially enlightened.

At the end, Corby remains mostly a self-centered guy. He’s no hero and there’s no big epiphany. Like the protagonists in Lamb’s earlier novels, he is utterly human, failings and all.

this week in history

America declares independence, Fourteenth Amendment rati ed, The Doors’ Jim Morrison dies at 27

JULY 3

1775: Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1863: The pivotal threeday Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops failed to breach Union positions during an assault known as Pickett’s Charge. 1944: Soviet forces recaptured Minsk from the Germans during World War II.

1971: Singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris at age 27.

JULY 4

1776: The Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

1802: The United States Military Academy o cially opened at West Point, New York.

1817: Construction of the Erie Canal began in Rome, New York. 1826: Former presidents

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

1855: The rst edition of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” was published.

JULY 5

1687: Isaac Newton rst published his “Principia Mathematica,” outlining his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.

1811: Venezuela became the rst South American country to declare independence from Spain.

1852: Frederick Douglass delivered his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” in Rochester, New York.

1975: Arthur Ashe became the rst black man to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating Jimmy Connors.

1996: Dolly the sheep, the rst mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, was born in Scotland.

JULY 6

1933: The rst All-Star baseball game was played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park; the American League defeated the National League 4–2 behind winning pitcher Lefty Gomez of the New York Yankees.

1957: Althea Gibson became

the rst black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6–3, 6–2.

JULY 7

1846: U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.

1948: Six female U.S. Navy reservists became the rst women to be sworn in to the regular Navy.

1981: President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day

O’Connor to become the rst female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

JULY 8

1776: Col. John Nixon gave the rst public reading of the Declaration of Independence, outside the State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia.

1853: An expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.

1889: The rst issue of The Wall Street Journal was published.

JULY 9

1868: The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was rati ed, granting citizenship and “equal protection under the laws” to anyone “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people.

1896: William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

1918: A train collison killed 101 people in Nashville, Tennessee — the deadliest rail disaster in U.S. history.

Villeneuve to direct next Bond lm — here’s what to know

Who will play the next 007?

The Associated Press

IN THE 50-PLUS years of James Bond, the wait between lms has never gone longer than six years. The next entry, and rst since Daniel Craig’s dramatic exit, may test that — but things are speeding up. Last Wednesday, Amazon MGM Studio announced that Denis Villeneuve will direct the 26th Bond movie, putting the franchise in the hands of one of the most respected big-budget lmmakers.

From “Dune” to Bond Villeneuve, the 57-year - old French Canadian director, edged out other lmmakers who were reportedly eyed for the gig, including Edward Berger (“Conclave”) and Paul King (“Paddington 2”). Since emerging with 2010’s “Incendies,” Villeneuve has established himself as a steward of cinematic IP (“Blade Runner 2049,” “Dune”) and a specialist in dark, doom-laden spectacle (“Sicaro,” “Arrival”).

The culmination for Villeneuve has been the “Dune”

lms. His rst two entries have surpassed $1 billion in box ofce and gathered a combined 15 Academy Award nominations, winning seven. Villeneuve is expected to begin shooting the third “Dune” lm this summer, with a cast in-

solutions

cluding Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Zendaya and Javier Bardem.

“I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory,” said Villeneuve. “I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to

“I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory.”

Villeneuve

Denis

come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor.”

What’s the timetable?

Amazon, which bought MGM Studios in 2022 for $8.5 billion, hasn’t set a release date yet or announced a screenwriter.

Producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman are shepherding the movie for the rst time. In February, Amazon MGM Studios secured creative control of the franchise from Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, whose family has presided over Bond since the rst lm, 1962’s “Dr. No.”

The most likely timing would be production starting in 2026 and the lm being released sometime in 2027.

Who’s in the mix to play Bond next?

No new 007 has been named, but that hasn’t stopped rumors

and conjecture from running rampant.

It’s pure speculation, but oddsmakers have a few expected contenders for the martini-sipping role. Those include Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Aaron Pierre, Henry Cavill, James Norton and Jack Lowden. Expectations are that the new Bond will remain male and British, but producers have said nothing publicly to tip their hand.

New corporate overloads with something to prove

Since Albert “Cubby” Broccoli obtained the movie rights to Ian Fleming’s books, James Bond has been a family business. That didn’t change after Amazon bought MGM, but it did earlier this year when Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli agreed to let the studio take creative control.

That hando stoked concern from many Bond fans that 007 would be picked apart for spino s, series and the kind of intellectual property strip mining Hollywood has been known for in other franchises like “Star Wars.” So far, though, Amazon MGM has made no announcement about any spino s and is prioritizing the 26th Bond movie.

MATT DUNHAM / AP PHOTO

Daniel Craig, the sixth actor to play James Bond, appears at the premiere of “No Time to Die” in London in 2021. His successor for the next Bond lm is still up in the air.

PAUL CLEMENTS / AP PHOTO

Dolly, the rst genetically cloned sheep, was born at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 5, 1996.

*Must set up Auto Draft for 2nd Month.

2024.

famous birthdays this week

The Associated Press THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.

JULY 3

Attorney Gloria Allred is 84. Actor Kurtwood Smith is 82. Country singer Johnny Lee is 79. Humorist Dave Barry is 78. Actor Betty Buckley is 78. Talk show host Montel Williams is 69. Actor Tom Cruise is 63.

JULY 4

Actor Eva Marie Saint is 101. Queen Sonja of Norway is 88. Actor Karolyn Grimes (“It’s a Wonderful Life”) is 84. Broadcast journalist Geraldo Rivera is 82.

JULY 5

Julie Nixon Eisenhower is 77. Rock star Huey Lewis is 75. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rich “Goose” Gossage is 74. NFL Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton is 69. Cartoonist Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) is 67. Actor Edie Falco is 62.

JULY 6

Singer Gene Chandler is 85. Actor Burt Ward (“Batman”) is 80. Actor Fred Dryer is 79. Actor Sylvester Stallone is 79. Actor Geo rey Rush is 74. Rapper-actor 50 Cent is 50.

JULY 7

Bandleader Doc Severinsen is 98. Drummer Ringo Starr is 85. . Actor Joe Spano is 79. Singer David Hodo (the construction worker) of The Village People is 78.

JULY 8

Drummer Jaimoe Johanson of The Allman Brothers is 81. Actor Je rey Tambor is 81. Children’s singer Ra is 77. Actor Anjelica Huston is 74. Actor Kevin Bacon is 67. Actor Billy Crudup is 57. Singer Beck is 55.

JULY 9

Singer Dee Dee Kenniebrew of The Crystals is 80. Author Dean Koontz is 80. Actor Chris Cooper is 74. John Tesh is 73. Singer Debbie Sledge of Sister Sledge is 71. Actor Jimmy Smits is 70. Actor Tom Hanks is 69. Musician Jack White is 50. Actor Fred Savage is 49.

ANDREW D. HURLEY VIA WIKIPEDIA

Debbie Sledge, center, of the band Sister Sledge turns 71 on Wednesday.

JORDAN STRAUSS / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Tom Hanks arrives at the 15th Governors Awards in 2024. The actor turns 69 on Wednesday.

SCOTT GARFITT / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Rapper 50 Cent, pictured performing in 2023, turns 50 on Sunday.

DANNY MOLOSHOK / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Eva Marie Saint, pictured in 2019, celebrates 101 on Friday.

the stream

Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners,’ ‘SharkFest,’

John Cena teams up with Idris Elba

Kesha drops “.” (pronounced “period”) on Fourth of July

The Associated Press

KESHA ENJOYING her freedom on her rst new album since she left her old label and Ryan Coogler’s guts-spilling vampire lm “Sinners,” are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time: Charlize Theron in “The Old Guard 2” on Net ix, National Geographic’s 25-hour “SharkFest” and John Cena playing a U.S. president opposite Idris Elba as the UK’s prime minister in the comedy “Heads of State.”

MOVIES TO STREAM

Coogler’s “Sinners,” arguably the movie of the year up to this point, begins streaming Friday on Max. With $363.8 million in worldwide ticket sales, Coogler’s supernatural thriller is one of the most successful original lms of the last two decades. It stars Michael B. Jordan as a pair of twins who return to their hometown to open a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi. Vampires, and other dark forces, intrude on their plans. In her review, AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote: “How Coogler pulls everything o at once — and makes it cohere, mostly — is a sight to see.”

The wait has been long for “The Old Guard 2” (Net ix), a sequel to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2020 streaming hit starring Theron as a member of a team of centuries-old mercenaries. In “The Old Guard 2,” shot all the way back in 2022, Victoria Mahoney takes over as director, while Theron returns as Andy, a warrior who has now lost her immortality.

In “Heads of State” (now on Prime Video), Cena plays the president of the United States and Elba plays the prime minister of the United Kingdom. What could go wrong? In Ilya Naishuller’s comedy, the two

are hunted by the same adversary. Elba’s politician, a former commando, is better prepared

than Cena’s president, a former action movie star. A Zambian family funer-

al unearths a dark past and an anguished reckoning in Rungano Nyoni’s beguiling “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (Max on Friday). Nyoni’s follow-up to the equally compelling “I Am Not a Witch,” AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr wrote in her review, “cements the exciting arrival of a true lmmaker.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

Kesha is a free agent. On Independence Day, she’ll self-release “.” (pronounced “Period”), her rst new full-length album since her departure from RCA and the Dr. Luke-founded Kemosabe Records in 2023. That year, the pop star and the producer settled nearly a decade of suits and countersuits over her accusation that he drugged and raped her and his claim that she made it up and defamed him. Across the 11-track release, Kesha is clearly enjoying some newfound freedoms: “.” is a stu ed with throwback, ebullient pop, like the sultry “JOYRIDE.,” the country-and-

western-themed “YIPPEE-KIYAY.” and the bighearted power ballad “DELUSIONAL.”

SERIES TO STREAM

After a successful season 2, the cast of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” gather for their rst reunion episode on Hulu. #MomTok has a lot to hash out including in delity rumors and accusations of clout-chasing. Nick Viall, a podcaster and former star of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” hosts the special streaming now.

Net ix has a documentary previewing its upcoming Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano ght at Madison Square Garden. “Countdown: Taylor Vs. Serrano,” debuts Thursday and is narrated by Uma Thurman. It will show Taylor and Serrano as they train and prepare for their third match.

A number of n-tastic programs about sharks stream in July. Net ix o ers a new reality competition show called “All the Sharks” debuting on Friday. Four teams of shark experts compete to locate and photograph the most number of sharks. The winners get $50,000 for their favorite marine charity.

National Geographic has compiled more than 25 hours of television for its annual SharkFest which begins streaming Sunday on Disney+ and Hulu. In the docuseries, “Investigation Shark Attack,” scientists attempt to pinpoint what causes a shark to attack. “Super Shark Highway” follows researchers as they track sharks along migration routes in the waters o Australia. The goal is to nd ways for sharks and humans to coexist in the busy ocean.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY Giant robots! Maybe you like the kind that can stomp across a city, crushing o ce buildings under their huge metal feet. Or you prefer the ones who can y above the chaos, unleashing missiles at each other. Perhaps you’d rather have your mech just hang back and perform maintenance on the ones taking the most damage. Whatever your choice, Mecha Break, from China’s Amazing Seasun Games, hopes to have you covered. It’s a multiplayer slugfest with 3 vs. 3, 6 vs. 6 and human vs. AI scenarios. You can start building your dream bot on Xbox X/S and PC.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES VIA AP

“Sinners,” starring Michael B. Jordan, left, and Miles Caton, lands on Max on Friday.

CHIBESA MULUMBA / A24 VIA AP

Susan Chardy stars in “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” streaming on Max July 4.

KESHA RECORDS VIA AP

Kesha’s new record, “.” (pronounced “period”), comes out this week.

Duplin Journal

Candidate ling for 2025 municipal elections opens

Duplin County

The candidate ling period for 2025 municipal elections opens July 7 and closes at noon July 18. Candidates wishing to withdraw their notice of candidacy and receive a refund must do so by 5 p.m. on July 15. Those interested in running should contact the Duplin County Board of Elections for details on ling fees. The 2025 municipal elections will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Duplin County Public Library to host a photography workshop

Beulaville

The Duplin County Public Library is inviting all third grade to seventh grade shutterbugs to join their Summer Photography Workshop at the Beulaville branch on Mondays from 3-4 p.m. on July 14 to Aug. 4. Kids will learn how to frame, focus and capture amazing shots. No experience is needed, but spots are limited. The Beulaville library is located at 807 E. Broad St.

Food and resources available at veterans stand down

Duplin County Free meals for veterans will be o ered at the Duplin County Veterans Stand Down event July 18 at the Charity Mission Center. Additionally, the Disabled American Veterans mobile unit will be available on-site. For more information, call 919-738-2006.

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in Rowan County with manufacturing investment

Salisbury

The electronics company

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in central North Carolina by building a new manufacturing plant. The company is investing $500 million toward a facility to support cloud computing and arti cial intelligence data centers. O cials announced Monday that the facility will be in Rowan County, northeast of Charlotte. The project includes a $264 million capital investment and 1,181 jobs by the end of 2030. North Carolina competed with Florida for the project and o ered more than $21 million in incentives. Jabil already operates three facilities in the state, employing about 1,000 workers.

$2.00

Duplin Rotary Club celebrates its centennial anniversary

By Rebecca Whitman Cooke For Duplin Journal

THE DUPLIN Rotary Club

celebrated its 100th anniversary with a banquet at The Country Squire last Thursday night.

The meeting opened with the presentation of the colors from Sea Scouts of Ship 55. Faison

Cub Scouts Killian and Gavin Kennedy of Pack 48 led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. Chaplain’s Aide Logan Schall of the Sea Scouts opened in prayer. Rotarian Jo ann Stroud gave historical perspective on what it means to be in Rotary.

“Rotary has been around for 120 years, ours is 100 years old,”

she said. “The Rotary Club promotes peace and high ethical standards; many Duplin business people have been part of this group and helped projects locally and globally. We’ve helped eradicate polio, build schools and provide clean water wells. In North Carolina, we helped build the now 30 Boys

Wallace re director stepping down

Taylor Johnson, who also serves as chief, is taking job in western N.C.

By Curt Simpson For Duplin Journal

AFTER TWO YEARS on the job, Wallace Fire Operations Director Taylor Johnson is stepping away from his positions with the town and re department to start a new job in another part of the state.

The 30-year-old re ghter was just married in April, and he said he has received a job opportunity with Fire Connections, a re department equipment supplier based in Rocky Mount.

Johnson currently wears two hats. He has served concurrently as the town director of re operations and as the chief of the Wallace Fire Department. He turned in his resignation to Town Manager Rob Taylor on June 16.

Drugs and crime have been ongoing problems

“I really don’t want to complain. If it wasn’t for this place, I’d be homeless.” Relax Inn resident

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

THE TOWN of Warsaw has apparently had enough when it comes to problems surrounding the Relax Inn hotel near downtown on Pine Street. Drugs, crime, substandard conditions and a recent sewage spill have all plagued the motel over the years. “There is not a lot I can tell you because it is part of an investigation,” Warsaw Town Manager Lea Turner told Duplin Journal. “I can say we have had multiple conversations with the owner, and they are cooperating with the town.” When asked if she was optimis-

“As far as director of re operations, I will be stepping down from that role as of Aug. 1,” Johnson said Thursday. “The plan is for me to remain as re chief until January, when the membership will vote on new o cers.”

Though he will no longer be with the department, he’s staying in the eld that he loves.

“I will be selling re equipment and re apparatus,” Johnson said. ”My wife and I felt like it was an opportunity that we

tic that the problems will be resolved, Turner said, “I would like to hope so. As recently as today, there are some conversations about closing it down for some remodel work. I’m not sure exactly what that will bring, but we are hopeful that it will bring some positive changes.”

Warsaw Town Commissioner Ebony Wills-Wells has been advocating for improvements to the Relax Inn for some time, even posting photos on her Facebook page showing a serious sewage leak at the motel in February. That leak forced the closure of the facility for a few days, and occupants were able to stay in another motel while the leak was repaired.

“I just received an email yesterday about the hotel,” Wells told Duplin Journal during an interview last Friday. “It said there was no air conditioning there, and they were concerned about the general living environment.” Wells said she has spoken to residents at the hotel, and they are afraid to speak out for fear of losing a place to live.

“In my opinion, it’s become a homeless shelter. People who don’t

Another Summer Sunday

More than 30 vendors and food trucks, like the Hawaiian Kine Shave Ice truck pictured above, came together for Freedom Festival in Richlands on Sunday for a family-friendly day out.

For more, turn to page B6.

and Girls Homes of NC fostering kids in this state. Locally, we recognize students of the month from our area high schools, provide annual 1K scholarships to outstanding seniors, give camp scholarships, and help with various other needs in our community and outside our community. Putting service above self as is our motto.”

To honor its 100th birthday, the club chose to recognize old businesses that had a long standing impact on the community. The rst business, Quinn

could not pass up and is better for our future. We will have to relocate over the next several months. I have enjoyed my time in Wallace and have learned a lot of valuable lessons that I can continue using.”

Taylor explained that while the re department is volunteer, the town position is paid.

“Our department’s structure is fairly unique,” he said. “To my knowledge, only one or two other municipal departments in the state operate similarly, relying on volunteers while remaining under municipal oversight.

See DIRECTOR, page A6

THE DUPLIN COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

REBECCA WHITMAN COOKE FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL

O ce Phone: 910 463-1240

To place a legal ad: 919 663-3232; Fax: 919 663-4042

CRIME LOG

June 24

• Jim Lee Grady, 32, was arrested by Beulaville PD for damaging personal property, misdemeanor larceny, and possessing drug paraphernalia.

• Elijah Dominic Bennerman, 37, was arrested by Duplin County Sheri ’s O ce (DCSO) for driving with a revoked license.

June 25

• Katerin Guifarro Buezo, 18, was arrested by North Carolina Highway Patrol for causing serious injury by vehicle, driving while impaired, driving after consuming alcohol under 21, reckless driving, using a ctitious registration, operating a vehicle without insurance, possessing an open container of alcohol, providing false information to an o cer, and failing to maintain lane control.

• Cameron D’Shon Hall, 26, was arrested by DCSO for selling a Schedule II controlled substance.

June 26

• Jorge Maravilla Alfaro, 23, was arrested by DCSO for breaking and entering with intent to terrorize or injure, damaging real property, and rst-degree trespassing.

• Gorge Alexis Castillo, 29, was arrested by DCSO for possessing a rearm as a felon.

• Alexander Jr Kornegay, 65, was arrested by DCSO for obtaining property by false pretense and passing a worthless check on a closed account.

June 27

• Oshonia Sherryl Miller, 39, was arrested by DCSO for stealing a rearm and larceny.

June 28

• Walter Menjivar, 20, was arrested by DCSO for taking indecent liberties with a child, committing a sex o ense, and statutory rape of a child.

June 29

• Quincy Charles-Labrya Melvin, 39, was arrested by DCSO for larceny after breaking and entering, breaking and entering, damaging personal property, obtaining property by false pretense, and possessing stolen goods.

• Shaquannah Janae-Raecole Cradle, 23, was arrested by Warsaw PD for resisting a public o cer.

THURSDAY

Duplin airport commission holds latest board meeting

By Rebecca Whitman Cooke For Duplin Journal

THE DUPLIN County Airport Commission meeting last Tuesday was no ordinary gathering. It was the last meeting for retiring board member Joe Bryant.

Board members and guests honored Bryant with a standing ovation as well as shared memories of his roughly 35 years of service.

“Joe Bryant has been an anchor to this board over the years he has been on it,” one member said. “He has made it his goal that every project we took on would be worth the money we spend on it.”

The board unanimously said Bryant was leaving with the door “always open anytime he wants to come” back to visit. Bryant’s potential replacement, Gage King, of Wallace, was also present at the meeting.

Tom Robare of ENC Aeromasters and Reuben Edwards shared their plan to collaborate.

Robare is coming from Johnson County to bring his expertise and experience working on planes for UMO and other clients to the airport facility.

Edwards said it was time for him to start looking at retirement, and he saw this partnership as an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“This is an opportunity to keep quality people at the airport,” he said.

Robare and Edwards plan to work together over the next year in Edwards’ hangar. If they work together well, it will become a transition towards Edwards’ retirement and Robare taking his place.

Justin Wright of Daniels and Daniels talked about construction of a new hangar building set to begin mid-July.

He presented the budget and explained that “volatility in market prices” caused the estimated numbers to increase by $100,000 to $3.6 million.

The budget includes $400,000 for repairs to existing hangars and a $100,000 contingency fund, but it does not include coverage for soil excavation issues. Though the project is under contract, it is waiting on an amendment approval from the county.

Wright said he felt certain that construction would not have to be held up waiting on change orders and approval. The overall construction project is expected to take a year.

Board members expressed a desire to go ahead and market and presale the increased space. Airport Director Josh-

ua Raynor a rmed that he has already been talking to interested parties. It was suggested to also contact Gulf Stream to capture anyone building and likely to need a hangar in the area. Raynor also con rmed that the money needed for the project was already in the bank.

Hunter Boniface and Raynor then gave updates on other projects. Work on lighting and repaving the taxiway will close the taxiway brie y on July 8, while work to rejuvenate the runway will start Aug. 4. The airport will close for the whole week of Aug. 4 to accommodate the upgrade.

A fuel farm redesign, including a new privacy wall, is currently taking bids. Raynor said that all the bids are under the $2 million budget but are still waiting on overall state approval. Once approved, the fuel farm project could start within six months.

Board members encouraged Raynor to do further vetting of the bid contractor by researching other airports with similar projects. Land maintenance surveys are also being done concerning apron rehab design.

“The surveys will show what needs to be done, such as re -

moving trees, then it will go on to work authorization for approval,” Raynor said. “Once they are happy with it, we can go ahead with a design.”

Funding will be available in the 2027 scal year budget for the work.

Raynor asked the board for insight on term lengths for the rental of their available farmland in the RPG. It was suggested that low cost and shorter terms of two years with an option for a third be used because of long-term plans at the airport as well as current troubles in the agriculture world. The land will most likely be restricted to hay or pasture use.

Raynor addressed the drainage issue at Corp Hangar 1A. Following board and county approval, a reinforced concrete trench was suggested to get water out of the hangar and keep it dry.

Raynor closed the meeting going over the operations budget and providing reports on operations and fuel: 16,380 gallons of fuel have been sold for the month, and there have been 614 operations. He reported that jet fuel has been lower this year than last, but it is going up $0.50 a gallon.

DUPLIN happening

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

July 4

Celebrate Independence Day with a splash bash

All day

JCO Campground at Lee Baysden Pond will host a Patriotic Splash Bash on Friday. The event will feature a water slide, bounce house, water gun ghts and a visit from a local Ice cream truck. Reservations are required and can be made at JCO Campground at Lee Baysden Pond.

211 Baysden Pond Road Chinquapin

July 7

Mount Olive Town Council meeting

6 p.m.

The Mount Olive Town Council will meet on Monday, at 6 p.m. at 114 East James St. The town council meets the rst Monday of each month.

114 East James Street Mount Olive

July 9

Tap into your artistic side

2:30-4:30 p.m.

Teens ages 13-18 are invited to get creative at the Duplin County Public Library’s Teen Pottery Workshop, held on Wednesdays from 2:304:30 p.m. at the Kenansville branch through July 30. The hands-on, beginner-friendly class teaches hand-molding techniques. Participants will shape, decorate and glaze their own ceramic creations. All materials are provided, but space is limited.

107 Bowden Drive Kenansville

Adult Pottery Workshop

5:30-7:30 p.m.

The Duplin County Public Library is hosting an Adult Pottery Workshop on Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m until July 30. Participants can enjoy a creative, hands-on experience in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. No experience is needed.

107 Bowden Drive Kenansville

PHOTOS BY REBECCA WHITMAN COOKE FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL

Members of the Duplin County Airport Commission met last Tuesday.

The Duplin County Airport, outside Kenansville, hosted Commissioner Joe Bryant’s nal Airport Commission board meeting last Tuesday.

Innovative breeding on the farm

Using advanced reproductive science and old-fashioned stewardship, Wilders pioneers a new standard in ethical livestock raising

By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal

TUCKED IN THE QUIET backroads of Turkey, a family found not just land but purpose.

Nestled within 1,300 acres of gently rolling farmland, Jaclyn Smith, her husband Reid and their three children have created a home here.

What started as a small operation using their land in Clayton to explore the possibilities during the pandemic has evolved into a thriving agricultural venture — the Wilders brand.

“We were fortunate to nd farmers exiting the industry just as we started,” Jaclyn Smith told Duplin Journal, explaining it was an exciting opportunity to learn from experienced breeders as they shared their knowledge while leaving the eld.

With fullblood Wagyu cattle grazing under open skies and Berkshire hogs foraging through native pastures, the rhythm of rural life o ers a grounding sense of peace, while working the land keeps the family connected to something greater.

At Wilders, each animal is more than just livestock — they’re an integral part of a living, breathing ecosystem that supports the family’s deeper purpose.

“Every animal is treated like they should be — they’re enjoying nature,” said Smith, re ecting the family’s commitment to ethical and compassionate care. “It takes extreme care, and we want to do it the right way. We want to be good stewards of God’s creation.”

At the heart of the Smith family’s operation is a carefully developed breeding program focused on full-blood Wagyu cattle — animals whose lineage traces directly back to Japan. Their mission is to elevate the quality of their herd through superior genetics, producing premium beef known for its exceptional marbling.

From the beginning, the Smiths have been intentional about acquiring mature cows and experimenting with elite genetic lines, enabling them to build a strong foundation for both their breeding and terminal herds. This dual-herd approach allows them to balance long-term genetic improvements with ongoing beef production.

One of the most important components of their program is the use of advanced reproductive technologies, such as articial insemination and embryo transfer. Partnering with a company called Vytelle, the family employs cutting-edge methods to extract unfertilized eggs, which are then fertilized and graded for viability before being implanted into surrogate cows.

“We have a satellite lab here,” said Smith. “Vytelle works extracting what they call ovocytes, which are like unfertilized eggs from the female cow, and they can then fertilize the eggs to create an embryo.”

This process enables them to multiply the o spring of elite animals while maintaining strict control over genetic quality. Smith noted the excitement of being able to carry out this

work on their property, not only for their herd but also as a resource for other cattlemen.

Wilders’ use of surrogate mothers, which include both Wagyu and larger non-Wagyu cows, re ects the family’s practical approach to herd management. Since Wagyu cows are smaller and can face challenges during birth, using larger surrogates helps reduce complications and supports stronger calf development thanks to improved milk production. Although only about a third of the implanted embryos successfully take, the results are worth the effort. The Smiths carefully manage breeding and calving cycles, aiming for two- to three-week birth windows in the spring and fall. This schedule improves survival rates and keeps both mothers and calves healthy.

Raising Wagyu cattle also requires patience. Unlike other breeds, Wagyus take 28 to 30 months to reach harvest weight, signi cantly increasing the cost of production. However, this extended feeding period is essential to developing the ne marbling that de nes premium Wagyu beef. During their rst year of life, the cattle remain on the farm before being transitioned to a nishing location.

While the cattle graze freely on pasture, their diets are supplemented with grain-based rations to ll any nutritional gaps, ensuring balanced growth and health. The Smiths grow much of their own feed but also source from local farmers. Pastures are equipped with salt blocks and mineral trays, o ering essential nutrients and further supporting the animals’ well-being. The family uses a grain- nishing process to enhance this marbling, supplementing the animals’ natural pasture diet with carefully selected grains that contribute to the meat’s tenderness, avor and overall quality. This approach mimics traditional Wagyu practices.

To support optimal growth during this phase, the Smiths work with a Wagyu-specific nutritionist to develop tailored feed rations that enhancemuscle development and fat distribution.

To further re ne their breeding program, the Smiths conduct progeny testing — an evaluation method that tracks how speci c sires in uence carcass quality traits like marbling. By collecting and analyzing this data, they gain deeper insight

into the e ectiveness of their genetic pairings. This continuous improvement process is rooted in detailed tracking and a commitment to quality, ensuring that each generation of cattle is more consistent and higher performing than the last. This also allows them to maintain strict control over each phase of development, which is essential for accurate data collection and decision-making. The family’s investment in premium genetics and longterm strategy is beginning to pay o . Some of the embryos they implanted in 2021 have now matured and are producing beef and pork that ll the family freezer. Turning an embryo into a nished steak is a three-year commitment — an example of the patience and dedication required to raise ethically managed, high-quality livestock. This kind of long-term vision sets the Smiths apart in a competitive and increasingly demanding beef market.

Beyond genetics, farm design and animal welfare are central to their success. The farm layout is designed to support the ecient movement of animals even in bad weather, with connecting alleys between pastures and working areas. This design minimizes animal stress and makes day-to-day operations smoother and safer. The family also carefully rotates cattle through pastures, ensuring that both land and animals are well cared for. This rotational system helps maintain pasture health, supports natural grazing behavior and provides a more comfortable environment for the animals.

Lastly, the Smiths have embraced a holistic vision for their farm’s role in the Wagyu industry. In addition to raising beef, they export embryos and semen to help grow the Wagyu breed in the U.S. — a process slowed historically by limited imports.

Their upcoming production sale will feature live animals and frozen genetics, allowing other breeders to bene t from their progress. Their processor also plays a key role, grading marbling based on the ninth rib and using that data to determine whether beef will be sold as steak or ground. Through these combined e orts, the Smith family is not only improving their own herd, but contributing meaningfully to the future of Wagyu cattle in the United States and beyond.

One of the distinctive and heartfelt aspects of Wilders Farm is how the Smith family raises their Berkshire pigs on open land rather than conning them in hog houses — a common practice in the area. This decision re ects the family’s core values, prioritizing animal welfare and natural behaviors over convenience and cost-e ciency. By allowing the pigs to roam freely, forage and dig in the soil, the Smiths believe they’re not only improving the animals’ quality of life but also enhancing the avor and nutrition of the pork. Smith explained that it’s a choice they willingly make because it aligns with what they believe is right.

“Even though the economics might not work with what makes our hearts happy, it’s our piggy bank, so we can make that decision,” she said with a smile.

To further support animal health and responsible breeding, the Smiths rotate their sows and boars through designated areas, allowing plenty of space for movement and play. Smith described the pigs’ joy in digging mud puddles and snuggling together — behaviors that highlight their intelligence and social nature. Currently, the farm raises between 100 to 150 pigs, with most reaching market readiness between 6 to 12 months of age. Special attention is given to the expectant sows, who are placed in dedicated maternity zones to provide a calm, nurturing environment for birthing.

With a background in education and real estate, Smith brings a passion for teaching to the beef side of the business, likening it to selling homes — where explaining value, quality, and investment is key. While she focuses on customer education and sales, Reid dives deep into the genetic side of farming. Together, they emphasize the importance of educating consumers about the care, time, and ethical practices behind their Wagyu beef.

Through their e-commerce site, a general store in Clayton, and presence at farmer’s markets, they connect directly with customers. Smith shared that they often o er unseasoned samples of their product so that customers can taste the pure, unadulterated avor of the meat. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with many customers expressing their appreci-

ation for the quality of the beef.

Although the region lacks the a uence of larger cities, Wilders has found deep-rooted support in their local community. They are especially grateful for customers who recognize and value their dedication to quality and ethical animal care. Looking ahead, their vision includes expanding their beef products onto restaurant menus nationwide while continuing to re ne their herd’s genetics to consistently deliver top-tier Wagyu beef.

One of the most rewarding aspects of their journey has been the sense of belonging within the agricultural community. Jaclyn Smith described it as a network of hardworking, generous people who are eager to see one another succeed.

Through this network, the family has built lasting relationships with farmers both locally and internationally — from Australia to England, Scotland, and Canada — gaining valuable insights into global farming practices.

Their agricultural e orts are also deeply connected to their real estate and nonpro t work. Through One Compassion and the “Farm to Need” initiative, they help address local food insecurity by donating surplus products like ground beef to food pantries, e ectively linking farmers, communities and those in need.

The Smith family is deeply committed to sustainability and community support, making it a priority to use every part of the animal. Over two years, they re ned their process based on customer preferences to minimize waste and maximize the value of each carcass, ensuring high-quality, thoughtfully crafted products. They also donate surplus cuts — especially ground beef — to local food pantries, helping address the frequent shortage of protein donations. This initiative not only provides nutritious food to those in need but also strengthens the connection between local farmers and their communities. Beyond their own farm, the Smiths actively engage with the regional farming network, attending cattle meetings and fostering relationships to support and uplift fellow producers. They are passionate about honoring the essential, often underappreciated, role of farmers, who make up just 1% of the U.S. population yet feed the nation.

The Wilders farm has been evolving, with recent developments including the restoration of a greenhouse and the reintroduction of horses to a property built initially for cutting horses. While the farm now focuses primarily on Wagyu cattle, the family has maintained their connection to equine life through a riding arena and a performance horse division.

The farm is full of life and energy, especially in the evenings when the animals — horses included — often get the “zoomies” and playfully race around.

Looking to the future, Smith told Duplin Journal that they hope to create a space for agritourism. Their long-term plans include o ering hands-on farm experiences, educational opportunities and rustic lodging for guests to immerse themselves in rural life. They’ve already built two cabins on the property, intended as future Airbnb-style accommodations. Though still in the early stages, this vision re ects their desire to create a sustainable and welcoming space where visitors can connect with animals, learn about ethical farming and enjoy the slower pace of the countryside.

ENA SELLERS / DUPLIN JOURNAL

Waygu beef is a delicacy that traces its roots back to Japan. The Smiths use cutting-edge breeding methods to ensure their cattle’s beef is of the highest standard.

COURTESY WILDERS FARM

ENA SELLERS / DUPLIN JOURNAL

Left, Cattle graze at Wilders farm in Sampson County. Right, Jaclyn and Reid Smith pose for a photo at their farm.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

What July Fourth is really about

The greatest of all tests might be the test of prosperity.

HOW OFTEN DO WE THINK about the original 13 states that declared their independence from Great Britain? Are our children familiar with young men like Jabez Fitch and Joseph Hodgkins? Or little John Greenwood, who was 16 years old, and Israel Trask, who was 10?

“They were boys marching with the Revolutionary troops as fers or drummers or messenger boys, and they were in rags,” David McCullough wrote in his book “1776.”

An unknown author may have answered the questions above better than we can: “Their silent graves speak louder than any words ever could. Remember them.”

Hopefully, as we celebrate Independence Day this year, we will remember Gen. George S. Patton’s admonition: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”

We must not forget what they did. We must not allow their enthusiasm for freedom, liberty and independence to be forgotten. We must remember that we are the bene ciaries of their sacri ces. More importantly, we must keep our patriotic blood hot and owing, knowing that their blood was “the seed of freedom’s tree.”

COLUMN | CASEY RYAN

(Thomas Campbell)

Many of them fought and died so that we could live to ght again, if necessary. Thus, we must not be lulled to sleep while the enemy of all that is good whispers in our ears, “eat, drink and be merry.” The greatest of all tests might be the test of prosperity. Man has proven over and over again that he can overcome staggering misfortune, devastating conditions of nature, and the unthinkable cruelty and savagery of war. We must realize that we live in the day prophesied long ago when men would call “good evil and evil good.” Today, the very foundations of our founding principles are challenged as “old-fashioned.” Secularism is the irreligion that ultra-liberals use to destroy true religion.

Man has proven over and over again that he is easily tempted when his stomach is full, his pocketbook is fat and his way is smooth. Then, in hindsight and remorse, he realizes that he was in great jeopardy while thinking that his barns were full.

While delightfully enjoying, as we should, the activities surrounding July Fourth, we must allow some quiet time to ponder the real blessings of independence. Individual independence! We should think and ponder

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard brings back meritocracy

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted.

TWO YEARS AGO, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by ruling that universities could no longer use a rmative action to determine admissions for students.

In the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court explained in the majority opinion that the color of a student’s skin can no longer determine his or her entry into a school.

When ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) in a companion case, the court decided in a majority 6-3 opinion that using a student’s race to determine admissions is in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that a student “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual” rather than race. The admissions process for both schools were seen as penalizing Asian American students.

While the process for universities to fully correct course to abide by the decision may take several years, the results are already positive with meritocracy appearing to return to the forefront of academia in America.

In the time since the Supreme Court’s decision, several prominent universities have already adopted new admissions processes as well as now requiring students to submit standardized testing scores once again with their applications.

At Harvard University, admissions previously had optional writing components where potential students could write about topics pertaining to them and their interests or experiences with their identity. After the court’s ruling, the school altered the questions asked to applicants. The school then reinstated the submission of standardized test scores as mandatory for applicants applying for the fall 2025 semester.

Other prominent universities have also reinstated standardized test scores for their admissions. Dartmouth College was the rst Ivy League school to require SAT or ACT scores

again after the ruling. Yale, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania are among those that followed suit. Even UNC updated its process for applicants.

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted. In the two years since the Supreme Court’s decision, there appears to have been an impact.

In recent years, a rmative action generally impacted white and Asian students negatively while positively impacting black and Hispanic students. The end of a rmative action in schools has appeared to even the playing eld, with merit now playing a more signi cant factor in determining a student’s admittance. That can be seen in the data of students now enrolled in these schools.

After the court’s ruling, UNC saw a dip in the percentage of black and Hispanic students, but the percentage of Asian students increased. Harvard saw a decrease in the percentage of black students but an increase for Hispanic students. The percentage of Asian students at Harvard stayed the same.

At Columbia, the percentage of Asian students jumped from 30% to 39% within a year, while the percentage of black students dropped from 20% to 12%. This is a common trend among elite universities.

Seeing the percentage of black and Hispanic students decrease is nothing to celebrate. The goal should be to see all students thrive regardless of skin color. However, until we solve the separate problem of why black and Hispanic students struggle more than their peers, seeing merit as a core focus again in admissions is a positive shift.

There is an understandable concern that universities will attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling to a certain extent. University leadership is open about attempting this. Schools are trying other means to indirectly use a rmative action to admit students. While Yale leadership did administer

thoughts like these or others of your choice. We are free to choose. Our government derives its power from us. We elect those who govern us. We can criticize or praise our government. All eligible citizens can and should vote, but only once. God bless those who declared and pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for independence. When we hear or think of these additional sacred and hallowed words, our hearts should swell with gratitude: “We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Knowing of their human frailties, we should be utterly convinced that Heavenly Father and His Son had divine compassion on them and were well pleased with their e orts. We should conclude that indeed His Will endowed them with the fortitude to declare their independence.

Along with former President John F. Kennedy, we should remember, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”

We the people should “remember them.”

changes to the university’s admissions process, the school is still promoting a “culture of diversity and inclusivity” by expanding outreach plans and creating new talent pipelines. Brown University also intends to indirectly implement a rmative action through “pathway programs, targeted outreach, and pipeline programs.”

This is happening at other universities as well.

President Donald Trump and his administration will need to work to ensure that universities follow the Supreme Court’s ruling and additionally make sure they drop all initiatives that promote student admissions based on race. In fact, the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools in February demanding exactly that. With an administration in charge that values merit, America’s universities are well advised to follow the law.

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions in schools in 2023 is already having a positive impact by ensuring institutions of higher learning prioritize meritocracy above immutable characteristics. The era of schools judging potential students by the color of their skin is thankfully coming to an end.

While there is still a lot of work to accomplish to ensure that all students who want to attend the nation’s elite universities are on par academically with their peers, ending a rmative action is the rst step in achieving true equality for all.

Casey Ryan is a writer and investigative reporter at Defending Education and a contributor to Daily Caller News Foundation.

COLUMN | REP. JIMMY DIXON

From livestock to crops: Internship o ers glimpse into latest agriculture technology

Fifth-generation farmer Isaac Linton shifted from livestock to crop science and is gaining hands-on skills during his internship at Insight Agronomics

By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal

MOUNT OLIVE — The soft rustle of crops in the breeze and the expansive farmland that stretches across both sides of Manly Grove Road serve as gentle reminders of the steady pulse of work that characterizes life on the farm.

Nestled along the back roads of Mount Olive, Insight Agronomics stands as a quiet outpost amid the agricultural landscape. Greeted by the sight of a towering John Deere tractor parked prominently at the gravel entrance, Duplin Journal met with Isaac Linton, a student from the University of Mount Olive.

Linton is no stranger to farm life. A fth-generation farmer hailing from Grantham, Linton grew up homeschooled and surrounded by livestock as part of his family’s operation, Countryview Farms.

Although his agricultural journey started with livestock —s howing pigs, turkeys, goats and sheep through 4-H — his focus has shifted toward crop science. Currently pursuing a degree in ag production systems with a minor in plant science, Linton is exploring a new side of agriculture. Through his internship at Insight Agronomics, he is gaining hands-on experi-

ence in precision farming and crop management.

“Taking crop science and soil science intrigued me, and it’s something I didn’t have much experience in,” said Linton.

While livestock remains close to his heart, Linton has embraced the challenge of learning something entirely new.

“Stepping out of your comfort zone,” he said, “makes it more enjoyable because there’s something new every day.”

Linton, who lives seven minutes up the road from the facility, learned about the intern-

“Stepping out of your comfort zone makes it more enjoyable because there’s something new every day.”

Isaac Linton

ship opportunity through one of his professors who works closely with Josh Raynor, the owner of Insight Agronomics. Linton

Wholesale of Warsaw, operated from 1943 to 1987.

“At one time there were as many as 300 people employed at this business. … The company was known for providing fair and honest prices for individuals as well as many organizations,” Rotarian Rod Howard said. “The name of Milford Quinn has long been near and dear to our hearts.”

Some of Quinn’s family were present to receive the certi cate of appreciation in honor of their family’s business.

Next, Stroud honored Jackson’s IGA of Kenansville as “one of the businesses that kept our county going.”

Though none of the family was able to be present for the award, Stroud shared how the dry goods store scooped out products from bulk into paper sacks and harvested their own eggs to sell in the store.

“They sold everything from buttons, thread, cloth, shoes, or whatever you needed. … They worked hard in the hard times of the ’40s and made it through when we had rationing in World War II,” Stroud said. “It wasn’t until 1967 that they decided to update the original store.”

After 30-plus years of working side by side, Leo and Helen Jackson died. Jimmy and Fran-

cis Jackson continued and expanded the business.

“For 85 years, Jackson’s IGA was available for the customers of Duplin County,” Stroud said.

“And while they were in business, neither were in Rotary, but their way of doing business stood for service above self.”

Lastly, Rotary President Brian Bullard honored Brewer Hardware of Faison.

“From the pinball machine that started lines out of the building shortly after Glenn Brewer opened it 51 years ago to larger gatherings of people trying to solve the world’s problems or at least talk about them for a while, Brewer Hardware has always been a civics minded community gathering place, and they have sponsored many local sports teams.” Bullard reminisced about being a young boy that played on one of the teams they sponsored.

Glenn Brewer, a longtime Rotarian, was present with his wife to receive the certi cate of appreciation. Faison Mayor Billy Ward, and his wife, Heather Ward, were present to honor them as well.

Stroud then recognized Anne Stroud Taylor for the Duplin Rotary Outstanding Citizen award.

“She is always an encourager and always lifting people up all over the county,” Stroud said.

In her 90s but still spry, Anne Stroud Taylor turned, thanked everyone, and told the crowd, “Whatever you do for Duplin county is really a privilege.”

The meeting paused for a meal, and when the meeting continued, Blake Phillips, Howard, and Stroud received Presidential Volunteer Service awards signed by the President Donald Trump.

Following this recognition, visiting Rotarian Pat Curley helped facilitate the installation of the 2025-26 Duplin Rotary o cers. Howard was elected president, and Bullard passed the ceremonial gavel to him. Stroud was sworn in as president pro tem, Bullard was sworn in as president of accomodations, and Phillips was sworn in as treasurer.

The meeting concluded with everyone repeating the 4-way Test (pledge of the things Rotarians think, say, or do):

“Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be bene cial to all concerned?”

The Duplin Rotary Club meets weekly at 1 p.m. on Thursdays at The Country Squire. In honor of their centennial birthday, the club is running a $100 discounted rate for new members for the next six months.

far is that agriculture rarely offers a one -size- ts-all solution. Learning to solve problems and make informed recommendations for the farm has been a key takeaway for him.

“So it’s learning to adapt to those scenarios and understand it further to make recommendations,” Linton explained, adding that every situation requires exibility.

He has also been involved in several research trials, including testing di erent soybean varieties and participating in herbicide trials in neighboring counties. Much of his eldwork has focused on scouting peanuts, corn and soybeans for pests and evaluating plant health. He has gained valuable experience using advanced tools, such as GPS-guided auto-steering tractors, and learned about the importance of crop-speci c management strategies, especially regarding chemical applications.

told Duplin Journal that his internship has provided valuable hands-on experience, exposing him to various tasks.

“Yesterday, we were planting beans. Today, I was spraying preemergent on top of them,” said Linton, noting that each day is di erent.

The diversity of work has given him a comprehensive look into the dynamic nature of crop production, helping sharpen his observational skills and deepen his understanding of its complexities. One of the biggest lessons he has learned so

Balancing a 35-hour workweek that starts at 7:30 a.m. and wraps up around 5 p.m., he still nds time to enjoy the simple things in life like tinkering with his 1987 F-250, spending time by the river, and being with his family and girlfriend.

With the internship running through August, Linton is gaining not only technical skills but also a broader perspective of the agricultural landscape.

As graduation approaches in May 2026, Linton is keeping his options open. He plans to earn a CDL and is considering truck driving after school, but the eld of precision ag and crop production is now rmly on his radar.

ROTARY from page A1

PHOTOS BY REBECCA WHITMAN COOKE FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL

Top left, Duplin Rotarians and guests meet to celebrate the club’s centennial.

Top right, Faison Cub Scouts Killian and Gavin Kennedy lead the pledge of allegiance.

Bottom, Chaplain Aide Logan Schall of Sea Scout Ship 55 opens in prayer.

ENA SELLERS / DUPLIN JOURNAL

Isaac Linton, stands in front of a corn eld that sits right next to Insight Agronomics, where he is currently completing an internship as part of his curriculum at the University of Mount Olive.

Duplin Music Academy takes on its next movement

A former student of longtime piano instructor Melodee Wynn is taking over

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

JOHN LENNON once said,

“Life is what happens when you are busy making plans.” Melodee Wynn can certainly attest to that.

Wynn, originally from Wilmington, moved to Duplin County in 1978 and began teaching private piano lessons in public schools. Her students would come to her during nonacademic classes. That was how other instructors had taught piano in Duplin County over the years.

“I had dreams of going to a big city and being music director of a large church,” Wynn said in an interview with Duplin Journal. “Being that type of musician means being at the top of your game. You think you’re good, but there’s always someone better.”

Teaching piano through the public schools changed when the system went to a year-round schedule.

“That meant they were in school for nine weeks and then out for three weeks,” Wynn said. “That wasn’t conducive for learning piano.”

In response to the change, Wynn’s husband built her a studio beside their home. Students would come to her after school. The entire time, she still had the dream of working and living in a big city in the back of her mind.

“When many of my students graduated from high school, I decided I wanted to pursue my organ degree,” she said. “I was able to go back and nish the degree at UNC Wilmington.”

With her organ degree in hand, Wynn realized that Lennon’s words were true. It wasn’t feasible to move to a big city.

“My husband asked me, ‘Well, what are you going to do?’ I told him I love to teach, so I

DIRECTOR from page A1

While he has held both the director and chief roles concurrently, these positions could be lled by two di erent individuals.”

Town and re department leaders will decide soon exactly how they will be moving forward with the director’s position, Taylor said. There is a line item in the newly adopted 2025-26 town budget for the position. The salary can range from $57,293 to $85,940, depending on experience.

Though he’s only been chief for two years, Johnson has been with the department since he was 18 years old. He said the department will always hold a special place in his heart. He followed his father, Chuck Johnson, to the department.

“Dad was on the department when I was younger. So I grew up in the department, and coming to res and re meetings

“When I began to think about retiring, it would be sad to see this become an insurance o ce or some other business.”

Melodee Wynn, Duplin Music Academy owner

think I’ll go back to teaching.”

As fate would have it, they were out riding when she spotted a for sale sign in front of a building at a great location on U.S. Highway 117 between Wallace and Burgaw.

“‘Stop! Look!’ I said to my husband,” she recalled. “‘It’s only ve minutes from our house.’”

Within days, they bought the building, and Wynn’s husband began renovating it based on how she wanted it to be laid out. That’s how Duplin Music Academy was born in 2007.

Wynn found herself teaching alone for the rst few years.

“The hardest thing was nding instructors,” Wynn said. “Most instructors in di erent instruments are older. You don’t get many younger people majoring in the eld of music anymore.”

Eventually, Wynn was able to reach out to other instructors to teach guitar, violin and voice at the academy. David Phillips, band director at Wallace-Rose Hill High School, would come to Duplin Music Academy in the afternoons to teach private lessons.

“It began to get very busy,” Wynn said.

After many years of teaching a long line of piano students in Duplin County and operating the academy, Wynn began considering retirement. However, the thought of losing the building to something other than a music school bothered her.

“The building was more of a dream to open it up for the community,” Wynn said. “When I began to think about retiring, it would be sad to see this become

with him,” Johnson said. “He’s the main reason I really got into the re service. He got o around 2007, and when I got on in 2013, he came back on in 2014. It was a great highlight in my re service career being able to serve alongside him.

“Wallace will always be my home, and I have been blessed with an amazing tenure with the Wallace Fire Department. I will continue to support them from wherever I am.”

The department is busy and growing, with construction on a new $4 million facility on Southerland Street already underway.

Volunteers are always welcome, he added, and the best ways to join are either to show up at a meeting at the current department at 316 E. Murray St. or pick up an application at town hall.

Fire meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the rst and third Thursdays of the month.

an insurance o ce or some other business.” Fortunately, one of Wynn’s longtime students would be one to continue the dream. It started when that student, Adriana Mejia, was about to graduate from UNC Wilmington.

Mejia’s journey into music began in elementary school.

“Mr. Phillips came to (Rose Hill-Magnolia), my elementary school,” Mejia told Duplin Journal. “He was showing di erent instruments and

HOTEL from page A1

have any place to stay, or can’t a ord adequate living space, are staying there,” Wells said. “That’s a big concern for me. There are people who are marginalized who need support and don’t have the resources they should have.”

Duplin Journal spoke to two men outside of Relax Inn last Friday. One was a current resident. The other man moved out several months ago. Both men asked not to be identi ed.

“I really don’t want to complain,” the current resident said. “If it wasn’t for this place, I’d be homeless. I think the owner will make things better.”

The former resident obviously had bad memories of the motel.

“Last summer, I came home from work and found my lady dead in our room. Somebody

demonstrating them. I was about to go into middle school. I thought it would be di erent and cool.”

When Mejia turned 13 years old, her mother came home from work and said, “They are o ering a scholarship at my job for students to learn piano.”

That led to Mejia becoming a student of Wynn’s. After years of piano lessons, Mejia began teaching privately while attending UNC Wilmington. She and Wynn went

had given her fentanyl,” he said, pointing to the room where it happened.

This incident involving drugs was not a unique occurrence. Police have responded to numerous calls regarding drugs at the motel.

One of those calls, in February, resulted in the arrest of 43-year-old Tyrone Watford on numerous felony drug charges at the motel. The arrest included felony charges surrounding the possession of cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as the intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine. Watford was placed in the Duplin County Jail with a bond of $80,000.

Warsaw Mayor A.J. Connors said the crime aspect is something he asks the police department about often.

“Anytime there’s crime in Warsaw, or the general area, it

out to lunch one day to catch up.

“How would you feel about teaching piano at the studio?” Wynn asked her at lunch.

“I’d love that.” Eventually, Wynn approached Mejia again, this time asking, “How would you feel about taking over the business?” Mejia jumped at the opportunity.

“I think she built a really wonderful place here,” Mejia said. “I would also have hated to see it become something else.

is a concern for me,” Connors said, adding that he knows the Warsaw Police Department is patrolling the area around Relax Inn more frequently.

Conners expressed optimism that the town’s investigation and negotiations with the owner will lead to a resolution.

“We are hoping that things will improve there,” he said.

Both Connors and Wells said they hope the news surrounding Relax Inn is not how people perceive the town of Warsaw.

“We have lots of good news about Warsaw,” Connors said, emphasizing new businesses coming to the area, especially around the I-40 corridor, which the town annexed into the town limits.

Wells added, “We are a thriving community. I’m from a big city, and Warsaw reminds me of a Holly Springs or Apex (near Raleigh). We’re up and coming.”

MARK GRADY FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL

Duplin Music Academy operator and instructor Adriana Mejia has a piano lesson with one of her students, 9-year-old Jaide Kelly, of Rose Hill.

Left, Duplin Music Academy founder Melodee Wynn (left) has passed the baton of the music school she founded to her former student, Adriana Mejia (seated). Right, Duplin Music Academy on U.S. Highway 117 between Wallace and Rose Hill. Wynn said the building’s prominent location is a big factor in the music school’s success.

DUPLIN SPORTS

MR. BASEBALL 2025

ED’s Kyle Kern struck out nearly two hitters per inning, allowing foes to hit .166 and have an on-base percentage of .273.

Special K: Panthers’ Kern punches out state-best 130

No one had more than strikeouts than Kyle Kern, who averaged almost two per inning

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

BEULAVILLE — For those unaware of baseball’s scorebook vernacular, the letter K in a box represents a strikeout.

East Duplin’s Kyle Kern manufactured K’s at a rate higher than any pitcher in the state.

That alone might be enough to anoint him as Mr. Baseball, but there’s plenty of backup for the Panthers senior, including a plug from a rival coach.

“He’s the best pitcher we faced,” said Wallace-Rose Hill head coach Logan Kissner. “He works really fast and gets ahead on every hitter, making pitching calls easier. And my assistant (Brady Johnson) coached him and said he’s a very detailed kid, which tells you a lot about him.”

Kern beat out WRH’s Kaiden Lui, the 2024 winner, for the award, though Lui had a stellar season and made all-county rst-team list of 13.

Growth surge is tsunami for ECC hitters

The Panthers right-hander didn’t come out of nowhere to be an all-state 2A pitcher and had a growth spurt

See KERN, page B2

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

MR. BASEBALL

2025: Kyle Kern, ED

2024: Kaiden Lui, WRH

2023: Richard Noble, ND

2022: Nick Cavanaugh, ED

2021: Logan Brown, ED

2020: No season (Covid)

2019: Stancil Bowles, ED

2018: Stancil Bowles, ED

2017: Jackson Murray, ED

2016: Gavin Herring, WRH

Hit maker: Holmes starts, continues, nishes rallies

East Duplin’s Gavin Holmes was the hottest and most consistent hitter in Duplin County this spring

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

BEULAVILLE — Gavin Holmes got noticed by every team that played East Duplin because he knew how to get on base with both his bat (.352) and eyes (16 walks). And he often found unconventional ways to get aboard (10 times

via hit by pitch or an error caused by his speed) resulting in a sizzling .495 on-base-percentage.

The player who had a hit in 17 of 21 games and a hit or a walk in every game is Duplin County’s O ensive Player of the Year. Holmes, a sophomore, was one of the Panthers’ leaders, helping an inexperienced team rebound from a subpar 10-14 conclusion in 2023 to nish 13-9. Yet it was a record lled with manyclose loses as the Panthers were

See HOLMES, page B2

COACH OF THE YEAR

2025

Panthers’ Thigpen returns to top of Duplin mountain

ED baseball coach Brandon Thigpen is top coach for sixth time; his last honor was in 2022

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

BEULAVILLE — Brandon Thigpen had a season that won’t be forgotten when his 2022 Panthers went 24-1 to set a school record for wins.

The chapter on redemption belongs to the 2025 club, which battled its way to a 13-9 mark after going 10-14 the previous season, his worst in nine seasons.

East Duplin recovered from ve one-run losses — against Clinton, Richlands, Southwest Onslow, East Bladen and South Lenoir — while also having to ght to win four those same a airs over North Duplin, SWO, Southern Wayne and North Lenoir.

So nine of 21 games required a maximum-strength pain reliever and nerves of steal.

Two more rivalry games against Wallace-Rose Hill were far from sleepers (4-1 and 4-0 wins), and the No. 26 Panthers gave No. 7 Martin County all it wanted during a 2-0 win in the rst round of the 2A playo s.

Two of the Panthers’ biggest wins were consecutive victories over league foe North Lenior in mid-April.

That left the door open for ED’s 5-4 triumph over SWO, which locked the Panthers into the third slot in the ECC.

Being there was more about pride than playo positioning.

And Thigpen, a former Panthers player, has gone 121-59 on that platform since 2017.

He was a landslide winner as the top coach, an award he’s won ve other times but hadn’t captured it since 2022.

East Duplin mirrored the intensity and endurance of its coach, who said from the start of the season that every game would be a head-on clash.

The Panthers also lost a pair of games against the eventual East Region champ, as ECC champ South Lenoir advanced to the 2A title game.

While North Lenoir (15-9, 9-3) and ED tied for second in the ECC, the got the second-seed from

See THIGPEN, page B2

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

ED’s Brandon Thigpen got the most out of his Panthers to forge a tie with North Lenoir for second place in the ECC.

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

ED’s Gavin Holmes hit .352 and found his way on base every game via a hit or walk.

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY BILL CARONE

Kinsey Cave

East Duplin, basketball

Kinsey Cave, who led East Duplin to a 45-8 mark in two years as the Panthers’ point guard, has started her new rotation of sports by hitting a game-winning shot at the Fred Lynch Invitational.

The two-time Ms. Basketball nailed a jump shot at the top of the key to beat Jacksonville 33-30 during the one-day, two-game tournament.

Cave will hoop it up in July and early August and then play volleyball. Basketball, of course follows, with softball the trial sport in 2025-26.

The 5-foot-6 rising junior was an all-Duplin performer in three sports.

THIGPEN from page B1

the league in the postseason.

The Hawks lost 4-2 and 2-1 in eight innings to the Blue Devils.

The net result was there was little di erence between South Lenoir, North Lenoir and East Duplin.

And while pitcher Kyle Kern and shortstop Gavin Holmes had outstanding seasons, Thigpen got seven other starters to play a role, to ght and play hard every pitch until the nal out.

That’s what’s locked in his memory from 2025.

HOLMES from page B1

competitive playing schools with quality programs. Holmes scored 13 runs during an eight-game stretch to close the season to send the Panthers into the postseason.

At least three times this spring the sophomore seemed to do enough to give ED a win, only to see the victory slip away. He had two hits and drove in two runs during a 4-3 loss to Clinton (18-6).

He ripped three hits and knocked in two when the Panthers fell 6-5 to ECC champ South Lenoir (23-6), which would later win the 2A East Region title. He had three hits in a pair of

JK’s Eli Avent hit .500 with four doubles, a triple, had 32 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .630.

BASEBALL COACH OF THE YEAR

2025: Brandon Thigpen, ED

2024: Logan Kissner, WRH

2023: Colton Chrisman, ND

2022: Brandon Thigpen, ED

2021: Brandon Thigpen, ED

2020: No season (Covid)

2019: Brandon Thigpen, ED

2018: Brandon Thigpen, ED

2017: Brandon Thigpen, ED

2016: JP Price, WRH

wins ECC over North Lenoir. Both of his hits and his two runs were crucial when ED slipped by North Duplin 6-5, and he had the same stats when the Panthers fell 9-8 to East Bladen. Holmes made three errors, but none after March 31. He legged out 10 doubles, swiped 17 bases and scored a team-high 27 runs.

His play earned him a spot on the all-state 2A roster, alongside teammate and Mr. Baseball Kyle Kern.

The 6-foot-1, 176-pounder was 3-1 on the mound with two saves and an ERA of 2.33, often coming to the hill late in games.

In 2024, Holmes hit .308 with 14 RBIS and 13 steals.

Eli’s hustle: Tigers’ talented Avent outworking the opposition

Will Eli Avent’s work ethic leave the biggest trail of success in his family’s baseball tree?

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

WARSAW — Eli Avent’s family is part of the athletic fabric of Duplin County, as playing and coaching Avents dates back more than a half-century.

And he might be the best baseball player of the bunch.

Time will tell, but the Heart of a Champion honoree may already to the hardest working baseball player in a talented family.

Avent has played baseball in backyard diamonds with a number of good players, from father John Bert, who played at UNCW, to older brother John Thomas and cousin Ken Avent III, both of whom were all-conference stars at JK and had success on American Legion circuit.

In the spring, Eli and his twin brother, Cal, are connected on the diamond for the Tigers.

And while the family, which

KERN from page B1

where his technique and the mental focus converged.

Kern was 2-4 with an ERA of 4.71 in 2024, whi ng 43 and walking 30 in 352⁄3 innings, and looked average at best.

ED head coach Brandon Thigpen was secretly wondering if Kern would become the type of pitcher he envisioned.

And then it all clicked.

There was no magical moment, per se, but when the spring season opened, Kern was taking over as the ace of the sta . Kern went from the middle of the pack to a leader in a month to keep ED in every game it played. When he went over the 105-pitch limit, the Panthers’ chances of winning diminished drastically.

But JP Murphy, Cain Graham and Gavin Holmes pitched well in relief late in the season, and the Panthers got timely hits that didn’t come early in the spring. Kern’s stock went o the charts.

He struck out a state-best 130, walked 41 and had an ERA of 1.75. The opposition hit .133 against him with an on-base percentage of .273 in 68 innings.

He whi ed almost two hitters per inning. In contrast, Lui pitched almost half the number of innings, striking out 86, walking 25 and giving up 35 hits in 37 innings for a 3.41 ERA.

Compares well with former Panther Cavanaugh

More comparable stats come from the last Panthers winner of Mr. Baseball, Nick Cavanaugh, who whi ed 119 and walked 16 in 631⁄3 innings in 2022. The southpaw threw 984 pitches. Kern threw 1,188 pitches this

includes coaches Ken (two state titles at JK) and Ken Sr. (a founding father of football at North Duplin), are more wellknown for football. Ken Jr. and Ken III were both quarterbacks at Catawba.

John Thomas was also a signal caller, and so is Eli Avent, a rising senior, who was key in the Tigers’ 12-2 mark last season that included a run to the fourth round of the 2A playo s. By the time Tiger foes heard Eli Avent stomping dirt o his feet following a stolen base, he was a baseball player that was nearly unstoppable.

This spring, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound junior hit .500 with four doubles, a triple, had 32 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .630. He hit leado and started out at second base but was moved to center eld to take advantage of his ability to cover the out eld.

“He owned anything near the middle of the eld, and there wasn’t much he couldn’t track down in the alleys,” said Sutton, who said Avent’s play was no reection on the team’s 4-11 mark. “He’s got all the physical tools, and he never takes a play o .”

“He’s a coach’s dream. The kind of kid that does everything 110%, from reps in the weight room to anything and everything he does.”

Sutton said Avent is without a doubt the “quarterback” of his baseball club.

He’s takes being a leader seriously, and some of Eli rubs o on all our players — on and o the court,” he said. “Honestly, there couldn’t be a better player for this award than him.“

Avent is playing for Beulaville Post 511 this summer, which is managed by East Duplin head coach Brandon Thigpen.

“He’s worked so hard and has become such a good player,” said Thigpen, who just won his sixth Coach of the Year award. “He’s a kid who does the right things and who is an intelligent player.”

Sutton said consistent and dependability are Avent trademarks.

“There are no o days, and he stays on course,” he said. “He’s the kind of kid you want to coach, and we all look up to him for his leadership and the way he plays the game.”

spring and ve times did not allow an earned run. He gave up ve vs. North Lenoir in his worst outing, but ED rallied to win 9-8. He gave up no more than two runs in eight other games. Kern had 10 or more strikeouts eight times and fanned nine on three occasions.

While Kern (5-2) wasn’t the only reason the Panthers had a ve-game improvement over 2024, the Panthers simply

could not have done it without him. He’s the sixth Panther to claim the Mr. Baseball title. First baseman Jackson Murray was the rst in 2017. Shortstop Stancil Bowles owned it the next two seasons and pitcher Logan Brown in 2021. Wins by WRH’s Gavin Herring (2016) and North Duplin’s Richard Noble (2023) were the only time their schools came away with Mr. Baseball.

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

ED sophomore Gavin Holmes scored 13 runs during an eight-game stretch to close the season and send the Panthers into the postseason.

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

First-year stars highlight the All-Duplin team

North Duplin and Wallace Rose Hill freshmen earned spots in their rst seasons

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE — Fresh-

men Reece Buckner and Noah Price had outstanding debut baseball seasons, yet they were not close to being the best players on Wallace-Rose Hill and North Duplin, respectively.

Buckner, an upstart in elder, pushed hard enough to become one of 13 all-Duplin rst-team players. Price, who will be a “two-way star at North Duplin in the future, was relegated to second-team status.

Both played under the shadow of a six pack of rst-team seniors.

East Duplin led the way with ve selections on the top team, including Mr. Baseball Kyle Kern and Co-O ensive Player of the Year Gavin Holmes.

James Kenan’s Eli Avent was the Tigers’ lone rst-team pick, though he picked up the Heart of a Champion cup.

Brandon Thigpen captured his sixth Coach of the Year honor as East Duplin went 13-9 overall and 9-3 in ECC play.

ND was second with four rst-team nods, while WRH had three picks.

Here’s a capsule look at the top 13 on the rst team and 10 second-team selections.

FIRST TEAM

Mr. Baseball: Kyle Kern, ED, Sr., RHP

Kern led the state in strikeouts with 130 strikeouts. (See B1 for the story)

O ensively Players of the Year:

Gavin Holmes, ED, Sr., P Kaiden Lui, WRH, Sr., P

Holmes hit .352 with 10 doubles, 17 stolen bases and 15 RBIs.

(See B1 for the story)

Heart of a Champion: Eli Avent, JK, Jr., IF

Avent hit .500 with four dou-

bles, 15 stolen bases and an OBP of .630. (See B1 for the story)

Coach of the Year:

Brandon Thigpen, ED

Thigpen got his club to battle each game against a very competitive schedule. (See B1 for the story)

Jack Tuck, ED, Jr., IF

Jack Tuck made a name for himself by hitting .339 with six doubles and often coming up with hits in key situations, such as when he drove in the winning run in the eighth inning during a 5-4 win over Southwest Onslow to seal third-place in the highly competitive ECC that saw South Lenoir advance to the 2A nal. Tuck drove in 16 runs and give ED another steady player in the lineup.

Wesley Holmes, ND, Sr. OF

Wesley Holmes nished o a solid career by hitting .346 with seven extra-base hits and 13 RBIs as the Rebels nished second in the Carolina 1A Conference. He was an all-league selection.

Caden Gavin, WRH, Sr., SS

Caden Gavin hit .313 but more importantly scored a team-high 21 runs and drove in 10. He hit .411 as a junior and will play at Southeastern Community College next spring.

Hunt Pate, ND, Sr., 2B

Hunt Pate, a four-year starter, hit .306 with 11 walks. He had 87 career hits and 56 walks.

Shawn Marshburn, ED, Jr. C

Shawn Marshburn played progressively better as the season progressed, starting out as consistent and later coming up with big plays defensively or with his bat.

He hit .318 with 13 RBIs and was tied Tuck for second on the Panthers in hits.

Noa Quintanilla, ND, So., C

Look for two more all-star seasons from the Rebels’ backstop, who did well replacing

Austin Du and will inch closer to the former Rebels next spring. Quintanilla hit . 300 with ve doubles, three triples and a home run.

Reece Buckner, WRH, Fr., SS

The breath of fresh air that blew into Teachey was Reece Buckner riding high on the clouds of a .328 mark while knocking in 13 runs. Is this the beginning of a stellar career?

Austin Rouse, ED, Sr., OF Some players just “bring it” in key moments. Enter Austin Rouse, who hit .246 but saw his 17 hits produce 17 RBIs. Timing is indeed everything, and he helped the Panthers in nail-bitting moments.

Garris Warren, ND, Jr., P/3B

It’s hard to say Rebels baseball without thinking about

Garris Warren, who did a bit of everything for ND this spring, including a being a leader. He hit .298 with seven doubles and nine RBIs and made six pitching appearances, the second-most among all Rebels.

SECOND TEAM

Paxton Smith, JK, So., C Paxton met a need for the Tigers at catcher and hit a surprising .390 with nine RBIs and an OBP of .510 to give coach Lee Sutton baserunner to move along.

Calvin Harper, ED, Sr., OF Harper, an all-Duplin hoopster the previous two seasons and an all-ECC football player, didn’t play baseball as a junior but made up for it by hitting ..271 with 11 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. His production was welcome in the bottom of the or -

der for a team that was in every game it played.

Cal Avent, JK, Jr., P/3B

Cal Avent’s 14 hits and .410 average was second on the Tigers to his twin, Eli. He had three doubles, eight RBIs, 14 steals and an OBP of .537.

Caden Holmes, ED, Sr., 2B

Caden Holmes left it all on the eld as a player who played with his heart. He only hit .214 but found other ways to contribute that sometimes only a coach can see. Thigpen had a clear view and emphatically applauded his work ethic and e ort. He his 20 runs were second on ED.

Kayden Bowden, ND, Jr., 1B/P

Kayden Bowden looks to be key to the Rebels next season after hitting .273 during his rst varsity season.

Khalil Mathis, WRH, Sr., OF

Khalil Mathis was one of the most improved players in Duplin. He hit .372 with ve extra-base hits and ve RBIs at the lower part of the Bulldogs’ lineup card.

Cain Graham, ED, Sr., P/1B

Cain Graham was another player who did not have dazzling stats (.227) but played well when the heat was on (14 RBIs). He was also a part of the pitching rotation as a left-handed hurler.

JP Murphy, ED, Jr., P/OF

JP Murphy is much the same, (.230) and also key to the pitching sta with his left-handed arm. He showed his speed and baseball IQ in the out eld and running the bases.

Noah Price, ND, Fr., P

Nick Price came to the forefront in midseason and had a 1.59 ERA in 261⁄3 innings. He hit .293 and is predicted to be an everyday player next spring and perhaps the ace of the sta in time.

Top left, WRH’s Khalil Mathis, left, tries to get under the tag of ED’s Colton Holmes. Both players were second-team picks.

Bottom left, Wesley Holmes (sliding) hit .346 as one of ND’s top hitters.

, JK’s Paxton Smith, left, attempts to tag WRH’s Devon Sloan.

PHOTOS BY EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

WRH’s Reece Bucker, who hit .328, was the lone freshman on the rst team.

Right

Home-state favorite Elliott wins Cup race in Atlanta

The Georgia native passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — Homestate favorite Chase Elliott passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap and won the the crashlled NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night for his 20th career victory.

Elliott, the popular driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, earned a spot in the Cup Series playo s with his rst victory since April 2024 at Texas. It was his rst win in Atlanta since 2022.

“I’ve never in my whole life, this is unbelievable,” Elliott said. “This is something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Keselowski was second, followed by Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammate, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick. Bowman helped block Keselowski following Elliott’s lastlap pass.

“The 48 and 9 just got together,” Keselowski said, referring to Bowman and Elliott. “... At they end they were able to double-team me.” Elliott climbed into the stands to celebrate with fans after ending a 44-race winless streak.

“I’m happy for the 9 team,” Bowman said. “It’s a big win for him in his hometown. ... I’m glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us.”

The race’s second crash early in Stage 2 took out many of the sport’s biggest names and left others with damaged cars. Pole-winner Joey Logano, who led the rst 36 laps before light rain forced the rst caution, was among the many driv-

ers caught up in the big crash.

Among others knocked out of the race: William Byron, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez.

“It wrecked the whole eld,” Logano said. “I still don’t know exactly how it started ... but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible.”

Added Denny Hamlin, who su ered damage to his Toyota in the crash: “Some zigged. Some zagged. Most crashed.”

The Atlanta race at Echo -

Park Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, was the debut of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a verace, bracket-style tournament. The parade of highly regarded drivers to be knocked out so early in the race showed the perils of trying to pick NASCAR winners on a March Madness-style bracket sheet. The top two seeds were among the early casualties. Hamlin, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, nished 31st and lost to Ty Dillon, who nished eighth.

Chase Briscoe, who held o Hamlin for his rst win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, was the No. 2 seed before being knocked out in a crash and losing to Noah Gragson in the tournament.

A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Elliott and Keselowski were on the front row when a caution with 33 laps to go forced a decision on whether to pit for fresh tires. Both stayed on the track and Elliott faded following the restart until making his

Lawson, always a basketball trailblazer, has legit chance to lead

The Duke coach has already led the 3-on-3 team to gold but wants to coach 5-on-5

By Doug Feinberg

The Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS,

Colo. — Kara Lawson has always been a basketball trailblazer and now the Duke women’s coach has a legit chance to lead USA to another gold medal.

She has already done it once.

Lawson guided the Americans to a 3-on-3 Olympic gold medal and could have the chance to lead the USA’s 5-on-5 squad at the Los Angeles Games in three years. First up is coaching the U.S. AmeriCup team playing in Chile.

Coaching is something she wanted to do since she was a young girl growing up in Virginia. She just didn’t know it would be for her country.

“I played for a long time, and, so I got into coaching a little bit later just because I had a long playing career, which is as a good excuse as any to get into coaching later,” Lawson said. “So I was always drawn to it. I just didn’t know what my entry point was.”

Fast forward 37 years and she’s in charge of the group of

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO

Head coach Kara Lawson directs players during a USA Basketball women’s Americup Trials practice at the USA Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this month.

college players heading to South America.

“I’m fortunate enough to be assigned something as important as America’s head coach, my goal is to do the best job possible,” Lawson said during a break as she prepared her team for the World Cup qualifying tournament.

The 44-year-old Lawson could become the second African American to lead the USA women’s Olympic basketball team. Dawn Staley was the

USA squad in LA

coach in 2020. Lawson didn’t want to look at this opportunity as a tryout to be the 2028 Olympic coach or even next year’s World Cup which she is on the short list to coach. That decision will be made by Sue Bird, the national team managing director.

“In my experience in life, if you just keep that mindset of being in the moment, more opportunities tend to happen for you,” said Lawson, who helped the USA win gold in 2008, where she and Bird were teammates. “And if you’re so worried about where you t and who goes where, and am I next in line? I just never found that to to be productive and drives you crazy and it’s a waste of energy.

“So I try to just lock in on like, ‘what do I need to do at this job to be really good?’ ” Now she’ll try and lead the team to another victory and the automatic berth to the World Cup next year in Germany.

“I think the mentality for every team is to win,” Lawson said. “Our group understands that we’re on the lower end of the experience totem pole entering this competition and that we’re going to face some very good teams. So the race is on for us to gain continuity, pick up our playbook as quickly as we

can and get on the same page.” She knows the pressure that comes with coaching a USA team. Anything less than a gold medal is considered a failure. Lawson doesn’t let the lofty expectations create additional pressure on her.

DeLisha Milton-Jones was a teammate of Lawson’s on the 2007 AmeriCup team and now is coaching with her. She’s been impressed with what she’s seen so far from Lawson as a coach.

“She has a knack for the game,” Milton-Jones said. “Kara is well versed when it comes to the game. Started o at an early age going to games with her father. Going to college and being coached by one of the greatest ever to coach. Having experiences from NBA, WNBA, international side of things.”

In the AmeriCup, Lawson will be coaching some of the most talented players in women’s college basketball, including Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU), Olivia Miles (TCU) and Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame).

Lawson has made quite an impression.

“The intensity she brings every day, you feel it like that’s a pro right there,” Johnson said. “Just learning from her I learned so much in these (few) days, it’s been amazing.”

decisive charge at the very end.

Bracket busters

Ryan Blaney, the race favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, was knocked out on a wreck late in the rst stage. Christopher Bell hit the wall, triggering the crash that ended the stage with Cindric in the lead.

Cindric was involved in the bigger crash early in Stage 2. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace were among others involved in the crash.

NOTICES

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA DUPLIN COUNTY

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The

NORTH CAROLINA DUPLIN COUNTY

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Driver Chase Elliott celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

Donald Hu man

March 1, 1949 – June 23, 2025

Donald Ray Hu man, 76, passed away on Monday, June 23, 2025, at his home.

He is preceded by his father, Earl Hu man, Sr., and a grandchild, Cody Hu man.

Funeral Service: Friday, June

Sept. 5, 1929 – June 23, 2025

Mrs. Sadie Lee Wells Murray, age 95, of Teachey, NC, passed away on Monday, June 23, 2025, at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC.

A visitation of family and friends will be held on Friday, June 27, 2025, from 5-6 p.m. at Rose Hill Funeral Home in Rose Hill, NC. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 1:00 pm at First Baptist Church in Teachey, NC. Burial will follow at the church cemetery.

Left to cherish her precious memories are one son, Troy Murray, of Teachey, NC; three daughters, Linda Murray and Henrietta Williams, both of Wallace, NC, and Cora Lee Murray, of Teachey, NC; one brother, Larry Mathis, of Rose Hill, NC; close friend Lucy Grace Merritt of Teachey; twelve grandchildren, forty greatgrandchildren, fourteen greatgreat-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who will miss her dearly.

Terry Clibbons

Sept. 24, 1965 –June 25, 2025

Mr. Terry Clibbons, age 59, of Duplin County, passed away on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at Genesis Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Mt. Olive, NC. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 5, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the Rose Hill Funeral Home Chapel in Rose Hill, NC. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Funeral Home Cemetery in Magnolia, NC.

Left to cherish his precious memories are two sisters: Shirley Whitehead of Rose Hill, NC and Emmy Holmes of Jacksonville, NC; two brothers: James Clibbons of Rose Hill, NC and Thadious Pickett (Samantha) of Chinquapin, NC; three aunts: Sally Mae Carter of South Carolina, Annie Faye Murphy and Emma McMillian (Larry), both of Teachey, NC; special cousin, Carol Parker and special friend, Annie Hayes; a host of cousins and friends that will miss him dearly.

27, 2025, at 6 p.m.; Richlands First Baptist Church, 100 Rand St., Richlands, NC. Visitation will follow the service.

Graveside Service: Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 10 a.m.; Simpson Family Cemetery, 486 Cypress Creek Rd, Richlands, NC.

Survivors: Spouse: Wanna Hu man, Richlands, NC; Mother: Alma Hu man, Richlands, NC; Son: Christopher Hu man (Kelly), Richlands, NC; Daughter: Melissa Knapp, Richlands, NC; Sister: Judy Hu man Zepeda (Jim), Richlands, NC; Brothers: Earl Hu man, Jr. (Sandra), Richlands, NC; Preston Hu man (Sandra), Richlands, NC; Grandchildren: Kara Hu man, Johnathan Knapp, Avery Knapp and Karaline Swindle: four greatgrandchildren. Community Funeral Home of Beulaville is honored to serve the Hu man family.

Earl Matthews

Oct. 21, 1946 – June 26, 2025

Goldsboro- Mr. Earl Matthews, age 78, peacefully transitioned into a world of eternal peace and rest on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at Kitty Askins Hospice Center in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The arrangements are incomplete at this time. Mr. Matthews was a beloved soul who touched many lives. We extend our deepest condolences to the family. Please continue to keep the family in your prayers during their time of bereavement.

Eloise (Underwood) Hobbs

April 12, 1912 – June 24, 2025

TEACHEY - Mrs. Hobbs, aged 106, passed away on Thursday, January 24. Funeral service will be held from Peter’s Tabernacle Baptist Church of Wallace on Monday at 1 p.m. Interment will follow at Duplin Memorial Garden. Mrs. Hobbs was born April 24, 1912, to the late Romie and Elizabeth Usher Underwood. The family will receive friends at Matthews Funeral Chapel on Sunday from 5-6 p.m. and at other times at the home.

Irene Alderman Rivenbark

Feb. 23, 1939 – June 26, 2025

Mrs. Irene Alderman Rivenbark, formerly of Wallace, passed away on Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Gainesville, GA. The funeral services are planned for Sunday, July 6, 2025, at Padgett Funeral Home. Further arrangements will be forthcoming.

Patsy Jo Houston

Nov. 13, 1953 – June 26, 2025

Patsy Jo Houston, 71, passed away on June 26, 2026. Graveside Service: Monday, June 30, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Sandhills Cemetery, Pink Hill, NC. Visitation will be held after the service.

Survivors: Spouse: Gregg Houston, Pink Hill, NC; Son: Joseph Murray (Nicole), Wallace, NC; Daughter: Callie Rogers Johnson (Jerod), Greenville, NC; Sister: Rhonda Quinn (Bob), Mt. Olive, NC. Three grandchildren. Community Funeral Home of Beulaville is honored to serve the Houston family.

David Ellison White

Feb. 11, 1952 – June 28, 2025

David Ellison White, 73, of Magnolia, passed away Friday, June 27, 2025, at ECU Duplin. David was born February 11, 1952, in Onslow County to the late Ellison White and Akery Futrell White.

David was a devoted father and a deeply loving husband whose presence brought strength and warmth to those he loved. Among his greatest joys was being a grandpa-his eyes would light up around his grandchildren, and the love he gave so freely made him a cherished gure in their lives.

A proud truck driver, David spent many years behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler, traveling countless miles with dedication and pride. But home was where his heart was, and it was there that his many talents shone. He was a gifted carpenter with a sharp eye and steady hands, a skilled painter by trade and a man who could x just about anything. David had a passion for cooking, especially at his own grill. He loved bringing people together with food and laughter. When the work was done, you could often nd him with a shing pole in hand, nding peace and joy by the water.

David lived fully, loved deeply, and left a legacy of hard work, kindness, and unforgettable memories. He will be deeply missed but forever remembered.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, June 30, 2025 at the Fellowship Church of God, 3304 US 117 hwy, Rose Hill, NC.

A visitation will be held at 10:30 a.m., prior to the service. Burial will follow in the Rose Hill Cemetery.

Left to cherish his memory are his devoted wife, Beverly H. White of the home; daughter, Bridgett Jones and husband Brian of Kenansville; grandchildren, Jeremy Trey Maready, Harrison Maze Jones and Ava Claire Jones; sisters, Linda Foss of Warsaw, Mary Smith of Beulaville and Doris S. Kornegay of Warsaw. In addition to his parents, David was preceded in death by son, David Bradley White, and brothers and sisters, Otis White, Jimmy White, J. T. White, Nell Ray Hollingsworth, Pauline Sanderson, Louise Stroud and Dorothy Garner.

Eileen Nadja Carrington

March 26, 1938 –June 21, 2025

Beloved Mother, Grandmother, and Friend, Eileen Nadja Carrington, age 87, passed away peacefully on June 21, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. She was a devoted mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother, and guiding light to so many. A ectionately, aka Elaine, Eileen lived a life grounded in service, compassion, and love.

Eileen was born in New York, NY, and made her home in Queens, NY, where she raised her family and built a life of purpose and kindness. She retired from Creedmoor Psychiatric Center after more than 30 years of dedicated service, where she was known for her hard work, empathy, and commitment to caring for others. While working at Creedmoor, she earned her degree in Social Work from Adelphi University—a re ection of her dedication to both personal growth and the care of those she served.

Eileen was a proud and active member of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York, where she faithfully served in multiple ministries. She was the

Opal Rosetta Lane King

June 25, 2025

Opal Rosetta Lane King, 88, passed away Wednesday, June 25, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.

Opal was born and raised in rural Jacksonville, NC. She grew up at the end of a dirt road where the family home and farm was. She and her brothers and sisters grew up in that farming community and attended the local church with Mama and Daddy on Dawson Cabin Road. They were raised with a strong work ethic and family bond. She later raised her seven children, whom she lovingly worked hard to provide for. She had a 20 plus year career with the NC Forest Service as a re tower operator and climbed an almost 125-foot-tall re tower seven days a week to look for smoke and forest res in the forest of Holly Ridge, Dixon and Verona. She would also work part-time nights at the Roses Department Store. Later in life, she worked at Bob Gray’s Service Station in Richlands. In her retirement years, she moved to Faison in Duplin County, where she tended her ower and vegetable gardens lovingly. And always loved visits from her family. She loved to get to see her grandchildren and greats and was very proud of all of them. She was especially very proud of her seven children and how they turned out and that none of them were ever in trouble

president of the Progressive Circle and a dedicated member of both the Security Ministry and the North Carolina Club. Her presence at Allen was marked by grace, strength, and a deep love for her church community.

In addition to her church service, she was a proud and active member of the Order of the Eastern Star for over 40 years. Eileen lived out the values of charity, truth, and loving kindness. She also opened her heart and home as a foster parent to many children over the years, o ering them safety, love, and stability during times of need.

Eileen had a deep love for traveling and took great joy in exploring new places and cultures. Whether near or far, her adventures were lled with laughter, memories, and meaningful connections.

Above all, she will be remembered as a loving mother, a nurturing grandmother, and a pillar of strength to her family and friends. Her wisdom, generosity, and unwavering faith leave behind a legacy that will live on in all who knew and loved her.

Eileen is survived by her children, Blair, Duane(Florence), and Bryant(Danielle), grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, and a host of extended family, close friends, and those she cared for throughout her life.

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. at Rock sh A.M.E. Church, Teachey, NC. Burial will follow at Williams Family Cemetery in Wallace, NC. She will be laid to rest beside her eldest son, Andre D Carrington, who preceded her in death, and her mother, Arline Williams. She will be deeply missed and forever remembered.

and had good careers and jobs.

At her house on holidays, every family member was expected to come and usually all did, and she loved every minute, even though she had spent the night and the day before cooking and preparing tons of food. And always at Christmas, her required Red Velvet Cake and pies and cakes of every variety. She wanted everyone to have their favorites. Later in life, when she entered an assisted living facility, she missed her independence and ower tending. Then COVID happened not long after, and she could not be close to her family, which was hard. But family came and stood outside her raised window and visited with her there. After a heart attack, she entered Woodbury Nursing Home in Hampstead. She had some wonderful CNAs and RNs who looked out for her, and the family is forever grateful for them. When her health took a turn for the worse, she died peacefully with her family by her side.

A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 29, 2025, at the Faison Cemetery in Faison, NC.

Opal is survived by her six children and their spouses, Debbie Dail of Jacksonville, Betty Lowery and Frinchie “Pete” of Jacksonville, Kim Pardue and Currie Butler of Garner, Sheila Brock and Danny of Faison, Danny Hat eld and Vickie of Warsaw, Cheryl Hat eld Sanchez and Eric Sinclair of Michigan 14 Grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren; one younger brother, Melvin King of Jacksonville and one younger sister, Janice King Holtsford of Swansboro.

Her parents, Ernest C. King, Sr. and Mary Rosetta Silance King preceded her in death, and her son, Billy Ray Hat eld, Jr., grandson, Christopher Hat eld and granddaughter, Kelly Lowery Collins, her sister and brothers Irma King Williams, Ernest King, Jr., Herman King, Marvin King and Carlton King.

Sadie Lee Wells Murray

A festival of freedom

More than 30 vendors and food trucks came together from neighboring counties for Freedom Festival in Richlands on Sunday afternoon. In the grassy corner in front of Heritage Elementary, young and old enjoyed dance and beach music from an on-site DJ while they shopped for new plants, toys, housewares and handmade goods. Food trucks o ered an eclectic selection, from Cuban food and American BBQ to Vietnamese and sh tacos. All sorts of sweets — fried and frozen — were available. Drinks were just as diverse, from hot co ee to fresh fruit juice and lemonade. An in atable slide and bouncy house attracted children, as did face and body painting from Luna’s. Petting zoo goats and adoptable dogs were also on site. It was a fun, family-friendly event for all.

Hollie Brown

June 25, 2025

CHINQUAPIN - Mr. Brown passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at St. Lewis Baptist Church. Interment will follow at the Stokes Family Cemetery.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Malton and Geneva Stokes Brown; his wife, Julia Dean Maddox Brown; his brother, Hubbard; and his sister, Betty. Left to cherish his beautiful memory are his daughter, Cynthia, his son, Tobias, his brother, Malton Brown, Jr., and his wife, Ann.

A native of Duplin County, Hollie raised AWA pigs.

He was a member of the North Carolina Natural Hog Growers’ Association, a cooperative of AWA-certi ed hog producers supplying restaurants and retailers throughout the Southeast. Hollie was the third generation to farm his family’s land, which was a tobacco farm until 2002. He grew 47 acres of corn and soybeans alongside his outdoor hog operation. Hollie was very involved in his industry and his local community. He coached sports and taught drafting and carpentry at Wallace-Rose Hill High School for 30 years. He was especially dedicated to sharing his skills and experience with beginning farmers.

Visitation at Matthews Funeral Chapel. 5-7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, one hour prior to the service at St. Lewis Baptist Church.

Tylonji Shuqran McLean

Oct. 21, 1996 –June 23, 2025

ANGIER - Mr. Tylonji Shuqran McLean, 28, completed his earthly journey on Monday, June 23, 2025, at his home. The Celebration of Life will be Sunday, June 29, 2025, at 2 p.m. in the J.B. Rhodes Jr. Memorial Chapel at J.B. Rhodes Funeral Home & Cremations, 1701 Wayne Memorial Drive, Goldsboro, NC. Services of caring, compassionate and distinguished class have been entrusted to the management and sta of J.B. Rhodes Funeral Home and Cremations.

Davis Craig Carrol

Aug. 18, 1957 –June 24, 2025

Davis Craig Carrol, 67, passed away on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at his home. He is preceded in death by his parents Nimrod and Lottie Carroll and a sister, Melony Carroll Mills.

Graveside Service: Sunday, June 29, 2025, at 2 p.m., Bostic Family Cemetery, 532 Potters Hill Loop Road, Pink Hill, NC 28572. Visitation will be held at the cemetery after the service.

Survivor: Spouse: Joy Moody Carroll, Trenton, NC.

Community Funeral Home is honored to serve the Carroll family.

Mary Ellen Romanger Blackburn

Aug. 30, 1947 –June 23, 2025

Mary Ellen Romanger Blackburn, 77, passed away unexpectedly at her home on June 23, 2025. Mary Ellen was born on August 30, 1947, in Sampson County to the late James Romanger and Ruth Pope Romanger. Mary Ellen was a good Christian woman with a big heart that was lled with love for her husband, children, grandchildren, and extended family. She worked for Southern Bank for more than

40 years, which allowed her to pour her love into the Warsaw community as well. Known y many as simply “Meme”, she was a vibrant and joyful soul who treated everyone kindly and with a smile. A service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at Community Funeral Home Chapel of Warsaw. A visitation will follow the service.

A private burial will be held. Left to cherish her memory are husband, Jimmy Blackburn of the home; son Michael Blackburn and wife, Tammie, of Beulaville; daughter, Jennifer Atkinson and husband, Je of Hampstead; grandchildren, Austin Blackburn of Raleigh, Josh Blackburn and wife, Mallory of Raleigh, Chasen Persichetti and Cayden Persichetti, both of Hampstead, and David Atkinson of Wilmington; sister, Linda Jones of Warsaw; numerous nieces and nephews; and her four-legged companion, Frisky. In addition to her parents, Mary Ellen was also preceded in death by brothers Pete Romanger and Ray Romanger, and sister Shirley Faye Hat eld.

Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose bronze spheres decorate prominent public spaces around world, dead at 98

His shiny, smooth bronze globes are instantly recognizable

By Nicole Win eld

The Associated Press

ROME — Arnaldo Pomodoro, one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary artists whose bronze spheres decorate iconic public spaces from the Vatican to the United Nations, has died at age 98, his foundation said. Pomodoro died at home in Milan last Sunday, the eve of his 99th birthday, according to a statement from Carlotta Monte-

bello, director general of the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation. Pomodoro’s massive spheres are instantly recognizable: shiny, smooth bronze globes with clawed out interiors that Pomodoro has said referred to the super cial perfection of exteriors and the troubled complexity of interiors.

In a note of condolences, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said Pomodoro’s “wounded” spheres “speak to us today of the fragility and complexity of the human and the world.”

The Vatican’s sphere, which occupies a central place in the Pigna Courtyard of the Vatican Museums, features an in-

ternal mechanism that rotates with the wind. “In my work I see the cracks, the eroded parts, the destructive potential that emerges from our time of disillusionment,” the Vatican quoted Pomodoro as saying about its sphere.

The United Nations in New York received a 10-foot, eight-inch diameter “Sphere Within Sphere” sculpture as a gift from Italy in 1996. The U.N. sphere has refers to the coming of the new millennium, the U.N. said: “a smooth exterior womb erupted by complex interior forms,” and “a promise for the rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world,” Pomodoro said of it. Other spheres are located at museums around the world and outside the Italian foreign ministry, which has the original work that Pomodoro created in 1966 for the Montreal Expo that began his monumental sculpture project. Pomodoro was born in Montefeltro, Italy, on June 23, 1926. In addition to his spheres, he designed theatrical sets, land projects and machines. He had multiple retrospectives and taught at Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley and Mills College, according to his biography on the foundation website.

PHOTOS BY REBECCA WHITMAN COOKE FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL

Stanly NewS Journal

Harmanco’s, an Albemarle institution for 72 years, announced Monday it would be closing its doors July 20.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Albemarle man arrested on murder charges

Albemarle

The Albemarle Police Department were dispatched to the 1600 block of Amherst Street just past 5 p.m. Monday and arrested one alleged suspect who now faces multiple counts of murder. Alex Jamies Meras has been charged with two counts of rst-degree murder and one count of attempted rst-degree murder in the deaths of Lucio Carranco, 33, and Jesus Carranco, 34, both of Albemarle.

Wildlife commission promotes Operation Dry Water

Stanly County

O cers of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission will participate July 4-6 in Operation Dry Water, a national campaign to inform boaters of the dangers of boating while impaired. According to a release from the WRC, the use of alcohol while boating is the leading contributing factor in deaths for recreational boaters. The WRC plans to increase water patrols this weekend and inform boaters on the dangers. It is against North Carolina law to have a blood alcohol level of .08 or more and operate a recreational vehicle, or while being appreciably impaired by drugs or other imparing substances. The WRC also reminds boaters to wear lifejackets around or on the water.

Harmanco’s Restaurant to close

The longtime Stanly County staple closes on July 20

By Charles Curcio Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — A 72-year

Stanly County institution for food, family and fun will close its doors later this month.

Harmanco’s on Main Street in Albemarle announced Monday that the restaurant will close its doors on July 20.

Owner Jamie Johnson, who purchased the business ve years ago from Steve Voula Kambouris, con rmed in a

phone interview that the building in which the restaurant is located has been sold and her lease has been terminated. Johnson purchased the business but not the building, which would have cost an extra $500,000, so she leased the space to operate the restaurant. The Kambouris family operated Harmanco’s for 11 years before selling the business to Johnson. The original restaurant opened in 1953.

“All I know is somebody bought the building and told me I had 30 days to get out,” Johnson said. “I cried for two days.”

“I love my customers. A lot of friendships have been made here. We are a family here. It breaks my heart.”

Johnson, owner

Jamie

She said she has not been told what the future of the building will be.

“People are sad,” Johnson said. “I’ve got customers that say they’re not go-

Rich eld will keep its dedicated sheri ’s deputy

Commissioners voted 3-1 to keep funding the deputy for another year

By Charles Curcio Stanly News Journal

THE TOWN OF Rich eld will have a full-time law enforcement o cer on duty for at least another year.

The approval of a contract with the Stanly County Sheri ’s O ce to fund a deputy dedicated to Rich eld was made Monday night at the Rich eld board of commissioners meeting, where there was a long discussion between a near-capacity crowd, the board and Stanly County Sheri Je Crisco. In the end, the board voted 3-1 to continue the contract, with newly appointed Mayor Pro Tem Barry Byrd the only dissenter. It will cost the town $105,000 to have a single, full-time deputy dedicated to Rich eld for the next scal year. In a prior meeting, discussion was had about how much the coverage the town could get with a cheaper option — with the sheri saying a $73,000 contract would get 103 hours of monthly coverage. That’s down from the 168 hours a month for what is ef-

fectively a 40-hour per week position where the deputy would be expected to spend at least 85% of their time within the city limits.

Crisco also brought data from Stanly County 911 showing that Deputy Danny Belcher, the current deputy assigned to Rich eld, had spent 85% of his time within the city limits last month. He also said that Belcher will not be returning to Rich eld as its deputy.

“I was elected to look after the best interests of the taxpayers of the town of Richeld,” Byrd said in an interview Tuesday. “I made my decision on what was the best, economical option for police protection for the town of Rich eld. The other commissioners did not see it the way I did, but I stand by my decision.”

One of the sticking points for Byrd’s opposition to continuing the contract was the need to purchase a new squad car for the o cer.

Crisco said cars are replaced every ve years. The standard procedure is the county buys the car up front and is reimbursed by the municipality over the length of the contract. The new squad

“I made my decision on what was the best, economical option for police protection for the town of Rich eld. The other commissioners did not see it that way.”

Barry Byrd, Rich eld mayor pro tem

ing to ever come back here.”

She said she hear stories about many married couples who had their rst date at Harmanco’s.

“I have people who come here every year on their anniversary because this is where they met,” Johnson said. “I love my customers. A lot of friendships have been made here. We are a family here; it breaks my heart.”

Johnson said she will sell everything from the restaurant in the building, from the chairs, tables and kitchen appliances to the pictures and signs, including the original Harmanco’s sign.

Osborne elds a grounder during a Uwharrie Wampus Cats game earlier this season. See an update on the Wampus Cats’ season on page B1

THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

CHARLES CURCIO / STANLY NEWS JOURNAL

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Chimney Rock State Park opens for rst time after Helene

STANLY happening

On Saturday July 19:

• Church Yard Sale beginning at 7 a.m.

• Great Food Sale – all day

• Bouncy House for the children and fun activities for everyone.

Sunday July 20:

• 10 a.m. – Worship and Preaching

• 2:30 p.m. – Gospel Singing

We are asking churches to please participate in an “ole fashion Gospel Singing” like we used to do.

We are looking forward to having a very festive and spiritual time in celebrating our church anniversary of 150 plus years in worship and fellowship.

“We have come this far by Faith leaning on the Lord.”

The area was one of the hardest hit by the hurricane

The Associated Press

CHIMNEY ROCK — An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public last Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic ooding, destruction and loss of life.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other o cials attended a reopening ceremony at Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 25 miles southeast of Asheville. The main portion of the park will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make reservations, Stein’s o ce said.

Stein also signed into law before the ceremony’s crowd another state Helene recovery bill nalized by the General Assembly on Thursday that sends $700 million to the state’s Helene relief fund and appropriates $500 million of that. And Stein announced a new tourism cam-

DEPUTY

car is considered the property of the county, not the municipality. Commissioners also voted 4-0 to accept the resignation of Ian Focht as mayor. Focht had previously submitted his resignation via email, but a week ago the board did not have a quorum to accept it, so the meeting was postponed to Monday. Commissioner Kevin Almond moved to accept the resignation, adding they would accept it “if you don’t want to be here.”

June 23

• Anton Delrico Harris, 30, was arrested for obstructing justice and felony conspiracy.

June 24

• Alexis Geraldine NicholsonWinston, 32, was arrested for reckless driving to endanger, assault causing physical injury to a law enforcement o cer, reckless driving with wanton disregard, resisting a public o cer, misdemeanor child abuse, and eeing or eluding arrest with a motor vehicle.

June 25

• Dmarhi Caquan Moore, 26, was arrested for robbery with a dangerous weapon, second-

paign to encourage travel and spending in the North Carolina mountains.

“Today’s reopening is a huge achievement,” Stein told attendees. “Chimney Rock is just one of the many places that make western North Carolina unforgettable.”

Last September’s storm swept away the ornate stone and concrete bridge across the Broad River to reach the portion of the park that contains the 315-foot high geological formation that’s shaped in keeping with the park’s name. The park, which also features hiking trails and other amenities, usually attracts 400,000 people annually.

A road had to be paved and a temporary bridge made from old railroad cars was laid over the river.

The reopening provides needed encouragement to those in adjoining Chimney Rock Village, where a third of the hamlet’s businesses were destroyed as river waters removed buildings from their foundations.

“It almost wiped us o the map,” village Mayor Peter O’Leary said on Friday. “The

village knew one thing that was of utmost importance to our survival. We had to have Chimney Rock State Park open again.” Some village businesses are reopening.

Before Friday’s bill signing, the General Assembly already had appropriated or reallocated more than $1.6 billion for Helene recovery.

The new Helene law is the fth relief package approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly since last fall. The Democratic governor said he’s still seeking direct aid for small businesses and more funds for a ordable housing. But he was still pleased with the legislature’s action.

“We have a lot of work to do, but it’s also good to take stock and recognize that today is a good day,” Stein said.

The governor is also seeking more federal funds for Helene recovery beyond the billions already received by the state and by those harmed by the storm.

State o cials say the storm caused more than 100 deaths in North Carolina and generated roughly $60 billion in damages and needs.

Monday’s meeting.

degree kidnapping, rstdegree burglary and assault by pointing a gun.

June 27

• Shannon Marie Lenderman, 41, was arrested for possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Craig Allen Garmon, 51, was arrested for breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods or property.

June 28

• Bradley Harrison Campbell, 34, was arrested for larceny

using an anti-inventory device, felony possession of a schedule II controlled substance, shoplifting by concealing goods and possession of drug paraphernalia.

June 29

• Clyde Dale Dennis, 27, was arrested for possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Garima Katerina Sinha, 35, was arrested for driving while impaired, providing ctitious information to an o cer and resisting a public o cer.

July 3-5

Oakboro

Times

The

July 7

Color

Connect: Drop

9:30-11:30 a.m.

For those who need some relaxing “me” time! Come to the library and enjoy co ee or tea while you get a little creative. Supplies are provided, or feel free to bring your own.

Main Library 133 E. Main St. Albemarle

July 10

Locust Farmers Market

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This producers-only market o ers fresh produce, homemade foods and crafts by local creators. Conveniently located across the street from Locust Elementary School. Open May through September. Corner of 24/27 and Vella Drive Locust

July 11

Food Truck Fridays at City Lake Park 5:30-9 p.m.

Enjoy food and beverages from the variety of food trucks on site while being entertained by the singing and dancing of The Legacy Motown Review. 815 Concord Road Albemarle

CHARLES CURCIO / STANLY NEWS JOURNAL

Sheri Je Crisco (middle) discusses the existing contract with the board and members of the Rich eld community at

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | MIKE GONZALEZ

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Trump’s culture war o ensive is working

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month.

THE PAST MONTH has seen bold advances in President Donald Trump’s crusade to recapture cultural ground that the left had conquered in recent decades. Whether on museums, media or universities, the president is on the o ensive and the left is in retreat.

Two weeks ago alone saw advances on two fronts: a congressional win against NPR and PBS, and a retreat by the Smithsonian.

The House of Representatives’ 214-212 vote on June 12 to rescind $1.1 billion that Congress had already appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonpro t that distributes taxpayer money to NPR, PBS and public radio and television stations, was a milestone. The tightness of the vote reveals the stakes.

Ever since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act authorizing the CPB in 1967, every Republican president and Congress has tried to bring public broadcasting to heel.

But all e orts have failed. Democrats have voted in unison to protect their interests, and thus those of NPR and PBS, and enough Republicans have thought, “Well, PBS may give my party 85% negative coverage, but if I vote for it, my local station will spare me.”

The June 12 vote saw four of those, but not enough to save the broadcasters’ bacon this time. The rescission package now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 advantage. That still won’t make it a cakewalk, and timid senators will nd any excuse not to take a stand on an important issue.

But Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), lead Senate sponsor of the rescissions package, told Punchbowl, “I think broadly there’s a lot of agreement that we need to move forward on it.”

Eliminating public funding for NPR and PBS is an important step in the cultural reconquista. The left uses both institutions to tear down America’s cultural and historical narrative and put in place a distorted counternarrative. And, of course, the left funds this with money from every American taxpayer.

Another such institution is the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum complex, with 21 museums and 14 educational and research centers. Trump in March issued an executive order that, right at the start, identi ed the problem: “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread e ort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” Museums, added the order, “should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination.”

It instructed Vice President JD Vance to “e ectuate the policies of this order through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents.”

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month. Vance worked the room with a mixture of persuasion and outright pressure, according to published reports from the always-secretive meeting, and he got results.

Initial reports emphasized how the board had circled the wagons around Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, under whom much of the wokeness has come in, and rebu ed Trump’s ring of National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet.

But Sajet was gone in a matter of days, resigning “on her own.” Bunch put out a statement thanking her for putting the Smithsonian’s interests “above her own.”

The Smithsonian also agreed to conduct a wide audit of all its content to eliminate biased material and perhaps even personnel.

Then, it emerged that Bunch emailed sta to admit to bias.

“On occasion, some of our work has not aligned with our institutional values of scholarship, evenhandedness and nonpartisanship,” he wrote. “For that, we must all work to do better.”

Even better, in his budget request to Congress, Trump asked the legislature not to fund the Smithsonian’s creation of a Latino museum. Early exhibits of the planned museum revealed that the left will use it as an

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard brings back meritocracy

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted.

TWO YEARS AGO, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by ruling that universities could no longer use a rmative action to determine admissions for students.

In the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court explained in the majority opinion that the color of a student’s skin can no longer determine his or her entry into a school.

When ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) in a companion case, the court decided in a majority 6-3 opinion that using a student’s race to determine admissions is in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that a student “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual” rather than race. The admissions process for both schools were seen as penalizing Asian American students.

While the process for universities to fully correct course to abide by the decision may take several years, the results are already positive with meritocracy appearing to return to the forefront of academia in America.

In the time since the Supreme Court’s decision, several prominent universities have already adopted new admissions processes as well as now requiring students to submit standardized testing scores once again with their applications.

At Harvard University, admissions previously had optional writing components where potential students could write about topics pertaining to them and their interests or experiences with their identity. After the court’s ruling, the school altered the questions asked to applicants. The school then reinstated the submission of standardized test scores as mandatory for applicants applying for the fall 2025 semester.

Other prominent universities have also

reinstated standardized test scores for their admissions. Dartmouth College was the rst Ivy League school to require SAT or ACT scores again after the ruling. Yale, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania are among those that followed suit. Even UNC updated its process for applicants.

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted. In the two years since the Supreme Court’s decision, there appears to have been an impact.

In recent years, a rmative action generally impacted white and Asian students negatively while positively impacting black and Hispanic students. The end of a rmative action in schools has appeared to even the playing eld, with merit now playing a more signi cant factor in determining a student’s admittance. That can be seen in the data of students now enrolled in these schools.

After the court’s ruling, UNC saw a dip in the percentage of black and Hispanic students, but the percentage of Asian students increased. Harvard saw a decrease in the percentage of black students but an increase for Hispanic students. The percentage of Asian students at Harvard stayed the same.

At Columbia, the percentage of Asian students jumped from 30% to 39% within a year, while the percentage of black students dropped from 20% to 12%. This is a common trend among elite universities.

Seeing the percentage of black and Hispanic students decrease is nothing to celebrate. The goal should be to see all students thrive regardless of skin color. However, until we solve the separate problem of why black and Hispanic students struggle more than their peers, seeing merit as a core focus again in admissions is a positive shift.

There is an understandable concern that

A statue of Joseph Henry stands outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

incubator of grievances against the United States, a place to stoke resentments among Americans with roots in Iberia or her colonies.

Instead, Trump wants the Smithsonian to return to sharing collections on the culture and history of these Americans across the complex’s many museums — reviving the so-called Smithsonian Latino Center of old rather than sectioning o this part of American history in a segregated institution under the direction of woke curators.

Acting on my own capacity, I was one of more than 20 scholars with these roots to sign a letter supporting the president’s decision not to fund this mistake.

On the university front, lest we forget, it was about a month ago that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she had ordered the cancellation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certi cation, barring the school from enrolling foreign students.

The second Trump administration understands the supreme importance of these ideological battles. And, as the past 30 days have shown, its decision to go on o ense is working.

Mike Gonzalez is the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow in the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. This article was rst published in the Washington Examiner and then via The Daily Signal.

universities will attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling to a certain extent. University leadership is open about attempting this. Schools are trying other means to indirectly use a rmative action to admit students.

While Yale leadership did administer changes to the university’s admissions process, the school is still promoting a “culture of diversity and inclusivity” by expanding outreach plans and creating new talent pipelines. Brown University also intends to indirectly implement a rmative action through “pathway programs, targeted outreach, and pipeline programs.”

This is happening at other universities as well.

President Donald Trump and his administration will need to work to ensure that universities follow the Supreme Court’s ruling and additionally make sure they drop all initiatives that promote student admissions based on race. In fact, the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools in February demanding exactly that. With an administration in charge that values merit, America’s universities are well advised to follow the law.

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions in schools in 2023 is already having a positive impact by ensuring institutions of higher learning prioritize meritocracy above immutable characteristics. The era of schools judging potential students by the color of their skin is thankfully coming to an end.

While there is still a lot of work to accomplish to ensure that all students who want to attend the nation’s elite universities are on par academically with their peers, ending a rmative action is the rst step in achieving true equality for all.

Casey Ryan is a writer and investigative reporter at Defending Education and a contributor to Daily Caller News Foundation.

COLUMN | CASEY RYAN

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO

I-40 reopens faster than expected after latest rock slide, ooding

miles of I-40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that were washed away or heavily damaged by ooding that roared through the Pigeon River gorge during Hurricane Helene in late September.

Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in March. The lanes are separated by a curb several inches high.

The

The permanent x to stabilize what is left of the road will involve driving long steel

hold them

UNC System joins other schools to create agency to review quality standards

By Atirikta Kumar and Jessica Priest The Texas Tribune

THE TEXAS A&M System is partnering with university systems from ve other Republican-led states to create a new agency to set quality standards for their schools.

The move comes amid Republican criticism of higher education accrediting agencies, which they say are partly responsible for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and reinforcing liberal bias in the country’s colleges and universities.

O cials with Texas A&M,

State University System of Florida, University System of Georgia, University of Tennessee System, University of North Carolina System and University of South Carolina System said in a news release last Thursday they will create a new agency to accredit them. They are calling the new body the Commission for Public Higher Education.

Texas A&M and most other public, four-year universities in Texas are currently accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Jim Suydam, Texas A&M University System’s director of media relations, said the university is not planning on leaving SACSCOC right now.

“In recent legislative sessions, our top state o cials have sought a more reasonable and transpar-

ent pathway toward accreditation. And now, the leadership of the Texas A&M University System is pleased to announce that the System has joined an alliance of some of the nation’s top university systems to provide a new, less cumbersome and more objective option for accreditation,” said Glenn Hegar, who will become the Texas A&M Chancellor on July 1. Accreditors assess higher education institutions’ quality by reviewing their programs, curricula and graduation rates, among other metrics. Colleges and universities need to be accredited if they want their students to qualify for federal nancial aid. Texas law requires the state’s public universities to be accredited by one of seven federally recognized agencies. It’s unclear if

the ve university systems have begun the process of getting the new agency recognized by the federal or state government.

Suydam said it will likely be a two-year process.

In recent years, President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have criticized U.S. universities for what they say amounts to promoting liberal ideologies to students.

In April, Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Education to overhaul the accreditation process for universities by reviewing existing accrediting agencies, suspending accreditation recognition for those deemed to have a poor performance, and recognizing new accreditors. He claimed some agencies have approved “low quality” institutions

and abused their authority by requiring that schools have diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives.

SACSCOC does not have any DEI requirements for universities to get accredited, according to the agency.

“If DEI is the concern, then the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools would satisfy that concern because SACS does not require DEI for accreditation,” said Brian Evans, president of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors. “So, I don’t know why the southern schools… are going band together to create a new accrediting agency.”

The creation of the new accrediting agency also comes after the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 530, which will give schools other options to become accredited. SACSCOC will no longer be the sole accreditor for Texas universities, allowing them to choose any agency from an approved list by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

rods into bedrock below the highway, lling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cli face to

in place. It will take years. I-40 runs from Wilmington on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Barstow, California.

TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION VIA AP

Interstate 40 near the Tennessee-North Carolina state line was closed due to ooding and rockslide on June 18.

The new accreditation e ort is trying to stamp out DEI programs

Federal task force nds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students

A report said the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment

By Collin Binkley

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Donald Trump’s administration intensi ed its battle with Harvard University, formally nding the school tolerated antisemitism — a step that could jeopardize all of Harvard’s federal funding, including federal student aid.

In a letter sent to Harvard on Monday, a federal task force said its investigation had found the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment of Jewish students and faculty. The task force threatened to refer the case to the Justice Department for a civil rights investigation “as soon as possible,” unless Harvard comes into compliance.

The nding escalates the White House’s battle with Harvard, which has faced mounting sanctions after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions. Already, the government has slashed more than $2.6 billion in research grants. But a civil rights violation could jeopardize Harvard’s eligibility to accept federal loans or grants for students to attend the university — a penalty often referred to as a “death sentence” in higher education.

“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal nancial

resources and continue to a ect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” o cials said in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and rst reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration for months has accused Harvard of tolerating antisemitism on its campus, but a formal investigative nding gives the administration a channel to block more federal funding.

Trump personally has railed against Harvard, but on June 20 suggested a deal resolving the monthslong con ict could be coming soon. In a post on social media, Trump said Harvard has “acted extremely appropriately” during negotiations. He did not elaborate on the terms of a potential resolution. Harvard has not comment-

ed on whether it is negotiating with the White House. On Monday, Harvard said it strongly disagrees with the government’s ndings and is committed to ghting bias.

“Antisemitism is a serious problem and no matter the context, it is unacceptable,” the university said in a statement. “Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community.”

Federal o cials made their case in a 57-page report detailing an investigation by the civil rights o ce of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is among several represented on a federal antisemitism task force.

The government’s investigation largely relied on a campus antisemitism study commis-

sioned by Harvard and released in April. Federal o cials cited numerous details from that report, including accounts of Jewish students who said they were spit on and faced chants on campus including “Heil Hitler.”

It focuses heavily on last year’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war. In the letter to Harvard, federal o cials said the campus was “overrun by an impermissible, multiweek encampment” that left Jewish and Israeli students fearful and disrupted their studies.

It accuses Harvard of imposing lax and inconsistent discipline against students who participated in the encampment, noting that none were suspended.

Harvard President Alan Garber has acknowledged problems with antisemitism and

anti-Muslim bias on campus, but he says Harvard has made strides to ght prejudice. He announced new initiatives in April upon release of the antisemitism study.

“Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry,” Garber wrote at the time.

The Monday letter nds Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Such ndings have almost always been resolved through voluntary resolutions between schools and the federal government. The Trump administration has taken a much sharper edge than its predecessors, however.

It has been decades since an administration even attempted to strip a school or college of its federal funding over civil rights violations. Trump ocials are seeking that outcome in a Justice Department lawsuit against Maine over transgender athletes, and it’s threatening the same action in a similar investigation into California.

Trump o cials have barraged Harvard with sanctions after it became the rst university to defy White House demands addressing accusations of antisemitism and liberal bias. Along with research cuts, the administration has attempted to bar Harvard from hosting foreign students, and President Donald Trump has said the school should lose its tax-exempt status.

Some of the actions have been blocked by courts after Harvard sued, accusing the government of illegal retaliation.

Harvard’s previous funding cuts were carried out under a provision allowing the government to end grants and contracts that no longer align with federal priorities. That strategy is believed to be unprecedented and is being challenged in court. But by invoking a civil rights violation, Harvard has an established path to further penalties.

They arrived on a Dragon capsule from SpaceX

By Marcia Dunn

The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

— The rst astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station last Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private ight.

The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments. They launched last Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

America’s most experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, is the commander of the visiting crew. She works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered ight.

Added Uznanski-Wisniewski: “We will all try to do the best representing our countries.” Shukla rated the experience so far as “fantastic ... wonderful.”

The space station’s commander, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, said he was happy to nally see their smiling faces after “waiting for you guys so long.” Whitson also made note of the lengthy delay and pre ight quarantine.

Besides Whitson, the crew includes India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, a pilot in the Indian Air Force; Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer; and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, a radiation expert and one of the European Space Agency’s project astronauts on temporary ight duty. No one has ever visited the International Space Station from those countries before. The time anyone rocketed into orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets.

ebrating with drink pouches sipped through straws. Six nations were represented: four from the U.S., three from Russia and one each from Japan, India, Poland and Hungary.

Speaking in both English and their native languages, the new arrivals shared hugs and handshakes with the space station’s seven full-time residents, cel-

“We have so many countries at the same time on the space station,” Kapu said, adding that seven of the 11 astronauts are rst-time space iers “which also tells me how much space is expanding.”

To stay healthy, the four newcomers went into quarantine on May 25, stuck in it as their launch kept getting delayed. The latest postponement was for space station leak monitoring, NASA wanted to make sure everything was safe following repairs to a longtime leak on the Russian side of the outpost.

It’s the fourth Axiom-sponsored ight to the space station since 2022. The company is one of several that are developing their own space stations due to launch in the coming years. NASA plans to abandon the International Space Station in 2030 after more than three decades of operation, and is encouraging private ventures to replace it.

Josephine “Jo” Moore Compton

July 9, 1935 – June 21, 2025

Josephine “Jo” Moore Compton, of Badin, NC, passed away gracefully on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at Woodhaven Court in Albemarle, NC, after years of battling dementia. She stayed tough until the end. She was just 18 days shy of her 90th birthday.

Born in Camden, SC, on July 9, 1935, she was preceded in death by her husband Bob and her youngest son, David, and is survived by her two sons Jim (Karen), and Rob (Marion), and daughter Becky Taylor. She loved her seven grandchildren and ten great grandchildren very much. She is also survived by two brothers, Bob, and Butch, and a sister “Jeannie Pie” Curry. Jo moved to Valley Dr. in Badin with Bob and their four children in 1969. She was a wonderful cook and loved working in the yard and gardening. She canned veggies and made pickles. Her pickles won blue ribbons in the Stanly County fair back in the 70’s.

In August of 1981, when she was just forty-six years young, she su ered a major stroke and literally had to learn how to read, write, walk and talk again. She bounced back amazingly, and even though she was unable to go back to work, she did whatever she could by cleaning houses, among other things. Before this event, she worked at the Women’s Clinic in Albemarle, and later in life, loved to remind everyone about that. She helped to take care of Dr. Davis Fort before his passing in 2019, as well as helping other friends and neighbors during their nal days. She was a nanny for Amie Fort Bell’s children, even traveling to Utah when needed. She was a true caregiver at heart. Even after she became the one needing care, she still insisted on baking banana bread, which she called “brownies” and shared them with her neighbors. After entering Woodhaven Court last year, she liked to “check on” other residents and lend a helping hand when she could.

She was also very active in The Uwharrie Players little theater group. Fondly known as “Jo Who” and “Magnolia”, she was a natural born actress. Her cast parties were legendary, sometimes lasting until the sun came up the next morning. She remained a “Drama Queen” until the very end.

Some years after Bob passed away, she bought a quaint bungalow house in Badin and took pride in decorating it. She made it her very own, and it radiated her personality. She loved to cook and entertain, so her dining room table was always set to a tee. She even cut her own grass until she could just no longer pull the cord to start the mower. She was very independent and good at everything she did. She was a member of Badin United Methodist Church and took an active part in the women’s circle there well into her seventies.

She was a true Southerner and loved Gone with the Wind, Paula Dean recipes, Elvis, and Clemson. She left an impression on everyone that she met, and she will be deeply missed. A service to honor her life and memory will be held at a later date, TBD.

OBITUARIES

STEVEN SHANE NEWELL

JULY 21, 1989 – JUNE 25, 2025

Steven Shane Newell, 35, of Monroe, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 1:30-3 p.m. at Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Locust. A memorial service will follow at 3 p.m. in the Stanly Funeral Home Chapel, o ciated by Pastor David Yow.

Steven was born on July 21, 1989. He was a devoted husband, proud father, loyal son, and beloved grandson. He is survived by his loving wife, Tracey Newell; two cherished children, Greyson and Saylor Newell; his parents, Tina and Timothy McDaniel; and his siblings Christa Perry (Wesley), Krystal Weir, and Krystal Tucker (Derek). He is also survived by his grandmother, Marilyn Newell, and numerous nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends who will miss him dearly.

He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Steve Newell, Sr., and his grandmother, Linda Knight.

Steven was known for his vibrant spirit and boundless energy. He approached life with passion and purpose, whether on the job as a talented lineman or at home as a “cool dad” who never failed to make his children smile. His stubborn determination was matched only by his creativity, sense of humor, and warm heart. He loved to travel, had a talent for airbrushing, and brought brightness and laughter into every room he entered. Steven was deeply loved and will be remembered for the joy he brought to those around him.

In lieu of owers, memorial contributions may be made to the Fallen Linemen Foundation, honoring Steven’s dedication to his work and his fellow linemen. Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Locust is serving the Newell family.

MARTHA FRANCES HINSON

JULY 23, 1932 – JUNE 26, 2025

Martha Frances Hinson, 92, of Albemarle, passed away Thursday, June 26, 2025, at her home.

Frances was born July 23, 1932, in Anson County, North Carolina, to the late Claude Benton Hinson and the late Nellie Blanche Thomas Hinson.

The memorial service will be held on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Main Street United Methodist Church in Albemarle, o ciated by Rev. Katie Lineberger. A visitation with the family will follow the service in the Family Life Center. Survivors include sisters, Doris Eddins of Smyrna, GA, and Ellen Coley of Albemarle, NC; nieces, Michelle Coley and LeighAnn Eddins; nephews, Michael Coley and Buddy Eddins; and a friend of many years, Brenda Furr.

Frances was a lifelong member at Main St. United Methodist Church, where she was a choir member and pianist for over 45 years. She was always very involved in the church until her health no longer allowed. Frances was a talented and passionate baker - she loved baking sourdough bread for the church and enjoyed making cakes and other baked goods for friends and family. She thoroughly enjoyed bird watching and her favorites were hummingbirds and bluebirds.

In lieu of owers, memorials may be made to Main Street United Methodist Church for Sisters in Christ, P.O. Box 1255, Albemarle, NC 28001.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Albemarle is serving the Hinson family.

STEPHEN MICHAEL BROOKS

AUG. 9, 1954 – JUNE 26, 2025

Stephen Michael Brooks, 70, of Rich eld, passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, June 26, 2025.

A funeral service to celebrate his life will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 20, 2025, at New Mount Tabor United Methodist Church with Rev. Katie Lineberger o ciating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 2-3:45 p.m. prior to the service at the church.

Born on August 9, 1954, in Stanly County, North Carolina, Steve was the son of the late Charles Spurgeon Brooks and Alene Lowder Brooks. A lifelong member of New Mount Tabor United Methodist Church, he faithfully served his church and community throughout his life.

Steve worked on his family’s farm and held positions with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and Food Lion in Rich eld. Wherever he worked or served, he was known for his warm heart, gentle spirit, and unwavering kindness.

He was a devoted brother, uncle, and friend, deeply loved and admired by all who knew him. Steve had a special way of making people feel valued and seen, often remembered by many as someone who made you feel like his best friend. He loved music and could spend hours listening to the radio or playing the drums. He took great joy in attending family events, especially those of his nieces and nephews, and he was a loyal supporter at their ball games and activities. His love for family, church, and community ran deep, and his presence will be sorely missed.

Steve is survived by his siblings: Judy Allred (Jim), Butch Brooks (Wanda), and Jed Brooks (Bonnie), all of Rich eld; and by his nine beloved nieces and nephews: Grant Allred (April), Anna Allred-McGee (Brant), Elizabeth Sutton (Brad), Jennifer Carrick (Jamie), Laura Daugherty (Lee), Kim Shaver (Jeremy), Amanda Bowen (Kent), Jed David Brooks, Jr., and Jenna Brooks (Philip Nanney). He also leaves behind 23 cherished great-nieces and nephews: Jacob (Maddie), Grayson, and Laurel Allred; Isabella, Sophia, and Evelyn McGee; Ashland, Addison, and Garrett Sutton; Tanner (Caroline), Avery, and Hannah Carrick; Catherine, Tyler, and Lily Daugherty; Luke and Charlie Shaver; Grier, Blake, and Quinn Bowen; Emery, Carson, and Graham Nanney; and one precious great-great-niece, Adalynn Maie Carrick.

Steve will also be fondly remembered by his dear friends Wayne Huneycutt and Peter Brouillette and his dedicated caregiver Marlene Helms.

His legacy of love, faith and friendship will live on in the hearts of all who knew him.

The family requests that memorials be made to New Mount Tabor United Methodist Church, 40237 Millingport Rd., Rich eld, NC 28137, for youth and children’s ministries as well as to the North Stanly Booster Club, PO Box 1935, Albemarle, NC 28002.

BRANDON LEE MCCRAVEN

NOV. 3, 1978 – JUNE 27, 2025

Brandon Lee McCraven, 46, of Oakboro, passed away Friday, June 27, 2025, at his home. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, from 6-8 p.m. at Edwards Funeral Home in Norwood.

Brandon was born on November 3, 1978, in Cabarrus County to Walter and Debbie Morgan McCraven. He graduated from West Stanly High School in 1996 and worked as an auto parts salesman for NAPA Auto Parts and Crook Motor Company. He was a hard worker and enjoyed to hunt and sh in his spare time.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by his sister, Tammy Smith (Shawn); nieces and nephews: Courtney, Cobie, Carson, Collin and Cassidy Smith; and special friends who were like brothers, Josh Burris and Cody Sha er.

Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose bronze spheres decorate prominent public spaces around world, dead at 98

His shiny, smooth bronze globes are instantly recognizable

By Nicole Win eld The Associated Press

ROME — Arnaldo Pomodoro, one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary artists whose bronze spheres decorate iconic public spaces from the Vatican to the United Nations, has died at age 98, his foundation said.

Pomodoro died at home in Milan last Sunday, the eve of his 99th birthday, according to a statement from Carlotta Montebello, director general of the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation.

Pomodoro’s massive spheres are instantly recognizable: shiny, smooth bronze globes with clawed out interiors that Pomodoro has said referred to the super cial perfection of exteriors and the troubled complexity of interiors.

In a note of condolences, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said Pomodoro’s “wounded” spheres “speak to us today of the fragility and complexity of the human and the world.”

The Vatican’s sphere, which occupies a central place in the Pigna Courtyard of the Vatican Museums, features an internal mechanism that rotates with the wind. “In my work I see the cracks, the eroded parts, the destructive potential that emerges from our time of disillusionment,” the Vatican quoted Pomodoro as saying about its sphere.

The United Nations in New York received a 10-foot,

eight -inch diameter “Sphere Within Sphere” sculpture as a gift from Italy in 1996. The U.N. sphere has refers to the coming of the new millennium, the U.N. said: “a smooth exterior womb erupted by complex interior forms,” and “a promise for the rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world,” Pomodoro said of it. Other spheres are located at museums around the world and outside the Italian foreign ministry, which has the original work that Pomodoro created in 1966 for the Montreal Expo that began his monumental sculpture project. Pomodoro was born in

Boutros BoutrosGhali, center, gives a push to Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro’s, right, “Sphere Within a Sphere” during its unveiling at the United Nations in 1996.

Montefeltro, Italy, on June 23, 1926. In addition to his spheres, he designed theatrical sets, land projects and machines. He had multiple retrospectives and taught at Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley and Mills College, according to his biography on the foundation website.

MARK LENNIHAN / AP PHOTO

STANLY SPORTS

Uwharrie wins at home, downed on road

The Wampus Cats played the team’s nal two games in June before Thursday’s holiday bash

By Charles Curcio Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — The Uwhar-

rie Wampus Cats baseball season continued onward this past weekend as the Cats hosted a game Friday night and traveled to Winston-Salem to face the rival Carolina Disco Turkeys on Saturday.

The Cats will be o until Thursday’s home game with the Turkeys. Uwharrie then travels back to Winston-Salem for a doubleheader Saturday versus the Turkeys.

Friday’s Game

Uwharrie 5, Carolina Swamp Donkeys 1

Uwharrie hosted another independent collegiate woodbat team Friday, the Carolina Swamp Donkeys out of Lexington.

The Cats gained an early advantage and never trailed, ending a four-game winless streak to improve to 7-5-1 on the season with a four-run win.

Ido Peled earned the win on the mound for the Cats, throw-

Ido Peled earned the win Friday night on the mound for the Cats.

ing ve innings of one-hit baseball with two walks and ve strikeouts.

Uwharrie took a lead in the bottom of the second when Shaked Baruch was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

A balk and an RBI single from Anderson Moreno in the fourth extended Uwharrie’s lead 3-0.

One inning later, Jesse Osborne drove in two runs with a base hit for Uwharrie.

The Donkeys’ only run of the

game came in the top of the seventh when a leado triple scored two batters later on an RBI single. Osborne, Jett Thomas and Carson Whitehead had two hits each in the game.

Pfei er athletics signs deal with Atrium Health

The new relationship will allow Atrium Health to provide athletic training and care for the student athletes

Stanly News Journal sta MISENHEIMER — The more than 400 student-athletes of Pfei er University will soon have a larger base of services from which to draw for the upcoming academic year.

On Friday, Pfei er announced the signing of a partnership with the Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, which will provide orthopedic experts for the student athletes.

“This collaboration represents an important step forward in Pfei er’s ongoing commitment to the health, safety, and performance of our stu-

dent-athletes,” Pfei er sports medicine manager Darci Dickison said.

“It ensures they will receive the highest standard of care in every aspect of their athletic experience.”

In a release Friday, Pfei er stated the relationship between Pfei er and Atrium Health “will deliver a full range of services focused on injury prevention, rehabilitation, and overall wellness, empowering Falcon athletes to stay healthy and perform at their best year-round.”

Atrium Health has one of the largest athletic training programs in the country, currently partnering with more than 80 high school, college and professional teams.

“Our teams have a deep understanding of the unique challenges athletes face and are dedicated to providing care that supports proper recovery and safe performance,” Atrium Health assistant vice president of outreach, sports medicine

and event medicine Jennifer Gardner said.

“We’re proud to welcome Pfei er University to our network of athletic trainer services and look forward to forging a path forward together in advancing athlete care and wellness.”

Key features of the partnership include:

• Sports nutrition and sports psychology programs

• Priority access and clinical navigation to support the athlete’s medical needs

• A full-time certi ed Atrium Health athletic trainers embedded within Pfei er’s athletic department.

• Injury prevention and performance enhancement programs

Number of games the Wampus Cats played without being shut out before Saturday

Saturday’s Game Disco Turkeys 5, Wampus Cats 0

Something happened in Saturday’s game which had not happened all season to Uwharrie. In each of the previous 13 games, the Cats crossed home plate at least one time during the game.

Zach Helms picked up the win and combined with a relief pitcher to shut out the Cats, 5-0. Uwharrie (7-6-1) managed ve hits in the game, including two singles each from Thomas and Blake McKinney.

Christian Shrewsbury took the loss for Uwharrie, pitching just one inning and allowing two earned runs on two hits with three walks and a strikeout.

Nathan Hayworth pitched seven innings of relief for the Cats, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

“This collaboration represents an important step forward in Pfei er’s ongoing commitment to the health, safety, and performance of our student-athletes.”

Darci Dickison, Pfei er sports medicine manager

• Educational workshops for athletes, coaches, and sta

“This partnership is about keeping athletes in the game and doing what they love,” Dr. Stephen Furr, sports medicine physician with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, said.

“By bringing specialized care directly to campus, we’re helping student-athletes stay healthy, recover fully, and get back to their sport with con dence.”

COURTESY PHOTO

The Uwharrie Wampus Cat, Catty Wampus, hangs out with the bullpen during Friday’s home win.

COURTESY PFEIFFER ATHLETICS

Pfei er sports medicine manager Darci Dickison is excited about the school’s new partnership with Atrium Health.

COURTESY PHOTO

SIDELINE REPORT

BASEBALL

Wampus Cats to host downtown reworks

Albemarle

The Uwharrie Wampus Cats, in conjunction with the Albemarle Parks and Recreation Department, will host a reworks event this Thursday at Don Montgomery Park. Albemarle’s wood-bat team will host its rivals, the Carolina Disco Turkeys, starting at 7 p.m. with reworks after the game. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online at tickettailor.com/events/ uwharriewampuscats, where they are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. Concessions and beer will be on sale in the park, and no outside food or drink will be allowed in.

WRESTLING

Pro wrestling event to bene t Butter y House

Albemarle

Je Hardy, Lex Luger and others are scheduled to appear July 27 at the Albemarle High School gymnasium for a live pro wrestling event to bene t the Butter y House. The event is a fundraiser for the children’s advocacy center by Mike and Jill Hatley. The doors for AML Wrestling’s event will open at 2 p.m. with bell time at 4 p.m. General admission tickets are $15 with kids 10 and under free.

Fluminense gets early goal from Cano to knock out Inter Milan in Club World Cup Round of 16

The Champions League nalists were upset in front of a small Bank of America Stadium crowd

By Steve Reed The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — Germán

Cano scored on a header three minutes into the match, and Fluminense held on to upset Champions League nalist Inter Milan 2-0 to advance to the Club World Cup quarternals in front of a sparse crowd of 20,030 at Bank of America Stadium on Monday.

The Brazilians move on to face the Manchester City-Al Hilal winner on Friday in Orlando, Florida. Almost before both teams were able to break a sweat in the 90-degrees Fahrenheit heat, Jhon Arias sent a slightly de ected crossing pass from the right corner that Cano headed between goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s legs into the net for a 1-0 lead. It was all they would need.

The Brazilians appeared to add to their lead late in the rst half, but Ignacio’s header into the net was waived o due to being o side.

On the other end of the pitch, Milan kept pressing, eager for the tie.

The Italians controlled the time of possession throughout the match, owning the ball 68% of the time, and certainly had its chances after outshooting the Brazilian team 16-11. But Milan simply couldn’t will the ball into the net. It was one bad bounce after

defensive strategy before the match to use three defensive backs to defend against Milan.

“I thought a lot about what scheme we would use,” Fluminense coach Renato Gaúcho said. “We should have three backs so we could mirror their own group. They were compliant with my instructions. We have been humble and we knew how to respect the opponent when they had the ball. I told them ‘I trust you.’ I told them yesterday and I told them again today and I told them, ‘I believe it.’ The players adapted very well.”

Fluminense played more poised throughout the match and became the second Brazilian club team to reach the quarter nals, joining Palmeiras.

Noteworthy

another. And often times when one of their shots was saved there was no one there to score o a rebound.

Fluminense’s Hercules eventually added a goal on a wide open shot for Fluminense in stoppage time for the nal 2-0 margin.

As the match was winding down Fluminense players jumped up and down on the sideline. That celebration carried over to the eld after the match, where they hopped up and down in unison in a huddle, their arms wrapped around each other.

After the game, frustrated Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martínez told reporters that “whoever doesn’t want to be here should leave.”

The match got heated at one point after a Fluminense player on the bench appeared to grab one of the balls on the sideline to prevent an Inter Milan advantage after a ball was kicked out of bounds. The Brazilian team received a yellow card, but not until after players exchanged shoves.

Key moment

Martínez had a point-blank shot in the second half to tie the game, but the ball hit o the upright. He couldn’t believe his bad luck and shook his head in disbelief.

Takeaways

Fluminense had changed its

Just 20,030 fans were in attendance at the 74,867 capacity stadium. Stadium ofcials invited patrons from the upper deck to come sit in the lower deck, which was still half empty.

What they said

“We are representing Brazil football beautifully. ... The fans are happy and feeling strong because we are here playing the big European teams.” — Gaúcho on reaching the nal eight.

“We need to look one another in the eye and accept the fact that we need to be self-critical and never point the nger at one another.” — Inter Milan coach Cristian Chivu

CHRIS CARLSON / AP PHOTO

Inter Milan’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan heads the ball during the Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Inter Milan and Fluminense in Charlotte.

Nkunku’s extra-time goal sparks Chelsea to win in Club World Cup

The Blues advanced by beating Ben ca in the Round of 16

By Steve Reed

Associated Press

The

CHARLOTTE — Christopher Nkunku scored o a rebound in extra time and Chelsea went on to beat Ben ca 4-1 in a Club World Cup Round of 16 match Saturday at Bank of America Stadium that was delayed for two hours due to lightning and took nearly ve hours to complete.

Chelsea advances to play Palmeiras in the quarter nals Friday in Philadelphia. Palmeiras beat Botafogo 1-0 on Saturday.

Nkunku’s tiebreaking goal came in the 108th minute with Ben ca playing a man down after Gianluca Prestianni received a red card. Moisés Caicedo’s left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved in the center of the goal by Anatolii Trubin, but an alert Nkunku was there to bury the de ection into the top right corner before being mobbed by teammates.

Pedro Neto and Kiernan

Dewsbury-Hall added insurance goals in extra time for the nal margin.

Reece James scored on a free kick in the 64th minute to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.

But with four minutes left, the match was stopped because of lightning and delayed for two hours. When the teams returned, Chelsea was called for a handball in stoppage time when the ball hit Malo Gusto’s hand.

Angel Di Maria converted the penalty to even the match.

After dominating most of the rst half, the English club nally broke through when the 25-yearold James laced a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

The Portuguese side had a chance to tie it in the 78th minute, but Gianluca Prestianni sent a right-footed shot from the right side of the box just left of the goal. Prestianni held his head in his hands in agony after the miss.

In the closing minutes, players were pulled o the eld and fans told to seek cover due to lightning strikes in the area, although it did not rain at the stadium.

Only a few thousand fans returned for the conclusion.

Chelsea entered with a 3-0 record against Ben ca and controlled the tempo in the rst half with a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. But despite possessing the ball more than 60% of the time, the Blues headed to locker room at halftime in a scoreless tie.

The match was not well attended.

More than half of the lower bowl of 75,000-seat Bank of America Stadium was empty and all but a few hundred seats in the upper deck were remained unclaimed as the event continues to struggle with ticket sales in the United States even as it moved into the knockout round.

Key moment

James’ goal gave Chelsea momentum after it failed to convert some decent looks in the rst half.

Takeaways

Ben ca seemed content to play defense most of the match and try to take advantage of its few chances. But the o ense could not capitalize on the opportunities it generated.

Noteworthy

It was the rst two Round- of-16 knockout games at the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Inter Milan meets Fluminense on Monday, with the winner facing either Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter nals.

What they said

“For 85 minutes we were in control. After the break,

the match changed. It’s not the same game. You suspend a game (for two hours), to me that’s not football. I struggle to understand it. ... We have been here two weeks and they have suspended six or seven games, so something is not working here.” — Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca.

“In the rst half our objective was to come forward although we were facing a very tough side.” — Ben ca coach Bruno Lage.

Home-state favorite Elliott wins Cup race in Atlanta

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — Homestate favorite Chase Elliott passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap and won the the crashlled NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night for his 20th career victory.

Elliott, the popular driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, earned a spot in the Cup Series playo s with his rst victory since April 2024 at Texas. It was his rst win in Atlanta since 2022.

“I’ve never in my whole life, this is unbelievable,” Elliott said. “This is something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Keselowski was second, followed by Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammate, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick. Bowman helped block Keselowski following Elliott’s lastlap pass.

“The 48 and 9 just got together,” Keselowski said, referring to Bowman and Elliott. “... At they end they were able to double-team me.”

Elliott climbed into the stands to celebrate with fans after ending a 44-race winless streak.

“I’m happy for the 9 team,” Bowman said. “It’s a big win for him in his hometown. ... I’m glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us.”

The race’s second crash early in Stage 2 took out many of the sport’s biggest names and left others with damaged cars. Pole-winner Joey Logano, who led the rst 36 laps before light rain forced the rst caution,

was among the many drivers caught up in the big crash.

Among others knocked out of the race: William Byron, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez.

“It wrecked the whole eld,” Logano said. “I still don’t know exactly how it started ... but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible.”

Added Denny Hamlin, who su ered damage to his Toyota in the crash: “Some zigged. Some zagged. Most crashed.”

The Atlanta race at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, was the debut of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a verace, bracket-style tournament.

The parade of highly regarded drivers to be knocked out so early in the race showed the perils of trying to pick NASCAR winners on a March Madness-style bracket sheet. The top two seeds were among the early casualties. Hamlin, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, nished 31st and lost to Ty Dillon, who nished eighth.

Chase Briscoe, who held o Hamlin for his rst win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, was the No. 2 seed before being knocked out in a crash and losing to Noah Gragson in the tournament.

A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.

Elliott and Keselowski were on the front row when a caution with 33 laps to go forced a decision on whether to pit for fresh tires. Both stayed on the track and Elliott faded following the restart until making his deci-

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

sive charge at the very end. Bracket busters

Ryan Blaney, the race favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, was knocked out on a wreck late in the rst stage. Christopher Bell hit the wall, triggering the crash that ended the stage with Cindric in the lead.

Cindric was involved in the bigger crash early in Stage 2. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace were among others involved in the crash.

CHRIS CARLSON / AP PHOTO

Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku is congratulated after scoring his team’s second goal during the Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Charlotte.

The Georgia native passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap

BUTCH DILL / AP PHOTO

Driver Chase Elliott celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

WANTED

HELP

Seeking skilled artist with an eye for color matching to do art restorations.

I anticipate work will require acrylics and some airbrush. No deadlines. Call or text 704-322-1376. Email bdavis34@carolina.rr.com.

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Adjunct Instructor, Adult Basic Education (Daytime)

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NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

25SP000025-830

Under and by virtue of the power of sale

contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Karmen N. Smith (PRESENT RECORD

OWNER(S): Karmen N. Smith) to John B. Third, Trustee(s), dated March 15, 2021, and recorded in Book No. 1734, at Page 702 in Stanly County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Stanly 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 o er for sale at the courthouse door in Albemarle, Stanly County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 11:00 AM on July 9, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Norwood in the County of Stanly, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Lying and being in the City of Norwood, Stanly County, North Carolina containing acres, more or less, and being more particularly described as follows: Lying in Center Township and being all of that certain piece, parcel or lot of land lying and being situate near the City of Norwood, known and designed as Lot No. 132 as shown on plat of Tillery Beach made by Glenn K. Martin, May 1951 and recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds for Stanly County in Plat Book 2, at Page 183. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 690 Lake Head Road, Norwood, North Carolina. Said lot beginning on the east side of Lakeside Drive at the common corners of Lots Nos. 132 and 131, and running North 43-43 West 65 feet along the line between Lots Nos. 132 and 131

the East Margin of Lakeside Drive, and running thence North 46-55 West 50 feet along the East margin of Lakeside Drive to the point of beginning.

BEING the same property conveyed to Gregory M. Norton and wife, Antoinette F. Norton and Patrick J. Floody and wife, Mary B. Floody by Deed dated 12/13/2005 and in Book 1096 at Page 391, Stanly County Registry. For further reference see Deed Book 1410, Page 846, Stanly County Register of Deeds. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or

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NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE STANLY COUNTY DISTRICT COURT DIVISION Ryan Philip Goss vs. Telma Marina Ramirez

25CV000573-830 ATTENTION: Telma Marina Ramirez TAKE NOTICE that a COMPLAINT in the above-entitled civil action has been led against you at: Civil District Court at Stanly County Courthouse, Albemarle, NC.

The Nature of the relief sought is as follows: Absolute Divorce

You are required to make defense to such pleading not later than August 8, 2025; and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the Court for the relief sought.

Boyce Eugene Helms, Jr.

TAKE NOTICE that a COMPLAINT in the above-entitled civil action has been led against you at: Civil District Court at Stanly County Courthouse, Albemarle, NC. The Nature of the relief sought is as follows: Absolute Divorce

You are required to make defense to such pleading not later than August 8, 2025; and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the Court for the relief sought. This the 19th day of June, 2025. Jeremy D. Gri n Attorney at Law PO Box 422 Locust, NC 28097

This the 19th day of June, 2025. Jeremy D. Gri n Attorney at Law PO Box 422 Locust, NC 28097

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 25SP000027-830

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Toriano Thomas (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Toriano Thomas) to Connie E. Josey, Trustee(s), dated January 11, 2017, and recorded in Book No. 1593, at Page 386 in Stanly County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Stanly 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 o er for sale at the courthouse door in Albemarle, Stanly County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 11:00 AM on July 16, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Albemarle in the County of Stanly, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Lying and being in the City of Albemarle, Stanly County, North Carolina, on the northeast side of Bird Road, and being more particularly described as follows: BEGINNING at an existing bent iron pipe in the eastern right-of-way of Bird Road at the intersection of Woodhurst Lane, and from said point of BEGINNING thence with the right-of-way of Bird Road, N. 41-43-01 W. 200.00 feet to an existing iron pipe in an old lot line; thence N. 41-43-09 W. 137.37 feet to a set iron rebar in the right-of-way of Bird Road, a corner of Lowe’s Home Center, Inc. (Map Book 17, Page 409); thence with the line of Lowe’s Home Center, Inc., N. 48-1612-E. 250.00 feet to an existing iron pipe; thence turning and running with the line of Lowe’s Home Center, Inc. S. 41-42-59 E. 22.12 feet to an existing bent iron pipe; thence with the line of South Central Oil Company, Inc. (Deed Book 374, Page 341), S. 41-46-12 E. 115.18 fee to an existing iron pipe, in the old lot line; thence continuing with the line of South Central Oil Company, Inc., S. 4141-13 E. 248.37 feet to an existing bent iron pipe in the right-of-way of Woodhurst Lane;

Rocky River Springs Road, Norwood, NC 28128. Tax ID: 654301078283 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 §105228.30, in the

Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of ve 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 certi ed funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing. Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered 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 o ered 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

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, STANLY COUNTY 23 SP 115 Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by James Douglas Davenport and Rene Gardine Davenport aka Rene S. Davenport, in the original amount of $30,000.00, payable to National Equity Corp., dated September 9, 1997 and recorded on October 23, 1997 in Book 0645, Page 0635, Stanly 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 O ce of the Register of Deeds of Stanly 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 o er for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Stanly County, North Carolina, at 2:00PM on July 10, 2025, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being all of that certain 1.218 acre parcel of land on the South side of Rocky River Springs Road (State Road #1940) as shown on a plat of Boundary Survey dated July 26, 1995 by Charles E. Moon, North Carolina Registered Land Surveyor of property of James D. and Rene S. Davenport; and being further described as follows: Beginning at a railroad spike in the centerline of Rocky River Springs Road a new corner with James Davenport, located two calls from a nail set at the centerline intersection of Rocky River Springs Road and Southern Road (State Road #1995), namely (1) South 73-04-30 West 604.34 feet to a nail set centerline of State Road #1940 and centerline of a branch; and (2) South 73-30-20 West 223.52 feet to the point of beginning; thence a new line with James Davenport, South 16-0930 East (passing a rebar set at 30.12 feet) a total distance of 233.69 feet to a rebar set in the center of an old road bed,

thence turning and running with the right-ofway of Woodhurst Lane along a curve with a radius of 664.32 feet and an arc distance of 30.39 feet, a chord bearing of S. 57-22-03 W. 30.39 feet to an existing bent iron pipe; thence continuing with Woodhurst Lane S. 56-56-18 W. 152.37 feet to an existing iron pipe; thence continuing with Woodhurst Lane S. 64-45-47 W. 72.30 feet to the point of BEGINNING, containing 2.095 acres (91,269 square feet) and being a portion of the property conveyed to Larry McDowell Construction, Inc. by deed recorded in Book 564, Page 977, Stanly County Registry, all as shown on map entitled “A Physical Survey of PID#655803212920 on Bird Road, the Larry McDowell Construction Inc. Property”, dated July 2, 2016 and prepared by On Point Surveying, PLLC, Marshville, NC, under the supervision of Justin McKeon, PLS# 4739. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 1355 Bird Road and 1349 Bird Road, Albemarle, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to three hours as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S.

§7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being o ered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any

(phone) 404-745-8121 (fax) dneill@mtglaw.com

the stream

Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ comes to Max, ‘SharkFest,’ John Cena stars with Idris Elba

Kesha drops “.” (pronounced “period”) on July 4th

The Associated Press

KESHA ENJOYING her freedom on her rst new album since she left her old label and Ryan Coogler’s guts-spilling vampire lm “Sinners,” are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you. Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time: Charlize Theron in “The Old Guard 2” on Net ix, National Geographic’s 25-hour “SharkFest” and John Cena playing a U.S. president opposite Idris Elba as the UK’s prime minister in the comedy “Heads of State.”

MOVIES TO STREAM

Coogler’s “Sinners,” arguably the movie of the year up to this point, begins streaming Friday on Max. With $363.8 million in worldwide ticket sales, Coogler’s supernatural thriller is one of the most successful original lms of the last two decades. It stars Michael B. Jordan as a pair of twins who return to their hometown to open a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi. Vampires, and other dark forces, intrude on their plans. In her review, AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote: “How Coogler pulls everything o at once — and makes it cohere, mostly — is a sight to see.”

The wait has been long for “The Old Guard 2” (Net ix), a sequel to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2020 streaming hit starring Theron as a member of a team of centuries-old mercenaries. In “The Old Guard 2,” shot all the way back in 2022, Victoria Mahoney takes over as director, while Theron returns as Andy, a warrior who has now lost her immortality.

In “Heads of State” (now on Prime Video), Cena plays the president of the United States and Elba plays the prime minister of the United Kingdom. What could go wrong? In Ilya Naishuller’s comedy, the two are hunted by the same adversary. Elba’s politician, a former commando, is better prepared than Cena’s president, a former action movie star.

A Zambian family funeral unearths a dark past and an anguished reckoning in Run-

gano Nyoni’s beguiling “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (Max on Friday). Nyoni’s follow-up to the equally compelling “I Am Not a Witch,” AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr wrote in her review, “cements the exciting arrival of a true lmmaker.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

Kesha is a free agent. On In-

dependence Day, she’ll self-release “.” (pronounced “Period”), her rst new full-length album since her departure from RCA and the Dr. Luke-founded Kemosabe Records in 2023. That year, the pop star and the producer settled nearly a decade of suits and countersuits over her accusation that he drugged and raped her and his claim that she made it up and de -

famed him. Across the 11-track release, Kesha is clearly enjoying some newfound freedoms: “.” is a stu ed with throwback, ebullient pop, like the sultry “JOYRIDE.,” the country-andwestern-themed “YIPPEE-KIYAY.” and the bighearted power ballad “DELUSIONAL.”

SERIES TO STREAM

After a successful season 2, the cast of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” gather for their rst reunion episode on Hulu. #MomTok has a lot to hash out including in delity rumors and accusations of clout-chasing. Nick Viall, a podcaster and former star of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” hosts the special streaming now.

Net ix has a documentary previewing its upcoming Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano ght at Madison Square Garden. “Countdown: Taylor Vs. Serrano,” debuts Thursday and is narrated by Uma Thurman. It will show Taylor and Serrano as they train and prepare for their third match.

A number of n-tastic programs about sharks stream in July. Net ix o ers a new reality competition show called “All the Sharks” debuting on Friday. Four teams of shark experts compete to locate and photograph the most num-

ber of sharks. The winners get $50,000 for their favorite marine charity.

National Geographic has compiled more than 25 hours of television for its annual SharkFest which begins streaming Sunday on Disney+ and Hulu. In the docuseries, “Investigation Shark Attack,” scientists attempt to pinpoint what causes a shark to attack. “Super Shark Highway” follows researchers as they track sharks along migration routes in the waters o Australia. The goal is to nd ways for sharks and humans to coexist in the busy ocean.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

Giant robots! Maybe you like the kind that can stomp across a city, crushing o ce buildings under their huge metal feet. Or you prefer the ones who can y above the chaos, unleashing missiles at each other. Perhaps you’d rather have your mech just hang back and perform maintenance on the ones taking the most damage. Whatever your choice, Mecha Break, from China’s Amazing Seasun Games, hopes to have you covered. It’s a multiplayer slugfest with 3 vs. 3, 6 vs. 6 and human vs. AI scenarios. You can start building your dream bot on Xbox X/S and PC.

This 11th day of June, 2025. Rena Page 24270 Mini Airport Rd. Albemarle, NC 28001

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 25E000361-830

Having quali ed as EXECUTOR of the estate of James Claude Melton deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, This is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said James Claude Melton to present them to the undersigned on or before Sept. 22, 2025, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This 16th day of June, 2025 Joyce Melton 44568 Old Whitney Road New London North Carolina 28127 Executor NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 25E000326-830 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Bobby Reid Rushing, deceased, late of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the Estate of said decedent to present them to the undersigned on or before August 12, 2025, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 11th day of June, 2025.

Executor: Mary Rushing Stewart Rollirewood Ave. China Grove, NC 28023 (GS 28A-14-1)

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA

STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE

SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 25E000356-830

before Sept. 18, 2025, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This 13th day of June, 2025 Mark Vanhoy 17 Holly Place Badin, North Carolina 28009 Executor

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY

KESHA RECORDS VIA AP

Kesha’s new record, “.” (pronounced “period”), comes out this week.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES VIA AP

“Sinners,” starring Michael B. Jordan, left, and Miles Caton, lands on Max on Friday.

Solution to last week’s puzzle

Solution to this week’s puzzles

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in Rowan County with manufacturing investment

Salisbury

The electronics company

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in central North Carolina by building a new manufacturing plant. The company is investing $500 million toward a facility to support cloud computing and arti cial intelligence data centers. O cials announced Monday that the facility will be in Rowan County, northeast of Charlotte. The project includes a $264 million capital investment and 1,181 jobs by the end of 2030. North Carolina competed with Florida for the project and o ered more than $21 million in incentives. Jabil already operates three facilities in the state, employing about 1,000 workers.

Paramount will pay $16M in settlement with Trump over “60 Minutes” interview

New York Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump over the editing of CBS’ “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October. Paramount, which owns CBS, says the money will go to Trump’s future presidential library, not to the Republican president himself. Paramount also says the settlement doesn’t involve an apology.

Chimney Rock State Park opens for rst time after Helene

The area was one of the hardest hit by the hurricane

The Associated Press

CHIMNEY ROCK — An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public last Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic ooding, destruction and loss of life.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other o cials attended a reopening ceremony at Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 25 miles southeast of Asheville. The main portion of the park will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make

PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

A U.S. ag ies on Chimney Rock mountain in 2019.

reservations, Stein’s o ce said. Stein also signed into law before the ceremony’s crowd another state Helene recovery

bill nalized by the General Assembly on Thursday that sends $700 million to the state’s Helene relief fund and appro -

Board of Education approves interim 2025-26 budget

The board’s interim superintendent updated current cost saving and the budget reconciliation processes

By Ryan Henkel Twin City Herald

WINSTON-SALEM — The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Commissioners have approved an interim budget for the 2025-26 school year. At its June 24 regular business meeting, the board was presented with the projected budget which will allow the district to conduct business as the new year o cially started July 1.

“This lays out the revenues that we anticipate so that we can begin doing business as of July within budget,” said In-

terim Superintendent Catty Moore. “All the other line items will be in the nal budget resolution that you do as soon as the legislature nishes their work.”

The holdup with an o cial budget is not due to the de cit the county is facing but because of the state legislature’s failure to pass their own budget.

“North Carolina school districts cannot really nalize their budgets until the legislature completes their work, which is adopting a budget, and right now that doesn’t seem likely as they are at an impasse,” Moore said. “So we don’t know those funding resources yet, and we won’t until they’re done.”

Moore also gave an update on the status of the district’s work toward rectifying the multimillion de cit its facing from the prior year’s budget.

Currently, the district’s total vendor payouts between June 3 and June 25 are now just below

$2.7 million, leaving around

$3.6 million still owed to vendors with the exception of ESS, SSC and Forsyth County (for SEOs).

Moore said the district was able to wire about $800,000 in payments to ESS, to whom the district owes around $5 million.

“We continue to push money out the door and make payments as we are able,” Moore said. “I think we can take care of the local vendors, the smaller ones. We’ve begun making progress on some of the larger ones. The county has told us to prioritize ESS and SSC over their $5 million that is due, and I’m grateful for that because we currently don’t have a solution for that.”

There have been potential talks around a payment plan utilizing a portion of monthly local county funding to pay o those debts.

Moore also stated the dis-

priates $500 million of that. And Stein announced a new tourism campaign to encourage travel and spending in the North Carolina mountains.

“Today’s reopening is a huge achievement,” Stein told attendees. “Chimney Rock is just one of the many places that make western North Carolina unforgettable.”

Last September’s storm swept away the ornate stone and concrete bridge across the Broad River to reach the portion of the park that contains the 315-foot high geological formation that’s shaped in keeping with the park’s name. The park, which also features hiking trails and other amenities, usually attracts 400,000 people annually.

See PARK, page A2

trict will have to reassess how it uses sales tax funding from the county.

“It was a referendum that was passed in March 2020 that dedicated a portion of the sales tax to Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Schools speci cally as a local teacher supplement,” Moore said. “They project the revenue that we are going to receive and then send us that projection. Then at the end of the year, they look to see whether or not their revenue projections were correct and they true-up in the fall.

According to Moore, for the rst three years, the true-up resulted in additional revenue to the district. However, the last two years have had higher projections than actual revenue amounts, thereby requiring the school district to have to repay those funds.

For 2025, the current projected true-up will result in the district owing $1.2 million back to the county. Another update from the interim superintendent revolved around potential money owed to the IRS related to federal withholdings.

COURTESY @NC_GOVERNOR / X

Gov. Josh Stein and rst lady Anna Stein take in the view from Chimney Rock State Park at the reopening of the park last week.

“Join the conversation”

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Hundreds spot meteor streaking across sky before object hit roof

The space rock, about the size of a shopping cart, was caught by dash and doorbell cams

By Je Martin The Associated Press

ATLANTA — More than 200 people across a half-dozen southern U.S. states have now reported witnessing a mysterious object streak across the sky last Thursday, and the nation’s space agency now believes it was a remarkably bright meteor known as a bolide.

Most sightings of the streak of light and reball came from Georgia and South Carolina around 12:30 p.m., according to a report from the National Weather Service o ce in Peachtree City, Georgia. NASA determined that it was about the size of a shopping cart as it streaked through the sky. Scientists were able to track the meteor’s path after analyzing eyewitness accounts, images from cameras and data from satellites and weather radar.

The meteor was rst spotted over Oxford, Georgia, as it moved southwest across the sky, according to Bill Cooke, a scientist at NASA’s Meteoroid Environments O ce in Huntsville, Alabama.

It broke apart over the small community of West Forest, Georgia, “unleashing an energy of about 20 tons of TNT,” Cooke said in a statement. That created booms heard by many residents in the area.

The meteor falling to the ground was detected by multiple weather radars, and many meteorites are believed to be on

the ground in the Blacksville, Georgia area, NASA said.

As of last Friday afternoon, at least 215 reports of the object have poured into the American Meteor Society with many people expressing wonder and amazement in their reports.

“It was a bright reball,” a woman in Bethlehem, Georgia, wrote.

“It did have a bright tail that disappeared with it, and left behind a smoke trail,” she added. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

A man in Milledgeville, Georgia, reported, “I believe it hit the ground.”

A resident of Henry County, Georgia, reported a rock coming through their roof around

the time they heard the sonic boom from the reball. It left behind a hole in the ceiling about the size of a golf ball and a crack in a laminate oor at the home southeast of Atlanta, according to the National Weather Service o ce in Peachtree City, Georgia.

“We are presuming that a piece of the object fell through their roof,” the weather service said in a brief statement on social media.

Dashboard and doorbell cameras across several states in the southeastern U.S. states caught glimpses of the reball that appeared to be plummeting straight down.

Meteors and other space debris frequently enter Earth’s at-

I-40 reopens faster than expected after latest rock slide, ooding

mosphere, but it is rare for an object to be so bright it can easily be seen in broad daylight. Videos of the event showed clear skies last Thursday, allowing many to see the meteor falling.

“First time to ever see an event in daylight like this,” a man in Cumming, Georgia, north of Atlanta, said in his report to the meteor society.

“It was so bright in the middle of the day ... brighter than the sun,” a woman in Dublin, Georgia reported.

Bright reballs are caused by friction as an object enters the atmosphere and slows down considerably. Almost all objects break into minuscule pieces before striking the ground, according to NASA.

roared through the Pigeon River gorge during Hurricane Helene in late September.

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: forsythcommunity@ northstatejournal.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

The troublesome corridor in Pigeon River Gorge was damaged in Helene

The Associated Press

HARTFORD, Tenn. — Crews on Friday reopened a section of Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains after ooding and a rock slide

PARK from page A1

A road had to be paved and a temporary bridge made from old railroad cars was laid over the river. The reopening provides needed encouragement to those in adjoining Chimney Rock Village, where a third of the hamlet’s businesses were destroyed as river waters removed buildings from their foundations.

BOARD from page A1

According to Moore, the district has requested all documentation that the IRS may have detailing the federal withholding payments made by the school system as well as any outstanding penalties or interest due.

closed the major cross country highway for nine days.

The highway was already undergoing major repairs from massive damage and washouts during Hurricane Helene last fall and is down to one lane in each direction in far western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

About 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain fell in the area over about three hours on June 18,

“It almost wiped us o the map,” village Mayor Peter O’Leary said on Friday. “The village knew one thing that was of utmost importance to our survival. We had to have Chimney Rock State Park open again.”

Some village businesses are reopening. Before Friday’s bill signing, the General Assembly already had appropriated or reallocat-

Moore stated that the district’s initial review did indicate that all federal withholding payments were made but that some payments may have been late or were missing supplemental reports, therefore resulting in penalties, interest and/or nes.

“We are now busy trying to

swamping I-40 around Exit 451 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North Carolina, o cials said.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation originally thought I-40 would be closed until July 3.

The damaged section is part of 12 miles of I-40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that were washed away or heavily damaged by ooding that

ed more than $1.6 billion for Helene recovery. The new Helene law is the fth relief package approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly since last fall. The Democratic governor said he’s still seeking direct aid for small businesses and more funds for a ordable housing. But he was still pleased with the legislature’s action.

“We have a lot of work to do,

reconcile all of that,” Moore said.

Finally, Moore stated that the North Carolina Auditor’s O ce initiated a full investigative audit in April and that the district will be provided a full report on the ndings.

“It will be important to

Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in March. The lanes are separated by a curb several inches high.

The permanent x to stabilize what is left of the road will involve driving long steel rods into bedrock below the highway, lling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cli face to hold them in place. It will take years.

I-40 runs from Wilmington on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Barstow, California.

but it’s also good to take stock and recognize that today is a good day,” Stein said.

The governor is also seeking more federal funds for Helene recovery beyond the billions already received by the state and by those harmed by the storm.

State o cials say the storm caused more than 100 deaths in North Carolina and generated roughly $60 billion in damages and needs.

look at it from the lens of how did we get here, but how do we never come here again,” Moore said. “Nobody wants the auditor, but I am thanking them publicly for the work they’re about to do for us.”

The WSFCS Board of Education will next meet Aug. 12.

BRYAN JENNINGS UPDYKE VIA AP

in McDonough, Georgia, last Thursday was recorded by a

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | MIKE GONZALEZ

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Trump’s culture war o ensive is working

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month.

THE PAST MONTH has seen bold advances in President Donald Trump’s crusade to recapture cultural ground that the left had conquered in recent decades. Whether on museums, media or universities, the president is on the o ensive and the left is in retreat.

Two weeks ago alone saw advances on two fronts: a congressional win against NPR and PBS, and a retreat by the Smithsonian.

The House of Representatives’ 214-212 vote on June 12 to rescind $1.1 billion that Congress had already appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonpro t that distributes taxpayer money to NPR, PBS and public radio and television stations, was a milestone. The tightness of the vote reveals the stakes.

Ever since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act authorizing the CPB in 1967, every Republican president and Congress has tried to bring public broadcasting to heel.

But all e orts have failed. Democrats have voted in unison to protect their interests, and thus those of NPR and PBS, and enough Republicans have thought, “Well, PBS may give my party 85% negative coverage, but if I vote for it, my local station will spare me.”

The June 12 vote saw four of those, but not enough to save the broadcasters’ bacon this time. The rescission package now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 advantage. That still won’t make it a cakewalk, and timid senators will nd any excuse not to take a stand on an important issue.

But Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), lead Senate sponsor of the rescissions package, told Punchbowl, “I think broadly there’s a lot of agreement that we need to move forward on it.”

Eliminating public funding for NPR and PBS is an important step in the cultural reconquista. The left uses both institutions to tear down America’s cultural and historical narrative and put in place a distorted counternarrative. And, of course, the left funds this with money from every American taxpayer.

Another such institution is the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum complex, with 21 museums and 14 educational and research centers. Trump in March issued an executive order that, right at the start, identi ed the problem: “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread e ort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” Museums, added the order, “should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination.”

It instructed Vice President JD Vance to “e ectuate the policies of this order through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents.”

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month. Vance worked the room with a mixture of persuasion and outright pressure, according to published reports from the always-secretive meeting, and he got results.

Initial reports emphasized how the board had circled the wagons around Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, under whom much of the wokeness has come in, and rebu ed Trump’s ring of National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet.

But Sajet was gone in a matter of days, resigning “on her own.” Bunch put out a statement thanking her for putting the Smithsonian’s interests “above her own.”

The Smithsonian also agreed to conduct a wide audit of all its content to eliminate biased material and perhaps even personnel.

Then, it emerged that Bunch emailed sta to admit to bias.

“On occasion, some of our work has not aligned with our institutional values of scholarship, evenhandedness and nonpartisanship,” he wrote. “For that, we must all work to do better.”

Even better, in his budget request to Congress, Trump asked the legislature not to fund the Smithsonian’s creation of a Latino museum. Early exhibits of the planned museum revealed that the left will use it as an

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard brings back meritocracy

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted.

TWO YEARS AGO, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by ruling that universities could no longer use a rmative action to determine admissions for students.

In the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court explained in the majority opinion that the color of a student’s skin can no longer determine his or her entry into a school.

When ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) in a companion case, the court decided in a majority 6-3 opinion that using a student’s race to determine admissions is in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that a student “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual” rather than race. The admissions process for both schools were seen as penalizing Asian American students.

While the process for universities to fully correct course to abide by the decision may take several years, the results are already positive with meritocracy appearing to return to the forefront of academia in America.

In the time since the Supreme Court’s decision, several prominent universities have already adopted new admissions processes as well as now requiring students to submit standardized testing scores once again with their applications.

At Harvard University, admissions previously had optional writing components where potential students could write about topics pertaining to them and their interests or experiences with their identity. After the court’s ruling, the school altered the questions asked to applicants. The school then reinstated the submission of standardized test scores as mandatory for applicants applying for the fall 2025 semester.

Other prominent universities have also

reinstated standardized test scores for their admissions. Dartmouth College was the rst Ivy League school to require SAT or ACT scores again after the ruling. Yale, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania are among those that followed suit. Even UNC updated its process for applicants.

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted. In the two years since the Supreme Court’s decision, there appears to have been an impact.

In recent years, a rmative action generally impacted white and Asian students negatively while positively impacting black and Hispanic students. The end of a rmative action in schools has appeared to even the playing eld, with merit now playing a more signi cant factor in determining a student’s admittance. That can be seen in the data of students now enrolled in these schools.

After the court’s ruling, UNC saw a dip in the percentage of black and Hispanic students, but the percentage of Asian students increased. Harvard saw a decrease in the percentage of black students but an increase for Hispanic students. The percentage of Asian students at Harvard stayed the same.

At Columbia, the percentage of Asian students jumped from 30% to 39% within a year, while the percentage of black students dropped from 20% to 12%. This is a common trend among elite universities.

Seeing the percentage of black and Hispanic students decrease is nothing to celebrate. The goal should be to see all students thrive regardless of skin color. However, until we solve the separate problem of why black and Hispanic students struggle more than their peers, seeing merit as a core focus again in admissions is a positive shift.

There is an understandable concern that

A statue of Joseph Henry stands outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

incubator of grievances against the United States, a place to stoke resentments among Americans with roots in Iberia or her colonies.

Instead, Trump wants the Smithsonian to return to sharing collections on the culture and history of these Americans across the complex’s many museums — reviving the so-called Smithsonian Latino Center of old rather than sectioning o this part of American history in a segregated institution under the direction of woke curators.

Acting on my own capacity, I was one of more than 20 scholars with these roots to sign a letter supporting the president’s decision not to fund this mistake.

On the university front, lest we forget, it was about a month ago that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she had ordered the cancellation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certi cation, barring the school from enrolling foreign students.

The second Trump administration understands the supreme importance of these ideological battles. And, as the past 30 days have shown, its decision to go on o ense is working.

Mike Gonzalez is the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow in the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. This article was rst published in the Washington Examiner and then via The Daily Signal.

universities will attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling to a certain extent. University leadership is open about attempting this. Schools are trying other means to indirectly use a rmative action to admit students.

While Yale leadership did administer changes to the university’s admissions process, the school is still promoting a “culture of diversity and inclusivity” by expanding outreach plans and creating new talent pipelines. Brown University also intends to indirectly implement a rmative action through “pathway programs, targeted outreach, and pipeline programs.”

This is happening at other universities as well.

President Donald Trump and his administration will need to work to ensure that universities follow the Supreme Court’s ruling and additionally make sure they drop all initiatives that promote student admissions based on race. In fact, the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools in February demanding exactly that. With an administration in charge that values merit, America’s universities are well advised to follow the law.

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions in schools in 2023 is already having a positive impact by ensuring institutions of higher learning prioritize meritocracy above immutable characteristics. The era of schools judging potential students by the color of their skin is thankfully coming to an end.

While there is still a lot of work to accomplish to ensure that all students who want to attend the nation’s elite universities are on par academically with their peers, ending a rmative action is the rst step in achieving true equality for all.

Casey Ryan is a writer and investigative reporter at Defending Education and a contributor to Daily Caller News Foundation.

COLUMN | CASEY RYAN

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO

Federal task force nds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students

A report said the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment

By Collin Binkley

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s administration intensi ed its battle with Harvard University, formally nding the school tolerated antisemitism — a step that could jeopardize all of Harvard’s federal funding, including federal student aid.

In a letter sent to Harvard on Monday, a federal task force said its investigation had found the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment of Jewish students and faculty. The task force threatened to refer the case to the Justice Department for a civil rights investigation “as soon as possible,” unless Harvard comes into compliance.

The nding escalates the White House’s battle with Harvard, which has faced mounting sanctions after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions. Already, the government has slashed more than $2.6 billion in research grants. But a civil rights violation could jeopardize Harvard’s eligibility to accept federal loans or grants for students to attend the university — a penalty often re-

ferred to as a “death sentence” in higher education.

“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal nancial resources and continue to a ect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” o cials said in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and rst reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration for months has accused Harvard of tolerating antisemitism on its campus, but a formal investigative nding gives the administration a channel to block more federal funding.

Trump personally has railed against Harvard, but on June 20 suggested a deal resolving the monthslong con ict could be coming soon. In a post on social media, Trump said Harvard has “acted extremely appropriately” during negotiations. He did not elaborate on the terms of a potential resolution.

Harvard has not commented on whether it is negotiating with the White House. On Monday, Harvard said it strongly disagrees with the government’s ndings and is committed to ghting bias.

“Antisemitism is a serious problem and no matter the context, it is unacceptable,” the university said in a statement. “Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community.”

Federal o cials made their case in a 57-page report detail-

ing an investigation by the civil rights o ce of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is among several represented on a federal antisemitism task force.

The government’s investigation largely relied on a campus antisemitism study commissioned by Harvard and released in April. Federal o cials cited numerous details from that report, including accounts of Jewish students who said they were spit on and faced chants on campus including “Heil Hitler.”

It focuses heavily on last year’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war. In the letter to Harvard, federal o cials said the campus was “overrun by an impermissible, multiweek encampment” that left Jewish and Israeli students fearful and disrupted their studies. It accuses Harvard of imposing lax and inconsistent discipline against students who participated in the encampment, noting that none were suspended.

Harvard President Alan Garber has acknowledged problems with antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias on campus, but he says Harvard has made strides to ght prejudice. He announced new initiatives in April upon release of the antisemitism study.

“Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry,” Garber wrote at the time.

The Monday letter nds Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Such ndings have almost always been resolved through voluntary resolutions between schools and the federal government. The Trump administration has taken a much sharper edge than its predecessors, however.

It has been decades since an administration even attempted to strip a school or college of its federal funding over civil rights violations. Trump ocials are seeking that outcome in a Justice Department lawsuit against Maine over transgender athletes, and it’s threatening the

same action in a similar investigation into California.

Trump o cials have barraged Harvard with sanctions after it became the rst university to defy White House demands addressing accusations of antisemitism and liberal bias. Along with research cuts, the administration has attempted to bar Harvard from hosting foreign students, and President Donald Trump has said the school should lose its tax-exempt status. Some of the actions have been blocked by courts after Harvard sued, accusing the government of illegal retaliation.

Harvard’s previous funding cuts were carried out under a provision allowing the government to end grants and contracts that no longer align with federal priorities. That strategy is believed to be unprecedented and is being challenged in court. But by invoking a civil rights violation, Harvard has an established path to further penalties.

International Space Station welcomes rst astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary

They arrived on a Dragon capsule from SpaceX

By Marcia Dunn

Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

— The rst astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station last Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private ight.

The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments. They launched last

Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. America’s most experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, is the commander of the visiting crew. She works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered ight.

Besides Whitson, the crew includes India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, a pilot in the Indian Air Force; Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer; and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, a radiation expert and one of the European Space Agency’s project astro -

nauts on temporary ight duty. No one has ever visited the International Space Station from those countries before. The time anyone rocketed into orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets.

Speaking in both English and their native languages, the new arrivals shared hugs and handshakes with the space station’s seven full-time residents, celebrating with drink pouches sipped through straws. Six nations were represented: four from the U.S., three from Russia and one each from Japan,

India, Poland and Hungary.

“We have so many countries at the same time on the space station,” Kapu said, adding that seven of the 11 astronauts are rst-time space iers “which also tells me how much space is expanding.”

Added Uznanski-Wisniewski: “We will all try to do the best representing our countries.” Shukla rated the experience so far as “fantastic ... wonderful.”

The space station’s commander, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, said he was happy to nally see their smiling faces after “waiting for you guys so long.”

Whitson also made note of the lengthy delay and pre ight quarantine.

To stay healthy, the four newcomers went into quarantine on May 25, stuck in it as their launch kept getting delayed. The latest postponement was for space station leak monitoring, NASA wanted to make sure everything was safe following repairs to a longtime leak on the Russian side of the outpost.

It’s the fourth Axiom-sponsored ight to the space station since 2022. The company is one of several that are developing their own space stations due to launch in the coming years. NASA plans to abandon the International Space Station in 2030 after more than three decades of operation, and is encouraging private ventures to replace it.

The

CHARLES KRUPA / AP PHOTO

Students walk through Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in April 2022.

COURTESY NASA

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax- 4) crew from Axiom Space approaches the International Space Station on Thursday as both spacecraft were orbiting 263 miles above the coast of southern Madagascar.

Forsyth SPORTS

Nkunku’s extra-time goal sparks Chelsea to win in Club World Cup

The Blues advanced by beating Ben ca in the Round of 16

By Steve Reed

Associated Press

The

CHARLOTTE — Christo -

pher Nkunku scored o a rebound in extra time and Chelsea went on to beat Ben ca 4-1 in a Club World Cup Round of 16 match Saturday at Bank of America Stadium that was delayed for two hours due to lightning and took nearly ve hours to complete.

Chelsea advances to play Palmeiras in the quarter nals Friday in Philadelphia. Palmeiras beat Botafogo 1-0 on Saturday.

Nkunku’s tiebreaking goal came in the 108th minute with Ben ca playing a man down after Gianluca Prestianni received a red card. Moisés Caicedo’s left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved in the center of the goal by Anatolii Trubin, but an alert Nkunku was there to bury the de ection into the top right corner before being mobbed by teammates.

Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added insurance goals in extra time for the nal margin.

Reece James scored on a free kick in the 64th minute to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.

But with four minutes left, the match was stopped because of lightning and delayed for two hours. When the teams returned, Chelsea was called for a handball in stoppage time when the ball hit Malo Gusto’s hand.

Angel Di Maria converted the penalty to even the match.

After dominating most of the rst half, the English club nally broke through when the 25-yearold James laced a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

The Portuguese side had a chance to tie it in the 78th minute, but Gianluca Prestianni sent

a right-footed shot from the right side of the box just left of the goal. Prestianni held his head in his hands in agony after the miss.

In the closing minutes, players were pulled o the eld and fans told to seek cover due to lightning strikes in the area, although it did not rain at the stadium.

Only a few thousand fans returned for the conclusion.

Chelsea entered with a 3-0 record against Ben ca and controlled the tempo in the rst half with a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. But despite possessing the ball more than 60% of the time, the Blues headed to locker room at halftime in a scoreless tie. The match was not well attended.

More than half of the lower bowl of 75,000-seat Bank of America Stadium was empty and all but a few hundred seats in the upper deck were remained unclaimed as the event continues to struggle with ticket sales in the United States even as it moved into the knockout round.

Key moment

James’ goal gave Chelsea momentum after it failed to convert some decent looks in the rst half.

Takeaways

Ben ca seemed content to play defense most of the match and try to take advantage of its few chances. But the o ense could not capitalize on the opportunities it generated.

Noteworthy

It was the rst two Round- of-16 knockout games at the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Inter Milan meets Fluminense on Monday, with the winner facing either Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter nals.

What they said

“For 85 minutes we were in control. After the break, the match changed. It’s not the same game. You suspend a game (for two hours), to me that’s not football. I struggle to understand it. ... We have been here two weeks and they have suspended six or seven games, so something is not working here.” — Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca.

“In the rst half our objective was to come forward although we were facing a very tough side.” — Ben ca coach Bruno Lage.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Dr. Gene Hooks

The former Wake Forest player, coach, professor and athletic director was selected as a member of the College Baseball Foundation’s College Baseball Hall of Fame’s class of 2025, a group that includes Stephen Strasburg, Mark McGwire, David Price and longtime NC State coach Ray Tanner. Hooks was a two-time rst-team All-American at Wake, playing from 1947 to 1950. Following a pro career, he returned to Wake as a physical education instructor and coached the Deacs from 1957 to 1959. He then served 28 years as the school’s AD before retiring. The team’s old baseball stadium and current eld were both named in his honor.

Home-state favorite Elliott wins Cup race in Atlanta

The Georgia native passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — Homestate favorite Chase Elliott passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap and won the the crashlled NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night for his 20th career victory.

Elliott, the popular driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, earned a spot in the Cup Series playo s with his rst victory since April 2024 at Texas. It was his rst win in Atlanta since 2022.

“I’ve never in my whole life, this is unbelievable,” Elliott said. “This is something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Keselowski was second, followed by Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammate, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick. Bowman helped block Keselowski following Elliott’s lastlap pass.

“The 48 and 9 just got together,” Keselowski said, referring to Bowman and Elliott. “... At they end they were able to double-team me.” Elliott climbed into the stands to celebrate with fans after ending a 44-race winless streak.

“I’m happy for the 9 team,” Bowman said. “It’s a big win for him in his hometown. ... I’m glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us.”

The race’s second crash early in Stage 2 took out many of the sport’s biggest names and left others with damaged cars. Pole-winner Joey Logano, who led the rst 36 laps before light rain forced the rst caution, was among the many driv-

ers caught up in the big crash. Among others knocked out of the race: William Byron, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez.

“It wrecked the whole eld,” Logano said. “I still don’t know exactly how it started ... but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible.” Added Denny Hamlin, who su ered damage to his Toyota in the crash: “Some zigged. Some zagged. Most crashed.” The Atlanta race at Echo -

Park Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, was the debut of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a verace, bracket-style tournament. The parade of highly regarded drivers to be knocked out so early in the race showed the perils of trying to pick NASCAR winners on a March Madness-style bracket sheet. The top two seeds were among the early casualties. Hamlin, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, nished 31st and lost to Ty Dillon, who nished eighth.

Chase Briscoe, who held o Hamlin for his rst win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, was the No. 2 seed before being knocked out in a crash and losing to Noah Gragson in the tournament. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Elliott and Keselowski were on the front row when a caution with 33 laps to go forced a decision on whether to pit for fresh tires. Both stayed on the track and Elliott faded following the restart until making his

decisive charge at the very end. Bracket busters

Ryan Blaney, the race favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, was knocked out on a wreck late in the rst stage. Christopher Bell hit the wall, triggering the crash that ended the stage with Cindric in the lead. Cindric was involved in the bigger crash early in Stage 2. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace were among others involved in the crash.

COURTESY WAKE FOREST ATHLETICS

Driver Chase Elliott celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

CHRIS CARLSON / AP PHOTO

Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku is congratulated after scoring his team’s second goal during the Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Charlotte.

SIDELINE REPORT

NFL Tucker suspended 10 weeks for violating league’s personal conduct policy

New York

The NFL suspended former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker for the rst 10 weeks next season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Tucker is eligible for reinstatement on Nov. 11. He is a free agent after the Ravens released him last month in the aftermath of reports that he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by massage therapists. A ve-time All-Pro, the 35-year-old Tucker has played his entire 13-year career with Baltimore and is considered one of the best kickers in NFL history.

NBA James formally opts in for a 23rd season, will make $52.6M in 2025 -26

Los Angeles LeBron James is exercising his $52.6 million option with the Los Angeles Lakers for 2025-26, further con rming that he will become the rst player in NBA history to play a 23rd season, breaking a tie with Vince Carter. James turns 41 in December. James, who recently returned to on- court workouts after taking several weeks to recover after spraining a knee ligament in the Lakers’ nal game of this past season’s playo s, said he expected to be ready for training camp.

NHL

NHL, NHLPA close to 4-year CBA extension that includes 84 -game season

New York

Two people familiar with negotiations tell The Associated Press the NHL and NHL Players’ Association are close to an agreement on a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement. They con rmed that going to an 84-game season from 82 is among the changes coming. The league and union have been in talks since April and are on the verge of a deal more than a year before the current CBA expires. Other changes include shortening the maximum length of contracts and adding a playo salary cap.

FOOTBALL

NCAA

Harbaugh added to lawsuit about hacking allegations against former assistant

Detroit

NFL coach Jim Harbaugh has been added to a lawsuit against the University of Michigan and a former assistant football coach who is accused of hacking into the computer accounts of college athletes to look for intimate photos. Matt Weiss worked for then-Michigan coach Harbaugh in 2022. The lawsuit says Harbaugh and others knew Weiss was seen viewing private information on a computer. But he was allowed to stick around for a big playo game. Harbaugh is now with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer headline ’26 NBA Draft’s top lottery prospects

UNC and Duke freshmen, transfers and returning players are featured on the NBA prospects list

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press

THE NBA has had Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg as obvious No. 1 overall draft picks in recent years. AJ Dybantsa has been headed toward that status for 2026.

The BYU signee has been a favorite to sit atop draft boards next summer and ranks as the nation’s top recruit by ESPN, On3 and Rivals. Kansas signee Darryn Peterson tops the list for 247Sports to make it a more open race for No. 1.

Here’s an early look next summer’s potential lottery prospects:

1. A.J. Dybantsa, BYU

The 6-foot-9 forward chose the Cougars over Kansas, UNC and Alabama. Athleticism and versatility shine through his rangy scoring skillset, notably when he attacks o the dribble and nishes at the rim.

2. Darryn Peterson, Kansas

The 6-5 guard from Ohio o ers perimeter size with ability to play on or o the ball. He was co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game.

3. Cameron Boozer, Duke The 6-9 forward joined twin Cayden in winning a high school national title and fourth straight Florida state title. The son of former Duke and NBA forward Carlos Boozer showed his inside-out game (22 points, 16 rebounds, six assists) leading the U.S. past the World team in the Nike Hoop Summit. He joined Peterson as the McDonald’s game co-MVP.

4. Nate Ament, Tennessee

The 6-9 forward is a McDonald’s All-American and Gatorade player of the year for Virginia.

5. Caleb Wilson, UNC

The 6-9 forward from Atlanta and McDonald’s All-American o ers two-way potential with his athleticism and length, including as a shot blocker.

The McDonald’s

All-American announced his UNC commitment on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” show.

6. Chris Cenac Jr., Houston ESPN and 247Sports rank Cenac as the nation’s top center, o ering rangy skills and outside shooting that made him the MVP of the NBPA Top 100 camp in summer 2024.

7. Karim Lopez, New Zealand Breakers (Australia)

The versatile 6-8 wing from Mexico is part of the National Basketball League’s “Next Stars” program designed to develop high-end prospects.

8. Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky

The 6-9 forward was a top-10 recruit last year entering Arizona State. He later transferred to join the Wildcats.

9. Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville The 6-3 McDonald’s All-American is big signee

for Pat Kelsey, ranking as the No. 1 point guard prospect for Rivals.

10. Darius Acu Jr., Arkansas

The 6-2 Acu is the top point guard prospect for 247Sports (No. 5 overall) and ESPN (No. 7). The McDonald’s All-American operates smoothly in the pick-and-roll.

11. Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor ESPN’s ninth-ranked recruit o ers a sturdy frame (roughly 6-5 and 210 pounds) and versatile athleticism while being known for a high-motor style.

12. Dash Daniels, Melbourne United (Australia) The younger brother of Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels will play for the NBL’s “Next Stars” program.

13. Isaiah Evans, Duke The 6-6 guard withdrew from this year’s draft and must add strength to a 175-pound frame. But there’s clear upside with his explosive scoring potential,

such as hitting six rst-half 3s out of nowhere against Auburn in December.

14. Labaron Philon, Alabama The 6-4 freshman point guard was a last-minute draft withdrawal.

Others to watch (in alphabetical order):

Alijah Arenas: The son of former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas is a McDonald’s All-American.

Miles Byrd: The 6-7 guard from San Diego State as a redshirt sophomore.

Ian Jackson: The 6-4 guard averaged 11.9 points while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range at UNC as a ve-star freshman before transferring to St. John’s.

Yaxel Lendeborg: The 6-9, 240-pound forward has gone from junior college to UAB and now Michigan. Tahaad Pettiford: The 6-1 freshman averaged 11.6 points and shot 36.6% on 3s for Auburn.

Meleek Thomas: The 6-4 guard is a McDonald’s All-American who signed with Arkansas.

Lawson, always a basketball trailblazer, has legit chance to lead USA squad in LA

The Duke coach has already led the 3-on-3 team to gold but wants to coach 5-on-5

By Doug Feinberg

The Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Kara Lawson has always been a basketball trailblazer and now the Duke women’s coach has a legit chance to lead USA to another gold medal. She has already done it once.

Lawson guided the Americans to a 3-on-3 Olympic gold medal and could have the chance to lead the USA’s 5-on-5 squad at the Los Angeles Games in three years. First up is coaching the U.S. AmeriCup team playing in Chile.

Coaching is something she wanted to do since she was a young girl growing up in Virginia. She just didn’t know it would be for her country.

“I played for a long time, and, so I got into coaching a little bit later just because I had a long playing career, which is as a good excuse as any to get into coaching later,” Lawson said.

“So I was always drawn to it. I just didn’t know what my entry point was.”

Fast forward 37 years and she’s in charge of the group

ball team. Dawn Staley was the coach in 2020.

Lawson didn’t want to look at this opportunity as a tryout to be the 2028 Olympic coach or even next year’s World Cup which she is on the short list to coach. That decision will be made by Sue Bird, the national team managing director.

“In my experience in life, if you just keep that mindset of being in the moment, more opportunities tend to happen for you,” said Lawson, who helped the USA win gold in 2008, where she and Bird were teammates. “And if you’re so worried about where you t and who goes where, and am I next in line? I just never found that to to be productive and drives you crazy and it’s a waste of energy.

of college players heading to South America.

“I’m fortunate enough to be assigned something as important as America’s head coach, my goal is to do the best job possible,” Lawson said during a break as she prepared her team for the World Cup qualifying tournament.

The 44-year-old Lawson could become the second African American to lead the USA women’s Olympic basket-

“So I try to just lock in on like, ‘what do I need to do at this job to be really good?’ ” Now she’ll try and lead the team to another victory and the automatic berth to the World Cup next year in Germany.

“I think the mentality for every team is to win,” Lawson said. “Our group understands that we’re on the lower end of the experience totem pole entering this competition and that we’re going to face some very good teams. So the race is on for us to gain continuity, pick up our playbook as quickly as we

can and get on the same page.” She knows the pressure that comes with coaching a USA team. Anything less than a gold medal is considered a failure.

Lawson doesn’t let the lofty expectations create additional pressure on her.

DeLisha Milton-Jones was a teammate of Lawson’s on the 2007 AmeriCup team and now is coaching with her. She’s been impressed with what she’s seen so far from Lawson as a coach.

“She has a knack for the game,” Milton-Jones said. “Kara is well versed when it comes to the game. Started o at an early age going to games with her father. Going to college and being coached by one of the greatest ever to coach. Having experiences from NBA, WNBA, international side of things.”

In the AmeriCup, Lawson will be coaching some of the most talented players in women’s college basketball, including Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU), Olivia Miles (TCU) and Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame). Lawson has made quite an impression.

“The intensity she brings every day, you feel it like that’s a pro right there,” Johnson said. “Just learning from her I learned so much in these (few) days, it’s been amazing.”

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO

Head coach Kara Lawson directs players during a USA Basketball women’s Americup Trials practice at the USA Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this month.

GREGORY PAYAN / AP PHOTO

Cameron Boozer directs teammates during a high school game at the Hoophall Classic in Spring eld, Massachusetts.

the stream

Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners,’ ‘SharkFest,’

John Cena teams up with Idris Elba

Kesha drops “.” (pronounced “period”) on July 4th

The Associated Press

KESHA ENJOYING her freedom on her rst new album since she left her old label and Ryan Coogler’s guts-spilling vampire lm “Sinners,” are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time: Charlize Theron in “The Old Guard 2” on Net ix, National Geographic’s 25-hour “SharkFest” and John Cena playing a U.S. president opposite Idris Elba as the UK’s prime minister in the comedy “Heads of State.”

MOVIES TO STREAM

Coogler’s “Sinners,” arguably the movie of the year up to this point, begins streaming Friday on Max. With $363.8 million in worldwide ticket sales, Coogler’s supernatural thriller is one of the most successful original lms of the last two decades. It stars Michael B. Jordan as a pair of twins who return to their hometown to open a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi. Vampires, and other dark forces, intrude on their plans. In her review, AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote: “How Coogler pulls everything o at once — and makes it cohere, mostly — is a sight to see.”

The wait has been long for “The Old Guard 2” (Net ix), a sequel to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2020 streaming hit starring Theron as a member of a team of centuries-old mercenaries. In “The Old Guard 2,” shot all the way back in 2022, Victoria Mahoney takes over as director, while Theron returns as Andy, a warrior who has now lost her immortality.

In “Heads of State” (now on Prime Video), Cena plays the president of the United States and Elba plays the prime minister of the United Kingdom. What could go wrong? In Ilya Naishuller’s comedy, the two

are hunted by the same adversary. Elba’s politician, a former commando, is better prepared than Cena’s president, a former action movie star. A Zambian family funer-

al unearths a dark past and an anguished reckoning in Rungano Nyoni’s beguiling “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (Max on Friday). Nyoni’s follow-up to the equally compelling “I Am Not a Witch,” AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr wrote in her review, “cements the exciting arrival of a true lmmaker.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

Kesha is a free agent. On Independence Day, she’ll self-release “.” (pronounced “Period”), her rst new full-length album since her departure from RCA and the Dr. Luke-founded Kemosabe Records in 2023. That year, the pop star and the producer settled nearly a decade of suits and countersuits over her accusation that he drugged and raped her and his claim that she made it up and defamed him. Across the 11-track release, Kesha is clearly enjoying some newfound freedoms: “.” is a stu ed with throwback, ebullient pop, like the sultry “JOYRIDE.,” the country-and-

western-themed “YIPPEE-KIYAY.” and the bighearted power ballad “DELUSIONAL.”

SERIES TO STREAM

After a successful season 2, the cast of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” gather for their rst reunion episode on Hulu. #MomTok has a lot to hash out including in delity rumors and accusations of clout-chasing. Nick Viall, a podcaster and former star of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” hosts the special streaming now.

Net ix has a documentary previewing its upcoming Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano ght at Madison Square Garden. “Countdown: Taylor Vs. Serrano,” debuts Thursday and is narrated by Uma Thurman. It will show Taylor and Serrano as they train and prepare for their third match.

A number of n-tastic programs about sharks stream in July. Net ix o ers a new reality competition show called “All the Sharks” debuting on Friday. Four teams of shark experts compete to locate and photograph the most number of sharks. The winners get $50,000 for their favorite marine charity.

National Geographic has compiled more than 25 hours of television for its annual SharkFest which begins streaming Sunday on Disney+ and Hulu. In the docuseries, “Investigation Shark Attack,” scientists attempt to pinpoint what causes a shark to attack. “Super Shark Highway” follows researchers as they track sharks along migration routes in the waters o Australia. The goal is to nd ways for sharks and humans to coexist in the busy ocean.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY Giant robots! Maybe you like the kind that can stomp across a city, crushing o ce buildings under their huge metal feet. Or you prefer the ones who can y above the chaos, unleashing missiles at each other. Perhaps you’d rather have your mech just hang back and perform maintenance on the ones taking the most damage. Whatever your choice, Mecha Break, from China’s Amazing Seasun Games, hopes to have you covered. It’s a multiplayer slugfest with 3 vs. 3, 6 vs. 6 and human vs. AI scenarios. You can start building your dream bot on Xbox X/S and PC.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES VIA AP

“Sinners,” starring Michael B. Jordan, left, and Miles Caton, lands on Max on July 4.

CHIBESA MULUMBA / A24 VIA AP

Susan Chardy stars in “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” streaming on Max July 4.

KESHA RECORDS VIA AP

Kesha’s new record, “.” (pronounced “period”), comes out this week.

STATE & NATION

82-year-old Jewish

woman injured in Boulder rebomb attack dies

Karen Diamond was hit by a Molotov cocktail on June 1

By Colleen Slevin and Mead Gruver

The Associated Press

DENVER — An 82-year-old Colorado woman who was injured in a Molotov cocktail attack on demonstrators in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza has died, prosecutors said Monday.

Karen Diamond died as a result of the severe injuries she su ered in the June 1 attack in downtown Boulder, Colorado, the local district attorney’s ofce said in a statement. Prosecutors have listed 29 victims, including 13 who were physically injured.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman already faced dozens of charges in state court including attempted rst-degree murder, using an incendiary device, and animal cruelty because a dog was hurt in the attack. He has not been arraigned on those charges that now include rst-degree murder.

The Associated Press left a

voicemail Monday for Soliman’s public defender in the state case. The o ce generally bars its lawyers from commenting on their cases to the media. A preliminary hearing to determine whether there’s enough evidence for a trial is set for July 15.

Separately, Soliman has been indicted on 12 federal hate crime counts. He entered a not guilty plea to those charges in federal court on Friday.

Leaders of the Boulder Jewish Community Center announced in an email Monday

that Diamond died June 25 and said she will be deeply missed.

“Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her,” executive director

Jonathan Lev and board chair David Paul said.

Diamond helped at her synagogue and volunteered for several local groups, including the University of Colorado University Women’s Club and a local music festival.

Gov. Jared Polis said in a

Rising summer heat increases risk of child deaths in hot cars

Some cars have new features to remind parents to be vigilant

By Freida Frisaro

The Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE,

Fla. — A record heat wave that spread across the East Coast of the United States during the rst week of summer has child advocates warning parents and caretakers about the risks of heatstroke to children left inside hot vehicles.

So far this year, nine children have died after being left unattended in vehicles in California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New Jersey and North Carolina, according to Kids and Car Safety, which collects data on hot car deaths. Five died in June.

And last year, 39 children in the U.S. died after being left in hot cars.

The temperature outside doesn’t have to be super hot for a child left in a vehicle to be affected by the heat, said Kathy Wall, director of Safe Kids Palm Beach County.

“Inside, the vehicle can heat up 20 degrees in just 20 minutes,” Wall said. “So if you imagine it’s an 80 degree day, which

in South Florida is a cool day, it could be over 100 degrees within 10 minutes inside the car.”

Hot car deaths can happen any time of year, and since 1998, every state but Alaska has reported a hot car death, accord-

ing to the National Safety Council. In both 2018 and 2019, a record 53 children died after being left in hot cars.

About 80% of the heat rise in vehicles happens in the rst 30 minutes of a child being left in-

“Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her.”

Boulder Jewish Community Center statement

statement Monday that he was devastated by Diamond’s death, and that it will be felt deeply by the city of Boulder, the state and the Jewish community.

“Karen was taken from us too soon, and we mourn her loss while remembering her life and the impact she had on those who loved her,” Polis said.

Prosecutors said Diamond’s family has asked for privacy. Diamond and her husband were enthusiastic volunteers since the 1990s for a local historic preservation organization, Historic Boulder, Inc. The couple often helped with public tours of old homes, said Melanie Muckle, the organization’s administrator.

side, when maximum temperatures can exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit, according to data compiled by Jan Null, a certi ed consulting meteorologist at San Jose State University.

“Children sweat a lot less than adults do and their internal temperature can increase three to ve times faster than an adult. So that’s why it’s just as important to make sure that your child isn’t left in the vehicle, especially during these rising temperatures,” said Capt. Karen Derogatis of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

While it’s easy to place blame for leaving a child in a vehicle, even people trained to know the dangers have made that tragic mistake, Wall said.

“It’s not a socioeconomic group, it’s not a cultural group,” she said. “This sadly has happened to doctors, it’s happened to dentists, it happened to school teachers, it’s happened to child care workers. Nobody is exempt from this.”

Distraction often leads to forgetting about a child in the backseat, which is why it is important to create routines and reminders, she said.

“It sounds crazy, but sometimes people get out of routines or are distracted, especially in today’s world. There’s lots going on in the news, lots going with families,” she said.

A parent who normally doesn’t drop a child o at a day care facility might become distracted and forget that the child is in the vehicle, she said.

She encourages parents and caregivers to establish routines.

“Their generosity with their time and their talent and their kindness, I can’t overstate that,” Muckle said.

During the demonstration, Soliman posed as a gardener and wore a construction vest to get close to the group before launching the attack, prosecutors allege.

Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the participants at the weekly demonstration. He yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw just two of more than two dozen Molotov cocktails he had prepared.

Prosecutors have identi ed 29 people who are considered victims of the attack, including 13 who were physically injured. The others were nearby and are considered victims because they could have been hurt. A dog was also injured in the attack.

Prosecutors previously said there were 15 victims but the number has increased as investigators discovered more people who were at the scene.

The victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual national origin, prosecutors allege. An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.

Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a “legal citizen.” Federal authorities have said the Egyptian national has been living in the U.S. illegally with his family.

“We have an acronym, ACT,” Wall said.

A stands for avoiding leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.

C stands for creating a reminder that works best for you. Authorities suggest leaving a personal item such as a purse or briefcase in the backseat so you’ll have to open the back door before locking the vehicle.

T is to take action right away.

“If you see a child in a car, don’t try to gure out how long they’ve been in the car. Call 911 immediately,” Wall said. Some newer cars o er warnings for drivers to check the backseat for passengers, and others go further than that. The new 2025 Tesla Model Y, for example, has an in-cabin radar that can detect an individual’s heart rate and breathing, even in the backseat.

If it detects a child left unattended, it can notify the driver through the Tesla smartphone app, automatically turn on the air conditioning and even call 911. Other carmakers, including Toyota, have demonstrated similar capabilities using in-vehicle sensors.

But double checking the vehicle is key, said Derogatis, the re captain.

“If you make it a common habit, just like you would look in their rear view mirror to see if somebody’s behind you, or if you look at your side view mirror to see if you want to switch lanes, make it habit to look in your rearview mirror, whether you have a child or an animal or anything, just to ensure that they are as safe as possible,” she said.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO

A woman places a bouquet of owers at a makeshift memorial for victims of an attack outside of the Boulder County, Colorado, courthouse on June 3.

CODY JACKSON / AP PHOTO

Outside temperature is displayed in comparison to the inside temperature of a vehicle last Thursday in Belle Glade, Florida, during an event to raise awareness about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles.

Randolph record

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in Rowan County with manufacturing investment

Salisbury

The electronics company

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in central North Carolina by building a new manufacturing plant. The company is investing $500 million toward a facility to support cloud computing and arti cial intelligence data centers. O cials announced Monday that the facility will be in Rowan County, northeast of Charlotte. The project includes a $264 million capital investment and 1,181 jobs by the end of 2030. North Carolina competed with Florida for the project and o ered more than $21 million in incentives. Jabil already operates three facilities in the state, employing about 1,000 workers.

Paramount will pay $16 million in settlement with Trump over ‘60 Minutes’ interview

New York

Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump over the editing of CBS’ “60 Minutes” interview with thenVice President Kamala Harris in October. Paramount, which owns CBS, says the money will go to Trump’s future presidential library, not to the Republican president himself. Paramount also says the settlement doesn’t involve an apology.

$2.00

A warm touch

Brandy Brigman, middle, and Tammie Sexton show Joe Cuthbertson of Liberty how to unzip a heart-shaped pillow to open the blanket at Cone Health Center last week in Asheboro. Vann York Subaru donated blankets to Cone Health Center as part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and “Subaru Loves to Care” blanket initiative. This is part of a quest to raise awareness about the urgent need to nd cancer cures and lifesaving treatments, according to information from organizers.

State’s rst 2025 measles case comes in the Triad

A child with the disease made multiple stops in Greensboro and Kernersville

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — O cials with Randolph County Public Health have been involved in e orts to keep tabs on a measles case stemming from nearby counties.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services con rmed the rst case of measles this year in North Carolina last week. A child visiting Forsyth and Guilford counties became ill while traveling to North Carolina from another country where measles outbreaks have been reported.

“We’ve been watching this since there were cases out West,” said Tara Aker, director of Randolph County Pub -

lic Health. “We knew it would eventually make its way here (to North Carolina).”

Randolph County Public Health has provided several advisories during the past week to point out that measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications.

“We’re not trying to create fear,” Aker said. “This is completely preventable. We’ve reiterated the importance to parents to get their kids vaccinated against measles.”

The education aspect also extends to public health o cials. In early June, o cials from health departments in multiple counties met in Greensboro to discuss the topic. Hospital and school o cials were also part of that gathering.

“Measles isn’t something many of us have dealt with,” Aker said. “Health departments have been working together to make sure we have the most up-to-date information.”

“Health departments have been working together to make sure we have the most up-to-date information.”

Tara Aker,

Randolph County Public Health director

As of Monday, there had been no additional measles case reported in the state. As of June 24, there were 1,227 conrmed cases of measles in the United States.

Aker said there was encouraging news based on data provided recently by the state showing that 95% of students in schools in Randolph County had up-to-date immunizations for the past school year. Based on the rst case in North Carolina, locations

RCSS progressing with budget cuts for upcoming school year

The district is looking to shore up $3.3 million

By Ryan Henkel Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Schools Board of Education were presented with the upcoming budget cuts for the 2025-26 school year.

“There’s been a lot of hands in this work the last two months, really,” said Superintendent Stephen Gainey. “We’re shooting for $3.3 million in reductions. We’re not there, but we’re pret-

“These guys have worked really, really hard to nd ways to prevent people from losing their jobs.”

Chairman Gary Cook

ty close, closer than we might think right now. I think within another week or two, we’ll be clear of there.”

According to Gainey, the district is aiming for $3.3 million in cuts to best position themselves nancially and have

currently shored up around $3.086 million.

“We’re looking for every dime we can cut,” Gainey said. “We’re gonna be real, and we’re going to be transparent.”

Of that total, approximately $835,000 has come from the elimination of vacant positions, with no currently lled positions being cut.

“I want to do as much as we can without causing people to lose positions,” Gainey said. “We have not at this point and I’m very proud of that.”

“If you can nd a way to save $3 million without anybody losing their job, that’s pretty strong,”

in Kernersville and Greensboro have been listed as potential places for exposure for those who visited from June 19-21. Those spots include Piedmont Triad International Airport, Greensboro Science Center, Piedmont Triad Farmers Market and Greensboro Aquatic Center, along with a McDonalds, Lowes Foods and Sleep Inn in Kernersville and Partee Shack in Greensboro.

“Lots of people go to those locations,” Aker said.

Aker said with summer prime travel season there should be heightened awareness.

With a new school year approaching in less than two months, Aker said the county health department will promote back-to-school campaigns as reminders for parents to have their children current with required immunizations.

According to the North Carolina Division of Public Health, measles is dangerous for babies and children, and in pregnancy. Children who are not vaccinated are at highest risk, according to information from the department. Symptoms of measles can begin seven to 21 days after being exposed.

said board chair Gary Cook. The district has also saved around $86,000 in miscellaneous personnel items for things such as reductions in local money utilization and changes in position/salaries, but the biggest savings have come from nonpersonnel items.

RCSS has shored up $2.166 million with things such as the closure of The Virtual Academy at Randolph and the Social Emotional Learning Program on the campus of New Market Elementary School, reductions in supplies, materials, copiers, printers and lawn services, restructuring of custodial contracts and more.

“What people don’t understand is just what a mess we’ve been in this year nancially and with some of the cuts that have been forced on us,” Cook said. “These guys have worked really, really hard to nd ways to prevent people from losing

THE RANDOLPH COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

THURSDAY 7.3.25

Randolph

REMC tout grant approvals

The cooperative held its annual meeting with Dennis Mabe as CEO for the rst time

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — The emphasis for Randolph Electric Membership Corporation is “Focus Forward.”

That was theme for last month’s 87th annual meeting, which included nearly 800 attendees either in-person at Southwestern Randolph High School or registered online.

“This year’s theme, “Focus Forward,” re ects both our commitment to innovation and our responsibility to the communities we serve,” CEO Dennis Mabe said. It was Mabe’s 32nd annual meeting, but his rst as CEO.

He explained the $2.50 increase for Residential Grid Access that began with May billing cycle. With other factors involved, he said that marked a 2.43% increase from the April bills.

On what was described as a positive note, REMC was awarded two grants.

One of those came by receiving one of 49 grants award-

REMC from page A1

their jobs. You have school systems right up the road that are $42 million in the hole, and somebody is going to have to bail them out. We haven’t had to ask anybody to bail us out. These guys have worked hard to make that happen.”

According to Gainey, the district pulled over $900,000 from its fund balance to close out the books for 2024-25 but that they’ll be able to pull that money back with these cuts.

The district is still looking for around $220,000 in savings, and according to Gainey, those nal cuts may come with some di cult decisions.

The troublesome corridor in Pigeon River Gorge was damaged in Helene

The Associated Press

HARTFORD, Tenn. — Crews on Friday reopened a section of Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains after ooding and a rock slide closed the major cross country highway for nine days.

The highway was already undergoing major repairs from massive damage and washouts during Hurricane Helene last fall and is down to one lane in each direction in far western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

About 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain fell in the area over about three hours on June 18, swamping I-40 around Exit 451 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North Carolina, o -

The Tennessee Department of Transportation originally

“When we survey our members, we consistently nd that reliability is your top priority for the cooperative.”

Tammie Phillips, REMC board president

ed out of 1,398 applications.

This comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s O ce of Clean Energy Demonstrations. That will lead to rebuilding a transmission line in the Dover, Ether, Snow Camp and Staley areas during a four-year period. That will include replacing 177 wooden transmission poles with galvanized steel poles covering 21 miles.

“As you can imagine, the purpose of this pole upgrade is to improve our infrastructure’s durability, longevity and performance,” Mabe said. “These upgrades will also provide increased energy resilience to combat power outages and damage from extreme weather events.

The other grant approved comes from the Grid Resil-

“Our children and our sta are at the front of our mind, but I can tell you that this next amount is going to be tough, and that’s very frustrating to me,” Gainey said. “We will continue to be creative. We’ve been down this road before.”

One source of revenue that RCSS had relied on for years was the low-wealth supplement funding from the state, which typically totaled around $2.85 million, but with the current state legislature and budget issues, the district is preparing to be without it.

“What we’re not ne with is that we have a moving target right now from Raleigh,” Gainey said, “We

ience Infrastructure Program. The project will include nearly a $5 million investment from REMC.

The timeline for these projects is unknown, Mabe said, because of the Trump administration’s pause on pending federal funding.

“We understand the need for the new administration’s review and look forward to the start of these projects,” Mabe said.

Secretary-treasurer Lee Isley’s report showed more than $80 million in revenue and approximately $75 million in expenses.

Members elected three directors: Isley to represent District 1, Larry Routh in District 3 and Je Sugg in District 6.

“When we survey our members, we consistently nd that reliability is your top priority for the cooperative,” board president Tammie Phillips said. “We understand that you expect the lights to stay on, and if the power goes out, you want it restored quickly.”

The report from Phillips indicated that two energy advisors on sta were instrumental in helping 91 members save more than $28,000. Peak energy demand for the cooperative came in January.

have to gure out what it is.”

“The low-wealth money that we were used to getting, we were pretty much promised that that would be frozen, but it’s not looking too promising right now,” Cook said. “I’m tired of getting screwjobbed by the government. They don’t care.

“The problem I have, and it’s getting worse every year, is that it seems like we want to do the public school system in because they’re constantly getting hit,” Cook said. “It’s just a bad situation. I don’t care where people send their kids, that’s their choice, but someone has to take care of the rest of the kids.”

thought I-40 would be closed until July 3.

The damaged section is part of 12 miles of I-40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that were washed away or heavily damaged by ooding that roared through the Pigeon River gorge during Hurricane Helene in late September.

Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in

March. The lanes are separated by a curb several inches high.

The permanent x to stabilize what is left of the road will involve driving long steel rods into bedrock below the highway, lling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cli face to hold them in place. It will take years.

I-40 runs from Wilmington on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Barstow, California.

Randolph Guide

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

July

4

Pop-up Picnic in the Park Date Night 1-5 p.m.

Each pop-up picnic sunset date night for couples is selfguided, allowing you to attend at the time of your choice. All you need is a mobile device and an internet connection to access your Digital Date Nite Box. Guided activities included are Quality Time with a discount code for food delivery to the park; Acts of Service with custom couplecoupons; Gifts featuring a “Digital Love Jar,” a Couple Games App and more!

N. Asheboro Park 1939 Canoy Drive Asheboro

Friday Night Sunset Series: Held every Friday, May-August 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Admission for 21-plus is $8 per person. A variety of homemade concessions are available for purchase, including hard cider, local wine, craft beer and a variety of seasonal cocktails. Admission does not include food or drink but does cover musical performances.

Millstone Creek Orchards 506 Parks Crossroads Church Road Ramseur

July 5, 8 & 10

City of Asheboro Farmers Market

7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Fresh seasonal produce, farm-fresh products, baked goods, and a variety of owers and plants are available for purchase directly from local farmers. Open weekly on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of October.

134 S. Church St. Asheboro

July 7 & 9

Liberty Farmers Market

4-7 p.m.

Purchase a wide array of high-quality, fresh produce from local farmers and growers at this convenient downtown location. Open every Monday and Wednesday through the end of October.

423 W. Swannanoa Ave. Liberty

July 9

Making Art with the Masters

11 a.m. to noon

Art classes each Tuesday for ages 8-12 that teach history, theory and practice: 11 a.m. classes are for ages 10-12 and 3:30 p.m. classes are for ages 8-9.

Asheboro Public Library 201 Worth St. Asheboro

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | MIKE GONZALEZ

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Trump’s culture war o ensive is working

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month.

THE PAST MONTH has seen bold advances in President Donald Trump’s crusade to recapture cultural ground that the left had conquered in recent decades. Whether on museums, media or universities, the president is on the o ensive and the left is in retreat.

Two weeks ago alone saw advances on two fronts: a congressional win against NPR and PBS, and a retreat by the Smithsonian.

The House of Representatives’ 214-212 vote on June 12 to rescind $1.1 billion that Congress had already appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonpro t that distributes taxpayer money to NPR, PBS and public radio and television stations, was a milestone. The tightness of the vote reveals the stakes.

Ever since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act authorizing the CPB in 1967, every Republican president and Congress has tried to bring public broadcasting to heel.

But all e orts have failed. Democrats have voted in unison to protect their interests, and thus those of NPR and PBS, and enough Republicans have thought, “Well, PBS may give my party 85% negative coverage, but if I vote for it, my local station will spare me.”

The June 12 vote saw four of those, but not enough to save the broadcasters’ bacon this time. The rescission package now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 advantage. That still won’t make it a cakewalk, and timid senators will nd any excuse not to take a stand on an important issue.

But Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), lead Senate sponsor of the rescissions package, told Punchbowl, “I think broadly there’s a lot of agreement that we need to move forward on it.”

Eliminating public funding for NPR and PBS is an important step in the cultural reconquista. The left uses both institutions to tear down America’s cultural and historical narrative and put in place a distorted counternarrative. And, of course, the left funds this with money from every American taxpayer.

Another such institution is the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum complex, with 21 museums and 14 educational and research centers. Trump in March issued an executive order that, right at the start, identi ed the problem: “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread e ort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” Museums, added the order, “should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination.”

It instructed Vice President JD Vance to “e ectuate the policies of this order through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents.”

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month. Vance worked the room with a mixture of persuasion and outright pressure, according to published reports from the always-secretive meeting, and he got results.

Initial reports emphasized how the board had circled the wagons around Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, under whom much of the wokeness has come in, and rebu ed Trump’s ring of National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet.

But Sajet was gone in a matter of days, resigning “on her own.” Bunch put out a statement thanking her for putting the Smithsonian’s interests “above her own.”

The Smithsonian also agreed to conduct a wide audit of all its content to eliminate biased material and perhaps even personnel.

Then, it emerged that Bunch emailed sta to admit to bias.

“On occasion, some of our work has not aligned with our institutional values of scholarship, evenhandedness and nonpartisanship,” he wrote. “For that, we must all work to do better.”

Even better, in his budget request to Congress, Trump asked the legislature not to fund the Smithsonian’s creation of a Latino museum. Early exhibits of the planned museum revealed that the left will use it as an

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard brings back meritocracy

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted.

TWO YEARS AGO, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by ruling that universities could no longer use a rmative action to determine admissions for students.

In the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court explained in the majority opinion that the color of a student’s skin can no longer determine his or her entry into a school.

When ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) in a companion case, the court decided in a majority 6-3 opinion that using a student’s race to determine admissions is in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that a student “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual” rather than race. The admissions process for both schools were seen as penalizing Asian American students.

While the process for universities to fully correct course to abide by the decision may take several years, the results are already positive with meritocracy appearing to return to the forefront of academia in America.

In the time since the Supreme Court’s decision, several prominent universities have already adopted new admissions processes as well as now requiring students to submit standardized testing scores once again with their applications.

At Harvard University, admissions previously had optional writing components where potential students could write about topics pertaining to them and their interests or experiences with their identity. After the court’s ruling, the school altered the questions asked to applicants. The school then reinstated the submission of standardized test scores as mandatory for applicants applying for the fall 2025 semester.

Other prominent universities have also

reinstated standardized test scores for their admissions. Dartmouth College was the rst Ivy League school to require SAT or ACT scores again after the ruling. Yale, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania are among those that followed suit. Even UNC updated its process for applicants.

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted. In the two years since the Supreme Court’s decision, there appears to have been an impact.

In recent years, a rmative action generally impacted white and Asian students negatively while positively impacting black and Hispanic students. The end of a rmative action in schools has appeared to even the playing eld, with merit now playing a more signi cant factor in determining a student’s admittance. That can be seen in the data of students now enrolled in these schools.

After the court’s ruling, UNC saw a dip in the percentage of black and Hispanic students, but the percentage of Asian students increased. Harvard saw a decrease in the percentage of black students but an increase for Hispanic students. The percentage of Asian students at Harvard stayed the same.

At Columbia, the percentage of Asian students jumped from 30% to 39% within a year, while the percentage of black students dropped from 20% to 12%. This is a common trend among elite universities.

Seeing the percentage of black and Hispanic students decrease is nothing to celebrate. The goal should be to see all students thrive regardless of skin color. However, until we solve the separate problem of why black and Hispanic students struggle more than their peers, seeing merit as a core focus again in admissions is a positive shift.

There is an understandable concern that

A statue of Joseph Henry stands outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

incubator of grievances against the United States, a place to stoke resentments among Americans with roots in Iberia or her colonies.

Instead, Trump wants the Smithsonian to return to sharing collections on the culture and history of these Americans across the complex’s many museums — reviving the so-called Smithsonian Latino Center of old rather than sectioning o this part of American history in a segregated institution under the direction of woke curators.

Acting on my own capacity, I was one of more than 20 scholars with these roots to sign a letter supporting the president’s decision not to fund this mistake.

On the university front, lest we forget, it was about a month ago that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she had ordered the cancellation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certi cation, barring the school from enrolling foreign students.

The second Trump administration understands the supreme importance of these ideological battles. And, as the past 30 days have shown, its decision to go on o ense is working.

Mike Gonzalez is the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow in the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. This article was rst published in the Washington Examiner and then via The Daily Signal.

universities will attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling to a certain extent. University leadership is open about attempting this. Schools are trying other means to indirectly use a rmative action to admit students.

While Yale leadership did administer changes to the university’s admissions process, the school is still promoting a “culture of diversity and inclusivity” by expanding outreach plans and creating new talent pipelines. Brown University also intends to indirectly implement a rmative action through “pathway programs, targeted outreach, and pipeline programs.”

This is happening at other universities as well.

President Donald Trump and his administration will need to work to ensure that universities follow the Supreme Court’s ruling and additionally make sure they drop all initiatives that promote student admissions based on race. In fact, the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools in February demanding exactly that. With an administration in charge that values merit, America’s universities are well advised to follow the law.

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions in schools in 2023 is already having a positive impact by ensuring institutions of higher learning prioritize meritocracy above immutable characteristics. The era of schools judging potential students by the color of their skin is thankfully coming to an end.

While there is still a lot of work to accomplish to ensure that all students who want to attend the nation’s elite universities are on par academically with their peers, ending a rmative action is the rst step in achieving true equality for all.

Casey Ryan is a writer and investigative reporter at Defending Education and a contributor to Daily Caller News Foundation.

COLUMN | CASEY RYAN

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO

Carl Melvin (Tommy) Julian

July 4, 1936 – June 24, 2025

Carl Melvin (Tommy) Julian Jr. went home to be with our Lord Jesus Christ on June 24, 2025, passing peacefully. Tommy had a distinguished career in law enforcement, beginning with the Randleman Police Department and continuing to the Randolph County Sheri ’s O ce, where he retired after 20+ years. Tommy also served as a District 19-B Magistrate during his tenure with Randolph County. He was an active member of the Randolph County Republicans Committee, the Jaycees, and a longtime Freemason. Tommy and his loving wife, Dee Ann were longstanding members of Bethany United Methodist Church.

Tommy and Dee Ann met in High School and married soon after graduating. Tommy attended Grays Chapel but played football for Randleman becoming the only one to ever accomplish this, as he would say. Tommy and Dee Ann had three children and remained in the area lovingly supporting all their children and grandchildren. Tommy could be seen at the Randleman softball eld down the rst base fence or at the football eld cheering on their grandkids. Tommy loved to be out in the community and enjoyed the outdoors spending time hunting, shing, and playing golf with friends, usually with a cigar in tow.

Tommy is preceded in death by his loving wife, Dee Ann Fogleman Julian and son, Carl Melvin Julian III, along with his parents, Kathleen and Carl Melvin Julian, Sr. and sisters, Helen Toomes, Juanita West, Ruth Lane, and Dolly York.

Tommy is survived by his two children; daughter, Alisa Julian (Jay); son, Anthony Julian (Nan). He is also survived by 5 grandchildren; Allison Hopkins (Chris), Kathleen Brown, Brooks Julian (Cambridge), Kathryn Singletary (Trevin), Maggie Meisch (Tyler); and six greatgrandchildren.

He will be dearly missed but deeply remembered for the legacy he left behind. The family will receive visitors on Sunday, June 29, 2025, from 6– 8 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home, 600 S. Main Street, Randleman. A service will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 30, 2025, at Pugh Funeral Home, followed by a private graveside for the immediate family.

In lieu of owers, the family requests donations be made in Tommy’s memory to Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Dr., Asheboro, NC 27203.

Pugh Funeral Home is honored to serve the Julian family.

Anna Marie Theresa Kopco Ondick

Oct. 13, 1942 – June 23, 2025

Anna Marie Theresa Kopco Ondick, age 82, of Randleman, NC, passed away peacefully at home on June 23, 2025.

Anna Marie was born on October 13, 1942, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to Andrew Joseph Kopco and Anna Theresa Churney. She worked for 17 years at Shoppers Food Warehouse in Maryland before moving to North Carolina, where she continued serving her community for another 19 years at Harris Teeter.

Anna Marie lived a full and vibrant life. She enjoyed gardening, playing golf, crocheting, baking, and traveling to the beach. She was happiest when surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she cherished the friendships she built through her time spent at the Randleman Senior Center. Her warmth, kindness, and deep love for her family left a lasting impact on everyone who knew her.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Stephen Ondick; her parents; and her brother, William Kopco. Anna Marie is survived by her daughters, Pamela Heider (John) of Smith Mountain Lake, VA, and Kimberly Barbour (Brian) of Apex, NC; her grandchildren, Matthew Wilson (Brittany), Nicole Wells (Jake), Kaitlyn Barbour, and Hailey Barbour; and her great-grandchildren, Ryatt Wilson, Mallory Wells, and Everett Wells. She is also survived by her siblings, Robert Kopco (Carol) and Barbara Bodenschatz (Raymond).

Anna Marie was a devout Catholic and will be remembered for her generous spirit, strong work ethic, and the love she gave so freely to her family and friends.

Pugh Funeral Home is honored to serve the Ondick family.

Brian Andrew Rice

Jan. 13, 1976 – June 22, 2025

Beloved husband, father, son and brother, Brian Andrew Rice, 49, passed away peacefully in his home on June 22, 2025. Brian is survived by his parents - Bill (Sue)Rice, Diane (Bobby)Dean, his siblings - Brandon (Hannah) Rice, Shawn (Andy) Howell and Chris (Britt) Rice, his loving wife - Alicia Rice, his childrenAutumn(Lee) Garcia, Amber, Annabelle and Abby Rice as well as several nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and many friends he loved dearly. Brian was born at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro on January 13, 1976. He graduated from Northwest Guilford High in 1994. He obtained his bachelor’s degree at High Point University and his master’s degree at Webster University. Brian served in the Army from 2008 to 2015. He deployed to Afghanistan from December 2009 to December 2010, then held two commands at Fort Benning, Georgia. Following his military service, he moved back to North Carolina and was employed at Thomas Built Buses for several years. He devoted himself to his family and continued to develop his passion for shing and hunting. He shared his love for the outdoors with his younger daughters, Annabelle and Abby, who accompanied him on several adventures, including the awards ceremony where he was bestowed the title of Grand Master for completing the Ultimate Waterfowlers Challenge. That was an accomplishment he was very proud of. Most of all, he was proud to be a husband, father, son, brother and friend.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 1-1:45 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home, 437 Sunset Avenue in Asheboro. Funeral services will follow on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Glenn “Mac” Pugh Chapel with Pastor Matthew Pugh o ciating and with military honors by the Randolph County Honor Guard. Burial will be held at the Salisbury National Cemetery.

Marion Frazier Roberts McIntosh

April 22, 1928 – June 23, 2025

Our beloved mother, Marion Frazier Roberts McIntosh, passed away on June 23, 2025. She was born to loving parents, Sara Flow Frazier and Julian Milton Roberts, on April 22, 1928, in Hickory, North Carolina. Raised in Hickory, she would graduate with honors from both Hickory High School and LenoirRhyne University. Her Bachelor of Science degree would lead her to become a lab technician at Statesville Hospital. A profession she would keep until she met the love of her life, Thomas James McIntosh, Jr. Together they had four children: Jim (Jane), Julian (Cheryl), Mary (Cleve) and Bob. In 1967, she returned to UNCG and received her teacher’s credentials. During her 25 year tenure at Randleman High School, she taught English, Physical Science, Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

A ectionally called “Mrs. Mac”, her talents and compassion would touch the lives of many students and peers. Collectively, as a family, we feel teaching was her biggest legacy because she truly loved-loved-loved her students and especially her teaching pals: Justine, Scottie, Gloria, Don, Allen and Larry. After retirement, she would return to Randleman High for night school to teach students who needed assistance to graduate. She had a heart and lust to give and to learn. Often, she would quote CS Lewis: “You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.”

Upon our father’s death in 2000, she would remain faithful and continue to search for ways to help: volunteering her time at the Family Crisis Center, serving on the Board for Randolph County Senior Adults Association, serving as President of the Democratic Women of Randolph County and remaining active as a member of First United Methodist Church. She leaves behind her four children and their spouses, her grandchildren, Megan Brown (Jonathan), Mariann Bass (JD), Jenna Elkins (Bret) and Thomas McIntosh (mother Sharon), her niece, Elizabeth Chadwick, nephew Rog Toy and her cousins, Lillian Brunson and Wiley Jones. Her precious great-grandchildren, Cleveland, Clayton, Campbelle, Dempsey and four-week-old Jensen will remember her through the fond memories shared by their parents and loved ones. Grandmother will live on.

The family would like to thank her caregivers, April Garrett, Marjorie Casey, Vivian Patterson, and Randolph Hospice House for tenderly taking care of her needs.

A celebration of life will be held Sunday, June 29, at First United Methodist Church of Asheboro at 2 p.m. Following the service, the family will receive and serve guests refreshments in the fellowship hall. In lieu of owers, memorials can be made to the Randolph County Senior Adults Association, Inc., 347 West Salisbury Street, Asheboro, NC 27203.

Deborah “Debbie” Little Mullins

Sept. 14, 1953 – June 22, 2025

Deborah “Debbie” Little Mullins, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully on June 22, 2025, at the age of 71, after a courageous four-year battle with cancer. Debbie was born in Floyd County, Kentucky, on September 14, 1953, to the late David “Dave” and Ruth Hall Little.

Throughout her life, Debbie exempli ed strength, compassion, and unwavering faith. She dedicated over 35 years to the nursing profession, most recently serving at Randolph Hospital, where she provided care and comfort to countless patients. Her life was a testament to her commitment to serving others, a mission that she pursued with grace and love.

Debbie’s interests were as varied as they were enriching. She was an avid reader, diving into books with the same zeal she approached life. She found joy in creating beautiful pieces through diamond art and sewing, and she relished the challenge presented by Sudoku puzzles, which never matched her keen intellect.

Debbie was married to the love of her life, Paul Mullins, for over 54 wonderful years. Together, they shared a life lled with love and devotion, with Paul standing steadfastly by her side, caring for her and their home with profound dedication. Debbie treasured her family above all else, nding immense joy in her son, Brian Mullins and her cherished grandson, Nicholas Mullins. Two goals dear to her heart were witnessing Nicholas drive and graduate from high school—events she was blessed to see, thanks to the grace of God and the thoughtful gesture of Julie Mullins, who recorded his graduation for her to witness. In addition to her parents, Debbie was preceded in death by her niece, Randi Anderson, whom she loved dearly. She is survived by her devoted husband Paul, her loving son Brian and his wife Michelle, and her adored grandson Nicholas, along with many other cherished family members and friends.

The family wishes to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the nurses and medical team who provided compassionate care to Debbie, as well as the dedicated sta at Randolph Hospice House. At this time, the family requests privacy to grieve their loss and ask others to honor Debbie’s memory by cherishing the joyful times they shared with her.

Debbie’s legacy is one of love, courage, and an indomitable spirit that found its source in her faith. As the Bible reminds us, “I have fought the good ght, I have nished the race, I have kept the faith.” Debbie embodied these words, living a life rich in purpose and lled with hope in Jesus. May her memory be a blessing to all who knew her.

Midstate Cremation & Funeral Service in Asheboro is honored to assist the family of Deborah Mullins during this di cult time.

Josie Cleo Hoover Auman

Sept. 23, 1943 – June 25, 2025

Josie Cleo Hoover Auman, age 81, of Asheboro, passed away peacefully on June 25, 2025, at her home.

Mrs. Auman was born in Randolph County on September 23, 1943, to Andrew and Vernie Blackwood Hoover. Cleo was employed with Midstate Plastics for over 25 years. In addition to her parents, Cleo was preceded in death by her husband, Lacy Eugene Auman, daughter, Gail Moore, sisters, Margaret Blake and Rebecca Lo in, and brothers, Herman and Lloyd Hoover. Cleo enjoyed shopping, especially at Hamrick’s and was famous for her chocolate pie. She loved sitting on her porch to watch the birds. She enjoyed going on vacations, especially to the beach. She planned her trips according to where to eat and loved the traditional Christmas Eve breakfast held at her home. She loved her family and her cat, Angelo.

She is survived by her son, Carson Bowman of Asheboro; daughter, Jamie Flannery of Asheboro; stepdaughters, Angela Hazelwood (Tommy) and Rhonda Auman; grandchildren, Dylan Hussey, Bella Hussey, McKenzie Bowman (Edgar), Tanner Bowman (Ashley), Breanna Macon (Alan), and Douglas Staley (Hannah); great grandchildren, Addison Macon, Kaitlyn Macon, Asher El Campo, and Aspen Bowman; sister, Mabel Horton of Asheboro; and her cat, Angelo.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. at Why Not Wesleyan Church, 1402 NC Hwy 705 in Seagrove. Funeral services will follow on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the church with Rev. Darrell Rabon o ciating. Burial will be held at Pleasant Hill Primitive Baptist Church.

Pugh Funeral Home in Asheboro is proudly serving the Auman family.

Cynthia Lynnette Perryman Atkins

Feb. 12, 1951 – June 26, 2025

Cynthia Lynnette Perryman Atkins, 74, of Randleman passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at Randolph Hospital in Asheboro, NC. She was born February 12, 1951, in Forsyth County, NC.

Cynthia was a loving, caring, and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother. She was devoted to her family and was known as a sel ess caregiver. Cynthia loved her owers, her vegetable garden, and going to the beach. She is well-known for her famous egg sandwich, always requested but never duplicated. Cynthia adored being a “Ninny” and “Nana” to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Always showing support for her entire family, she was often found in the stands of ball elds, racetracks, and concerts cheering on her loved ones. Cynthia is loved and missed by all who knew her.

Cynthia is survived by her husband of 32 years, Toby Atkins of the home; daughter, Angie Borst (Justin) of Elon; stepdaughter, Wendy D. Pickett (Richie) of Siler City; stepson, Luke Atkins (Frances) of Randleman; step-daughter, Michelle Atkins of High Point; grandchildren, Jacob Borst, Cynthia Parnell, Blake Pickett (Alyssa), Austin Pickett (Marshall), Jordan Pickett, Payton Berreondo (Logan); four great-grandchildren; sister-inlaw, Delores Atkins (Denny) of Randleman. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her son, Jack “Butch” Parnell, III.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the doctors, nurses, and sta at Randolph Health for the love and care they provided for Cynthia and the family.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, from 1–1:50 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home in Randleman. Funeral service will begin at 2 p.m. in the Eddie Pugh Memorial Chapel with Preacher Randy Hobbs o ciating. Interment will follow at Randolph Memorial Park. Pugh Funeral Home in Randleman is honored to serve the Atkins family.

Ronald “Ron” William Summerlin

May 13, 1937 – June 26, 2025

Ronald “Ron” William Summerlin, age 88 of Randleman, passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at the Randolph Hospice House.

Ron was born on May 13, 1937, in Caldwell County to William and Wilda McGee Summerlin. Ron proudly served his country in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Upon returning from his service, he worked for 19 years and retired from Goodyear. After retiring from Goodyear, he obtained his CNA and worked 13 years at Woodland Hills Rehabilitation Center and ve years at Randolph Health. When he wasn’t working, Ron was an avid reader. He loved music and was a songwriter and singer.

In addition to his parents, Ron was preceded in death by three grandchildren, Elizabeth (Bu y) Miller, Jesse Sutphin and William Parks; and his sister, Jean (Keno) Smoot. Ron is survived by his wife of 47 years, Katherine Robinson Summerlin; daughters, Shannon Sutphin (Kenny), Deanna Sutphin (Bryan) and Darla Parks all of Randleman; six grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; six great-greatgrandchildren; a brother, Vern Ayers of South Carolina; a sister, Donita Durrence of Burlington; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, June 29, 2025, from 1:30–2:30 p.m. at Trinity Holiness Church, 5017 Plain eld Rd., Sophia, NC 27350. The funeral service will follow at 2:30 p.m. with Rev. Tim Cole o ciating. Burial will follow the service in the church cemetery. Military honors will be provided by the Randolph County Honor Guard.

Memorials may be made in Ron’s honor to Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Drive, Asheboro, NC 27203. Pugh Funeral Home is honored to serve the Summerlin family.

Marion Chriscoe Lyndon

May 30, 1947 – June 28, 2025

Marion Wayne Chriscoe Lyndon, 78, of Asheboro, passed away peacefully at Moses Cone Hospital on Saturday, June 28, 2025. Marion was born on May 30, 1947, in Randolph County to Winfred “Barney” and Palma Lee “Pam” Chriscoe. Marion was a precious mother, loving wife, wonderful Grammy, and Matriarch of the family. Marion was the backbone of our family, the shining light in a dark room, and the heart of our family.

A true lover of life’s simple joys, Marion could often be found trying her luck at the casino, where she lit up the room with her laughter and sharp sense of humor. If not at the casino, it is likely she is engaged in her favorite TV shows or eating a warm roll with some butter… and more butter stacked on top! She adored her loyal dachshund, Maggie, and her independent cat, Gibby, who brought her comfort and companionship every day. But above all, Marion lived for her family. Her children and grandchildren were her greatest joy, and she never missed a chance to brag about them, cheer them on, or wrap them in a hug that somehow made everything feel better. Her love was deep, unconditional, and unforgettable. Though we will miss her ery spirit, warm heart, and contagious smile, we take comfort in knowing she is nally at peace.

She is survived by her loving husband Ed Lyndon of Asheboro, son Derrick and wife Russelette Lyndon of Asheboro, daughter Tracy Smith of Raleigh, and three beautiful grandchildren Rebekah Smith, Zachary Smith, Hannah Ray, husband Landon, along with countless others whose lives she touched with her love and laughter.

She is preceded in death by her parents and two brothers: Eddie Lee Kennedy and David (Chigger) Smith Chriscoe. In lieu of owers, the family ask that donations be made to Randolph Shrine Club, P.O. Box 844, Asheboro, NC 27204, Venmo-RandolphShrineclub or Shriners Hospital for Children.

Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose

bronze

Eleanor “Elly” Walters

July 9, 1936 – June 25, 2025

Eleanor “Elly” Walters, 89 years young, treasured resident of Asheboro, NC, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Charlotte, NC. Elly exercised her independence for 88 years, but the last year took a toll on her health.

Elly was born and raised in the Richmond Hill district of San Francisco by Frank and Irene Donahoe. After the premature passing of her mother, Elly then “adopted/was adopted by” the Sheridan family, close friends from church.

Elly graduated from Lincoln High School in 1953, then attended San Francisco State University for two years. Elly relocated cross-country to Asheboro, NC, in 1967, making it her home. Elly enjoyed her long-term employment with the State of NC; rst with the Health Department and then as the Registrar with the NC Zoo. Elly loved her church of the Good Shepherd, making many friends over the years.

Elly is survived by her daughter, Sandie Green of Charlotte NC, daughter Janet Townsley of Stuart FL and son, Scott Walters and wife Dr. Park, Mi-Hyun of Daejeon, South Korea, She loved her grandchildren; Maddie, Spencer, Savannah, Brigid and Sarah and her three great- grandchildren; Cammy, Leighton and Vance. With words and deeds, she showed us the way to grow and be. Her strength, determination and sassiness reinforced building independence and individual development. Elly was wise and had the ability to solve any opportunity. All who knew her will miss her zest for life and willingness to lend a hand.

We will celebrate Elly’s life on Wednesday, July 9, at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 505 Mountain Rd. Asheboro, NC, at 2 p.m. with a reception to follow in the Parrish Hall.

spheres decorate prominent public spaces around world, dead at 98

Boutros BoutrosGhali, center, gives a push to Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro’s, right, “Sphere Within a Sphere” during its unveiling at the United Nations in 1996.

His shiny, smooth bronze globes are instantly recognizable

By Nicole Win eld The Associated Press

ROME — Arnaldo Pomodoro, one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary artists whose bronze spheres decorate iconic public spaces from the Vatican to the United Nations, has died at age 98, his foundation said.

Pomodoro died at home in Milan last Sunday, the eve of his 99th birthday, according to a statement from Carlotta Montebello, director general of the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation.

Pomodoro’s massive spheres are instantly recognizable: shiny, smooth bronze globes with clawed out interiors that Pomodoro has said referred to the super cial perfection of exteriors and the troubled complexity of interiors.

In a note of condolences, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said Pomodoro’s “wounded” spheres “speak to us today of the fragility and complexity of the human and the world.”

The Vatican’s sphere, which occupies a central place in the Pigna Courtyard of the Vati-

can Museums, features an internal mechanism that rotates with the wind. “In my work I see the cracks, the eroded parts, the destructive potential that emerges from our time of disillusionment,” the Vatican quoted Pomodoro as saying about its sphere.

The United Nations in New York received a 10-foot, eight-inch diameter “Sphere Within Sphere” sculpture as a gift from Italy in 1996. The U.N. sphere has refers to the coming of the new millennium, the U.N. said: “a smooth exterior womb erupted by complex interior forms,” and “a promise for the rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world,” Pomodoro said of it.

Other spheres are located at museums around the world and outside the Italian foreign ministry, which has the original work that Pomodoro created in 1966 for the Montreal Expo that began his monumental sculpture project. Pomodoro was born in Montefeltro, Italy, on June 23, 1926. In addition to his spheres, he designed theatrical sets, land projects and machines. He had multiple retrospectives and taught at Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley and Mills College, according to his biography on the foundation website.

MARK LENNIHAN / AP PHOTO

STATE & NATION

82-year-old Jewish

woman injured in Boulder rebomb attack dies

Diamond was hit by a Molotov cocktail on June 1

By Colleen Slevin and Mead Gruver

The Associated Press

DENVER — An 82-year-old Colorado woman who was injured in a Molotov cocktail attack on demonstrators in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza has died, prosecutors said Monday.

Karen Diamond died as a result of the severe injuries she su ered in the June 1 attack in downtown Boulder, Colorado, the local district attorney’s ofce said in a statement. Prosecutors have listed 29 victims, including 13 who were physically injured.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman already faced dozens of charges in state court including attempted rst-degree murder, using an incendiary device, and animal cruelty because a dog was hurt in the attack. He has not been arraigned on those charges that now include rst-degree murder.

The Associated Press left a

voicemail Monday for Soliman’s public defender in the state case. The o ce generally bars its lawyers from commenting on their cases to the media. A preliminary hearing to determine whether there’s enough evidence for a trial is set for July 15.

Separately, Soliman has been indicted on 12 federal hate crime counts. He entered a not guilty plea to those charges in federal court on Friday.

Leaders of the Boulder Jewish Community Center announced in an email Monday

that Diamond died June 25 and said she will be deeply missed.

“Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her,” executive director

Jonathan Lev and board chair David Paul said.

Diamond helped at her synagogue and volunteered for several local groups, including the University of Colorado University Women’s Club and a local music festival.

Gov. Jared Polis said in a

Rising summer heat increases risk of child deaths in hot cars

Some cars have new features to remind parents to be vigilant

By Freida Frisaro

The Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE,

Fla. — A record heat wave that spread across the East Coast of the United States during the rst week of summer has child advocates warning parents and caretakers about the risks of heatstroke to children left inside hot vehicles.

So far this year, nine children have died after being left unattended in vehicles in California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New Jersey and North Carolina, according to Kids and Car Safety, which collects data on hot car deaths. Five died in June.

And last year, 39 children in the U.S. died after being left in hot cars.

The temperature outside doesn’t have to be super hot for a child left in a vehicle to be affected by the heat, said Kathy Wall, director of Safe Kids Palm Beach County.

“Inside, the vehicle can heat up 20 degrees in just 20 minutes,” Wall said. “So if you imagine it’s an 80 degree day, which

in South Florida is a cool day, it could be over 100 degrees within 10 minutes inside the car.”

Hot car deaths can happen any time of year, and since 1998, every state but Alaska has reported a hot car death, accord-

ing to the National Safety Council. In both 2018 and 2019, a record 53 children died after being left in hot cars.

About 80% of the heat rise in vehicles happens in the rst 30 minutes of a child being left in-

“Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her.”

Boulder Jewish Community Center statement

statement Monday that he was devastated by Diamond’s death, and that it will be felt deeply by the city of Boulder, the state and the Jewish community.

“Karen was taken from us too soon, and we mourn her loss while remembering her life and the impact she had on those who loved her,” Polis said.

Prosecutors said Diamond’s family has asked for privacy.

Diamond and her husband were enthusiastic volunteers since the 1990s for a local historic preservation organization, Historic Boulder, Inc. The couple often helped with public tours of old homes, said Melanie Muckle, the organization’s administrator.

side, when maximum temperatures can exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit, according to data compiled by Jan Null, a certi ed consulting meteorologist at San Jose State University.

“Children sweat a lot less than adults do and their internal temperature can increase three to ve times faster than an adult. So that’s why it’s just as important to make sure that your child isn’t left in the vehicle, especially during these rising temperatures,” said Capt. Karen Derogatis of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

While it’s easy to place blame for leaving a child in a vehicle, even people trained to know the dangers have made that tragic mistake, Wall said.

“It’s not a socioeconomic group, it’s not a cultural group,” she said. “This sadly has happened to doctors, it’s happened to dentists, it happened to school teachers, it’s happened to child care workers. Nobody is exempt from this.”

Distraction often leads to forgetting about a child in the backseat, which is why it is important to create routines and reminders, she said.

“It sounds crazy, but sometimes people get out of routines or are distracted, especially in today’s world. There’s lots going on in the news, lots going with families,” she said.

A parent who normally doesn’t drop a child o at a day care facility might become distracted and forget that the child is in the vehicle, she said.

She encourages parents and caregivers to establish routines.

“Their generosity with their time and their talent and their kindness, I can’t overstate that,” Muckle said.

During the demonstration, Soliman posed as a gardener and wore a construction vest to get close to the group before launching the attack, prosecutors allege.

Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the participants at the weekly demonstration. He yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw just two of more than two dozen Molotov cocktails he had prepared.

Prosecutors have identi ed 29 people who are considered victims of the attack, including 13 who were physically injured. The others were nearby and are considered victims because they could have been hurt. A dog was also injured in the attack.

Prosecutors previously said there were 15 victims but the number has increased as investigators discovered more people who were at the scene.

The victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual national origin, prosecutors allege. An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.

Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a “legal citizen.” Federal authorities have said the Egyptian national has been living in the U.S. illegally with his family.

“We have an acronym, ACT,” Wall said.

A stands for avoiding leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.

C stands for creating a reminder that works best for you. Authorities suggest leaving a personal item such as a purse or briefcase in the backseat so you’ll have to open the back door before locking the vehicle.

T is to take action right away. “If you see a child in a car, don’t try to gure out how long they’ve been in the car. Call 911 immediately,” Wall said. Some newer cars o er warnings for drivers to check the backseat for passengers, and others go further than that. The new 2025 Tesla Model Y, for example, has an in-cabin radar that can detect an individual’s heart rate and breathing, even in the backseat.

If it detects a child left unattended, it can notify the driver through the Tesla smartphone app, automatically turn on the air conditioning and even call 911. Other carmakers, including Toyota, have demonstrated similar capabilities using in-vehicle sensors.

But double checking the vehicle is key, said Derogatis, the re captain.

“If you make it a common habit, just like you would look in their rear view mirror to see if somebody’s behind you, or if you look at your side view mirror to see if you want to switch lanes, make it habit to look in your rearview mirror, whether you have a child or an animal or anything, just to ensure that they are as safe as possible,” she said.

Karen

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO

A woman places a bouquet of owers at a makeshift memorial for victims of an attack outside of the Boulder County, Colorado, courthouse on June 3.

CODY JACKSON / AP PHOTO

Outside temperature is displayed in comparison to the inside temperature of a vehicle last Thursday in Belle Glade, Florida, during an event to raise awareness about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles.

RandolpH SPORTS

ZooKeepers players embrace another Asheboro summer

The idea of coming back for another dose of CPL in Randolph County appeals to some players

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — When it comes to playing baseball in Asheboro in a summer collegiate league, once isn’t enough for some players.

A second season with the Asheboro ZooKeepers was just what they ordered.

“I love the place. I love the

host family I’m staying with,” out elder Davis Germann said.

“I love the coaches. They treat me with so much respect, and I knew some of the guys were going to be back here that I made really good friendships with, so that’s kind of what drove me to be back here.”

In elder Nick O’Brien only spent about a month in Asheboro last year because a wrist injury caused a premature end to his summer baseball. But that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm from what he experienced.

“I had a great time, so I was pumped to get back here,”

Nick

O’Brien said. “I got a little glimpse of it, and I loved it. I wanted to come back.”

Germann, a rising redshirt junior at Morehead State, and O’Brien, a rising junior at Pennsylvania, are among several

The two teams based in Randolph County have been among the best in Area 3 games

Randolph Record sta

ASHEBORO — Randolph County Post 45 and Liberty Post 81 are the top teams in the Area 3 North Division for American Legion baseball.

They were to play Tuesday night at Eastern Randolph High School as part of the nal week of the regular season.

The Area 3 playo s are slated to begin this weekend.

Post 45 had another strong week, belting Moore County Post 12 by 10-0 scores on back-to-back days this weekend.

Randolph County began its latest stretch by winning 6-2 last week against Post 81 at McCrary Park in Asheboro.

Zack Scruggs drove in three runs, while Ethan Willard, who tripled, and Caleb Coggins each scored two runs for Post 45.

Randolph County pitchers Lincoln Coble and Tate Andrews handled the pitching. Mark King drove in both runs for Post 81.

Then Post 45 su ered a 5-4 loss in nine innings to visiting

ZooKeepers who are returnees from the 2024 team. Getting a call from the ZooKeepers was well received.

“They were the ones to reach back out to me, and I was really honored by that,” Germann said.

The Coastal Plain League outpost seems like the right place.

“I think the biggest thing was I wanted to play competitive baseball again, and I knew exactly what this league was about,” Germann said. “I knew coming back I was going to be more comfortable because

that’s a big thing in baseball being comfortable in your environment. I knew I was going to be able to have that.”

O’Brien said he got the same vibe a year ago. He’s hoping that professional scouts will make regular rounds to ZooKeepers games.

“It’s a great league,” he said. “I’m playing great competition, getting better.”

For O’Brien, having coach Korey Dunbar at the helm was a selling point. If Dunbar is around for another season, might as well join him.

“It helps knowing the head coach, being comfortable where I am and trusting him,” O’Brien said. “He’s a very competitive guy, and I think that installs competitive into me, too. Playing baseball, you want to be as competitive as possible. I want to play at the next level. I think

Hamlet Post 49 after posting a seventh-inning run to extend the game. Grat Dalton hit a home run for Randolph County, while Braxton Walker took the loss in relief. That was followed with a 5-3

triumph at Chatham County Post 305, with Willard homering to lead o the game as part of his three-hit night. Sean Jennison pitched six innings and

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Yariel Diaz is among several members of the Asheboro ZooKeepers who are back this summer for a second season with the Coastal Plain League team.

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD Liberty Post 81 right elder Bryson Marley tracks a y ball during a game last week.

Alexis Marion

Alexis Marion was a goalkeeper for Uwharrie Charter Academy.

Uwharrie Charter Academy, girls’

soccer

Marion provided the nal line of defense as goalkeeper for UCA’s Piedmont Athletic Conference championship team.

The Eagles had a 12-0 record in PAC play and a 16-4 overall mark. In those results, UCA notched 11 shutouts.

Based on statistics posted by the school, Marion was credited with 10.2 saves per game during her senior season.

Marion has indicated the intent to attend Carolina University in Winston-Salem and play soccer.

During the summer, we recognize seniors from the past school year.

Randolph Record sta

HERE’S A LIST of the Piedmont Athletic Conference’s major award winners and all-conference selections for spring sports.

BASEBALL

Player of the Year: Braxton Walker (Randleman)

Pitcher of the Year: Logun Wilkins (UCA)

Coach of the Year: Jake Smith (Randleman)

All-conference

Randleman: Tate Andrews, John Kirkpatrick, Lincoln Lawson, Jake Riddle, Braxton Walker

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Jake Hunter, Jose Ramirez, Brett Smith, Logun Wilkins

Wheatmore: Caleb Coggins, Rowan Wagner

Wheatmore: Natalie Bowman, Alexis Holi eld, Jocelyn McDowell, Nora Parton, Ashley Swaney

Providence Grove: Kaylan Currin, Alia Shaw, Rylee Stover, Taryn Waugh, Anna Winstead

Randleman: Emily Jaramillo Avila, Kendall Fortson

Trinity: Kelsey Albert, Deanna Cobb, Katelyn Hill

Southwestern Randolph: Ashlynn Harbor, Kayla Hernandez

Eastern Randolph: Cora Sparrow

SOFTBALL

Co-Players of the Year: Addyson Dees (Randleman), Alyssa Harris (Southwestern Randolph)

Pitcher of the Year: Macie Crutch eld (Southwestern Randolph)

BOYS’ TRACK AND FIELD

Most Valuable Track

Athlete: Chase Farlow (Randleman)

Most Outstanding Runner: Dakota Ludwick (Wheatmore)

Most Outstanding Field Event Participant: Ty Moton (Randleman)

Coach of the Year: Marty Collinson (Randleman)

All-conference

Randleman: Matthew Bowman, Tristan Chriscoe, Chase Farlow, Freddy Mercado, Ty Moton, Bryson Nall, Jay Richards, Izaiah Troxler.

Wheatmore: Finley Bryant, Ayden Fitzgerald, Seth Hollern, Dakota Ludwick, Daylan Ludwick, Kase Wilson

victories in two 50-lap features.

Henriksen edged Mason Walters and former NASCAR Cup winner Jeremy May eld in the rst feature. Jamie Mosley and Bob Schacht rounded out the top ve.

The second race was tight as Henriksen held o May eld by less than one second. Mosely was third, followed by Walters and Bobby East.

• In UCARs, substitute driver Daniel Hughes lled in for Jeremy Kidd and prevailed in the rst of two 12-lap features in a tight nish with Ron Mock. Jimmy Cooper, Tito Clapp and Justin Smith were next. Mock improved a spot to win

the second feature, with Cooper, Hughes, Smith and Zack Moore in the news few positions.

• The Crown Vic division winners were Steven Collins and Dean Levi. The runners-up were Brandon Mock and Christian Morris.

• The women’s-only Powder Pu race was one by Erica Collins, who survived the 10-ap competition.

Saturday’s race card was the rst of three across an eight-day stretch.

Wednesday night is the CARS Tour as part of the Firecracker 265. Then comes Saturday night’s Rusty Harpe Memorial with SMART Modi eds, Limited Lake Models and Carolina Crate Modi eds.

Trinity: Lincoln Coble, Gage Gri ths, Brody Little, Ethan Willard

Southwestern Randolph: Brady Arm eld, Carson Coltrane, Zack Scruggs

Providence Grove: Canaan Sheppard, Andrew Thomas

Eastern Randolph: Cade McCallum, Will Stalker

BOYS’ GOLF

Golfer of the Year: Ryan Marshall (Wheatmore)

Coach of the Year: Austin Davis (UCA)

All-conference

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Coen Branson, Maddox Johnson, Will Thompson

Wheatmore: Ryan Marshall, Nathan Pope

Providence Grove: Brady Collins, Cooper Wright

Eastern Randolph: Emmitt Frye, Tyler Gee

Trinity: Bo Earnhardt

GIRLS’ SOCCER

O ensive Player of the Year: Taryn Waugh (Providence Grove)

Defensive of the Year: Abbie Gudino (UCA)

Coach of the Year: Frankie Aguilar (UCA)

All-conference

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Reese Craven, Destiny Fisher, Abbie Gudino, Kendal Jarrell, Alexis Marion, Jazmin Palma, Laken Sexton

Coach of the Year: Toby Strider (Southwestern Randolph)

All-conference

Southwestern Randolph: Macie Crutch eld, Kami Dunn, Alyssa Harris, Nautica Parrish, Maddie Strider

Randleman: Olivia Ashby, Addyson Dees, Kadie Green, Kinzie Ivey, Kaylee Phillips

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Bristol Marine, Emory Johnson, Carly Rush, Katelyn West

Providence Grove: Ziemba Campbell, Ruby Caudle, Callie Lamber, Lara Wiseman

Wheatmore: Savannah Heiney, Maddie Nichols

Eastern Randolph: Wynne Bartholow, Trinity Hardin

BOYS’ TENNIS

Player of the Year: Silas Jessup (Wheatmore)

Coach of the Year: Stephen Owen (Southwestern Randolph)

All-conference

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Aiden Allred, Colton Bryant, Cadence Butler, Gavin Charlesworth, Cole Koenig, Evan Morrin

Southwestern Randolph: Rodolfo Fiscal, Jaxon Owen, Brayden Tyl

Wheatmore: Silas Jessup

Trinity: Kwame Mathole

Providence Grove: Micah Oates, Caleb Ward

Randleman: Ivan Collazo

Providence Grove: Malachi Combo, Tucker Layton, Jackson Rhyne, Aiden Shelton, Nick Straughn, Conner Tozier

Southwestern Randolph: Owen Whelan

Trinity: Andrew Cox, Riley Foster, Giovanni Jaimes, Tommy Smithers.

Eastern Randolph: James Combs, Malachi Dunn, Caden Revelle, Kobe Walker

GIRLS’ TRACK AND FIELD

Most Valuable Track

Athlete: Gracie Beane (Randleman)

Outstanding Runner: Laurel Bernhardt (Providence Grove)

Outstanding Field Event Participant: Mirianna Corea (Eastern Randolph)

Coach of the Year: William Poole (Randleman)

All-conference

Randleman: Gracie Beane, Janiya Brooks, K’Mya Hickman, Ava Jones, Jacquline McDaniel, Kagan Schrimsher, Nadia Sturdivant, Alexis Vaughn

Providence Grove: Laurel Bernhardt, Lyndsay Browder, Dakota Cockman, Abigail Lewis, Bryauna Wood

Wheatmore: Emma Davidson, Olivia Hildreth, Scarlett Hildreth, Lydia Madison, Kahmarii McNeil

Southwestern Randolph: Gracie Hodgin, Kiersten Littell, Rhylea Maness

Trinity: Judith Davis, Kayla Franklin, Leyla Martinez, Aubrey Yow

Eastern Randolph: Mirianna Corea

COURTESY PHOTO

CARAWAY from page A1

PJ WARD-BROWN/RANDOLPH RECORD

Southwestern Randolph’s Macie Crutch eld res a pitch during the past softball season.

Randleman alum Brannon moves to Double-A

The Boston Red Sox minor leaguer has gradually risen in the organization

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

FORMER Randleman

catcher Brooks Brannon has moved up a level within the Boston Red Sox organization.

Brannon was promoted from the Class A Greenville Drive to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs last week. He had a double in his debut with Portland against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in the Eastern League.

Brannon, 21, was a ninth-round pick in the 2022 draft.

Brannon batted .270 with

if I continue to be competitive and put pressure on myself, I’m going to continue to get better. I also love winning too.”

O’Brien considers his primary position to be shortstop, though he played as a third baseman this year for Penn. Perhaps some of his 2024 Asheboro teammates noticed that situation.

“I kept in contact with some of those guys, and I would look online to see how they were doing in their spring,” Germann said of the connections that formed. “I’m interested because they’re my friends now, guys I’m going to remember forever.”

For O’Brien, there’s another connection to the ZooKeepers. His host family is Katie and

Brett Smith worked the seven for Post 45’s pitching.

Walker homered for the rst time in Saturday night’s home game against Moore County, and then the next night in the rematch, he threw a one-hit shutout in a ve-inning game.

Post 45 had ve extra-base hits Sunday.

Post 45 was scheduled for three North Division II matchups across a ve-day stretch this week.

ve home runs and 31 runs batted in across 55 South Atlantic League games with the Drive. Among the highlights

Eric Heskett, who’ve housed Penn players for years.

“That’s also another reason I came back,” he said. “I stayed there last year. … I did get comfortable.”

Likewise, Germann said he was happy to be back with his host family, Cathy and John Grey.

Utility player Sal Laimo is another second-year member of the ZooKeepers. He said his host family, Ellen and Bob Brisley, have made it a comfortable setting. He’s making an o season transition as a college transfer from Barton to USC Aiken, but there was no reason to change his summer address.

“One of the main reasons I came back, I really wanted to win here for the coaches and the owners,” Laimo said.

For Dunbar, who’s responsi-

Post 81 hits rough patch

Post 81 dropped a game behind Randolph County in the loss column with Sunday’s 7-1 road setback to Hamlet. Liberty, which could have clinched at least a second-place tie in the division during the weekend, had won its rst seven division games before the back-toback setbacks. In the Hamlet game, the lone hit came on Noah Madren’s six-inning home run.

this week in history

America declares independence, Fourteenth Amendment rati ed, Jim Morrison dies at 27

JULY 3

1775: Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1863: The pivotal threeday Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops failed to breach Union positions during an assault known as Pickett’s Charge.

1944: Soviet forces recaptured Minsk from the Germans during World War II.

1971: Singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris at age 27.

JULY 4

1776: The Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

1802: The United States Military Academy o cially opened at West Point, New York.

1817: Construction of the Erie Canal began in Rome, New York.

1826: Former presidents John Adams and Thomas Je erson both died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

was a two-homer, ve-RBI home game against the Winston-Salem Dash.

So in less than three years as a member of the Boston organization, Brannon has represented teams from Florida to Maine. He rst played for the Florida Complex League club in 2022 following the draft. He was in Salem, Virginia, for chunks of the past two seasons before beginning this season with the South Carolina-based Drive.

The Sea Dogs return home to Maine on Friday for the start of a nine-game homestand, facing the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to begin that stretch.

Brannon played for Class 2A state championship teams with Randleman in 2021 and 2022.

ble for putting together the roster, having returning players can be a bonus.

“It makes my job a lot easier,” Dunbar said. “They know what to expect and they can kind of police the rest of them.”

The ZooKeepers have been one of the CPL’s top teams this season. That’s a good way to build more memories.

“I think the culture here is great,” O’Brien said. “I love the team. The guys on the team are great.”

So even though for many of the players the time together was just a couple of months last year, that has been an idea bridge to another summer of baseball at McCrary Park.

“We were able to talk about our spring seasons when we came back,” Germann said. “It was like we never left.”

Bryson Marley took the loss.

Post 81 got o to a good start last week by defeating Hamlet 6-2 in the completion of a suspended game and later that night topping visiting Aberdeen Post 72 by 8-7.

Lucas Smith was the winning pitcher in both of those games, while Cade McCallum and Marley each picked up a save.

Against Aberdeen, Eli Holland drove in two runs and Mason Taylor and King each scored two runs.

1855: The rst edition of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” was published.

JULY 5

1687: Isaac Newton rst published his “Principia Mathematica,” outlining his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.

1811: Venezuela became the rst South American country to declare independence from Spain. 1852: Frederick Douglass delivered his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” in Rochester, New York. 1975: Arthur Ashe became

the rst black man to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating Jimmy Connors.

1996: Dolly the sheep, the rst mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, was born in Scotland.

JULY 6

1483: England’s King Richard III was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

1933: The rst All-Star baseball game was played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park; the American League defeated the National League 4–2 behind winning pitcher Lefty Gomez of the New York Yankees.

Arthur Ashe, right, shakes hands with Jimmy Connors after defeating him in the nal match of the men’s singles championship at Wimbledon in England on July 5, 1975.

AP PHOTO

1957: Althea Gibson became the rst black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6–3, 6–2.

JULY 7

1846: U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.

1930: Construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).

1948: Six female U.S. Navy reservists became the rst women to be sworn in to the regular Navy.

1981: President Ronald Rea-

gan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to become the rst female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

JULY 8

1776: Col. John Nixon gave the rst public reading of the Declaration of Independence, outside the State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia.

1853: An expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.

1889: The rst issue of The Wall Street Journal was published.

JULY 9

1868: The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was rati ed, granting citizenship and “equal protection under the laws” to anyone “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people.

1896: William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

1918: A train collison killed 101 people in Nashville, Tennessee — the deadliest rail disaster in U.S. history.

COURTESY PHOTO

Brooks Brannon

POST 45 from page B1

ZOOKEEPERS from page B1

Bassist Carol Kaye declining Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ‘permanently’

Her credits include major hits by the Beach Boys and the Monkees

By Andrew Dalton and Hillel Italie

Associated Press

The

NEW YORK — Carol Kaye, a proli c and revered bassist who played on thousands of songs in the 1960s, including hits by the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and Barbra Streisand, told The Associated Press last Friday that she wants no part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“I’ve declined the rrhof. Permanently,” the 90-year-old Kaye said in an email to the AP. She said she has sent a letter to the Hall saying the same thing.

Her remarks come two days after a Facebook post — since deleted — in which she said “NO I won’t be there. I am declining the RRHOF awards show.”

Kaye was set to be inducted in November in a class that

“I’m turning it down because it wasn’t something that re ects the work that Studio Musicians do and did in the golden era of the 1960s Recording Hits.”

Carol Kaye

also includes Joe Cocker, Chubby Checker and Cyndi Lauper. She said in her deleted post that she was “turning it down because it wasn’t something that re ects the work that Studio Musicians do and did in the golden era of the 1960s Recording Hits.”

Kaye’s credits include the bass lines on Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound,” the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.”

Along with drummer Hal Blaine and guitarist Tommy

Tedesco, she was part of a core of heavily used studio musicians that Blaine later dubbed “The Wrecking Crew.”

Kaye hated the name and suggested in her Facebook post that her association with it was part of the reason for declining induction.

“I was never a ‘wrecker’ at all,” she wrote, “that’s a terrible insulting name.”

Kaye’s inductee page on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website makes no mention of the moniker.

Hall representatives had no immediate comment.

Many artists have been inducted in their absence or after their death, and in 2006 the Sex Pistols became Hall of Famers despite rejecting their induction.

In 2022, Dolly Parton initially declined her induction, saying someone more associated with rock ‘n’ roll should get the honor. But she was convinced to change her mind and embrace the honor.

Carol

has declined an initiation for induction into the

BOOK REVIEW

Wally Lamb explores human cruelty, grace in prison with ‘The River is Waiting’

By Anita Snow The Associated Press

CORBY LEDBETTER is in trouble.

In Wally Lamb’s new novel, “The River Is Waiting,” Corby has lost his job as a commercial artist and has developed a secret addiction to alcohol and pills, setting him on a dangerous path that leads to an unfathomable tragedy.

Corby starts staying at home during the day with his twin toddlers — one boy and one girl — while his wife works as the family’s sole breadwinner. Lying to his spouse that he’s looking for a job, he starts his mornings drinking hard liquor mixed with his prescription pills for anxiety, leaving him incapable of properly caring for the children he loves.

A tragic mix up one morning results in the death of Corby’s young son when he accidentally drives over the boy in their driveway. Devastated by the loss of little Niko, Corby now also faces a three-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

“The River Is Waiting” is Lamb’s rst novel in nine years and a new chance to explore hu-

man imperfection as he did in earlier best-selling novels that included “She’s Come Undone,” about an obese adolescent girl awash in depression, and “I Know This Much Is True,” the story of a man ghting to protect his paranoid schizophrenic twin brother. Oprah Winfrey announced that she picked “The River Is Waiting” for her book club, the third time she’s selected a Lamb book. Almost all the action in Lamb’s latest book plays out in prison, an ideal setting to examine the worst and best of humanity. The author taught writing workshops for incarcerated women over two decades, an experience that has helped him to draw a vivid picture of life behind bars, with all its indignities and a few acts of grace. While Corby is tormented by two excessively cruel guards, he also befriends the prison li-

SOLUTIONS FOR THIS WEEK

Wally Lamb, author of “The River is Waiting” speaks at Book Expo America in New York in 2013.

brarian, who shares book recommendations and homemade cookies with inmates who stop by. She even encourages him to paint a mural on the library wall. Several other prisoners also become friends, including a kind cellmate who looks out for him. Corby later tries to look out for someone else — a severely troubled young inmate who shouldn’t have been locked up with hardened criminals. During his imprisonment, Corby worries about whether his beloved wife, Emily, and their daughter, Maisie, can ever forgive him. But the experience hasn’t left him especially enlightened. At the end, Corby remains mostly a self-centered guy. He’s no hero and there’s no big epiphany. Like the protagonists in Lamb’s earlier novels, he is utterly human, failings and all.

TONY DEJAK / AP PHOTO

Bassist

Kaye

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Oprah has picked three of the author’s novels for her book club

MARK LENNIHAN / AP PHOTO

famous birthdays this week

The Associated Press THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.

JULY 3

Attorney Gloria Allred is 84. Actor Kurtwood Smith is 82. Country singer Johnny Lee is 79. Humorist Dave Barry is 78. Actor Betty Buckley is 78. Talk show host Montel Williams is 69. Actor Tom Cruise is 63.

JULY 4

Actor Eva Marie Saint is 101. Queen Sonja of Norway is 88. Actor Karolyn Grimes (“It’s a Wonderful Life”) is 84. Broadcast journalist Geraldo Rivera is 82.

JULY 5

Julie Nixon Eisenhower is 77. Rock star Huey Lewis is 75. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rich “Goose” Gossage is 74. NFL Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton is 69. Cartoonist Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) is 67. Actor Edie Falco is 62.

JULY 6

Singer Gene Chandler is 85. Actor Burt Ward (“Batman”) is 80. Actor Fred Dryer is 79. Actor Sylvester Stallone is 79. Actor Geoffrey Rush is 74. Rapper-actor 50 Cent is 50.

JULY 7

Bandleader Doc Severinsen is 98. Drummer Ringo Starr is 85. . Actor Joe Spano is 79. Singer David Hodo (the construction worker) of The Village People is 78.

JULY 8

Drummer Jaimoe Johanson of The Allman Brothers is 81. Actor Je rey Tambor is 81.

Children’s singer Ra is 77. Actor Anjelica Huston is 74. Actor Kevin Bacon is 67. Actor Billy Crudup is 57. Singer Beck is 55.

JULY 9

Singer Dee Dee Kenniebrew of The Crystals is 80. Author Dean Koontz

the stream

Ryan Coogler’s

‘Sinners,’ ‘SharkFest,’

John

Cena teams up with Idris Elba

Kesha drops “.” (pronounced “period”) on July 4th

The Associated Press

KESHA ENJOYING her freedom on her rst new album since she left her old label and Ryan Coogler’s guts-spilling vampire lm “Sinners,” are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time: Charlize Theron in “The Old Guard 2” on Net ix, National Geographic’s 25-hour “SharkFest” and John Cena playing a U.S. president opposite Idris Elba as the UK’s prime minister in the comedy “Heads of State.”

MOVIES TO STREAM

Coogler’s “Sinners,” arguably the movie of the year up to this point, begins streaming Friday on Max. With $363.8 million in worldwide ticket sales, Coogler’s supernatural thriller is one of the most successful original lms of the last two decades. It stars Michael B. Jordan as a pair of twins who return to their hometown to open a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi. Vampires, and other dark forces, intrude on their plans. In her review, AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote: “How Coogler pulls everything o at once — and makes it cohere, mostly — is a sight to see.”

The wait has been long for “The Old Guard 2” (Net ix), a sequel to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2020 streaming hit starring Theron as a member of a team of centuries-old mercenaries. In “The Old Guard 2,” shot all the way back in 2022, Victoria Mahoney takes over as director, while Theron returns as Andy, a warrior who has now lost her immortality.

In “Heads of State” (now on Prime Video), Cena plays the president of the United States and Elba plays the prime minister of the United Kingdom. What could go wrong? In Ilya Naishuller’s comedy, the two

are hunted by the same adversary. Elba’s politician, a former commando, is better prepared than Cena’s president, a former action movie star. A Zambian family funer-

al unearths a dark past and an anguished reckoning in Rungano Nyoni’s beguiling “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (Max on Friday). Nyoni’s follow-up to the equally compelling “I Am Not a Witch,” AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr wrote in her review, “cements the exciting arrival of a true lmmaker.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

Kesha is a free agent. On Independence Day, she’ll self-release “.” (pronounced “Period”), her rst new full-length album since her departure from RCA and the Dr. Luke-founded Kemosabe Records in 2023. That year, the pop star and the producer settled nearly a decade of suits and countersuits over her accusation that he drugged and raped her and his claim that she made it up and defamed him. Across the 11-track release, Kesha is clearly enjoying some newfound freedoms: “.” is a stu ed with throwback, ebullient pop, like the sultry “JOYRIDE.,” the country-and-

western-themed “YIPPEE-KIYAY.” and the bighearted power ballad “DELUSIONAL.”

SERIES TO STREAM

After a successful season 2, the cast of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” gather for their rst reunion episode on Hulu. #MomTok has a lot to hash out including in delity rumors and accusations of clout-chasing. Nick Viall, a podcaster and former star of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” hosts the special streaming now.

Net ix has a documentary previewing its upcoming Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano ght at Madison Square Garden. “Countdown: Taylor Vs. Serrano,” debuts Thursday and is narrated by Uma Thurman. It will show Taylor and Serrano as they train and prepare for their third match.

A number of n-tastic programs about sharks stream in July. Net ix o ers a new reality competition show called “All the Sharks” debuting on Friday. Four teams of shark experts compete to locate and photograph the most number of sharks. The winners get $50,000 for their favorite marine charity.

National Geographic has compiled more than 25 hours of television for its annual SharkFest which begins streaming Sunday on Disney+ and Hulu. In the docuseries, “Investigation Shark Attack,” scientists attempt to pinpoint what causes a shark to attack. “Super Shark Highway” follows researchers as they track sharks along migration routes in the waters o Australia. The goal is to nd ways for sharks and humans to coexist in the busy ocean.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY Giant robots! Maybe you like the kind that can stomp across a city, crushing o ce buildings under their huge metal feet. Or you prefer the ones who can y above the chaos, unleashing missiles at each other. Perhaps you’d rather have your mech just hang back and perform maintenance on the ones taking the most damage. Whatever your choice, Mecha Break, from China’s Amazing Seasun Games, hopes to have you covered. It’s a multiplayer slugfest with 3 vs. 3, 6 vs. 6 and human vs. AI scenarios. You can start building your dream bot on Xbox X/S and PC.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES VIA AP

“Sinners,” starring Michael B. Jordan, left, and Miles Caton, lands on Max on July 4.

CHIBESA MULUMBA / A24 VIA AP

Susan Chardy stars in “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” streaming on Max July 4.

KESHA RECORDS VIA AP

Kesha’s new record, “.” (pronounced “period”), comes out this week.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in Rowan County with manufacturing investment

Salisbury

The electronics company

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in central North Carolina by building a new manufacturing plant. The company is investing $500 million toward a facility to support cloud computing and arti cial intelligence data centers. O cials announced Monday that the facility will be in Rowan County, northeast of Charlotte. The project includes a $264 million capital investment and 1,181 jobs by the end of 2030. North Carolina competed with Florida for the project and o ered more than $21 million in incentives. Jabil already operates three facilities in the state, employing about 1,000 workers.

Paramount will pay

$16M in settlement with Trump over “60 Minutes” interview

New York

Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump over the editing of CBS’ “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October. Paramount, which owns CBS, says the money will go to Trump’s future presidential library, not to the Republican president himself. Paramount also says the settlement doesn’t involve an apology.

Chimney Rock State Park opens for rst time after Helene

The area was one of the hardest hit by the hurricane

The Associated Press

CHIMNEY ROCK

— An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public last Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic ooding, destruction and loss of life.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other o cials attended a reopening ceremony at Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 25 miles southeast of Asheville. The main portion of the park will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make

reservations, Stein’s o ce said. Stein also signed into law before the ceremony’s crowd another state Helene recovery

bill nalized by the General Assembly on Thursday that sends $700 million to the state’s Helene relief fund and appro -

I-40 reopens faster than expected after latest rock slide, ooding

The troublesome corridor in Pigeon River Gorge was damaged in Helene

The Associated Press

HARTFORD, Tenn. — Crews on Friday reopened a section of Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains after ooding and a rock slide closed the major cross country highway for nine days.

The highway was already undergoing major repairs from massive damage and washouts during Hurricane Helene last fall and is down to one lane in each direction in far western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

About 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain fell in the area over about three hours on June 18, swamp -

priates $500 million of that. And Stein announced a new tourism campaign to encourage travel and spending in the North Carolina mountains.

“Today’s reopening is a huge achievement,” Stein told attendees. “Chimney Rock is just one of the many places that make western North Carolina unforgettable.”

Last September’s storm swept away the ornate stone and concrete bridge across the Broad River to reach the portion of the park that contains the 315-foot high geological formation that’s shaped in keeping with the park’s name. The park, which also features hiking trails and other amenities, usually attracts 400,000 people annually.

ing I-40 around Exit 451 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North Carolina, o cials said.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation originally thought I-40 would be closed until July 3.

The damaged section is part of 12 miles of I-40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that were washed away or heavily damaged by ooding that roared through the Pigeon River gorge during Hurricane Helene in late September.

Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in March. The lanes are separated by a curb several inches high.

The permanent x to stabilize what is left of the road will involve driving long steel rods into bedrock below the highway, lling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cli face to hold them in place. It will take years.

I-40 runs from Wilmington on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Barstow, California.

THE HOKE COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH

WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Rock mountain in 2019.

Gov. Josh Stein and rst lady Anna Stein take in the view from Chimney Rock State Park at the reopening of the park last week.

THURSDAY

7.3.25

WEEKLY FORECAST

THURSDAY

3

4

The space rock, about the size of a shopping cart, was caught by dash and doorbell cams

By Je Martin The Associated Press

ATLANTA — More than 200 people across a half-dozen southern U.S. states have now reported witnessing a mysterious object streak across the sky last Thursday, and the nation’s space agency now believes it was a remarkably bright meteor known as a bolide.

Most sightings of the streak

PARK from page A1

A road had to be paved and a temporary bridge made from old railroad cars was laid over the river.

The reopening provides needed encouragement to those in adjoining Chimney Rock Village, where a third of the hamlet’s businesses were destroyed as river waters removed buildings from their foundations.

of light and reball came from Georgia and South Carolina around 12:30 p.m., according to a report from the National Weather Service o ce in Peachtree City, Georgia.

NASA determined that it was about the size of a shopping cart as it streaked through the sky. Scientists were able to track the meteor’s path after analyzing eyewitness accounts, images from cameras and data from satellites and weather radar.

The meteor was rst spotted over Oxford, Georgia, as it moved southwest across the sky, according to Bill Cooke, a

“It almost wiped us o the map,” village Mayor Peter O’Leary said on Friday. “The village knew one thing that was of utmost importance to our survival. We had to have Chimney Rock State Park open again.”

Some village businesses are reopening.

Before Friday’s bill signing, the General Assembly already had appropriated or reallocat-

scientist at NASA’s Meteoroid Environments O ce in Huntsville, Alabama.

It broke apart over the small community of West Forest, Georgia, “unleashing an energy of about 20 tons of TNT,” Cooke said in a statement. That created booms heard by many residents in the area.

The meteor falling to the ground was detected by multiple weather radars, and many meteorites are believed to be on the ground in the Blacksville, Georgia area, NASA said. As of last Friday afternoon, at least 215 reports of the object have poured into the Ameri-

ed more than $1.6 billion for Helene recovery.

The new Helene law is the fth relief package approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly since last fall. The Democratic governor said he’s still seeking direct aid for small businesses and more funds for a ordable housing.

But he was still pleased with the legislature’s action.

“We have a lot of work to do,

can Meteor Society with many people expressing wonder and amazement in their reports.

“It was a bright reball,” a woman in Bethlehem, Georgia, wrote.

“It did have a bright tail that disappeared with it, and left behind a smoke trail,” she added. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

A resident of Henry County, Georgia, reported a rock coming through their roof around the time they heard the sonic boom from the reball. It left behind a hole in the ceiling about the size of a golf ball and a crack in a laminate oor at the home southeast of Atlanta, according to the National Weather Service o ce in Peachtree City, Georgia.

“We are presuming that a piece of the object fell through their roof,” the NWS said in a brief statement on social media.

but it’s also good to take stock and recognize that today is a good day,” Stein said.

The governor is also seeking more federal funds for Helene recovery beyond the billions already received by the state and by those harmed by the storm. State o cials say the storm caused more than 100 deaths in North Carolina and generated roughly $60 billion in damages and needs.

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | MIKE GONZALEZ

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Trump’s culture war o ensive is working

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month.

THE PAST MONTH has seen bold advances in President Donald Trump’s crusade to recapture cultural ground that the left had conquered in recent decades. Whether on museums, media or universities, the president is on the o ensive and the left is in retreat.

Two weeks ago alone saw advances on two fronts: a congressional win against NPR and PBS, and a retreat by the Smithsonian.

The House of Representatives’ 214-212 vote on June 12 to rescind $1.1 billion that Congress had already appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonpro t that distributes taxpayer money to NPR, PBS and public radio and television stations, was a milestone. The tightness of the vote reveals the stakes.

Ever since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act authorizing the CPB in 1967, every Republican president and Congress has tried to bring public broadcasting to heel.

But all e orts have failed. Democrats have voted in unison to protect their interests, and thus those of NPR and PBS, and enough Republicans have thought, “Well, PBS may give my party 85% negative coverage, but if I vote for it, my local station will spare me.”

The June 12 vote saw four of those, but not enough to save the broadcasters’ bacon this time. The rescission package now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 advantage. That still won’t make it a cakewalk, and timid senators will nd any excuse not to take a stand on an important issue.

But Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), lead Senate sponsor of the rescissions package, told Punchbowl, “I think broadly there’s a lot of agreement that we need to move forward on it.”

Eliminating public funding for NPR and PBS is an important step in the cultural reconquista. The left uses both institutions to tear down America’s cultural and historical narrative and put in place a distorted counternarrative. And, of course, the left funds this with money from every American taxpayer.

Another such institution is the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum complex, with 21 museums and 14 educational and research centers. Trump in March issued an executive order that, right at the start, identi ed the problem: “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread e ort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” Museums, added the order, “should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination.”

It instructed Vice President JD Vance to “e ectuate the policies of this order through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents.”

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month. Vance worked the room with a mixture of persuasion and outright pressure, according to published reports from the always-secretive meeting, and he got results.

Initial reports emphasized how the board had circled the wagons around Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, under whom much of the wokeness has come in, and rebu ed Trump’s ring of National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet.

But Sajet was gone in a matter of days, resigning “on her own.” Bunch put out a statement thanking her for putting the Smithsonian’s interests “above her own.”

The Smithsonian also agreed to conduct a wide audit of all its content to eliminate biased material and perhaps even personnel.

Then, it emerged that Bunch emailed sta to admit to bias.

“On occasion, some of our work has not aligned with our institutional values of scholarship, evenhandedness and nonpartisanship,” he wrote. “For that, we must all work to do better.”

Even better, in his budget request to Congress, Trump asked the legislature not to fund the Smithsonian’s creation of a Latino museum. Early exhibits of the planned museum revealed that the left will use it as an

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard brings back meritocracy

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted.

TWO YEARS AGO, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by ruling that universities could no longer use a rmative action to determine admissions for students.

In the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court explained in the majority opinion that the color of a student’s skin can no longer determine his or her entry into a school.

When ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) in a companion case, the court decided in a majority 6-3 opinion that using a student’s race to determine admissions is in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that a student “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual” rather than race. The admissions process for both schools were seen as penalizing Asian American students.

While the process for universities to fully correct course to abide by the decision may take several years, the results are already positive with meritocracy appearing to return to the forefront of academia in America.

In the time since the Supreme Court’s decision, several prominent universities have already adopted new admissions processes as well as now requiring students to submit standardized testing scores once again with their applications.

At Harvard University, admissions previously had optional writing components where potential students could write about topics pertaining to them and their interests or experiences with their identity. After the court’s ruling, the school altered the questions asked to applicants. The school then reinstated the submission of standardized test scores as mandatory for applicants applying for the fall 2025 semester.

Other prominent universities have also

reinstated standardized test scores for their admissions. Dartmouth College was the rst Ivy League school to require SAT or ACT scores again after the ruling. Yale, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania are among those that followed suit. Even UNC updated its process for applicants.

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted. In the two years since the Supreme Court’s decision, there appears to have been an impact.

In recent years, a rmative action generally impacted white and Asian students negatively while positively impacting black and Hispanic students. The end of a rmative action in schools has appeared to even the playing eld, with merit now playing a more signi cant factor in determining a student’s admittance. That can be seen in the data of students now enrolled in these schools.

After the court’s ruling, UNC saw a dip in the percentage of black and Hispanic students, but the percentage of Asian students increased. Harvard saw a decrease in the percentage of black students but an increase for Hispanic students. The percentage of Asian students at Harvard stayed the same.

At Columbia, the percentage of Asian students jumped from 30% to 39% within a year, while the percentage of black students dropped from 20% to 12%. This is a common trend among elite universities.

Seeing the percentage of black and Hispanic students decrease is nothing to celebrate. The goal should be to see all students thrive regardless of skin color. However, until we solve the separate problem of why black and Hispanic students struggle more than their peers, seeing merit as a core focus again in admissions is a positive shift.

There is an understandable concern that

A statue of Joseph Henry stands outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

incubator of grievances against the United States, a place to stoke resentments among Americans with roots in Iberia or her colonies.

Instead, Trump wants the Smithsonian to return to sharing collections on the culture and history of these Americans across the complex’s many museums — reviving the so-called Smithsonian Latino Center of old rather than sectioning o this part of American history in a segregated institution under the direction of woke curators.

Acting on my own capacity, I was one of more than 20 scholars with these roots to sign a letter supporting the president’s decision not to fund this mistake.

On the university front, lest we forget, it was about a month ago that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she had ordered the cancellation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certi cation, barring the school from enrolling foreign students.

The second Trump administration understands the supreme importance of these ideological battles. And, as the past 30 days have shown, its decision to go on o ense is working.

Mike Gonzalez is the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow in the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. This article was rst published in the Washington Examiner and then via The Daily Signal.

universities will attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling to a certain extent. University leadership is open about attempting this. Schools are trying other means to indirectly use a rmative action to admit students.

While Yale leadership did administer changes to the university’s admissions process, the school is still promoting a “culture of diversity and inclusivity” by expanding outreach plans and creating new talent pipelines. Brown University also intends to indirectly implement a rmative action through “pathway programs, targeted outreach, and pipeline programs.”

This is happening at other universities as well.

President Donald Trump and his administration will need to work to ensure that universities follow the Supreme Court’s ruling and additionally make sure they drop all initiatives that promote student admissions based on race. In fact, the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools in February demanding exactly that. With an administration in charge that values merit, America’s universities are well advised to follow the law.

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions in schools in 2023 is already having a positive impact by ensuring institutions of higher learning prioritize meritocracy above immutable characteristics. The era of schools judging potential students by the color of their skin is thankfully coming to an end.

While there is still a lot of work to accomplish to ensure that all students who want to attend the nation’s elite universities are on par academically with their peers, ending a rmative action is the rst step in achieving true equality for all.

Casey Ryan is a writer and investigative reporter at Defending Education and a contributor to Daily Caller News Foundation.

COLUMN | CASEY RYAN

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO

Federal task force nds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students

A report said the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment

By Collin Binkley

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s administration intensi ed its battle with Harvard University, formally nding the school tolerated antisemitism — a step that could jeopardize all of Harvard’s federal funding, including federal student aid.

In a letter sent to Harvard on Monday, a federal task force said its investigation had found the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment of Jewish students and faculty. The task force threatened to refer the case to the Justice Department for a civil rights investigation “as soon as possible,” unless Harvard comes into compliance.

The nding escalates the White House’s battle with Harvard, which has faced mounting sanctions after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions. Already, the government has slashed more than $2.6 billion in research grants. But a civil rights violation could jeopardize Harvard’s eligibility to accept federal loans or grants for students to attend the university — a penalty

often referred to as a “death sentence” in higher education.

“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal nancial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” o cials said in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and rst reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration for months has accused Harvard of tolerating antisemitism on its campus, but a formal investigative nding gives the administration a channel to block more federal funding.

Trump personally has railed against Harvard, but on June 20 suggested a deal resolving the monthslong con ict could be coming soon. In a post on social media, Trump said Harvard has “acted extremely appropriately” during negotiations. He did not elaborate on the terms of a potential resolution.

Harvard has not commented on whether it is negotiating with the White House. On Monday, Harvard said it strongly disagrees with the government’s ndings and is committed to ghting bias.

“Antisemitism is a serious problem and no matter the context, it is unacceptable,” the uni-

versity said in a statement. “Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community.”

Federal o cials made their case in a 57-page report detailing an investigation by the civil rights o ce of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is among several represented on a federal antisemitism task force.

The government’s investigation largely relied on a campus antisemitism study commissioned by Harvard and released in April. Federal o cials cited numerous details from that report, including accounts of Jewish students who said they were spit on and faced chants on campus including “Heil Hitler.”

It focuses heavily on last year’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war. In the letter to Harvard, federal o cials said the campus was “overrun by an impermissible, multiweek encampment” that left Jewish and Israeli students fearful and disrupted their studies.

It accuses Harvard of imposing lax and inconsistent discipline against students who participated in the encampment, noting that none were suspended.

Harvard President Alan Garber has acknowledged problems with antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias on campus, but he says Harvard has made strides to ght prejudice. He announced new initiatives in April upon re-

International Space Station welcomes rst astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary

They arrived on a Dragon capsule from SpaceX

By Marcia Dunn

The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

— The rst astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station last Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private ight.

The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments. They launched last Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

America’s most experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, is the commander of the visiting crew. She works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered ight.

Besides Whitson, the crew includes India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, a pilot in the Indian Air Force; Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer; and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, a radiation ex-

NASA

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew from Axiom Space approaches the International Space Station on Thursday as both spacecraft were orbiting 263 miles above the coast of southern Madagascar.

pert and one of the European Space Agency’s project astronauts on temporary ight duty. No one has ever visited the International Space Station from those countries before. The time anyone rocketed into

orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets. Speaking in both English and their native languages, the new arrivals shared hugs and handshakes with the space sta-

Integrity Open Arms Residents of the Month

Frederick Lee Faison

Robert General has been a resident at Open Arms since August 2021. He was born in South Carolina, relocated to Richmond Virginia and later moved to North Carolina. Robert enjoys BINGO, church and knitting. He is a joy to have here at Open Arms Retirement Center.

tion’s seven full-time residents, celebrating with drink pouches sipped through straws. Six nations were represented: four from the U.S., three from Russia and one each from Japan, India, Poland and Hungary.

lease of the antisemitism study.

“Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry,” Garber wrote at the time.

The Monday letter nds Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Such ndings have almost always been resolved through voluntary resolutions between schools and the federal government. The Trump administration has taken a much sharper edge than its predecessors, however. It has been decades since an administration even attempted to strip a school or college of its federal funding over civil rights violations. Trump o cials are seeking that outcome in a Justice Department lawsuit against Maine over transgender athletes, and it’s threatening the same action in a similar investigation into California.

Trump o cials have barraged Harvard with sanctions after it became the rst university to defy White House demands addressing accusations of antisemitism and liberal bias. Along with research cuts, the administration has attempted to bar Harvard from hosting foreign students, and President Donald Trump has said the school should lose its tax-exempt status.

Some of the actions have been blocked by courts after Harvard sued, accusing the government of illegal retaliation.

Harvard’s previous funding cuts were carried out under a provision allowing the government to end grants and contracts that no longer align with federal priorities. That strategy is believed to be unprecedented and is being challenged in court. But by invoking a civil rights violation, Harvard has an established path to further penalties.

“We have so many countries at the same time on the space station,” Kapu said, adding that seven of the 11 astronauts are rst-time space iers “which also tells me how much space is expanding.”

Added Uznanski-Wisniewski: “We will all try to do the best representing our countries.” Shukla rated the experience so far as “fantastic ... wonderful.”

The space station’s commander, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, said he was happy to nally see their smiling faces after “waiting for you guys so long.” Whitson also made note of the lengthy delay and pre ight quarantine.

To stay healthy, the four newcomers went into quarantine on May 25, stuck in it as their launch kept getting delayed. The latest postponement was for space station leak monitoring, NASA wanted to make sure everything was safe following repairs to a longtime leak on the Russian side of the outpost. It’s the fourth Axiom-sponsored ight to the space station since 2022. The company is one of several that are developing their own space stations due to launch in the coming years. NASA plans to abandon the International Space Station in 2030 after more than three decades of operation, and is encouraging private ventures to replace it.

Frederick Lee Faison is a housekeeper with Integrity Open Arms Retirement Center and has been with the company for a little over a year. During his time off he enjoys gardening, studying the bible and working with his dogs. Frederick loves to interact with the residents as if they were his adopted aunts, uncles and grandparents, which fills his day with a sense of accomplishment.

Mrs. Florence Herbert has been a resident here since May 2021. She moved to North Carolina from Pennsylvania to escape the bad weather. Florence enjoys word searches, BINGO, watching TV and spending time with her friends on the Special Care Unit at Integrity Open Arms.

Mrs. Betty Purcell is from Raeford, North Carolina. She moved into our assisted living this past June. Besides being the mother of two, she worked for many years at Burlington Mills. Betty enjoys church, watching youtube and doing word searches.

THANK YOU, Frederick, for a job well done!

happy to discuss your needs or questions. W here to help!

CHARLES KRUPA / AP PHOTO

Students walk through Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in April 2022.

COURTESY

HOKE SPORTS

Hoke wrestlers pull summer three-peat

The Bucks won their third straight Vantage Summer Duals title at Newberry

North State Journal sta

FOR THE THIRD year in a row, Hoke County’s wrestling team won the Vantage Summer Duals at Newberry College.

The Bucks went 14-1 in the meet, storming to a team title three-peat. Hoke opened with a 56-0 shutout of Hillcrest, then blanked John Paul II 60-0.

After winning their rst 18 individual matches, as well as eight forfeits, putting the individual winning streak at 26, Hoke surrendered its rst points of the event. The Bucks still beat Dorman by a 49-4 score. Next was a 49-6 win over Chesnee.

Hoke su ered its only loss of the weekend in its next match, falling to PSWA, 25-20.

The Bucks went right back to

winning, with a 50-4 win over PSWA’s B team and a 48-3 win over Catawba Ridge. Hoke then took out Lugo -Elgin 46-6 and shut out Burke 59-0. Hoke dropped Rock Hill 38-15, Brunswick 54-4 and Battery Creek 58-0. In the nal three matches, the Bucks got by South Eingham 32-15 and edged South Pointe 28-24. That set up a rematch with PWSA for the title. Hoke was able to avenge its earlier loss with a 25-24 victory.

Three Hoke wrestlers went a perfect 15-0. At 110 pounds, Jekai Sedgwick had seven pinfalls, two technical falls, ve forfeits and one decision victory. At 120, Samuel Aponte had nine pinfalls, two technical falls, two decisions, one majority decision and a forfeit. Wrestling at 190 and 220 pounds, depending on the opponent, Zaid Marjan had six pinfalls, three majority decisions and six forfeits.

The other Hoke wrestlers were:

• Jaylen Bethea, who went 14-1 at 130 pounds, with four pinfalls and eight technical falls.

• Arthur Jones, who went 10-5 at 140, with six pinfalls and three technical falls.

• Joseph Gaynor, who went 8-5 at 150, with four pinfalls and two technical falls.

• Cedric Gri n, Jr., who went 13-1 at 160, with nine pinfalls, including one in just 14 seconds.

• Eli Harrelson, who went 10-5 at 175, with three pinfalls and two technical falls.

• Kiyon Brown, who split his time between 220 and 285, going 12-2 with six pinfalls, four of them inside of a minute.

• Tafari Parker, who also split his time between 220 and 285, going 10-3 with six pinfalls.

Hoke’s future wrestlers also got a taste of action, as the B team went 2-1 against other schools’ B teams, beating Rock Hill B 40-12 and South Pointe B 30-15 while losing to PWSA B 28-26.

The B Team Bucks were also competitive against other schools’ starters, beating John Paul II 29-9 and losing by single digits to Hillcrest (24-20), Chesnee (30-27) and Rock Hill (30-24).

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Jaylen Bethea

Jaylen Bethea helped lead Hoke County to its third straight championship at the Newberry College Vantage Summer Duals.

Bethea went 14-1 at the event, with eight technical fall wins and four pinfalls. He also won by forfeit once. Three of his four pinfalls were in less than a minute — two at 48 seconds and one in 25 seconds. His third pinfall was in 1:07. His only defeat at the event was by a slim 9-7 decision to PWSA’s Ricky Starks. Bethea avenged the loss with a 4-2 decision victory over Starks in the championship match.

Home-state favorite Elliott wins Cup race in Atlanta

Keselowski

the nal lap

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — Homestate favorite Chase Elliott passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap and won the the crashlled NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night for his 20th career victory.

Elliott, the popular driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, earned a spot in the Cup Series playo s with his rst victory since April 2024 at Texas. It was his rst win in Atlanta since 2022.

“I’ve never in my whole life, this is unbelievable,” Elliott said. “This is something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Keselowski was second, fol-

lowed by Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammate, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick. Bowman helped block Keselowski following Elliott’s lastlap pass.

“The 48 and 9 just got together,” Keselowski said, referring to Bowman and Elliott. “... At they end they were able to double-team me.”

Elliott climbed into the stands to celebrate with fans after ending a 44-race winless streak.

“I’m happy for the 9 team,” Bowman said. “It’s a big win for him in his hometown. ... I’m glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us.”

The race’s second crash early in Stage 2 took out many of the sport’s biggest names and left others with damaged cars.

Pole-winner Joey Logano, who led the rst 36 laps before light rain forced the rst caution, was

“It wrecked the whole eld. I still don’t know exactly how it started ... but it was total chaos.”

Race leader Joey Logano on the crash that took him out, along with a half dozen other drivers

among the many drivers caught up in the big crash.

Among others knocked out of the race: William Byron, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez.

“It wrecked the whole eld,” Logano said. “I still don’t know exactly how it started ... but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible.”

Added Denny Hamlin, who

su ered damage to his Toyota in the crash: “Some zigged. Some zagged. Most crashed.”

The Atlanta race at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, was the debut of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a verace, bracket-style tournament.

The parade of highly regarded drivers to be knocked out so early in the race showed the perils of trying to pick NASCAR winners on a March Madness-style bracket sheet. The top two seeds were among the early casualties.

Hamlin, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, nished 31st and lost to Ty Dillon, who nished eighth.

Chase Briscoe, who held o Hamlin for his rst win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, was the No. 2 seed before being knocked out in a crash and losing to Noah Gragson in the tournament.

A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Elliott and Keselowski were on the front row when a caution with 33 laps to go forced a decision on whether to pit for fresh tires. Both stayed on the track and Elliott faded following the restart until making his decisive charge at the very end.

Bracket busters

Ryan Blaney, the race favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, was knocked out on a wreck late in the rst stage. Christopher Bell hit the wall, triggering the crash that ended the stage with Cindric in the lead. Cindric was involved in the bigger crash early in Stage 2. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace were among others involved in the crash.

The Hoke wrestlers pose after winning their third straight Newberry summer dual championship.

SPORTS BLAST / FACEBOOK

The Georgia native passed Brad

on

Nkunku’s goal sparks Chelsea to win in Club World Cup

The Blues advanced by beating Ben ca in the Round of 16

By Steve Reed The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — Christopher

Nkunku scored o a rebound in extra time and Chelsea went on to beat Ben ca 4-1 in a Club World Cup Round of 16 match Saturday at Bank of America Stadium that was delayed for two hours due to lightning and took nearly ve hours to complete.

Chelsea advances to play Palmeiras in the quarter nals Friday in Philadelphia. Palmeiras beat Botafogo 1-0 on Saturday.

Nkunku’s tiebreaking goal came in the 108th minute with Ben ca playing a man down after Gianluca Prestianni received a red card. Moisés Caicedo’s left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved in the center of the goal by Anatolii Trubin, but an alert Nkunku was there to bury the de ection into the top right corner before being mobbed by teammates.

Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added insurance goals in extra time for the nal margin.

Reece James scored on a free kick in the 64th minute to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.

But with four minutes left, the match was stopped because of lightning and delayed for two hours. When the teams returned, Chelsea was called for a handball in stoppage time when the ball hit Malo Gusto’s hand.

Angel Di Maria converted the penalty to even the match.

After dominating most of the rst half, the English club nally broke through when the 25-yearold James laced a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

The Portuguese side had a chance to tie it in the 78th minute, but Gianluca Prestianni sent a right-footed shot from the right side of the box just left of the goal. Prestianni held his head in his hands in agony after the miss.

In the closing minutes, players

SIDELINE REPORT

NFL Tucker suspended 10 weeks for violating league’s personal conduct policy

New York

The NFL suspended former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker for the rst 10 weeks next season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Tucker is eligible for reinstatement on Nov. 11. He is a free agent after the Ravens released him last month in the aftermath of reports that he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by massage therapists. A vetime All-Pro, the 35-year-old Tucker has played his entire 13-year career with Baltimore and is considered one of the best kickers in NFL history.

NBA

James formally opts in for a 23rd season, will make $52.6M in 2025-26

Los Angeles

LeBron James is exercising his $52.6 million option with the Los Angeles Lakers for 202526, further con rming that he will become the rst player in NBA history to play a 23rd season, breaking a tie with Vince Carter. James turns 41 in December. James, who recently returned to on- court workouts after taking several weeks to recover after spraining a knee ligament in the Lakers’ nal game of this past season’s playo s, said he expected to be ready for training camp.

were pulled o the eld and fans told to seek cover due to lightning strikes in the area, although it did not rain at the stadium.

Only a few thousand fans returned for the conclusion.

Chelsea entered with a 3-0 record against Ben ca and controlled the tempo in the rst half with a 5-1 edge in shots on goal.

But despite possessing the ball more than 60% of the time, the Blues headed to locker room at halftime in a scoreless tie.

The match was not well attended.

More than half of the lower bowl of 75,000-seat Bank of America Stadium was empty and all but a few hundred seats in the

NHL NHL, NHLPA close to 4 -year CBA extension that includes 84-game season

New York

Two people familiar with negotiations tell The Associated Press the NHL and NHL Players’ Association are close to an agreement on a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement. They con rmed that going to an 84-game season from 82 is among the changes coming. The league and union have been in talks since April and are on the verge of a deal more than a year before the current CBA expires. Other changes include shortening the maximum length of contracts and adding a playo salary cap.

NCAA FOOTBALL

Harbaugh added to lawsuit about hacking allegations against former assistant

Detroit

NFL coach Jim Harbaugh has been added to a lawsuit against the University of Michigan and a former assistant football coach who is accused of hacking into the computer accounts of college athletes to look for intimate photos. Matt Weiss worked for then-Michigan coach Harbaugh in 2022. The lawsuit says Harbaugh and others knew Weiss was seen viewing private information on a computer. But he was allowed to stick around for a big playo game. Harbaugh is now with the Los Angeles Chargers.

upper deck were remained unclaimed as the event continues to struggle with ticket sales in the United States even as it moved into the knockout round.

Key moment

James’ goal gave Chelsea momentum after it failed to convert some decent looks in the rst half.

Takeaways

Ben ca seemed content to play defense most of the match and try to take advantage of its few chances. But the o ense could not capitalize on the opportunities it generated.

Noteworthy

It was the rst two Round-of-16 knockout games at the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Inter Milan meets Fluminense on Monday, with the winner facing either Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter nals.

What they said

“For 85 minutes we were in control. After the break, the match changed. It’s not the same game. You suspend a game (for two hours), to me that’s not football. I struggle to understand it.

... We have been here two weeks and they have suspended six or

“I’m fortunate enough to be assigned something as important as America’s head coach, my goal is to do the best job possible.” Kara Lawson

seven games, so something is not working here.” — Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca.

“In the rst half our objective was to come forward although we were facing a very tough side.” — Ben ca coach Bruno Lage.

CHRIS CARLSON / AP PHOTO

Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku is congratulated after scoring his team’s second goal during the Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Charlotte.

obituaries

Levonya McClean Sr.

July 16, 1967 –June 22, 2025

Mr. Levonya McClean Sr., age 57, transitioned from Earth to Glory on June 22, 2025.

The Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, July 5, 2025, at 1 p.m. at Word of Life Tabernacle Church. Levonya will be greatly missed.

Annie Mae McAllister

Aug. 29, 1934 –June 22, 2025

Mrs. Annie Mae McAllister, age 90, went home to rest with her Heavenly Father on June 22, 2025.

Visition will be held on Saturday, June 28th; from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church. The Celebration of Life will follow starting at 11 a.m. Mother Annie will be greatly missed.

Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose bronze spheres decorate prominent public spaces around world, dead at 98

His shiny, smooth bronze globes are instantly recognizable

By Nicole Win eld The Associated Press

ROME — Arnaldo Pomodoro, one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary artists whose bronze spheres decorate iconic public spaces from the Vatican to the United Nations, has died at age 98, his foundation said.

Pomodoro died at home in Milan last Sunday, the eve of his 99th birthday, according to a statement from Carlotta Montebello, director general of the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation.

Pomodoro’s massive spheres are instantly recognizable: shiny, smooth bronze globes with clawed out interiors that Pomodoro has said referred to the super cial perfection of exteriors and the troubled complexity of interiors.

In a note of condolences, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said Pomodoro’s “wounded” spheres “speak to us today of the fragility and complexity of the human and the world.”

The Vatican’s sphere, which occupies a central place in the

MARK LENNIHAN / AP PHOTO

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, center, gives a push to Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro’s, right, “Sphere Within a Sphere” during its unveiling at the United Nations in 1996.

Pigna Courtyard of the Vatican Museums, features an internal mechanism that rotates with the wind. “In my work I see the cracks, the eroded parts, the destructive potential that emerges from our time of disillusionment,” the Vatican quoted Pomodoro as saying about its sphere. The United Nations in New York received a 10-foot, eight-inch diameter “Sphere Within Sphere” sculpture as a

Bill Moyers, former White House press secretary turned acclaimed TV journalist, dead at 91

He was LBJ’s press secretary and a longtime PBS host

By Frazier Moore

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Bill Moyers, the former White House press secretary who became one of television’s most honored journalists, masterfully using a visual medium to illuminate a world of ideas, died Thursday at age 91.

Moyers died in a New York City hospital, according to longtime friend Tom Johnson, the former CEO of CNN and an assistant to Moyers during Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration. Moyers’ son William said his father died at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York after a “long illness.”

Moyers’ career ranged from youthful Baptist minister to deputy director of the Peace Corps, from Johnson’s press secretary to newspaper publisher, senior news analyst for “The CBS Evening News” and chief correspondent for “CBS Reports.”

But it was for public television that Moyers produced some of TV’s most cerebral and provocative series. In hundreds of hours of PBS programs, he proved at home with subjects ranging from government corruption, modern dance and drug addiction to media consolidation, religion and environmental abuse.

In 1988, Moyers produced “The Secret Government” about the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration and simultaneously published a book under the same name. Around that time, he galvanized viewers with “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth,” a series of six one-hour interviews with the prominent religious scholar. The accompanying book became a best-seller.

His televised chats with poet Robert Bly almost single-handedly launched the 1990s Men’s Movement, and his 1993 series “Healing and the Mind” had a

profound impact on the medical community and on medical education.

In a medium that supposedly abhors “talking heads” — shots of subject and interviewer talking — Moyers came to specialize in just that. He once explained why: “The question is, are the talking heads thinking minds and thinking people? Are they interesting to watch? I think the most fascinating production value is the human face.”

(Softly) speaking truth to power

Demonstrating what someone called “a soft, probing style” in the native Texas accent he never lost, Moyers was a humanist who investigated the world with a calm, reasoned perspective, whatever the subject.

From some quarters, he was blasted as a liberal thanks to his links with Johnson and public television, as well as his no -holds-barred approach to investigative journalism. It was a label he didn’t necessarily deny.

“I’m an old-fashion liberal when it comes to being open and being interested in other people’s ideas,” he said during a 2004 radio interview.

But Moyers preferred to term himself a “citizen journalist” operating independently, outside the establishment.

Public television (and his self- nanced production company) gave him free rein to throw “the conversation of democracy open to all comers,” he said in a 2007 interview with The Associated Press.

“I think my peers in commercial television are talented and devoted journalists,” he said another time, “but they’ve chosen to work in a corporate mainstream that trims their talent to t the corporate nature of American life. And you do not get rewarded for telling the hard truths about America in a pro t-seeking environment.”

Over the years, Moyers was showered with honors, including more than 30 Emmys, 11

George Foster Peabody awards, three George Polks and, twice, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Gold Baton Award for career excellence in broadcast journalism. In 1995, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

From sports to sports writing

Born in Hugo, Oklahoma, on June 5, 1934, Billy Don Moyers was the son of a dirt farmer-truck driver who soon moved his family to Marshall, Texas. High school led him into journalism.

“I wanted to play football, but I was too small. But I found that by writing sports in the school newspaper, the players were always waiting around at the newsstand to see what I wrote,” he recalled.

He worked for the Marshall News Messenger at age 16. Deciding that Bill Moyers was a more appropriate byline for a sportswriter, he dropped the “y” from his name.

He graduated from the University of Texas and earned a master’s in divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was ordained and preached part time at two churches but later decided his call to the ministry “was a wrong number.”

His relationship with John-

son began when he was in college; he wrote the then-senator o ering to work in his 1954 reelection campaign. Johnson was impressed and hired him for a summer job. He was back in Johnson’s employ as a personal assistant in the early 1960s and for two years, he worked at the Peace Corps, eventually becoming deputy director.

On the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Moyers was in Austin helping with the presidential trip. He ew back to Washington on Air Force One with newly sworn-in President Johnson, for whom he held various jobs over the ensuing years, including press secretary.

Moyers’ stint as presidential press secretary was marked by e orts to mend the deteriorating relationship between Johnson and the media. But the Vietnam war took its toll, and Moyers resigned in December 1966.

Of his departure from the White House, he wrote later, “We had become a war government, not a reform government, and there was no creative role left for me under those circumstances.”

He conceded that he may have been “too zealous in my defense of our policies” and said he regretted criticizing journalists such as Pulitzer Prize-win-

“A promise for the rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world.” Pomodoro, describing his sculpture at the United Nations in New York

gift from Italy in 1996. The U.N. sphere has refers to the coming of the new millennium, the U.N. said: “a smooth exterior womb erupted by complex interior forms,” and “a promise for the rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world,” Pomodoro said of it.

Other spheres are located at museums around the world and outside the Italian foreign ministry, which has the original work that Pomodoro created in 1966 for the Montreal Expo that began his monumental sculpture project.

Pomodoro was born in Montefeltro, Italy, on June 23, 1926. In addition to his spheres, he designed theatrical sets, land projects and machines. He had multiple retrospectives and taught at Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley and Mills College, according to his biography on the foundation website.

ner Peter Arnett, then a special correspondent with the AP, and CBS’s Morley Safer for their war coverage.

A long run on television

In 1967, Moyers became publisher of Long Island-based Newsday and concentrated on adding news analyses, investigative pieces and lively features. Within three years, the suburban daily had won two Pulitzers. He left the paper in 1970 after the ownership changed. That summer, he traveled 13,000 miles around the country and wrote a best-selling account of his odyssey: “Listening to America: a Traveler Rediscovers His Country.”

His next venture was in public television, and he won critical acclaim for “Bill Moyers Journal,” a series in which interviews ranged from Gunnar Myrdal, the Swedish economist, to poet Maya Angelou. He was chief correspondent of “CBS Reports” from 1976 to 1978, went back to PBS for three years, and then was senior news analyst for CBS from 1981 to 1986. When CBS cut back on documentaries, he returned to PBS for much less money. “If you have a skill that you can fold with your tent and go wherever you feel you have to go, you can follow your heart’s desire,” he once said. Then in 1986, he and his wife, Judith Davidson Moyers, became their own bosses by forming Public A airs Television, an independent shop that has not only produced programs such as the 10-hour “In Search of the Constitution,” but also paid for them through its own fundraising e orts.

His projects in the 21st century included “Now,” a weekly PBS public a airs program; a new edition of “Bill Moyers Journal” and a podcast covering racism, voting rights and the rise of Donald Trump, among other subjects.

Moyers married Judith Davidson, a college classmate, in 1954, and they raised three children, among them the author Suzanne Moyers and author-TV producer William Cope Moyers. Judith eventually became her husband’s partner, creative collaborator and president of their production company.

AP PHOTO

PBS host Bill Moyers appears at WNET in New York in 1974.

STATE & NATION

82-year-old Jewish

woman injured in Boulder rebomb attack dies

Karen Diamond was hit by a Molotov cocktail on June 1

By Colleen Slevin and Mead Gruver

The Associated Press

DENVER — An 82-year-old Colorado woman who was injured in a Molotov cocktail attack on demonstrators in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza has died, prosecutors said Monday.

Karen Diamond died as a result of the severe injuries she su ered in the June 1 attack in downtown Boulder, Colorado, the local district attorney’s ofce said in a statement. Prosecutors have listed 29 victims, including 13 who were physically injured.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman already faced dozens of charges in state court including attempted rst-degree murder, using an incendiary device, and animal cruelty because a dog was hurt in the attack. He has not been arraigned on those charges that now include rst-degree murder.

The Associated Press left a

voicemail Monday for Soliman’s public defender in the state case. The o ce generally bars its lawyers from commenting on their cases to the media. A preliminary hearing to determine whether there’s enough evidence for a trial is set for July 15.

Separately, Soliman has been indicted on 12 federal hate crime counts. He entered a not guilty plea to those charges in federal court on Friday.

Leaders of the Boulder Jewish Community Center announced in an email Monday

that Diamond died June 25 and said she will be deeply missed.

“Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her,” executive director

Jonathan Lev and board chair David Paul said.

Diamond helped at her synagogue and volunteered for several local groups, including the University of Colorado University Women’s Club and a local music festival.

Gov. Jared Polis said in a

Rising summer heat increases risk of child deaths in hot cars

Some cars have new features to remind parents to be vigilant

By Freida Frisaro

The Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE,

Fla. — A record heat wave that spread across the East Coast of the United States during the rst week of summer has child advocates warning parents and caretakers about the risks of heatstroke to children left inside hot vehicles.

So far this year, nine children have died after being left unattended in vehicles in California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New Jersey and North Carolina, according to Kids and Car Safety, which collects data on hot car deaths. Five died in June.

And last year, 39 children in the U.S. died after being left in hot cars.

The temperature outside doesn’t have to be super hot for a child left in a vehicle to be affected by the heat, said Kathy Wall, director of Safe Kids Palm Beach County.

“Inside, the vehicle can heat up 20 degrees in just 20 minutes,” Wall said. “So if you imagine it’s an 80 degree day, which

in South Florida is a cool day, it could be over 100 degrees within 10 minutes inside the car.”

Hot car deaths can happen any time of year, and since 1998, every state but Alaska has reported a hot car death, accord-

ing to the National Safety Council. In both 2018 and 2019, a record 53 children died after being left in hot cars.

About 80% of the heat rise in vehicles happens in the rst 30 minutes of a child being left in-

“Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her.”

Boulder Jewish Community Center statement

statement Monday that he was devastated by Diamond’s death, and that it will be felt deeply by the city of Boulder, the state and the Jewish community.

“Karen was taken from us too soon, and we mourn her loss while remembering her life and the impact she had on those who loved her,” Polis said.

Prosecutors said Diamond’s family has asked for privacy. Diamond and her husband were enthusiastic volunteers since the 1990s for a local historic preservation organization, Historic Boulder, Inc. The couple often helped with public tours of old homes, said Melanie Muckle, the organization’s administrator.

side, when maximum temperatures can exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit, according to data compiled by Jan Null, a certi ed consulting meteorologist at San Jose State University.

“Children sweat a lot less than adults do and their internal temperature can increase three to ve times faster than an adult. So that’s why it’s just as important to make sure that your child isn’t left in the vehicle, especially during these rising temperatures,” said Capt. Karen Derogatis of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

While it’s easy to place blame for leaving a child in a vehicle, even people trained to know the dangers have made that tragic mistake, Wall said.

“It’s not a socioeconomic group, it’s not a cultural group,” she said. “This sadly has happened to doctors, it’s happened to dentists, it happened to school teachers, it’s happened to child care workers. Nobody is exempt from this.”

Distraction often leads to forgetting about a child in the backseat, which is why it is important to create routines and reminders, she said.

“It sounds crazy, but sometimes people get out of routines or are distracted, especially in today’s world. There’s lots going on in the news, lots going with families,” she said.

A parent who normally doesn’t drop a child o at a day care facility might become distracted and forget that the child is in the vehicle, she said.

She encourages parents and caregivers to establish routines.

“Their generosity with their time and their talent and their kindness, I can’t overstate that,” Muckle said.

During the demonstration, Soliman posed as a gardener and wore a construction vest to get close to the group before launching the attack, prosecutors allege.

Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the participants at the weekly demonstration. He yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw just two of more than two dozen Molotov cocktails he had prepared.

Prosecutors have identi ed 29 people who are considered victims of the attack, including 13 who were physically injured. The others were nearby and are considered victims because they could have been hurt. A dog was also injured in the attack.

Prosecutors previously said there were 15 victims but the number has increased as investigators discovered more people who were at the scene.

The victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual national origin, prosecutors allege. An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.

Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a “legal citizen.” Federal authorities have said the Egyptian national has been living in the U.S. illegally with his family.

“We have an acronym, ACT,” Wall said.

A stands for avoiding leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.

C stands for creating a reminder that works best for you. Authorities suggest leaving a personal item such as a purse or briefcase in the backseat so you’ll have to open the back door before locking the vehicle.

T is to take action right away.

“If you see a child in a car, don’t try to gure out how long they’ve been in the car. Call 911 immediately,” Wall said. Some newer cars o er warnings for drivers to check the backseat for passengers, and others go further than that. The new 2025 Tesla Model Y, for example, has an in-cabin radar that can detect an individual’s heart rate and breathing, even in the backseat.

If it detects a child left unattended, it can notify the driver through the Tesla smartphone app, automatically turn on the air conditioning and even call 911. Other carmakers, including Toyota, have demonstrated similar capabilities using in-vehicle sensors.

But double checking the vehicle is key, said Derogatis, the re captain.

“If you make it a common habit, just like you would look in their rear view mirror to see if somebody’s behind you, or if you look at your side view mirror to see if you want to switch lanes, make it habit to look in your rearview mirror, whether you have a child or an animal or anything, just to ensure that they are as safe as possible,” she said.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO

A woman places a bouquet of owers at a makeshift memorial for victims of an attack outside of the Boulder County, Colorado, courthouse on June 3.

CODY JACKSON / AP PHOTO

Outside temperature is displayed in comparison to the inside temperature of a vehicle last Thursday in Belle Glade, Florida, during an event to raise awareness about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles.

MOORE COUNTY

@NC_GOVERNOR / X

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in Rowan County with manufacturing investment

Salisbury

The electronics company

Jabil plans to create nearly 1,200 jobs in central North Carolina by building a new manufacturing plant. The company is investing $500 million toward a facility to support cloud computing and arti cial intelligence data centers. O cials announced Monday that the facility will be in Rowan County, northeast of Charlotte. The project includes a $264 million capital investment and 1,181 jobs by the end of 2030. North Carolina competed with Florida for the project and o ered more than $21 million in incentives. Jabil already operates three facilities in the state, employing about 1,000 workers.

Paramount will pay $16M in settlement with Trump over “60 Minutes” interview

New York Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump over the editing of CBS’ “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October. Paramount, which owns CBS, says the money will go to Trump’s future presidential library, not to the Republican president himself. Paramount also says the settlement doesn’t involve an apology.

Chimney Rock State Park opens for rst time after Helene

The area was one of the hardest hit by the hurricane

The Associated Press

CHIMNEY ROCK — An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public last Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic ooding, destruction and loss of life.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other o cials attended a reopening ceremony at Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 25 miles southeast of Asheville. The main portion of the park will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make

PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

A U.S. ag ies on Chimney Rock mountain in 2019.

reservations, Stein’s o ce said. Stein also signed into law before the ceremony’s crowd another state Helene recovery

bill nalized by the General Assembly on Thursday that sends $700 million to the state’s Helene relief fund and appro -

Board of Education closes out books on

The board took care of some nal business items before the start of the new scal year

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

CARTHAGE — The Moore County Schools Board of Education met June 30 for a combined work and business session with an agenda mostly intended to close out the 2024-25 school year.

The board approved a $78,500 extension of its yearly Microsoft A3 EES user license subscription agreement.

Previously, the district approved three-year extensions but decided to move to a one-year model to allow for greater exibility for potential changes in technology.

“The A3 license model provides the bene ts of our edu-

prior school year

cation enterprise agreement, and it gives us our full Windows upgrade licenses, which is very important as Windows 11 is coming out and becoming the standard very soon,” said Director of Technology Kendt Ekland. “It also covers the licenses for new purchases for Microsoft O ce and our system center licenses for client imaging and our servers.”

The board also approved two EC contracts, including a contract renewal with Holland Therapy Services for speech therapy services during the 2025-26 school year.

“There are 38 students that, at the beginning of the year, are going to be on that current case load,” said Chief Administrator for Exceptional Children’s Services Neil Waters. “We know there is an ebb and ow of our service work loads, so that will be expanding as the year goes on. It always does with our

speech language pathologists.”

The contract will pay a maximum of $132,600 over the year, but the contract pays the pathologist a blended rate of $85 per hour for services.

Board member Steven Johnson mentioned how adding an in-house speech pathologist could help them save money in the long run and stated that the board should start having discussions looking into that possibility.

The second contract was for a $90,000, one-year membership for the Goalbook Toolkit.

“Goalbook is a web-based, holistic solution software that helps our special educators develop higher-quality individualized education programs and implement them with specically designed instruction,” Waters said. “It serves almost like a GPS and what we’re doing is building a roadmap.”

The contract will cover 160

priates $500 million of that. And Stein announced a new tourism campaign to encourage travel and spending in the North Carolina mountains.

“Today’s reopening is a huge achievement,” Stein told attendees. “Chimney Rock is just one of the many places that make western North Carolina unforgettable.”

Last September’s storm swept away the ornate stone and concrete bridge across the Broad River to reach the portion of the park that contains the 315-foot high geological formation that’s shaped in keeping with the park’s name. The park, which also features hiking trails and other amenities, usually attracts 400,000 people annually.

See PARK, page A2

EC service providers and include onsite professional development led by Goalbook, a mid-year remote consultation for comprehensive review as well as implementation, technical support and analytic services.

“We don’t want our teachers to look at it as one more thing,” Waters said. “We want it to be the thing that helps them do the other things. I think that once they really get into it, they’ll see that it helps them truly do their jobs more e ciently and better.”

The board was also presented with some highlights on the Class of 2025.

In total, Moore County Schools had 1,122 graduates, who were awarded nearly $25 million in scholarships.

The district also had 12 students earn associate degrees and 674 seniors received credit for college courses.

In addition, 4,745 CTE credentials and 482 silver plus WorkKey certi cates were awarded and the district also had two students earn appointments to military academies and 30 who enlisted.

The Moore County Board of Education will next meet Aug. 11.

COURTESY

Gov. Josh Stein and rst lady Anna Stein take in the view from Chimney Rock State Park at the reopening of the park last week.

THURSDAY 7.3.25

WEEKLY FORECAST

THURSDAY

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FRIDAY JULY 4

The troublesome corridor in Pigeon River Gorge was damaged in Helene

The Associated Press

HARTFORD, Tenn. — Crews on Friday reopened a section of Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains after ooding and a rock slide closed the major cross country highway for nine days.

The highway was already undergoing major repairs from massive damage and washouts during Hurricane Helene last fall and is down to one lane in each direction in far western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

About 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain fell in the area over about three hours on June 18, swamping I-40 around Exit 451 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North Carolina, o cials said. The Tennessee Department of Transportation originally thought I-40 would be closed until July 3.

PARK from page A1

A road had to be paved and a temporary bridge made from old railroad cars was laid over the river.

The reopening provides needed encouragement to those in adjoining Chimney Rock Village, where a third of the hamlet’s businesses were destroyed as river waters removed buildings from their foundations.

“It almost wiped us o the map,” village Mayor Peter O’Leary said on Friday. “The village knew one thing that

The damaged section is part of 12 miles of I-40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that were washed away or heavily damaged by ooding that roared through the Pigeon River gorge during Hurricane Helene in late September.

Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in March. The lanes are sepa-

was of utmost importance to our survival. We had to have Chimney Rock State Park open again.”

Some village businesses are reopening.

Before Friday’s bill signing, the General Assembly already had appropriated or reallocated more than $1.6 billion for Helene recovery.

The new Helene law is the fth relief package approved by the Republican- controlled General Assembly since last fall. The Democratic governor said he’s still seeking direct aid for small businesses and more

rated by a curb several inches high. The permanent x to stabilize what is left of the road will involve driving long steel rods into bedrock below the highway, lling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cli face to hold them in place. It will take years. I-40 runs from Wilmington on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Barstow, California.

funds for a ordable housing.

But he was still pleased with the legislature’s action.

“We have a lot of work to do, but it’s also good to take stock and recognize that today is a good day,” Stein said.

The governor is also seeking more federal funds for Helene recovery beyond the billions already received by the state and by those harmed by the storm.

State o cials say the storm caused more than 100 deaths in North Carolina and generated roughly $60 billion in damages and needs.

June 28

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: moorecommunity@ northstatejournal.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

June 23

• Ignacio Sanchez Gomez, 51, was arrested by Moore County Sheri ’s O ce (MCSO) for driving while impaired.

• Bobby Terrell Dobbins, 32, was arrested by MCSO for felony child abuse with serious injury.

June 26

• Rene Francine Smith, 47, was arrested by MCSO for identity theft.

• Tashauna Nicole Neves, 43, was arrested by MCSO for driving while impaired.

• Keidre Tyquez Jackson, 20, was arrested by Southern Pines Police Department (SPPD) for animal cruelty.

• Cotey Lee Dunlap, 29, was arrested by MCSO for breaking and entering with intent to terrorize or injure.

• Marcus Alan Duncan, 50, was arrested by First Health Company Police for seconddegree trespass.

• Dylan Robert Clifton, 31, was arrested by MCSO for thirddegree sexual exploitation of a minor.

• Joseph Adam Brady, 45, was arrested by MCSO for statutory rape of a minor.

• Dylan Michael Brown, 26, was arrested by SPPD for heroin possession.

June 29

• Ashleigh-Marie Meagan Cain, 28, was arrested by MCSO for drug paraphernalia possession.

• Michael Ray Bass, 36, was arrested by MCSO for methamphetamine possession, manufacture, sale, or delivery.

• Henry Junior Armstrong, 60, was arrested by SPPD for misdemeanor larceny.

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in and around Moore County:

July 3 & 5

Moore County Historical Association: Shaw House and Property Tours

1-4 p.m.

The Moore County Historical Association’s Shaw House grounds and properties are open for tours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. Tours are free and open to all ages. Enjoy learning about the impressive history of Moore County. Closed Friday for Independence Day.

Shaw House 110 Morganton Road Southern Pines

July

4-5

Cosmic Bowling 6-11:55 p.m.

Sandhills Bowling Center presents an evening of Cosmic Bowling every Friday and Saturday night. Enjoy two hours of bowling for between $5.50 and $17 per person based on age. Free shoe rental.

Sandhills Bowling Center 1680 N.C. Highway 5 Aberdeen

July 5

Special 41st anniversary rerelease of the classic movie “Spinal Tap”

3-4:30 p.m.

This version of the lm is remastered and remixed. The movie is only showing this summer. Tickets are $10.

Sunrise Theatre 250 NW Broad St. Southern Pines

Moore County Farmers Market

8 a.m. to noon

A vast and varied selection of fresh produce, canned goods, including honey and fruit preserves and baked goods has earned this producers-only farmers market a reputation as one of the best in the region. Visitors are treated to musical performances and complimentary appetizers prepared by local chefs from fresh regional ingredients every Saturday in the summer.

156 SE Broad St. Southern Pines

TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION VIA AP

40

Tennessee-North Carolina state line was closed due to ooding

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | MIKE GONZALEZ

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Trump’s culture war o ensive is working

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month.

THE PAST MONTH has seen bold advances in President Donald Trump’s crusade to recapture cultural ground that the left had conquered in recent decades. Whether on museums, media or universities, the president is on the o ensive and the left is in retreat.

Two weeks ago alone saw advances on two fronts: a congressional win against NPR and PBS, and a retreat by the Smithsonian.

The House of Representatives’ 214 -212 vote on June 12 to rescind $1.1 billion that Congress had already appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonpro t that distributes taxpayer money to NPR, PBS and public radio and television stations, was a milestone. The tightness of the vote reveals the stakes.

Ever since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act authorizing the CPB in 1967, every Republican president and Congress has tried to bring public broadcasting to heel.

But all e orts have failed. Democrats have voted in unison to protect their interests, and thus those of NPR and PBS, and enough Republicans have thought, “Well, PBS may give my party 85% negative coverage, but if I vote for it, my local station will spare me.”

The June 12 vote saw four of those, but not enough to save the broadcasters’ bacon this time. The rescission package now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have a 53- 47 advantage. That still won’t make it a cakewalk, and timid senators will nd any excuse not to take a stand on an important issue.

But Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), lead Senate sponsor of the rescissions package, told Punchbowl, “I think broadly there’s a lot of agreement that we need to move forward on it.”

Eliminating public funding for NPR and PBS is an important step in the cultural reconquista. The left uses both institutions to tear down America’s cultural and historical narrative and put in place a distorted counternarrative. And, of course, the left funds this with money from every American taxpayer.

Another such institution is the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum complex, with 21 museums and 14 educational and research centers. Trump in March issued an executive order that, right at the start, identi ed the problem: “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread e ort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” Museums, added the order, “should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination.”

It instructed Vice President JD Vance to “e ectuate the policies of this order through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents.”

The rst meeting of the board with the vice president was earlier this month. Vance worked the room with a mixture of persuasion and outright pressure, according to published reports from the always-secretive meeting, and he got results.

Initial reports emphasized how the board had circled the wagons around Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, under whom much of the wokeness has come in, and rebu ed Trump’s ring of National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet.

But Sajet was gone in a matter of days, resigning “on her own.” Bunch put out a statement thanking her for putting the Smithsonian’s interests “above her own.”

The Smithsonian also agreed to conduct a wide audit of all its content to eliminate biased material and perhaps even personnel.

Then, it emerged that Bunch emailed sta to admit to bias.

“On occasion, some of our work has not aligned with our institutional values of scholarship, evenhandedness and nonpartisanship,” he wrote. “For that, we must all work to do better.”

Even better, in his budget request to Congress, Trump asked the legislature not to fund the Smithsonian’s creation of a Latino museum. Early exhibits of the planned museum revealed that the left will use it as an

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard brings back meritocracy

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted.

TWO YEARS AGO, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by ruling that universities could no longer use a rmative action to determine admissions for students.

In the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court explained in the majority opinion that the color of a student’s skin can no longer determine his or her entry into a school.

When ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) in a companion case, the court decided in a majority 6 -3 opinion that using a student’s race to determine admissions is in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that a student “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual” rather than race. The admissions process for both schools were seen as penalizing Asian American students.

While the process for universities to fully correct course to abide by the decision may take several years, the results are already positive with meritocracy appearing to return to the forefront of academia in America.

In the time since the Supreme Court’s decision, several prominent universities have already adopted new admissions processes as well as now requiring students to submit standardized testing scores once again with their applications.

At Harvard University, admissions previously had optional writing components where potential students could write about topics pertaining to them and their interests or experiences with their identity. After the court’s ruling, the school altered the questions asked to applicants. The school then reinstated the submission of standardized test scores as mandatory for applicants applying for the fall 2025 semester.

Other prominent universities have also

reinstated standardized test scores for their admissions. Dartmouth College was the rst Ivy League school to require SAT or ACT scores again after the ruling. Yale, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania are among those that followed suit. Even UNC updated its process for applicants.

All these universities that used a rmative action for their admissions had to review and change the policies in place for how applicants are admitted. In the two years since the Supreme Court’s decision, there appears to have been an impact.

In recent years, a rmative action generally impacted white and Asian students negatively while positively impacting black and Hispanic students. The end of a rmative action in schools has appeared to even the playing eld, with merit now playing a more signi cant factor in determining a student’s admittance. That can be seen in the data of students now enrolled in these schools.

After the court’s ruling, UNC saw a dip in the percentage of black and Hispanic students, but the percentage of Asian students increased. Harvard saw a decrease in the percentage of black students but an increase for Hispanic students. The percentage of Asian students at Harvard stayed the same.

At Columbia, the percentage of Asian students jumped from 30% to 39% within a year, while the percentage of black students dropped from 20% to 12%. This is a common trend among elite universities.

Seeing the percentage of black and Hispanic students decrease is nothing to celebrate. The goal should be to see all students thrive regardless of skin color. However, until we solve the separate problem of why black and Hispanic students struggle more than their peers, seeing merit as a core focus again in admissions is a positive shift.

There is an understandable concern that

A statue of Joseph Henry stands outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

incubator of grievances against the United States, a place to stoke resentments among Americans with roots in Iberia or her colonies.

Instead, Trump wants the Smithsonian to return to sharing collections on the culture and history of these Americans across the complex’s many museums — reviving the so - called Smithsonian Latino Center of old rather than sectioning o this part of American history in a segregated institution under the direction of woke curators.

Acting on my own capacity, I was one of more than 20 scholars with these roots to sign a letter supporting the president’s decision not to fund this mistake.

On the university front, lest we forget, it was about a month ago that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she had ordered the cancellation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certi cation, barring the school from enrolling foreign students.

The second Trump administration understands the supreme importance of these ideological battles. And, as the past 30 days have shown, its decision to go on o ense is working.

Mike Gonzalez is the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow in the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. This article was rst published in the Washington Examiner and then via The Daily Signal.

universities will attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling to a certain extent. University leadership is open about attempting this. Schools are trying other means to indirectly use a rmative action to admit students.

While Yale leadership did administer changes to the university’s admissions process, the school is still promoting a “culture of diversity and inclusivity” by expanding outreach plans and creating new talent pipelines. Brown University also intends to indirectly implement a rmative action through “pathway programs, targeted outreach, and pipeline programs.”

This is happening at other universities as well.

President Donald Trump and his administration will need to work to ensure that universities follow the Supreme Court’s ruling and additionally make sure they drop all initiatives that promote student admissions based on race. In fact, the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools in February demanding exactly that. With an administration in charge that values merit, America’s universities are well advised to follow the law.

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions in schools in 2023 is already having a positive impact by ensuring institutions of higher learning prioritize meritocracy above immutable characteristics. The era of schools judging potential students by the color of their skin is thankfully coming to an end.

While there is still a lot of work to accomplish to ensure that all students who want to attend the nation’s elite universities are on par academically with their peers, ending a rmative action is the rst step in achieving true equality for all.

Casey Ryan is a writer and investigative reporter at Defending Education and a contributor to Daily Caller News Foundation.

COLUMN | CASEY RYAN

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO

Federal task force nds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students

A report said the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment

By Collin Binkley

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s administration intensi ed its battle with Harvard University, formally nding the school tolerated antisemitism — a step that could jeopardize all of Harvard’s federal funding, including federal student aid.

In a letter sent to Harvard on Monday, a federal task force said its investigation had found the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment of Jewish students and faculty. The task force threatened to refer the case to the Justice Department for a civil rights investigation “as soon as possible,” unless Harvard comes into compliance.

The nding escalates the White House’s battle with Harvard, which has faced mounting sanctions after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions. Already, the government has slashed more than $2.6 billion in research grants. But a civil rights violation could jeopardize Harvard’s eligibility to accept federal loans or grants for students to attend the university — a penalty

often referred to as a “death sentence” in higher education.

“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal nancial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” o cials said in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and rst reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration for months has accused Harvard of tolerating antisemitism on its campus, but a formal investigative nding gives the administration a channel to block more federal funding.

Trump personally has railed against Harvard, but on June 20 suggested a deal resolving the monthslong con ict could be coming soon. In a post on social media, Trump said Harvard has “acted extremely appropriately” during negotiations. He did not elaborate on the terms of a potential resolution.

Harvard has not commented on whether it is negotiating with the White House. On Monday, Harvard said it strongly disagrees with the government’s ndings and is committed to ghting bias.

“Antisemitism is a serious problem and no matter the context, it is unacceptable,” the uni-

versity said in a statement. “Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community.”

Federal o cials made their case in a 57-page report detailing an investigation by the civil rights o ce of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is among several represented on a federal antisemitism task force.

The government’s investigation largely relied on a campus antisemitism study commissioned by Harvard and released in April. Federal o cials cited numerous details from that report, including accounts of Jewish students who said they were spit on and faced chants on campus including “Heil Hitler.”

It focuses heavily on last year’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war. In the letter to Harvard, federal o cials said the campus was “overrun by an impermissible, multiweek encampment” that left Jewish and Israeli students fearful and disrupted their studies.

It accuses Harvard of imposing lax and inconsistent discipline against students who participated in the encampment, noting that none were suspended.

Harvard President Alan Garber has acknowledged problems with antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias on campus, but he says Harvard has made strides to ght prejudice. He announced new initiatives in April upon re-

lease of the antisemitism study.

“Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry,” Garber wrote at the time.

The Monday letter nds Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Such ndings have almost always been resolved through voluntary resolutions between schools and the federal government. The Trump administration has taken a much sharper edge than its predecessors, however.

It has been decades since an administration even attempted to strip a school or college of its federal funding over civil rights violations. Trump o cials are seeking that outcome in a Justice Department lawsuit against Maine over transgender athletes, and it’s threatening the same action in a similar investigation into California.

Trump o cials have barraged Harvard with sanctions after it became the rst university to defy White House demands addressing accusations of antisemitism and liberal bias. Along with research cuts, the administration has attempted to bar Harvard from hosting foreign students, and President Donald Trump has said the school should lose its tax-exempt status.

Some of the actions have been blocked by courts after Harvard sued, accusing the government of illegal retaliation.

Harvard’s previous funding cuts were carried out under a provision allowing the government to end grants and contracts that no longer align with federal priorities. That strategy is believed to be unprecedented and is being challenged in court. But by invoking a civil rights violation, Harvard has an established path to further penalties.

seven of the 11 astronauts are rst-time space iers “which also tells me how much space is expanding.”

They arrived on a Dragon capsule from SpaceX

By Marcia Dunn

The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

— The rst astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station last Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private ight.

The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments. They launched last Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

America’s most experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, is the commander of the visiting crew. She works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered ight.

Besides Whitson, the crew includes India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, a pilot in the Indian Air Force; Hungary’s Tibor

Kapu, a mechanical engineer; and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, a radiation expert and one of the European Space Agency’s project astronauts on temporary ight duty.

No one has ever visited the International Space Station from those countries before.

The time anyone rocketed into orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets.

Speaking in both English and their native languages, the new arrivals shared hugs and handshakes with the space station’s seven full-time residents,

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew from Axiom Space approaches the International Space Station on Thursday as both spacecraft were orbiting 263 miles above the coast of

celebrating with drink pouches sipped through straws. Six nations were represented: four from the U.S., three from Russia and one each from Japan, India, Poland and Hungary.

“We have so many countries at the same time on the space station,” Kapu said, adding that

Added Uznanski-Wisniewski: “We will all try to do the best representing our countries.” Shukla rated the experience so far as “fantastic ... wonderful.”

The space station’s commander, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, said he was happy to nally see their smiling faces after “waiting for you guys so long.” Whitson also made note of the lengthy delay and pre ight quarantine.

To stay healthy, the four newcomers went into quarantine on May 25, stuck in it as their launch kept getting delayed. The latest postponement was for space station leak monitoring, NASA wanted to make sure everything was safe following repairs to a longtime leak on the Russian side of the outpost. It’s the fourth Axiom-sponsored ight to the space station since 2022. The company is one of several that are developing their own space stations due to launch in the coming years. NASA plans to abandon the International Space Station in 2030 after more than three decades of operation, and is encouraging private ventures to replace it.

CHARLES KRUPA / AP PHOTO

Students walk through Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in April 2022.

MOORE SPORTS

Year in review: Sandhills Community College athletics

The school’s teams delivered a national title and several top-six nishes

North State Journal sta

A GOLF TITLE for the men’s team capped a successful year for the Sandhills Community College athletics program.

The men captured their fth straight NJCAA championship with a record-setting performance. The golfers were the last of the school’s ve intercollegiate sports teams to nish play for the 2024-25 school year. Here’s a look at the other teams.

Men’s basketball: The Flyers nished a 28-8 record with a sixth-place nish in the na-

tional tournament. Damien Robinson (Overhills), who scored 1,000 points in his SCC career and won regional player of the year honors as well as making the all-tournament team, will move on to continue his college career at Chowan. The school also named him its male athlete of the year.

The entire graduating class found homes at four-year schools, as Vander “Tre” Williams (Westover), Michael Fee (Providence Grove) and Xavion White (Mooresville) all committed to continue their careers at Methodist.

Women’s beach volleyball:

The Flyers reached their second straight NJCAA tournament and nished in sixth place nationally for the second year in a row. Sophomore Aydan Bullard (Lumber -

ton) was honored for having a breakout season, while the duo of Reagan Smith (Jordan-Matthews) and Lainey Mullins (Pinecrest) was named the best pair. Sophomore Caroline Bradford (Pinecrest) was named the school’s female athlete of the year.

Women’s volleyball: The Flyers also turned in a sixth-place national nish on the volleyball court, going 37-7 on the year. Sophomore Kristin Dobbs (West Johnston) was named the team’s impact player, while sophomore Zoey Hall (North Mecklenburg) won the hustle award.

Men’s golf: Vegas Melen, who won the individual national title, was given the team’s High Flyer award, while Will Dement took home the Iron Man award.

their college careers at Methodist.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Charlie Muñiz

Charlie Muñiz is a senior at the University of the Cumberlands and catcher for the Sandhill Bogeys for the second summer in a row. Muñiz hit .426 with 36 home runs, 96 RBIs and a 1.486 OPS for the U of C this past season, earning NAIA player of the year honors.

The Old North State League hasn’t gured out how to stop him either. He hit .600 last week with two homers, six RBIs and 1.800 slugging to win ONSL Player of the Week. He was also chosen as the starting catcher in last week’s Old North State League all-star game.

Home-state favorite Elliott wins Cup race in Atlanta

The Georgia native passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — Homestate favorite Chase Elliott passed Brad Keselowski on the nal lap and won the the crash- lled NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night for his 20th career victory.

Elliott, the popular driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, earned a spot in the Cup Series playo s with his rst victory since April 2024 at Texas. It was his rst win in Atlanta since 2022.

“I’ve never in my whole life, this is unbelievable,” Elliott said. “This is something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Keselowski was second, followed by Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammate, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick. Bowman helped block Keselowski following Elliott’s lastlap pass.

“The 48 and 9 just got together,” Keselowski said, referring to Bowman and Elliott. “... At they end they were able to double-team me.” Elliott climbed into the stands to celebrate with fans after ending a 44-race winless streak.

“I’m happy for the 9 team,” Bowman said. “It’s a big win for him in his hometown. ... I’m glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us.”

The race’s second crash early in Stage 2 took out many of the sport’s biggest names and left others with damaged cars. Pole-winner Joey Logano, who led the rst 36 laps before light rain forced the rst caution, was among the many drivers caught up in the big crash.

Among others knocked out of the race: William Byron, Aus-

Elliott

Driver

tin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez.

“It wrecked the whole eld,” Logano said. “I still don’t know exactly how it started ... but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible.”

Added Denny Hamlin, who su ered damage to his Toyota in the crash: “Some zigged. Some zagged. Most crashed.”

The Atlanta race at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, was the

winning

debut of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a ve-race, bracket-style tournament.

The parade of highly regarded drivers to be knocked out so early in the race showed the perils of trying to pick NASCAR winners on a March Madness-style bracket sheet. The top two seeds were among the early casualties. Hamlin, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, nished 31st and lost to Ty Dillon, who nished eighth.

Chase Briscoe, who held o Hamlin for his rst win for Joe

Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, was the No. 2 seed before being knocked out in a crash and losing to Noah Gragson in the tournament. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Elliott and Keselowski were on the front row when a caution with 33 laps to go forced a decision on whether to pit for fresh tires. Both stayed on the track and Elliott faded following the restart until making his decisive charge at the very end.

Bracket busters

Ryan Blaney, the race favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, was knocked out on a wreck late in the rst stage. Christopher Bell hit the wall, triggering the crash that ended the stage with Cindric in the lead.

Cindric was involved in the bigger crash early in Stage 2. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace were among others involved in the crash.

UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS ATHLETICS

COURTESY SANDHILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Flyers basketball players (left to right) Tre’ Williams, Mike Fee and Xavion White will continue

BUTCH DILL / AP PHOTO

Chase

celebrates in Victory Lane after

Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

Annie Doris (Newsome) McIntyre

March 24, 1935 –June 24, 2025

Mrs. Annie Doris (Newsome) McIntyre, 90, of Durham, North Carolina (formerly of Lee County, NC) entered into eternal rest on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at Durham Nursing & Rehabilitation in Durham, North Carolina. Please keep the family and friends of Mrs. Annie Doris (Newsome) McIntyre in your thoughts and prayers. Arrangements are entrusted to McLeod Funeral Home of Sanford, North Carolina.

Loraine Waddell

Aug. 24, 1960 –June 25, 2025

Ms. Loraine Waddell, 64, of Aberdeen, North Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

Loraine was born to the late Pearl and Archie Waddell Sr., on August 24, 1960, in Southern Pines, North Carolina. She was a graduate of Pinecrest High School. She was preceded in death by her siblings, Alice V. Sealy, Archie Waddell, II, James E. Waddell, Georgia A. Davis and Michael Tony Waddell.

Loraine leaves to cherish her memories, her children, Damien Waddell and Michelle (Christopher) Dockery; her siblings, Janet Harris and Lillie Brazile and a host of nieces, nephews, family and friends.

Please keep the family and friends of Ms. Loraine Waddell in your thoughts and prayers. Arrangements are entrusted to McLeod Funeral Home of Southern Pines, North Carolina.

Norman Elmer Marley

March 14, 1940 – June 26, 2025

Norman Elmer Marley, 85, passed away Thursday, June 26, 2025, at Tara Plantation.

Norman worked for various poultry companies in the live haul operations for over 36 years. He was the owner of Marley’s Greenhouses in Robbins, which he started in 1976. He was a member of Smyrna Church. Norman loved riding horses, attending Robbins Farmers Day, giving plants to children, competing in Beagle Field Trials, where he had several eld Trial champions, listening to the Gaither’s gospel music and canning vegetables from the garden. He was a son of the late Lennie and Flossie Marley and was preceded in death by his wives, Shirley Marley and Louise Marley; son-in-law, Jim Morris; special friend, Laura Moore; and many brothers and sisters.

He is survived by son: Brian Marley, grandson: Jacob Marley wife Cassie; daughter: Kim Morris; grandson: Levi Morris wife Maggie; great grandchildren: Grayson and Madeline; grandson: Mason Morris wife Emily; great grandson: James; sister: Emily Owens and husband Bobby; many nieces, nephews and friends.

Per Norman’s request, no service will be planned.

The family requests that if you would like to prepare food, do so and give it to someone who might need a meal.

In lieu of owers, donations can be sent to Smyrna Cemetery Fund or Smyrna Youth, 203 Smyrna Church Road, Robbins, NC 27325, or Robbins Area Christian Ministry, P O Box 97, Robbins, NC 27325.

Phyllis Ann Forlaw Sealey Mahin

Aug. 9, 1962 – June 25, 2025

Phyllis Ann Forlaw Sealey Mahin, age 88 years, passed away on June 25, 2025, at The Meadows of Rockwell. She worked and retired from Wake County Social Services for 30 years. Phyllis volunteered for 20 years at FirstHealth Moore Regional.

Family that is continuing the journey, daughter, Sherry Ann Sealey Keck (Jim); grandson, Johnathan David Keck; great grandson, Nico Antonio Keck (Kaitlyn); great granddaughter, Isabella Corryn Keck; great great granddaughter, Nichole Grace Keck; sister-in-love, Maggie Forlaw; nephews, Benjamin Forlaw (Danielle), Adam Forlaw (Jess Boulet); great nieces and nephews, Riley, Will and Fletcher. Phyllis is preceded in death by her husband, Charles William Mahin; son, Jackie Leroy Sealey Jr.; grandson, Timothy James Keck; and brother, William Robert “Bob” Forlaw.

Family will receive friends on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at Seven Lakes Baptist Church, 1015 7 Lakes Dr. N., West End, NC 27376, from 12-1 p.m. Funeral ceremony will follow at 1 p.m. with Pastor Chris Hrabosky o ciating. Burial will take place at Seven Lakes Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Seven Lakes Baptist Church, 1015 7 Lakes Dr. N., West End, NC 27376.

Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home, Seven Lakes.

Anthony McMillan

Oct. 3, 1966 – June 27, 2025

Mr. Anthony Jerome McMillan, 58, of Eagle Springs, North Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Friday, June 27, 2025, at FirstHealth Moore Regional in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Please keep the family and friends of Mr. Anthony Jerome McMillan in your thoughts and prayers.

Arrangements are entrusted to McLeod Funeral Home of Southern Pines, North Carolina.

D’Kerrius Nasir Bridges March 24, 2004 – June 29, 2025

Mr. D’Kerrius Nasir Bridges, 21, of Sanford, North Carolina entered into eternal rest on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Please keep the family and friends of Mr. D’Kerrius Nasir Bridges in your thoughts and prayers.

Arrangements are entrusted to McLeod Funeral Home of Sanford, North Carolina.

James Larry Boles

May 23, 1940 –June 23, 2025

James Larry Boles, 85, of Norwood, died peacefully Monday, June 23, 2025, at the Greens Nursing and Rehabilitation in Pinehurst. Larry was born in Norwood on May 23, 1940, to the late James A. and Carrie Clontz Boles. He graduated from Norwood High School, Class of 1958, and was the Drum Major of the high school band.

Larry and his family moved to Aberdeen in September of 1970, after they bought the Western Auto Store from Mrs. Gross. They ran the business until it was sold in 1982. Larry was very instrumental in the revitalization of downtown Aberdeen. He was involved with the Aberdeen Jaycees and was instrumental in starting Little League Baseball for the community at the Colonial Heights ball eld. He was a member of the Southern Pines Elks Lodge #1692 for over 50 years and served as a past Exalted Ruler. He had over 56 years with the Roman Eagle Masonic Lodge #550 in Aberdeen, a 32° Scottish Rite Mason, an Oasis Shriner, and a member of the Moore County Shriner’s Club. He was a North Carolina Realtor for over 50 years. He was also a North Carolina Licensed Funeral Director for over 25 years. He was a member of Bethesda Presbyterian Church and enjoyed playing on their softball team.

Larry was a true entrepreneur; he loved Aberdeen, and Aberdeen was good to him.

In his later years, his interest turned to collecting toy cap guns, where he became known nationally as the “Cap Gun King”. He was once featured in Our State magazine and other NC media for his cap gun collection. He enjoyed repairing and restoring them. He was also known for his knowledge and passion for gold and silver.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by twin sons, Jimmy and Timmy, and his sister, Gaybrielle Boles Morgan. He is survived by his two sons: James L. “Jamie” Boles Jr., of Whispering Pines, and Richard L. (Sharon Robson) Boles of Laurinburg; six grandchildren: Erin Nance, Emily (Gabe) Nickle, Palmer (Nicole Furr) Boles, Glenn (Carrie Christopher) Boles, Kelsie Lea (Raven) Lucas, and Richard “Richie” Boles; seven great- grandchildren: Jackson, Kinsie, Sampson, Swayze, Ella, Waylon and Arlo; two brothers: Speedy (Sherry) Boles of Norwood and Truett Boles of Kannapolis; and a sister: Genevieve Boles Sumner of Norwood.

The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, June 27, 2025, at Boles Funeral Home in Southern Pines. The family will also receive friends at Edwards Funeral Home in Norwood, on Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 12-2 p.m., followed by a graveside service in the Norwood Cemetery. Memorials may be made in Larry’s name to the Masonic Home for Children, 600 College Rd., Oxford, NC 27565, or Shriners Hospital for Children, 950 West Faris Rd., Greenville, SC 29605.

Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines and Richard Boles Funeral Home of Laurinburg are in charge of arrangements.

Jane M. StantonDiefendorf

Dec. 8, 1930 – June 22, 2025

Jane M. Stanton-Diefendorf, 94, from Penick Village in Southern Pines, NC, passed away at FirstHealth Hospice House on June 22, 2025. Jane was born on December 8, 1930, in Queens, NY, to the late Fred and Joanna Curran. Jane was an elegant, vibrant woman, full of life and was always intrigued by the adventures other people shared with her. Jane married her late husband John W. Stanton on January 6, 1952, and lived in Edison, NJ. They both worked hard to raise their family and in 1973, together, they opened a home health care franchise to service the needs of their community. They spent many hours growing the business until 1988 when they moved to Pinehurst, NC to enjoy retirement life. After 60 years of marriage, she lost her husband and relocated to Penick Village. Jane became active at Sacred Heart Church as a member of the Ladies Auxiliary, Knitting club, Chippers Golf Organization and the Pinehurst Garden Club. She could also be found in the kitchen baking with her granddaughter, Brittany, behind a sewing machine creating beautiful designs, or outside tending to her radiant garden. Jane also loved cooking, entertaining and decorating, especially around the holidays, taking pride in all of it. She was a volunteer at the Village Shop and a member of both the Friends of Penick group and the Residence Council. During this time, she met a true gentleman, Monroe Diefendorf, who was also grieving the loss of his spouse; they consoled each other and fell in love. Jane and “Dief” were married in November of 2013, and both lived life to the fullest by traveling and visiting with their blended families. Their love for each other was devastatingly shortened by the passing of “Dief” in August of 2014. Jane continued her life at Penick Village and met Dick Maley who found solace in Jane’s company and the two of them became the “Dick & Jane” of Penick Village, memorializing their love for each other with a dedication brick on the Village House patio. They both decided they would remain as “ ancés for life” and enjoyed college basketball, reading, playing cards, socializing with friends and visiting family. Their courtship came to an end when Dick passed away in February 2024. Jane’s heart was once again broken, and she continued to be active within the Village. Jane is survived by her son John R. Stanton (Barbara), daughter Janet Tschida (Don), granddaughter Brittany Odom (Paul) and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of owers, the family requests that donations be made in Jane’s name to the Penick Village Foundation or Toys for Tots.

A Celebration of Life service will take place on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 3 p.m. in Hutchins Hall at Penick Village. Service arrangements have been entrusted to Boles Funeral Home.

Heidi Schmidt Atkins

April 10, 1945 –June 26, 2025

Heidi Schmidt Atkins, age 80, of Carthage, passed away on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at her home with family by her side.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Highland Baptist Church in Vass with Pastor Bill Vaughn o ciating. A time of visitation will be held one hour prior to the service from 1011 a.m. Burial will immediately follow the service in the church cemetery.

Heidi was born on April 10, 1945, in Germany to the late Wilhelm and Margarete Marx Schmidt. In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by her husband, William Owen Atkins, son, Jerry Hinesley Jr. She is survived by her sons, Willie Steve Hinesley (Jennifer) of Carthage; Kenny Atkins (Mary) of Pittsboro; Johnny Atkins (Frances) of Southern Pines; Mark Atkins of Sanford; daughter, Gail Atkins of Fayetteville; brother, Peter Schmidt and girlfriend, Erica; grandchildren, Kayla (Daniel); Jessica (Tyler); Abby (Fiancé Joe); Marc Daniel; Beth (Tim); Dina (Brandon); John (Rachel); great-grandchildren, Abigail, Theodore and Scarlett; sister-inlaw, Ruby Cox of Cameron. Heidi was a lifelong member of Highland Baptist Church. She loved her church, Pastor Vaughn and his wife, Jeannene as well as her church family, but most of all she loved her Lord. Her favorite Bible verse was Psalms 23, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. She is now with her Lord and experiencing the love of the Great Shepherd and hearing the words, “Well done thy good and faithful servant”.

Heidi loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren so much and the children of the church. She enjoyed thrift shopping and loved watching her birds. She was loved by so many and will be greatly missed.

Margaret “Peggy” Louise McDevitt Jan. 9, 1934 – June 27, 2025 Margaret “Peggy” McDevitt, age 91, of Warren, Michigan, passed away Friday, June 27, 2025, at First Health Hospice & Palliative Care.

A graveside service will be held at Cadillac Memorial Gardens East Cemetery in Clinton Township, Michigan; time and date to be determined.

Born January 9, 1934, in Mosaic, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of the late William Butts and Minnie Evans. She married Zeno McDevitt on March 12, 1955, and moved to Michigan, where she and Zeno had four sons. She enjoyed reading a good book on her front porch. She loved her owers in her yard. She had the most beautiful yard in her neighborhood. She enjoyed bowling and playing pinochle card games with her friends at the senior center. She volunteered for many years at Henry Ford Bi County Hospital.

Peggy is preceded in death by her parents, husband, Zeno McDevitt, and sons: Michael McDevitt and Gary McDevitt.

She is survived by two sons, Danny (Angie) McDevitt of Cameron, NC, Glen McDevitt of Lexington, KY; brother, Jim (Laura) Butts of PA; four Granddaughters: Beth (McDevitt) Wisner of Michigan, Christine McDevitt of North Carolina, Ciara (McDevitt) Retford of Michigan, Jamie McDevitt of North Carolina; two grandsons: Michael McDevitt Jr. of Michigan and Luke McDevitt of Kentucky. She has 12 greatgrandchildren. Powell Funeral Home is serving the McDevitt family.

Diane Marie Sonnenberg (née Sunderlin)

Oct. 23, 1935 – June 23, 2025

Diane Marie Sonnenberg (née Sunderlin) of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and formerly of Malvern, Pennsylvania, Chester, Virginia, and Chicago, Illinois, died on June 23, 2025.

Diane was born on October 23, 1935, in Chicago to Ruth Spohnholtz Sunderlin and Melvin Sunderlin. She was a sister to Joan Stach and Wayne Sunderlin. Her childhood was lled with extended family living together. They spent weekends at the family farm, swimming in the lakes and harvesting pears for her mother to can, and then they ate them all winter. Diane ended up hating those pears! Diane was active in the Luther League at church. During her teens, Diane was a beauty queen selected to work at the Chicago Auto Show.

Upon high school graduation, she entered the workforce at Deluxe Check Printers, where she met Donald James Sonnenberg of Kenosha, Wisconsin. They married in 1956 and moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where their son Kyle Russell was born in 1957.

Don moved from sales into management, and they relocated to Minneapolis, where their sons Kurt Allan (1959) and Thomas Wayne (1961) were born. Don was promoted to manage the Deluxe plant in Richmond, Virginia, in 1965. The family settled in Chester, where Diane ran the household, raised her sons and was active in the garden club and activities related to her sons’ lives. She and Don developed many close friendships and always cherished the time that they had in Chester.

In 1976, Don was promoted to run the Deluxe plant in Paoli, Pennsylvania. The family settled in East Whiteland Township, where Diane and Don lived for the next 46 years. Diane worked in a physician’s o ce for several years before retiring. She was active for many decades in the local Women’s Club, participating in their bridge and book groups. She and Don both spent many decades playing couples bridge with many longtime friends. Diane joined Don in playing golf. They had a weekly round with other couples. For a number of years, they also spent a winter month in Florida with another golf playing couple.

Diane especially enjoyed the annual Christmas Eve party that she and Don hosted for friends and family over many years. She loved Christmas, decorating the whole house every year and baking her special kuchen which was enjoyed by everyone. In 2024, she stated that this would be her last Christmas so her family left the decorations

obituaries

up long past New Year’s. She enjoyed the lights on the trees, including one with her own ornaments from years gone by.

During all of these years, Diane was a constant support to her three sons as they pursued higher education and then careers in city management (Kyle), medicine (Kurt) and pharmaceutical marketing (Tom). As they formed families of their own, Diane welcomed Mary, Bridgitte and Irene into the family. She was a very loving grandmother to Kyle and Mary’s son Eric and Tom and Irene’s children Colin and Tara, watching them as they grew into adulthood. She followed with great interest Eric’s completion of his undergraduate degree in neuroscience from his father’s alma mater, the College of William and Mary, and his medical degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. Among her nal words was that Eric is “…a good son, he is a good man, he will be a good father and a good doctor!”

Likewise, she was so proud to have a Penn State alum in Colin and of his pursuit of a career in information technology. She so prized her granddaughter Tara’s creativity in the arts and was thrilled to share examples of her work.

In the last years of her life, Diane was overjoyed to see Eric marry Sara Dixon and then bring two great-granddaughters, Harper Elizabeth and Emerson Tate, into this world. She truly loved seeing Harper and Emerson playing and doing all the things little girls do. Her standard goodbye to the girls was “See you later, alligator,” to which Harper and Emerson would reply, “After a while, crocodile!” Harper brought her red panda doll to be with and comfort Great Gran in her last days. During these last days of her life, Colin brought her new joy when he told her that he and Madison Barone had become engaged. She was so happy that her grandson had found his life’s love. Her niece Jill Kunz and her nephew John Sunderlin also reached out to their Auntie with their love during her last hours.

A year after Don’s passing, Diane left her longtime home in Pennsylvania and moved to Southern Pines, North Carolina, where she lived the last few years of her life with Kyle and Mary. She remained a member of St Luke Lutheran Church in Devon, Pennsylvania, until she joined the Church Triumphant. A service will be held at St. Luke at a later date.

The family would like to thank Shae, Tammy and Susan with Gentiva Hospice for the loving care they gave Diane in the last weeks and months of her life.

Our Friend, Sister, Auntie, Mom, Grandma, and Great Gran will be missed by all of us. She lived a life lled with love, both given and received. We are all better for having had her in our lives and any good thing that we do in our lives is a testament to her life. She exempli ed the Christian virtue of loving others and putting their needs ahead of her own. We can only hope and pray that we can do the same. Go in peace and serve the Lord. Memorials may be made to St. Luke Lutheran Church, 204 N. Valley Forge Rd., Devon, PA 19333. Service arrangements are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home.

Edward W. Rackowski Jr.

Dec. 23, 1941 – June 22, 2025

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Edward W. Rackowski, 83, of Pinehurst, North Carolina, on June 22, 2025.

Born in Summit, Ed lived in Spring eld, NJ, attending Seton Hall Prep and University. Ed was a golf caddy at Baltusrol Country Club in Spring eld and worked as well for the USPS, working hard to pay his way through school. After proudly serving in the Army, Ed spent his entire 36-year career at Prudential Insurance in Roseland, NJ where he was able to retire at the young age of 57. Ed and his wife Patricia of 54 years built their home in Denville, NJ and raised their family there until retirement in 2001. Ed achieved his dream retirement in Pinehurst where they built their retirement home and enjoyed life for the last 24 years. Ed not only moved to Pinehurst with many NJ friends but also acquired many new friends over the years. Ed had a profound love of golf and travel. Along with friends, Ed was a founding member of the Beach Boys group. He thrived on the successes of his four grandchildren, Emma, Jack, Mason and Cole.

He is survived by his wife Patricia (Burke); son, Eddie (Ann Marie); daughter, Jennifer Bernier (Jeremy), and his four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents Tillie and Edward Rackowski.

In lieu of owers, please consider a donation in Ed’s name to US Kids Golf (donations can be directed to the Pinehurst, NC location) or the Given Memorial Library of Pinehurst. (Checks should be made out to Village of Pinehurst, on the memo line Given Memorial Library, 150 Cherokee Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374).

Ed’s life will be celebrated on Friday, July 25, 2025, at 3 pm at Boles Funeral Home in Pinehurst, followed by a reception at Pinewild Country Club.

Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines.

Richard “Dick” Lee James

Oct. 27, 1924 – June 25, 2025

Richard “Dick” Lee James, 100, passed away Wednesday June 25, 2025. A service will be held on July 13 at 2 p.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Southern Pines.

He was born on Oct. 27, 1924, to Mary Jane and William Harrison James and grew up in Star, NC.

Richard was a WWII veteran. He joined the Navy during the war and served until the war ended. After returning home, Richard married his wife Barbara on December 16, 1948, and graduated from Catawba College. Together, Richard and Barbara raised two daughters and built an insurance and real estate business. Richard never met a stranger and was always quick with a story or history lesson about any topic imaginable.

Richard is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Mary Lee and Joe Roberts; granddaughter, Heather Javoroski and her husband Louis Javoroski; grandson Matthew Roberts; and his wife Anna Plummer-Roberts. He is also survived by four great-grandchildren, Lillyan and Makayla Javoroski and Jolene and James Roberts. He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara James, and his daughter, Cathy Ann James. In lieu of owers, send contributions to the Cathy Ann James Scholarship MCV (Medical College of Virginia) Foundation at: VCU

O ce of Annual Giving Box 843042, Richmond, VA 23284-3042 Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines.

Anna Patricia Hinkley

Nov. 4, 1932 – June 26, 2025

Anna P. Frangello Hinkley, 92, passed away on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at Transitions Lifecare in Raleigh, NC.

She was born on November 4, 1932, in Glasco, New York, to the late Frank and Josephine Maione Frangello. Anna is preceded in death by her husband, Bruce E. Hinkley; her ve brothers: James, John, Frank, Michael, and Charles Frangello; ve sisters: Laura Pasqua, Mary Frangello, Fanny Shafer, Teresa Ferrendino, and Rose Steltz; niece, Josephine Ganley, and nephew, Steven Pasqua.

Anna is remembered for her love of golf, bowling, and other sports. She enjoyed playing bingo and working with ceramics. She graduated from Saugerties High School and worked at IBM for over thirty years before retiring. She volunteered at a local library and served on her homeowners’ association board for many years.

She is survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and greatnieces and great-nephews.

The family will have a private service at a later date.

Powell Funeral Home is serving Anna’s family.

Patricia Dianne Faulk

Feb. 7, 1955 – June 26, 2025

Ms. Patricia Dianne Faulk, 70, of Pineblu , North Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at FirstHealth Hospice and Palliative Care in West End, North Carolina.

Please keep the family and friends of Ms. Patricia Dianne Faulk in your thoughts and prayers.

Arrangements are entrusted to McLeod Funeral Home of Southern Pines, North Carolina.

STATE & NATION

82-year-old Jewish

woman injured in Boulder rebomb attack dies

Karen Diamond was hit by a Molotov cocktail on June 1

By Colleen Slevin and Mead Gruver

The Associated Press

DENVER — An 82-year-old Colorado woman who was injured in a Molotov cocktail attack on demonstrators in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza has died, prosecutors said Monday.

Karen Diamond died as a result of the severe injuries she su ered in the June 1 attack in downtown Boulder, Colorado, the local district attorney’s ofce said in a statement. Prosecutors have listed 29 victims, including 13 who were physically injured.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman already faced dozens of charges in state court including attempted rst-degree murder, using an incendiary device, and animal cruelty because a dog was hurt in the attack. He has not been arraigned on those charges that now include rst-degree murder.

The Associated Press left a

voicemail Monday for Soliman’s public defender in the state case. The o ce generally bars its lawyers from commenting on their cases to the media. A preliminary hearing to determine whether there’s enough evidence for a trial is set for July 15.

Separately, Soliman has been indicted on 12 federal hate crime counts. He entered a not guilty plea to those charges in federal court on Friday.

Leaders of the Boulder Jewish Community Center announced in an email Monday

that Diamond died June 25 and said she will be deeply missed.

“Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her,” executive director

Jonathan Lev and board chair David Paul said.

Diamond helped at her synagogue and volunteered for several local groups, including the University of Colorado University Women’s Club and a local music festival.

Gov. Jared Polis said in a

Rising summer heat increases risk of child deaths in hot cars

Some cars have new features to remind parents to be vigilant

By Freida Frisaro

The Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE,

Fla. — A record heat wave that spread across the East Coast of the United States during the rst week of summer has child advocates warning parents and caretakers about the risks of heatstroke to children left inside hot vehicles.

So far this year, nine children have died after being left unattended in vehicles in California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New Jersey and North Carolina, according to Kids and Car Safety, which collects data on hot car deaths. Five died in June.

And last year, 39 children in the U.S. died after being left in hot cars.

The temperature outside doesn’t have to be super hot for a child left in a vehicle to be affected by the heat, said Kathy Wall, director of Safe Kids Palm Beach County.

“Inside, the vehicle can heat up 20 degrees in just 20 minutes,” Wall said. “So if you imagine it’s an 80 degree day, which

in South Florida is a cool day, it could be over 100 degrees within 10 minutes inside the car.”

Hot car deaths can happen any time of year, and since 1998, every state but Alaska has reported a hot car death, accord-

ing to the National Safety Council. In both 2018 and 2019, a record 53 children died after being left in hot cars.

About 80% of the heat rise in vehicles happens in the rst 30 minutes of a child being left in-

“Karen was a cherished member of our community, someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her.”

Boulder Jewish Community Center statement

statement Monday that he was devastated by Diamond’s death, and that it will be felt deeply by the city of Boulder, the state and the Jewish community.

“Karen was taken from us too soon, and we mourn her loss while remembering her life and the impact she had on those who loved her,” Polis said.

Prosecutors said Diamond’s family has asked for privacy. Diamond and her husband were enthusiastic volunteers since the 1990s for a local historic preservation organization, Historic Boulder, Inc. The couple often helped with public tours of old homes, said Melanie Muckle, the organization’s administrator.

side, when maximum temperatures can exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit, according to data compiled by Jan Null, a certi ed consulting meteorologist at San Jose State University.

“Children sweat a lot less than adults do and their internal temperature can increase three to ve times faster than an adult. So that’s why it’s just as important to make sure that your child isn’t left in the vehicle, especially during these rising temperatures,” said Capt. Karen Derogatis of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

While it’s easy to place blame for leaving a child in a vehicle, even people trained to know the dangers have made that tragic mistake, Wall said.

“It’s not a socioeconomic group, it’s not a cultural group,” she said. “This sadly has happened to doctors, it’s happened to dentists, it happened to school teachers, it’s happened to child care workers. Nobody is exempt from this.”

Distraction often leads to forgetting about a child in the backseat, which is why it is important to create routines and reminders, she said.

“It sounds crazy, but sometimes people get out of routines or are distracted, especially in today’s world. There’s lots going on in the news, lots going with families,” she said.

A parent who normally doesn’t drop a child o at a day care facility might become distracted and forget that the child is in the vehicle, she said.

She encourages parents and caregivers to establish routines.

“Their generosity with their time and their talent and their kindness, I can’t overstate that,” Muckle said.

During the demonstration, Soliman posed as a gardener and wore a construction vest to get close to the group before launching the attack, prosecutors allege.

Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the participants at the weekly demonstration. He yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw just two of more than two dozen Molotov cocktails he had prepared.

Prosecutors have identi ed 29 people who are considered victims of the attack, including 13 who were physically injured. The others were nearby and are considered victims because they could have been hurt. A dog was also injured in the attack.

Prosecutors previously said there were 15 victims but the number has increased as investigators discovered more people who were at the scene.

The victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual national origin, prosecutors allege. An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.

Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a “legal citizen.” Federal authorities have said the Egyptian national has been living in the U.S. illegally with his family.

“We have an acronym, ACT,” Wall said.

A stands for avoiding leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.

C stands for creating a reminder that works best for you. Authorities suggest leaving a personal item such as a purse or briefcase in the backseat so you’ll have to open the back door before locking the vehicle.

T is to take action right away.

“If you see a child in a car, don’t try to gure out how long they’ve been in the car. Call 911 immediately,” Wall said. Some newer cars o er warnings for drivers to check the backseat for passengers, and others go further than that. The new 2025 Tesla Model Y, for example, has an in-cabin radar that can detect an individual’s heart rate and breathing, even in the backseat.

If it detects a child left unattended, it can notify the driver through the Tesla smartphone app, automatically turn on the air conditioning and even call 911. Other carmakers, including Toyota, have demonstrated similar capabilities using in-vehicle sensors.

But double checking the vehicle is key, said Derogatis, the re captain.

“If you make it a common habit, just like you would look in their rear view mirror to see if somebody’s behind you, or if you look at your side view mirror to see if you want to switch lanes, make it habit to look in your rearview mirror, whether you have a child or an animal or anything, just to ensure that they are as safe as possible,” she said.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO

A woman places a bouquet of owers at a makeshift memorial for victims of an attack outside of the Boulder County, Colorado, courthouse on June 3.

CODY JACKSON / AP PHOTO

Outside temperature is displayed in comparison to the inside temperature of a vehicle last Thursday in Belle Glade, Florida, during an event to raise awareness about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles.