North State Journal Vol. 11, Issue 21

Stein signs state budget

In ation cools as gas costs fall, underlying prices ease

Washington, D.C.

U.S. in ation cooled last month as the cost of gas, clothes and used cars fell, providing some relief to consumers, while underlying price pressures also eased more than expected. Prices dropped 0.4% from May to June, the largest monthly drop in four years, the Labor Department said Tuesday. On a yearly basis, in ation declined to 3.5%, down from a year-over-year gain of 4.2% in May and lower than many economists expected. Excluding the food and energy categories, core prices were unchanged in June, a positive sign that underlying in ation is cooling. On a yearly basis, core prices rose just 2.6%, down from 2.9% the previous month.

U.S.-Russian crew blast o for ISS stint

Moscow

A U.S.-Russian space crew blasted o successfully Tuesday on a mission to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian crewmates Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted o from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 for an eightmonth stint on the orbiting outpost. Their spacecraft entered the designated orbit and is set to dock at the station three hours after the launch. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, the rst visit to Baikonur by a NASA chief in eight years that highlighted the ongoing cooperation in orbit between Moscow and Washington despite tensions over Russia’s military action in Ukraine.

Woodhouse resigns from auditor’s o ce

An o ce spokesperson said the position was never meant to be permanent

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Dallas Woodhouse has resigned from the North Carolina State Auditor’s O ce e ective Monday.

In his ve-page resignation letter, Woodhouse framed his tenure as helping 100 county board chairs be better equipped and working on

much-needed election systems upgrades as well as early voting plans, but said, “the need for a dedicated Elections Liaison has naturally come to an end.”

Woodhouse also thanked the auditor’s o ce sta for welcoming him and State Auditor Dave Boliek, writing it was “an honor to work for a man whose character, honesty, humility, and integrity are evident every day.”

The resignation follows the O ce of the State Auditor

See RESIGN, page A6

The roughly $34 billion budget includes pay raises for teachers and law enforcement

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed the roughly $34 billion state budget during a ceremony held last Tuesday in Raleigh.

“These are real wins worthy of celebration, worthy of my signature,” Stein said before signing the bill.

Legislative leaders issued statements on the budget being signed.

“Today, the best budget in decades becomes law, delivering historic raises for teachers and law enforcement, as well as tax relief for the working men and women of our state,” House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) said in a statement. “There is something in this budget for every North Carolinian, and the meaningful investments we’ve made will deliver real results that strengthen our communities, put more money back in people’s pockets, and im-

Audit cites Rocky Mount utility billing confusion

The city’s unauthorized schedule changes in utility bills led to complaints

By Jessica Taylor For North State Journal

RALEIGH — The North Carolina O ce of the State Auditor conducted an Information Systems Audit of the City of Rocky Mount after public confusion and complaints following customers receiving two utility bills in one month. The audit found the confusion was caused by unauthorized schedule changes, not overbilling. Additional discoveries revealed that two city council members accumulat-

ed unpaid utility bills while continuing to receive utility services.

“This new report details mistakes made by the City’s billing department that led to confusion regarding bills received by the public,” said State Auditor Dave Boliek in a press release. “It also shines a light on Rocky Mount o cials who had delinquent bills. Rocky Mount continues to face nancial and personnel issues that need to be addressed.

“The State Auditor’s Ofce will not stop providing much-needed transparency to the people of Rocky Mount, so that they can make informed, educated decisions on what’s best for their community.”

See AUDIT, page A6

“Rocky

Mount continues to face nancial and personnel issues that need to be addressed.”

Dave Boliek, state auditor

prove lives across our state.”

“Republican scal policies resulted in an incredible decade of success and economic growth,” Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) said in a post on X, containing a link to an extended set of remarks. “Senate Republicans fought to secure a budget that would continue those e orts, and the budget Gov. Stein signed does just that. It continues to slash tax rates for all North Carolinians and prioritize the needs of our citizens, not bureaucrats.” Stein said the budget “gets a lot of things right” but also said he “won’t sweep this budget’s aws under the rug.”

During the signing ceremony, Stein praised the budget for delivering the largest starting teacher pay raise in nearly 50 years and the largest overall teacher pay increase in 15 years.

He also touted fully funding Medicaid, providing double-digit raises for state law enforcement o cers and bonuses for local ones, and allocating another $700 million for Hurricane Helene recovery in Western North Carolina.

See BUDGET, page A2

COURTESY @NC_GOVERNOR / X

Gov. Josh Stein signed the long-awaited budget at a ceremony last week.

“But while he was still a long way o — his father saw him and was lled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him!” Luke 15:20

The boy had, in the far-away country, a vision of his old home. As he sat there and thought of his dishonor and his ruin — a picture ashed before him, which made him very home-sick. The vision brought back the old home in all its beauty and blessedness. There was plenty there — while here in the far country, the once happy favored son, was perishing with hunger! It was a blessed moment for the debauched prodigal. It was God’s message to him, inviting him to return home.

When a child is stolen away from a lovely and tender household, it may be kept among wandering gypsies or savage Indians even to old age — but there are always broken fragments of sweet memories which hang over the soul like trailing clouds in the sky — dim, shadowy memories of something very lovely, very pure — reminiscences of that long-lost, long-forgotten past, when the child lay on the mother’s arms, and was surrounded by beauty and tenderness.

Just so, there is something in the heart of every one who has wandered from God — which ever oats about him, even in sin’s revels — a fair, dreamy vision, dim and far away perhaps — but as splendid as the drapery of the sunset. It is the memory of lost innocence, of the Father’s love, the vision of a heavenly beauty — which is possible of restoration to the worst and most debauched.

When the prodigal reached home — he found his vision realized. His father was watching for him — had long been watching for him. It is a picture of the heavenly Father’s loving welcome of every lost child of His, who comes back home. Thus He receives the worst — who penitently return. Our sweetest dreams of God’s love, are a thousand times too poor and dim — when compared to the reality. A great way o

God sees the returning prodigal — and runs to meet him. No matter how far we have wandered, there is a welcome waiting for us at home!

J. R. Miller was a pastor and former editorial superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication from 1880 to 1911. His works are now in the public domain.

State Health Plan approves premium hikes, tiers

The contract will shift back to Blue Cross from Aetna

By Jessica Taylor For North State Journal

RALEIGH — The North Carolina State Health Plan’s Board of Trustees nalized major 2027 bene t changes at its meeting last week.

Premiums were raised by a at 5% for most members, with Blue Cross NC winning the contracts to become the Third-Party Administrative Services and Pharmacy Bene t Manager in 2028.

“This is a monumental step in the right direction for the Plan and the people we serve,” Treasurer Brad Briner said in a press release. “Our members deserve for us to ght for them. Affordability, improved access to high-quality care and more sustainability for the Plan means better health care and better health.

“These actions do just that. For decades, health care costs have risen faster than funding, creating increasing pressure on our public servants, taxpayers and the Plan itself,” said Briner.

The premium increase rate applies to the State Health Plan (SHP) monthly payment an individual is under based on salary bands and plan choice. Individual monthly premiums will rise by about $1.76 to $8.05 depending on salary band, while non-Medicare family coverage will range from $29 to $42 per month.

The 70/30 PPO, or Standard PPO, completely covers preventive care and generally pays 70% of nonpreventive care. The Plus PPO Plan features lower deductibles, coinsurance and an out-of-pocket maximum compared to the Standard PPO Plan but requires higher monthly premiums.

Both plans are currently administered by Aetna and will transition to Blue Cross NC in 2028. According to SHP ocials, contracts with Blue Cross NC give the SHP an opportunity to save up to $1 billion from 2028 through 2031.

Individuals on the Medicare Advantage Plan also see changes to monthly premiums, which include rates set at approximately $60 per month for the Base Plan and $143 per month for the Enhanced Plan. Medi-

state positions, claiming the budget keeps some raises below the rate of in ation and for cre -

Additional wins include investments in community colleges, childcare subsidies, SunBucks summer meals, data center tax reforms, farmland preservation and PFAS cleanup.

Stein told stories of individual North Carolinians to illustrate the budget’s impact, from teachers and corrections ofcers to a Medicaid recipient and Helene victims. He noted, “This budget gets a lot of things right,” and credited compromise “for the common good.”

However, Stein criticized the legislature’s approach for “slashing” more than 1,000

ating “unfunded mandates.”

Stein also used the word

“cruel,” a term often used by his predecessor, Roy Cooper, for the elimination of the Ofce of Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Ofce of Historically Underutilized Businesses.

Stein also attacked “unconstitutional and petty provisions that strip power from the executive branch.” The budget includes provisions to shift certain board and commission appointments away from Stein.

He also claimed “wrongheaded threats of retribution

Treasurer Brad Briner

cal limits for the Base Plan will increase to $4,500, and the Enhanced Plan will increase to $3,700.

Non-Medicare retirees on the Standard PPO and Medicare-primary retirees on the Base Plan stay at $0 per month for individual coverage.

Members with a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)

against Charlotte” over the I-77 toll lane, a dispute Stein has been criticized for not weighing in more forcefully.

On education, Stein echoed Cooper’s past attacks on the Opportunity Scholarship program (OSP), claiming the legislature continues “paying wealthy people to send their children to unaccountable private schools at the same time our public schools have been chronically underfunded.”

Stein’s budget proposal would have placed a moratorium on the OSP, which provides grant money on a sliding income scale to students to attend the private school of their choice. The OSP funding comes

who use designated preferred providers will be able to access lower copays, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

Members who opt for nonpreferred providers will face higher out-of-pocket costs. State employees on HDHPs are affected by the 5% premium hike.

The SHP provides healthcare coverage to nearly 750,000 active and retired teachers, state employees and their dependents. The SHP has a projected de cit approaching $507 million and introduced a four-tier plan last month to steer SHP members to cost-saving options; the four-tier plan was approved at the July meeting.

Tiers include Preferred, Access, Non-Preferred and Outof-Network. Preferred has lower-cost providers and outof-pocket costs, while the Ac -

“These

Gov. Josh Stein

from a separate reserve fund and not from the state’s education budget. Again sounding like Cooper, Stein criticized future tax cuts as only helping “corporations” and “the wealthy.” While corporate tax rates have been cut, the budget lowers the personal income tax rate of 3.49% in 2027 to 2.99% by 2032.

cess tier the maintained current year’s costs. Non-Preferred saw a 30% coinsurance after a $5,000 deductible and Out-ofNetwork saw a 50% coinsurance after a $15,000 deductible.

Novant Health and UNC Health were approved as Preferred Providers and will provide discounted rates to members and work toward lower-cost care options. Members can see out-of-pocket maximums drop to $4,000, with critical services like cancer treatment, maternity care, transplants and neonatal intensive care being shielded from higher nonpreferred costs.

Atrium Health, Granville Health, Iredell Health Systems and some Duke LifePoint facilities were chosen as nonpreferred providers.

“My goal is to make things as a ordable and accessible for our members,” said Executive Administrator Tom Friedman during a reporter roundtable in Raleigh. “No one is nonpreferred in an emergency situation. If folks come to an emergency room, they’re not going to be penalized for having emergencies.

“The only alternative to thinking outside the box would entail across-the-board increases to everything, and we really didn’t think our members could — or should — be burdened with such an increase.”

The adjustments made to the SHP will take e ect Jan.

Earlier this year, Stein’s recommended budget proposed approximately $33.3 billion in FY 2026 and $35.44 billion in FY 2027. Overall, that would have been $2.85 billion in spending beyond the legislature’s proposal. In contrast to the budget Stein signed, which provides an average 8% teacher pay raise plus bonuses, Stein’s proposal called for an average 11% pay increase for current teachers by the second year of the biennium. Beginning teachers currently start at $41,000; Stein’s budget raised it nearly 30% to $53,120. The enacted budget raises beginning teacher base pay to $48,000.

COURTESY STATE HEALTH PLAN

PUBLIC DOMAIN

“The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt (circa 1668) is a painting in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

LGC approves $2M for new Calabash town hall

The loan marks an end to the town’s 15-year debt free period

By Jessica Taylor For North State Journal

RALEIGH — The Local Government Commission approved a $2 million installment nancing contract last week for the Town of Calabash in Brunswick County to relocate its town hall. Town leaders in Calabash stated its current town hall does not adequately balance workforce capacity with community needs.

The Town of Calabash will support the $2 million with an additional $1.1 million, totaling $3.1 million. The project marks an end to the town’s 15-year period of being debt-free.

“It’s needed. It’s been a long time coming,” said Calabash Town Administrator Michael Price. “I’m just happy that it’s coming in such a way that’s going to save the taxpayers a lot of money over the life of the loan.”

According to Calabash ocials, the project is necessary for the town’s economy and the general health and welfare of its residents. O cials said the original town hall lacked the space and infrastructure needed to support the town’s rapidly growing sta and community.

The new facility is planned to be located on Old Georgetown Road and will span 12,000 square feet — ve times the size

COURTESY TOWN OF CALABASH

The Town of Calabash is planning a new town hall that will cost $3.1 million.

of the current building. The town will also implement a tax rate increase of $0.028 to help fund the town hall’s relocation and purchase.

The original town hall, a 2,600-square-foot building, served Calabash for more than 40 years. It functioned as a central municipal hub that housed local administrative o ces, storage and commissioners’ meeting chambers.

The Local Government Commission (LGC) is chaired by State Treasurer Brad Briner with a responsibility for approving most debt issued by units of local government and public authorities in the state. The LGC examines if the borrowed money is reasonable for the proposed project and if the government unit can a ord to repay the debt.

The City of Rocky Mount also

Police Benevolent Association endorses Whatley for Senate

The U.S. Senate candidate has made law and order a centerpiece of his platform

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley received the endorsement of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association during a press event in Raleigh last Thursday.

North Carolina Police Benevolent Association (PBA) is the state’s largest law enforcement advocacy group with 17,700 members.

“This endorsement process through the PBA is probably the most thorough out there,” said PBA President David Rose. “Michael Whatley has met with us, discussed our issues, met with a committee of about 24 of our members, as did Roy Cooper.”

“So I say all that to say that when we reach this decision, we are picking the person that we think most identi es our issues and that we can trust that while we’re out there keeping citizens safe, that’s going to have our back and keep us safe,” Rose said.

/ AP PHOTO North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, pictured in Rocky Mount in March, received the endorsement of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association last week.

Whatley has made law and order the centerpiece of his campaign for the seat and was endorsed by the North Carolina Troopers Association at an event in Charlotte the day after the March primary.

In his remarks, Whatley highlighted his commitment to “backing the blue,” and calling public safety the government’s core purpose — one he said Coo-

updated LGC members on its nancial health.

Rocky Mount has faced nancial struggles due to a structural de cit and a 78% drop in cash reserves. The deputy city manager, nance o cer and mayor stated in the LGC meeting that they are continuing to work on their budgeting and are building a more resilient nancial foundation for the 2026 scal year.

The LGC approved several other requests:

• $3.34 million, Aqua North Carolina — Approved two state revolving fund loans for Brookwood Wells and Wyntree and Willow Hill Well Improvement Projects water ltration improvements.

• $40 million, Brunswick County — Approved limited obligation bonds for a new Health and Human Services/Emergen-

per was “an abject failure at this most basic mission” during his time as governor.

Both Whatley and Rose cited cashless bail, pretrial release and responses to 2020 unrest as examples of Cooper’s public safety failures.

“Roy Cooper wanted to reimagine law enforcement,” Whatley said. “I don’t think we need to reimagine law enforcement. I think we need to enforce the law.”

Also mentioned was North Carolina being No. 1 in the nation for untested rape kits when Josh Stein took over for Cooper as attorney general. While campaigning for governor, Cooper said he cleared the backlog, a claim that was refuted and proven false given what Stein inherited.

Whatley sharply criticized Cooper for policies he said endangered communities and o cers — including early releases of more than 4,200 prisoners during COVID-19, many of whom were violent offenders who later reo ended, resulting in additional deaths.

While speaking, Whatley held up mugshots of some o enders released by Cooper, describing how they committed further murders and emphasized the human cost with “empty seats” at family tables.

Whatley listed 230 sex o enders, 85 murderers and 51 serving life sentences among the 4,200 released by Cooper. He also said 2,200 of those released have been rearrested, including “over 600” for violent felonies, 99 for sexual assault and rape, and 25 who committed murders.

“That is 25 empty seats at

cy Operations Center and to renance bonds for North Brunswick High School.

• $230 million, Cape Fear Public Utility — Approved revenue bonds for the Southside Water Reclamation Facility (SSWRF) replacement, including building new infrastructure, modernizing treatment technology and expanding capacity.

• $144 million, Cape Fear Public Utility — Approved a state revolving fund loan for the SSWRF replacement, increasing an existing loan.

• $240 million, Durham County — Approved general obligation bonds as refunding for several general government projects.

• $1.5 million, Town of Granite Quarry — Approved installment nancing contract for construction, infrastructure upgrades and site development for

the dinner table across North Carolina,” Whatley added.

One example highlighted by Whatley was the death of a child.

“Roy Cooper let convicted drug dealer Lucas Scrontz out of prison early,” Whatley said.

“After he was released, Scrontz killed his 16-month-old daughter, Ivy, who died from a fentanyl overdose after he contaminated her bottle while using fentanyl.”

Whatley also held up the mugshot of Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused of murdering Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s light rail system last August. Brown’s name also appeared on that list despite prison o cials claiming Brown would have been released anyway.

When asked to clarify comments he made during COVID-19 regarding prisons, Whatley emphatically denied he wanted any prisoners released.

“That is absolutely not true. I did not say that we wanted him to release those prisoners at all,” said Whatley.

He pointed to the NAACP and ACLU suing governors around the country to release prisoners, saying only Cooper complied via a settlement agreement.

Whatley said his past comments were about addressing conditions in prisons using masks, shots and other mitigation methods.

“(I) certainly did not call in any way for there to be a release of prisoners, let alone 4,200 of them, including the worst of the worst with pedophiles and predators and rapists and murderers,” Whatley said.

The riots in 2020 after the death of George Floyd

the Granite Park and Town Hall.

• $10 million, Hendersonville — Approved general obligation bonds for transportation-related projects for the improvement of streets and sidewalks.

• $2.36 million, Lenoir County — Approved an installment nancing contract to partially fund the construction of a shell commercial building for businesses located in or relocating to the county.

• $10.5 million, Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy — Approved conduit revenue bonds to re nance the school’s current taxable loan and provide funds for a STEM and chemistry lab, new classrooms and the construction of a cafeteria/multipurpose room.

• $50 million, Carolina Village — Approved conduit revenue bonds to make sewer improvements and expansion.

• $27 million, Orange County — Approved limited obligation bonds for a crisis diversion center focused on urgent care for behavioral health to individuals 4 years or older for up to two weeks.

• $4.14 million, City of Eden — Approved installment nancing contract for a water and sewer advanced metering infrastructure project replacing the current meter reading system.

• $22.5 million, Stanly County — Approved USDA revenue bonds for capital improvement projects, including the McCoy’s Creek pump station and West Stanley WWTP Enhancement Project issues.

were also addressed by Whatley.

“When our cities were burning down across the state in 2020, did he call in the National Guard to help put down those riots?” Whatley asked. “No, he took o his COVID mask, he raised his st, and he marched with him.”

In May, North State Journal reported that Cooper and his family were evacuated from the Executive Mansion during the May 2020 riots. Cooper did not send in the National Guard during the worst night of activity in Raleigh despite units of the guard already being stationed nearby. Following the destruction in Raleigh, Cooper returned to the mansion and marched with protesters in violation of his own pandemic restrictions.

Whatley described Cooper’s Racial Justice Task Force, set up in the wake of the 2020 riots, as “a revolving door, which puts criminals back on the streets as soon as they are arrested by implementing cashless bail and pretrial release across the state.”

Rose also criticized Cooper’s task force.

“I was around in 2020. We saw incredible vacancies, COVID, and the profession was being hit pretty hard by issues that weren’t even here in North Carolina,” said Rose. “What a time for then-Gov. Cooper to step up. Instead, he created a commission that really turned its back on us.” Rose said that even though the PBA has 17,700 members, “we couldn’t even be in that conversation.”

“We never got the sense that Gov. Cooper — then-Gov. Cooper — wanted to hear our opinion on that,” he said.

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THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

A hero for humanity

His mentor was none other than Anglican priest John Newton, author of the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

IN THE AFTERMATH of our 250th anniversary celebration of America’s separation from the British Empire, it is a good time to take notice of one major development that was taking place at the same time in England to gain insight into how one person can make a di erence and literally change the world.

One example of a great leader who has not been taught about enough in our nation’s schools, churches and homes was a member of the British Parliament who served from 1780 to 1825 — William Wilberforce.

Had he been celebrated more as a brave visionary leader, he would rank among the great leaders of modern history alongside Thomas Je erson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. Author Kevin Belmonte wrote an excellent biography of Wilberforce titled “A Hero for Humanity,” which is easy to believe after reading it.

What too few people know about Wilberforce is that he almost single-handedly ended the British slave trade with the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. He then went on to lead the political ght for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. The Slavery Abolition Act passed a few days before his death in 1833 after an almost 50-year struggle.

What would possess a man born into aristocratic circles in 18th-century England to challenge the powerful and moneyed interests of the British Empire who were

making millions of pounds from the sugar plantations of the West Indies and seek to end the slave trade that had made it all possible in the rst place?

His sel ess devotion to a just and righteous cause is worth examining in detail because it should help us understand the how and why of such leaders and how they, in turn, inspire other great leaders to follow in their footsteps and accomplish more in their own way. Perhaps Wilberforce’s story will inspire us to emulate his e orts to try to solve any number of current problems facing us today as a nation.

He didn’t use brute force or coercion. He worked within the existing governmental and political structure of his time. He was a son of the Enlightenment, when reason and logic prevailed, often sprinkled with a touch of humor and good hospitality.

Most importantly, he was a man of faith after converting to Christianity in 1786 — during a period he called his “Great Change” — who felt led to tackle the harder issues in life rather than occupy a seat in Parliament and enjoy near-universal approbation and ease of life. His mentor was none other than Anglican priest John Newton, author of the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

What an examination of Wilberforce’s life mission can also do is help reduce some of the tension that arises whenever Americans talk about race relations simply because he believed all men were created equal and did something

about it, in uencing many others to follow.

Wilberforce served from 1780 to 1825, the same time the new United States of America was declaring independence from monarchical rule of England. He knew and dined with Benjamin Franklin as the U.S. envoy to England. He was well aware of the writings of Je erson and the other Founders of the United States who drew their ideologies from the great philosophical writers of Europe, especially John Locke of England. The American Founders were aware of what Wilberforce was doing in the English Parliament through various news accounts and reports from agents in England.

All his work was taking place as the new United States of America was separating from the British Empire, but his work in uenced many in the new nation, including Franklin. Franklin was inspired by Wilberforce’s work to set up abolition societies around the new republic. Such moral and religious work spawned the abolition movement in the northern states of America, culminating in the creation of a new political party. On March 20, 1854, the Republican Party was formed out of the rib of the former Whig Party, with the abolition of slavery as its main political platform and policy to achieve.

We all have things we would like to see changed in America. Most of the time, the problems seem too big and too complex for one person to make a di erence. However, the lesson we can learn from Wilberforce is that nothing will ever get done unless we try — and maybe with God’s help, even the biggest problems can be solved.

One of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s finest hours

“I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham

I WOKE UP SUNDAY morning and came into the living room to see my mom perusing Facebook, something she does every day to catch up on what’s happening with friends and family, and to see what’s going on in the world.

I’d barely sat down in the recliner before she asked me, “Did you see that Lindsey Graham had passed away?”

“What?” I asked, sure she was mistaken.

“Lemme look this up,” I added, sure that it wasn’t true because there have been things she’s seen like that on Facebook before they turned out to be fake news.

But when I Googled it and then looked at Graham’s X account and saw the statement from his o ce that the Republican senator from South Carolina died Saturday night “from a brief and sudden illness,” I saw that it was true.

Graham was 71 (his birthday was July 9), but he seemed to have the energy and stamina of someone much younger. That’s almost a requirement for a member of Congress, which he had been since 1995, serving in the House for eight years before his election to the Senate in 2003.

of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who had been nominated by President Donald Trump to replace Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who had retired.

Democrats were loaded for bear, as this was Trump’s second conservative Supreme Court nominee since taking o ce, and because Kennedy was considered a “swing” justice, Democrats knew adding another conservative justice to the court could pave the way for the possible reversal of Roe v. Wade.

They threw everything they had at him, including an 11th-hour allegation of sexual assault in late September that the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), had known about for two months but had kept under wraps, including during an August meeting she’d had with Kavanaugh. Because of this, the con rmation hearings had to be reconvened, and Graham was t to be tied, believing what had happened had been deliberately planned for maximum impact to try and scare and intimidate Kavanaugh and perhaps cause his nomination to be derailed.

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. EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

For those who knew him personally, there will be di erent stories to tell about Graham’s life and legacy. But for voters, one of the most memorable and pivotal moments of his congressional career came in the fall of 2018 amid the highly contentious Supreme Court hearings for then-D.C. Circuit Court

In blistering remarks made during the hearing, Graham told Democrats, who said an investigation into the allegations was warranted, “If you wanted a FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold

this seat open and hope you win in 2020.”

“You’ve said that, not me,” Graham stated, angrily pointing to a Democratic senator.

To Kavanaugh, Graham said, “You’ve got nothing to apologize for. When you see (Justices Sonia) Sotomayor and (Elena) Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello because I voted for them.”

Addressing Democrats again, Graham noted, “I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.”

Christine Blasey Ford’s claims could not be substantiated, and Kavanaugh was eventually con rmed and sworn into o ce.

In a statement given after news of Graham’s passing broke, Trump said, “His moment on Brett Kavanaugh was one of the classics, I think, in the history of the Senate. … I think that saved Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court ascension.”

I think few would disagree with that assessment.

RIP, Sen. Graham. You will be sorely missed.

Retirement: opportunity or curse

RETIREMENT HAPPENS. It doesn’t sneak up; it is staring at you your entire working life. For me, a child of Depression-era parents, I formed an early opinion about retirement: I needed a secure nancial future. That plus the “draft” led me to join the Navy after high school to obtain the bene ts of the Korean War GI Bill. Post-Korean War naval aviation shortages worked to my advantage. I applied and was selected for ight training and spent 30 years of my life in that endeavor. I had achieved my childhood goal of a secure income source for retirement.

I did not realize at the time that nancial well-being is one of the three foundations of retirement, the other two being physical well-being and emotional well-being. An essential element of emotional well-being is a healthy spiritual life.

Men of my generation identify themselves by what they do — in my case, naval aviator. Can’t help it, don’t apologize for it, that is how I am wired. After the Navy and a stint in corporate America, I succumbed to the lure of entrepreneurship. I had started by working on a farm at 14 and nished by closing down my management consulting rm, ending gainful employment, at age 68.

Shortly after a hospital stay that forced me to face my mortality even more than ying from an aircraft carrier in the North Atlantic, I retired and asked myself, what’s next, what’s my purpose, what will get me up in the morning?

I know that there are organizations, books and publications that exist to help one with the transition to retirement. I used many. I just wish that I had had a resource to explore how others actually live their retirement.

I had to choose: Would my retirement be an opportunity or a curse?

At the suggestion of a friend, and to my absolute surprise, I became a lay hospital chaplain, listening to, praying with and being present with fellow human beings in their moments of fear, joy and desperation. That 13-year experience remains the most rewarding time of my life. I was doing what I realized I was called to do whether in one of the intensive care units, emergency room, patient rooms or sitting in the surgical waiting room with apprehensive family members. Chaplaincy was the opportunity that retirement provided me. Retirement has not been completely sunshine and roses. While renovating our home to age-in-place, new health issues appeared that dictated a move would be bene cial.

My wife, Barbara, and I had spent two years researching if and where to move when we both retired. So we dusted o our earlier research and chose a 55-plus community near Raleigh-Durham Airport to be near family, enjoy the community’s amenities and utilize the superb medical facilities in the area. A year later, the health issue resolved, I decided to stay here.

Some residents in my community are still employed, some serve where needed throughout the local communities, and all of us enjoy the educational and

COLUMN | TOM WILMOTH

recreational opportunities available. With more than 100 clubs in our community covering everything from arts to veterans, I found my new opportunity to serve in the Veterans Club. The club, among its many activities, supports four local veterans support organizations: The Veterans Life Center, The Joel Fund, Women Veterans Support Services, Inc., and Veterans Smiles Program through ECU School of Dentistry. I monitor and make recommendations to the club concerning the Veterans Life Center. This is my new opportunity.

We live retirement in our own way individually and as part of the larger community. Our involvement and activities form our individual retirement stories. Recently, I found the resource I felt I needed: to hear retirees in their own words.

Community member Carol Dickman saw the opportunity to use her talent and broadcasting experience as a producer for “NBC Nightly News” and NBC’s “Today Show,” and her stint with ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” to explore retirement through the eyes of actual retirees. She brings these stories to light in her audio podcast “Retiree Diary.”

She challenged herself to learn the podcasting business, including all the elements of recording, editing and publishing a podcast. Carol believes everyone has a story worth telling. They possess one kernel of information or “gem” of wisdom to share.

Carol has interviewed me, Raleigh journalist and author Shauna Williams, and retired NBC correspondent Bob Dotson, among others.

The alternative to opportunity is the curse: life without purpose, eating, sleeping and dying sooner. I and many, like Carol, have chosen opportunity. What say you?

Ted Simpson is a retired naval aviator and former small business owner who lives in Durham.

Courtrooms opt out of Big Tech’s global domination

BIG TECH may seem unstoppable, but a recent court decision and a smart onslaught of legal actions are signaling that resistance is not futile. Indeed, lawsuits — one of the least loved terms in our language — may prove key to securing something we all desperately want: An online world that is sane and safe.

This is particularly important when it comes to our children. North Carolina is part of multistate litigation against Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, alleging the company knowingly designed features intended to maximize compulsive use among minors. This argument seemingly received a signi cant boost earlier this year. In the rst bellwether trial among thousands of social media addiction cases pending nationwide, a Los Angeles jury delivered a $6 million verdict against Meta and Google.

Meanwhile, the state of Florida is suing arti cial intelligence giant OpenAI (maker of ChatGPT) and its controversial CEO, Sam Altman, for designing a product intended to sweep up personal information, seed emotional dependence and keep users glued to it — regardless of the risks.

In a ling that stunned the tech industry, Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote, “Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids. They have chosen pro t over public safety.”

The lawsuit comes in the bloody wake of last year’s shooting at Florida State University. O cials allege the accused gunman used ChatGPT to think through an attack that wounded six people and killed two. The Florida suit extends beyond one horri c incident, portraying ChatGPT as aggressively luring all sorts of people — from school kids to professionals — to trust their well-being to a defective product.

Taken as a whole, the legal resistance puts the lie to the fatalistic notion that Big Tech has already won.

The Los Angeles verdict is especially instructive. The jury found Meta 70% and YouTube 30% responsible for acting with malice or fraud in the design of their platforms, concluding that those designs were a substantial factor in the plainti ’s depression and self-harm. More signi cant than the dollar gure, however, is the legal theory that prevailed. For the rst time, a jury accepted the argument that social media platforms may be treated not merely as publishers of content, but as products whose design features can themselves create foreseeable harm.

For years, lawsuits against social media companies largely failed because they focused on harmful content posted by users. That allowed technology companies to invoke Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the 1996 law that broadly shields online platforms from liability for user-generated content. In this case, however, the plainti shifted the focus away from speech and toward product design. The argument was not that Meta or YouTube created harmful posts but that they

A jury accepted the argument that social media platforms may be treated as products whose design features can themselves create foreseeable harm.

intentionally engineered systems designed to maximize compulsive use among children and adolescents.

In doing so, the case may have opened a new path for accountability that does not require courts to become arbiters of online speech.

The plainti argued that features such as in nite scroll, auto-playing videos, constant noti cations and appearance-altering beauty lters functioned together as a kind of “digital casino” for young users. Plainti ’s counsel asked the jury, “How do you make a child never put down the phone? That’s called the engineering of addiction.”

Modern social media and platforms are not passive products. They are meticulously optimized ecosystems designed to maximize attention and engagement.

Similarly, the Florida lawsuit alleges AI wants your attention and trust. ChatGPT, the attorney general argues, is designed to sustain conversations — even serving up dangerous misinformation and doubling down on user delusions — in order to sweep up more data and generate subscriptions. The platforms allegedly put maximizing screen time, and therefore pro ts, ahead of safety.

In Los Angeles, Meta argued that it cannot reasonably be held responsible for every individual user’s complex makeup — including potential mental health struggles in uenced by many factors. That is not a trivial defense. Courts should be cautious about assigning singular blame for complicated psychological harms.

But the verdict suggests jurors are becoming less persuaded by the idea that platform design is merely neutral technology. For years, debates over regulating social media have zzled into ghts over censorship and free expression. Yet the Los Angeles case points toward a narrower and potentially more constructive approach: focusing not on what users say online but on how platforms are intentionally designed to shape user behavior — particularly among minors.

That framework leaves room for innovation while still recognizing that companies pro ting from children’s attention are responsible for their safety and well-being.

Tom Wilmoth is an attorney at the Law O ces of James Scott Farrin.

Defending America’s founding principles in a divided age

THE UNITED STATES faces threats that extend beyond the familiar divide between Democrats and Republicans. Increasingly, two ideological movements — one on the far left, one emerging on the populist right — share a willingness to undermine the principles that have long de ned the American experiment.

On one side stands the Democratic Socialists of America, whose in uence within the Democratic Party has grown dramatically. This is no longer simply a debate over tax rates or entitlement programs. The party’s activist wing has become increasingly hostile to the ideas that have undergirded the country for 250 years: freedom of speech, religious liberty, private property, free markets and the belief that America is an exceptional nation worth preserving.

The political consequences are no longer hypothetical. Democrats have a realistic chance to regain control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. Competitive Senate races across North Carolina, Ohio, Maine, Texas, Alaska and Iowa underscore how narrow the margins have become. If Democrats were to reclaim both the House and Senate, the rami cations would extend far beyond the next two years.

The federal judiciary is the clearest example.

Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are both in their late 70s. Should vacancies arise while Democrats control the Senate, the ideological balance of the court could shift for a generation. A new liberal majority would in uence constitutional interpretation on everything from executive authority and religious liberty to economic regulation and the administrative state. At the same time, Democrats would accelerate con rmations throughout the federal judiciary, leaving an imprint that would outlast any single administration.

Those stakes make recent developments on the right especially consequential.

Tucker Carlson has spent recent weeks oating the idea of launching a third political party, arguing that Republicans and Democrats are e ectively indistinguishable on issues of war, spending and nance. He portrays America’s two-party system as little more than a single political establishment masquerading as democracy.

That argument ignores the most signi cant policy di erences in American politics. Republicans and Democrats remain sharply divided over taxation, judicial appointments, regulation, free markets, energy policy and the proper role of government. Pretending those distinctions no longer exist requires overlooking the very issues that de ne modern elections.

Carlson’s broader political philosophy has also drifted away from traditional conservatism. Over the past several years, he has increasingly criticized free-market capitalism, questioned longstanding American foreign policy, and adopted a form of economic nationalism that bears little resemblance to the conservative movement’s traditional commitment to limited government and free enterprise.

More than likely, Carlson is not seriously preparing to build a viable third party. American political history o ers little reason to believe such an e ort would succeed. Ross Perot’s independent 1992 campaign remains one of the strongest third-party performances in modern history, yet his Reform Party, launched in 1995, quickly collapsed. The structural realities of American elections overwhelmingly favor two major parties with established fundraising networks, ballot access and national organizations.

Rather than constructing an alternative party, Carlson appears to be positioning himself for the aftermath of the 2026 elections. If Republicans lose seats — as the president’s party often does during midterm elections — he can argue that the defeats occurred because Republicans ignored his vision for the party. Electoral losses then become evidence that the GOP should move in his ideological direction.

That makes his current rhetoric politically signi cant even if no third party ever appears on the ballot. Republicans already face the historical disadvantages of defending Congress during a president’s midterm. Voices on the right openly rooting for Republican defeats only increase the likelihood that Democrats, increasingly in uenced by their progressive wing, will gain power.

Following the nation’s semiquincentennial, the debate should return to rst principles rather than political personalities.

For 250 years, America’s strength has rested on enduring ideas: constitutional government, individual liberty, private property, free enterprise, religious freedom and peace through strength. Those principles have survived wars, economic crises and political upheaval because each generation chose to defend them rather than discard them.

The greatest challenge facing the country may not come from a single ideological movement but from competing factions that, despite their di erences, are increasingly willing to abandon those foundational principles. If the United States is to thrive to its 300th anniversary, its 500th and beyond, it will depend not on charismatic personalities or political factions but on whether Americans remain committed to the ideals that made the republic possible.

Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

COURTESY PHOTO

Ted Simpson with his memoirs.

U.S. citizen tests positive for Ebola in Congo Kinshasa, Congo

A U.S. citizen working for a humanitarian organization in Congo has tested positive for the Ebola virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last Friday as the Central African country struggles to contain the swelling outbreak. The CDC said it was working with the person’s employer, U.S. agencies, the public health authorities and Congolese partners to prevent further transmission and identify close contacts. Earlier this week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that the outbreak is the fastestgrowing Ebola outbreak ever recorded on the continent, with 1,830 con rmed cases in Congo, including 648 deaths.

Family targeted in Illinois mass shooting East St. Louis, Ill. Five people were killed in a “targeted mass shooting” against a family in southwestern Illinois, police said. Two more people were wounded, and two teenagers, ages 15 and 16, were in custody, police said. The shootings occurred primarily Sunday at three locations in East St. Louis, including a park. East St. Louis, population 17,500, is across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. It had 15 homicides in 2025, down from 34 in 2020, records show. Troopers stopped a vehicle and arrested two teens, including one who is suspected of having a direct role in the shootings. The victims who died ranged in age from 74 to 21.

Graham’s journey from pool hall to heights of political power NATION & WORLD

The

South Carolina senator died Saturday

By Nicholas Riccardi The Associated Press

LINDSEY GRAHAM, the garrulous son of South Carolina pool hall owners, rose to become a xture on the global stage and one of the most prominent advocates of American military might in the U.S. Senate.

A former military lawyer who reached the rank of colonel in the Air Force, the wisecracking Graham was known for his Southern drawl, political exibility and reliably hawkish stance on foreign policy. He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 as a determined opponent of Donald Trump, then became one of the new president’s staunchest allies.

In his typical high-energy manner, Graham had just returned to Washington, D.C., from a trip to Ukraine, having announced a deal with the Trump administration for a new package of sanctions against Russia. He was due to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday to discuss it. Trump appeared in the senator’s place.

“I just can’t believe it,” Trump said. “He was like a member of the family.”

Graham died Saturday night after what a preliminary report from the Washington, D.C., medical examiner said was a tear in his aorta. He was 71.

His death brought encomiums from world leaders and, closer to home, Republicans and Democrats alike, a mark of his in uence and his ability to befriend colleagues of di erent political persuasions. In an outpouring of tributes, lawmakers expressed their shock and remembered his good humor, kindness and zest for the political arena.

Graham was part of the “Never Trump” movement during his 2016 run and feuded heatedly with his reality television star

rival during the campaign. He was especially upset at Trump for “slandering” his close friend and political brother-in-arms, Sen. John McCain. “You know, run for president, but don’t be the world’s biggest jackass,” Graham said.

By coming around to Trump, particularly in the years after McCain’s death in 2018, Graham amassed in uence as an intermediary to the White House. Graham and Trump enjoyed a close relationship and became frequent gol ng partners, though their relationship ruptured for a time after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Still, a year later, Graham was urging Republicans to rally behind Trump again rather than side with critics calling for his political exile.

“Can I just say to my Republican colleagues — can we move forward without President Trump?” Graham said on

“I just can’t believe it. He was like a member of the family.”

President Donald Trump on the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

Fox News in 2022. “The answer is no,” he said, adding “we can’t grow without him.” Graham was born to Millie and Florence James Graham of Central, South Carolina, on July 19, 1955. The couple owned a restaurant, bar and pool hall in the town. Graham, his parents and younger sister all lived in one room in the back of the building. After earning his law degree, Graham served as a judge advocate general in the Air Force, starting as a defense attorney

for accused troops and eventually rising to the Air Force’s chief prosecutor in Europe. He remained a reserve or National Guard member for decades. Upon returning to South Carolina, Graham soon dove into politics. He won a statehouse seat in 1992 and then a U.S. House seat in 1994.

In 2002, when Strom Thurmond, South Carolina’s senior senator, decided to retire at 99, Graham ran for his seat and won. He quickly took to the Senate and its emphasis on relationships.

Much of Graham’s career was de ned by his close relationship with McCain and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat who later became an independent. Calling themselves “The Three Amigos,” the senators traveled the world and pushed for U.S. intervention in several places, particularly the Middle East after the 9/11 attacks.

RESIGN from page A1

moving Woodhouse from his role as elections liaison to work instead on “strategic initiatives” like constituent services and related communications.

Woodhouse’s reassignment was rst reported by NBC News on July 8.

Randy Brechbiel, communications director for the State Auditor’s O ce (OSA), said in a statement that Woodhouse’s position was never meant to be permanent and has ended.

“The elections liaison was established because the Auditor’s O ce gained new responsibilities. The position was not meant to be permanent.”

Randy Brechbiel, State Auditor’s O ce communications director

“Now that we are more than a year past appointments, and board chairs have settled into their roles having worked through a municipal election, primary election, and most of the local boards have passed early voting plans for the general election, the Auditor’s O ce has discontinued the elections liaison role,” said Brechbiel.

“The elections liaison was established because the Auditor’s O ce gained new responsibilities. The position was not meant to be permanent.”

The OSA announced Woodhouse’s departure last week in an email to county board chairs.

Woodhouse is a past North Carolina Republican Party chair (2015 to 2019) and was hired in 2025 for the liaison role, which was created after Auditor Dave Boliek was giv-

en powers to oversee the State Board of Elections, including appointments to election boards.

The liaison job was set up to be a point of contact for the state’s 100 county election chairs and boost election integrity, but over the past month, Woodhouse’s involvement in certain voting site plans was questioned.

Reports indicated he advised against certain early voting sites and hours in Jackson and Pasquotank counties and holding certain votes, according to text messages obtained by voter advocacy group Common Cause.

AUDIT from page A1

Confusion regarding the utility bills rose in late 2025, when thousands of Rocky Mount utility customers received two utility bills in a single month. The city provides electric, gas, water, sewer and stormwater utilities for more than 31,000 individuals across Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson counties.

The city’s director of business and collections services discovered delays between utility meter reading dates and the billing dates.

Meter reading dates indicate when one’s provider checks consumption of utilities, and billing dates are when the monthly statement is generated. According to the audit, billing dates were printed anywhere from one week to a month after the meter readings.

The delays were noncompliant with the timeline given by the

inate the gap between meter reading dates and billing dates.

The O ce of the State Auditor (OSA) concluded the city made unauthorized and undetected modi cations to its meter reading and billing schedules, which were caused by an environment that lacked proper change management, monitoring and process controls following sta ng reductions. Two city council members, Charles “Verb” Roberson and T.J. Walker, accumulated $30,231 in unpaid utility bills while continuing to receive utility services. Roberson had an unpaid balance of $27,171 across 30 accounts, while Walker had an unpaid balance of $3,060 in one account.

The city did not assess penalties because late fees were paused following the utility billing issue. The bills were paid after the OSA sent Rocky Mount a draft report for its response.

The audit noted the unpaid

bills “represented a furtherance of the o cials’ own personalnancial interests at the expense of the City they were elected to govern while the City was in the midst of a scal crisis.”

The OSA recommended the city comply with preferred business practices regarding utility meter reading and billing schedules. Additional advice was given to combine the meter reading and billing schedules, protect them from unauthorized modication and engage with the billing system vendor to automate bill scheduling.

Rocky Mount has already implemented billing schedule changes and late fee and service disconnection suspensions. The city is in the process of automating the bill scheduling process, synchronizing bill contents and layout, upgrading its telephone system to enhance service and formalizing protocols for city employees.

COURTESY CITY OF ROCKY MOUNT

Rocky Mount City Councilors T.J. Walker, left, and Verb Roberson, right, accumulated more than $27,000 and $3,000 in unpaid utility bills, respectively.

NORTH STATE JOURNAL Dallas Woodhouse resigned from the State Auditor’s O ce on Monday.

GERALD HERBERT / AP PHOTO

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), pictured in January 2009, died Saturday.

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County, three in Henderson County, two in McDowell County and one in Rutherford County, as state health o cials monitor more than 200 cases reported statewide since late spring. This intestinal illness, caused by the Cyclospora parasite, prompted

cials to urge WNC residents to take precautions, particularly concerning fresh produce and hygiene. The public is urged to wash all produce thoroughly and cook vegetables when possible.

WNC NEWS

Edwards, family sell multiple McDonald’s franchises

Henderson County U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) and his wife, Teresa, have sold all of their McDonald’s restaurants, according to a news release. Edwards said the sale ends a ve-decades-long chapter of his life, since he started as an employee at McDonald’s when he was 16 years old. He ended up purchasing that same McDonald’s years later, the release said.

The Edwards family owned McDonald’s restaurants in Henderson, Transylvania and Haywood counties. According to the release, they sold their restaurants to their longtime friends who are also McDonald’s franchisees — Christine and Chris Nevant of Asheville. The statement said the decision allows the Edwards family to fully transition from business ownership and devote even more attention to public service. When Edwards was elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2016, Teresa assumed day-to-day leadership of the businesses while her husband ful lled his legislative responsibilities.

NSJ

PIEDMONT

NC A&T researchers develop robot dog for agriculture use

Guilford County

A team of researchers at North Carolina A&T is developing a robot dog that uses arti cial intelligence to detect plant disease in crops. According to a news release, the robot walks up and down rows of tomatoes at NC A&T’s University Farm, evaluating the health of the crops. The team says this approach can be much more e ective than other methods, like drones, because of the close proximity to each plant and ability to evaluate surrounding soil quality.

NSJ

THC candies mimicking popular brands sold to children

EAST

Proceedings begin for caretaker charged with concealing woman’s death

Woman charged in urine drug test billing scam

Guilford County

The owner of a Greensboro care center business was federally charged with fraudulently billing the North Carolina Medicaid program for more than $1.7 million in urine drug testing claims. Gwendolyn Singleton, 55, owner and operator of Joelle’s Center of Hope, pleaded guilty last Thursday to healthcare fraud for urine drug tests that were not performed, according to the United States Department of Justice. Joelle’s Center of Hope provides home healthcare and substance abuse services, including urine drug test screenings. WGHP

Forsyth County THC products packaged to look almost identical to popular candy like gummy bears, Nerds and Skittles were being sold to middle and high school students, according to investigators. Last week, a multiagency operation led to multiple arrests and the seizure of hundreds of pounds of marijuana and THC products from ve Winston-Salem businesses. The North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, along with several local and state agencies, executed the search warrants at each store, all within walking distance of schools, parks, churches and daycares. During the searches, investigators seized more than 100 pounds of marijuana, 126 pounds of THC vape products, more than a pound each of THC wax and khat, two rearms and nearly $12,000 in cash. The North Carolina Secretary of State’s O ce also con scated about $10,000 worth of trademark-infringing products that investigators said were marketed toward children. The stores involved are Liberty Tobacco Store, Goodfellas 25, Goodfellas 26, Junior Grocery and N&A Smoke Inc., authorities said.

WFMY

Carteret County A woman made her rst appearance last week for concealment and failing to report the death of Katy Hiatt. According to prosecutors, Angela Angle, Hiatt’s live-in caretaker, stopped allowing Hiatt’s son to see his mother in October 2025. The prosecution also said Angle tried to alter her voice to sound like Hiatt. Hiatt was eventually reported missing in January, and her body was found in June, wrapped in a box in a storage unit in Carteret County.

WITN

ECU professor sentenced in underage exploitation case

“Real-life superhero” reman saves child from N.C. coastal wild res

Brunswick County William B. of the Calabash Fire Department is being recognized for his courage after he was caught on camera getting a baby to safety as wild res suddenly surrounded and trapped a family, Shallotte town o cials said in a social media post last Friday. O cials shared a photo of the reman carrying a small child to an SUV during the emergency, which had spread to over 500 acres as of Sunday. Rescue crews have traveled from nearby towns, like Calabash, to help battle the blaze.

WNCN

Pitt County A former professor of social work at East Carolina University has been sentenced for possession of child sexual abuse material. Court documents show that 59-year-old Blace Arthur Nalavany pled guilty to possessing images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on March 11. According to authorities, Nalavany was a licensed clinical social worker and associate professor of social work at East Carolina University at the time of his arrest. Nalavany’s research publications include working with children who have experienced sexual abuse. However, investigators emphasized that his crimes were committed at his home and were not connected to his employment or to any work as a licensed clinical social worker. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse led by the Department of Justice. Nalavany was sentenced to 42 months in prison followed by ve years of supervised release.

NSJ

was serious about helping homeless people, he would have signed this legislation into law,” said Biggs. “His veto puts North Carolina at risk of missing out on critical federal funding that would help move people out of unsafe encampments and into stable housing and supportive services.

“The Governor’s refusal to address homelessness only allows more people to sink deeper into addiction and mental illness while making our communities less safe.” Biggs also said the House intends to override the veto, which is likely since only one Democrat or una liated member needs to join Republicans to put the bill into law. The bill had support from ve House Democrats: Reps. Bryan Cohn (Granville), Abe Jones (Wake), Garland Pierce (Scotland), Dante Pittman (Nash) and Shelly Willingham (Edgecombe).

Additionally, an override is likely should two newly una liated former Democrats, Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed, both of Mecklenburg County, join Republicans. Cunningham, Majeed and Willingham were all targeted by the Democratic Party for voting with Republicans on certain measures, including veto overrides. All three lost their primary bids this past March to challenges backed by the

features

New book traces Raleigh ties, faith, unanswered questions around basketball legend Maravich

Billy Trott’s account sheds light on “Pistol Pete”

By Dan Reeves North State Journal

RALEIGH — Seven days before Pete Maravich collapsed and died while playing pickup basketball in California, he spent three hours talking with an old friend from Raleigh.

Nearly four decades later, Billy Trott has turned that conversation into “In the Backcourt with Pistol Pete Maravich: A Window into the Heart, Mind, and Soul of a Basketball Genius.”

What unfolds is a personal account of a basketball legend’s trials, misunderstood struggles and spiritual reckoning.

Trott, who played in the backcourt with Maravich at Broughton High School in Raleigh, rst encountered him years earlier at a summer basketball training camp for young players at Campbell University in Buies Creek. Maravich was 13, scrawny and small enough to be overlooked.

Then he put on a show.

To the amazement of Trott and the other boys, Maravich dribbled behind his back and between his legs, spun the ball on his ngers and made moves no 13-year-old seemed capable of making. It was an early glimpse of what would make “Pistol Pete” famous.

Trott’s account is less interested in proving Maravich’s greatness than in trying to understand it.

The book begins with a 1988 meeting in Raleigh, when Broughton was retiring Maravich’s jersey. Trott had not seen him in 24 years. After a lunchtime reception, Maravich stayed behind.

For nearly three hours, Maravich re ected on his father, the death of his mother, his basketball career, his faith and the emptiness that followed his

playing days. He talked about death, how he wanted to be remembered and the peace he had found through his Christian faith.

“I’m a witness to a genius and not an author,” Trott said. That witness work carries the story through Maravich’s Raleigh years, including the disappointment that changed his college path. His father, Press, had come to NC State as a coach, and Pete was expected to play for the Wolfpack. But Maravich did not make the required 800 on the SAT, keeping him from receiving an athletic scholarship to an ACC school. He went to military school to improve his scores, but the NC State path never opened.

Trott connects that setback to what he believes were signs of attention de cit disorder, now generally referred to as attention-de cit/hyperactivity disorder.

“The part on the ADHD is something new,” Trott said. “It didn’t exist as a term when Pete grew up. I think he did have it, but he was fortunate in some respects because it increased his creativity. It gave him that quick-decision-making impulsivity, and it gave him the hyperfocus.”

Those traits may have been a burden in a classroom but a gift on a basketball court. The book cites Dr. James Poole, a Raleigh pediatrician and author who developed a specialty in treating children with ADHD. Poole describes many children with ADHD as having a “fast brain” that may struggle in school or on tests but also produce creativity and anticipation.

Maravich found that in basketball.

Bob Sanford, one of Maravich’s closest lifelong friends, said Trott’s book stands apart from other projects that have tried to tell Maravich’s story.

“I’ve been involved with a lot of di erent books and documentaries on Pete, but Bil-

LSU’s

“I’m a witness to a genius and not an author.”

Billy Trott

ly really took a di erent approach and did an outstanding job,” Sanford said. “He hit some topics that nobody had ever hit before.”

Sanford rst met Maravich at the Campbell camp, when Sanford was 15 and Maravich was 13. He later became one of the people Maravich trusted most and saw what Trott later tried to explain through the attention de cit disorder discussion.

“Pete was very smart,” Sanford said. “He was not dumb. He just didn’t apply himself that much, and he was distracted in school. He had his mind on one thing. And that paid o .”

Maravich had plenty of records to talk about. At LSU, he scored 3,667 points and averaged 44.2 points per game, still the men’s Division I career scor-

ies through the air during a record-breaking

Feb. 1,

ing record. His NBA career included ve All-Star teams, the 1976-77 scoring title and a style of play that seemed to arrive a generation early.

But during his nal conversation with Trott, Maravich did not brag about any of it. He talked instead about fame, regret over never winning a championship and the feeling that he had been expected to be more entertainer than player. He also spoke openly about alcoholism and depression after his NBA career ended.

He spoke about faith. He believed a revelation from God had pulled him out of alcoholism, given him a new purpose and made him a better husband and parent. Maravich said more than once that he did not fear death.

No one fully understood his physical burdens. He died Jan. 5, 1988, at age 40 after collapsing during a pickup game at First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California.

The cause of death was later determined to be a rare con-

Strong lead performance keeps Disney’s familiar voyage from sinking

The live-action ‘Moana’ barely stays a oat

By Bob Garver The Sun

I AM WELL aware of the case against Disney’s live-action remake of its 2016 animated hit “Moana,” namely that the original lm is less than 10 years old and doesn’t need a remake, and also that Disney live-action remakes are lazy cash grabs in general. And I agree with a lot about that argument. I’d rather see Disney put its resources into developing new ideas instead of rehashing old ones, especially when it means trading the magic of Disney animation for the limitations of live action. At the same time, no amount of discouragement — of which I offer a lot — can stop Disney from making and releasing this movie, and the movie it’s made and released isn’t terrible.

The story remains the same. Moana (Catherine Laga’aia), teenage daughter of Chief Tui (John Tui) and his wife Sina (Frankie Adams), is destined to one day take over her island home but is told she must never go out on open water. Her wise grandmother Tala (Rena Owen) encourages her to take her duties seriously but also to think for herself if strict adherence to tradition isn’t working. The island comes to be in trouble, and only returning the heart of petri ed goddess Te Fiti will save

it. Fortunately, Moana has had the heart since childhood (she earned it as a reward for compassion toward the ocean and its creatures), so she sets out on an unprecedented seafaring expedition to return it.

Moana’s mission requires her to team up with exiled demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson, reprising his role from the original, but now in live action), who isn’t keen on crossing paths

with old enemy Te Fiti. Together they have to keep other parties from stealing the powerful heart for themselves, such as coconut-like pirates the Kakamora and greedy crab Tamatoa (Jemaine Clement, also reprising his role in voice only). Then there’s Te Fiti herself, who is so mistrustful of humans and demigods that she ghts our heroes even when they’re trying to do something as help-

ful as returning her own heart.

It’s when the action kicks into gear that the movie doesn’t fare well. For most movies I’d say the opposite, that I prefer it when the rst act stops plodding along and we get to the action.

to become college

genital heart defect. Maravich was born without the artery that normally supplies blood to the left side of the heart. Trott said understanding the condition Maravich played through so magni cently is one of the most important pieces of seeing him clearly. Still, for Trott, the questions did not end with Maravich’s death. They began there. He had played in the backcourt with Maravich as a teenager and then listened as a 40-year-old man tried to make sense of his life just days before it ended. For years, Trott carried the memory of that conversation and the feeling that Maravich wanted someone to tell the story from his point of view.

That is what gives “In the Backcourt with Pistol Pete Maravich” its weight. It is a Raleigh teammate’s attempt to understand a player who spent his life ahead of his time but died before he could see how far the game would follow him. He did indeed play his heart out.

While I’m talking about the movie’s lesser points, I need to bring up Johnson. In 2016, I was thrilled that the pro wrestler known as The Rock had a juicy part (and even a song!) in the Disney canon. But he’s really lost a step since then. His jokes sound forced (not helped by, again, being carbon copies of jokes from 10 years ago) and his body is unnaturally pu y, a result of the e ects team going overboard in giving him sentient tattoos. Speaking of unnatural special e ects, animal sidekicks Pua the pig and Heihei the chicken also look terrible, and even the water isn’t as … uid as it should be.

With all of these problems that I can completely understand being deal-breakers for other critics, why am I recommending this version of “Moana”? The answer is simple: Moana. Or, less simply, Moana and her family dynamic back on the island. The rst act of the movie gives us four good characters with passion and motivation. The remake really steps up its game in eshing out these characters now that they have actual esh. Of course, the standout is Laga’aia, matching the charm of original Moana Auli’i Cravalho every step of the way. Laga’aia and Cravalho combine their spirited voices for a song that plays over the credits, which is just enough to earn this lm a recommendation by the hair of a coconut.

Grade: B-

“Moana” is rated PG for action/peril, some scary images, rude humor and brief thematic elements. Its running time is 115 minutes.

But the second and third acts in this lm di er so little from the original that it’s just a matter of waiting for the same beats from 2016. I know “I’ve seen this all before” is a cliché for critics, but in this case it’s especially accurate and appropriate.

EVAN AGOSTINI / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Dwayne Johnson attends a special screening of Disney’s “Moana” at the United Palace on July 9 in New York.

Left,

“Pistol” Pete Maravich (23)

performance against Mississippi in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on

1970,

basketball’s all-time leading scorer. Right, “In the Backcourt with Pistol Pete Maravich: A Window into the Heart, Mind, and Soul of a Basketball Genius” is available on Amazon.

PHOTO COURTESY BILLY TROTT VIA NEWS & OBSERVER AP PHOTO

Wilco brings catalog, chemistry to sold-out DPAC

The band leaned into classics and rarities during its Durham show

By Dan Reeves North State Journal

DURHAM — I’m old enough to remember Uncle Tupelo, Je Tweedy’s rst band before he split from bandmate Jay Farrar and formed Wilco.

At least old enough and surely turned on enough to dive into the genealogy, as it were.

After hearing Wilco’s “A.M.” and “Being There” for the rst time, I was left with no choice. It was great music, alone in its alt-rock lane, with clear beginnings and a respect for simplicity.

A fair-weather fan later in life, I picked back up around the time the band gained wider acclaim with its 2002 landmark alternative rock record “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” which featured the whiny, anthemic “Jesus, Etc.,” “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” “Heavy Metal Drummer” and, of course, “I’m the Man Who Loves You.” Wilco had changed and evolved, and it was spectacular. Its follow-up album, “A Ghost Is Born,” earned the band two Grammy Awards. But 2007’s “Sky Blue Sky” was the band’s rst studio album with guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, adding uncharted sonic dimensions to the studio and certainly to live performances.

That version of Wilco — Tweedy on vocals and guitars, John Stirratt on bass and vocals, Glenn Kotche on drums, Mikael Jorgensen on keyboards, organ and general ambiance, Cline on guitar and lap steel, and Sansone on guitar, keys, percussion and vocals — is now less a lineup than a living organism.

Saturday night at the Durham Performing Arts Center, Wilco did not so much race through its catalog as wander around inside it, opening with “Handshake Drugs” and quickly settling into the kind of loose but exacting groove that has made the band one of rock’s most durable live acts.

The rst set moved with the con dence of a band that knows its songs do not all have to serve the same purpose. “If I Ever Was a Child” and “Cruel Country” leaned into the plainspoken side of Tweedy’s writing, while “Evicted” and “Bird Without a Tail / Base of My Skull” gave the night some of the restless, later-period color that keeps Wil-

co from becoming its own museum piece.

But the older songs still landed with particular weight.

“Forget the Flowers,” from “Being There,” reached back to the band’s earlier alt-country roots, the place where the Uncle Tupelo family tree still felt close enough to touch. “Via Chicago” carried its own strange gravity, a quiet song with an unstable center, delicate enough to oat and noisy enough to make the room feel like it might briefly come apart. Then came “California Stars,” the Billy Bragg and Wilco classic from the “Mermaid Avenue” project, which Tweedy turned into a North Carolina moment by changing it, naturally, to “Carolina Stars.”

He admitted he was pandering to the audience. It worked anyway.

That has always been part of Tweedy’s charm onstage. He is funny, dry and self-deprecating, but never so much that it undercuts the songs. He can make a

room laugh, then turn around and make the same room go silent. The second set started with “Box Full of Letters,” another early touchstone, before moving

Taylor-Joy bloodied, battling in Apple TV’s crime thriller ‘Lucky’

The series is based on Marissa Stapley’s novel

By Mark Kennedy

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Anya Taylor-Joy nds herself in a familiar setting this summer: in the desert, ghting to stay alive.

She did it in “Furiosa” and the upcoming “Dune: Part Three.” Now she’s under the blazing California sun for “Lucky,” a propulsive Apple TV crime thriller that has her trading blows with goons, bloodying her otherworldly face.

“Listen, I’ve been to the desert so many times at this point it’s kind of unreal,” she said. “I don’t look like a desert creature, and yet I’m always there and I love it. People like to see me struggle, and they like me to survive. And, luckily, I enjoy doing it, too, so it works out.”

Taylor-Joy plays the title character in an adaptation of Marissa Stapley’s novel about a con artist who wakes up in a hotel room and realizes she’s been betrayed by a close ally and is forced on the run.

Lucky is soon pursued by both the FBI and a ruthless crime boss over a missing $10 million. Her widowed father isn’t much help: He raised her to be a criminal but is now be -

“I think we had a wonderful time making it, and I think you can feel that on the screen despite the screwdrivers through the head.”

Anya Taylor-Joy

hind bars, only helping from a phone call.

“She’s at an in ection point when we meet her in the book and in the show where she’s got to chart her own course. She’s got to take things into her own hands, and she’s got to really decide how she wants to live her life,” said Lauren Neustadter, an executive producer.

A character evolves

In the seven-episode series, even in the rst episode, Lucky has to ght her way out of the closed trunk of a car and slam a screwdriver into the neck of a bad guy, nding herself alone in the desert. “How can someone so small cause so much trouble?” a goon asks.

“We see this character evolve from beginning to end,” said Neustadter. “She starts o being all about the con, and the

question is, ‘Where will that go? How will she evolve and who will she become?‘ And I think that it’s one of the things that makes this show so special.”

The series co-stars Annette Bening, Drew Starkey and Timothy Olyphant, with a female-centric soundtrack that includes a stirring theme song by Fiona Apple and tunes by Sleater-Kinney and Siouxsie Sioux.

Bening plays a cold-blooded mob leader who gets stuck between trying to save her son and tangling with her brutal boss and former lover. She’s as likely to order a killing as be executed herself.

“She is an abused woman and she’s an abuser,” Bening said. “So she’s so intriguing. I thought the writing was really good. And I did want to play this kind of borderline sociopathic woman.”

Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media company approached Taylor-Joy with the book, asking her to not just consider leading the series as an actor but also o ering to make her debut as an executive producer.

“I remember crossing my ngers and thinking, ‘God, I really hope I like this book.‘ And then I did and I fell in love with Lucky and I felt that I had something to contribute to this

through “Annihilation,” “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” “Company in My Back” and “The Late Greats.” On “Impossible Germany,” which has become one of the

central highlights of Wilco’s live shows, Cline’s guitar work is no longer just a solo. It is a piece of theater, a small weather system, a reminder that virtuosity does not have to announce itself with empty ash.

From there, Wilco moved through “Jesus, Etc.,” “Hate It Here,” “Theologians,” “Kingpin,” “Heavy Metal Drummer” and “I’m the Man Who Loves You.” Wilco’s songs have aged, but they have not hardened. They still bend onstage. They still leave space for noise, humor, tenderness and the occasional bit of shameless local pandering. Or Carolina pandering, as it were. And on Saturday night, under those Carolina stars, it was hard to complain.

space, which I think if you’re coming on as an executive producer is the feeling that you want to have,” said Taylor-Joy.

The show — created by Jonathan Tropper and written and show run alongside Cassie Pappas — is a crime thriller but with a family drama at its heart, one that prompts Lucky to wonder if there’s another way to live.

“Thematically, that’s what Jonathan and I were really drawn to, is this idea of how much family a ect does who you are versus how much can you break that path and write yourself a new one,” said Pappas.

Lucky leans into grifting skills to survive

Lucky has grown up grifting with her dad, stealing money- lled envelopes at birthday

parties and faking injuries to get free hotel rooms. Now on the run, she leans into those skills to survive but also yearns for a better life.

“We all struggle against sort of the restraints of our past and the baggage we were given by even good parents and getting to a point where we can gure out who we are,” said Tropper. “Hers just has much higher stakes because the act of her trying to gure that out could get her killed.”

For Taylor-Joy, in addition to leaping o trucks, dodging killers and stealing cars onscreen, she got to make casting decisions and advise on the look and sound of the show behind the camera.

“I think we had a wonderful time making it, and I think you can feel that on the screen despite the screwdrivers through the head,” she said with a laugh.

JESSICA BROOKS / APPLE TV VIA AP

Annette Bening plays a vicious mob leader in “Lucky,” now streaming on Apple TV.

“Hey, I’m a cherry ghost.” Je Tweedy

PHOTO BY WILLIAM EDWARDS

Singer-guitarist Je Tweedy and drummer Glenn Kotche of Wilco perform at DPAC on July 11.

PHOTO BY WILLIAM EDWARDS

Guitarist Nels Cline and Je Tweedy connect while performing the song “Handshake Drugs” Saturday night in Durham.

CUMBERLAND

ADMINISTRATOR’S / EXECUTOR’S NOTICE

The undersigned, having quali ed as the Administrator of the Estate of Jennifer LaFern Haulcy, deceased, late of Cumberland County, herby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of October, 2026, (which 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 16th day of July, 2026.

Ja’kendria Martin

3524 Coupure Way

Fayetteville, NC 28312 Of the Estate of Jennifer LaFern Haulcy, Deceased NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA

CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE

SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION

Administrator’s Notice

26E001111-250

The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Annette C. Billie, 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 16th day of October 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 16th day of July 2026.

Bennie Billie, III, Administrator of the Annette C. Billie Estate Haymount Law Attorneys for the Estate 1008 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28305 Telephone:(910) 672-4600

Publish: 07/16, 07/23, 07/30, 08/06 NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA In the General Court of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court Division Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice Estate File # 26E000413-250

The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator CTA, of the Estate of William Courtney Norman, deceased, late of the County of Cumberland, hereby noti es all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of October 2026, 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 13th day of July 2026 David Aaron Norman Administrator/Executor Address: 530 Shelton Drive City, State, Zip: Aberdeen, NC 28315 Of the Estate of William Courtney Norman, Deceased NOTICE NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION Administrator’s Notice

26E001096-250

The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Christopher Allon Ryan, 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 16th day of October 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 16th day of July 2026.

Neva Chapman, Administrator of the Christopher Allon Ryan Estate Haymount Law Attorneys for the Estate 1008 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28305 Telephone:(910) 672-4600

Publish: 07/16, 07/23, 07/30, 08/06 NOTICE

State of North Carolina Cumberland County Administrator Notice

The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of William Joseph Austin, 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 2nd day of October, 2026 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 25th day of June, 2026. Administrator of the Estate of William Joseph Austin Nina Fiaccato 134 Milligan View Rd Johnson City, Tn 37601

NOTICE

State of North Carolina County of Cumberland The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Elsie Olean Bedsole Brewington, 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 16th day of October 2026, (which date is one month 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 payment to the undersigned. This 16th day of October 2026 Poshia Bell Administrator/Executor 902 Axis Circle Hope Mills, NC 28348

NOTICE IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE #25E001790-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Richard Allen Butler II, late

or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 9th day of July, 2026 Autumn Butler 237 Parkgate Drive Cary, NC, 27519 of the Estate of Richard Allen Butler II, Deceased

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA In The General Court of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court Division Estate File # 26E001086-250 Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having Quali es as Executor of the Estate of Annie Marie Cogdell Cochran, 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 the16 day of October, 2026, (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 16 day of July, 2026 Janelle Cochran 1105 Whiskerlake Drive Fayetteville, NC 28312 Of the Estate of Annie Marie Cogdell Cochran, Deceased

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION Administrator’s Notice 26E000820-250 The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Ronald Edward Hayes, 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 25th day of September 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 25th day of June 2026. Donna Hayes, Administrator of the Ronald Edward Hayes Estate Haymount Law Attorneys for the Estate 1008 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28305 Telephone: (910) 672-4600 Publish: 06/25, 07/02, 07/09, 07/16

NOTICE

In The General Court of Justice

Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File #26E000979-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Raymond Chester Hedges, 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 6th day of October, 2026, (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 the 22nd day of June, 2026. Rhonda Dorman Administrator/Executor 218 Hawley Ridge Drive Dunn, NC 28334 Of the Estate of Raymond Chester Hedges, deceased

Notice to Creditors

Cumberland County In the Estate of LeeRoy Hill, late of Hope Mills, North Carolina, deceased. Case number: 22E-000416 All claims against the above estate, duly Veri ed by statutory declaration and with particular

Valuation of security held, if any, must be sent to the undersigned before 2nd day of October 2026

Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment this 29th day of June 2026 to De’Lisa Hill, Administrator 828 Northcreek Drive Durham, North Carolina 27707

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Jolene C. Hopper a/k/a Jolene Cain Hopper

Cumberland County Estate File No. 26E000382-250

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Jolene C. Hopper a/k/a Jolene Cain Hopper, Deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to Janice H. Southard, Executor of the Estate of Jolene C. Hopper

a/k/a Jolene Cain Hopper, at 4166 Cedar Creek Road, Fayetteville, NC 28312, on or before the 25th day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of Jolene C. Hopper a/k/a Jolene Cain Hopper are requested to make immediate payment to the Executor named above.

This the 25th day of June, 2026. Janice H. Southard, Executor of the Estate of Jolene C. Hopper a/k/a Jolene Cain Hopper

Williford McCauley - Attorney for the Estate of Jolene C. Hopper a/k/a Jolene Cain Hopper Mailing address: P. O. Box 53606 Fayetteville, NC 28305 Physical address: 235 Green Street Fayetteville, NC 28301

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA County of Cumberland In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Estate File # 26E000973-250 IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF: Daniel Madison Horne Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Daniel Madison Horne, 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 25th day of September, 2026, (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 asked to make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This 25th day of June, 2026. Daniel M. Horne, Jr., Executor. 5001 Munger Lane Hickory, NC 28602 Of the Estate of Daniel Madison Horne, Deceased

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS July 9, 2026 Having quali ed as Executrix of the Estate of Zenora Jean Roberts, deceased, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned at the address shown below on or before October 9, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 9th day of July, 2026. Constance Roberts, Executrix Estate of Zenora Jean Roberts 804 Isley St Fayetteville, NC 28305

NOTICE

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK ESTATE FILE #26E001076-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND ADMINISTRATOR’S/EXECUTOR’S NOTICE

Ther undersigned, having quali ed as the Administrator of the Estate of Tina M. Estle-Jewell, 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 9th day of October, 2026, 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 the 2nd day of July, 2026.

John R. Estle-Jewell 281 Kinlaw Road Fayetteville, NC 28311

07/09/26; 07/16/26; 07/23/26; 07/30/26

NOTICE

In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File #26E001070-250

State of North Carolina

Cumberland County Administrator Notice

The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Linda Horrell Johnson, 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 16th day of October, 2026, (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 the 8th day of July, 2026. Christopher G. Johnson 105 Ohara Court Cary, NC 27513 Administrator of the Estate of Linda Horrell Johnson

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND

Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Sheila Kirkley deceased, late of Cumberland 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 at the address listed below on or before October 9, 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment. This the 8th day of July, 2026. Richard Mott Administrator of the Estate of Sheila Kirkley 405 Letterfearn Dr, Fayetteville NC, 28311 contactrichmott@gmail.com

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA

CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NUMBER: 26E000809-250 In the Matter of the Estate of: BETSY POYTHRESS LITTLE

Deceased.

EXECUTOR’S NOTICE

The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Betsy Poythress Little, deceased, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before September 25, 2026 (which is three (3) months after the day of 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 payment to the undersigned. THIS the 25th day of June, 2026. Amanda Paige Little Executor of the Estate of Betsy Poythress Little, Deceased c/o J. Thomas Neville Yarborough, Winters & Neville, P.A. P.O. Box 705 Fayetteville, NC 28302-0705 Publish: 06/25/2026, 07/02/2026, 07/09/2026 and 07/16/2026

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION Administrator’s Notice 26E000969-250 The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Jewell Vinson Lunsford, 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 25th day of September 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 25th day of June 2026. Ivy Janel Lunsford, Administrator of the Jewell Vinson Lunsford Estate Haymount Law 1008 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28305 Telephone: (910) 672-4601

Publish: 06/25, 07/02, 07/09, 07/16

NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE

SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION

ESTATE FILE NO. 26E000958-250

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Florence

Orion Olive, 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 25, 2026, 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 25th day of June, 2026. Stephen E. Gaynos, Executor of the Estate of Florence Orion Olive 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

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA In The General Court Of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court Division Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having quali ed as the Administrator of the Estate of Myrtle Parker. 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 __25th__day of September 2026. 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.

OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Herbert August Schroer, Jr., Deceased of Cumberland County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before September 25, 2026 at 505 Wallace Way, Lexington, South Carolina 29073, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 25th day of June, 2026 Jessica Caitlin Schroer, Executor Estate of Herbert August Schroer, Jr., deceased c/o Gilliam Law Firm, PLLC Post O ce Box 53555 Fayetteville, NC 28305 (910) 485-8899 06/25/2026, 07/02/2026, 07/09/2026, 07/16/2026

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION Administrator’s Notice 26E000795-250 The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Amos D. Simpson, 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 25th day of September 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 25th day of June 2026. Clifton D. Simpson, Administrator of the Amos D. Simpson Estate Haymount Law Attorneys for the Estate 1008 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28305 Telephone: (910) 672-4600 Publish: 06/25, 07/02, 07/09, 07/16

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION Administrator’s Notice 26E000885-250 The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Roland S. Smalls, 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 9th day of October 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 9th day of July 2026. Melody Devine, Executor of the Roland S. Smalls Estate Haymount Law Attorneys for the Estate 1008 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28305 Telephone: (910) 672-4600 Publish: 07/09, 07/16, 07/23, 07/30

NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION Administrator’s Notice

26E000989-250

The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Ellen Jacobs Smith, 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 25th day of September 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 25th day of June 2026. Bryan W. Spencer, Administrator of the Ellen Jacobs Smith Estate Haymount Law Attorneys for the Estate 1008 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC

28305 Telephone: (910) 672-4600 Publish: 06/25, 07/02, 07/09, 07/16 NOTICE

In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before The Clerk Estate File #26E000917-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE NOTICE

The undersigned having quali ed as the Executor of the estate of Eleanor Kay Smith, 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 2nd day of October, 2026 (which is three months after 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 the 12th day of June 2026 Administrator of the estate of Eleanor Kay Smith Carlton R. Smith, Executor 1935 Ireland Drive Fayetteville, NC 28304

EXECUTOR’S NOTICE

In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Estate File # 26E000878-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND

The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Ronald Gregory Stewart, Deceased of Cumberland County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before September 25, 2026 at 139 Rocky Mountain Drive, Raeford, North Carolina 28376, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 25th day of June, 2026 Tracey Antoinette Sneed, Executor Estate of Ronald Gregory Stewart, deceased c/o Gilliam Law Firm, PLLC Post O ce Box 53555 Fayetteville, NC 28305 (910) 485-8899 06/25/2026, 07/02/2026, 07/09/2026, 07/16/2026

NOTICE

In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File # 26E001007-250 State of North Carolina Cumberland County Administrator Notice The undersigned having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Stephen Ray Street aka Stephen Ray Street Sr, deceased lore of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before 2rd day of October 2026, (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 the 23rd day of June 2026 Administrator of the Estate Stephen Ray Street aka Stephen Ray Street Sr. 1406 Powell St. Fayetteville, NC 28306

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA In The General Court of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court Division Estate File #26e000925-250 Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice

The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Kimberly Ann Loomer Vess, 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 2nd day of October, 2026, (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 29th day of June 2026. Kathryn R. Martin Administrator/Executor 19 Crystal Lake Drive North Augusta, South Carolina 29841 Of the Estate of Kimberly Ann Loomer Vess

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF DEBORAH JONES WILDER CUMBERLAND County Estate File No. 26E000615-250 All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Deborah Jones Wilder, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to the Public Administrator, Davis W. Puryear on or before the 17th day of October, 2026 (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 7th day of July, 2026. Davis W. Puryear Public Administrator of the Estate of Deborah Jones Wilder Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311 Run dates: July 16, July 23, July 30 and August 6, 2026

NEW HANOVER

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Wayne Seton Ross, also known as Wayne S. Ross, 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 to the undersigned on or before October 16, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment.

This the 16th day of July, 2026.

DeeAnn C. Ross

Executor of the Estate of Wayne Seton Ross, also known as Wayne S. Ross 1000 Cheryl Lane Wilmington, NC 28409

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, Lauren Barbic Jaworski, having quali ed on the 23rd day of June, 2026, as Executor of the Estate of Nancy Patricia Barbic (26E000740-640), 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 5th day of October, 2026, 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 2nd day of July 2026. Lauren Barbic Jaworski Executor ESTATE OF NANCY PATRICIA BARBIC

David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411 Publish: July 2, 2026 July 9, 2026 July 16, 2026 July 23, 2026

NOTICE

In the state of North Carolina of New Hanover County in the General court of Justice by the Superior court division 26E000770–640 Having quali ed as Administrator/Executor of the estate of the deceased Konstantinos Fontanas of New Hanover County I hereby notify all persons, creditors, rms and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claims to the undersigned no later than the 9th day of October , 2026 Carlene Fontanas Est: Konstantinos Fontanas 209 Rhine Ct Wilmington NC 28412

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, Linda L. Geraci, having quali ed on the 1st day of July, 2026, as Executor of the Estate of Frank Ross Geraci (26E000798-640), 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 12th day of October, 2026, 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 9th day of July 2026. Linda L. Geraci Executor ESTATE OF FRANK ROSS GERACI David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411

Publish: July 9, 2026 July 16, 2026 July 23, 2026 July 30, 2026

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF NEW HANOVER NOTICE TO CREDITORS The undersigned, BERNARD A MAGUIRE, having quali ed as the Executor of the Estate of JOYCE ELAINE MAGUIRE, Deceased, hereby noti es all persons, rms or corporations having claims against the Decedent to exhibit same to the said BERNARD A MAGUIRE, at the address set out below, on or before October 16, 2026, or this notice may be pleaded in bar of any payment or recovery of same. All persons indebted to said Decedent will please make immediate payment to the undersigned at the address set out below.

This the 8h day of July, 2026.

BERNARD A MAGUIRE Executor OF ESTATE OF JOYCE ELAINE MAGUIRE c/o ROBERT H. HOCHULI, JR. 219 RACINE DR., SUITE #A6 Wilmington, NC 28405

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF NEW HANOVER NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, KENDRIC MURPHY having quali ed as the Administrator of the Estate of LORETTA BRADLEY MURPHY, Deceased, hereby noti es all persons, rms or corporations having claims against the Decedent to exhibit same to the said KENDRIC MURPHY, at the address set out below, on or before September 23, 2026, or this notice may be pleaded in bar of any payment or recovery of same. All persons indebted to said Decedent will please make immediate payment to the undersigned at the address set out below.

This the 15th day of June, 2026

KENDRIC MURPHY Administrator of the Estate of LORETTA BRADLEY MURPHY. c/o ROBERT H. HOCHULI, JR. 219 RACINE DR., SUITE #A6 Wilmington, NC 28405

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF NEW HANOVER NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, Robert Renegar, Jr and Patrick A Renegar having quali ed as the Co-Executors of the Estate of Patricia Jean Renegar, Deceased, hereby noti es all persons, rms or corporations having claims against the Decedent to exhibit same to the said Robert Renegar, Jr and Patrick A Renegar, at the address set out below, on or before October 2, 2026, or this notice may be pleaded in bar of any payment or recovery of same. All persons indebted to said Decedent will please make immediate payment to the undersigned at the address set out below.

This the 23rd day of June, 2026

Robert Renegar, Jr and Patrick A Renegar

Co-Executors of the Estate of Patricia Jean Renegar.

c/o ROBERT H. HOCHULI, JR. 219 RACINE DR., SUITE #A6 Wilmington, NC 28405

NOTICE

Notice to Creditors Raeford Glenn Smith passed away on May 15, 2026. An estate has been opened in New Hanover County, North Carolina, Estate File No. [26E000683-640].

I am Margaret Herring Smith, the personal representative/executor of the estate. Pursuant to North Carolina law, any person, rm, or corporation having a claim against the estate must present the claim to me at the mailing address below on or before

October 09, 2026, or the claim may be barred.

Claims should be mailed to:

Margaret Herring Smith

8689 Orchard Loop Road

Leland North Carolina 28451

Phone Number: 910-371-6762

This notice is being provided July 09, 2026 regarding any unpaid claim or balance that may be owed by the decedent or the estate.

Sincerely, Margaret Herring Smith

Personal Representative/Executor of the Estate of Raeford Glen Smith July 09, 2026

ORANGE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Probate #26E000113-670

All persons, rm and corporations having claims against Ray S. Tolan, late of Orange County, North Carolina are hereby noti ed to present them to Theresa Naomi Tolan, 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 25st day of September, 2026, 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: 06/25/2026, 07/02/2026, 07/09/2026 & 07/16/2026

RANDOLPH

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of DONALD OLEN BOLING, SR. aka DONALD O. BOLING aka, DONALD OLEN BOLING, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of the decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 111 Worth Street, Asheboro, NC 27203, on or before September 25, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms or corporations indebted to said estate should make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 25th day of June 2026.

DONALD OLEN BOLING, JR. Executor of the Estate of DONALD OLEN BOLING, SR. aka, DONALD O. BOLING, aka, DONALD OLEN BOLING DECEASED Marion “Beth” McQuaid, Attorney IVEY & EGGLESTON, ATTORNEYS AT LAW 111 Worth Street Asheboro, NC 27203 (336) 625-3043

PUBL/DATES: 06/25/26 07/02/26 07/09/26 07/16/26

NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS OF PAULA S. HINSON All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against Paula S. Hinson, now deceased, are noti ed to exhibit them to Jennifer U. Ambrose, Administrator CTA of the decedent’s estate, on or before the 2nd day of October, 2026, at Post O ce Box 2290, Burlington, North Carolina 27216, or be barred from their recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the above-named Administrator CTA. Jennifer U. Ambrose Administrator CTA of the Estate of Paula S. Hinson (25E000275-750) Dorn C. Pittman, Jr. Pittman & Steele, PLLC Post O ce Box 2290 Burlington, NC 27216 336-270-4440 The North State Journal July 2, 9,16 and 23, 2026

NOTICE

Having quali ed as Administrator CTA of the Estate of Cli ord Edward Latham, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of the decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ce of TAYLOR B. CALLICUTT, ATTORNEY AT LAW, PO Box 2445, Asheboro, North Carolina 27204, on or before October 2, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms or corporations indebted to said estate should make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 2nd day of July, 2026

Katina Hope Surratt, Administrator CTA of the Estate of Cli ord Edward Latham, deceased

TAYLOR B. CALLICUTT ATTORNEY AT LAW PO Box 2445 Asheboro, NC 27204 (336) 308-0354

PUBL/DATES: 07/02/26 07/09/26 07/16/26 07/23/26

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of KAREN DALE RICH PRESNELL aka KAREN PRESNELL aka KAREN R. PRESNELL aka KAREN RICH PRESNELL, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of the decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ce of Ivey & Eggleston, Attorneys at Law, 111 Worth Street, Asheboro, North Carolina 27203, on or before October 16, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in

day of July 2026. HAYLEY MARIE HOOVER aka HAYLEY MARIE CONNER Administrator CTA of the Estate of ANNA MITCHELL TAYLOR aka ANNA MARIE TAYLOR aka ANNA M. TAYLOR aka ANNA TAYLOR HAYLEY MARIE HOOVER aka HAYLEY MARIE CONNER, Administrator CTA 195 Dove eld Dr. Summer eld, NC 27358 (336) 465-9397 PUBL/DATES: 07/09/26 07/16/26 07/23/26 07/30/26

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of CAROLYN GOODYEAR VAN ZILE (A/K/A Carolyn Goodyear VanZile) (A/K/A Carolyn G. Van Zile) (A/K/A Carolyn

NC players in MLB Draft, B3

the Thursday SIDELINE REPORT

NBA Former Heat teammates Adebayo, Herro have brief altercation in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Former Miami Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro had a brief altercation at an NBA Summer League practice facility in Las Vegas. Adebayo, a North Carolina native, reportedly struck Herro during the encounter. Herro was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this month, and the Heat acknowledged the incident but declined further comment. Herro made no comment about the altercation.

NFL

Khosla family agrees to purchase defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks

The family ownership group including Vinod Khosla entered into a formal agreement to purchase the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The announcement came Saturday from the estate of Paul Allen. The sale price is a reported $9.612 billion. The agreement remains subject to approval by the NFL. Khosla is the founder of Khosla Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital rm. His current net worth is $13.7 billion.

NWSL Santos, Rodman score in 2-0 Spirit victory over Courage

Cary Leicy Santos and Trinity Rodman scored goals, and the Washington Spirit won 2-0 over the North Carolina Courage. Courage forward Ashley Sanchez appeared to halve the lead with a free kick goal in the 50th minute, but it was called back after a video review.

The home loss in Cary ended a four-match winning streak for North Carolina (6-4-3).

Points racing returns to North Wilkesboro

The NASCAR Cup Series will hold its rst regular season race at the track since 1996

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

THE FIRST TIME cars raced at North Wilkesboro

Speedway, it wasn’t a NASCAR-sanctioned event. That’s only because NASCAR hadn’t been created yet. The track had 14 Cup Series races under its belt before it paved over the dirt short track.

North Wilkesboro may not be “the granddaddy of them all” but make no mistake — when the grandparents get to -

gether, it’s right there trading stories with them about NASCAR’s roots, running from authorities while bootlegging booze in the Carolina mountains. When NASCAR made its return to the track three years ago for the All-Star Race, the media gift was a bottle of moonshine. This weekend, the Cup Series returns to the short track for the rst points race in 30 years. Forget the early days of North Wilkesboro — the late days of the track’s NASCAR Cup Series connect was a different era. Of the last 10 Cup Series winners in points races there, none has raced in more than a decade. Three have been dead for a quarter

Cup

93

races

century each, and one, Darrell Waltrip, announced his retirement seven years ago — from his post-driving announcing career.

There are plenty of fans — both those getting ready to make the trip there and those wishing they could — who remember when the track was a stop on the circuit, not an-

nually but twice a year. Over a 47-year stretch, North Wilkesboro hosted 93 Cup Series races. Drivers currently enshrined in the sport’s Hall of Fame won 73 of them.

Seven Hall of Famers — Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick — didn’t get the chance to win points at North Wilkesboro because their entire Cup Series career took place since the last regular season race was held there.

The last Cup Series points race held at North Wilkesboro was in 1996. Terry Labonte won the First Union 400 in April. Je Gordon took the Tyson Holly Farms 400 in September. The last time Cup Series points were given in North Carolina anywhere other than Charlotte Motor Speedway was in 2004, when the circuit last visited Rockingham in the regular season.

See RACING, page B4

The USA men’s national rugby team will face Spain for its third match of the Nations Cup

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

INTERNATIONAL rugby has come to North Carolina thanks to the inaugural World Rugby Nations Cup.

The World Rugby Nations Cup is a second-tier men’s rugby tournament consisting of 12 Rugby World Cup-quali ed teams with games being hosted all across North America in the summer international window and in Europe during the fall window.

As part of the North American series, the USA was selected to host four games, with the two host states being Colorado and North Carolina.

The rst matches were held in Denver, Colorado, and then Charlotte earlier in the month, and now the USA will play a third and nal game in Cary this upcoming weekend.

“Staging the rst half of the tournament across the Americas re ects the enormous potential of the region, from the deep passion of South American fans to the outstanding venues and growing interest in the North,” said World Rugby

Chair Brett Robinson. “This is a tournament built on growth, connection and the belief that every union should have a clear pathway to compete and thrive at the highest level.”

The 12 Nations Cup teams are split into two pools based on geographic location: Europe, Africa and Asia Pool (Georgia, Hong Kong, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Zimbabwe) and Americas and Paci c Pool (Canada, Chile, Samoa, Tonga, United States, Uruguay).

The Nations Cup gives these teams the chance to better prepare themselves for the upcoming 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia against similarly talented opponents, and starting in 2030, there will be the potential for promotion to the Nations Championship too, which runs concurrently and is composed of the top 12 rugby nations.

“The inaugural World Rugby Nations Cup is a major milestone for the global game,” Robinson said. “The competition is

creating unprecedented opportunities for these promising teams to test themselves, build experience, inspire supporters home and away, and grow their commercial footprint.”

In total, four games will have been played on American soil, with three already having concluded.

“July is about bringing our core playing group and new coaching sta together for the rst time in seven months,” said USA coach Scott Lawrence. “Our focus will be on establishing the foundations of our identity and developing to perform in the key moments that decide Test matches. Our leadership group understands that July is the rst step in a 13-match journey through 2026.”

The rst two games (USA vs. Portugal and Tonga vs. Zimbabwe) took place in Denver on July 4, with America winning its match 30-29 on a last-minute score. Last week, the USA took on Zimbabwe in Charlotte, with the Americans again coming out ahead, 31-15.

Currently, the Eagles are 2-0 in their summer schedule, sitting second in their pool behind Chile, and they’ll look to go 3-0 this Saturday in Cary when they take on Spain.

“Consistent competition for

SHUJI KAJIYAMA / AP PHOTO

Conner Mooneyham of the U.S. catches the ball in an international game against Fiji. Mooneyham is one of the key players on this year’s World Rugby Nations Cup Team USA.

JASON JACKSON FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Fans pack the stands at the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. After two years hosting the exhibition event, the speedway now gets to host a regular season event this weekend.

Series

hosted by North Wilkesboro; 73 were won by Hall of Famers

THURSDAY

7.16.26

TRENDING

James Clark:

The shortstop for California’s St. John Bosco was a potential rstround pick in the MLB Draft, but he announced he was withdrawing from the draft and would instead attend Duke. The ve-star recruit was No. 52 on Baseball America’s draft prospects list.

Fayetteville Terry Sanford shortstop Josh Mozingo, an ECU recruit, also withdrew from draft consideration.

Jack Roney:

The Charlotte native and former NC State swimmer and assistant coach died unexpectedly at 39 in a “tragic accident.” Roney won ve state championships and set a NCHSAA championship meet record in the 200-yard backstroke at Myers Park High School. He swam at NC State until 2009, breaking the Wolfpack’s 200-yard breaststroke record. He was a State coach from 2014 to 2016.

Al Riveron:

The ACC’s supervisor of football o cials is stepping down after being in the role since November 2022. Riveron worked more than three decades as an on- eld o cial or an o ciating administrator in college and the NFL. He was the NFL’s rst Hispanic referee and served as the league’s senior vice president of o ciating before retiring in 2021.

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES

“I’m here to win.”

Larry Bowa on calling a 7 a.m. team meeting prior to managing the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday.

“The goal is never to compete for a play-in spot.”

Charlotte Hornets GM Je Peterson on the decision to trade LaMelo Ball.

PRIME NUMBER

7

Dundon family members engraved on the Stanley Cup after the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2025-26 title. Owner Tom Dundon is listed rst, followed by wife, Veruschka, and children Caden, Dax, Drew, Blake and Tagan. Defenseman Joel Nystrom, who played 38 games for Carolina, was not included among the 53 names.

NASCAR

Ryan Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the nal lap of overtime to cap a dominant victory in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta. Blaney won every stage of the race after starting on the pole but had to ght o challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who nished second, on the nal lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four.

Conor McGregor’s return against Max Holloway ended at just 1:09 of the rst round because of a knee injury. Fighting for the rst time in more than ve years, McGregor ew across the ring with a ying roundhouse kick when the match started and landed awkwardly on his right knee.

Tristan Peters (pictured) and Foster Gri n were named MLB All-Stars as injury replacements. Peters, batting .303 with six home runs and 35 RBIs for the White Sox in his rst full MLB season, had 27 homers for the Durham Bulls in 2024 -25. Gri n started 11 games for the Burlington Royals in 2014.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 for his second consecutive Wimbledon title and fth Grand Slam. Zverev appeared bothered by a knee issue after a slip in the third set. It was Sinner’s 10th straight victory over Zverev. Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech women’s nal for her rst Grand Slam title.

UFC MLB

JOHN LOCHER / AP PHOTO

PHIL LONG / AP PHOTO

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

MATT KELLEY / AP PHOTO

TENNIS

KIN CHEUNG / AP PHOTO

MLB looks to NC State, UNC for draft talent

Sixteen

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

CURRENT MAJOR leaguers

Rhett Lowder, Nick Kurtz and Chase Burns are some of the players with North Carolina ties to go early in recent MLB Drafts and then get fast tracked to The Show.

The local ties near the top of this year’s draft didn’t go through Wake Forest, however. In fact, they’ve already led out of the state.

The rst player from a school in the state to get selected was Virginia out elder A.J. Gracia, who started his career at Duke before transferring. He was selected ninth overall by the Braves.

While Gracia’s o cial draft card read UVA, he credited his time with Durham for helping turn him into a rst-rounder.

“My freshman fall I hit like .080, and I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to switch something up,’” Gracia told MLB.com. “That’s kind of when I started making some changes and stu like that. Nothing too crazy in terms of my swing itself. It was more so just a setup. I started standing pretty tall, like how I am now, and for whatever reason, something kind of clicked, and I just ran with it. It’s kind of been history since then.”

Duke coach Chris Pollard left for UVA after the 2025 season, and several players followed. In addition to Gracia, pitcher Kyle Johnson got drafted after a year with the Cavaliers. He went to the Tampa Bay Rays in the sixth round, No. 174 overall. That was one more than the current Duke team saw selected. Pitcher Aidan Weaver was the lone Blue Devil taken, by the A’s in round eight, No. 231 overall.

A total of 16 players from North Carolina high schools were selected, tied for ninthmost from any state. The state’s colleges also supplied plenty of talent. NC State led the way with seven selections, tied for the 10th-most from any college in the country. UNC was one be-

REBECCA S. GRATZ / AP PHOTO

UNC’s Jake Scha ner (2) slides safely into third base ahead of the throw in Game 1 of the NCAA College World Series nals.

hind with six draftees, and Wake Forest supplied ve. UNC shortstop Jake Schaner was the other rst-rounder from the state, going 20th overall to Boston. The pick was a bit of a surprise since Scha ner was pegged as a likely second- or third-rounder, and the Red Sox were suspected of drafting him early in an e ort to save signing bonus money.

“We prepared for 20 scenarios. I won’t say where this scenario was on that list,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Jake Bruml said on MLB.com. “We knew what we were getting into. We were very comfortable with it, and (said), ‘This is going to be viewed as very o the wall.’” Scha ner shrugged o the controversy.

“I didn’t really take it personally,” he said. “I don’t really know. I guess they thought what they thought, and it’s super cool to be drafted at 20th overall. It’s a dream come true.”

NC State out elder Ty Head went next, to Baltimore in the second round at No. 46. Then the Red Sox went back to Chapel Hill

“I guess they thought what they thought, and it’s super cool to be drafted at 20th overall”

UNC’s Jake Scha ner

to take out elder Owen Hull at No. 67 overall with a Competitive Balance pick in between the second and third rounds.

Two more Tar Heels and one Wolfpack player went in the third round, all of them right-handed pitchers. UNC’s Jason DeCaro went to Pittsburgh at 80th, Huntersville native Jacob Dudan was taken by the A’s out of NC State at 83rd, and Ryan Lynch was taken by the Padres at 97th.

Two more natives went in round four, out of non-ACC North Carolina schools. Kernersville’s Ethan Norby, whose brother is already in MLB, was taken by the Reds at 122. The lefthander pitched for ECU. Leland’s Trevor Lucas, a third baseman for UNC Wilmington, was

drafted by Seattle at 129. Also taken in the fourth was Wake third baseman Kade Lewis, by Cleveland at 123. Here are the later-round picks.

FIFTH ROUND

140. Pittsburgh: Ryan Marohn, P, NC State, (Youngsville native)

150. San Francisco: Luke Nixon, 2B, NC State, (Wilmington native)

SIXTH ROUND

167. Washington: Cooper Allen, P, UNC Wilmington, (Wake Forest native)

183. Cincinnati: Duncan Marsten, P, Wake Forest

190. Philadelphia: Macon Winslow, C, UNC, (Hertford)

SEVENTH ROUND

196. Washington: Gage Peterson, P, Appalachian State

201. Athletics: David Rossow, P, Campbell

212. Cincinnati: Sherman Johnson, 3B, NC State

NINTH ROUND

261. Athletics: Tanner Marsh, 2B (Asheboro)

266. Arizona: Chris Katz, 1B (Raleigh)

279. Philadelphia: Cooper Consiglio, P, NC State

11TH ROUND

321. Athletics: Javar Williams, OF, Wake Forest

335. San Diego: Chris McHugh, 1B, NC State

12TH ROUND

346. Washington: Matthew Dallas, P, Wake Forest

357. Texas: Jackson Nash, P, (Monroe)

370. Seattle: Connor Marshburn, P, UNC Wilmington (Cary)

373. Dodgers: Gavin Van Kempen, P, East Carolina

14TH ROUND

425. San Diego: Ty Brachbill, P, High Point

16TH ROUND

477. Texas: Brandon Crabtree, 3B, Catawba (Pittsboro)

478. San Francisco: Dalton Wentz, 3B, Wake Forest

17TH ROUND

494. Colorado: Josh Swink, P (Newton)

520. Seattle: Matthew Matthijs, P, UNC (Greenville)

523. Dodgers: Camden Wimbish, P, Campbell (Oakboro)

18TH ROUND

547. Cubs: Luke McGrath, P (Charlotte)

Charlotte takes center stage for MLS All-Star Game

Charlotte FC’s coach and three players will represent the host club

By Jesse Deal

State Journal

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte

FC will take a prominent role when the MLS All-Star Game comes to the Queen City later this month.

On July 29, Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith will direct the MLS All-Stars against a collection of Liga MX standouts at Bank of America Stadium, while three of his players — defender Tim Ream and mid elders Pep Biel and Ashley Westwood — will represent the host club.

The 8 p.m. match will be the rst MLS All-Star Game played in Charlotte and the 30th edition of the league’s annual event. It will also mark Charlotte FC’s rst player appearances in the showcase.

Ream earned his spot in the First XI through combined voting by fans, MLS players and media members; Biel and Westwood were added through coach selections made by Smith.

The MLS roster includes stars such as Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi, LAFC forward Son Heung-Min, Vancouver mid elder Thomas Muller and Inter Miami mid elder Rodrigo De Paul.

“I’m very happy to be there,” Biel said of playing with some of the league’s top stars. “The happiest part is to meet this kind of player, to play with them and to enjoy it with them.”

With a team-high seven goals through 15 league matches, Biel has supplied much of Charlotte’s attacking production this season. The Spanish mid elder joined the Crown during the 2024 season and later became a

BRIAN WESTERHOLT / AP PHOTO

Charlotte FC mid elder Pep Biel controls the ball during an MLS match against Inter Miami in Charlotte on March 14.

permanent addition as one of its designated players. Westwood provides a different kind of in uence. Charlotte’s captain has been a steady mid eld presence since arriving in 2023, bringing experience from more than 600 professional appearances and long stints with Aston Villa and Burnley in England.

Ream’s selection completes a notable Charlotte trio.

The veteran center back, who captained the United States at this summer’s World Cup, is returning to the MLS All-Star Game 15 years after his rst appearance with Red Bull New York in 2011. That gap ties former U.S. goalkeeper Tim How-

“I’m very happy to be there.”

Pep Biel

ard for the longest between selections in league history.

Ream has also been chosen for the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge on July 28 at Truist Field, giving Charlotte FC a role on both nights of the league’s marquee week. Smith’s position as All-Star coach comes with the bene t of leading the event in his home stadium, but it also required di cult roster decisions. One

noticeable Charlotte omission was goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, a key gure for the Crown. Nashville SC goalkeeper Brian Schwake earned the voted position, while Smith and MLS selected New York City FC’s Matt Freese and Orlando City’s Maxime Crepeau. Freese represented the United States at the World Cup, and Crepeau played for Canada. “With picking the squad, I certainly felt it would be a great reward to reward players who’ve been in the World Cup as well,” Smith said. “They have received lots of media attention, and rightly so. I think the best thing you can do as a player is to get rewarded by playing for your

national team. One of the goalkeepers was chosen through the 11, and the other two both represented their national teams and host teams in the World Cup, so you know that was the reason behind it.”

The nal 29-player MLS roster re ects the league’s international reach. Thirteen selections were named to World Cup rosters, while 18 players are rst-time MLS All-Stars. Nashville leads all clubs with four representatives, followed by Charlotte with three.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber used his two selections on Toronto FC defender Richie Laryea and Red Bull New York forward Julian Hall.

The matchup continues the All-Star series between MLS and Mexico’s top division. MLS holds a 3-1 advantage in the four previous meetings, winning in 2021 and 2022 before Liga MX answered with a 4-1 victory in 2024. MLS regained the upper hand last year with a 3-1 win in Austin, Texas.

Kicking o July 28, All-Star activities will begin with the Skills Challenge at 7:30 p.m. as competitors from MLS and Liga MX take part in shooting, passing, goalkeeper and crossbar events before the leagues meet in a closing relay.

A night later, Smith, Ream, Biel and Westwood will give North Carolina supporters a home team within the All-Star team.

Charlotte FC enters the second half of the season sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 6-6-3 record and 21 points.

The Crown has remained in the playo picture behind a strong home record at Bank of America Stadium, although inconsistent results away from Charlotte have kept the club from climbing higher in the standings.

North Carolina natives are also taken in the 2026 draft

‘Greensboro’s

team’ Norway falls in World Cup quarter nals

Bellingham scored twice to lift England past Erling Haaland and into the semi nals

By Alanis Thames

The Associated Press

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jude Bellingham locked arms with teammate Harry Kane as England fans belted out the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”

Bellingham certainly earned the serenade.

He scored twice Saturday — an equalizer in the rst half and the go-ahead goal in the third minute of extra time — to lift England past Norway 2-1 and into the World Cup semi nals for the rst time since 2018.

The Real Madrid star has now matched Kane with six goals in this tournament, two behind France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi and one shy of Norway’s Erling Haaland, who was held scoreless by England. Bellingham also scored twice in the round of 16 as England beat co-host Mexico.

England, winner of the 1966 World Cup and facing pressure to return to the title match, is now one win away from getting there. The Three Lions will face Argentina in the semi nals.

“The game is split into loads of di erent facets. Some of it is technical, tactical,” Bellingham said. “For me, the biggest one is psychological and how you can manage setbacks, how you can manage adversity. This team showed yet again that they can do it, and that’s a really valuable skill and trait to have.”

Not everyone was thrilled with England’s performance.

“We made life very, very dicult for ourselves today,” coach

RUGBY from page B1

our senior national teams continues to be a primary goal at USA Rugby, as we look to grow on the global stage,” said USA Rugby CEO Bill Goren. “The World Rugby Nations Cup and these rst three xtures at home are excellent opportunities for our Men’s Eagles and for USA fans to gather around them.”

Thomas Tuchel said in a contentious interview with Fox Sports. “The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but not happy with the performance ... in every sense.”

Tuchel clari ed in his news conference that he was “proud and happy” with how his squad has overcome adversity, but added, “I’m also a football coach and I also have demands. ... I think we can play faster. I think we can play more clinical.”

Bellingham seemed to disagree with his coach’s critique after England prevailed in the heat and humidity of South Florida, with temperatures

Organized rugby has been played in America since the 19th century, with the USA holding two Olympic gold medals in the sport (1920, 1924). However, the Americans have yet to reach the knockout stage in all nine of the Rugby World Cups for which they’ve quali ed.

The hope is this increased competition will better prepare them for international competition and especially so as they

It will return Sunday, July 17 at 7 p.m., broadcast on TNT Sports. Dubbed the Window World 450, it’s the most laps NASCAR has run on that track. The last 68 Cup Series races at North Wilkesboro have all been scheduled for 400 laps, 250 miles, although the 1963 race was shortened to 257 laps due to rain, and the 1974 race only went 360 due to the energy crisis. They’ll be going 450 laps and 281.25 miles on Sunday. That’s 200 laps longer than last year’s All-Star Race.

This won’t just be a celebration of NASCAR history, however. There’s plenty at stake in the race. A total of 65 points separate the top three drivers in the standings, with Denny Hamlin holding a 24-point edge over Tyler Reddick. Coming o a dominant win in Atlanta, Ryan Blaney has moved into striking range in third.

“Really?” Blaney said when told how tight the standings were after the race. “Wow! Wow!”

It will also be the semi nals of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. The bracket of 32 drivers has been winnowed down in

“It was not a tough decision to take him out. He was nished.”

Norway coach Ståle Solbakken on removing star player Erling Haaland

reaching 92 degrees Fahrenheit at the start of warmups.

“Well, whatever,” Bellingham said, shaking his head.

“It’s di cult out there. It’s a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation goes to the play-

prepare to host the 2031 World Cup as well.

America’s nal match of the summer schedule is slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, and those interested can purchase tickets online. The match will also be available to U.S. viewers on Paramount+. First Horizon Stadium has hosted dozens of major competitions from ACC and NCAA

ers out there who put in a great shift.”

Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 36th minute for Norway, who trained in Greensboro for its World Cup run. The squad reached its rst quarternals and took the internet by storm with its “Viking row” and the charisma of Haaland, their fearsome 6-foot-5 striker.

Haaland was kept o the scoresheet for the rst time in this World Cup. The Manchester City star sat dejectedly on the bench after he was subbed out for Jørgen Strand Larsen in the second half of extra time.

“It was not a tough decision

soccer championships to the recent TST event’s and the World Rugby Nations Cup will be yet another for its iconic eld.

The Nations Cup will return for its second half in November, when the USA will travel to Europe to face o against the other three nations from the Europe, Africa and Asia Pool (Romania, Hong Kong and Georgia).

Final site locations will be announced at a later date.

head-to-head competition to a nal four. No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland faces No. 4 Chase Elliott in one showdown. Blaney, the No. 3 seed, meets No. 10 Christopher Bell in the other. The two winners will race for the Challenge title the following week in Indianapolis.

In addition to the race being almost twice as long as the All-Star Races of the last three years, the short track will be almost twice as crowded. There were 17 to 21 drivers entered in the All-Star Races, while the Window World 450 will see 37 cars at the starting line.

to take him out,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said. “He was nished. Maybe I should have taken him out 10 minutes before. ... He also got a dead leg in the second half, so that combined with the fatigue. He did everything he could.”

Norway nearly went ahead 2-1 in the 56th minute when Torbjørn Heggem put a rebound past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a corner kick. Following a video review, the goal was disallowed because of a foul by Haaland in the box. Haaland was also denied by Pickford on a point-blank header in the rst half.

Schjelderup, making just his second start of the tournament, red a shot that caromed o the right post and into the net to stun an England team that had dominated possession to that point. Bellingham’s equalizer from close range elicited a roar from that crowd that included Mick Jagger and England great David Beckham.

Schjelderup, who set up both of Haaland’s goals in Norway’s round of 16 win over Brazil, celebrated by stretching his arms wide and looking at the crowd as his teammates lifted him onto their shoulders. Meanwhile, Kane sat near mid eld, grabbing his leg and looking toward the o cials. No foul was called.

Moments before Bellingham evened the score, a Norway goal kick resulted in the ball appearing to make contact with an aerial camera cable before landing at the feet of England’s Elliot Anderson. The ball was eventually played to Bellingham, who beat Ørjan Nyland with a low shot to the far post. By rule, if the ball had been noticed hitting the cable, play would have stopped and a drop ball would have been utilized to determine possession. FIFA later said the sensor in the ball indicated it did not touch the cable.

There was a brief moment of silence before the match in honor of Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old mid elder for South Africa whose death was announced earlier Saturday.

“Staging the rst half of the tournament across the Americas re ects the enormous potential of the region.”

Brett Robinson, World Rugby chair

REBECCA BLACKWELL / AP PHOTO

Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane embrace at the end of the World Cup quarter nal match.

JASON JACKSON FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

From left to right, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott vie for position at last year’s NASCAR All-Star Race in North Wilkesboro. All four return for this year’s points race at the speedway, and Bell, Blaney and Elliott will all be battling in the In- Season Challenge semi nals.

Yahoo Sports launches college fantasy football leagues featuring Power Four players, Notre Dame

The game will be modeled after the NFL version

By Pat Graham The Associated Press

HOW ABOUT Texas quarterback Arch Manning paired with Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith on the same college football roster. While at it, add Michigan tailback Jordan Marshall, too.

No transfer portal needed, either. Just some savvy drafting by a college fantasy football team owner.

Yahoo Sports is expanding more into college fantasy football this season by launching leagues that feature players from Power Four conferences along with Notre Dame.

So ll that QB1 slot with Heisman Trophy favorites Manning or the Fighting Irish’s CJ Carr. Grab Marshall or LJ Martin of BYU to round out the RB spots. Pick up Smith or Cam Coleman of Texas at receiver.

These stars of the college game today could help you win a fantasy title later this fall. Down the road, maybe even help your NFL fantasy team.

“This will be an interesting

opportunity to really develop fandom not just of the sport but also the players and the schools,” Ryan Spoon, president of Yahoo Media Group, said in an interview before Thursday’s launch of the leagues. “The content ... is now available to make a really robust, awesome experience.”

There have been sites with college fantasy football leagues before. This takes it even more mainstream in this era of name, image and likeness. Yahoo is coming o a season in which it set all-time highs for most fantasy football users and teams.

“It’s understandable to all fans,” Spoon said, “not just the mega-college fan.” A lot like NFL fantasy football, only not quite

The college fantasy format is similar to the NFL version. It starts with the draft, of course, and then head-to-head matchups (scoring begins Sept. 3).

The 18-player rosters feature the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC, along with Notre Dame. There’s another wrinkle, too, with an “o ense” position in play. Go ahead and draft, say, Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin along with the Ohio State “o ense.” That means bonus points for team touchdowns, to-

“If somebody drops the game-winning catch, you’ve got to know they’re going to hear about it.”

Kyson Brown, Arizona State running back

tal yards, eld goals and a win, along with deductions for losses.

It’s a way to spice things up.

“We’ve run millions of permutations,” Spoon said of testing formats and game structure.

“The variability is the awesome part of this.”

Iowa State running back Aiden Flora knows whom he would pick in a college fantasy draft.

“Might as well trust myself,” Flora said at Big 12 media days.

“I feel like it’s a thing that a lot younger people would love to do, even though I feel like a lot of them (would) just try to get the guys that they are cheering for.”

It’s also a way to keep up with players in this ever-changing college football landscape that includes the volatile transfer portal.

Martin, the AP Big 12 o en-

sive player of the year last season, rushed for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns. He gures to be a high selection.

“I’m trying to go out there,” he said, “and get as many yards as I can every time.”

A word of caution

One thing Brody Ruihley, a professor of sport leadership and management at Miami University (Ohio), cautioned was to keep in mind these are college students, rst and foremost.

This is just fun and games.

NFL players have reported being contacted by fantasy football owners through social media in all sorts of ways.

“We need to remember that the college athlete is accessible in class, on campus, at poorly secured practices/games, and pretty much anywhere on a college campus. They are young adults still nding their way just like non-athlete college students,” Ruihley wrote in an email. “Protection is and should be a primary function for state agencies when collegiate fantasy sport or sports betting is in play.”

Scrutiny has almost become part of the territory — no matter the level.

“If somebody drops the game-winning catch, you’ve got to know they’re going to hear about,” Arizona State running back Kyson Brown explained. “We’ve been kind of going through the same things those guys have been going through.”

Gambling in college football made headlines over the saga of former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby. The Red Raiders had planned to let Sorsby play even after the Cincinnati transfer admitted he placed bets on Indiana games when he was a freshman with the Hoosiers. Sorsby ultimately abandoned a legal e ort to regain his eligibility and is expected to enter next year’s NFL Draft.

This is gameplay

Spoon stressed this was gameplay.

“Obviously, there’s a subset of users, which is much larger today than it was ve years ago, that is choosing through other operators to also place wagers or predictions, whatever those might be. That’s not us,” Spoon said. “Every passing year college (football) becomes bigger and more interesting and fandom increases.”

TAKE NOTICE

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

26SP000057-120

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Adam Lazzari (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Adam Lazzari) to Costner Law, Trustee(s), dated September 22, 2023, and recorded in Book No. 16657, at Page 0149 in Cabarrus 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 Cabarrus 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 Concord, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, or the customary

location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on July 27, 2026 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Kannapolis in the County of Cabarrus, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being Lot 97 as shown on plat of Pennant Square, Phase 2, Map 1 recorded in Map Book 92, Pages 58-61, in the Cabarrus County, North Carolina Public Registry, reference to said plat is hereby made for a more particular description. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 3150 Baines Court, Kannapolis, 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). Should the property be purchased by a third party, 31 CFR 1031.320 requires certain qualifying residential

real estate transactions to be reported to the federal government. If you are the successful bidder in this proceeding, you may be required to provide all applicable identifying information about yourself and, if applicable, any entity or trust purchasing the property. 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

BYU running back and projected high fantasy football draft pick LJ Martin (4) celebrates scoring a touchdown during a November game against UCF.

TYLER TATE / AP PHOTO

26SP000106-120

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, CABARRUS COUNTY

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Matthew Lockrem to David Silverman, Trustee(s), which was dated October 31, 2023 and recorded on October 31, 2023 in Book 16701 at Page 109, Cabarrus County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on July 21, 2026 at 01:00 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, to wit:

common use of said Lots One (1) and Two (2) referred to above, as located and shown on the subdivision plat. Said driveway easement shall be a perpetual right and easement of egress, ingress, and regress over and upon said driveway for both lots. The easement shall be

property be purchased by a third party, 31 CFR 1031.320 requires certain qualifying residential real estate transactions to be reported to the federal government. If you are the successful bidder in this proceeding, you may be required to provide all applicable identifying information about yourself and, if applicable, any entity or trust purchasing the

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

Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on July 21, 2026 at 01:00 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, to wit:

BEGINNING at an iron stake in the east edge of an unnamed 30 foot street, corner of Lot Nos. 86 and 87, and runs thence with the dividing line of Lot Nos. 86 and 87 S. 46 E. 197.8 feet to an iron stake, the back corner of Lot Nos. 86 and 87; thence N. 44 E. 75 feet to an iron stake, the back corner of Lot Nos. 89 and 90; thence with the dividing line of Lot Nos. 89 and 90 N. 46 W. 195.7 feet to an iron stake, the front corner of Lot Nos. 89 and 90 in the East edge of said unnamed street; thence with the East edge of said street, S. 46 ½ W. 75 feet to the BEGINNING.

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

Said property is commonly known as 396 Cameron Ave NE, Concord, NC 28025.

BEING Lot Nos. 87, 88 and 89 as shown on the map of the development known as W.W. Hoagland Property as found in No. 5 Township, now Township 12 of the City of Concord, Cabarrus County, N.C. and located on the east side of a 30 foot street that leads South from the Burrage Road, as surveyed and platted by C. W. Widenhouse, Engineer, in December, 1941, as found in Book of Maps No. 6, page 41, and is more particularly described as follows:

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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

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 Matthew Lockrem, a free trader.

ALL THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF LAND SITUATED IN THE CITY OF CONCORD, NUMBER TWO (2) TOWNSHIP, CABARRUS COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA AND MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: LYING AND BEING IN NUMBER TWO (2) TOWNSHIP, CABARRUS COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, AND BEING ALL OF LOT NUMBER EIGHTY-THREE (83) OF SPRINGHILL, SECTION 2, PAGE 2, A MAP OF SAID PROPERTY BEING ON FILE IN MAP BOOK 16, PAGE 61, CABARRUS COUNTY REGISTRY, TO WHICH REFERENCE IS HEREBY MADE FOR A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION THEREOF BY METES AND BOUNDS. BEING THE SAME PROPERTY CONVEYED TO TRAVIS D. WHITTINGTON AND MARIE E. WHITTINGTON FROM KENNETH R. SOSSOMAN AND MONA HARTSELL SOSSOMAN BY DEED DATED 09/29/99 AND RECORDED 09/30/99 IN DEED BOOK 2674 PAGE 136 OF THE OFFICE OF THE RECORDER OF DEEDS OF CABARRUS COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 3100 Rock Hill Church Rd, Concord, NC 28027. 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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. 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 Marie Elwood Whittington.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of

OF PLATS 28, AT PAGE 32, CUMBERLAND COUNTY REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 1505 Greenock Ave, Fayetteville, NC 28304. 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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING

of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on July 29, 2026 at 01:30 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to wit: Being all of Lot 6, Block “B”, in a subdivision known as Gallup Acres, and the same being duly recorded in Plat Book 17, page 30, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 304 Durant Dr, Fayetteville, NC 28304. 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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale,

COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. 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 Africa McBride.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant

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 Edwin Candelaria. An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may,

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination.

Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the 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 their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. If the transaction is subject to the FinCEN Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule (“RRE”) issued pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act, information necessary to comply with the RRE Rule must be obtained and provided to the Reporting Person, as de ned in the RRE Rule, prior to closing.

to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)].

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 File No.: 25-31591-FC01

after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination. Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

26SP000574-250

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Jaira-Mirykal Renee Moore and Deliann Victoria Moore (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Jaira-Mirykal Moore and Deliann Victoria Moore) to Phillip R. Mahoney, Trustee(s), dated November 1, 2023, and recorded in Book No. 11850, at Page 0762 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 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 27, 2026 and will sell to

AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 23 SP 001034-250 Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Jamey R Smith, in the original amount of $125,460.00, payable to Carolina Mortgage Co. of Fayetteville, dated June 30, 1998, and recorded on July 7, 1998, in Book 4893, Page 839, Cumberland 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 Cumberland 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

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

26SP000531-250

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Sibyl C. Ackin and Fletcher E. Taylor (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Sibyl Ackin and Fletcher Taylor) to John B. Third, Trustee(s), dated August 29, 2022, and recorded in Book No. 11559, at Page 0419 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 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 27, 2026 and will sell to the

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

26SP000280-250

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by William Joseph Barnes (Deceased) (PRESENT RECORD

OWNER(S): William Barnes) to Frances Jones, Trustee(s), dated October 30, 2008, and recorded in Book No. 08015, at Page 0574 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 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 27, 2026 and will sell to the

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: All that certain lot or parcel of land situated in or near the City of Fayetteville, SeventyFirst Township, Cumberland County, North Carolina and more Particularly described as follows: Being all of Lot 98 as shown on a plat entitled “LAKE RIM NORTH, SECTION ONE” duly recorded in Plat Book 97, Page 117, Cumberland County, North Carolina Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 9505 Gooden 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). Should the property be purchased by a third party, 31 CFR 1031.320 requires certain qualifying residential real estate transactions to be reported to the federal government. If you are the

courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Cumberland County, North Carolina, at 2:00 PM on July 28th, 2026, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being all of Lot 107, Williamsburg Plantation, Section II, according to a plat of same duly recorded in a Book of Plats 87, Page 29, Cumberland County Registry. Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 1708 Empress Lane, Fayetteville, NC 28304. Tax ID: 0406-21-6144 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 amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount of Forty- ve Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit

highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Hope Mills in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of Lot 54 in a Subdivision known as ELK RUN, SECTION TWO, according to a plat recorded in Plat Book 83, Page 69, Cumberland County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 712 Alexwood Drive, Hope Mills, Norh 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). Should the property be purchased by a third party, 31 CFR 1031.320 requires certain qualifying residential real estate transactions to be reported to the federal government. If you are the successful bidder in this proceeding, you may be required to provide all applicable

highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Hope Mills in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of Lot No. 8, in a Subdivision known as PAPER MILL SUBDIVISION, according to a plat of same duly recorded in Book of Plats 16, Page 59, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 4504 Cameron Road, Hope Mills, 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). Should the property be purchased by a third party, 31 CFR 1031.320 requires certain qualifying residential real estate transactions to be reported to the federal government. If you are the successful bidder in this proceeding, you may be required to provide all applicable

COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION CUMBERLAND COUNTY 26SP000359-250 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY JUSTIN LOCKLEAR DATED SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 9303 AT PAGE 725 AND MODIFIED BY AGREEMENT RECORDED NOVEMBER 14, 2016 IN BOOK 9981, PAGE 315 IN THE CUMBERLAND 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 expose for sale at public auction at the usual place of sale at the Cumberland County courthouse at 11:00AM on July 27, 2026, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Justin Locklear, dated September 30, 2013 to secure the original principal amount of $73,641.00, and recorded in Book 9303 at Page 725 of the Cumberland 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: 617 Feature Ct, Hope Mills, NC 28348

successful bidder in this proceeding, you may be required to provide all applicable identifying information about yourself and, if applicable, any entity or trust purchasing the property. 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

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 knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner of the property is Jamey R Smith. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and

identifying information about yourself and, if applicable, any entity or trust purchasing the property. 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

identifying information about yourself and, if applicable, any entity or trust purchasing the property. 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

Tax Parcel ID: 0413-34-7061

Present Record Owners: Justin Locklear

The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Justin Locklear. 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

against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of

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 will have no further remedy.

Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the

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 will have no further remedy. Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk

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

property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may after receiving the notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is

26SP000237-480

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, IREDELL COUNTY

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Brandon Paul Black a/k/a Brandon Black and Samantha Black to Hutchens, Senter, Kellam & Pettit, P.A., dba Hutchens Law Firm, Trustee(s), which was dated May 11, 2022 and recorded on June 24, 2022 in Book 2928 at Page 1753, Iredell County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county

26SP000154-480

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, IREDELL COUNTY

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale

contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Shannon Glancy and Matthew Wilson a/k/a Matthew E. Wilson to Jason M Cole, Trustee(s), which was dated August 22, 2017 and recorded on August 22, 2017 in Book 2507 at Page 2227, Iredell County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on July 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM, and will sell

26SP000178-480 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, IREDELL COUNTY

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Charles Cole and Colleen Cole to Brock and Scott, Trustee(s), which was dated March 22, 2022 and recorded on March 25, 2022 in Book 2906 at Page 964, Iredell County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on July 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Iredell

courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on July 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Iredell County, North Carolina, to wit:

BEING ALL OF LOT NO. 107 OF THE LIPPARD SPRINGS SECTION 5 SUBDIVISION AS THE SAME IS PLATTED, PLANNED AND RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 30, PAGE 10, IREDELL COUNTY REGISTRY.

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

Said property is commonly known as 180 Stone eld Dr, Statesville, NC 28677.

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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX

to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Iredell County, North Carolina, to wit: BEING all of Lot 74, as shown on Subdivision Plat of Sta ord Subdivision - Phase 1B, recorded in Map Book 66 at Pages 45-47 in the Iredell County, North Carolina, Public Registry. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 171 Welcombe Street, 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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

County, North Carolina, to wit:

All that certain lot or parcel of land situated in Iredell County, North Carolina and more particularly described as follows:

Being all of Lot 8 of Baycrossing, Phase One, Subdivision as shown on a map thereof recorded in Map Book 46, Pages 5-6 Iredell County Public Registry.

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

Said property is commonly known as 143 Sleepy Cove Trl, Mooresville, NC 28117.

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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

DALE YOUNCE a/k/a

AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

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 Brandon Paul Black and wife, Samantha Black.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is

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 Shannon Glancy and spouse, Matthew Wilson.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into

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 Charles Cole and spouse, Colleen Cole.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may,

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

or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination.

Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders

challenged by

after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination. Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the 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

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 26SP000225-480

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Helmsman Homes, LLC, a North Carolina Limited Liability Company (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Helmsman Homes, LLC, a North Carolina Limited Liability Company) to Sean C. Walker, Trustee(s), dated March 10, 2022, and recorded in Book No. 2905, at Page 1930 in Iredell 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 Iredell 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 Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 11:00

AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 25SP000285-480 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Laura E. Sipe and Mark D. Spearman (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Mark

AM on July 30, 2026 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Troutman in the County of Iredell, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: The Land is described as follows: Being all of Lot 30 of Wiltshire Creek Subdivision as platted, planned and recorded in Plat Book 36, Pages 106-108, in the Iredell County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 178 East Panther Creek Road, Troutman, North Carolina. Also known as 178 E. Panther Creek Road, Troutman, NC 28166 Parcel ID: 4740401724.000

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). Should the property be purchased by a third party, 31 CFR 1031.320

requires certain qualifying residential real estate transactions to be reported to the federal government. If you are the successful bidder in this proceeding, you may be required to provide all applicable identifying information about yourself and, if applicable, any entity or trust purchasing the property. 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

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

recorded on September 26, 2019, in Book No. 2647, at Page 2 , 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 Iredell 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 Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:30 PM on July 30, 2026 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: The land referred to in this exhibit is located in the County of Iredell and the State of North Carolina in Deed Book 1152 at Page 1963 and described as follows: Being all of Lot No. Sixty-Two (62) of Quail Ridge, Section Three, as the same is platted, planned and recorded in Plat Book 16, Page 62, Iredell County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 163 Sparrow Lane, Statesville, North Carolina. Being the identical property conveyed by Mark D. Spearman and wife, Carol A. Spearman to Mark D. Spearman, unmarried by Deed dated July 20, 1999, recorded in Book 1152, Page 1963, Iredell County Registry.

Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). Should the property be purchased by a third party, 31 CFR 1031.320 requires certain qualifying residential real estate transactions to be reported to the federal government. If you are the successful bidder in this proceeding, you may be required to provide all applicable identifying information about yourself and, if applicable, any entity or trust purchasing the property. 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

The opening of the Asia exhibition has been contingent on an updated budget

Supreme Court justices tell Congress safety at risk, more must be spent on security Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan testi ed to Congress on Tuesday, a rare event for members of the high court. They’re seeking millions of dollars to enhance security as threats rise to the judiciary. Judges nationwide have faced increased violence and intimidation, including a fake swatting call to Barrett’s home in May.

Bu ett omits gift to Gates’ foundation after Microsoft cofounder’s Epstein ties disclosed

Warren Bu ett omitted Bill Gates’ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of Gates’ ties to convicted sex o ender Je rey Epstein. He’ll donate about $6 billion to four family foundations but didn’t mention Gates. Bu ett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth nearly $146 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034. Most of Bu ett’s donations since 2006 have gone to the Gates Foundation.

$2.00

By Bob Sutton Chatham News & Record

ASHEBORO — The funding is in place but the hiring still needs to happen before the much-anticipated opening of the Asia Continent habitat at North Carolina Zoo. Construction on the exhib -

it began with a groundbreaking nearly four years ago, and that part of the facility was deemed complete this spring. But without a state budget, the zoo was unable to go ahead with hiring for positions needed for the Asia habitat.

Last week, a new state budget was approved, providing approximately $6.2 million to the NC Zoo for operating funds.

“The North Carolina Zoo is pleased that the majority of our requested positions and funding for the Zoo’s new Asia Con-

Seven schools to receive laptop refresh for teachers

By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Schools Board of Education met Monday for its

The study aims to provide the town with recommendations for future development

By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record

PITTSBORO — The Town of Pittsboro could have a very di erent look in its downtown area in the coming years.

At Monday’s Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioner’s meeting, the board was presented with a predevelopment analysis from the Downtown Pittsboro Public Properties Project study.

regular business meeting with an agenda primarily consisting of administrative items.

The board rst approved the purchase of 225 MacBook Neos from Apple as part of its regular technology replacement process for teachers at a cost to the district of just under $190,000.

The computers will be uti-

tinent were appropriated by the new state budget,” Michele Walker, assistant communications director of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, said in a statement. “The 54 positions and $6.2 million in operating funds will allow us to move forward with opening this exciting new area to visitors as soon as practicable. We will work as quickly as possible to hire for these necessary positions and prepare to o cially open Asia once that process is complete.”

The Asia habitat consumes 12.5 acres. At one point, projections had the exhibit opening by June, but that time period passed without a state budget.

Interim NC Zoo director Diane Villa told a Triad-area television station that some animals from the Asia habitat can be heard in other parts of the zoo, heightening the anticipation for when that area is open to the public.

This is considered the zoo’s rst major expansion since 1994.

technology refresh since 2019.

The board also approved two contracts, the rst being with KNC Technologies for security access controls and video systems at a cost of around $108,000.

lized for teachers at Seaforth, Moncure, Bonlee, JS Waters, Chatham Early College, ONE Academy and Chatham Central. Teacher laptops at these schools were previously purchased in 2021 and 2022, and the laptops that are currently in use will be recycled for instructional assistants, who haven’t had a

The study, which began in July 2025, was led by consultants from Bolton and Menk and aims to provide Chatham County and the Town of Pittsboro with recommendations for its publicly owned properties in the downtown area.

The county intends to relocate some of its operations from downtown Pittsboro, and the relocation would leave opportunities for the town to implement additional ways to “support civic use, housing, economic development, public spaces, downtown activation, infrastructure and community character.”

“We

John Foley. commissioner

“This is actually a combination of ve contracts that we already have,” said Chief Technology O cer Mark Samberg. “We went out to the vendors and we asked the ones that do work for Chatham County and security access control, and we asked them to bid on a comprehensive

THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

The Asia Continent habitat remains o limits at North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, but the opening could be coming by later this summer.

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: community@ chathamnewsrecord.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

Pentagon says suspension lifted for South Carolina helicopter pilots following July 4 beach event

Pentagon reverses decision after Republican leadership rallied to defend the pilots

By Meg Kinnard The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Eight

South Carolina National Guard helicopter pilots have been returned to ying duties following a suspension over a low- ying sweep over beachgoers as part of a July 4 event honoring servicemembers.

“E ective immediately, the suspension of all involved South Carolina pilots has been lifted,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote Friday morning on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”

The suspension followed “Salute from the Shore,” a July 4 tradition honoring servicemembers in South Carolina since 2010 that features vintage and modern military aircraft ying along the 187-mile length of the state’s shoreline, with the intent of sparking patriotism among thousands of beachgoers gathered for the holiday.

This year’s salute included F-16s with the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing out of McEntire Joint Base, as well as a C-17 from the 437th Airlift Wing based at Joint Base Charleston. For the rst time, Apache helicopters joined the air parade, which also featured civilian-owned vintage planes like T-34s and T-6s.

Numerous attendees often post video on social me-

CRIME LOG

July 6

• Kristin Gray Vanravestein, 41, was arrested for felony probation violation.

• Armando Trevino, 27, was arrested for driving while impaired, reckless driving to endanger, driving on a revoked license, and other charges.

July 7

• Asia Monique Ashley, 33, was arrested for misdemeanor larceny and resisting a public o cer.

• Pablo Armando Morales, 30, was arrested for tra cking in cocaine; possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine; manufacture, sell, deliver or possess a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a park;

“Surely, they know how to safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and tourists on our 250th anniversary.”

Gov. Henry McMaster

dia of the display, but this year, online images of the Apaches ying at what appeared to be a low height over crowded beaches sparked concern with the South Carolina National Guard, which launched a review of the event and temporarily suspended the eight pilots from ying duties while that was ongoing, later clarifying the suspension was “a routine, non-punitive safety measure, not a disciplinary action.”

Late last Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted on social media that the Pentagon was getting involved, writing, “We’ll x this. Carry on, Patriots.”

The message was similar to one issued by Hegseth in March after the lifting of a suspension for a pair of Army pilots who hovered two AH-64 Apache helicopters near Kid Rock’s Tennessee home during a training run while he clapped and saluted.

“No punishment. No Investigation. Carry on, patriots,” Hegseth said then in a social media post, less than three hours after the Army an-

and other charges.

• Adam Daniel Webster, 40, was arrested for domestic violence.

• Taylor Lewis Bradshaw, 35, was arrested for larceny of a motor vehicle and communicating threats.

July 8

• Kevin Lee Corns, 61, was arrested for driving while impaired, carrying a concealed gun, driving on a revoked license, and other charges.

July 9

• Dennis Raymond Oshea, 29, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.

nounced its review. Kid Rock, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, said he thought it was “really cool” that the pilots stopped to hover at his house.

South Carolina Republicans rebuked the suspension of its Guard pilots. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents the Myrtle Beach area, said last Thursday that the pilots “should be celebrated, not sanctioned.”

Ahead of Parnell’s post noting the suspension had been lifted, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster — who serves as commander-in-chief of the state’s National Guard — said he trusted the pilots’ acumen, writing in a social media post that Guardsmen y in wartime.

“Surely, they know how to safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and tourists on our 250th anniversary,” McMaster wrote.

McMaster’s o ce said last Friday the governor was pleased the suspension had been lifted. Asked whether the governor — a longtime Trump ally — had directly intervened, a spokesperson said the o ce “remains in regular communication with state and federal partners as part of its routine operations.”

The Pentagon declined to comment beyond Parnell’s statement. Maj. Lisa Allen of the South Carolina National Guard con rmed in an email last Friday that the suspension had been lifted but did not respond to a question over whether the Guard were still conducting an internal review.

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

July 17

GrassStreet at Bynum Front Porch

7 p.m.

Central North Carolina bluegrass ensemble GrassStreet — featuring guitar, banjo, ddle, Dobro and bass — performs at the historic Bynum General Store as part of the Bynum Front Porch Summer Music Series. Admission is free; donations to support the musicians are encouraged.

Bynum Front Porch 950 Bynum Road Bynum

Pittsboro Finally Fridays Arts Walk

5 p.m.

The monthly third-Friday arts walk lls downtown Pittsboro’s social district with local artisans displaying work in outdoor art pods, live music, and participating shops and restaurants open late. Admission is free; attendees may purchase an Arts Walk glass for complimentary beverages at participating establishments. Downtown Pittsboro Social District Hillsboro Street Pittsboro

Too Much Fun at The City Tap

7:30 p.m.

July 10

• Anthony Michael Colonello, 52, was arrested for second-degree murder.

July 11

• Luis Perez-Perez, 27, was arrested for driving while impaired.

• Fabio Estuardo Sajche-Gomez, 50, was arrested for sexual battery.

• Watson Henry Rubens, 61, was arrested for assault and battery and communicating threats.

July 12

• Jose Moreno Menendez, 25, was arrested for interfering with emergency communication, misdemeanor larceny, injury to personal property, and other charges.

Central Electric providing grants to local educators to fund innovative projects

Teachers, are you looking for new opportunities to fund projects for your classroom?

Central Electric is awarding up to $15,000 in Bright Ideas education grants to local educators in K-12 classrooms for the 2026-27 school year. Educators in K-12 classrooms with creative ideas for learning projects are encouraged to apply for a grant up to $2,000.

Grant applications will be accepted through Sept. 15. However, it pays to apply early.

All teachers who submit their applications by the early bird deadline of Aug. 15 will be entered into a drawing for one of ve $100 Visa gi cards. Scan the QR code or visit NCBrightIdeas.com for more information or to apply!

Roots-rock and rhythm-andblues band Too Much Fun, performing for nearly 40 years, takes the stage at The City Tap in downtown Pittsboro. No cover charge. The City Tap 89 Hillsboro St. Pittsboro

July 18

Chatham County Yardbirds Closing Night vs. Danville Dairy Daddies

7 p.m.

The Chatham County Yardbirds, Siler City’s inaugural Old North State League collegiate wood-bat baseball team, close out their rst season at home against the Danville Dairy Daddies. Yardbirds Field at Paul Braxton Park 111 S. 3rd Ave. Siler City

NC History Between the Lines Book Club — “Redcoats on the Cape Fear” 9:30 a.m.

The Chatham County Historical Association’s local history book club meets to discuss “Redcoats on the Cape Fear” by Robert M. Dunkerly, exploring Revolutionary War history in southeastern North Carolina. Registration is required through the association’s website.

Historic Chatham County Courthouse 9 Hillsboro St. Pittsboro

Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Lindsey Graham, chosen to ful ll remainder of his US Senate term

Nordone will be the rst woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate

By Meg Kinnard and Je rey Collins The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named as her late brother’s temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate after his unexpected death over the weekend.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a news conference at the Statehouse on Monday that Nordone would serve the remaining months on Graham’s current term, which expires in January.

A person familiar with the appointment process but not authorized to speak about it publicly said Nordone would be sworn in Wednesday. She will be the rst woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

“It is such an honor,” Nordone said, as dozens of Graham sta ers and campaign advisers stood behind her, some with eyes glassy from welling tears. “Lindsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him.”

Graham died Saturday night at age 71. He never married or had a family of his own, but Nordone was often by her brother’s side for the political touch points of his career, speaking at events and appearing in some of his campaign ads.

After their parents died at a young age, Graham was left to raise his sister, for whom he later became legal guardian. They were very close, and she was there as he led reelection paperwork earlier this year, along with her children and grandchildren.

“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words,” Nordone said, emotion rising in her voice. “But I’m going to do this. I got it.”

Introducing Nordone, McMaster said the two had spoken in “in the wee hours of Sunday morning” after Graham’s death, and he asked her to serve.

“I had wondered what you would say, and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve,” McMaster said. He added that President Donald Trump “thought it was a great idea” when he later told him of his pick. Trump announced his support for Nardone to ll the seat earlier Monday.

How will a special primary work?

A special election will be held next month to pick a new Republican nominee in the general election for Graham’s seat. He had been seeking a fth term this year.

The rare open Senate seat has ignited a scramble among South Carolina’s most ambitious conservatives, who have been eager to climb the political ladder.

Republicans just nished a sprawling and bruising contest to gure out their nominee for succeeding McMaster, who is wrapping up his second term. State Attorney General Alan Wilson won the nomination, overcoming a eld that included Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman — all of whom are now eyeing Graham’s seat following his death over the weekend. According to South Carolina law, a one-week ling period for a special primary election begins on the second Tuesday after the candidate’s death, or July 21.

The special primary election would be held on the second Tuesday after that ling period closes, or Aug. 11. Any necessary runo would follow two weeks after that, or Aug. 25.

From that point, the new nominee would have just over two months to campaign for the general election on Nov. 3.

RAINIER EHRHARDT / AP PHOTO

Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), walks to the stage before his announcement for presidency on June 1, 2015, in Central, South Carolina.

“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words. But I’m going to do this. I got it.”

Darline Graham Nordone

All of this is problematic according to federal law, which requires military and overseas ballots to go out 45 days before any federal election. For the special election primary, that would have been June 27. Federal Election Commission ocials didn’t immediately return a message seeking clarity about the process.

Who could replace Graham?

Graham died Saturday night, and a preliminary medical examiner report said he su ered a tear in his aorta, known as an aortic dissection.

In the hours after Graham’s death was announced, South Carolina’s Republican circles were already swirling with rumors about possible replacements. Given the proximity of November’s election, it’s likely that whomever McMaster appoints could be a top contender in the special primary, although it’s possible that McMaster’s choice will only serve as a temporary caretaker.

Evette, who has served nearly eight years alongside McMaster and received his endorsement in the governor’s race, is one possibility. She lost the June 23 runo to Wilson.

A person with knowledge of Evette’s thinking but not authorized to discuss it publicly said that she was getting encouragement from across the state and feels she would have good chances in the special primary.

It’s unlikely that any House member would be appointed to nish Graham’s current term, since Republicans have such a slim majority in the chamber.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a rumored replacement, said he assured Trump on Sunday that “my goal is to remain in the House to keep his two-vote majority for the American people!!!”

However, that doesn’t mean that House members won’t run for the next full term. A person with knowledge of Mace’s thinking but not authorized to speak about it publicly said she was considering the race. Mace is not running for reelection to the House.

But another Republican from the state, Rep. Russell Fry, could be a possibility. The two-term lawmaker represents the growing area around Myrtle Beach, and he’s been a top Trump ally.

Businessman Mark Lynch, whom Graham defeated in the primary, could also jump into the race. A person familiar with

Church News

OAKLEY BAPTIST CHURCH

As Oakley Baptist Church (2300 Siler City-Glendon Road, Siler City) seeks to begin its next chapter, we are enjoying hearing a word from the Lord with Dr. McCollough. Our service begins at 10:30 a.m., but we also have Sunday School classes for every member of the family at 9:30 a.m. We would be blessed if you joined us!

Gary McCollough – Interim

We look forward to meeting you at any of these services and in the future and invite you to pray with us as we seek a new pastor. To learn more, go to oakleybaptist. org or email us at oakleybaptistchurch@gmail.com.

BEAR CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH

480 Bonlee Carbonton Rd., Bear Creek

July 19th through the 22nd Come join us for Vacation Bible School as we go on a Snowball Mountain Challenge with God!

6:30-8:30 p.m. nightly. All children aged 3 years to 6th grade are invited!

Sunday thru Tuesday night will be lled with music, crafts, Bible stories, games, supper and fun! Wednesday night is family night with a closing commencement and cookout!

SANDY BRANCH CHURCH

but not authorized to speak publicly about the thinking of Mark Sanford — South Carolina’s former governor who also served two separate stints in the U.S. House — said he was considering it too.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who lived in South Carolina before joining the Trump administration, has elded calls about potentially replacing Graham but doesn’t have interest in the role and enjoys working for the president, according to a person who insisted on anonymity to describe private conversations.

How does Graham’s death a ect the general election?

No Democrat has won a Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically take statewide seats by double digits. When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin.

So while history suggests that Graham was en route to a fth term, Republicans are carefully surveying the landscape.

Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews won the Democratic nomination last month and has raised more than $8 million in the race, and she had just under $3 million cash on hand at the end of May, according to federal lings. Graham had taken in $6 million, with just over $4 million on hand.

In a statement Sunday, Andrews called on South Carolinians to join her “in setting partisanship aside and o ering gratitude” to Graham for his service.

Harrison, noting that he and Graham “had our share of political disagreements,” wrote on social media that he “always appreciated that even in our ercest political battles, we could still share a conversation, a laugh, and a mutual respect for South Carolina and the institutions we were both privileged to serve.”

What happens to South Carolina’s Republican clout?

Graham leaves a major void in the Senate, where seniority can determine in uence. He served more than two decades in the chamber, positioning himself to lead committees and set the agenda.

Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator, has been in o ce only since 2012 — short by the state’s standards. Fritz Hollings served for 38 years, and Strom Thurmond was there for 47.

Scott, who co-chaired Graham’s reelection e ort, described his former colleague as “irreplaceable.”

“America lost a statesman, but I lost a friend,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”

We will be having our annual Vacation Bible School Friday and Saturday, July 17-18.

“Scuba Diving into Friendship with God”

There will be registration and an ice cream social on Friday night beginning at 6 p.m.

Classes for ages preschool and up will be Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon with a time for Bible study, crafts, games, music and then lunch afterward. We are located at 715 Sandy Branch Church Road in Bear Creek, and we hope you can join us.

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

OVERCOMING ADDICTIONS!

Bible Study: 1 John 5:1-5 Church of Living

Water; Pastor: James Mitchell

Good news to all who are addicted to hard drugs, alcohol, and gambling. These drugs are destroying your brain, your teeth, and your body. In jail or prison, the drugs are out of your system. They are still in your brain, so as soon as you get out, most people start taking these drugs again. How many years of your life have you spent behind bars?

Hundreds of thousands have died while taking these drugs. Oh, the pain you are causing your family members. Gambling is an addiction. Satan allows you to win sometimes to get you addicted. Some have lost a week’s pay, their car, and even their house. Their children and wives don’t have any food now. The answer is that you must want to stop destroying your life and hurting your family. Then you can have victory by giving your life to God. Jesus died on the cross for all our sins. If you believe in Jesus and want Him to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior, you can have victory over these deadly addictions! If you truly mean this in your heart, you need to get into a church where you can grow in the Lord. You must stay away from people who are doing drugs. When you have overcome, you can reach out to win other lost souls. You are welcome at the Church of Living Water! Please share this message with as many people as you can. I pray for you from my heart to please turn around.

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Getting a human

Speaking of the youngsters, they are lots of fun and very cute. Most of them have tons of energy that you will have to burn o .

RAMONA HERE, Andrew’s dog. I’ve taken over his column this week because a friend of mine is considering getting a human. Here’s my honest opinion.

One, humans are a lot of work. They need to be trained to feed you, ll your water bowl and take you for walks. It’s helpful if they have a fenced-in backyard, for then they can simply open the door, which is manageable for most of them.

Two, humans are expensive. They require a tremendous amount of stu to keep them happy. Small glowing devices that they can hold in their little hands entertain most of them. But there are also many doctor’s appointments, especially for the young ones who have a habit of hurting themselves.

Speaking of the youngsters, they are lots of fun and very cute. Most of them have tons of energy that you will have to burn o . They struggle sometimes remembering what’s right and wrong, and they often make messes. Something called “potty training” is a big deal. But the young ones are the best listeners and most willing to nap together on the oor. It helps if you give your human his or her own space where they can read or tap on those glowing devices with their opposable thumbs. It makes them feel safe to have something like a den. They are not so di erent from us in that way. But they don’t turn around three times before they

lie down. They will just op down without warning. It’s very strange.

Most perplexing of all, some humans have a fondness for cats. You will want to know this form of mental illness ahead of time. It is possible that they will grow out of this nasty phase. That reminds me — hygiene is very important for humans. They need to bathe or shower at least every other day. Thankfully, most of them don’t seem to mind.

Humans come in various heights and sizes. Some have long hair, others short hair. The males tend to lose their hair; don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t grow back. Apparently, that’s fairly normal. Humans have di erent temperaments too. Some are very social, while others prefer to stick to themselves. Their scienti c name, “Homo sapiens,” means “wisdom,” but some de nitely live into that characteristic more than others. Bless their hearts.

Still, I recommend getting a human, even two or three! Though you will spend a lot of money and give a ton of time, there are moments with your human that are indeed priceless.

Ramona’s owner’s latest 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.

Life’s lessons linger, lengthen

There are things I experienced years ago that are still big on my radar, and I wonder why some of them are that way while others are not.

AS THE YEARS come and go with more candles on the birthday cake, I’m becoming more aware — maybe a better word is surprised — of things I remember.

Many of them are from childhood and the people who were part of mine. I daresay you likely have similar memories of the special folks who shepherded you through your tender years.

The question, however, isn’t so much remembering those people, places and things as it’s what’s their meaning.

Some are easily understood after remembering them. For instance, when my father started teaching me to drive, an early directive was, “Son, keep it between the ditches.” I had no trouble understanding what that meant.

When my mother would ask me how much money I made at my various teenage part-time jobs and even later as an adult, I thought that was a bit personal and said so on more than one occasion. Her standard answer was, “Son, nobody has your welfare at heart any more than I do. You need to save some of that instead of spending it all.” I also understood that. And believed it … and still pretty much do. Unfortunately, I was better at following what my dad said than what Mama said, but that’s another story.

Besides the sayings and words, there were actions that appeared on my life’s blueprint. For instance, Saturday night was always “shoe-shine night” in our basement so that we’d look good at church Sunday morning. My father impressed on me that a fellow could wear the sharpest suit and tie, but if his shoes were a mess, so was he. I still believe that, but through the years I have occasionally gotten casual at shining shoes. But every so often, I’ll empty the closet of shoes, go out on my back porch and throw polish around everywhere. That behavior tells me that some things I learned years ago are sometimes more words than actions. But then there are things I experienced years ago that are still big on my radar, and I wonder why some of them are that way while others are not.

I’ll be the rst to admit I’m a social media dinosaur. Using my desktop computer to hammer out these words is about as far as I can navigate the world of technology. I still have a ip phone because all I want is a way to contact folks when necessary and not to know what time it is in

Singapore. And I’m OK with that, that this “brave new world” of ours is leaving me behind. But I can’t help it … and don’t really want to change it or see the need. All that is said to say that some of the things I experienced as a child still have a hold on my life. And one of them is the world of business on Sunday. I know The Book says we’re to honor the Sabbath Day and “keep it holy,” and I know that the original Sabbath is Saturday and I also know it says if your ox falls into a ditch don’t leave it there until the next morning.

But I confess I still have second thoughts about mowing yards on Sunday or baling hay or cutting wood. I also know, though, if you’ve got hay down and all of a sudden it “comes up a cloud,” as Grandpa would say, you need to get the hay up before it sours and there’s nothing to feed the ox once you get him out of the ditch. I know some folks work on Sundays because their jobs require it — police, re ghters, nurses, cooks and servers. I’m not faulting that; I’m just remembering and trying to understand. Part of that was society’s call on our lives because on Saturdays you got gas in the car because no gas stations were open on Sunday.

With all that, however, there’s one thing I nd it extremely hard to do. Can’t remember the rst time of doing it, but it’s almost impossible for me to write a check on Sunday. Actually, what’s impossible is putting a date that falls on a Sunday on a check. I have written some on Sunday mornings for our church’s weekly o ering and put Saturday’s date on it. I’m pretty sure that comes from my father who, somewhere along the line as I remember, told me in those years banks wouldn’t cash checks written on Sundays. That’s probably not a true statement, now or then, but it’s lodged in my memory and living well.

So does that mean I’m a hypocrite? Probably. Is it legalism? Yeah, most likely. Am I straining at a gnat and missing an elephant? Again, most likely.

But remember, I said at the start of this piece that many things surprise me. I still wonder what they all mean.

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 | ANDREW RAMONA TAYLOR-TROUTMAN

COLUMN | BOB WACHS

Well, it does sound like …

What was I hearing?

The sound of loud running water. Disturbingly loud. COLUMN

WAILING AWAY on my stationary bike. I mean wailing. Hooked up to my iPhone and earbuds, listening to a “gentle rain for relaxation” track from a music playlist. Yep, I was sweating buckets but satis ed the old girl still has it in her. Ended by splashing water on my face, removing the sweat from this “you done good” stationary bike ride. Lifted my head from the bathroom sink and heard … what was I hearing? The sound of loud running water. Disturbingly loud. Lifted the heavy toilet tank lid and happily found its innards appeared docile and quiet. The rushing water sounds persisted. A quick peek into the tub and shower found nothing amiss (except, perhaps, my diminishing sanity).

A tad OCD (as I often am in crises), I once again lifted the heavy toilet tank top. Just doing its toilet tank thing; in this case, nothing. Still, the sound of omnipresent rushing water was scaring your friendly catastrophizer up the wazoo. Heart pounding, I trotted into the kitchen. The kitchen faucet looked a wee bit lonely, in the empty sink, but it damn well wasn’t dripping. But, OMG, the continuing sound of rushing water seemed to echo throughout the house. (Did it occur to me to take a deep breath — or two, or three — at that juncture? Nope.) Leaped out the back door to the patio faucet. Quiet as a lamb. But that damn sound of surging water rolled outside with me. Whoa!

Honestly, I’m a good and kind person, but also a lifelong catastrophizer with a fertile imagination, to boot. For a few seconds there, I pictured a watery geyser, boiling up beneath the duplex, and the edi ce oating

COLUMN | DENNIS BERWYN

o its foundation. (See what I mean about creative?)

And yours truly would be held responsible! Absolutely desperate to dispatch with my homeownership responsibilities, I’d sold my house a few years ago. Present moment, Poseidon, God of the Sea, seemed to be saying, “Not so fast, girlfriend.” (Had I recently blasphemed Poseidon, unknowingly? If so, many apologies.) OK, time to face the music (and text the duplex owners) to staunch my anxiety and the apparent nonstop ow of water on a late Friday afternoon. Oh, geez, the duplex owners are just going to love this one. Took in several belated deep breaths. Reached into my pocket where my iPhone nestled. Pulled it out and very, very loud running water sounds literally washed over me! On the iPhone screen, the gentle rain sounds, played during my bike ride, had migrated to the next track: “Rushing Mountain Stream.” My bogus “Rushing Mountain Stream” water emergency might soon be a comedic one-act play, appearing at a local theater near you. Who knows?

Coming clean on this story, I had to out myself as the catastrophizer I am. Not wishing to beat myself up for this lifelong challenge, I’m taking the sage advice of that long-lived cartoon character, Popeye, the Sailor Man:

“I yam what I yam, an’ that’s all what I yam.”

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

Patients deserve transparency and accountability in North

The 340B Drug Pricing Program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines.

Carolina’s hospital system

NORTH CAROLINA FAMILIES shouldn’t have to guess what their healthcare will cost or whether they’re getting a fair deal. But too often, that’s exactly where people nd themselves: navigating a system where prices vary widely, transparency is limited and accountability can feel just out of reach.

At the center of this challenge is a trend that has quietly reshaped healthcare across the country: hospital consolidation.

Over the past two decades, hospitals have steadily joined larger systems, often with the goal of improving coordination and expanding access to care. Those are important goals. But the reality for many patients, especially those in rural communities, has been more complicated. Research continues to show that when markets become more concentrated, prices often rise and choices become more limited. New consolidation e orts in North Carolina raise real questions about what this means for patients, taxpayers and local communities.

When competition declines, patients lose. And too often, families and employers end up paying the price.

We’re seeing the e ects here in North Carolina. Wide di erences in hospital prices and real gaps in price transparency make it harder for patients and employers to plan ahead or even know if they’ve been treated fairly.

And it’s not just about confusion. It’s about trust — trust that the system is working as intended and that patients are bene ting from it.

One clear example is the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This federal program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines. Eligible hospitals and clinics can buy outpatient medicines at steep discounts with the understanding that those savings should support patient care and community needs.

That goal and the 340B program are worth preserving. But over time, the program has expanded dramatically without consistent transparency or clear requirements for reporting how those savings are used. In too many cases, patients have no way to know whether discounted medicines are actually lowering their costs or improving access to care.

In North Carolina, data shows that some hospitals participating in 340B have charged far more than the discounted price they paid for certain medications. At the same time, there is no consistent requirement that those savings be passed directly to patients or clearly tied to improving patient access or a ordability. When that’s combined with continued hospital consolidation, it raises serious questions about whether the program is serving patients as Congress intended.

This highlights something else worth paying attention to: incentives matter. As hospitals grow larger and acquire new facilities, they can expand their use of programs like 340B. Over time, that dynamic can reward consolidation, reduce competition and make an already complicated health care system harder for families to understand.

Supporting hospitals and standing up for patients should not be in con ict. We can, and should, do both.

That starts with greater transparency so patients can understand prices before they receive care. It means clearer standards and accountability so programs designed to help vulnerable populations actually deliver on that promise. It also means practical federal reforms that protect legitimate safety-net providers while closing loopholes that allow the program to drift away from patients.

The Trump administration is taking one encouraging step by continuing to pursue the recent federal 340B rebate pilot, which o ers a measured way to add veri cation and accountability before discounts are nalized. Done correctly, that approach can help con rm that a prescription is eligible, reduce duplicate discounts, create a clearer data trail and bring more discipline to the program without changing which hospitals or clinics qualify for 340B. Just as important, it focuses on solving problems up front rather than relying on slower, after-the-fact e orts to untangle errors once the money has already moved.

That is the kind of commonsense reform conservatives should support: limited, practical, focused on accountability and respectful of both taxpayers and patients.

Just as importantly, we have to recognize where responsibility for reform truly sits. Programs like 340B are federal by design, and Congress should lead. A patchwork of state-level xes risks creating more inconsistency and less accountability, failing to provide the clarity and consistency patients deserve.

North Carolina has always valued fairness, personal responsibility, competition and looking out for one another. Bringing more transparency and accountability to our health care system is simply an extension of those values. At the end of the day, patients should come rst, and families should be able to trust the healthcare system they rely on. Congress should act now to strengthen 340B through clear federal reforms that restore transparency, protect taxpayers, preserve the safety net and ensure the program nally works the way it was intended: for patients.

Dennis Berwyn is vice chair of the Wake Republican Men and vice president of the Central Region of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Men.

AOC should thank baby boomers for the world they left her

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ says she knows why socialism is on the rise: Blame it on the boomers.

“Millennials and Gen Z combined, now for the rst time, are eclipsing the number of baby boomers,” she explained recently. “Young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world we’ve been left.”

It’s inarguable that younger generations feel this way. The notion that millennials and Generation Z are toiling in a uniquely grueling economic era, however, is utterly delusional.

But convincing young people they’ve been handed a broken world only fostered an unprecedented sense of hopelessness. You are not victims of “oligarchs,” unfettered capitalism or any other imaginary monsters.

One of the most popular myths these days (you hear it from both sides all the time) is that the American middle class is being gutted. It’s simply not true. In 1980, 36% of American families were middle class.

Only 31% of Americans are still in the middle class because the upper middle class has grown from 10% of households to more than 30%. The middle class is shrinking because the upper middle class is expanding.

Real median income has not only grown across all classes over the past 40 years but has zoomed past the rest of the Western world. The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

That’s a pretty remarkable economic inheritance. Just ask the soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.

Another big grievance of younger people is that housing has become far too expensive. It’s a genuine concern. But ownership rates are no lower today than they were in the ’60s, ’70s or ’90s, and most of the 1980s. The homeownership rate in 1980 was 65.5%. In 2025, it was 65.4%. Rates temporarily spiked through the 2000s when government policy incentivized millions to “buy” houses they couldn’t a ord with no money down.

Housing shortages are driven by the laws of physics. It’s not the boomers’ fault that too many people want to live in and around major urban areas.

You also wonder if the average Gen Zer understands that the environment is in nitely cleaner today than it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago. There has been widespread reforesting and wetland restoration. There is far less litter. Air quality is drastically cleaner, as is water. When boomers started driving, gas was leaded, and most cars didn’t even have catalytic converters. Gen X grew up worried about things called “nuclear winter” and “acid rain.”

An average household spends on clothing and food a fraction of what their grandparents did. And yet, they also have substantially more choices, including international and nutritious fare.

It’s true that healthcare costs have risen. Some of it can be attributed to bad policy. Most of it re ects prosperity, as younger Americans will generally enjoy longer life expectancy and better care than any generation before them.

Big Pharma, one of the industries reviled by Ocasio-Cortez and her allies, keeps coming up with ways to keep people with once-deadly diseases alive. None of it is cheap. Yet.

When Ocasio-Cortez rst won her congressional seat, Time magazine writer Charlotte Alter wrote a glowing pro le of the socialist newcomer, explaining that her “adulthood was de ned by nancial crisis, debt and climate change. No wonder she and her peers are moving left.”

Since Ocasio-Cortez turned 18 in 2007, there have been only two negative growth years in the United States, one of them due to a worldwide pandemic. From 1970 to 2007, there was, on average, a negative or recessionary year every three to four years. Americans worked through recessions in 1928, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1980/1981, 1990 and 2001 without turning to socialism. The only thing special about Ocasio-Cortez’s adulthood is that the recessions have become shorter and less severe. AOC is living in the golden age.

Boomers have failed on plenty of fronts, but being on the hook for a ridiculously expensive student loan on a useless degree isn’t one of the great tragedies to have befallen mankind. It’s just the consequence of choices. And most progressives want other people to pay for their choices. There are plenty of serious problems — there always are — but historically speaking, by virtually every quanti able measure available, Americans are living in a uniquely wealthy and safe world. Ocasio - Cortez should be thanking baby boomers for the world they left her.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

obituaries

Betty Sizemore King

June 3rd, 1931 –July 2nd, 2026

Betty Sizemore King, a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 2, 2026. Her hospitality, dry wit, and deep love for family and friends will be missed by all whose lives she touched. Born June 3, 1931, in Bear Creek, NC, Betty was the rst daughter of Florence Brewer and Walter Floyd Sizemore. She learned cooking and household management from her Grandmother Sizemore at a young age and took a special interest in her younger siblings—10 and 17 years her junior.

Betty graduated from Bonlee High School in 1949. Her yearbook quote beautifully foreshadowed the life of devotion she would lead: “Life will not be useless if lived for service to God and man.” Those words proved profoundly true. She began her lifelong service to God by being born into the Tysons Creek church family, where she served as the church pianist while still in her teens. A decade later, her life of service expanded to include a deep devotion to a very special man: Charles Conaway King. The matchmaking e orts of her cousin’s husband sparked a whirlwind romance that culminated in their marriage on November 22, 1959, at the same church where she had once played the piano. From that day forward, she was his constant companion in all things concerning God and Man. The newlyweds worked and saved to build their ranch-style home on Greenhill Drive. When their daughter, Dorlisa Dawn, was born, Betty chose to leave her work as a beautician to focus entirely on her family as a homemaker. She loved spending time outdoors tending her butter y bushes, cultivating a vegetable garden, hanging laundry to dry in the sunshine, and even helping Charles mow the lawn. Inside, she famously served three home-cooked meals each day. Anyone at her table was treated to a full spread of meat, two vegetables, fresh bread, a homemade dessert, and sweet iced tea. As a mother, Betty was fully present in Dorlisa’s world: volunteering as a class mom, fostering a love of music and piano, and serving as the ultimate shopping buddy for school holiday trips to Greensboro’s malls. Charles remained the center of Betty’s universe throughout their

nearly 64-year marriage. She supported his career as a professor and corporate executive and later walked alongside him in his avocation as a cattleman, checking cows and mending fences. As his health declined, her erce devotion as a caregiver took over. Her intense focus on his needs masked her own Alzheimer’s diagnosis until her early 90s. This caregiving journey peaked with their move to Lake Wylie Assisted Living. When Charles passed away in October 2023, the grief nearly overwhelmed Betty, and she spent much of the rst year waking each day to relive the fresh pain of his loss. Eventually, her mind drifted back to the simpler years of her youth, and she found a gentle, lasting peace. Her resilient spirit returned, and she endeared herself to her caregivers, who adored her radiant smile and trademark dry wit—which she often shared with a sharp comment just when they thought she was fast asleep. Betty recently celebrated her milestone 95th birthday at Lake Wylie—and again at The Brownstone at Park Crossing in Charlotte. The transition to this residential home, which accommodates six residents, provided her with the additional care and support she needed to enjoy her nal weeks in comfort and peace, thanks to an incredibly dedicated sta .

Left to cherish Betty’s life are her daughter, Dorlisa Flur; her son-in-law, Peter; and her granddaughter, Arella. She is survived by her sister, Nancy Williamson, and her husband; her sister-in-law, Belinda Sizemore; four Sizemore nieces and nephews and their families; three sisters-inlaw—Anne Clark, Doris King, and Ann King; and nine King nieces and nephews and their families.

In addition to her husband and parents, Betty was preceded in death by her two brothers, James Everette Sizemore and Ronny Floyd Sizemore.

On behalf of her mother, Dorlisa extends special thanks to the sta at The Brownstone at Park Crossing and VIA Health Partners for their loving care during her mother’s nal weeks. She also thanks the sta at Lake Wylie Assisted Living and the caregivers from Agape Care and Visiting Angels for serving as her mother’s SC family over the past four years.

A service to celebrate Betty’s life will be held at Tysons Creek Baptist Church in Bear Creek, NC, on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., led by Reverend Bob Wachs.

A reception will follow in the Family Life Center.

Smith & Buckner Funeral Home of Siler City, NC, is serving the family and provided Betty with her angel wings home from Charlotte— so she could rejoin Charles. Memorials may be made to Tysons Creek Baptist Church, located at 10891 Siler CityGlendon Road, Bear Creek, NC 27207.

IN MEMORY

TOMMY WALLACE

JULY 21, 1947 – JUNE 7, 2026

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Tommy Wallace, who passed away peacefully on June 7, 2026, at FirstHealth Hospice House in West End, North Carolina, at the age of 78. Born on July 21, 1947, in Sanford, North Carolina, Tommy was the son of the late Thelma and David Wallace. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Nora Faye Wood Wallace, and his siblings, Carolyn Wallace, Ted Wallace, and Donnie Wallace. Tommy is survived by his daughter, Stephanie Wallace (Lee); granddaughters Alyson (Mike), Kaila (Heath), and Madison (Andy); great-grandchildren Shelby, Teagan, and Morgan, with another great-grandson on the way; siblings Naomi Cotten, Patricia Wallace, Larry Wallace, Vickie Hickman, Phillip Wallace, Elton Wallace, and Jimmy Wallace; and many special nieces and nephews.

New Zealand actor Sam Neill, known for

‘Jurassic Park’

and ‘The Piano,’ dead at 78

He remained cancer-free despite his 2023 diagnosis with a rare lymphoma

By Mark Kennedy and Charlotte Graham-McLay The Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Sam Neill, a smoothly elegant and versatile actor whose career moved from art lm to blockbuster as he dodged velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” to playing Holly Hunter’s husband in “The Piano,” has died. He was 78. In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Neill died Monday in Sydney, according to a statement posted to the actor’s social media page.

His death was “sudden and unexpected,” the statement said, adding that he “remained cancer free” when he died. A cause of death wasn’t speci ed.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” his family wrote. Actor came to world’s notice with “Dead Calm” and “My Brilliant Career”

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian lms that began in the late 1970s, a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geo rey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong. His range was remarkable, playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Alan Ayckbourn comedy “Sweet Revenge” to chopping o Hunter’s nger in “The Piano” to poking his own eyes out in the sci- horror “Event Horizon.”

In “Omen III: The Final Conict,” he played Damien the Antichrist, and he also played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in “The Tudors.”

The actor rst came to the attention of international audiences in Armstrong’s 1979 lm

“My Brilliant Career,” which also introduced Judy Davis. He later appeared in Phillip Noyce’s “Dead Calm,” a classy thriller set at sea and co-starring the then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman.

Neill twice co-starred with Meryl Streep, in Australian director Fred Schepisi’s “Plenty” and — again for Schepisi — in “A Cry in the Dark,” a lm about the sensationalized aftermath of a dingo killing a baby in the Australian Outback. He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 miniseries “Merlin” and another as narrator of 2017’s “Wild New Zealand.”

“Jurassic Park” was his best-known lm

Perhaps Neill achieved his

highest level of fame in “Jurassic Park” playing paleontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island o Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs. He co-starred alongside Laura Dern, Je Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. His character was thoughtful and reasonable, a scientist who warned the mastermind of the theme park before the chaos: “Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?”

Grant survived the harrowing events when the creatures get loose but didn’t return for “The Lost World: Jurassic Park II” in 1997. He came back for the third episode in 2001 and “Jurassic World: Dominion” in 2022.

“It’s probably a little late to learn these things,” he told the Daily News of New York in 2001, “but I nally feel I’ve worked out how to be an action hero. I’m happier with Grant this time. He’s gnarly and grizzled, but he looks like he knows what he’s doing.”

Neill grew up in Northern Ireland, then New Zealand

Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, Neill emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 7. He was born Nigel Neill but told interviewers he started to go by Sam because there were too many Nigels at his school.

His family settled in Dunedin on the South Island, and he was sent to boarding school in Christchurch. After college, he took the lead in “Sleeping Dogs” in 1977, the rst feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade.

Neill’s other lm roles included playing a Soviet submarine o cer who memorably dreams of a home in Montana in “The Hunt for Red October” and an investigator in director John Carpenter’s “In the Mouth of Madness.”

On the small screen, Neill played the malign Chester Campbell in TV’s “Peaky Blind-

ers” and Thomas Je erson in the four-hour CBS miniseries, “Sally Hemings: an American Tragedy.” On Apple TV, he was on “Invasion,” playing Oklahoma Sheri John Bell Tyson, a man late in his career searching for his purpose. In 2024 he starred opposite Annette Bening in the Peacock series “Apples Never Fall.”

Actor beloved in New Zealand as an unassuming celebrity

The actor became known in New Zealand as a modest and unassuming person who didn’t embrace celebrity. On social media, he often posted images of his farm animals, many of them a ectionately named after celebrities and friends, like Laura Dern the chicken, Kylie Minogue the duck and Helena Bonham Carter the cow.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon mourned Neill as “one of the greats” in a statement posted to social media.

“He started out when there was barely a lm industry to speak of,” Luxon wrote. “For more than fty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our lm industry into what it is today.”

Neill was also a vintner, and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

His memoir “Did I Ever Tell You This?” came out in March 2023, and he was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to lm,” a title approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” Neill told The Guardian in 2023, referring to his cancer diagnosis and treatment. “But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends.”

He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Chatham News & Record at obits@chathamnewsrecord.com

DANNY MOLOSHOK / AP PHOTO

Actor Sam Neill poses at the premiere of “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22, 2016, in Park City, Utah.

Grateful dog owner describes mountain rescue after canine apparently ingests cannabis

Rescuers carried the incapacitated dog down the mountain in under an hour

By Brian Melley The Associated Press

LONDON — Christina Bluhme was high on the anks of Britain’s tallest mountain with her dogs and one of the hounds was a lot higher — and not in a good way.

Tokyo, a 5-year-old black Labrador retriever, had apparently ingested cannabis along the trail and had to be rescued after she began to sway like she was drunk and then couldn’t walk at all.

“She had a very bad trip,” said Bluhme, who was mysti ed at the time about what nearly doomed her dog during the July 5 hike. “It was a very terrifying experience.”

Bluhme knows a thing or two about dogs, having worked as a canine trainer for 25 years. But she never suspected Tokyo might be stoned.

While cases of cannabis toxicity in pets is rising in the U.K., it’s an even bigger problem in the U.S., where marijuana has been legalized in many states and is available as a medical option in others.

Marijuana and other drugs entered the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals top 10 list of toxins for pets for the rst time in 2023. Its poison control center said 10% more calls were related to potential marijuana ingestion than the previous year, and they had increased nearly threefold over the past ve years.

With the dog collapsed, Bluhme, her son and two dogs were more than three hours into their climb and near the peak of Ben Nevis, the 4,413foot (mountain in the Scottish Highlands. The weather, which had been clear at the start of the day, had turned to rain and the temperature had plunged to 41 F.

She told her son, Magnus, that their quest to reach the summit was over.

“I said, listen, we’ve got to turn around and get her down,” Bluhme said Monday. “There’s something completely wrong here.”

Her son called for help, but police said they weren’t sure they could send a rescue crew.

Luckily for Bluhme and Tokyo, though, a crew from the all-volunteer Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team was already making their way down from the peak after helping a heli-

copter airlift an injured hiker. The crew put the 55-pound dog in their stretcher and quickly carried her down the steep, slick, rocky trail, making it to the trailhead in about an hour.

“They were almost running,” Bluhme said. “I was clinging on to the stretcher. They were so agile and so fast. It was incredible.”

Police had called Crown Vets in nearby Fort William, and a veterinarian was standing by when Bluhme arrived.

Veterinarians initially thought the animal had a spinal issue, but a senior vet concluded she was on some kind of neurotoxin because she was drifting in and out of consciousness. When they consulted with a poison control center, her symptoms checked all the boxes for cannabis intoxication.

The dog was given activated charcoal and made a full recovery overnight.

After fearing she would lose the beloved dog on the mountain, Bluhme said the 1,000 pound ($1,335) vet bill was money well spent.

“The next day it was like nothing ever happened,” said Bluhme, who lives in southern England. “She recovered so quickly, and I’m the one still hanging a bit.”

SCHOOLS from page A1 contract that would cover all of those things under a single umbrella.”

According to Samberg, the comprehensive contract will cover the maintenance of the security and door systems, the software for the cameras and door controls, the intercom systems, the vape detectors and the software for the vape detectors, which had previously all been contracted out to separate vendors, for about the same cost.

“The advantage of a single contract is that it provides consistency in implementation,” Samberg said.

The second contract was with Applied Network Consulting Group for network management solutions.

The contract is for a term of ve years and at a cost of approximately $175,000, pri-

PITTSBORO from page A1

“We have an advantage with all of this land that’s been inherited and donated,” said Commissioner John Foley. “There’s not many towns in the United States that have such density like downtown Pittsboro.”

In total, seven clusters of property were studied across 23 parcels and 28 acres. These clusters are centrally located, highly visible and all have unique conditions associated with them.

The buildings studied included downtown public assets and community serving properties, including administrative facilities, public safety facilities, town-owned land, parking areas and more.

According to the consultants, it was a yearlong process involving extensive research, boots-on-the-ground investigation, option testing, market analysis and community outreach.

For each cluster, the consultants provided a detailed analysis on existing uses, ownership, site conditions, infrastructure, environmental conditions, market and housing conditions, as well as potential development alternatives, such as avenues of connectivity, residential and commercial options as well as potential parking and green spaces.

The project is intended to help de ne the future character of downtown Pittsboro while still preserving downtown Pittsboro distinctive character.

“The Town and County have

marily funded through the E-Rate program, a federally funded initiative that helps schools and libraries a ord broadband internet, Wi-Fi and network infrastructure.

The board also recognized former Sheri Mike Roberson, who relinquished his position as sheri in order to become the new interim county commissioner, with a resolution honoring his service.

“Sheri Roberson has fostered a strong and collaborative partnership between the Chatham County Sheri ’s Ofce and Chatham County Schools, recognizing that the safety, well-being, and success of students and sta are strengthened through shared purpose and coordinated effort,” said Board Chair Gary Leonard.

The Chatham County Schools Board of Education will next meet Aug. 3.

a rare, once-in-a-generation opportunity to use publicly owned and community-serving properties in downtown Pittsboro to shape the next phase of the town’s growth,” the study said. “These properties can help sustain the vitality of Pittsboro’s historic downtown, support new places to live, work, and gather, strengthen local business activity and guide change that re ects the town’s civic identity, small-town character and role as the heart of Chatham County.”

Following the presentation, the board approved a resolution in support of the analysis, however the commissioners also wanted to see even more done with the study as well.

“It’s very exciting and there’s so much potential,” said Commissioner John Bonitz. “We really have what’s bigger than a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something really signi cant. I’m in favor of an approach that has this study continue.”

While Bonitz recognized that the current study and its funding is at an end, he was in favor of continuing to receive community input and input especially from the Downtown Advisory Board and other downtown organizations.

“I think we’re on the right track, but I also think we need to think globally about what’s next tra c pattern-wise, parking-wise and all those things that will enhance the downtown area,” Foley said. The Town of

Board of Commissioners will next meet Aug. 10.

Pittsboro

CHRISTINA BLUHME VIA AP

Tokyo, a Labrador retriever, recovers at Crown Vets in Fort William, Scotland, on July 5.

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NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA FILE NO:

26E000346-180

CHATHAM COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK ESTATE OF DONETTA JANE DELISLE

EXECUTORS NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Donetta Jane Delisle, Deceased, in the O ce of the Clerk of Superior Court of Chatham County, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the said Decedent to present the same to the undersigned on or before October 16, 2026, said date being at least three months from the date of the rst publication or posting of this Notice as indicated below, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment. This Notice is given pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 28A-14-1.

This 7th day of July, 2026. Name and Address of Executor Brian Gordon 1460 Brentwood Way Earlysville MD 22936 Name and Address of Attorney: Steven Lundberg 1155 Kildaire Farm Rd, Ste. 204 Cary, NC 27511 Date of Publication: July 16, 23, 30, and August 6, 2026

EXECUTORS NOTICE

TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against Willie R. Parker, Jr., deceased of Chatham County, North Carolina, are hereby noti ed to present their claims by mailing them to Cheryl Parker Jarmon, Executor of the Estate of Willie R. Parker, Jr., 1901 Village Crossing Drive, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27517 before the 2nd day of October, 2026, or such claims will be forever barred. Debtors of the decent are requested to make immediate payment to the Estate through its Executor. File No.: 26-E-000350-180

This is the 2nd day of July, 2026 Published July 2, 9, 16 and 23, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Kathy VanLeur Moll, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ces of Munson Law Firm PLLC, P.O. Box 1811 Pittsboro, NC 27312, on or before the 2nd day of October, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment. This 2nd day of July, 2026. LESLIE LEMUS SOTELO, EXECUTOR

ESTATE OF KATHY VANLEUR MOLL

Notice to Creditors

Estate of Patricia Ann Woodall

File No. 25E000453-180

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Patricia Ann Woodall, deceased of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before September 25th, 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery.

Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This the 25th day of June, 2026. George Wallace Woodall, Executor c/o James S. Adcock III, PA 135 N. Main Street Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

FILE NUMBER: 24SP001134-180

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust executed by CHESTER S. PALMER AND JUDY PALMER payable to WR STARKEY MORTGAGE L.L.P., Lender, to W.R. STARKEY, JR., Trustee, dated June 3, 2008, and recorded in Book 1407, Page 642 of the Chatham County Public Registry by ANTHONY MASELLI OR GENEVIEVE JOHNSON, EITHER OF WHOM MAY ACT, Substitute Trustee, default having been made in the terms of agreement set forth by the loan agreement secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, ANTHONY MASELLI OR GENEVIEVE JOHNSON, EITHER OF WHOM MAY ACT , having been substituted as Successor Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O cial Records of Chatham County, North Carolina, in Book , Page 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 Chatham County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, on July 21, 2026 at 11:00am, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in the County of Chatham,

Notice to Creditors

ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Robert Aloysius Messemer Jr., deceased, of Chatham County, NC, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before October 9th, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 9th day of July, 2026. Lyn Messemer, Executor, c/o Bagwell Holt Smith P.A., 111 Cloister Court, STE 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of William Norman Sharpe, Jr., 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 9th day of October, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment. This 9th day of July, 2026. SARAH ELIZABETH TILLMAN, EXECUTOR ESTATE OF WILLIAM NORMAN SHARPE, JR.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

26E000323-180 ALL persons having claims against MARGARET HELEN PEARSON, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Oct 09 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This the 9th day of July, 2026. CHAD PEARSON, Executor C/O Lenfestey, Maxie & Burger, PLLC 127 W. Hargett St., Ste 301, PMB 190 Raleigh, NC 27601 J9, 16, 23 and 30

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

26E000362-180 ALL persons having claims against Estate of Gent Hito, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Oct 02 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This the 2nd day of July, 2026.

ENTON P. HITO, Executor C/O Schell Bray PLLC P.O. Box 21847 Greensboro, NC 27420 J2, 9, 16 and 23

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

26E000285-180 ALL persons having claims against STEPHEN RAY THOMAS, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Oct 16 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 16th day of July, 2026. LAURA THOMAS LUTTERLOH, CoExecutor THOMAS E LAYTON, Co-Executor C/O LAYTON & CARRAWAY, PA 680 Lutterloh Road Pittsboro, NC 27312 J16, 23, 30 and 6

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#26E000412-180

The undersigned Audrey Diane May Braswell, having quali ed on the 9th Day of July 2026 as Executor of the Estate of John H. May, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 16TH Day OF October 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 16TH Day of July 2026. AUDREY DIANE MAY BRASWELL 1837 MONCURE PITTSBORO RD. MONCURE, NC 27559 Run dates: Jy16,23,30,A6p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#26E000390-180 The undersigned Antoinette DiBenedetto having quali ed on the 30th Day of June 2026 as Executor of the Estate of Libby Ann Capaldi deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 16th Day of October 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 16th Day of July 2026.

ANTOINETTE DIBENEDETTO, EXECUTOR 517 OAKWOOD AVE. RALEIGH, NC 27601 Run dates: Jy16,23,30,A6p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#26E000411-180

The undersigned Gwendolyn Jones York having quali ed on the 8th Day of July 2026 as Executor of the Estate of William Mike York, Jr., deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 16TH Day OF October 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 16TH Day of July 2026. GWENDOLYN JONES YORK, EXECUTOR 41 OAKMONT LANE SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: Jy16,23,30,A6p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000322-180 The undersigned Douglas Pierce Leonard, having quali ed on the 22nd Day of JUNE 2026 as Executor of the Estate of ANNA LEE LEONARD, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 2ND Day OF OCTOBER 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 2ND DAY OF JULY 2026. DOUGLAS PIERCE LEONARD, EXECUTOR 637 SILVERBERRY ROAD PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: Jy2,9,16,23p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000404-180 The undersigned TARA GAINES BURNS AND BEN PHILIP GAINES, JR., having quali ed on the 7TH Day of JULY 2026 as Co-Executors of the Estate of BEN PHILIP GAINES, SR., deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 16TH Day OF OCTOBER 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 16TH DAY OF JULY 2026. TARA GAINES BURNS, CO-EXECUTOR 4456 THOMPSON MILL RD. GRAHAM, NC 27253 MAIL TO: BEN PHILIP GAINES, JR., CO-EXECUTOR PO BOX 56 GOLDSTON, NC 27252 Run dates: Jy16,23,30,A6p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000317-180 The undersigned Timothy Perry, having quali ed on the 11th Day of JUNE 2026 as Administrator of the Estate of CLYDE BERNICE PERRY, JR., deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 25TH Day OF SEPTEMBER 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 25TH DAY OF JUNE 2026. TIMOTHY PERRY, ADMINISTRATOR 2880 PETE ROBERTON ROAD PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: J25,Jy2,9,16p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

FILE#26E000380-180

The undersigned ROBERT LYNN HARGROVE, having quali ed on the 26TH Day of JUNE 2026 as Executor of the Estate of PEARL FAYE HARGROVE, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 9TH Day OF OCTOBER 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 9TH DAY OF JULY 2026. ROBERT LYNN HARGROVE, EXECUTOR 906 N. GARDEN AVE. SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: Jy9,16,23,30p

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

26E000374-180 NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY

The undersigned, Oceanna Sha er, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Michael Hunter Sha er, 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 October 7, 2026 or this notice will be plead in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 9th day of July 2026. Oceanna Sha er Executor Marie H. Hopper Attorney for the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312

North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: PARCEL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER(S): 0086597 ADDRESS: 2511 MT VERNON SPRINGS RD SILER CITY, NC 27344 THE LAND DESCRIBED HEREIN IS SITUATED IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF CHATHAM, AND IS DESCRIBED IN DEED BOOK 1407, PAGE 642, AS FOLLOWS: BEING ALL OF LOT 11, CONTAINING 4.666 ACRES, MORE OR LESS, AS SHOWN ON A PLAT ENTITLED “FINAL PLAT FOR OWNERS LEE EDWARD PALMER AND WIFE, VONNELL W. PALMER”, DATED JUNE 4, 2003, PREPARED BY RUFUS L. JOHNSON, PLS, AND REVISED ON NOVEMBER 26, 2007, AND RECORDED IN PLAT SLIDE 2007-495, CHATHAM COUNTY REGISTRY, TO WHICH PLAT REFERENCES HEREBY MADE FOR A MORE ACCURATE DESCRIPTION. INCLUDED IN THE LEGAL DESCRIPTION AND PEREMANENTLY AFFIXED IS A 2008 GILES MANUFACTURED HOME WITH SERIAL NUMBER GM-8243A/B PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): CHESTER S. PALMER AND JUDY PALMER Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour 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 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 will have no further remedy. Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1,

NOTICE

Estate of Dwane Edward Porter AKA Dwane E. Porter, Chatham County Estate File No. 26E000401-180:

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Dwane Edward Porter AKA Dwane E. Porter, deceased, of Travis County, TX. with an estate in Chatham County, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before October 16, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors

Seeing Arles through Van Gogh’s eyes

By Erika Ho man For Chatham News & Record

ARLES, France — When you hear this city’s name, do you think about Roman ruins, an amphitheater that still hosts bull ghts or the nearby swampy area called the Camargue on the Mediterranean? Or do you conjure up a yellow house, starry nights and a bearded man with a bandage blanketing one ear?

I visited Arles recently on an Amadeus River cruise down the Rhône. Many folks, though unfamiliar with Provence, recognize the name “Arles” because of a renowned, long-deceased and impoverished Dutch painter whose painting of sun owers in a vase sold to a Japanese insurance company for nearly 25 million pounds in 1987. We pronounce his last name “Van Go,” but the French actually pronounce it “Van Gog.” He signed his paintings “Vincent” because the French had such di culty pronouncing his Dutch surname, “Van Gogh.”

If you venture to this ancient Roman town, you won’t discover the yellow bedroom in the Yellow House where he and his fellow artist and friend Paul Gauguin lived for a while. The building was damaged by Allied bombing during World War II and later demolished. Many sites of interest in Europe were accidentally destroyed during the war in addition to those that were intentional targets.

During his lifetime, this post-Impressionist sold relatively few of his paintings for modest sums. It was his young-

er brother, Theo, who supported him. Ergo, Vincent’s fame came largely posthumously. After Theo’s death, his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, promoted and sold her late brother-in-law’s works.

If you visit Arles, you’ll recognize many of the subjects in his paintings. Vincent didn’t represent them realistically. Many had a yellow tint in his renditions. The stars had halos, and the branches and trunks of olive trees were wavy, as were the stems of purple irises.

Yet you’ll recognize the elds seen in his painting called “Harvesters.” “Les Al-

“Often it seems to me that the night is even more richly colored than the day.”

Vincent van Gogh, in an 1888 letter to his sister Wilhelmina

yschamps,” a lane in Arles, is identi able. You can see the vantage point from which he created “Starry Night Over the Rhône” and its depiction of reections on the river. Vincent sketched and painted every-

ICE shot, killed motorist in Maine; advocates say victim 26-year-old man from Colombia

The man was authorized to work in the US and had a Social Security number

By Patrick Whittle, Leah Willingham and Jack Brook The Associated Press

BIDDEFORD, Maine — A federal immigration o cer fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, the second time in a week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have used deadly force. It is at least the ninth such killing since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown.

Immigrant rights groups identi ed the man who was killed as a 26-year-old native of Colombia.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the o cer opened re after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against o cers who were pursuing him for deportation in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland.

“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said.

The Maine attorney general’s o ce, which is investigating along with the FBI and other agencies, said initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to ee in the direction of the agent. The man was the target of an enforcement operation related to a nal order of removal, the o ce said, and the agent who killed him has been placed on leave.

Messages seeking comment were left for ICE and the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The man was authorized to work in the U.S., advocates say

The advocacy groups Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition

cause she’s never going to see her father again.”

The Colombian Embassy told the AP in an emailed statement that it is in contact with U.S. authorities and “working to formally con rm the individual’s identity and nationality.”

Security video but no body-worn camera footage

and Presente! said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number. After the shooting, his family contacted the Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, executive director Mufalo Chitam said.

“It’s a young family and he was leaving to go to work,” Chitam told The Associated Press.

The family, she said, isn’t ready to speak publicly about the shooting.

Mary Hayes, who lives close to where the shooting happened, said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter.

“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,” Hayes told the AP as she held a piece of cardboard with “No ICE Stop ICE” written on it. “I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on be-

Cory Poulin, whose family runs a laundromat near the scene, told the AP that security cameras at the business captured footage of the man’s car rolling into the intersection after shots were red. Other images from the scene showed the car going in circles and bullet holes in its windshield.

“Two ICE members ran to the intersection and another ICE member in a Ford SUV went into the intersection to stop the car from rolling,” he said. “I don’t know for a fact, but I don’t believe he was alive when the car started rolling.”

He said Maine State Police asked that he not release the footage publicly.

The agents involved in the shooting didn’t have body-worn cameras, King said.

“The question is, what did he do with his vehicle,” King said.

took his own life in 1890. Before moving to Auvers, he lived in Arles. From there, he visited the coastal resort of Saintes-Maries- de-la-Mer in 1888, where he painted the Mediterranean Sea in hues of pink, gray, yellow and violet.

Maybe some Impressionists were creative souls; perhaps their imaginations made them paint as they did. Yet in Van Gogh’s case, there has been much speculation that his interpretations might have been inuenced by medical conditions. His younger sister later spent decades in a psychiatric institution. Modern-day physicians and researchers have proposed numerous possible diagnoses for Van Gogh, including bipolar disorder, epilepsy, Ménière’s disease and porphyria. His known absinthe drinking and poor diet also may have a ected his health. However, no retrospective diagnosis has been conclusively established.

Before I had cataract surgery, I viewed my pool as having a green tint, and the headlights of oncoming cars had halos. After the surgery, yellow walls were white, and car headlights had a distinct orb, not a blurry one. That led me to wonder whether this fellow had vision problems caused by cataracts.

thing he came in contact with: the hospital where he was treated after injuring his ear, the café with a pool table where he hung out, the haystacks in the countryside around Arles and the red vineyard that became one of the works he sold during his lifetime.

Our astute guide was conscientious about holding up a reproduction of one of his famous paintings in front of the scene it depicted. Despite all this time, you can still recognize it.

After leaving the psychiatric hospital at Saint-Rémy-deProvence, Van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, where he

“Were o cers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justi ed deadly force?

“That’s what this investigation is all about and I certainly intend to stay after it to do everything I can to be sure the investigation is as transparent and thorough as possible.”

Anti-ICE protesters gather near the scene

Dozens of demonstrators critical of ICE and President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown gathered in Biddeford within hours of the shooting.

Amy Goodman, who is from nearby Wells, arrived with a sign that said “Stop Killing Us” and directed it toward police working at the scene.

“Sadly, it’s something we’re seeing a whole lot more often lately, and I’m mad about it,” said Goodman, who was wearing a shirt that said “ICE is best when crushed.”

“It’s heartbreaking and I wanted to show up,” Goodman’s friend, Molly Zucker of Cape Neddick, said as she held a sign reading, “No human being is illegal.”

Police blocked access to the shooting scene, which is in a neighborhood of mostly multifamily homes, churches and businesses near downtown. Several protesters stood nearby, with some holding signs condemning ICE’s presence in the community and state.

“We are grieving, we are furious, and we will not allow his death to be treated as routine or inevitable,” Chitam said.

“How much more harm must our communities endure before those with the power to act acknowledge that this has gone too far?”

A recent uptick in Trump’s immigration crackdown

Monday’s killing was at least the ninth death from an encounter with federal immigration o cials since Trump returned to o ce 18 months ago.

On July 7, an ICE o cer fatally shot 52-year-old Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after he was pursued by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

The shootings come amid a newly intensi ed push by the Trump administration to carry out its mass deportations agen-

Vincent’s artistic vision might well have had a medical aspect to it. Medications prescribed at the time also may have caused side e ects. He was hospitalized several times and later voluntarily entered the asylum at Saint-Rémy after experiencing recurring mental health crises.

Sometimes when you read about an artist’s life, it makes the artist’s oeuvre that much more intriguing. Likewise, when you travel, it makes you, the voyager or even the casual tourist, more curious and ultimately more knowledgeable! Places you visit have backstories! Always!

da. During the ve-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people. The gures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests continue and are surging. The administration’s enforcement e orts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

“More than anything else, I want to know, ‘Why are you in Maine?’” Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said in a video posted on social media.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat running for Senate, wrote on X: “It’s time to get ICE o our streets.”

Hundreds of Maine ICE arrests since Trump’s return

ICE had a signi cant presence in Maine earlier this year, which prompted several protests.

The Homeland Security Department named the operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent play on Maine’s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago.

Immigration o cials said in late January that they had ceased “enhanced operations” in Maine after hundreds of arrests.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horrific crimes” including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.” Court records show that while some had felony convictions, others had unresolved immigration proceedings or had been arrested but never convicted of a crime.

ICE arrested 546 people in Maine between the start of Trump’s second term and March 11, 2026, the most recent data available, according to ICE arrest data provided to the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the AP.

About 45% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds. During the equivalent 416-day period before Trump took o ce, roughly 69% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, the data show.

The artist’s vision through yellow haze

“I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.” Mary Hayes

ERIKA HOFFMAN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

A café frequented by Vincent van Gogh is pictured in Arles, France, in May.

ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

Protesters gather near the scene of a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday in Biddeford, Maine.

CHATHAM SPORTS

Not so fast: New rules for fall team sports

Gridiron o cials watch for head-slapping while changes are made with soccer goalies and volleyball liberos

By Michael Jaenicke Chatham News & Record

WALLACE — Prep players learning to play their specific sport often forget the biggest details.

Such as in football when a player at his own 10-yard line watches the opposition’s kicko and doesn’t actually know or remember he must catch the ball. Otherwise, the kicking team

1,029,588

High school football players across the United States

recovers the ball, just as it would on an onside or pooch kick. Sadly, this happens far too much at the high school level, sometimes because players don’t watch the game on TV, other times because they forget in the heat of the moment.

The NFHS, the national rules organizing body, can’t x that players are asleep at the wheel, but it has put out rule

changes for football, soccer and volleyball that will take e ect with the rst o cial grid hit, cage ringer and slam.

Cracking down on aiding the runner

There are not many changes for gridiron teams, yet a move to prohibit head-slapping an opponent has the movement

completely banned from the game.

Defensive players were the only ones restricted from it in the past.

Other changes deal with quarterbacks using play cards attached to their belts as well as on wristbands, and teams can also use xed electronic signs from the sidelines to relay plays. But in-helmet communication devices remain prohibited.

Points of emphasis include clari cation on agrant and unsportsmanlike fouls, sideline management control and o ensive players “helping the runner” make forward progress up eld.

O cials are being told to consistently and without hesitation enforce fouls that threaten the safety of players or the integrity of the game. In other words, no nonsense.

Meanwhile, pushing, pulling or lifting the ball carrier for the purpose of gaining progress is illegal.

Football is the most popular high school sport for boys with 1,029,588 participants in 14,269 schools across the country. In addition, there were 35,097 boys who participated in 6-, 8- and 9-player football, along with 4,969 girls in

See RULES, page B2

Small number of gridiron teams legitimate title contenders

Championship dreams begin in the o season, often with the declarative goal of playing for glory in early December

By Michael Jaenicke Chatham News & Record

WALLACE — It’s 97 degrees and so humid the swarming mosquitoes are wearing goggles with wipers.

That could only mean summer football drills in North Carolina. It’s also the time in which every player and coach dreams of a rivalry win, conference title and trip home from the state nals with a never-forget-me trophy for their high school.

Indeed, as every coach will spit out between shouts and whistles, this is when championships are won.

If you stop the sweat, you stop the progress. With the ultimate dream as a mindset destination, let’s examine past state-title winning teams.

Beating the odds

To begin, let’s look at the schools without a trophy. There are 188 of them and some might come as a surprise given their pro ciency in all things pigskin in the past. Only 114 schools have won a title, which includes 22 schools that no longer exist.

West Craven ts well into this category. They went to the biggest show of the fall in 2008 and lost 35-7 to Rowan. So does Northeastern, Charlotte schools Mallard Creek, Myers Park and

Vance in Charlotte, and Douglas Byrd (0-6), Cape Fear and newcomer Jack Britt (0-4). Goldsboro (1929), Northside-Jacksonville (2016), Pender (2010), Hobbton (1993), Lake-

wood (1992) and even sad-sack Jones Senior (2011) made it to the nals but returned with runner-up honors.

Yet, North Pitt, Richlands, North Lenoir, South Lenoir, Greene Central, West Columbus, White Oak, Croatan, Dixon, Eastern Wayne and 177 others never played for a state crown on the gridiron. Nor has Leesville Road, Terry Sanford, West Forsyth and Gates County despite having superb teams and making long state-tournament runs. All four of Chatham County’s current public school football programs — Seaforth, Northwood, Chatham Central and Jordan-Matthews — fall into this category.

Princeton and SouthsideChocowinity and Northside-Pinetown are all 0-2, and Kinston’s loss in the 3A nals last fall put the Vikings at 1-2. So it’s without a doubt hard and challenging, even for solid programs.

East Duplin (1-1) won its rst title in 2022 after falling short in 2017 to Hibriten, who won its rst championship. Midway, Jacksonville and Ayden-Grifton are likewise 1-1. Only 114 schools have won a title, which includes 22 schools that no longer exist. And some

See FOOTBALL, page B3

GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Seaforth quarterback Duncan Parker calls a play during a game last season, likely after referring to the playcard worn in a holder on his left wrist. This year, Parker could have the card on his belt, if it’s more convenient, as part of a new rules change.

GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Northwood, in white, and Seaforth players pile up in last season’s Battle for Pittsboro. The Chargers and Hawks are two of the 188 teams across the state still seeking their rst title.

Gabriel Ferrell

Montreat College, baseball

Gabriel Ferrell is a rising sophomore on the Montreat College baseball team. The Cary native is also a member of the Chatham Yardbirds in the Old North State League for this summer’s wood bat season.

Ferrell led the state in hits as a high school senior, was named a high school All-American, and started 12 of the 23 games he played as a freshman at Montreat. The Yardbirds have seen their o ense explode this month, and Ferrell has been at the center of it. He went 3 for 3 with three homers and a walk in a 17-7 win over Danville. Then he added a grand slam in a 12-9 win over the same team.

Weather wreaks havoc with Yardbirds

Chatham County is having trouble getting on the eld

Chatham News & Record sta

AFTER A ROUGH start to the season, the Chatham County Yardbirds have hit their stride in July. After opening the Old North State League season with just two wins in their rst 13 games, the Birds have split their last 10, pulling ahead of the Danville Dairy Daddies, into fth place in the six-team Piedmont Division. Chatham sent one player to the ONSL East-West All-Star Game in late June, as two-way player Nick Papciak got the nod. The Greensboro native and rising sophomore at Wingate is hitting a team-high .381 and also

RULES from page B1

all four versions of the game to bring the number of players to more than 1.1 million.

Goalie action will be heavily monitored

Meanwhile, there will be more than 877,000 soccer players as the sport continues to grow closer to football in terms of numbers nationwide. And that mix is fairly equal between the genders as there are about 480,000 boys and 394,000 girls on prep sods.

This fall all eyes will be on goalies as they have eight seconds and not six to release the ball after catching it. Failure to meet the timeframe results in a corner kick and not a direct free kick. Encroachment during a penalty kick will now be penalized only if the o ense has a clear impact on the play.

According to the NFHS, “impact for the defending team occurs if an encroaching defender clearly distracts the kicker or if they play a rebounding ball or challenge an attacker to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity. For the attacking team, impact is distracting the goalkeeper or if an encroaching attacker plays the ball or challenges a defender to score or create a scoring chance.”

Also, spitting and biting now lead to direct kicks, and verbal o enses are a foul, which could rise to misconduct.

has struck out more than a batter an inning on the mound. The Yardbirds have seen their bats heat up with the summer weather. After averaging 5.3 runs per game to open the year, Chatham County has been scoring at an 8.7 runs-per-night clip. Since the start of July, the Birds’ scoring has jumped to 10.3 runs per game, and they’ve scored ve or more in their last six outings, as well as eight of the last nine. Now the only problem is getting onto the eld. The only thing tougher to control than Yardbird bats so far in July has been the North Carolina weather. After not having any cancellations in their rst 17 games of the season, Chatham County has now had almost as many games washed out (6) as completed (7) since the last week of June.

The Birds are currently riding a “streak” of three straight cancellations and four in their last ve scheduled games. Chatham has four games scheduled for the nal week of the ONSL regular season and will be looking to nish strong.

Hands down on volleyball serves

Believe it or not, 600,000 girls and nearly 100,000 boys play volleyball in the U.S., a gure that is sure to increase since North Carolina will begin sanctioned volleyball for boys in the spring. One tradition has bit the dust. Players on the serving team can no longer raise their hands before the serve crosses the net.

The girls of the fall can now designate two liberos, though only one can be on court at any given moment. Libero uniform

Grayson Cox wears a play card on his left wrist during a game last season. New rules changes will allow more exibility in where the play cards can be worn.

bottoms are not required to match the rest of the team and may be any color. “A team may designate up to two liberos, but only one libero can be in the game at a time,” the rule reads. “When a team designates two liberos and one is injured, a new libero may be redesignated. When a team designates two liberos and one is disquali ed, the team must continue with one libero.”

O cials are shouting out preseason warnings to coaches and schools about examining all game-related equipment on the court, including the platforms o cials stand on.

CHATHAMCOUNTYYARDBIRDS / INSTAGRAM

@CCYARDBIRDS / X Nick Papciak

GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD

Northwood quarterback

Wichita joins Dayton as host cities for 2027-28 opening-round games in 76-team NCAA Tournament

Each city will be the site of six games a year

By Dave Skretta The Associated Press

THE OPENING round of the expanded men’s NCAA Tournament will be split between Dayton, Ohio, where those early games traditionally have been played, and Wichita, Kansas, for at least the next two years.

The NCAA said last Thursday that both cities would host six games apiece in the enlarged 76-team eld.

“Like Dayton, Wichita is a basketball-crazed community that we expect will embrace the reimagined start of the tournament,” Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill, the chairman of the NCAA’s Division I men’s basketball committee, said in a statement.

“Having a city in Middle America will be advantageous for getting teams from various points around the country, many of which won’t be known until Selection Sunday, to the

Texas forward Dailyn

“Like Dayton, Wichita is a basketball-crazed community that we expect will embrace the reimagined start of the tournament.”

Keith Gill, NCAA Division I men’s basketball committee chairman

opening round and subsequently rst-round sites,” Gill said. The NCAA approved the expansion of the tournament from 68 teams in May. The rst edition of the new-look opening round will take place March 16 -17, with Dayton and Wichita hosting a triple-header each day. Those games will feature the 12 lowest-seeded automatic quali ers and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams. Dayton hosted the original play-in game in 2001. Since the tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, the addition-

al games also have been played at University of Dayton Arena, with two apiece on Tuesday and Wednesday of the rst week of the tournament.

The games in Wichita will be played at InTrust Bank Arena, about ve miles from the Wichita State University campus. The downtown arena was a host venue for rst- and second-round NCAA Tournament games in 2018 and 2025.

The men’s basketball committee also said it has voted to remove a provision that prohibited schools from playing at sites where they serve as a tournament host. The full selection and seeding procedure will be released later this year.

First- and second-round games in 2027 will be played in Charlotte; Minneapolis; Omaha, Nebraska; Fort Worth, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; Pittsburgh; Sacramento, California; and Spokane, Washington. The regional rounds will be played in Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles; New York City; and San Antonio. The Final Four is scheduled for April 3 and 5 in Detroit.

FOOTBALL from page B1

are so in the past, such as Chapel Hill’s title in 1919, that even grandpa doesn’t remember much about the game when he pulls out his leather cap to show o . East Bladen, though, has a state nals loss and tie, but not a victory. And some of the schools thought to be powerhouses do not have the titles one might expect from the pedigree of the program as Whiteville is 2-3, Havelock 3-5 and New Bern 4-4. James Kenan is 3-1 in tittle games, winning in 2007 and 2013 under Ken Avent Jr., who recently retired from the school system. Bill Taylor led the Tigers to glory in 1960.

ACC picks longtime ref Patterson as football o cials supervisor

The veteran o cial has worked ACC games since 2002

The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — The Atlantic Coast Conference has hired Gary Patterson as supervisor of football o cials.

The league announced the hiring Monday after Al Riveron announced last week he is stepping down, marking a return for the longtime o cial to the league. He had worked as an ACC on- eld o cial since 2002 and as a referee since 2009 before quitting last September. ESPN reported at the time it came in frustration with the handling of a UConn-Syracuse replay review, leading to a delayed review after the snap for the ensuing play.

Patterson has worked the 2009 BCS championship game, the Army-Navy game in 2006, four ACC title games and numerous bowl games in an o ciating career that began in 1994.

Patterson will oversee recruiting, training, evaluation and scheduling of league ocials. The ACC said he would work with ESPN to build on

“His deep understanding of the game makes him uniquely quali ed to lead ACC Football o ciating.”

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips

last year’s launch of allowing viewers to listen live to replay reviews during select broadcasts.

In a statement, commissioner Jim Phillips said Patterson “has earned the trust and respect of coaches and his ociating colleagues.

“His extensive experience on the eld has been dened by excellence, integrity and leadership, and his deep understanding of the game makes him uniquely qualied to lead ACC Football ofciating,” Phillips continued. “We are thrilled to welcome Gary into this critical role, and we continue our commitment to excellence in football o ciating.”

In his statement, Patterson said it was “truly an honor to serve a conference that has meant so much to me throughout my career.”

Clinton has been to the nals nine times and won four times. That’s good enough to be in a tie for 18th place. Yet perhaps the school with the most bragging rights is Albemarle, who is 5-0 in the nals. Two of its wins prevented Wallace-Rose Hill from capturing a title when Jack Holley was the Bulldogs’ coach. Holley is second all-time among active coaches with a 412-96-9 mark. Top teams that have the championship shine include: Reidsville (22-7-2), Robbinsville (14 -2), Shelby (13-5), Tarboro (11-6), Murphy (10-4), Mount Airy (9-5), Charlotte Catholic (8-3), Edenton Holmes (8-21), Crest (7-4), Wallace-Rose Hill (7-4), Independence (7-1) and Thomasville (7-3). These 12 schools hauled in 102 state-title ags. The data clearly shows that most state titles are won by schools with a title in its trophy case. And nally, let’s bring to light the phrase that is repeated endlessly from late June to the second week in December: “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win a state championship.”

Swain (3), center, blocks a last-second shot from NC State forward Darrion Williams (1) during a March First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.

KAREEM ELGAZZAR / AP PHOTO

JACOB KUPFERMAN / AP PHOTO

Referee Gary Patterson o ciates the 2021 ACC championship game between Pitt and Wake Forest.

Blaney wins 3-wide battle on nal lap of overtime in NASCAR Cup race in Atlanta

passing below the double yellow lines and nished 29th instead of second.

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — A late brush with the wall wasn’t enough to send Ryan Blaney to pit row.

The decision paid o with a dominant victory.

Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the nal lap of overtime in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta early Monday.

Blaney won every stage of the race and led 171 laps after starting on the pole, but the Team Penske Ford driver had to ght o challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who nished second, on the nal lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four.

Wallace was penalized for

There was a delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes because of rain and lightning. The race ended at 1:45 a.m. at EchoPark Speedway.

Blaney won the rst two stages but brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining, causing possible damage on his right side, after he was cut o by Wallace. Blaney remained on the track despite telling his crew he felt a “terrible” vibration.

“I tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence,” Blaney said. “You know, I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stu like that, but luckily it still drove really decent. ... It wasn’t too bad. Luckily it wasn’t enough damage we couldn’t keep running.”

Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler said his team was able to view photos of the right side of the car and determine the best chance to

win was to remain on the track.

“There were 30 cars on the lead lap at that point and not a lot of laps left,” Hassler said. ”Our best chance to win was to stay out there.”

Multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst, were involved in a wreck with ve laps remaining to set up the overtime.

There had been concern about approaching rain before lightning within eight miles of the 1.54-mile oval track near Atlanta led NASCAR o cials to order cars o the track and advise fans to exit the grandstand. Rain began soon after the race was delayed. Following some caution laps and pit stops, the race went back to green at 12:02 a.m.

Blaney said he “took a nap and ate a little food” during the delay. Larson said the resumption of the race a few minutes before midnight “is de nitely past my bedtime.”

Blaney won the pole, and his

Rozier wants to play in NBA again, but bail conditions could hamper return

The former Hornet is awaiting a February gambling scandal trial

By Michael R. Sisak The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier wants to play in the NBA while he ghts sports gambling charges that sidelined him last season. Bail conditions that bar him from contact with certain players and limit his travel could complicate his potential return.

U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall denied a defense request to modify Rozier’s bail conditions so he can practice and play with potential witnesses as long as they don’t talk about the case. The judge said it would be impossible to police Rozier’s on-court conversations.

She admonished Rozier for already violating the no-contact provision of his $3 million bond by sending a text message to a person he was told not to communicate with. Rozier was contacting the person to tell the person he was on the no-contact list, DeArcy Hall said.

“What that tells me is that he believes he knows better than the court,” DeArcy Hall said at

a hearing in Brooklyn federal court. Rozier, she said, “violated the court’s trust with that text message.” Rozier averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in 10 NBA seasons, 41⁄2 of which he spent with the Charlotte Hornets before he was traded to Miami in 2024. He remains a free agent after the Heat released him in April. An arbitrator ruled in February that the Heat had to pay Rozier his $26.6 million salary for last season.

Rozier, 32, is scheduled to stand trial in February on bribery and conspiracy charges after federal prosecutors say he took a $70,000 payo to help gamblers cash in with a tip that he would leave a March 2023 game early, citing a lingering lower leg injury. He hadn’t been listed on the team’s injury report and neither the public nor sportsbooks knew of his plan, prosecutors said.

Rozier’s friend Deniro “Niro” Laster, who is also charged,

Team Penske teammate Joey Logano joined him on the front row. A third Team Penske driver, Austin Cindric, moved up to third early in the race for an early strong showing for the Fords.

Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin, who quali ed 28th, nished 12th. Tyler Reddick was eighth.

Reddick, who won at EchoPark Speedway in February as part of his string of ve wins in the season’s rst nine races,

shared or sold the information to others, who placed more than $250,000 in bets that his points, assists and other totals would be lower than what the sportsbooks had set as betting lines, federal prosecutors said. Rozier has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers have asked DeArcy Hall to dismiss the case. They are also seeking to have it moved from New York to Miami. Rozier recently shook up his defense team, hiring David Markus, whose clients have included Ghislaine Maxwell, as his lead attorney, replacing President Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer Jim Trusty.

“I wish we were starting trial in this case because Terry is innocent, and we want to show the world that he had no involvement in this,” Markus told reporters after the hearing.

Rozier was arrested last October in a sweeping federal gambling investigation that has netted more than three dozen arrests.

After his arrest, Rozier was barred from any contact with the Heat or the Hornets. Prosecutors later removed the Heat and, after Rozier’s lawyers complained, agreed last month to narrow his contact ban to include a list of people who were with the Hornets when Rozier played for them in 2023.

Markus said that without further modi cations, NBA teams could construe his bail conditions as “a prohibition” on him playing in the league.

“It is not a directive that he cannot play in the NBA,” DeArcy Hall said, but “unfortunately there is a consequence of being under indictment. That’s the reality.”

quali ed only 31st on Saturday. By the 35th lap he already had moved up to fourth, proving early that he again would be a factor in Atlanta.

Clean start

The weather delay was the rst caution for cause in the race, a dramatic departure from the weekend’s rst race. There were a track-record 13 cautions in Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race won by Justin Allgaier. That total included four red ag incidents, creating an ominous preview for the Cup Series race.

The rst caution for an incident on the track in the Cup Series race came when AJ Allmendinger lost control of his Chevrolet with 67 laps remaining. Allmendinger blew a tire and hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to cause another caution.

Another strong start for Team Penske

Blaney’s Stage 1 win gave Team Penske Fords yet another strong start in Atlanta. Team Penske drivers have won Stage 1 in six of the last eight races at the track. Blaney held o Reddick, who nished second in the rst stage after qualifying 31st.

“I wish we were starting trial in this case because Terry is innocent.”

David Markus, attorney

Rozier is barred from contact with at least a dozen potential witnesses, including seven ex-Hornets teammates who now play for four other teams.

Markus proposed that Rozier have a lawyer present to monitor any on-court interactions, but DeArcy Hall said that was a nonstarter because a lawyer watching from the sidelines wouldn’t be able to hear what’s being said.

“Unless you’re suiting up, it doesn’t help me,” the judge said.

Markus also asked DeArcy Hall to lift a ban on Rozier leaving the U.S. so that he could go to Canada to play the Toronto Raptors if he were signed to an NBA team.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Farrell said that request was premature and suggested Rozier might try to ee prosecution if he’s allowed to leave the country. Markus called that argument “out of bounds” and said Rozier would never sacri ce his career or his ability to see his family for a life on the lam.

After more discussion, DeArcy Hall said she’ll wait until Rozier signs an NBA contract before ruling on his travel. The judge told Markus that another defendant had recently sought her permission to play basketball in Greece. Her response in that case: denied.

YUKI IWAMURA / AP PHOTO

Former Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets player Terry Rozier, center, leaves Brooklyn federal court following a December hearing.

The Team Penske Ford driver survived hitting the wall to win

Ryan Blaney leads during a dominating NASCAR Cup Series win in Atlanta.

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

SIDELINE REPORT

MLB White Sox rookie Peters hits for cycle, rst for franchise in 9 years

Chicago Rookie Chicago White Sox center elder Tristan Peters hit for the cycle, becoming the franchise’s rst player to do it in nine years. Peters doubled in the third, singled in the fth and hit a two-run homer in the seventh against the Athletics. He came up to bat a second time in the seventh and hit a grounder down the right- eld line. The 26-year- old former Durham Bull slid head rst into third to beat the relay throw. Peters is the third major leaguer to hit for the cycle this season.

PGA

Sche er misses cut for rst time in 4 years

North Berwick, Scotland

Scottie Sche er has his rst weekend o in nearly four years. The world’s No. 1 player looked ordinary over two days at the Scottish Open, shooting 72 on Friday and missing the cut by two shots. It’s his rst missed cut since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022. Sche er missed a 6-foot par putt on the last hole and missed a 7-foot birdie putt on his 16th hole.

WORLD CUP

FIFA selling eld to be used for World Cup nal in $450 pieces

East Rutherford, N.J.

FIFA is selling pieces of the World Cup nal eld for $450 each. The grass will be used for the July 19 nal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

FIFA’s store describes each piece as 17.5 by 17.5 by 17.5 but doesn’t specify the unit of measurement. Players and coaches have criticized the eld quality at MetLife, which usually uses an arti cial surface for NFL games.

Rattín, whose dismissal in 1966 World Cup prompted rules change, dead at 89

Renowned Argentine soccer player Antonio Rattín died at 89. Rattín, a former Boca Juniors player, became famous for his de ance at the 1966 World Cup, which led to the introduction of yellow and red cards. Known for his hard-tackling style, he won six league titles with Boca Juniors. He played in two World Cups and was a Copa Libertadores runner-up. Rattín’s protest during a match against England at Wembley sparked changes in how referees communicate dismissals. His actions also fueled the soccer rivalry between Argentina and England.

NBA Raptors, Clippers put trade for Leonard on hold pending end of NBA investigation

Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is on hold because of an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers. The league is examining whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules. The NBA’s probe began in September, focusing on a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. The Raptors and Clippers had agreed on a trade earlier this month. Leonard, a seven-time All-Star, is coming o his highest-scoring season. There is no timetable for the investigation’s conclusion.

Sinner beats Zverev to win Wimbledon again

Noskova wins the women’s title for her rst Grand Slam

By Andrew Dampf The Associated Press

LONDON — Jannik Sinner is starting to make a habit of responding to adversity in Paris with titles at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 Sunday for his second consecutive title at the All England Club after his German opponent appeared bothered by a knee issue following a slip to the grass on a key point in the third set.

Sinner’s fth Grand Slam title came in his rst tournament since a second-round meltdown at the French Open, when he wilted in a Paris heat wave.

When Sinner ripped a forehand winner up the line on his rst match point, the Italian dropped to the grass on his back in celebration.

“There’s no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony.

A year ago, Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in the nal at the

All England Club after wasting three match points against his rival in the Roland Garros nal.

It was Sinner’s 10th straight victory over Zverev, who was coming o his rst Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Zverev’s previous best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round three times.

“I’m 29 years old and this is the rst time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev said.

Prince William joined his wife, Kate, and two of their children for the nal in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Ho man, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller.

Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech women’s nal Saturday for her rst Grand Slam title.

Zverev slips

The top two seeds appeared perfectly matched until Zverev earned his only break point of the match at 3-3 in the third set — 2 hours and 42 minutes in. Sinner produced a drop shot, and Zverev slipped and

appeared to hyperextend his right knee as he attempted to change directions behind the baseline.

Zverev grasped his knee in apparent discomfort and Sinner went around the net and helped his opponent up o the grass. Zverev quickly resumed playing, but he appeared slightly hampered and slung his racket across the baseline in frustration when he missed a forehand and handed Sinner the rst break of the match and a 5-3 lead in the third. Sinner then served it out.

Zverev had also lost 14 straight sets to Sinner and when he claimed the opening set of the nal with a forehand winner up the line to conclude a tight tiebreaker. He let out a loud roar toward his box as he bent over in celebration.

Zverev continually cranked out serves at up to 139 mph, while Sinner produced a series of well-placed aces at a slightly lower speed.

But Sinner began to read Zverev’s serve better in the second-set tiebreaker, and Zverev started to miss forehands.

“He showed once again why he’s the best player in the world,” Zverev said.

Sinner produced 58 winners to Zverev’s 49 and had only 25 unforced errors to Zverev’s 45.

Zverev led 17-15 in aces.

Paris meltdown

Amid sti ing heat and humidity in Paris in late May, Sinner had his 30-match winning streak ended after coming within one game of a straight-set victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56. Conditions were cooler in southwest London for thenal, with clear skies and a temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit but it was also breezy — which led to a series of shanked shots from both players.

Sinner went in for medical exams in Milan after the Paris defeat and didn’t play an ofcial match again until he arrived at Wimbledon, where he twice had to come back from a set down in a ve-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in the rst round.

Sinner then didn’t drop a set the rest of the way until the nal, having dominated against Novak Djokovic in the semi nals.

Despite the defeat in thenal, Zverev leapfrogged Alcaraz into the No. 2 spot in the rankings.

Alcaraz missed both the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury.

Hornets GM says Ball trade to Timberwolves made with long-term success in mind

The team hopes to break out of its play-in rut with the shakeup

By Steve Reed The Associated Press

THE CHARLOTTE Hornets won 44 games last season, a 25-win improvement over the previous year. So the question begs to be asked: Why would Hornets general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Je Peterson break up a team that seemed on the rise by trading its most dynamic offensive player in LaMelo Ball? Peterson addressed the question on Saturday in Las Vegas where the Hornets are playing Summer League games, saying it was all about the long-term success of the organization.

“These decisions are challenging at times, but when you look at the totality of the season and everything of where we were, it’s important to take an honest look in the mirror of where you guys are as a team,” Peterson said. “And that’s what I had to do at the end of the season. And I just feel like again, the goal is never to compete for a play-in spot. The goal isn’t to get to the play-in or even the playo s for one year.”

Charlotte reached the play-in tournament and beat Miami at home before getting blown out on the road at Orlando.

Ball, who had struggled with injuries in the past, had one of his best seasons and averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game while nishing second in the league to rookie teammate Kon Knueppel in 3-pointers made with 272.

However, the Hornets failed to make the playo s in the six seasons since Ball came to them as the No. 3 overall pick in 2020.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we had a successful season last year by a lot of people’s standards, and of course LaMelo was a huge part of that,” Peterson said. “But again, sometimes these decisions, they can be chal-

lenging. But ultimately I do feel a responsibility to the organization and to the fans really across the world of the Hornets to do what’s best for the long term of the franchise.” Peterson believes acquiring Naz Reid and draft picks from Minnesota for Ball will give the Hornets more exibility moving forward as they continue to build. As part of a four-team trade with Brooklyn, Chicago and Minnesota, Charlotte sent Ball and Josh Green to the Timberwolves in exchange for Reid, a 2033 unprotected rst-round pick, rst-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030, and second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.

Along with draft capital, the Hornets also received a $40.7 million trade exception — the largest in NBA histo -

ry — as part of the deal, positioning themselves to add other top talent. Still, the move did not sit well with many fans in Charlotte, where Ball is extremely popular and has been a huge draw.

The anger is not on the same level as Mavs fans when Luka Doncic was traded to Los Angeles, but some felt the move was ill-timed given the Hornets appeared headed in the right direction with Ball as their leader.

Peterson said he knows Ball will do great things in Minnesota.

“I do empathize with the fans, and I understand just where they’re coming from,” Peterson said. “If I’m honest, I love LaMelo. He’s a tremendous human being. Of course, he’s an enormous talent. He and I have a great relationship.

“But I would hope that they understand that I have the best interest of the Hornets organization. I truly do. And it’s not about one year or two years. It’s about sustained success and just being objective of where we truly are in our life cycle. I have no doubt that this team we roll out next year and the years to come is going to continue to compete and eventually we’ll get there.”

BRIAN INGANGA / AP PHOTO

Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men’s singles nal Sunday at Wimbledon.

NELL REDMOND / AP PHOTO

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball brings the ball up the court against the Heat during an NBA play-in tournament game.

this week in history

Mandela is born, Aldrin and Armstrong walk the moon, Dahmer arrested

The Associated Press

JULY 16

1945: The United States detonated its rst experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo, New Mexico; the same day, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California on a secret mission to deliver atomic bomb components to Tinian Island in the Marianas.

1951: The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger was rst published by Little, Brown and Co.

1999: John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when their single-engine plane, piloted by Kennedy, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

JULY 17

1918: Russia’s Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.

1945: Following Nazi Germany’s surrender, President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the nal Allied summit of World War II.

1955: Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California.

JULY 18

1536: The English Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope void in England.

1918: South African an-

wearing a blindfold, reached into a glass bowl and pulled out a capsule containing the number 258.

1951: Jordan’s King Abdullah I was assassinated in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman.

1969: Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the rst men to walk on the moon after reaching its surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module.

JULY 21

1861: During the Civil War, the rst Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Virginia, resulting in a Confederate victory.

ti-apartheid leader and future President Nelson Mandela was born in the village of Mvezo.

1925: Adolf Hitler published the rst volume of his autobiographical manifesto, “Mein Kampf (My Struggle).”

JULY 19

1812: During the War of 1812, the First Battle of Sackets Harbor in Lake Ontario resulted in an American victory.

1848: The rst “Convention to discuss the social, civil and religious condition and rights of Woman” convened at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York.

1979: The Nicaraguan capital of Managua fell to Sandinista guerrillas two days after President Anastasio Somoza ed the country.

JULY 20

1917: America’s World War I draft lottery began as Secretary of War Newton Baker,

1921: The so-called “Monkey Trial” ended in Dayton, Tennessee, with John T. Scopes found guilty of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. (The conviction was later overturned.)

1972: The Irish Republican Army carried out 22 bombings in Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing nine people and injuring 130 in what became known as “Bloody Friday.”

JULY 22

1933: Aviator Wiley Post landed at Floyd Bennett Field in New York City, completing the rst solo ight around the world in 7 days, 18 hours and 49 minutes.

1934: Bank robber John Dillinger was shot to death by federal agents outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater, where he had just seen the Clark Gable movie “Manhattan Melodrama.”

1991: Police in Milwaukee arrested Je rey Dahmer, who later confessed to killing 17 men and boys.

NASA VIA AP

Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, the rst men to land on the moon, plant the U.S. ag on the lunar surface July 20, 1969.

AP PHOTO

People pose in front of the Biograph Theater as a woman displays a newspaper headline reading “Dillinger Slain” in Chicago. Outlaw John Dillinger was shot and killed by federal agents outside the movie theater on July 22, 1934, after watching “Manhattan Melodrama.”

‘Ted Lasso’ stars bring World Cup fever to Kansas City as

Season 4 of the hit Apple TV comedy returns Aug. 5

By Dave Skretta The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champion Argentina playing for a semi nal spot in Ted Lasso’s hometown?

You’d better “Believe” he’s paying attention.

The ctional coach of soccer club AFC Richmond — or rather, Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title character on the Apple TV series — was hosting a watch party at CPKC Stadium near downtown Kansas City on Saturday night when La Albiceleste were playing upstart Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium in their quest for back-to-back championships.

The fourth season of the comedy-drama, which has been on hiatus since 2023, is due to premiere Aug. 5.

“As much as we’ve loved football before we got started, I’ve grown to love it more as we got more immersed in the soc-

Argentina faces Switzerland

“As much as we’ve loved football before we got started, I’ve grown to love it more as we got more immersed in the soccer culture.”

Jason Sudeikis

That includes riverfront CPKC Stadium, the home of the National Women’s Soccer League club Kansas City Current. It’s the rst of its size built speci cally for a women’s professional club, and a tting locale for several thousand people to attend a watch party, given that the new season of “Ted Lasso” will focus on the newly formed AFC Richmond women’s team.

cer culture,” said Sudeikis, who grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and still has a deep a nity for the city.

In fact, many of the scenes in the new season of “Ted Lasso” were shot around Kansas City.

It was a concept that the character Keeley Jones — played by the award-winning Juno Temple — subtly pitched at the end of the third season, when it was still unclear whether “Ted Lasso” would return for another run.

“It feels like a perfect moment to be talking about wom-

‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ author Kadono still believes in magic of books at 91

The series in original Japanese spans six books and three spino s

By Yuri Kageyama

The Associated Press

KAMAKURA, Japan — Eiko Kadono, the author behind Japan’s most famous — and almost certainly most beloved — literary witch, has a little trouble going up the stairs these days.

At 91, she’s still writing every day and hasn’t stopped loving the color pink, dressing up or believing in the magic of books.

“Kiki’s Delivery Service,” which was rst published in 1985 and turned into a 1989 animated lm by Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, is among 200 books she has written.

“I never tire of writing,” she told The Associated Press at her home in the picturesque seaside town of Kamakura, south of Tokyo.

With a little pink gate, the house is lled with books, pink chairs and her collection of animal gures.

“I’m probably a child at heart,” Kadono says with a small laugh. “I love to write”

These days, she uses a keyboard, punching the keys slowly, one at a time. But when she is creating a story, it still all starts with writing by hand. She also draws pictures. “I want to write so that the reader can visualize what I am writing,” she said. “I love to write.”

Still quick with her retorts, laughs and thoughts, Kadono shrugs o how she’s wearing a wig. She doesn’t understand why people might want to hide that. She wears red lipstick and acts a bit shy about her wrinkles.

Still, her writing hasn’t basically changed over the years.

Though when she looks back on her past writing, she feels it’s wordier than her current crisp style.

“Kiki and the New Magic”

Now, the second in the series, “Kiki and the New Magic,” is set

en’s football, and representing it — not that I play, obviously,” said Temple, who sported a teal Kansas City Current jersey Saturday. “So that’s rst and foremost. I hope that’s something people really treasure. And I also hope people enjoy the journey each of the characters are going on.”

As for the World Cup, the cast hopes fans of the show have become fans of the game over the years. That has certainly been the case in the Sudeikis household; he played a little soccer as a kid before realizing basketball was more his game.

“I’ve certainly heard from some people that didn’t care about soccer at all until they started to watch ‘Ted Lasso,’” said Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard and is one of the show’s writers. He re ected on the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994.

“As opposed to 1994 when we had the World Cup and people knew even less about soccer, including me, people were ready for it,” Hunt said. “Yes, the world has come with this great energy, but we were more ready to be aware of their presence and reciprocate energy.”

for release in August in English, translated by Emily Balistrieri and illustrated by Yuta Onoda. Kadono, who won the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018, never set out to become a writer. She was basically a housewife, married to a designer and raising a daughter. She lived in Brazil for two years during her 30s and was asked to write about that experience. That’s when she discovered she liked writing as a fun thing to do, not as a job. It was certainly not something she was ordered or pushed to do.

The character of the sprightly, no-nonsense Kiki was inspired by a drawing her daughter did when she was 12: A cute witch was ying on a broomstick toward the moon.

Kadono decided to create a coming-of-age story about a little witch who goes on an adventure, traveling with her black cat Jiji.

The rest is history.

Books bring creation, imagination

Kadono hopes there will be a continuous ux of talented writers of children’s books so that the future generation can grow up to love books.

Now is a crucial period, she believes, that may decide whether that can really happen. The walks in the woods and other activities that captured the imagination of children of the past no longer exist, said Kadono. There are other digital and modern diversions.

And so, they must read.

AYAKA MCGILL / AP PHOTO

Eiko Kadono, the author of “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” poses for photos in Kamakura, Japan, on June 22.

ASHLEY LANDIS / AP PHOTO

Jason Sudeikis stands on the eld ahead of the World Cup quarter nal soccer match between Argentina and Switzerland in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday.

famous birthdays this week

Will Ferrell is 59, singer Kim Carnes hits 81, Kannapolis native George Clinton turns 85

The Associated Press THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.

JULY 16

International Tennis Hall of Famer Margaret Court is 84. Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is 78. Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 78. Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 74. Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 59. Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is 58. Actor Corey Feldman is 55.

JULY 17

Former sportscaster Verne Lundquist is 86. Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom is 79. Rock musician Terry “Geezer” Butler is 77. Actor Lucie Arnaz is 75. Actor David Hasselho is 74. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is 72.

JULY 18

Olympic gold medal gure skater Tenley Albright is 91. Movie director Paul Verhoeven is 88. Singer Dion DiMucci is 87. Actor James Brolin is 86. Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Torre is 86. Singer Martha Reeves is 85. Musician Ricky Skaggs is 72.

JULY 19

Civil rights activist and educator Rachel Robinson, widow of baseball’s Jackie Robinson, is 104. Blues singer-musician Little Freddie King is 86. Singer-musician Alan Gorrie (Average White Band) is 80. Rock musician Brian May (Queen) is 79. Actor Campbell Scott is 65.

JULY 20

Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Oliva is 88. Artist Judy Chicago is 87. Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 82. Singer Kim Carnes is 81. Rock musician Carlos Santana is 79. Rock musician Paul Cook (Sex Pistols) is 70.

JULY 21

Singer Yusuf Islam (also known as Cat Stevens) is 78. Author Michael Connelly is 70. Comedian Jon Lovitz is 69. Retired soccer player Brandi Chastain is 58. Actor-singer Charlotte Gainsbourg is 55.

JULY 22

Singer George Clinton is 85. Movie writer-director Paul Schrader is 80. Actor Danny Glover is 80. Singer Mireille Mathieu is 80. Actor-comedian-director Albert Brooks is 79. Rock singer Don Henley is 79. Author S.E. Hinton is 78. Jazz musician Al Di Meola is 72. Actor Willem Dafoe is 71.

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP PHOTO

Actor and musician Corey Feldman turns 55 Thursday.

DAMIAN DOVARGANES / AP PHOTO Motown singer Martha Reeves turns 85 Saturday.

PAUL R. GIUNTA / INVISION / AP PHOTO Carlos Santana turns 79 Monday.

‘Heartstopper Forever,’ ‘Lucky,’ ‘Marc by So a,’ Steve Lacy

Will Ferrell plays golf in “The Hawk” on Net ix

The Associated Press

A NEW ALBUM from Steve Lacy and the conclusion of the “Heartstopper” series are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: “Lucky,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, the game “D-topia” and “The Hawk,” which stars Will Ferrell as a gol ng great well past his prime.

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

Net ix’s popular series “Heartstopper” concludes with a feature lm nale, “Heartstopper Forever,” streaming Friday on Net ix. The lm, written by “Heartstopper” creator and graphic novelist Alice Oseman, follows the Season 3 ending in which Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) take their relationship to a new level. New challenges await, though, as Nick considers what university he’ll attend.

So a Coppola pro les fashion designer Marc Jacobs in “Marc by So a” (Thursday on HBO Max). The lm, largely shot as Jacobs prepares to unveil a ready-to-wear collection, marks a documentary rst for Coppola, the lmmaker of “Lost in Translation” and “The Bling Ring.” Christian Petzold’s “Miroirs No. 3” (Mubi on Friday), one of the standouts of the rst half of 2026, is about a piano student (Paula Beer) who, following a car accident, rehabilitates in the rural home of an older woman (Barbara Auer) who lives near where the crash happened. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle called the lm “beguiling and restorative.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

In 2022, he was inescap -

able. Lacy’s “Bad Habit” was a hit, anchored by its surprising — and addictive — self-e acing

hook: “I wish I knew you wanted me.” On Friday, the alt-R&B talent, formerly of the group the Internet, will release a new album titled “Oh yeah?” It’s a pop progression, from the dreamy collaboration with SZA, “Is It Cool?” to the ambitious “The Feeling.”

The Colombian Canadian artist Lido Pimienta is no stranger to pushing boundaries; it is why she is frequently compared to Björk and Natalia Lafourcade in equal measure. On Friday she will release “Caribenya,” a portmanteau of “Caribe” and the elusive Irish singer

“‘Miroirs

“Enya.” The title should provide a framework in which to experience this work: It’s at the intersection of her cumbia and DIY roots, as well as her ever-expanding, anti-colonial sonic experimentations.

SERIES TO STREAM

Robert Irwin won Season 34 of “Dancing with the Stars,” and now he’s the host of “The Next Pro,” where 12 dancers compete to be a pro in its next season. Mark Ballas, a three-time Mirrorball champ, is a judge alongside his mother, Shirley Ballas, winner of many Latin dance competitions and renowned instructor and British TV personality. A third spot at the judges’ table will feature rotating guests

including Derek Hough, Witney Carson and Jenna Johnson. The show is streaming now on Hulu. What would you do if you had a winning lottery ticket that you couldn’t cash in? Taylor-Joy plays Lucky, a con artist with that conundrum in a new Apple TV series of the same name. The winnings would give Lucky a chance at a new life, but both the feds and her crime boss are on her trail. Reese Witherspoon, who chose the novel for her book club in 2021, is an executive producer. The rst two episodes are now streaming. Ferrell plays Lonnie Hawkins, No. 1 golfer — of 2004. Present day, though, the wear and tear of years on the course is showing. His ex-wife and son, golf’s latest hotshot, think the game is over and he should retire. Lonnie refuses to go out as anything but great — he’s just got to win one more major to complete a career Grand Slam. Molly Shannon, Jimmy Tatro, Fortune Feimster, Luke Wilson and Chris Parnell round out the cast. “The Hawk” premieres Thursday on Net ix.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

“Culdcept Begins” represents the return of a cult classic that’s been absent from consoles for too long. It’s a mashup of two popular kinds of tabletop games. One is a board game, like Monopoly, in which you roll dice, move and claim property. The other is a collectible card game, like Magic: The Gathering, in which you use your deck to summon creatures, cast spells or deploy weapons. If you land on a space that an opponent has already claimed, the battle is on. With ever-changing boards and more than 400 cards, you can indulge in a challenging solo campaign or play online against friends. Cut the deck Thursday on Switch.

“D-topia” looks like it might be a nice place to live. After all, it’s a place where “life is curated by arti cial intelligence to maximize happiness.” But machines break down sometimes, and your job as a facilitator is to x them. You may run into some human residents who aren’t entirely happy in this mellow but bland town. And once you discover the hidden “Block Side,” you may reveal some unsavory secrets. Publisher Annapurna Interactive describes it as “a calm, yet thought-provoking journey” in which your choices may lead to joy or despair. Check in on PlayStation 5,

or PC.

Xbox X/S, Switch

COLLEEN E. HAYES / NETFLIX VIA AP

Will Ferrell plays golfer Lonnie Hawkins in “The Hawk.”

ALESSANDRA TARANTINO / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Director So a Coppola, left, and designer Marc Jacobs pose for photographers on the red carpet for the lm “Marc by So a” during the 82nd Venice Film Festival in 2025.

JESSICA BROOKS / APPLE TV VIA AP

Anya Taylor-Joy portrays a con artist in “Lucky” on Apple TV.

No. 3’ is beguiling and restorative.”

Jake Coyle, AP lm writer

Duplin Journal

the BRIEF this week

NCDOT begins

U.S. 117 repairs

Magnolia

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has begun roadway repairs along U.S. 117 from Powell Street to North Street in Magnolia. The project includes removing tree roots a ecting the roadway and completing any necessary curb repairs associated with the work. The repairs are part of NCDOT’s Highway Maintenance Improvement Plan for 2027.

Riverbank restoration funds receive extension

Additional time has been granted to Duplin County to use funds allocated for the Northeast Cape Fear Riverbank restoration project. Under the Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2026, the funds will return to the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Reserve only if they remain unspent or unencumbered by June 30, 2027.

Judicial district changes coming in 2027

A new District Court district will be created beginning Jan. 1, 2027, changing the county’s current judicial boundaries. The newly established District Court District 5A will include Jones, Onslow, Sampson and Duplin counties, and it will be authorized to have 10 judges. Future judicial elections will be held according to the updated district boundaries.

Villari Food Group receives $800K agricultural grant

Villari Food Group LLC in Duplin County has received an $800,000 grant through the North Carolina Agricultural Manufacturing and Processing Initiative. The grant is part of $3.9 million awarded by Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler to support meat processors and other agricultural projects across the state. The funding is intended to expand in-state processing capacity and strengthen the supply chain.

Airport funding redirected for capital improvements

A $1.5 million allocation for the Duplin County Airport has been redirected for capital improvements, equipment, airpark enhancements or access improvements adjacent to the airport. The change comes through the 2026 Current Operations Appropriations Act, which funds state government for the 2026-27 scal year.

Storms leave trail of downed trees across Duplin

Strong thunderstorms moved through Duplin County last Friday, bringing gusty winds that knocked down trees and blocked roadways across parts of the county. Emergency crews responded to reports of storm damage, including multiple trees down, as winds from the storms reached up to 50 mph. See more on page B6.

Chief deputy enters sheri ’s race as write-in candidate

Charles Weaver says the agency’s greatest strength is the people serving it

By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE — In a signi cant shift in the Duplin County sheri ’s race, Chief

vestigations have continued without disruption.

Deputy Charles Weaver has ofcially entered the contest as a certi ed write-in candidate, positioning himself as a candidate of stability following Sheri Stratton Stokes’ resignation and the leadership transition.

A 28-year veteran of the agency, Weaver was recommended by the former sheri to oversee daily operations until the election and ensure no disruption in services during the transition.

Weaver also said he has reassigned administrative responsibilities following recent sta turnover to ensure o ce functions remain fully sta ed without placing additional demands on deputies assigned to frontline public safety duties.

“My priority since Sheri Stokes asked me to serve as chief deputy has been making sure the public doesn’t feel any disruption in the services this o ce provides,” said Weaver, adding that patrol coverage, response times and ongoing in-

Tensions are in Mount Olive

A series of disputes dominated Monday’s meeting

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

MOUNT OLIVE — Mayor Pro Tem Delreese Simmons accused Town Manager Octavious Murphy of violating town policy and state statutes during the

Mount Olive Town Board meeting Monday evening.

Simmons’ rst comments about Murphy’s actions came early in the meeting when the mayor asked for a vote to approve the evening’s agenda.

Simmons made a motion to add an item to the agenda.

“We want to know whenever our town manager is doing something,” Simmons said. “We want to know in advance

The developer says market-rate apartments could rent for about $1,600 per month

By Curt Simpson For Duplin Journal

what’s going on because things is happening.” Simmons went on to say he wanted the added agenda item to include a vote requiring Murphy to send copies of all email correspondence to the board and requiring at least two commissioners to be present at all meetings, including those with state advisers on the town’s wastewater moratorium.

In a split vote, the board ap -

two- and three-bedroom apartments in three-story buildings. The development will be located between Wilmington Court Apartments and Southwest Railroad Street, across from Wallace Rehab and Healthcare Center. The parcel is heavily wooded and thick with kudzu vines. The development will feature a dog park, playground, a half-mile walking trail around the property’s perimeter, re hydrants and security cameras. Medvetz said the project is expected to take 14 to 16 months to complete once construction begins. Councilman Glenn Price asked whether the apartments would be subsidized. Medvetz said they would be market-rate units, with two-bedroom apartments expected to rent for about $1,600 per month at current market rates. Price also asked about security, and $2.00

WALLACE — The Wallace Town Council took major steps toward expanding the town’s housing stock last Thursday, approving a special use permit for a 96-unit apartment community and rezoning property for a separate 120-unit development. Following a quasi-judicial public hearing with no opposition, the council unanimously approved Wallace Crossing, a market-rate apartment community proposed by Wallace Railroad Station LLC. The company is owned by Raleigh multifamily developer David Medvetz, who said he has worked in the multifamily housing industry for 35 years. Wallace Crossing will include 96

“My job right now is to keep this o ce steady, accountable and focused on public safety through the general election,” Weaver told Duplin Journal.

Weaver said his decision to run was not a long-held political ambition but a response to

proved adding the item to the agenda. Commissioner Gena Knode voted against the motion. Commissioner C.J. Weaver was not present at the meeting and requested the board grant him an excused absence, which they did.

When the issue came up later in the meeting, the board voted to approve Simmons’ motion. In a separate issue, Simmons questioned Murphy’s handling of the promotion of four town employees to superintendent positions in their departments.

Jim Sills VP of Local Newspapers

Ena Sellers News Editor Michael Jaenicke Sports Editor

Patsy Teachey Advertising Representative

Loretta Carey

O ce Manager CONTACT US

O ce Phone: 910 463-1240

To place a legal ad: 919 663-3232; Fax: 919 663-4042

Historic drought persists as Duplin battles wild res

Dry conditions and above-normal temperatures have left vegetation vulnerable while re ghters continue containing two blazes

By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal

AS FIREFIGHTERS continue responding to two Duplin County wild res that burned nearly 700 acres near Rose Hill and Chinquapin, the county continues to experience one of its driest years on record. More than 72% of Duplin County was classi ed in extreme drought (D3) as of July 9 after receiving 10.33 inches less rainfall than normal during the driest rst half of a year in 132 years, according to the NOAA National Weather Service’s U.S. Drought Mon-

itor. The prolonged lack of rainfall and persistent heat have dried vegetation across the county, creating conditions that can allow wild res to spread more quickly.

The larger of the two res was reported July 8 near Pope Road, Corinth Church Road and Earl Davis Road west of Rose Hill. As of Tuesday, the North Carolina Forest Service reported the re had burned approximately 529 acres and was 50% contained.

Duplin County Public Safety o cials said re ghters faced di cult conditions as low relative humidity, strong winds and shifting wind directions caused the re to spread unpredictably through thick brush. Crews from numerous local and state agencies worked to contain the blaze and protect homes and property. As a precaution, multiple residents were evacuated from areas threatened by the re, and the Rose Hill Fire De-

partment opened its station to provide temporary shelter for residents displaced during the incident.

A second wild re on Chicken Farm Lane near Chinquapin reported earlier this month burned about 164 acres. As of Tuesday, the re was 90% contained, according to the North Carolina Forest Service.

The Nine Mile Volunteer Fire Department said the Chicken Farm Lane re was started by a lightning strike, illustrating how drought conditions can allow a single ignition source to quickly develop into a signi cant wild re.

O cials cautioned that wild res can continue to smolder for extended periods during severe drought, even after rainfall. While recent storms have provided some relief, Duplin County remains under extreme drought conditions, and dry vegetation continues to pose an elevated wild re risk.

encouragement from the community as residents urged him to run.

“For 28 years, my job has been to serve this county — on patrol, in investigations and now as chief deputy — and that’s what I intended to keep doing,” said Weaver. “But after Sheri Stokes asked me to step into that role, people across Duplin County began asking me to run for sheri .

“I learned a write-in candidacy was still possible before Aug. 1, and after weighing that decision carefully … I chose to run.”

Weaver has served nearly three decades with the sheri ’s o ce, working as a dispatcher, patrol deputy, narcotics detective and SRT commander. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

In an interview with Duplin Journal, Weaver directly addressed criticism from Republican nominee Eric Southerland, particularly regarding o ce culture and sta ng.

While Southerland has alleged there is a “mindset of complacency” among current leadership, Weaver argued the issue is one of resources, not attitude.

“Leadership sets the tone for an o ce … not something you

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: community@ duplinjournal.com

point to only when it’s convenient,” said Weaver. “Our leadership is on calls. Our leadership is in the eld, working alongside the deputies who serve this county every day. If there is evidence of a complacency problem, I’d welcome anyone to bring it forward — because what I see on the ground doesn’t match that description. I don’t believe the answer is a di erent mindset. It’s a di erent follow-through.”

Responding to claims that administrative sta work business hours while patrol is understa ed, Weaver said administrative personnel routinely work beyond normal business hours and often assist with operational duties.

“The idea that administrative sta simply work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and go home doesn’t re ect how this o ce actually runs,” said Weaver. “Our captains and lieutenants regularly stay over or pick up shifts in the jail on top of their administrative duties. Other captains — including our narcotics investigators — are out in the eld, not behind a desk. Our administrative captain alone handles meetings, eet management, purchase orders, records and compliance for this entire o ce — and still nds time to help with transport, patrol coverage and other opera-

“I

follow-through.”

Charles Weaver

tional needs as they come up.”

While some administrative positions require o ce hours to manage records and compliance, he said no administrative o cer is unwilling to step into operational roles when needed. He characterized sta ng as an agencywide challenge rather than one isolated to patrol, saying the sheri ’s o ce depends on employees working across division lines.

“Sta ng is a real challenge, and it deserves a real answer, not a talking point,” said Weaver. “This o ce runs on people pitching in across division lines … and that’s the standard I intend to hold as sheri .”

Weaver said he would retain and develop existing leadership rather than make sweeping personnel changes.

“The administrative sta currently in place are experienced, trained o cers who have invested years of service in this county,” Weaver told Duplin Journal. “That experi-

ence isn’t something I intend to dismantle — it’s something I intend to build on.”

Weaver said his leadership philosophy emphasizes communication, teamwork and continuity. Instead of restructuring the command sta , he said he would focus on restoring a collaborative leadership model in which every division works together.

“Creating a clear path for capable, up-and-coming supervisors to grow into administrative roles isn’t just about lling positions — it’s about building depth in this command structure for the long term, so that leadership is distributed and prepared, not concentrated in only a few hands,” said Weaver. “This isn’t about changing leadership for the sake of change. It’s about strengthening the experience already here while building a clear path for the next generation of leaders to step up.”

As a write-in candidate, Weaver’s name will not appear on the printed ballot. Supporters must manually write his name in the designated space on the ballot. His candidacy has already gained traction, with the Board of Elections verifying 205 signatures, far exceeding the 100-signature threshold required for certi cation.

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Duplin County.

July 18

Moth Night 2026

8:30-11 p.m.

The Cowan Museum of History and Science in Kenansville will host Moth Night 2026. The event allows visitors to observe and learn about local moth species.

411 S. Main St., Kenansville

July 21

Cedar Fork Community Club Meeting

7 p.m.

The Cedar Fork Community Club meets monthly to discuss community activities and local support e orts.

1412 Cedar Fork Road, Beulaville

Aug. 1

Backstreet Music Festival

10 a.m.

The Backstreet Music Festival will bring a full day of entertainment for all ages, featuring live performances spanning R&B, Gospel, GoGo and Southern Soul music, along with dance groups, local vendors and family-friendly activities. Attendees can enjoy arts and crafts, a fashion show, cornhole and volleyball tournaments, and music by DJ Flash from 2-8 p.m. For more information, call 910-616-7173.

208 SW Railroad St., Wallace

Level Up Summer Fest

9 a.m. to noon

The Union Missionary Baptist Church’s Level Up Summer Fest will bring together fun, wellness and community resources with activities for all ages. The event will feature face painting, bounce houses, food, games, music, mental health conversations, community resources and more.

147 Rock Bottom Road, Wallace

Aug. 8

In ataFest comes to Duplin

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In ataFest, an event featuring bounce houses, slides and obstacle courses, is coming to the Duplin Events Center. The event will include in atable attractions, family activities and concessions. Admission is $20 for children ages 3 and older, while adults are admitted free. Groups of 20 or more children can purchase tickets for $15 each.

195 Fairgrounds Drive Kenansville

Beulaville receives funding approval for crosswalk, sewer projects

Town o cials also discuss water line replacements and wastewater repairs

By Rebecca Whitman Cooke For Duplin Journal

BEULAVILLE — Beulaville received approval for a $600,000 crosswalk project and a sewer extension during its July town board meeting.

Town Manager Lori Williams shared that a USDA grant was approved for the crosswalk project at the intersection of N.C. 41 and N.C. 24, which will include improvements at all four stops of the intersection. A construction timeline has not yet been established.

Williams also shared that the state approved a sewer extension for the C&D Farms development and 18 additional houses will be added to the project, bringing the total to 42 units.

The town is also moving forward with water connection improvements after receiving a state grant to survey connec-

tions for lead and copper. Water connections at 120 homes were surveyed, with 19 connections identi ed as “replacement worthy.” The town is continuing to investigate 58 connections where the status remains unknown.

“Grant money will be available to help pay for the replacements,” Williams said.

During public comments, a new nonpro t organization shared information about its services in Snow Hill. Beverly Walcox of Heart’s Hope Women’s Pregnancy Center, located at 884 N.C. 421, shared with the board that the nonpro t provides “pregnancy support, baby supplies, and maternity services to both pregnant women and young moms with children up to two years old.”

Mayor Hutch Jones asked if there was anything the town could do to help and encouraged them to connect with the East Duplin Christian Outreach headquartered in Beulaville. Board members asked for information about making donations and spreading

“Grant money will be available to help pay for the replacements,”

Town Manager Lori Williams on water connection improvements

the word about the available services.

The board also discussed options for Christmas banners, noting a 12-to-14-week lead time is required for ordering.

“We know we want them to say ‘Merry Christmas,’ and there are some design options with that,” Williams said. “We need to order by mid-August.”

The board planned to review options and make a decision at its August meeting.

Chief of Police Karl Mobley shared that Beulaville Police made 19 arrests in June involving wanted persons and narcotics o enses.

Code Enforcement O cer Jamie Rogers reported the town is addressing uninhabited prop -

erties and managing bulk trash pickups. One speci c zoning issue involves a property on N.C. 24 that resembles a “junkyard,” which is not permitted in that zoning district. A letter was sent to the owner requiring a fence to camou age the equipment. Rogers said many residents took advantage of bulk trash pickup.

In new business, the board discussed renewing a contract for CPA services with Beverly Stroud.

Though her contract allows for a maximum of $18,000, the town only utilized about $7,000 of her services in the previous year.

The board also adopted a resolution continuing the Section 125 cafeteria plan, which allows employees to pay for supplemental insurance through payroll deduction at no cost to the town.

“Fifty percent or more of our employees are participating in it,” Williams said.

The board authorized Town Attorney Justin Hunter to move forward with foreclosure proceedings for a vacant proper-

ty at 406 W. Church St. The property has been vacant for three years with no communication from the deceased owner’s estate.

“The town is in the third year of paying for the property with no word from the family,” Williams said.

The board discussed how the house was removed and the lot was too small for development, making it primarily bene cial to adjacent property owners. The board approved moving forward with foreclosure procedures.

It was noted that a buyer at a tax foreclosure sale would take the property “free and clear of the town’s tax.”

The board also renewed the contract with the town’s social media consultant Tracy Sanderson. She was credited with increasing website tra c and facilitating the move to online registrations and payments. The board discussed the possibility of future convenience fees for credit card payments to oset merchant costs.

“She’s been very versatile; she’s never told us ‘no’ to something we wanted to do,” Jones praised Sanderson.

The annual town audit is scheduled to begin July 24. The N.C. Department of Transportation is also planning a pavement project for Jason Street this fall.

Kenansville town manager announces plans to leave

Commissioners hear updates on water loss, police grants and recreation programs

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE — Town

Manager Anna West announced in a resignation letter that she will leave her position e ective Jan. 2. Her announcement came during the Kenansville Town Board’s regular monthly meeting July 7.

“I have included my letter of departure even though it says resignation,” West told the board. “I don’t say I’m retiring because I’m not that old, and I’m not resigning because I did nothing wrong. It’s not an easy decision. It’s not time to go, but it’s past time to pass the torch to someone else.”

The board had two members absent at the meeting but met the required quorum. The three commissioners there were reluctant to make a motion to accept West’s letter of resignation, so Commissioner Linda Tyson made the gesture, using it as an opportunity to show

WALLACE from page A1

Medvetz said surveillance cameras will be installed throughout the development and on the construction site.

Addressing ooding concerns from nearby Rock sh Creek, Medvetz said the building pads will be elevated and that sufcient drainage is planned for normal conditions.

“If we have another Hurricane Florence, then we’ll be ling an insurance claim, but be-

Kenansville Town Manager Anna West, right, explains to the board her decision to leave her post at the rst of the year while Mayor Stephen Williams looks on.

West they were sad to see her go.

“I make a motion that we formally accept Anna West’s resignation letter to the town of Kenansville, e ective Jan. 2, 2028,” Tyson said, jokingly adding a year to West’s last day in her letter.

Tyson’s motion brought laughs, and the board eventually voted to accept West’s departure.

After the vote, West shared that recent compliments on the new playground at Kenan Park were greatly appreciated. She referred to the new playground of-

yond that there’s nothing we can do,” he said.

Haywood Newkirk, owner of Newkirk Valuation and Consulting Services in Wilmington, testi ed in support of the project. Newkirk, who said he has appraised thousands of apartment units during his career, praised the site’s access to water and sewer service, stormwater management plan and tra c access.

“In my experience this is an excellent site for this to be located,” Newkirk said.

ten as her “baby.” She was responsible for lining up more than $500,000 in donations to build the project.

West also said her family had been to the beach for the weekend. She said to her grandson that she hadn’t been invited.

“Grandma, there’s a reason for that,” he said.

“Let me guess. I was working,” West said she replied.

“Yeah, Granny. You’re busy.”

“I think that was God talking through a 9-year-old,” West said

Newkirk said the development’s location about six blocks from downtown Wallace would encourage residents to walk to local businesses, add an estimated $5 million to the town’s tax base and increase activity at downtown shops and restaurants.

No one spoke in opposition to the project. The Wallace Planning Board previously recommended approval unanimously, and the town council approved the special use permit unanimously after Price made the

to the board, referring to her timing in leaving her position.

Kenansville Mayor Stephen Williams told Duplin Journal that while he was sad to see her leave, “I am happy for Anna as she pursues her next endeavors. Having known her for a long time, I really enjoyed working with her to further the town of Kenansville.”

In other business, West reported that an incident at James Sprunt Community College had resulted in some water loss for the town. She said roots from a tree stump had wrapped around an 8-inch re protection water line, causing damage to the line when the stump was being removed. The incident resulted in a 160,000-gallon water loss.

Kenansville Police Chief Jackie Benton reported that the police department had received a partial grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission to replace the in-vehicle cameras in police vehicles. Benton added they should have word in the next 30 days regarding another grant that could give them the funds to replace all the in-vehicle cameras in late fall or the rst of next year.

Courtney Brown, the town’s

motion and Councilman Frank Brinkley seconded it.

The council also unanimously approved a rezoning request for an 8-acre parcel on Old Wilmington Road, where Medvetz is proposing a separate 120-unit apartment community under the name It’s All R’s LLC.

The wooded property currently sits between two mobile home parks. The development would be screened by a landscaped berm.

A quasi-judicial hearing for a special use permit is scheduled

parks and recreation director, told the board there were several sports programs underway.

Brown said the baseball team had been advancing in the state playo s and were headed to Mount Pleasant on July 10-14.

“We’re super proud of them,” she said. “They’ve really showed a lot of sportsmanship and they’ve practiced hard.”

Brown added that volleyball has started for the season and the department is hosting a softball camp July 18 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. She said 50 kids had already signed up for the event. She mentioned other events upcoming are a football camp July 25, as well as soccer and signups for ag football.

Brown said the department was exploring redoing the entrance to the concession area at Kenan Park in order to host morning co ee and croissants for seniors, plus having puzzles, games and cards available.

Williams responded that a survey had been conducted some time before Brown joined the sta and that her ideas had been mentioned in that survey.

“So thank you for that,” Williams said.

for the council’s Aug. 13 meeting. Medvetz said construction on the Old Wilmington Road project is expected to take 18 to 24 months once the project receives approval, although he is pursuing an adjacent parcel that could allow the development to be expanded and help keep rent more a ordable.

Mayor Jason Wells and Price said investment in that area would improve the appearance and contribute to the beauti cation of the Old Wilmington Road area.

MARK GRADY FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | DENNIS BERWYN

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Patients deserve transparency and accountability in North Carolina’s hospital system

The 340B Drug Pricing Program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines.

NORTH CAROLINA families shouldn’t have to guess what their healthcare will cost or whether they’re getting a fair deal. But too often, that’s exactly where people nd themselves: navigating a system where prices vary widely, transparency is limited and accountability can feel just out of reach.

At the center of this challenge is a trend that has quietly reshaped healthcare across the country: hospital consolidation.

Over the past two decades, hospitals have steadily joined larger systems, often with the goal of improving coordination and expanding access to care. Those are important goals. But the reality for many patients, especially those in rural communities, has been more complicated. Research continues to show that when markets become more concentrated, prices often rise and choices become more limited. New consolidation e orts in North Carolina raise real questions about what this means for patients, taxpayers and local communities.

When competition declines, patients lose. And too often, families and employers end up paying the price.

We’re seeing the e ects here in North Carolina. Wide di erences in hospital prices and real gaps in price transparency make it harder for patients and employers to plan ahead or even know if they’ve been treated fairly.

And it’s not just about confusion. It’s about trust — trust that the system is working as intended and that patients are bene ting from it.

One clear example is the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This federal program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines. Eligible hospitals and clinics can buy outpatient medicines at steep discounts with the understanding that those savings should support

patient care and community needs.

That goal and the 340B program are worth preserving. But over time, the program has expanded dramatically without consistent transparency or clear requirements for reporting how those savings are used. In too many cases, patients have no way to know whether discounted medicines are actually lowering their costs or improving access to care.

In North Carolina, data shows that some hospitals participating in 340B have charged far more than the discounted price they paid for certain medications. At the same time, there is no consistent requirement that those savings be passed directly to patients or clearly tied to improving patient access or a ordability. When that’s combined with continued hospital consolidation, it raises serious questions about whether the program is serving patients as Congress intended.

This highlights something else worth paying attention to: incentives matter. As hospitals grow larger and acquire new facilities, they can expand their use of programs like 340B. Over time, that dynamic can reward consolidation, reduce competition and make an already complicated healthcare system harder for families to understand.

Supporting hospitals and standing up for patients should not be in con ict. We can, and should, do both.

That starts with greater transparency so patients can understand prices before they receive care. It means clearer standards and accountability so programs designed to help vulnerable populations actually deliver on that promise. It also means practical federal reforms that protect legitimate safety-net providers while closing loopholes that allow the program to drift away from patients.

The Trump administration is taking one encouraging step by continuing to pursue

AOC should thank baby boomers for the world they left her

The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ says she knows why socialism is on the rise: Blame it on the boomers.

“Millennials and Gen Z combined, now for the rst time, are eclipsing the number of baby boomers,” she explained recently. “Young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world we’ve been left.”

It’s inarguable that younger generations feel this way. The notion that millennials and Generation Z are toiling in a uniquely grueling economic era, however, is utterly delusional.

But convincing young people they’ve been handed a broken world only fostered an unprecedented sense of hopelessness. You are not victims of “oligarchs,” unfettered capitalism or any other imaginary monsters.

One of the most popular myths these days (you hear it from both sides all the time) is that the American middle class is being gutted. It’s simply not true. In 1980, 36% of American families were middle class.

Only 31% of Americans are still in the middle class because the upper middle class has grown from 10% of households to more than 30%. The middle class is shrinking because the upper middle class is expanding.

Real median income has not only grown across all classes over the past 40 years but has zoomed past the rest of the Western world. The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

That’s a pretty remarkable economic

inheritance. Just ask the soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.

Another big grievance of younger people is that housing has become far too expensive. It’s a genuine concern. But ownership rates are no lower today than they were in the ’60s, ’70s or ’90s, and most of the 1980s. The homeownership rate in 1980 was 65.5%. In 2025, it was 65.4%. Rates temporarily spiked through the 2000s when government policy incentivized millions to “buy” houses they couldn’t a ord with no money down.

Housing shortages are driven by the laws of physics. It’s not the boomers’ fault that too many people want to live in and around major urban areas.

You also wonder if the average Gen Zer understands that the environment is in nitely cleaner today than it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

There has been widespread reforesting and wetland restoration. There is far less litter. Air quality is drastically cleaner, as is water. When boomers started driving, gas was leaded, and most cars didn’t even have catalytic converters. Gen X grew up worried about things called “nuclear winter” and “acid rain.”

An average household spends on clothing and food a fraction of what their grandparents did. And yet, they also have substantially more choices, including international and nutritious fare.

It’s true that healthcare costs have risen. Some of it can be attributed to bad policy. Most of it re ects prosperity, as younger Americans will generally enjoy longer life expectancy and better care than any generation before them.

the recent federal 340B rebate pilot, which o ers a measured way to add veri cation and accountability before discounts are nalized. Done correctly, that approach can help con rm that a prescription is eligible, reduce duplicate discounts, create a clearer data trail and bring more discipline to the program without changing which hospitals or clinics qualify for 340B. Just as important, it focuses on solving problems up front rather than relying on slower, after-the-fact e orts to untangle errors once the money has already moved.

That is the kind of commonsense reform conservatives should support: limited, practical, focused on accountability and respectful of both taxpayers and patients.

Just as importantly, we have to recognize where responsibility for reform truly sits. Programs like 340B are federal by design, and Congress should lead.

A patchwork of state-level xes risks creating more inconsistency and less accountability, failing to provide the clarity and consistency patients deserve.

North Carolina has always valued fairness, personal responsibility, competition and looking out for one another. Bringing more transparency and accountability to our healthcare system is simply an extension of those values.

At the end of the day, patients should come rst, and families should be able to trust the healthcare system they rely on. Congress should act now to strengthen 340B through clear federal reforms that restore transparency, protect taxpayers, preserve the safety net and ensure the program nally works the way it was intended: for patients.

Dennis Berwyn is vice chair of the Wake Republican Men and vice president of the Central Region of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Men.

Big Pharma, one of the industries reviled by Ocasio-Cortez and her allies, keeps coming up with ways to keep people with once-deadly diseases alive. None of it is cheap. Yet.

When Ocasio-Cortez rst won her congressional seat, Time magazine writer Charlotte Alter wrote a glowing pro le of the socialist newcomer, explaining that her “adulthood was de ned by nancial crisis, debt and climate change. No wonder she and her peers are moving left.”

Since Ocasio-Cortez turned 18 in 2007, there have been only two negative growth years in the United States, one of them due to a worldwide pandemic. From 1970 to 2007, there was, on average, a negative or recessionary year every three to four years. Americans worked through recessions in 1928, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1980-81, 1990 and 2001 without turning to socialism. The only thing special about Ocasio-Cortez’s adulthood is that the recessions have become shorter and less severe. AOC is living in the golden age.

Boomers have failed on plenty of fronts, but being on the hook for a ridiculously expensive student loan on a useless degree isn’t one of the great tragedies to have befallen mankind. It’s just the consequence of choices. And most progressives want other people to pay for their choices.

There are plenty of serious problems — there always are — but historically speaking, by virtually every quanti able measure available, Americans are living in a uniquely wealthy and safe world. Ocasio- Cortez should be thanking baby boomers for the world they left her.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI

WRH custodian raises sta ng concerns

The board approved maintenance funding

By Rebecca Whitman Cooke For Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE — Car-

ol Newkirk, head custodian at Wallace-Rose Hill High School, addressed the Board of Education about sta ng concerns during its July meeting.

“We have only two custodians at Wallace-Rose Hill High School, and we started o this summer rough with one out sick and only one left: me,” Newkirk said.

“Can anyone in here imagine unloading, stripping, waxing and reloading 64 rooms, not counting the hallways and new board rooms at my school? I want my school to look good, but it’s time for a change.”

The promotions came with a 5% pay raise. Murphy had placed a proposal on the agenda to change town policy to prevent the raises from being granted until after a six-month probationary period.

In making the announcement about the promotions, Murphy said, “This is an exciting time for the town of Mount Olive. We have positioned ourselves to promote four of our individuals in current leadership positions to superintendents.”

Murphy said the promotions came at the beginning of the new scal year, meaning the employees would receive a 3% cost-of-living increase in addition to the 5% raise.

Simmons accused Murphy of violating the town policy.

“We’re doing this (voting on the policy change regarding probationary periods) because we’re put into a situation where we have to do this, not because we want to,” Simmons said.

Simmons also responded to Murphy’s comment that it was an exciting time for the town.

“We’re not in a great situation in town either, so let’s stop it,” Simmons said. “The situation is this: Our town manager elected to give positions out, and he gave them their pay raises.”

Murphy responded to Simmons’ comments by saying the town has not been following the personnel policy for some time, adding that allowing raises to take e ect with promotions provides an incentive for town employees.

Despite Simmons’ comments, the board voted to approve the change in personnel policy greenlighting Murphy’s actions.

Simmons again challenged Murphy during closing commissioner comments when he addressed how town checks were being signed. He said the signatures on the checks were not from the mayor or the town manager. Simmons said state statute requires the town manager to sign the checks or approve those who do sign them.

Murphy, who was appointed town manager earlier this year, admitted he did not assign the

“Can

anyone in here

imagine

unloading,

stripping, waxing and reloading 64 rooms, not counting the hallways and new board rooms at my school?”

Carol Newkirk

Newkirk asked the board to approve funding for a third custodial position at Wallace-Rose Hill High School. She also shared how a 10-month employee volunteered to help during the summer and that the school found a way to compensate him.

Board Vice Chairman Regi-

nald Kenan thanked Newkirk for coming forward.

“A lot of times you don’t know until someone comes and informs you. This is good information to have,” Kenan said.

As part of the consent agenda, the board approved contract renewals for services ahead of the new school year. The contracts included medical services, policy updates, textbook purchases and lawn maintenance.

Additionally, North Carolina Education Lottery Building Repair and Renovation Fund applications were approved totaling $119,000. The requests include $63,000 for door and hardware replacements at ve schools and $56,000 for carpet removal, ooring replacements and electrical circuits at four schools.

The board met brie y in closed session to discuss personnel matters. After returning to open session, members approved the superintendent’s personnel recommendations. With no other business or comments, the meeting was then adjourned.

AirPark project enters nal stretch

O cials report growing business interest

By Rebecca Whitman Cooke For Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE — Phase 1 of the AirPark project is in its nal stages, according to Executive Director Scotty Summerlin. During the July meeting of the Economic Development Commission Board, Summerlin said the contractor had “ nished most of the cosmetic changes” and that only a few areas remained.

“We are putting thenal change order together to nish out the contract, and we are hoping to have it all wrapped up before the August meeting,” Summerlin said. The project is expected to come in under budget, allowing for extra funds to be used in other projects.

Similarly, signage at the AirPark is almost complete.

“They just need to get power to the sign and do the landscaping,” Summerlin said.

The AirPark enhancement project is 90% complete, with an estimated $27,000 surplus identi ed that the board hopes to repurpose for additional county signage.

“We are looking to use it to help fund signage throughout the county,” he added. Phase 2 of the AirPark project is in the planning stage and transitioning to a di erent developer, Daniels and Daniels.

“We have the environmental permit cleared and the erosion control clearance. We are just waiting on the DOT for clari cation on a few things,” Summerlin said.

Shell buildings were also discussed.

“Now that the state budget has been approved, we are getting unbelievably busy with businesses looking at our properties.”

Board Member Carrie Shields

es of the options chosen for the homes.

“We went with agreeable gray for the interior with wood-tone ooring, light counters and matching cabinets. On the exterior, we went with shades of gray with white trim and black shutters,” Chambers explained.

The board discussed purchasing appliances for the homes and recommended specifying brands and models, with delivery and installation included. Because the purchase is expected to remain below the $50,000 bidding threshold and is already budgeted, a formal public bid process may not be required.

The board also suggested making the houses have colored front doors based on state colleges and carrying that decor theme throughout the homes.

The board discussed showing the shell buildings to interested parties, and they expressed the need to clarify state and local incentives to help negotiate sales.

“We have a working lease template and a lease rate to start conversations with interested parties,” Summerlin said.

“We want to know whenever our town manager is doing something.”

Delreese

Simmons, mayor pro tem

current check signers. In other business, the board voted to approve the sale of three acres of property adjacent to Carver Cemetery to local nonpro t ALDA Inc. and authorized the town attorney, Carroll Turner, to prepare and le the deed. Turner informed the board the deed could not be led until after a survey of the property is completed. He said ALDA Inc. had agreed to pay for the survey and the deed would be led upon its completion.

There were several responses to comments made by resident Sam Jones during the public comment period regarding deteriorating road conditions in some parts of town, including on Elmore Street. She said that holes had been lled with rocks, and those rocks were being thrown by passing vehicles and lawn mowers, striking and damaging vehicles.

Murphy said he had spoken with the contractor and

that those holes were going to be patched with asphalt, along with others throughout town, as early as next week. Jones said the patches do not last and the roads need to be repaved. Murphy said the list of roads needing to be paved would be discussed during the Board of Commissioners retreat scheduled for Sept. 23. Jones and Commissioner Harlie Carmichael made remarks during the meeting regarding excessive speeding taking place in town. Carmichael’s remarks came when he mentioned the Mount Olive Fire Department had responded to many tra c accidents in town last month.

Carmichael also expressed concern that citizens were pouring oil and other hazardous materials into storm drains. He asked citizens to be on the lookout for that, emphasizing how dangerous the practice is.

During the town manager’s report, Murphy said that Mt. Olive Pickle Company has agreed to pay for half of the cost of a new pump for one of the town’s lift stations.

Murphy also reported he had met with an engineering rm in Raleigh seeking a solution to obtain a VAC truck to clean the town’s sewer lines, a step toward lifting the state’s wastewater moratorium.

“Daniels and Daniels did an impeccable job on the rst two buildings,” Summerlin said.

“We are in the warranty phase and had a few issues to address, but we’re in good hands with those guys.”

A progress meeting was scheduled to discuss the third 30,000-square-foot shell building. The building will be situated on a “curved crescent lot,” posing unique design challenges for the architect. Because Duplin County has a new process for contract approvals that takes approximately two months, the board discussed giving the contractor speci c deadline dates to help keep the process moving and anticipate county turnaround times. The board established an uno cial asking price of $3.9 million for the South Park building and a starting lease rate of $6.50 per square foot annually.

A shift in construction administration has caused a one-month delay and a design revision on the short-term stay lots.

“We’ve made some options on exterior and interior furnishings, and we are hoping to pick up construction in August,” Summerlin said.

Marketing and Research Services Administrator Teresa Chambers projected imag-

Marketing strategies were discussed, including obtaining updated photos and posting properties on Zoom Prospector.

“Now that the state budget has been approved, we are getting unbelievably busy with businesses looking at properties,” Board Member Carrie Shields said.

The board discussed spending $650 annually on a separate website for economic development. Members also discussed looking into options to maintain a front face at a lower cost.

A new county marketing position was discussed, and the board decided to “leave the website as is, see how the marketing position develops and talk to IT about scaling down the cost of everything.”

The board discussed how revenue generated from the lease or sale of industrial buildings would be designated to return to the EDC to fund future projects. Board members said they had “double-, triple- and quadruple-checked” the arrangement with multiple sources to ensure the funds would remain available for future projects. The board shared information about their prospective areas and how funds will be coming into Duplin County since the state budget passed. The meeting adjourned shortly thereafter.

MARK GRADY FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL

Mount Olive resident Sam Jones, left, speaks about deteriorating road conditions in her neighborhood during Monday’s town board meeting.

Local radio station celebrates 7 years

By Mark Grady For Duplin Journal

SEVEN YEARS AGO, on July 1, Clay McCauley introduced a local classic country music station to listeners in Duplin County as KIX-FM. McCauley landed in Duplin County after years in the broadcasting business that took him through numerous markets ranging from Lillington and Charleston to from Burlington and Raleigh as an on-air personality. Until recently, he also hosted a syndicated beach music show.

Known to his listeners as the Clayman, he talked with Duplin Journal about his love for radio and his philosophy about the station. His interest in broadcasting started at an early age.

“If you hear it from my mother, she would say at age 2 I was running around with a hairbrush (like a microphone) saying, ‘What name, what name?’” McCauley said. He said in his youth, he listened to WKIX ra-

“If you hear it from my mother, she would say at age 2 I was running around with a hairbrush (like a microphone) saying, ‘What name, what name?’”

Clay McCauley

dio in Raleigh and wanted to be

“that guy in the box.” He got his chance to become “that guy in the box” while he was attending Boone Trail High School in Harnett County. Thanks to his principal, he landed his rst radio gig at WLLN in Lillington, which McCauley said had “call letters extremely hard to say.”

McCauley’s former high school building burned in May, and plans are underway to turn the property into an amphitheater.

WLLN kicked o his radio career. Like many in the business, he found himself moving frequently to di erent mar-

kets for better opportunities. His time on the air took him through many areas, including Burlington, Charleston, Florence, Fayetteville and Raleigh. Eventually, he decided it was time to turn his dream of his own radio station into a reality. That’s when he set his sights on Duplin County.

“We just picked a locale; Wallace, Rose Hill, Duplin County,” McCauley said.

Because of McCauley’s experience in radio, KIX-FM has the sound of a station you would hear in a much larger market. He says the success of a station in a small market like Duplin County is dependent on focusing on what’s local.

“If you’re not local these days, with a smaller signal, you’re going to have a rough time of it,” he said. “You’ll hear some national stu occasionally, but if it’s local, we like to be on it.”

McCauley said he frequently has guests in the studio during his live morning show, including local business people, sta from the parks and recreation department, and local artists, including a bluegrass group and a singer who recently competed in a gospel music competition.

KIX-FM can be heard at 710 AM and 100.5 FM. The station also streams online at KIX-FM’s website. Listeners can also see McCauley at work on the Duplin Journal YouTube channel at youtube.com/@duplinjournal.

Four seniors earn teaching scholarships

support as they pursue degrees in education and related elds. The program is designed to encourage local students to return to Duplin County as educators after completing their college education and earning teaching licenses. Each recipient may receive up to $5,000 annually for up to four years. The Grow Your Own program re ects Duplin County Schools’ e ort to develop educators with local connections and encourage graduates to bring their knowledge and experience back to the communities that helped shape them.

This year’s recipients are:

London Brown, a James Kenan High School graduate who will attend Fayetteville State University and study elementary education.

Salma Hernandez, a Wallace-Rose Hill High School graduate who will attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to pursue a degree in elementary education.

Zachary Fisher, a Wallace-Rose Hill High School graduate who will attend the University of Mount Olive, where he plans to major in exercise science with a minor in history. His academic path supports future opportunities in teaching and coaching.

Olivia Spring eld, a Wallace-Rose Hill High School graduate who will begin at James Sprunt Community College before transferring to Appalachian State University to study elementary education and music.

Clay McCauley shares his radio journey

COURTESY DUPLIN COUNTY SCHOOLS From left to right, Duplin Schools’ Misty Ross; students London Brown, Salma Hernandez, Zachary Fisher and Olivia Spring eld; and Duplin Schools’ Felicia Brown.

Clay McCauley, owner of KIX-FM, hosts the station’s morning show from the studio.

MARK GRADY FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL

DUPLIN SPORTS

First strike!

Post 511 rides Jaxson Smith’s arm to take Game 1 of its series in its bid to make the American Legion Sr. State Tournament eld

Wins from a berth in the

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

BEULAVILLE — Not every baseball team has an ace who changes the tone of a series, be it snapping a skid or

continuing a winning streak.

Jaxson Smith polished o his status as Beulaville Post 511’s No. 1 starter July 13 by confusing and frustrating Wilmington Post 10 Blue during a masterful one-hit shutout in the opening game of the best-of- ve Area II playo s. Smith did not walk a hitter while striking out six, and 46 of his 65 pitches were strikes.

Colin Kilcommons logged the lone hit for Post 10 Blue, which was set to host Game 2 at Hoggard High School on Tuesday before the series returns to Beulaville the following day.

The series winner gets an automatic bid to the Ameri-

can Legion State Tournament July 25 -29 at Sims Park in Gastonia.

The Lenoir Community College right-hander got the support he needed early and then when it came time for the kill.

Post 511 led 3 - 0 before roaring to seven runs in the fth inning to secure a mercy-rule victory.

The winner faces the survivor of the top -seeded Wilmington Post 10 Jr. Sharks and Tabor City Post 507. The opening game of that series was rained out and scheduled for July 14.

Both series are slated

Championship dreams begin in the o season, often with the declarative goal of playing for glory in early December

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

WALLACE — It’s 97 degrees and so humid the swarming mosquitoes are wearing goggles with wipers.

That could only mean summer football drills in North Carolina. It’s also the time when every player and coach dreams of a rivalry win, conference title and trip home from the state nals with a never-forget-me trophy for their high school. Indeed, as every coach will spit out between shouts and whistles, this is when championships are won. If you stop the sweat, you stop the progress.

With the ultimate dream as a mindset destination, let’s examine past state-title-winning teams.

Beating the odds

To begin, let’s look at the schools without a trophy. There are 188 of them, and some might come as a surprise given their pro ciency in all things pigskin in the past.

The team opens up the 12-team, double-elimination tournament against Alabama on July 17 in Louisiana

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

WALLACE — Will Rumbold has dreamed of playing a World Series since his father James Marshall Rumbold Jr. hit a home run for Sanford Central that beat Lumberton in 1961 and advanced to what was then a state nal.

The younger Rumbold became instantly enamored with baseball and named his son after his father. Will and Marshall Rumbold and the teammates and assistant coaches of Duplin County’s Dixie baseball team will be in the spotlight this week when the 14U team plays in the World Series in Sterlington, Louisiana.

“I lost my dad when I was 11 and remember being on the baseball eld when he passed,” said the Duplin coach. “He loved baseball and we watched

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL Hugh Martin took ND to the state nals in 2007 and 2017.

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL Noah Bass was strong through 41⁄3 innings during a 5-4 loss to Lumberton in the Dixie Youth 14U State Tournament. He hit a team-leading .733.

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

Bladen Barnett, sliding, singled, doubled and drove in a run in Post 511’s 10-0 win over Post 10 Blue.

Not so fast: New rules for fall team sports

Gridiron o cials watch for head-slapping while changes are made with soccer goalies and volleyball liberos

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

WALLACE — Prep players learning to play their speci c sport often forget the biggest details.

Such as in football when a player at his own 10 -yard line watches the opposition’s kicko and doesn’t actually know or remember he must catch the ball.

Otherwise, the kicking team recovers the ball, just as it would on an onside or pooch kick. Sadly, this happens far too much at the high school level, sometimes because players don’t watch the game on TV, other times because they forget in the heat of the moment.

The NFHS, the national rules organizing body, can’t x that players are asleep at the wheel, but it has put out rule changes for football, soccer and volleyball that will take e ect with the rst o cial grid hit, cage ringer and slam.

Cracking down on aiding the runner

There are not many changes for gridiron teams, yet a move to prohibit head-slapping an opponent has the movement completely banned from the game.

Defensive players were the only ones restricted from it in the past.

Other changes deal with quarterbacks using play cards attached to their belts as well as on wrist bands, and teams can also use xed electronic signs from the sidelines to relay plays. But in-helmet communication devices remain prohibited.

Points of emphasis include

DUPLIN 14U from page B1

the Braves play on TBS every night.

“I’ve always had a connection with baseball and might be more excited about the World Series than our players. They’ll nd out. It’s going to be a great experience.”

The youngest Rumbold is among four players — Braylen Gomez, Davis Smith, Henry Stevens — from Harrells Christian Academy. Vincenty Farina and Andrew Wilson represent James Kenan, Hatch Becher and Kon-

FOOTBALL from page B1

West Craven ts well into this category. They went to the biggest show of the fall in 2008 and lost 35-7 to Rowan. So do Northeastern, Charlotte schools Mallard Creek, Myers Park and Vance, and Douglas Byrd (0 - 6), Cape Fear and newcomer Jack Britt (0 - 4).

Goldsboro (1929), Northside-Jacksonville (2016), Pender (2010), Hobbton (1993), Lakewood (1992) and even sad-sack Jones Senior (2011) made it to the nals but returned with runner-up honors.

Yet North Pitt, Richlands, North Lenoir, South Lenoir, Greene Central, West Columbus, White Oak, Croatan, Dixon, Eastern Wayne and 177 others never played for a state crown on the gridiron. Nor have Leesville Road, Terry Sanford, West Forsyth and Gates County, despite having superb teams and making long state-tournament runs.

Princeton and SouthsideChocowinity and NorthsidePinetown are all 0 -2, and Kinston’s loss in the 3A nals last fall put the Vikings at 1-2.

So it’s without a doubt hard and challenging, even for solid programs.

East Duplin (1-1) tripped Reidsville for its rst title in 2022 after falling short in 2017 to Hibriten, who won its rst championship. Midway, Jacksonville and Ayden- Grifton are likewise 1-1.

North Duplin (1-3) won its lone title in 1972 and had close losses in 2007 and 2017 and

clari cation on agrant and unsportsmanlike fouls, sideline management control and o ensive players “helping the runner” make forward progress up eld. O cials are being told to consistently and without hesitation enforce fouls that threaten the safety of players or the integrity of the game. In other words, no nonsense.

Meanwhile, pushing, pulling or lifting the ball carrier for the purpose of gaining progress is illegal.

Football is the most popular high school sport for boys with 1,029,588 participants in 14,269 schools across the country. In addition, there were 35,097 boys who participated in 6 -, 8- and 9 -player football, along with 4,969 girls in all four versions of the game to bring the number of players to more than 1.1 million.

nor Sholar are from East Duplin, Aibel James is from Wallace-Rose Hill, while Noah Bass, Hampton Bass, Tanner Sera ni, Jase Woodard and Dan Wilson are future shining stars at Clinton High School. Duplin lost to Columbus County 7- 4 in its state tournament opener and then nabbed wins over Onslow County, Hoke County and Hope Mills before falling to champ Lumberton 5- 4 in eight innings. Woodard ripped a home run in the fth inning to give Duplin a 4 -3 lead.

were dunked 86 -8 by Maxton in the title game three years after beating Saratoga. Interestingly, ND’s losses were 20 -14, 20 -13 and 21-13. Current coach Hugh Martin led the last two Rebels teams to the nals.

Only 114 schools have won a title, which includes 22 schools that no longer exist. And some are so in the past, such as Chapel Hill’s title in 1919, that even grandpa doesn’t remember much about the game when he pulls out his leather cap to show o .

East Bladen, though, has a state nals loss and tie, but not a victory.

And some of the schools thought to be powerhouses locally do not have the titles one might expect from the pedigree of the program as Whiteville is 2-3, Havelock 3-5 and New Bern 4 - 4. James Kenan is 3-1 in title games, winning in 2007 and 2013 under Ken Avent Jr., who recently retired from the school system. Bill Taylor led the Tigers to glory in 1960.

Clinton, a big rival to Duplin’s three biggest schools, has been to the nals nine times and won four times. That’s good enough to be in a tie for 18th place.

Yet perhaps the school with the most bragging rights is Albemarle, which is 5- 0 in thenals. Two of its wins prevented WRH from capturing a title when Jack Holley was the Bulldogs’ coach. Holley, of course, is second all time among active coaches with a 412-96 -9 mark.

Goalie action will be heavily monitored

Meanwhile, there will be more than 877,000 soccer players as the sport continues to grow closer to football in terms of numbers nationwide. And that mix is fairly equal between the genders as there are about 480,000 boys and 394,000 girls on prep sods.

This fall all eyes will be on goalies as they have eight seconds and not six to release the ball after catching it. Failure to meet the timeframe results in a corner kick and not a direct free kick.

Encroachment during a penalty kick will now be penalized only if the o ense has a clear impact on the play. According to the NFHS, “impact for the defending team occurs if an encroaching defender clearly distracts the kicker or

Becher also knocked in a run, and Rumbold belted a double, walked twice and scored.

“Nerves got to us,” said the Duplin coach.

Bass ripped two hits and drove in three runs during an 11-1 win over Onslow in Duplin’s rst game in the loser’s bracket. Rumbold drove in two, and Smith and Becher also scored a teammate with a base knock.

Bass didn’t allow a hit in 32⁄3 innings, and Rumbold got thenal out of the mercy-rule win.

The runs kept coming for Duplin during a 10 - 0 whitewash of

if they play a rebounding ball or challenge an attacker to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity. For the attacking team, impact is distracting the goalkeeper or if an encroaching attacker plays the ball or challenges a defender to score or create a scoring chance.”

Also, spitting and biting now lead to direct kicks, and verbal o enses are a foul, which could rise to misconduct.

Hands down on volleyball serves

Believe it or not, 600,000 girls and nearly 100,000 boys play volleyball in the U.S., a gure that is sure to increase since North Carolina will begin sanctioned volleyball for boys in the spring.

One tradition has bit the dust. Players on the serving team can

Hoke as Wilson (three), Becher (two), Smith and Sera ni had RBIs.

Becher allowed one hit, three walks and struck out three in four frames on the hill.

Four RBIs by Bass, two from Smith and a rally-killing triple play in the sixth inning helped Duplin drill Hope Mills 11-3.

Woodard threw four innings of one-hit ball. He whi ed four and allowed just one walk. The Fayetteville gang tagged Wilson for two earned runs in two innings.

Duplin won the Sportsmanship

‘Dawgs and bigger dogs Wallace-Rose Hill (7- 4) is tied for 11th. The Bulldogs went 1-3 but rebounded to win six titles (2009, 2010, 2014 -17) in nine years, ve under Joey Price and one with current

coach Kevin Motsinger calling the shots. Additionally, the Bulldogs have 100 more wins than James Kenan and North Duplin. ED, which is now and has been in a larger classi cation than both JK and WRH, had a .274 win-

no longer raise their hands before the serve crosses the net.

The girls of the fall can now designate two liberos, though only one can be on court at any given moment. Libero uniform bottoms are not required to match the rest of the team and may be any color.

“A team may designate up to two liberos, but only one libero can be in the game at a time,” the rule reads. “When a team designates two liberos and one is injured, a new libero may be redesignated. When a team designates two liberos and one is disquali ed, the team must continue with one libero.”

O cials are shouting out preseason warnings to coaches and schools about examining all game-related equipment on the court, including the platforms ofcials stand on.

Award at the State Tournament. Bass (.733), Becher (.357), Rumbold (.450), Davis (.333), Woodard (.308) and Wilson (.300) lead a Duplin o ense that is hitting .360 and has an on-base percentage of .481.

The 12-team, double-elimination tournament features entries from Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and that host club from the Pelican State.

It is the 70th time the trophy will be presented.

ning percentage before Brian Aldridge came to town in 1985. He went 35-20 and 160-57 during his two stints that covered all but four seasons before Holley (132-54) took over in 2011.

Other top teams that have the championship shine as WRH include Reidsville (22-7-2), Robbinsville (14 -2), Shelby (13-5), Tarboro (11- 6), Murphy (10 - 4), Mount Airy (9 -5), Charlotte Catholic (8-3), Edenton Holmes (8-2-1), Crest (7- 4), Independence (7-1) and Thomasville (7-3). Those 11 schools and WRH hauled in 102 state title ags. Add in 10 more schools and the graph will clearly show that most state titles are won by schools with a title in its trophy case.

Three of Duplin County’s four coaches have more than 158 career wins and that’s a rarity. Motsinger is 13 shy of 200 wins, Holley needs 36 and Martin 38.

Harrells Christian Academy, an NCISAA runner-up in 2021 and 2022, has captured 13 state titles, the last of which came in 2008, which was Holley’s lone state title in ve tries.

Bob Lewis, of Clinton fame, was the engineer of the title that preceded Holley in 2005.

And nally, let’s bring to light the phrase that is repeated endlessly from late June to the second week in December: “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win a state championship.”

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

Kevin Motsinger championed WRH to a 2A title in 2017 and was runner-up to Shelby in 2021.

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

Left, Carrly Strickland and ND hope to contend for a Carolina Conference title this fall after 17 games, which included a playo match. Right, WRH’s Angel Sevilla and other goalies will have eight, not six, seconds to release the ball this fall.

HCA building depth on gridiron, starting new era in basketball

The Crusaders have a well-stocked roster of linemen, while three new players arrive as their basketball team rebuilds following a historic run

By Michael Jaenicke Duplin Journal

HARRELLS — There is safety and strength in numbers.

Small schools in the state often live and die — and win and lose — by the amount of players they can eld in a sport, particularly football where there are 22 positions on both sides of the ball.

It is a concern at small schools such as North Duplin and Harrells Christian Academy.

The Crusaders are building up troops for their gridiron team, which opens its NCISAA season Aug. 21 against Parrott Academy, the association’s 8-man championship team last fall.

Indeed, getting and keeping players on a varsity and junior varsity roster isn’t a given these days with so many choices for athletes and students.

HCA lost two o ensive tackles and its quarterback from a 9-3 team, but it could have new players ready to make contributions.

Head coach Clayton Hall returns o ensive guards Sam McKeithan and Noah Tanner while losing its center and tackles.

“We’ve got some kids from a really big JV team, which include a ton of freshmen,” Hall said. “I feel we have what we need to develop players to play with the best teams. We saw where that fell o last year (against 2A champ High Point Christian).”

HCA expects big things from running back Jeremiah Davis, who emerged as a star at midseason and nished with 1,143 yards and 14 touchdowns. While losing fullback Jarrod Miller

(694 yards, 11 TDs) and all-purpose WR/RB/kick returner

Dashaun McKoy (15-426, 6 TDs receiving, 269 yards rushing, 4 TDs, 46 tackles, two punt-return scores) to graduation, halfback Demetrius Jones (383 yards, 7 TDs) is back.

Both will take hando s from Riley Falatovich, who replaces three-year starter Reid Strickland at quarterback. Falatovich (179 yards, 3 TDs) ashed his athleticism last fall. Yet Strickland passed for 828 yards and 11 scores in one of the better showings for a signal caller in the Wing-T o ense run by Hall.

Davis, who recently accepted an invitation to play in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at Cowboys’ Stadium in early January, is the second-most recruited Crusader.

Tackle/end Amir Moore (6-foot-7, 270 pounds), who had a host of SEC and ACC schools pursuing him, decided to play at NC State in 2027.

More student-athletes will be available to Hall as they meet the school’s admission standards.

Yet he’s got a big smile thinking about new faces on HCA’s basketball team.

Three new hoopsters arrive on campus

Hall is entering his third season as head football coach after serving for a decade as the o ensive coordinator and head hoops coach.

Last winter he coached the HCA basketball team to a 29win season, which followed 303, 22-12 and 20-6 campaigns to mark the most successful run in school history.

Yet the Crusaders lost three players, including Antonio McKoy (28.4 points, 11 rebounds) to Western Carolina and cousin Dashaun McKoy (18 points, 7 boards) to the University of Mount Olive. Both played in the East-West All-Star Game in March.

Moore, who originally came to HCA to play basketball, averaged 10.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and was a shot intimidator with 1.2 blocks.

Mount Olive also scooped up point guard J’Kaeshi Brunson.

Enter Adam Fekete, Ivey Sampson and Richard Simpson, who won’t replace HCA’s Big 3 but will provide a base for Hall’s club this winter and into 2028.

Fekete, who is from Hungary, is a 6-foot-7 junior guard with tons of potential. He averaged 21.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists while connecting on 60% from the eld competing for Ratgeber Academy last winter.

Both Sampson and Simpson come from Sampson County schools.

Sampson, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 4.5 points and 3 rebounds for Clinton, while Simpson hit for 14 points, 5.3 boards and 1.8 assists last winter for Hobbton. Simpson is the cousin of Dashaun McKoy. (The McKoys are likewise cousins.)

Yet keep in mind, Antonio McKoy (3,008) is in the top- ve in scoring all-time across all classi cations in the state. So virtually no player can step into the huge sneakers he left in Harrells.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

SPONSORED BY BILL CARONE

Hatch Becher

Duplin County 14U Dixie Boys

Hatch Becher is a leader on the pitching sta of Duplin County’s 14U Dixie Youth baseball team that earned a spot in the World Series.

Becher hit .357 with a .400 on-base percentage and .757 OPS. He had ve hits and two doubles during the state tournament.

Becher will play for East Duplin next season, but this week he and his teammates are in Louisiana for the 12-team, double-elimination tournament.

The team opens up against Alabama on Saturday.

POST 511 from page B1

to be completed by Friday. Yet nothing was settled after one tournament game as No. 2 Beulaville split two matchups with No. 3 Post 10 Blue during the regular season. The Duplin club took a 6 -1 game June 22 and fell 4 -2 on July 2. Yet Post 511 made quick work of the Blue gang as ve players came through with RBIs.

Post 511 made the State Tournament eld last summer after reforming following a stoppage from events associated with the COVID -19

PHOTOS BY EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

Amir Moore came to HCA for basketball and is going to NC State to play football next fall.

EDWARDO PUAC / DUPLIN JOURNAL

Jaxson Smith allowed just one hit as Beulaville Post 511 beat Post 10 Blue 10-0 in the opening game of its best-of- ve American Legion Area 11 semi nals matchup.

Jeremiah Davis became a top-running back

Third baseman Brayden Pridgen knocked in two, and Eli Avent, Brayden Barnett and Reed Davis each logged a run-scoring hit. Pridgen had a pair of hits, while Barnett and Austin Clements both scored twice.

pandemic.

Blaney wins 3-wide battle on nal lap of overtime in NASCAR Cup race in Atlanta

The Team Penske Ford driver survived hitting the wall to win

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — A late brush with the wall wasn’t enough to send Ryan Blaney to pit row.

The decision paid o with a dominant victory.

Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the nal lap of overtime in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta early Monday.

Blaney won every stage of the race and led 171 laps after starting on the pole, but the Team Penske Ford driver had to ght o challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who nished second, on the nal lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four.

Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and nished 29th instead of second.

There was a delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes because of rain and lightning. The race ended at 1:45 a.m. at EchoPark Speedway.

Blaney won the rst two stages but brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining, causing possible damage on his right side, after he was cut o by Wallace. Blaney remained on the track despite telling his crew he felt a “terrible” vibration.

“I tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence,” Blaney said. “You know, I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stu like that, but luckily it still drove really decent. ... It wasn’t too bad. Luck-

“I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stu like that, but luckily it still drove really decent.”

Ryan Blaney

ily it wasn’t enough damage we couldn’t keep running.”

Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler said his team was able to view photos of the right side of the car and determine the best chance to win was to remain on the track.

“There were 30 cars on the lead lap at that point and not a lot of laps left,” Hassler said. “Our best chance to win was to stay out there.”

Multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst, were involved in a wreck with ve laps remaining to set up the overtime. There had been concern about approaching rain before lightning within eight miles of the 1.54 -mile oval track near Atlanta led NASCAR o cials to order cars o the track and advise fans to exit the grandstand. Rain began soon after the race was delayed. Following some caution laps and pit stops, the race went back to green at 12:02 a.m.

Blaney said he “took a nap and ate a little food” during the delay. Larson said the resumption of the race a few minutes before midnight “is de nitely past my bedtime.”

Blaney won the pole, and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano joined him on the front row. A third Team Penske driv-

er, Austin Cindric, moved up to third early in the race for an early strong showing for the Fords. Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin, who quali ed 28th, nished 12th. Tyler Reddick was eighth.

Reddick, who won at EchoPark Speedway in February as part of his string of ve wins in the season’s rst nine races, quali ed only 31st on Saturday. By the 35th lap he already had moved up to fourth, proving early that he again would be a factor in Atlanta.

Clean start

The weather delay was the rst caution for cause in the race, a dramatic departure from the weekend’s rst race.

There were a track-record 13 cautions in Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race won by Justin Allgaier. That total included four red ag incidents, creating an ominous preview for the Cup Series race.

The rst caution for an incident on the track in the Cup Series race came when AJ Allmendinger lost control of his Chevrolet with 67 laps remaining. Allmendinger blew a tire and hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to cause another caution.

Another strong start for Team Penske

Blaney’s Stage 1 win gave Team Penske Fords yet another strong start in Atlanta. Team Penske drivers have won Stage 1 in six of the last eight races at the track.

Blaney held o Reddick, who nished second in the rst stage after qualifying 31st.

DEGREES

MINUTES WEST 142 FEET TO THE BEGINNING. Save and except any releases, deeds of

or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 309 S Kennedy Street, Beulaville, NC 28518. 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 immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY

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

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 Eric N. Pabone, a married man.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by

NOTICES

ESTATE OF EDGAR TYLER, DECEASED FILE No. 00E000193-300

NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Personal Representative of the Estate of Edgar Tyler, deceased, late of Duplin 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 September 25, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

Personal Representative: Vivian C. Tyler 308 Georgia Drive Raeford, North Carolina 28376 910-580-2531

Publication Dates: June 25, 2026 July 2, 2026 July 9, 2026 July 16, 2026

NORTH CAROLINA DUPLIN COUNTY FILE NO. 26E000229-300

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination. Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote

NOTICE

Having quali ed as Administrator CTA of the estate of Malachi McNeal Southerland, Sr., deceased, late of Magnolia, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the said decedent to present them to the undersigned on or before the 25th day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All

23SP000123-300

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, DUPLIN COUNTY

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by James K Clendenin and Deborah R Morgan to Ruth W Garner, Trustee(s), which was dated May 11, 2022 and recorded on May 12, 2022 in Book 1996 at Page 22, Duplin County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on July 28, 2026 at 12:00 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Duplin County, North Carolina, to wit: All that certain lot or parcel of land located in Cypress Creek Township, Duplin County, North Carolina and being more particularly described as follows:

Beginning at a stake in the Southern margin of the road leading from E. J. Whaley’s store to Eneas Lanier’s Store, at Dewey Halso’s, Ellis Maready, E.J. Whaley and Berry Maready’s corner in the old line, and runs thence with the Southern margin of said road South 61 degrees 15 minutes West-40 poles to a stake in the Southern margin of said road, Ida Whaley’s corner; thence as Ida Whaley’s line South 78 poles to a stake in Halso Creek, an old corner; thence with the run of Halso Creek about East about 60 poles to a stake in the old line, the old James G. Halso corner; thence with the old line North 50 degrees West 60 poles to a post oak; thence North 58 degrees East 19 poles to a stake in the old line; thence North about 38 poles to the point of beginning; CONTAINING 16 ACRES, more or less. And being the same land described in a Deed from Alton K. Halso etux, dated February 28, 1956, to Clifton Halso et ais, recorded in Book 503, Page 221, of the Duplin County Registry. Reference is had to Deed dated June 18, 1963, from Arnold A. Halso to Gerald J. Futreal and wife, Dorothy H. Futreal, as recorded in Book 582, Page 109, and also being the same property conveyed to Gerald J. Futreal and Dorothy H. Futreal in Book 658, Page 445 and Book 613, Page 47, of the Duplin County Registry.

THERE IS SPECIFICALLY EXCEPTED FROM THE ABOVE DESCRIBED 16 ACRE TRACT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED LAND:

FIRST EXCEPTION: BEGINNING at a stake in the Southern margin of the old road, the Northwest corner of the 16 acre tract above described and runs thence with the old line South 400 feet to a stake, a new corner; thence a new line North 61 degrees 15 minutes East 105 feet to a stake, a new corner; thence a new line North about 400 feet to a stake in the Southern margin of the aforesaid road; thence with the Southern margin of the aforesaid road South 61 degrees 15 minutes West 105 feet to the point of beginning, CONTAINING .96 OF AN ACRE, more or less. And being the Second Tract and Exception conveyed by Deed dated January 14, 1969, from Dorothy H. Futreal and husband, Gerald J. Futreal, to Gerald J. Futreal and wife, Dorothy FL Entreat, and recorded in Book 658, Page 486, of the Duplin County Registry.

SECOND EXCEPTION: BEGINNING at an iron pipe in Arnold A. Halso’s

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

obituaries

Willie Wells

Aug. 25, 1930 – July 5, 2026

With hearts full of love and gratitude for a life well lived, we announce the passing of Willie Cavenaugh Wells, who peacefully entered the presence of her Lord on July 5, 2026, at the age of 95.

Born on August 25, 1930, Willie devoted her life to caring for others. She was a faithful wife, a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. Throughout her life, Willie lovingly cared for family members during times of illness and hardship. Whether preparing meals, sitting beside a loved one, o ering a comforting hand, or simply being present, she gave of herself freely and without expectation. Caring for others was not merely something she did—it was simply who she was.

If you ever visited Willie’s home, you were almost certain to hear her ask, “Have you eaten? Can I get you something?”

O ering food wasn’t simply a habit—it was her way of making people feel loved. No one left her home without being o ered something to eat. Around her table, conversations were shared, burdens became lighter, and family memories were made.

Willie found joy in the simple things in life—time with family, caring for others, sharing a meal, and listening to the music she loved. She lived a quiet life, never seeking recognition, but those who knew her best will remember a woman whose greatest happiness came from caring for her family and making others feel at home.

She is lovingly survived by her children: Steve Wells (Joyce), Stewart Wells (Vickie), Gary Wells (Angie), and Connie Capps (Greg). She also leaves behind her cherished grandchildren: Daniel Sears (Tee), Kimberly Cronos (Dewayne), Jeremy Wells, Joshua Wells (Shelby), Tina Seeley (Darren), Curtis Wells (Jocelyn), Crystal Wells, and Ethan Evans. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren: Kelsea Guyton, Olivia Cronos, Jojo Cronos, Everly Wells, Lilly Wells, Thomas Wells, Austin Seeley, Allicya Seeley, Madie Ard, Rhaegan Wells, Jonathan Wells, Logan Wells and Declan Wells; as well as several great-greatgrandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, James Stokes Wells; her parents, Roland Oscar Cavenaugh and Vada Hanchey Cavenaugh; her sister, Ruby Holden; her brothers, Charles Cavenaugh, R.C. Cavenaugh, Frank Cavenaugh, and Sam Cavenaugh; and other cherished family members who welcomed her into Heaven.

While her family grieves her passing, they nd comfort in knowing she is now at peace in the presence of her Savior and reunited with those who have gone before her.

“Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your Lord.” — Matthew 25:23

A private family graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. at the Wells Family Cemetery in Rose Hill, North Carolina, on Thursday, July 9, 2026.

Tracy Michelle Wade

May 25, 1963 – July 5, 2026

Tracy Michelle Wade, 63, of Wallace, NC, passed away July 5, 2026, at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC. Funeral service will be at 1:00 pm on Sunday, July 12, 2026, at New Christian Chapel Church in Rose Hill, NC. Interment will follow the service in the church cemetery.

Sebastiano Roberto Batista

Nov. 8, 1930 – July 11, 2026

Kenansville- Mr. Sebastiano Roberto Batista, age 95, peacefully ended his tour of duty and transitioned into the land of the free while in the compassionate care of The Gardens of Rose Hill in Rose Hill, North Carolina, on Saturday, July 11, 2026. The arrangements are incomplete at this time.

DeWayne Anthony Roach Sr.

June 30, 1963 – July 2, 2026

Mr. DeWayne Anthony Roach Sr., age 63, of Kenansville, NC, passed away on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville, NC. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 11:00 am at Rose Hill Funeral Home in Rose Hill, NC. Burial will follow at Vann Family Cemetery in Mt. Olive, NC. Left to cherish his precious memories are three sons: DeWayne Roach, Jr. of Washington, DC, Dante’ A. Roach of Baltimore, MD and Darryl Roach on Clinton, MD; three daughters: Jessica Orwenyo of Clinton, MD, Jasmine M. Green (Thomas) of Alexandria, VA and Vanessa Moore of Aberdeen, MD; mother, Peolia Roach Moore of Washington, DC; sister, Sandra Crenshaw (Dathan) of Ft. Washington, MD; ance’, Tanya Dyson of Kenansville, NC; nineteen grandchildren; one uncle, Charles Vann of Faison, NC; six aunts: Arlene Robinson, Letha Roach, Algene Walker, Lola Brinkley, Vitish Horne and E e Mae Mitchell; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends that will miss him dearly.

Macon Douglas “Doug” Brown

Nov. 1, 1950 – July 7, 2026

Macon Douglas “Doug” Brown, 75, of Beulaville, North Carolina, entered into the presence of his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, surrounded by the love of his family.

Born on November 1, 1950, Doug was preceded in death by his parents, Macon and Kathleen Brown, and by his beloved brother, Donald Ray Brown.

He is survived by his loving wife, Ada Thigpen Brown, of Beulaville; his daughter, Celeste Brown Kirby, and husband, Brian, of Greenville; his son, Jarrett Brown, and wife, Stephanie, of Raleigh; and his cherished grandchildren, Emily Kirby Nagle (Tom), Mary Ellen Kirby Ward (Brandon), Eli Kirby, Caroline Brown, and Vivienne Brown.

Doug’s life was a testimony of faith lived out through service to his family, church, and community. As a lifelong member, Beulaville Baptist Church was the cornerstone of his life. He was a dedicated deacon and choir member, as well as devoting countless hours mentoring and encouraging young people through the church’s youth ministry.

Working most of his life in construction and real estate, Doug also spent time farming, auctioneering, and numerous other ventures. For more than 40 years, he answered the call to serve his community as a member of the Beulaville Volunteer Fire Department and EMS. During emergencies and di cult nights when others needed hope, he was always willing to help. Doug served Beulaville as a member of the town board and was a frequent volunteer at East Duplin High School. He gave of himself with generosity and sel essness.

Above all, Doug treasured his family. He was the devoted husband of Ada, with whom he shared a lifetime of love, faith, and unwavering commitment. Together they built a home where faith came rst, family was cherished, and integrity was a way of life. As a family man, Doug led not by demanding respect but by earning it. He was a hero, best friend, and steady foundation. He taught his children and grandchildren what truly matters: to love God, love people, work hard, keep your word, and always be willing to help someone in need. Though his family and friends mourn his passing, they rejoice knowing his faith has become sight and can nd comfort that he has heard the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”— Matthew 25:23

A memorial service will be Saturday, July 11, 2026, at noon at Beulaville Baptist Church in Beulaville, NC.

Visitation will be held from 10:30 until noon at the church.

In lieu of owers, the family requests that donations be made to Beulaville Baptist Church, P.O. Box 394, or Beulaville Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 784, Beulaville, NC 28518 in Doug’s memory.

John Ralph Iacovino, M.D.

Feb. 18, 1941 – July 4, 2026

“We die twice. First when we pass from this earth. Second when memories of us are forgotten.” Dr. Ducky Mallard, NCIS

“Things that have form will all disappear. But certain feelings stay with us forever.” M. Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun.

John Ralph Iacovino, M.D., the son of Louis John Iacovino, M.D. and Adeline De Rosa Iacovino was born in Cortland, NY on the 18th of February 1941. He died on July 4, 2026. Dr. Iacovino is survived by his wife and Venus in Blue Jeans, Anita Donofrio Iacovino and his two children, Nick, his spouse, Emily and Leana Iacovino and her daughter, Ava Greeno. He is also survived by Anita’s three daughters, Dania Etzold and daughter Saiya, Katja Vittorio, her husband Joseph and son Kai, and Nicole Etzold.

John graduated from Middlebury College, Vermont, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, and Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA. After completing postgraduate training, he practiced pulmonary diseases and critical care at a hospital in Norwalk, CT. He was board certi ed in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Diseases and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians. Military service was in the United States Army Medical Corps, where he attained the rank of Major. He made the best decision of his professional career by leaving medical practice and entering the life insurance industry with General Reassurance Corporation in Stamford, CT. Five years later, he became Vice President and Chief Medical Director for Underwriting at the New York Life Insurance Company in Manhattan. He was in charge of the Medical Underwriting Department, developing company underwriting guidelines, conducting medicalactuarial research, and auditing compliance with the medical underwriting standards. His career in the life insurance industry included election as President of the American Academy of Insurance Medicine and served on its Executive Committee for many years.

James Bryant Elixson Jr.

Jan. 5, 1952 – July 10, 2026

James Bryant Elixson Jr., 74, passed peacefully on Friday, July 10, 2026, at home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on January 5,

He was awarded a Diplomat of the Board of Insurance Medicine. Additional awards were the Distinguished Physician Award for contributions to the life insurance industry and the W. John Elder Award for contributions to the Journal of Insurance Medicine. Dr. Iacovino was on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Insurance Medicine and published over fty medical/actuarial articles on the impact of various diseases on life expectancy. He served on the Board of Directors of the Medical Information Bureau, Committee on Risk Classi cation for the American Council of Life Insurance, Mortality and Morbidity Committee, Liaison Committee with the Society of Actuaries, Board of Insurance Medicine for the American Academy of Insurance Medicine and Committee on Biotechnology and Law for the New York State Bar Association. He was a Facility Instructor for the Academy of Life Underwriting. Post-retirement from New York Life, he was Senior Medical Director for Fasano Associates, A Longevity Holdings Company. In that capacity, he analyzed mortality data both on individual lives and populations and estimated life expectancies for various insurance products. Additionally, he provided expert testimony in legal cases involving life expectancies. He regularly spoke at national and international life insurance meetings on topics related to longevity and life expectancy. He was a past member of the Wallace Rotary Club, in which he was program chairman and directed the Dictionary Project, which delivered dictionaries to area schools. He served on the Duplin County Advisory Board of the Salvation Army and tutored at James Sprunt Community College Nursing Program and at Wallace Elementary School. With Anita, he delivered homebound meals to the elderly. John was a merit badge counselor for the Boy Scouts of America and taught at the annual merit badge college. When he arrived in Wallace, he donated his extensive train collection to the Wallace Depot Train Room where he volunteered operating the layout for many years. John was a lifetime philatelist and published numerous articles on Russian Philately in The American Philatelist, Rossica, The Journal of Russian Philately and the British Journal of Russian Philately. He also had a vast collection of postcards and other materials from his hometown of Cortland, NY, and regularly contributed articles of historical interest to the Cortland County Historical Society Bulletin. He was an avid reader in his favorite chair on the screened-in porch often interrupted by brief weewinkies. Donations may be made to the charity of one’s choice, or go out to dinner and celebrate his life.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

1952, in Duplin County, the son of James Bryant Elixson, Sr. and Reba Hardee Elixson. In addition to his parents, James was preceded in death by his siblings, Barbara McLaughlin, David Elixson and Reba Phillips. James is survived by his wife of 50 years, Susan Champion Elixson; daughter, Jenifer Cumming (Jim); son, Joshua Bryant Elixson (Priscella); grandchildren, Bryant Elixson, Reeve Cumming, Rylee Elixson, Cole Cumming, and Abygail Elixson; sister, Edna Moore (Edward); brother, Jimmy Elixson (Hilda); and many nieces and nephews.

A full obituary will be forthcoming. Memorial service will be scheduled soon at Shiloh Baptist Church.

Duplin crews respond after storms topple trees across county

A line of strong thunderstorms moved through Duplin County on July 10, bringing winds of up to 50 mph and leaving multiple trees down across the county. Members of Faison Fire and Rescue, the Calypso Fire Department and community volunteers worked to clear fallen trees and debris from roadways.

PHOTOS COURTESY FAISON

Stanly NewS Journal

THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Supreme Court justices tell Congress safety at risk, more must be spent on security Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan testi ed to Congress on Tuesday, a rare event for members of the high court. They’re seeking millions of dollars to enhance security as threats rise to the judiciary. Judges nationwide have faced increased violence and intimidation, including a fake swatting call to Barrett’s home in May.

Bu ett omits gift to Gates’ foundation after Microsoft cofounder’s Epstein ties disclosed Warren Bu ett omitted Bill Gates’ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of Gates’ ties to convicted sex o ender Je rey Epstein. He’ll donate about $6 billion to four family foundations but didn’t mention Gates. Bu ett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth nearly $146 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034. Most of Bu ett’s donations since 2006 have gone to the Gates Foundation.

Waking up

Some youngsters nearly get tossed into the water at a Wake the World event on Lake Tillery on Thursday. The organization, founded by Greg Hodgin, helps introduce children, veterans and families to watersports.

For more, turn to page A4.

Locust police release rst-half 2026 activity report

Report shows a 5.2% decrease in arrest charges

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

LOCUST — Arrest charges, citations and property crime calls declined in Locust during the rst half of 2026, even as o cers handled more calls and increased patrol activity, according to newly released police data.

Last week, the department announced its six-month comparison report that covered activity from January through

June in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Locust o cers led 221 arrest charges through June, down 5.2% from the same period in 2025, while citation charges declined 7.6% to 777. Property crime and fraud calls also fell to 96, down 3% from last year.

Meanwhile, assault-related calls increased from 10 last year to 13.

The department said the drop in arrest charges re ects lower criminal activity rather than fewer crimes being solved, noting that its clearance rate for con rmed criminal incidents remained relatively steady through May

“I’m extremely proud of the outstanding work of Locust patrol o cers and detectives so far in 2026 and over the last two years.”

Locust Police Chief Je Shew

of each year: 84.2% in 2026, 87.4% in 2025 and 86.7% in 2024. O cers handled 4,248 dispatched or attended calls during the six-month period,

Leadership Stanly seeks applicants for new class

Applications for the nine-month program are due July 24

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — The Stanly County Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for the 2026-27

Leadership Stanly class, a nine-month program designed to prepare residents for greater involvement in the community.

Applications must be received by noon July 24; all applicants will be noti ed by email of their acceptance status by Aug. 3. Leadership Stanly brings

together established professionals, emerging leaders and community volunteers from a range of backgrounds. Participants meet once a month from September through May to learn about Stanly County, examine local challenges and develop skills they can use in the workplace and through civic service.

With roots dating to 1989, the program includes sessions focused on the county’s history, manufacturing, industry, business, healthcare, human services, environmental resources, government, education and economic development.

Participants also study

up 1.3% from 4,192 last year and 603 calls from 2024.

“I’m extremely proud of the outstanding work of Locust patrol o cers and detectives so far in 2026 and over the last two years,” Police Chief Je Shew said in a statement. “They take a lot of pride in the city and the work that they do, and it shows in their daily efforts and the overall activity statistics we see. There’s not a better group of o cers, and Assistant Chief Kevin O’Connor and I are just extremely fortunate and blessed to work with each one of them.”

Two men were injured in Sunday’s shooting

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — An Albe-

marle man faces two counts of attempted murder following a Sunday afternoon shooting that seriously injured two men. According to the Albemarle Police Department, ocers responded around 12:52 p.m. to the 1400 block of Inger Street after receiving a report of a man armed with a gun.

Police found two men suffering from injuries consistent with gunshot wounds. Both victims were conscious and alert when o cers arrived and were taken to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries. Investigators said the shooting was not a random act

and that the suspect knew the victims.

Police identi ed the suspect as 26-year-old Devonte Jayshun Wall of Albemarle. Wall was arrested and charged with two counts of rst-degree attempted murder and two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling.

Detectives with the Albemarle Police Department are investigating the shooting with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

“The Albemarle Police De-

Their ight has revived public enthusiasm for space exploration and future lunar missions

By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

— The Artemis II astronauts reunited with their capsule Wednesday three months after ying around the moon and traveling deeper into space than anyone in history. It was their rst visit to Kennedy Space Center since they blasted o in April. The last time the four saw the pad, the massive Space Launch System rocket had stood upon it.

“It’s a lonely place without that rocket on it,” commander

Reid Wiseman said. He and his crew spent the day thanking all those who helped send them on the ight.

The three NASA astronauts and one Canadian set a new record for distance travel during the lunar yaround — 252,756 miles. It was humanity’s rst trip to the moon in more than half a century.

Public enthusiasm over the mission is still high, Wiseman noted. While boarding a plane in France about a week ago, he said, a woman handed him her boarding pass with this message written on it: “Thank you for reminding us about joy and hope in the universe again.”

They’re excited about handing o to the next Artemis crew: three NASA as-

partment thanks the Stanly County Sheri ’s O ce, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for their assistance,” the department said in a statement.

Police have not released the identities of the victims or provided additional information about their conditions. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Albemarle Police Department’s anonymous tip line at 704-984-9511.

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in and around Stanly County.

July 18-19

2nd Annual Christmas in July

Saturday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Uwharrie Vineyards will host its second annual Christmas in July market featuring more than 50 vendors, live music and food trucks across two days.

Uwharrie Vineyards & Winery 28030 Austin Road Albemarle

Battle of Colson’s Mill 246th Anniversary Commemoration

The Sons of the American Revolution’s Colson’s Mill

Police reported 19,135 business and neighborhood patrols, a 10.4% increase from 2025 and 2,607 more than two years ago. O cers initiated 2,418 tra c stops, up 1.9% from last year and 448 from 2024. Stops resulting in citations

dropped to 449, while stops ending in warnings rose to 1,923. Tra c-stop arrests increased from 46 to 48, DWI stops rose from 19 to 22, and vehicle pursuits declined from nine to seven. In June alone, o cers handled or initiated 340 calls, conducted 421 tra c stops and completed 2,806 busi-

tronauts and one Italian announced last month. Set for next year, the Artemis III mission will remain in orbit around Earth and practice docking with lunar landers in development by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Artemis IV will follow as early as 2028 with a moon landing by two astronauts not yet identi ed.

The entire Artemis III crew is male, something that doesn’t faze Artemis II’s Christina Koch, who became the rst woman to y to the moon. What would be worse, she said, was someone overruling NASA’s crew selection for Artemis III just “to make it look a certain way.”

Wiseman and Koch ew to the moon alongside pilot Victor Glover and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen.

ness and neighborhood patrols. The department recorded 466 enforcement actions, 53 arrest charges, 11 DWI arrests and 27 tra c crashes, including 16 on streets or highways and 11 in parking lots.

O cers Tim Flieger Jr. and Jerry Wallace were named the department’s co-o cers WEDNESDAY

247

Turner St. Norwood

July 19

Sundays With Art: Introduction to Quilling 2-4 p.m.

Local artists Ginger Barker and Betsy Lewis will lead a free demonstration introducing quilling — the craft of rolling and shaping narrow strips of paper into decorative designs — as part of the Arts Guild’s monthly Sundays With Art series. The event is free to attend.

Stanly Arts Guild & Gallery 152 W. Main St. Albemarle

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | DENNIS BERWYN

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Patients deserve transparency and accountability in North Carolina’s hospital system

The 340B Drug Pricing Program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines.

NORTH CAROLINA families shouldn’t have to guess what their healthcare will cost or whether they’re getting a fair deal. But too often, that’s exactly where people nd themselves: navigating a system where prices vary widely, transparency is limited and accountability can feel just out of reach.

At the center of this challenge is a trend that has quietly reshaped healthcare across the country: hospital consolidation.

Over the past two decades, hospitals have steadily joined larger systems, often with the goal of improving coordination and expanding access to care. Those are important goals. But the reality for many patients, especially those in rural communities, has been more complicated. Research continues to show that when markets become more concentrated, prices often rise and choices become more limited. New consolidation e orts in North Carolina raise real questions about what this means for patients, taxpayers and local communities.

When competition declines, patients lose. And too often, families and employers end up paying the price.

We’re seeing the e ects here in North Carolina. Wide di erences in hospital prices and real gaps in price transparency make it harder for patients and employers to plan ahead or even know if they’ve been treated fairly.

And it’s not just about confusion. It’s about trust — trust that the system is working as intended and that patients are bene ting from it.

One clear example is the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This federal program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines. Eligible hospitals and clinics can buy outpatient medicines at steep discounts with the understanding that those savings should support

patient care and community needs.

That goal and the 340B program are worth preserving. But over time, the program has expanded dramatically without consistent transparency or clear requirements for reporting how those savings are used. In too many cases, patients have no way to know whether discounted medicines are actually lowering their costs or improving access to care.

In North Carolina, data shows that some hospitals participating in 340B have charged far more than the discounted price they paid for certain medications. At the same time, there is no consistent requirement that those savings be passed directly to patients or clearly tied to improving patient access or a ordability. When that’s combined with continued hospital consolidation, it raises serious questions about whether the program is serving patients as Congress intended.

This highlights something else worth paying attention to: incentives matter. As hospitals grow larger and acquire new facilities, they can expand their use of programs like 340B. Over time, that dynamic can reward consolidation, reduce competition and make an already complicated healthcare system harder for families to understand.

Supporting hospitals and standing up for patients should not be in con ict. We can, and should, do both.

That starts with greater transparency so patients can understand prices before they receive care. It means clearer standards and accountability so programs designed to help vulnerable populations actually deliver on that promise. It also means practical federal reforms that protect legitimate safety-net providers while closing loopholes that allow the program to drift away from patients.

The Trump administration is taking one encouraging step by continuing to pursue

AOC should thank baby boomers for the world they left her

The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ says she knows why socialism is on the rise: Blame it on the boomers.

“Millennials and Gen Z combined, now for the rst time, are eclipsing the number of baby boomers,” she explained recently. “Young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world we’ve been left.”

It’s inarguable that younger generations feel this way. The notion that millennials and Generation Z are toiling in a uniquely grueling economic era, however, is utterly delusional.

But convincing young people they’ve been handed a broken world only fostered an unprecedented sense of hopelessness. You are not victims of “oligarchs,” unfettered capitalism or any other imaginary monsters.

One of the most popular myths these days (you hear it from both sides all the time) is that the American middle class is being gutted. It’s simply not true. In 1980, 36% of American families were middle class.

Only 31% of Americans are still in the middle class because the upper middle class has grown from 10% of households to more than 30%. The middle class is shrinking because the upper middle class is expanding.

Real median income has not only grown across all classes over the past 40 years but has zoomed past the rest of the Western world. The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

That’s a pretty remarkable economic

inheritance. Just ask the soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.

Another big grievance of younger people is that housing has become far too expensive. It’s a genuine concern. But ownership rates are no lower today than they were in the ’60s, ’70s or ’90s, and most of the 1980s. The homeownership rate in 1980 was 65.5%. In 2025, it was 65.4%. Rates temporarily spiked through the 2000s when government policy incentivized millions to “buy” houses they couldn’t a ord with no money down.

Housing shortages are driven by the laws of physics. It’s not the boomers’ fault that too many people want to live in and around major urban areas.

You also wonder if the average Gen Zer understands that the environment is in nitely cleaner today than it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

There has been widespread reforesting and wetland restoration. There is far less litter. Air quality is drastically cleaner, as is water. When boomers started driving, gas was leaded, and most cars didn’t even have catalytic converters. Gen X grew up worried about things called “nuclear winter” and “acid rain.”

An average household spends on clothing and food a fraction of what their grandparents did. And yet, they also have substantially more choices, including international and nutritious fare.

It’s true that healthcare costs have risen. Some of it can be attributed to bad policy. Most of it re ects prosperity, as younger Americans will generally enjoy longer life expectancy and better care than any generation before them.

the recent federal 340B rebate pilot, which o ers a measured way to add veri cation and accountability before discounts are nalized. Done correctly, that approach can help con rm that a prescription is eligible, reduce duplicate discounts, create a clearer data trail and bring more discipline to the program without changing which hospitals or clinics qualify for 340B. Just as important, it focuses on solving problems up front rather than relying on slower, after-the-fact e orts to untangle errors once the money has already moved.

That is the kind of commonsense reform conservatives should support: limited, practical, focused on accountability and respectful of both taxpayers and patients.

Just as importantly, we have to recognize where responsibility for reform truly sits. Programs like 340B are federal by design, and Congress should lead.

A patchwork of state-level xes risks creating more inconsistency and less accountability, failing to provide the clarity and consistency patients deserve.

North Carolina has always valued fairness, personal responsibility, competition and looking out for one another. Bringing more transparency and accountability to our healthcare system is simply an extension of those values.

At the end of the day, patients should come rst, and families should be able to trust the healthcare system they rely on. Congress should act now to strengthen 340B through clear federal reforms that restore transparency, protect taxpayers, preserve the safety net and ensure the program nally works the way it was intended: for patients.

Dennis Berwyn is vice chair of the Wake Republican Men and vice president of the Central Region of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Men.

Big Pharma, one of the industries reviled by Ocasio-Cortez and her allies, keeps coming up with ways to keep people with once-deadly diseases alive. None of it is cheap. Yet.

When Ocasio-Cortez rst won her congressional seat, Time magazine writer Charlotte Alter wrote a glowing pro le of the socialist newcomer, explaining that her “adulthood was de ned by nancial crisis, debt and climate change. No wonder she and her peers are moving left.”

Since Ocasio-Cortez turned 18 in 2007, there have been only two negative growth years in the United States, one of them due to a worldwide pandemic. From 1970 to 2007, there was, on average, a negative or recessionary year every three to four years. Americans worked through recessions in 1928, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1980/1981, 1990 and 2001 without turning to socialism. The only thing special about Ocasio-Cortez’s adulthood is that the recessions have become shorter and less severe. AOC is living in the golden age.

Boomers have failed on plenty of fronts, but being on the hook for a ridiculously expensive student loan on a useless degree isn’t one of the great tragedies to have befallen mankind. It’s just the consequence of choices. And most progressives want other people to pay for their choices.

There are plenty of serious problems — there always are — but historically speaking, by virtually every quanti able measure available, Americans are living in a uniquely wealthy and safe world. Ocasio- Cortez should be thanking baby boomers for the world they left her.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI

Jerry Dunlap (Dunlap Brothers)

Wake the World

Bringing the lake to kids who’ve never ridden

Wake the World, founded by six-time Masters Wakeboard state champion Greg Hodgin, gives children, veterans and families the chance to wakeboard, waterski and try things they never thought possible. What began in 2006 with a handful of boats and kids from two local children’s homes at High Rock Lake has grown into a nationwide e ort of dozens of events each year across the U.S. and Canada, with a home base at Old North State Club at Badin Lake.

For Hodgin, the payo is in the faces on the water. “Every summer, I hear kids say, ‘This is the best day of my life,’ and it humbles me,” he said in an interview last year. “To see the joy and excitement on their faces makes all the hard work worth it.”

APPLICANTS from page A1

the qualities of e ective leadership, identify their individual leadership styles and learn about opportunities to become more involved locally.

Interactive workshops, team-building exercises and hands-on experiences are intended to strengthen communication, collaboration and decision-making skills.

“One of the greatest benets of Leadership Stanly is the incredible network you build,” the chamber said in a statement. “Over nine months, you will work alongside like-minded professionals, local business owners, government o cials and community volunteers.”

The program allows class members to form connections across industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, retail and technology. Participants also collaborate on service projects intended to bene t local organizations and residents.

Greta Baucom, a member of the Leadership Stanly steering committee, said her experience with the program’s 2025 class helped her learn more about the county. “I was a orded the opportunity to participate in Leadership Stanly’s class of 2025, and I highly recommend it,” Baucom said. “I made great friendships and lifelong bonds with folks that I didn’t know, and

we discovered things about the county that we didn’t know. But more importantly, in addition to that knowledge, we had an opportunity to give back to our county.” Through the program, participants are expected to gain a broader understanding of Stanly County’s economy, institutions, resources and volunteer needs.

Application forms can be downloaded at stanlychamber. org. Completed forms may be emailed to info@stanlychamber.org, mailed to Leadership Stanly, Stanly County Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 909, Albemarle, NC 28002, or delivered to the chamber o ce

at 1000 N. First St., Suite 11 in Albemarle. Applications not selected for the 2026-27 class will be retained for consideration in a future program.

COURTESY STANLY COUNTY CHAMBER

The Stanly County Chamber of Commerce hosted its most recent Leadership Stanly graduation at Stony Mountain Vineyards.

OBITUARIES

Gilbert (Red) Picklesimer

April 20, 1936 – July 6, 2026

Gilbert (RED) Picklesimer peacefully passed at his home, surrounded by his family. He loved his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren unconditionally...He Lived a Great and Adventurous life! I feel when you were with him, you knew it was going to be something out of this world!

He was owner and operator of Oak Hills Golf Course which he designed and built himself. He also loved to collect things and would tell everyone “That’s my goodies babe”.

Oh boy, did he have them! Red had many friends that were like family to him too. He was always positive, funny, and had the biggest heart! He de nitely left his mark on this earth and will never be forgotten!

We know he’s in heaven now seeing all his loved ones that went before him, to a life that has no ending. We love you, Daddy!

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held August 15 at 11 AM at Northdale Baptist Church, 8104 Statesville Rd., Charlotte NC 28269

David Hatley

January 13, 1933 –July 7, 2026

David James Hatley, 93, of Albemarle, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at the home of his daughter.

A funeral service celebrating David’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Lakeview Baptist Church, o ciated by Rev. Don Burleyson and Rev. Tab Whitley. Burial, with military honors, will follow at Stanly Gardens of Memory. The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Stanly Funeral & Cremation Care of Albemarle.

Born on January 13, 1933, in Stanly County, David was the son of the late John Adam Hatley and Emma Isabelle Huneycutt Hatley.

David retired from Collins & Aikman in Albemarle after many years of dedicated service. A proud and patriotic American, he honorably served his country in the United States Army during the Korean Con ict, a service that remained a source of great pride throughout his life. He was a faithful member of Lakeview Baptist Church for over 60 years, where he found strength in his faith and fellowship.

In April 2025 David was recognized as a Hometown Hero. He was honored for his lifetime of putting others rst and humble service everywhere that he could help. He was always a quiet cornerstone of his family and the community. It was often said by many “He was the best, most humble and giving man known.”

“He was the man that all of us lesser men wish we could be.”

David will be remembered as a genuinely humble and downto-earth man who never met a stranger. His warm smile, kind heart, and caring spirit made a lasting impression on everyone he encountered. Beloved by family, friends, and all who knew him, he lived a life marked by quiet integrity, compassion, and unwavering devotion to God and those he loved.

James Floyd “Jimmie” Walton Jr.

July 13, 1950 – June 28, 2026

James Floyd “Jimmie” Walton Jr., 75, of Albemarle, NC, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and loved ones by his side on June 28, 2026, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He is now in the arms of our Lord and Savior rejoicing and forever healed.

Jimmie was born in Albemarle, NC, on July 13, 1950, to James Floyd Walton Sr., and Violet Ruth Morton Walton.

Jimmie is preceded in death by his father, James Walton Sr.; his mother, Violet Ruth Walton; his daughter, Mary Christina Walton; his former wife, Linda Harwood Johnson; his nephew, Charles Walton Lowder; and his best friend and beloved furbaby, Cody.

Jimmie enjoyed watching Westerns and classic favorites, especially Star Wars and Star Trek. Whether he was watching a familiar Western, traveling to a galaxy far, far away, or boldly going where no one had gone before, these were among the simple pleasures he enjoyed.

Jimmie had a special place in his heart for animals. His kindness extended beyond his own pets to the many stray animals he encountered throughout his life. He could often be found feeding and caring for animals that had nowhere else to turn, o ering them compassion and care they needed.

IN MEMORY

RODNEY JOE CORNATZAR

MARCH 6, 1947 – JULY 7, 2026

Rodney Joe Cornatzar, 79, of Norwood, passed away on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at his home.

A celebration of life will be held on Monday, July 20, 2026, from 4:00 until 6:00 PM at Edwards Funeral Home in Norwood.

Rodney was born on March 6, 1947, to the late Charles Otto and Margaret Irene Gordon Cornatzar. He worked as a production manager for Preformed Line Products and he went on to work for Philip Moore’s before retiring.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his son, Shane Schuyler Cornatzar, and his sisters: Alma Yvonne Weitzel and Sandra Lee Anderson.

He is survived by his wife, Judy Evelyn Cornatzar; their children: Rodney Joseph Cornatzar, Paul Henry Cornatzar, Dawn Marie Shepard, and Anthony David Hyatt; grandchildren: Kayla Rose Shepard, Jesse Daniel Steadman, Courtney Jo Shepard, Leah Janell Cornatzar, Skylar Morgan Cornatzar, Madison Grace Hyatt, and Eva Danielle Cornatzar; and two grandchildren.

CAROLYN ESTRIDGE EFIRD

AUG. 27, 1941 – JULY 9, 2026

Carolyn Estridge E rd, 84, of Locust, passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center. A graveside service will be held at Carolina Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10 AM.

Born on August 27, 1941, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Carolyn was the daughter of the late Johnny Wesley Estridge and Ruth Mabel Phillips Estridge. She was a faithful member of Trinity Reformed Presbyterian Church and devoted many years of service as a cafeteria worker at Clear Creek Elementary School, where she enjoyed caring for generations of students.

Above all, Carolyn treasured her family and her faith. She was known as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother whose life re ected loyalty, faithfulness, and a servant’s heart. She was deeply committed to her church and willingly gave of herself wherever she was needed. Those who knew her best will remember her determined spirit, her thriftiness, and her erce independence. She delighted in caring for her family and especially cherished every moment spent with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, never missing an opportunity to spoil them or show them how much they were loved.

Carolyn found joy in life’s simple pleasures. She enjoyed shopping, searching for treasures at yard sales, having her nails done, camping, and spending time at the beach. She lovingly cared for her husband throughout their many years together, and those closest to them will fondly remember the playful way she would “fuss” at him-a re ection of the deep love and devotion they shared. Music was also a special part of her faith, and among the many hymns she loved, It Is Well with My Soul held a special place in her heart.

Carolyn is survived by her beloved husband of 68 years, James E rd; her children, Jackie Davis (Scott) of Locust, Scott E rd (Tracy) of Locust, and Rusty E rd (Suzanne) of Locust; ve grandchildren, Michael E rd, Wesley E rd, Autumn LaRock, Shane E rd, and Beau E rd; ten great-grandchildren; and three greatgreat-grandchildren.

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Stanly News Journal at obits@ stanlynewsjournal.com

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of many years, Jeanette Carlene Smith Hatley, who passed away on August 22, 2014. In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by his grandson, Jason Trexler, on February 23, 2026.

Those left to cherish his memory include his devoted daughter, Teresa Hatley Trexler Smith of Albemarle, and his grandson, Joshua Hatley Trexler of Fletcher, North Carolina.

Many relatives and friends who were touched by his grace and humility grieve his passing but know that he is rejoicing in Heaven now.

Special close family and friends who helped Teresa care for him when needed are John Hatley and Angela Hatley of Albemarle, and John Schutte who jokingly said he was the adopted son. A special thanks to these three angels who loved and cared for him.

David’s legacy of faith, patriotism, humility, sel essness and kindness will continue to live on in the hearts of his family and all who were blessed to know him. Though he will be deeply missed, the love he shared and the example he set will remain a lasting source of comfort and inspiration for generations to come. He was ready to go to Heaven, and to see Jesus and his loved ones.

Jimmie was a erce protector and provider for his family. He was a man whose strength, loyalty, and devotion could always be counted on. He had a big sense of humor and loved making his family laugh. His grandchildren grew up believing the larger-than-life stories he told them—that he had been a Zulu warrior, a professional wrestler, and Darth Vader. Those stories became treasured family memories and perfectly captured his playful spirit, quick wit, and his ability to make childhood a little more magical and fun.

Jimmie is survived by his children, Teresa Lowder (Dwight) and Russell Walton (Monica); his sister, Louise Lowder (Lewis); his niece, Jennifer Lowder; his nephew, Alex Lowder (Kelly); his partner, Jo Ussery; his grandchildren, Brandi McIntyre, Christopher Lowder, Samantha Walton, Charli McGarrah, Charles Howard, and Kailyn Clark; and his great-grandchildren. His absence leaves a space that cannot be lled, but the strength of his love, the laughter he created, the lives he touched, and the memories he leaves behind will remain with his family forever.

Ecclesiastes 12:7--Then shall the dust return as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Until we meet again, Jimmie, Dad, and Peepaw.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son, Jimmy E rd, her sister, Pat Little, and her beloved granddaughter, Kerri E rd. Carolyn’s legacy is one of steadfast faith, unwavering love for her family, and quiet service to others. She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by all who were blessed to know her.

LEROY “AL” ALFRED CALDER JR. JUNE 20, 1945 – JULY 10, 2026

Leroy “Al” Alfred Calder Jr., 81, of Norwood, passed away Friday, July 10, 2026, at his home.

A celebration of life service will be held at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at Norwood First Presbyterian Church. Rev. Heather McIntyre will o ciate. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Edwards Funeral Home in Norwood.

Al was born on June 20, 1945, in Hemingway, SC, to the late LeRoy Alfred Sr. and Jessie Rhinehart Calder. He played college baseball and football for East Carolina University, and college baseball at Pembroke University. After college, he joined the United States Marine Corps and then went on to obtain his Master’s Degree from NC State University. Mr. Calder taught Science at South Stanly High School for over 32 years, where he led as a coach, mentor, and trainer for both football and baseball. He was a member of Norwood First Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon and Elder. He was an avid golfer and loved to spend time with his family, especially his grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Lynn Burnett; and son-in-law, Wesley Smith.

He is survived by his wife, Frankie Jo Story Calder of the home; children: Leigh Ann Smith of Norwood; and Leroy A Calder III ‘Alan’ (Heather) of Jamestown; ve grandchildren: Anslee Smith, Wes Smith, Ty Smith, Hailey Thompson (Walker), and Alexis Calder; sister Dixie Ferris(Richard); and brother-in-law, Orris Burnett.

ANN LIVINGSTON HUDSON

MARCH 12, 1936 – JULY 10, 2026

Ann Livingston Hudson, 90, of Norwood, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Trinity Place in Albemarle. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Cottonville Baptist Church. Pastor JR Murr, AD Hudson, and Nicholas Helms will o ciate. The family will receive friends from 10:00 to 11:00 AM in the sanctuary prior to the service. Ms. Hudson was born on March 12, 1936, in Stanly County to the late James Thomas and Essie Whitley Livingston. She retired from C&A as a spinner after over 35 years. She was a member of Cottonville Baptist Church, where she taught the 6-9-year-old Sunday School class for many years. Ann loved to cook and bake for her friends and family. She was known for her ‘Cooks Corner’ selection in the Stanly News and Press every week for over 25 years. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Hudson; son, Ashley Hudson; and her siblings: Kelly Livingston and Elaine Mauldin. She is survived by her daughter, Sandra Helms (Greg) of Norwood; daughter-in-law, Cindy Hudson of Norwood; grandchildren: Nicholas Helms (Jacki) and A.D. Hudson (Suzannah Brown); two great-grandchildren: Eva Claire and Susanna Helms; and sister: Jacqueline Harkey. Memorials may be made to Tillery Compassionate Care: 960 N First Street, Albemarle, NC 28001; or Cottonville Baptist Church: 8032 Cottonville Road, Norwood, NC 28128.

STANLY SPORTS

Uwharrie Wampus Cats celebrate season-high reworks crowd

The team thanked fans after its July 3 game

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — The Uwharrie Wampus Cats recently thanked local fans and the city of Albemarle after drawing their largest crowd of the season for the team’s annual reworks game at Don Montgomery Park.

Uwharrie hosted the Queen City Corndogs on July 3 as part of an Independence Day-themed celebration.

Although the Wampus Cats fell 11-6 and dropped to an 8-15

record, the organization said the turnout and postgame reworks made the evening one of the highlights of its summer schedule.

“A few days later, we’re still thinking about what a great night it was in Albemarle,” the team said in a statement.

“Thank you to everyone who came out for the Wampus Cats’ 250th Independence Day celebration. We’re grateful for the best fans in the Carolinas and thankful to the city of Albemarle for its partnership in helping make the night such a special one.

“The crowd, the reworks and the community support made

“This was a major weekend for our league and a great example of what we believe summer baseball can be in these communities.”

Greg Sullivan, Wampus Cats president and owner

it a night to remember at Don Montgomery Park. We’re looking forward to more big nights at the ballpark throughout the rest of the season.”

With an estimated 10,000 fans across games in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, the event was part of a record holiday weekend for the Blue Ridge League, which is playing its inaugural season as a multiteam collegiate summer baseball circuit.

“This was a major weekend for our league and a great example of what we believe summer baseball can be in these communities,” said Greg Sullivan, the Wampus Cats’ president and owner. Sullivan, who also serves as chairman of the Blue Ridge League, said the attendance gures demonstrated the poten-

tial for the league to establish a lasting presence throughout the region.

“To see strong crowds in multiple markets over the same holiday weekend says a lot about the work being done by our teams, our host communities and our players,” he said. “We’re still early in our rst season as a league, but weekends like this show the potential for the Blue Ridge League to become a major summer tradition across the region.”

On the eld, Uwharrie has lost six of its past seven games and sits sixth in the eight-team standings behind the Carolina Disco Turkeys, Queen City, Greenwood Flying Monkeys, Joanna Hornets and Spartanburg County Peaches.

The Wampus Cats will host the Greensboro Ducks on Thursday and Saturday, with a Friday home game against the Carolina White Sox. Uwharrie will nish the weekend on the road against Joanna in South Carolina.

The ve-year agreement begins with the 2026 -27 athletic year

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

MISENHEIMER — Pfei er University athletics will have a new streaming home beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.

Last Thursday, the USA South Athletic Conference announced it has entered into a ve-year exclusive partnership with FloSports that will place broadcasts from the Falcons and eight other participating USA South schools on FloCollege, the company’s collegiate streaming platform.

The agreement is expected to expand the availability and production quality of Pfei er athletic broadcasts while giving the university’s teams and student-athletes broader exposure. FloCollege will work with conference schools to support broadcast operations and increase coverage across sponsored sports.

Pfei er will join Brevard College, Greensboro College, Mary Baldwin University, Meredith College, Methodist University, N.C. Wesleyan University, Salem College and Southern Virginia Universi-

ty as participating members.

FloCollege subscribers will receive access to live events, original programming and other conference content throughout the season. Select broadcasts and programming will also be distributed through FloSports’ free streaming channels, including Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and the company’s social media platforms. USA South Commissioner

Tom Hart said the partnership will provide new nancial incentives for member institutions while helping the conference adjust to changes in the sports media landscape.

“We believe FloCollege is the right long-term partner to help position the USA South for future success,” Hart said.

“This agreement creates meaningful new nancial resources for our member institutions while expanding the reach

and quality of our broadcasts.” Hart added that the conference remained focused on preserving the academic priorities and overall student athlete experience associated with NCAA Division III athletics. The USA South becomes the 12th Division III conference to join FloCollege. Other regional conferences on the platform include the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and

“We believe FloCollege is the right long-term partner to help position the USA South for future success.”

Tom Hart, USA South commissioner

Southern Athletic Association.

FloCollege streams more than 20,000 live and on-demand college events each year across NCAA Divisions I, II and III. FloSports has committed more than $75 million to collegiate partners through rights agreements, broadcast infrastructure, marketing and content development.

FloCollege General Manager John Turner said the addition of the USA South strengthens the platform’s growing Division III presence.

“The USA South has built a strong tradition of competitive excellence while remaining committed to the values that de ne Division III athletics,” Turner said.

Monthly, annual and family subscription plans will be available, along with discounted pricing for users with eligible partner .edu email addresses.

Additional subscription information is available through the o cial FloCollege website at ocollege.com.

COURTESY UWHARRIE WAMPUS CATS

Uwharrie had its largest home crowd of the 2026 season July 3 at Don Montgomery Park in Albemarle.

MLB White Sox rookie Peters hits for cycle, rst for franchise in nine years

Chicago Rookie Chicago White Sox center elder Tristan Peters hit for the cycle, becoming the franchise’s rst player to do it in nine years. Peters doubled in the third, singled in the fth and hit a two-run homer in the seventh against the Athletics. He came up to bat a second time in the seventh and hit a grounder down the right- eld line. The 26-year - old former Durham Bull slid head rst into third to beat the relay throw. Peters is the third major leaguer to hit for the cycle this season.

PGA

Sche er misses cut for rst time in 4 years

North Berwick, Scotland

Scottie Sche er has his rst weekend o in nearly four years. The world’s No. 1 player looked ordinary over two days at the Scottish Open, shooting 72 on Friday and missing the cut by two shots. It’s his rst missed cut since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022. Sche er missed a 6-foot par putt on the last hole and missed a 7-foot birdie putt on his 16th hole.

WORLD CUP

FIFA selling eld to be used for World Cup nal in $450 pieces

East Rutherford, N.J.

FIFA is selling pieces of the World Cup nal eld for $450 each. The grass will be used for the July 19 nal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. FIFA’s store describes each piece as 17.5 by 17.5 by 17.5 but doesn’t specify the unit of measurement. Players and coaches have criticized the eld quality at MetLife, which usually uses an arti cial surface for NFL games.

Rattín, whose dismissal in 1966 World Cup prompted rules change, dead at 89

Renowned Argentine soccer player Antonio Rattín died at 89. Rattín, a former Boca Juniors player, became famous for his de ance at the 1966 World Cup, which led to the introduction of yellow and red cards. Known for his hardtackling style, he won six league titles with Boca Juniors. He played in two World Cups and was a Copa Libertadores runner -up. Rattín’s protest during a match against England at Wembley sparked changes in how referees communicate dismissals. His actions also fueled the soccer rivalry between Argentina and England.

NBA Raptors, Clippers put trade for Leonard on hold pending end of NBA investigation Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is on hold because of an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers. The league is examining whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules. The NBA’s probe began in September, focusing on a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. The Raptors and Clippers had agreed on a trade earlier this month. Leonard, a seven-time All-Star, is coming o his highest-scoring season. There is no timetable for the investigation’s conclusion.

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements to be published in Stanly News Journal. community@stanlynewsjournal.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at noon

The Team Penske Ford driver survived hitting the wall to win

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — A late brush with the wall wasn’t enough to send Ryan Blaney to pit row.

The decision paid o with a dominant victory.

Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the nal lap of overtime in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta early Monday.

Blaney won every stage of the race and led 171 laps after starting on the pole, but the Team Penske Ford driver had to ght o challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who nished second, on the nal lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four.

Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and nished 29th instead of second.

There was a delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes because of rain and lightning. The race ended at 1:45 a.m. at EchoPark Speedway.

Blaney won the rst two stages but brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining, causing possible damage on his right side, after he was cut o by Wallace.

Blaney remained on the track despite telling his crew he felt a “terrible” vibration.

“I tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence,” Blaney said. “You know, I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stu like that, but luckily it still drove really decent. ... It wasn’t too bad. Luckily it wasn’t enough damage we couldn’t keep running.”

Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler said his team was able to view photos of the right side of the car and determine the best chance to win was to remain on the track.

“There were 30 cars on the lead lap at that point and not a lot of laps left,” Hassler said. ”Our best chance to win was to stay out there.”

Multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst, were involved in a wreck with ve laps remaining to set up the overtime.

There had been concern about approaching rain before lightning within eight miles of the 1.54-mile oval track near Atlanta led NASCAR o cials to order cars o the track and advise fans to exit the grandstand. Rain began soon after the race was delayed. Following some caution laps and pit stops, the race went back to green at 12:02 a.m.

Blaney said he “took a nap and ate a little food” during the

delay. Larson said the resumption of the race a few minutes before midnight “is de nitely past my bedtime.”

Blaney won the pole, and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano joined him on the front row. A third Team Penske driver, Austin Cindric, moved up to third early in the race for an early strong showing for the Fords.

Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin, who quali ed 28th, nished 12th. Tyler Reddick was eighth.

Reddick, who won at EchoPark Speedway in February as part of his string of ve wins in the season’s rst nine races, quali ed only 31st on Saturday. By the 35th lap he already had moved up to fourth, proving early that he again would be a factor in Atlanta.

Clean start

The weather delay was the rst caution for cause in the race, a dramatic departure from the weekend’s rst race. There were a track-record 13 cautions in Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race won by Justin Allgaier. That total included four red ag incidents, creating an omi-

nous preview for the Cup Series race.

The rst caution for an incident on the track in the Cup Series race came when AJ Allmendinger lost control of his Chevrolet with 67 laps remaining. Allmendinger blew a tire and hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to cause another caution.

Another strong start for Team Penske

Blaney’s Stage 1 win gave Team Penske Fords yet another strong start in Atlanta. Team Penske drivers have won Stage 1 in six of the last eight races at the track.

Blaney held o Reddick, who nished second in the rst stage after qualifying 31st.

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney leads during a dominating NASCAR Cup Series win in Atlanta.

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 26SP000002-830 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Latoya Allen (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Latoya Allen) to Craig Shoemaker, Trustee(s), dated July 29, 2022, and recorded in Book No. 1794, at Page 1166 in Stanly County Registry, North Carolina. The Deed of Trust was modi ed by the following:

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quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Alyssa Nicole Schoenewerk, late of 9749 Bethel Church Road, Locust, Stanly 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 c/o attorney Kelly Rains Jesson at 5821 Fairview Road, Suite 218, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28209, on or before October 1, 2026, 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. This the 1st day of July, 2026 Francine Everett, Administrator of the Estate of Alyssa Nicole Schoenewerk Kelly Rains Jesson, Esq. Jesson & Rains, PLLC 5821 Fairview Road, Suite 218 Charlotte, NC 28209 26E000304-830 (For Publication: Dates 07/01/2026, 07/08/2026, 07/15/2026, 07/22/2026)

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,

NOTICES

NOTICE IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE No. 26E000076-830

NORTH CAROLINA

STANLY COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as EXECUTOR of the estate of MICHAEL J. SMITH, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said MICHAEL J. SMITH to present them to the undersigned on or before September 24, 2026, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.

This the 24th day of June, 2026.

Executor: Ashley E. Smith 32 William Penn Avenue Pennsville, NJ 08070 Erin L. Basinger Attorney at Law PO Box 65 Albemarle, NC 28002 (704) 322-2800

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000315-830

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Rex Allen deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Rex Allen to present them to the undersigned on or before October 9, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.

This the 8th day of July 2026 Lynsie Marie Allen 222 Gordon Street Norwood, NC 28128 Executor

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000306-830

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Glenn Dale Jackson, Jr. deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Glenn Dale Jackson, Jr. to present them to the undersigned on or before October 3, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 1st day of July 2026 Glenn Dale Jackson 4846 Turner Court Country Club Hills, IL 60478 Administrator

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 25E000162-830 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Marjorie Barden Jarrett deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Marjorie Barden Jarrett to present them to the undersigned on or before September 26, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000194-830 NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY Having quali ed as Co-Administrators of the Estate of the late, MICHAEL TODD HOWELL, deceased, late of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the Estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before October 1, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 1st day of July, 2026. Brandon Todd Howell 213 Kelty Ave. Norwood, NC 28128 Brandi Howell Talbert 1355 Hwy 109N Troy, NC 27371 Scarborough Law, PLLC Whitney T. Scarborough 107 A East Wade Street Wadesboro , NC 28170

This the 24th day of June 2026 Richard Alton Jarrett Jr. 754 Carneros Circle High Point, NC 27265 Executor

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000318-830

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Administratrix of the Estate of James Ellis Covington deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Jame Ellis Covington to present them to the undersigned on or before October 9, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 8th day of July 2026 Loria Watkins 20088 Hurley Road Oakboro, NC 28129 Administratrix

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA

STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000334-830 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Executor of the estate of James Floyd Walton, Jr. deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said James Floyd Walton, Jr. to present them to the

NOTICE

NORTH

NOTICE

NOTICE

‘Heartstopper Forever,’ ‘Lucky,’ ‘Marc by So a,’ Steve Lacy

Will Ferrell plays golf in “The Hawk” on Net ix

The Associated Press

A NEW ALBUM from Steve Lacy and the conclusion of the “Heartstopper” series are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: “Lucky,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, the game “D-topia” and “The Hawk,” which stars Will Ferrell as a gol ng great well past his prime.

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

Net ix’s popular series “Heartstopper” concludes with a feature lm nale, “Heartstopper Forever,” streaming Friday on Net ix. The lm, written by “Heartstopper” creator and graphic novelist Alice Oseman, follows the Season 3 ending in which Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) take their relationship to a new level. New challenges await, though, as Nick considers what university he’ll attend.

So a Coppola pro les fashion designer Marc Jacobs in “Marc by So a” (Thursday on HBO Max). The lm, largely shot as Jacobs prepares to unveil a ready-to-wear collection, marks a documentary rst for Coppola, the lmmaker of “Lost in Translation” and “The Bling Ring.” Christian Petzold’s “Miroirs No. 3” (Mubi on Friday), one of the standouts of the rst half of 2026, is about a piano student (Paula Beer) who, following a car accident, rehabilitates in the rural home of an older woman (Barbara Auer) who lives near where the crash happened. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle called the lm “beguiling and restorative.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

In 2022, he was inescapable. Lacy’s “Bad Habit” was a hit, anchored by its surprising — and addictive — self-e acing

AMENDED 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 Adaryll Thomas (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Toriano Adaryll 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 22, 2026 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:

hook: “I wish I knew you wanted me.” On Friday, the alt-R&B talent, formerly of the group the Internet, will release a new album titled “Oh yeah?” It’s a pop progression, from the dreamy collaboration with SZA, “Is It Cool?” to the ambitious “The Feeling.”

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. 48-16-12-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. 41-4113 E. 248.37 feet to an existing bent iron pipe in the right-of-way of Woodhurst Lane; 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

The Colombian Canadian artist Lido Pimienta is no stranger to pushing boundaries; it is why she is frequently compared to Björk and Natalia Lafourcade in equal measure. On Friday she will release “Caribenya,” a portmanteau of “Caribe” and the elusive Irish singer

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). Should the property be purchased by a third party, 31 CFR 1031.320 requires certain qualifying residential real estate transactions to be reported to the federal government. If you are the successful bidder in this proceeding, you may be required to provide all applicable identifying information about yourself and, if applicable, any entity or trust purchasing the property. 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,

“‘Miroirs No. 3’ is beguiling and restorative.”

Jake Coyle, AP lm writer

“Enya.” The title should provide a framework in which to experience this work: It’s at the intersection of her cumbia and DIY roots, as well as her ever-expanding, anti-colonial sonic experimentations.

SERIES TO STREAM

Robert Irwin won Season 34 of “Dancing with the Stars,” and now he’s the host of “The Next Pro,” where 12 dancers compete to be a pro in its next season. Mark Ballas, a three-time Mirrorball champ, is a judge alongside his mother, Shirley Ballas, winner of many Latin dance competitions and renowned instructor and British TV personality. A third spot at the judges’ table will feature rotating guests

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

including Derek Hough, Witney Carson and Jenna Johnson. The show is streaming now on Hulu. What would you do if you had a winning lottery ticket that you couldn’t cash in? Taylor-Joy plays Lucky, a con artist with that conundrum in a new Apple TV series of the same name. The winnings would give Lucky a chance at a new life, but both the feds and her crime boss are on her trail. Reese Witherspoon, who chose the novel for her book club in 2021, is an executive producer. The rst two episodes are now streaming. Ferrell plays Lonnie Hawkins, No. 1 golfer — of 2004. Present day though, the wear and tear of years on the course is showing. His ex-wife and son, golf’s latest hotshot, think the game is over and he should retire. Lonnie refuses to go out as anything but great — he’s just got to win one more major to complete a career Grand Slam. Molly Shannon, Jimmy Tatro, Fortune Feimster, Luke Wilson and Chris Parnell round out the cast. “The Hawk” premieres Thursday on Net ix.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

“Culdcept Begins” represents the return of a cult classic that’s been absent from consoles for too long. It’s a mashup of two popular kinds of tabletop games. One is a board game, like Monopoly, in which you roll dice, move and claim property. The other is a collectible card game, like Magic: The Gathering, in which you use your deck to summon creatures, cast spells or deploy weapons. If you land on a space that an opponent has already claimed, the battle is on. With ever-changing boards and more than 400 cards, you can indulge in a challenging solo campaign or play online against friends. Cut the deck Thursday on Switch. “D-topia” looks like it might be a nice place to live. After all, it’s a place where “life is curated by arti cial intelligence to maximize happiness.” But machines break down sometimes, and your job as a facilitator is to x them. You may run into some human residents who aren’t entirely happy in this mellow but bland town. And once you discover the hidden “Block Side,” you may reveal some unsavory secrets. Publisher Annapurna Interactive describes it as “a calm, yet thought-provoking journey” in which your choices may lead to joy or despair. Check in on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch or PC.

ALESSANDRA TARANTINO / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Director So a Coppola, left, and designer Marc Jacobs pose for photographers on the red carpet for the lm “Marc by So a” during the 82nd Venice Film Festival in 2025.

JESSICA BROOKS / APPLE TV VIA AP

Anya Taylor-Joy portrays a con artist in “Lucky” on Apple TV.

Solution to last issue’s puzzle

Solution to this issue’s puzzles

PJ WARD-BROWN / TWIN CITY HERALD

The Asia Continent habitat remains o limits at North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, but the opening could be coming by later this summer.

State budget allows NC Zoo to proceed

Supreme Court justices tell Congress safety at risk, more must be spent on security

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan testi ed to Congress on Tuesday, a rare event for members of the high court. They’re seeking millions of dollars to enhance security as threats rise to the judiciary. Judges nationwide have faced increased violence and intimidation, including a fake swatting call to Barrett’s home in May.

Bu ett omits gift to Gates’ foundation after Microsoft cofounder’s Epstein ties disclosed

Warren Bu ett omitted Bill Gates’ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of Gates’ ties to convicted sex o ender Je rey Epstein. He’ll donate about $6 billion to four family foundations but didn’t mention Gates. Bu ett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth nearly $146 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034. Most of Bu ett’s donations since 2006 have gone to the Gates Foundation.

$2.00

The opening of the Asia exhibition has been contingent on an updated budget

By Bob Sutton Twin City Herald

ASHEBORO — The funding is in place but the hiring still needs to happen before the much-anticipated opening of the Asia Continent habitat at North Carolina Zoo. Construction on the exhibit began with a groundbreaking nearly four years ago, and that part of the facility was deemed complete this spring. But with-

out a state budget, the zoo was unable to go ahead with hiring for positions needed for the Asia habitat.

Last week, a new state budget was approved, providing approximately $6.2 million to the NC Zoo for operating funds.

“The North Carolina Zoo is pleased that the majority of our requested positions and funding for the Zoo’s new Asia Continent were appropriated by the new state budget,” Michele Walker, assistant communications director of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, said in a statement. “The 54 posi-

“(We are) pleased that the majority of our requested positions and funding were appropriated.”

Michele Walker, NC DNCR

tions and $6.2 million in operating funds will allow us to move forward with opening this exciting new area to visitors as soon as practicable. We will work as quickly as possible to hire for these necessary po -

sitions and prepare to o cially open Asia once that process is complete.”

The Asia habitat consumes 12.5 acres. At one point, projections had the exhibit opening by June, but that time period passed without a state budget.

Interim NC Zoo director Diane Villa told a Triad-area television station that some animals from the Asia habitat can be heard in other parts of the zoo, heightening the anticipation for when that area is open to the public. This is considered the zoo’s rst major expansion since 1994.

Shontell Robinson is Forsyth County’s highest-salaried employee

By Ryan Henkel Twin City Herald

WINSTON-SALEM —

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners has increased the compensation for the county manager. At the board’s July 9 meeting, it approved the adjustment of the county manager’s salary to go from $10,601.58 to $11,131.68 per pay period, a 5% increase, e ective retroactively to June 20.

County Manager Shontell Robinson is Forsyth County’s highest-paid employee and was making just over $275,000 per year in her position. The 5% pay raise is in line with what she received last year. The increase will take Rob -

$289,423.68

The county manager’s new annual salary

inson up to an annual salary of $289,423.68

“We appreciate the work that you do,” said Board Chair Don Martin.

The board also approved the execution of two leases, both for one-year, $1 terms, the rst being with Family Services for 674 square feet of county-owned property located at 725 Highland Ave. for the purpose of providing advocacy and intervention programs for clients accessing services at the Family Justice Center.

The second lease was with Legal Aid of North Carolina for 142 square feet of property also located at 725 Highland Ave. for the purpose of pro -

viding legal and other supplemental services to client accessing services at the Family Justice Center.

In addition, the board approved eight contractual matters, including:

• A $61,000 contract with Perkinson Law Firm for lobbying services at the North Carolina General Assembly

• A $227,000 agreement with Senior Services for the provision of home-delivered meals, frozen meals and congregate lunch program services as well as adult daycare and health services.

• A $815,000 purchase order with Rhinehart Family Company for self-contained

breather apparatus and equipment.

• A $68,000 contract with Tele ex for the purchase of EZ-IO Intraosseous Vascular Access Devices.

• A three-year, $2.08 million contract with Bound Tree Medical for the purchase of medical supplies utilized by Forsyth County Emergency Services.

• An $89,000 agreement with Airgas for the provision of medical oxygen cylinder exchange and rental.

• An $164,000 agreement with Universal Protection Service for contracted security services at the Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center.

• A $4.76 million construction contract with H. M. Kern for the Law Enforcement Detention Center Elevator Modernization Project. The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will next meet July 30.

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Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Lindsey Graham, chosen to ful ll remainder of his US Senate term

Nordone will be the rst woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate

By Meg Kinnard and Je rey Collins The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named as her late brother’s temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate after his unexpected death over the weekend.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a news conference at the Statehouse on Monday that Nordone would serve the remaining months on Graham’s current term, which expires in January.

A person familiar with the appointment process but not authorized to speak about it publicly said Nordone would be sworn in Wednesday. She will be the rst woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

“It is such an honor,” Nordone said, as dozens of Graham sta ers and campaign advisers stood behind her, some with eyes glassy from welling tears. “Lindsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him.”

Graham died Saturday night at age 71. He never married or had a family of his own, but Nordone was often by her brother’s side for the political touch points of his career, speaking at events and appearing in some of his campaign ads.

After their parents died at a young age, Graham was left to raise his sister, for whom he later became legal guardian. They were very close, and she was there as he led reelection paperwork earlier this year, along with her children and grandchildren.

“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words,” Nordone said, emotion rising in her voice. “But I’m going to do this. I got it.”

Introducing Nordone, McMaster said the two had spoken in “in the wee hours of Sunday morning” after Graham’s death, and he asked her to serve.

“I had wondered what you would say, and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve,” McMaster said. He added that President Donald Trump “thought it was a great idea” when he later told him of his pick. Trump announced his support for Nardone to ll the seat earlier Monday.

How will a special primary work?

A special election will be held next month to pick a new Republican nominee in the general election for Graham’s

seat. He had been seeking a fth term this year.

The rare open Senate seat has ignited a scramble among South Carolina’s most ambitious conservatives, who have been eager to climb the political ladder.

Republicans just nished a sprawling and bruising contest to gure out their nominee for succeeding McMaster, who is wrapping up his second term. State Attorney General Alan Wilson won the nomination, overcoming a eld that included Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman — all of whom are now eyeing Graham’s seat following his death over the weekend.

According to South Carolina law, a one-week ling period for a special primary election begins on the second Tuesday after the candidate’s death, or July 21.

The special primary election would be held on the second Tuesday after that ling period closes, or Aug. 11. Any necessary runo would follow two weeks after that, or Aug. 25.

From that point, the new nominee would have just over two months to campaign for the general election on Nov. 3.

All of this is problematic according to federal law, which requires military and overseas ballots to go out 45 days before any federal election. For the special election primary, that would have been June 27. Federal Election Commission ofcials didn’t immediately return a message seeking clarity about the process.

Who could replace Graham?

Graham died Saturday night, and a preliminary medical examiner report said he su ered a tear in his aorta, known as an aortic dissection.

In the hours after Graham’s death was announced, South Carolina’s Republican circles were already swirling with rumors about possible replacements. Given the proximity of November’s election, it’s

“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words. But I’m going to do this. I got it.”

Graham Nordone

Darline

likely that whomever McMaster appoints could be a top contender in the special primary, although it’s possible that McMaster’s choice will only serve as a temporary caretaker.

Evette, who has served nearly eight years alongside McMaster and received his endorsement in the governor’s race, is one possibility. She lost the June 23 runo to Wilson.

A person with knowledge of Evette’s thinking but not authorized to discuss it publicly said that she was getting encouragement from across the state and feels she would have good chances in the special primary.

It’s unlikely that any House member would be appointed to nish Graham’s current term, since Republicans have such a slim majority in the chamber.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a rumored replacement, said he assured Trump on Sunday that “my goal is to remain in the House to keep his two -vote majority for the American people!!!”

However, that doesn’t mean that House members won’t run for the next full term. A person with knowledge of Mace’s thinking but not authorized to speak about it publicly said she was considering the race. Mace is not running for reelection to the House.

But another Republican from the state, Rep. Russell Fry, could be a possibility. The two-term lawmaker represents the growing area around Myrtle Beach, and he’s been a top Trump ally.

Businessman Mark Lynch, whom Graham defeated in the primary, could also jump into the race. A person familiar with but not authorized to speak publicly about the thinking of

Pentagon says suspension lifted for SC helicopter pilots following July 4 beach event

Pentagon reverses decision after Republican leadership rallied to defend the pilots

By Meg Kinnard

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Eight

South Carolina National Guard helicopter pilots have been returned to ying duties following a suspension over a low- ying sweep over beachgoers as part of a July 4 event honoring servicemembers.

“E ective immediately, the suspension of all involved South Carolina pilots has been lifted,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote Friday morning on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”

The suspension followed “Salute from the Shore,” a July 4 tradition honoring servicemem-

bers in South Carolina since 2010 that features vintage and modern military aircraft ying along the 187-mile length of the state’s shoreline, with the intent of sparking patriotism among thousands of beachgoers gathered for the holiday. This year’s salute included F-16s with the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing out of McEntire Joint Base, as well as a C-17 from the 437th Airlift Wing based at Joint Base Charleston. For the rst time, Apache helicopters joined the air parade, which also featured civilian-owned vintage planes like T-34s and T-6s. Numerous attendees often post video on social media of the display, but this year, online images of the Apaches ying at what appeared to be a low height over crowded beaches sparked concern with the South Carolina National Guard, which

launched a review of the event and temporarily suspended the eight pilots from ying duties while that was ongoing, later clarifying the suspension was “a routine, non-punitive safety measure, not a disciplinary action.”

Late last Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted on social media that the Pentagon was getting involved, writing, “We’ll x this. Carry on, Patriots.”

The message was similar to one issued by Hegseth in March after the lifting of a suspension for a pair of Army pilots who hovered two AH-64 Apache helicopters near Kid Rock’s Tennessee home during a training run while he clapped and saluted.

“No punishment. No Investigation. Carry on, patriots,” Hegseth said then in a social media post, less than three hours

Mark Sanford — South Carolina’s former governor who also served two separate stints in the U.S. House — said he was considering it too.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who lived in South Carolina before joining the Trump administration, has elded calls about potentially replacing Graham but doesn’t have interest in the role and enjoys working for the president, according to a person who insisted on anonymity to describe private conversations. How does Graham’s death a ect the general election?

No Democrat has won a Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically take statewide seats by double digits. When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin.

So while history suggests that Graham was en route to a fth term, Republicans are carefully surveying the landscape.

Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews won the Democratic nomination last month and has raised more than $8 million in the race, and she had just under $3 million cash on hand at the end of May, according to federal lings. Graham had taken in $6 million, with just over $4 million on hand.

In a statement Sunday, Andrews called on South Carolinians to join her “in setting partisanship aside and o ering gratitude” to Graham for his service.

Harrison, noting that he and Graham “had our share of political disagreements,” wrote on social media that he “always appreciated that even in our ercest political battles, we could still share a conversation, a laugh, and a mutual respect for South Carolina and the institutions we were both privileged to serve.”

What happens to South Carolina’s Republican clout?

Graham leaves a major void in the Senate, where seniority can determine in uence. He served more than two decades in the chamber, positioning himself to lead committees and set the agenda.

Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator, has been in ofce only since 2012 — short by the state’s standards. Fritz Hollings served for 38 years, and Strom Thurmond was there for 47.

Scott, who co-chaired Graham’s reelection e ort, described his former colleague as “irreplaceable.”

“America lost a statesman, but I lost a friend,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”

Ahead of Parnell’s post noting the suspension had been lifted, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster — who serves as commander-in-chief of the state’s National Guard — said he trusted the pilots’ acumen, writing in a social media post that Guardsmen y in wartime.

“Surely, they know how to safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and tourists on our 250th anniversary.”

Gov. Henry McMaster

after the Army announced its review. Kid Rock, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, said he thought it was “really cool” that the pilots stopped to hover at his house. South Carolina Republicans rebuked the suspension of its Guard pilots. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents the Myrtle Beach area, said last Thursday that the pilots “should be celebrated, not sanctioned.”

“Surely, they know how to safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and tourists on our 250th anniversary,” McMaster wrote.

McMaster’s o ce said last Friday the governor was pleased the suspension had been lifted. Asked whether the governor — a longtime Trump ally — had directly intervened, a spokesperson said the o ce “remains in regular communication with state and federal partners as part of its routine operations.”

The Pentagon declined to comment beyond Parnell’s statement. Maj. Lisa Allen of the South Carolina National Guard con rmed in an email last Friday that the suspension had been lifted but did not respond to a question over whether the Guard were still conducting an internal review.

RAINIER EHRHARDT / AP PHOTO

Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), walks to the stage before his announcement for presidency on June 1, 2015, in Central, South Carolina.

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | DENNIS BERWYN

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Patients deserve transparency and accountability in North Carolina’s hospital system

The 340B Drug Pricing Program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines.

NORTH CAROLINA families shouldn’t have to guess what their healthcare will cost or whether they’re getting a fair deal. But too often, that’s exactly where people nd themselves: navigating a system where prices vary widely, transparency is limited and accountability can feel just out of reach.

At the center of this challenge is a trend that has quietly reshaped healthcare across the country: hospital consolidation.

Over the past two decades, hospitals have steadily joined larger systems, often with the goal of improving coordination and expanding access to care. Those are important goals. But the reality for many patients, especially those in rural communities, has been more complicated. Research continues to show that when markets become more concentrated, prices often rise and choices become more limited. New consolidation e orts in North Carolina raise real questions about what this means for patients, taxpayers and local communities.

When competition declines, patients lose. And too often, families and employers end up paying the price.

We’re seeing the e ects here in North Carolina. Wide di erences in hospital prices and real gaps in price transparency make it harder for patients and employers to plan ahead or even know if they’ve been treated fairly.

And it’s not just about confusion. It’s about trust — trust that the system is working as intended and that patients are bene ting from it.

One clear example is the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This federal program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines. Eligible hospitals and clinics can buy outpatient medicines at steep discounts with the understanding that those savings should support

patient care and community needs.

That goal and the 340B program are worth preserving. But over time, the program has expanded dramatically without consistent transparency or clear requirements for reporting how those savings are used. In too many cases, patients have no way to know whether discounted medicines are actually lowering their costs or improving access to care.

In North Carolina, data shows that some hospitals participating in 340B have charged far more than the discounted price they paid for certain medications. At the same time, there is no consistent requirement that those savings be passed directly to patients or clearly tied to improving patient access or a ordability. When that’s combined with continued hospital consolidation, it raises serious questions about whether the program is serving patients as Congress intended.

This highlights something else worth paying attention to: incentives matter. As hospitals grow larger and acquire new facilities, they can expand their use of programs like 340B. Over time, that dynamic can reward consolidation, reduce competition and make an already complicated healthcare system harder for families to understand.

Supporting hospitals and standing up for patients should not be in con ict. We can, and should, do both.

That starts with greater transparency so patients can understand prices before they receive care. It means clearer standards and accountability so programs designed to help vulnerable populations actually deliver on that promise. It also means practical federal reforms that protect legitimate safety-net providers while closing loopholes that allow the program to drift away from patients.

The Trump administration is taking one encouraging step by continuing to pursue

AOC should thank baby boomers for the world they left her

The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ says she knows why socialism is on the rise: Blame it on the boomers.

“Millennials and Gen Z combined, now for the rst time, are eclipsing the number of baby boomers,” she explained recently. “Young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world we’ve been left.”

It’s inarguable that younger generations feel this way. The notion that millennials and Generation Z are toiling in a uniquely grueling economic era, however, is utterly delusional.

But convincing young people they’ve been handed a broken world only fostered an unprecedented sense of hopelessness. You are not victims of “oligarchs,” unfettered capitalism or any other imaginary monsters.

One of the most popular myths these days (you hear it from both sides all the time) is that the American middle class is being gutted. It’s simply not true. In 1980, 36% of American families were middle class.

Only 31% of Americans are still in the middle class because the upper middle class has grown from 10% of households to more than 30%. The middle class is shrinking because the upper middle class is expanding.

Real median income has not only grown across all classes over the past 40 years but has zoomed past the rest of the Western world. The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

That’s a pretty remarkable economic

inheritance. Just ask the soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.

Another big grievance of younger people is that housing has become far too expensive. It’s a genuine concern. But ownership rates are no lower today than they were in the ’60s, ’70s or ’90s, and most of the 1980s. The homeownership rate in 1980 was 65.5%. In 2025, it was 65.4%. Rates temporarily spiked through the 2000s when government policy incentivized millions to “buy” houses they couldn’t a ord with no money down.

Housing shortages are driven by the laws of physics. It’s not the boomers’ fault that too many people want to live in and around major urban areas.

You also wonder if the average Gen Zer understands that the environment is in nitely cleaner today than it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

There has been widespread reforesting and wetland restoration. There is far less litter. Air quality is drastically cleaner, as is water. When boomers started driving, gas was leaded, and most cars didn’t even have catalytic converters. Gen X grew up worried about things called “nuclear winter” and “acid rain.”

An average household spends on clothing and food a fraction of what their grandparents did. And yet, they also have substantially more choices, including international and nutritious fare.

It’s true that healthcare costs have risen. Some of it can be attributed to bad policy. Most of it re ects prosperity, as younger Americans will generally enjoy longer life expectancy and better care than any generation before them.

the recent federal 340B rebate pilot, which o ers a measured way to add veri cation and accountability before discounts are nalized. Done correctly, that approach can help con rm that a prescription is eligible, reduce duplicate discounts, create a clearer data trail and bring more discipline to the program without changing which hospitals or clinics qualify for 340B. Just as important, it focuses on solving problems up front rather than relying on slower, after-the-fact e orts to untangle errors once the money has already moved.

That is the kind of commonsense reform conservatives should support: limited, practical, focused on accountability and respectful of both taxpayers and patients.

Just as importantly, we have to recognize where responsibility for reform truly sits. Programs like 340B are federal by design, and Congress should lead.

A patchwork of state-level xes risks creating more inconsistency and less accountability, failing to provide the clarity and consistency patients deserve.

North Carolina has always valued fairness, personal responsibility, competition and looking out for one another. Bringing more transparency and accountability to our healthcare system is simply an extension of those values.

At the end of the day, patients should come rst, and families should be able to trust the healthcare system they rely on. Congress should act now to strengthen 340B through clear federal reforms that restore transparency, protect taxpayers, preserve the safety net and ensure the program nally works the way it was intended: for patients.

Dennis Berwyn is vice chair of the Wake Republican Men and vice president of the Central Region of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Men.

Big Pharma, one of the industries reviled by Ocasio-Cortez and her allies, keeps coming up with ways to keep people with once-deadly diseases alive. None of it is cheap. Yet.

When Ocasio-Cortez rst won her congressional seat, Time magazine writer Charlotte Alter wrote a glowing pro le of the socialist newcomer, explaining that her “adulthood was de ned by nancial crisis, debt and climate change. No wonder she and her peers are moving left.”

Since Ocasio-Cortez turned 18 in 2007, there have been only two negative growth years in the United States, one of them due to a worldwide pandemic. From 1970 to 2007, there was, on average, a negative or recessionary year every three to four years. Americans worked through recessions in 1928, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1980/1981, 1990 and 2001 without turning to socialism. The only thing special about Ocasio-Cortez’s adulthood is that the recessions have become shorter and less severe. AOC is living in the golden age.

Boomers have failed on plenty of fronts, but being on the hook for a ridiculously expensive student loan on a useless degree isn’t one of the great tragedies to have befallen mankind. It’s just the consequence of choices. And most progressives want other people to pay for their choices.

There are plenty of serious problems — there always are — but historically speaking, by virtually every quanti able measure available, Americans are living in a uniquely wealthy and safe world. Ocasio- Cortez should be thanking baby boomers for the world they left her.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI

Ukraine, 9 other countries announce coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles

Ukraine proposed jointly developing a mass-produced, low-cost system within the next 12 months

By Emma Carmichael and Illia Novikov

The Associated Press

PARIS — Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing Kyiv’s experience in ghting Russia’s full-scale invasion for over four years.

“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against Russia’s missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the rest of Europe wary of Moscow’s wider ambitions on the continent.

Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles,” which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.

“We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize future missile threats,” the statement said. “We recognize Ukraine’s unique experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by Russia.”

The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system and said the plan remained open to other countries.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system with missiles that would let Europe supply itself with new antiballistic capability and provide it to others around the world who need protection. Putin shows no sign Russia is backing down

Russian President Vladimir Putin was unyielding, vowing Monday emphatic retaliation to Kyiv’s recent long-range attacks on re neries, tankers and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.

“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists.

European foreign minis-

ters were meeting separately in Brussels where they discussed Ukraine’s needs and Russia’s threats to the continent.

Zelenskyy is keen to accelerate e orts with European countries to develop its air defenses ahead of winter, when Russia usually intensi es its attacks to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water.

Ukrainian o cials were in Paris to present a proposed Anti-Ballistic Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and defense companies who might take part, Zelenskyy said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge last week to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems to counter the ballistic missiles could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv. However, experts and Ukrainian o cials warn that turning the idea into reality would probably take years. It was unclear how quickly a European system could be built.

Ukraine wants to push Putin into negotiations

Kyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine’s recent successes and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the ghting, although Moscow has shown no willingness to compromise despite peace e orts by the Trump administration.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the Paris meeting

“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful.”

Vladimir Putin, Russian president

but dismissed its aspirations.

“This is a coalition of warmongers,” Peskov said. “They are driven by the profound delusion that it’s possible to in ict a strategic defeat on our country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of those who incite the war.”

Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have given it an edge recently, analysts and Western o cials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front have robbed the Russian army of momentum and made its progress slow and costly, they say.

Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days

Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula from July 6-13, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tug-

boats, Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.

The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian e ort to isolate the Crimean Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian logistics.

Crimea is a key rear base for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims, and Russian o cials made no immediate comment.

European leaders demonstrate their commitment to Kyiv

The Paris meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which brings together more than 30 countries and about 25 heads of state and government, appeared to be a demonstration of a long-term commitment to Ukraine and a warning to Russia, as Moscow tests Europe’s resilience.

Zelenskyy’s trip to the French capital followed the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters in Washington. Lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko called Graham “the closest link between Ukraine, our president and Trump.”

The trip also comes amid a major reshu e of Zelenskyy’s government that saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko step down Sunday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon the Russian ambassador to France and impose sanctions against Russian hackers. He told BFMTV-RMC that the issue is about “a vast cyber campaign aimed at sabotage and espionage, carried out by Russia in about 10 European countries.”

Ukraine’s neighbors have also felt the war’s impact.

In the latest incident, a drone launched during Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region crashed and exploded on Moldova’s territory, Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign A airs said Monday. It said the incident was “serious and unacceptable.”

Ukraine res more than 300 drones toward Moscow

Ukraine has aimed at targets deep inside Russia with its domestically developed long-range drones and missiles.

Russian air defenses downed 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow since late Sunday, including 50 near the capital, the capital’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 81 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, adding that three people were killed and three were injured by the attack in the Pionersky settlement in the western part of the Moscow region.

The Ukrainian air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 134 long-range strike drones and three guided aviation missiles at Ukraine.

A strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region set re to a docked merchant vessel carrying fertilizer under the ag of Togo, killing ve crew members and wounding 10, said regional military administration head Oleh Kiper.

Russia says it thwarted a major Ukraine drone operation

Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian plan for a drone attack on the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern Amur region and the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals.

Small drones were smuggled into Russia’s Bryansk region using air balloons and bigger transport drones, then taken by car near the air bases by Ukrainian agents, who were arrested, the security service said.

A covert Ukrainian operation a year ago, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, destroyed or damaged nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber eet with drones carried secretly into Russia, according to Ukrainian o cials.

TERESA SUARES / POOL PHOTO VIA AP

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis talk during the Coalition of the Willing summit on security guarantees for Ukraine at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris on Monday.

TERESA SUARES / POOL PHOTO VIA AP

From left, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk attend the Coalition of the Willing summit on

at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris on Monday.

Forsyth SPORTS

ACC picks longtime ref Patterson as football o cials supervisor

The veteran o cial has worked ACC games since 2002

The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — The Atlantic Coast Conference has hired Gary Patterson as supervisor of football o cials.

The league announced the hiring Monday after Al Riveron announced last week he is stepping down, marking a return for the longtime o cial to the league.

He had worked as an ACC on- eld o cial since 2002 and as a referee since 2009 before quitting last September. ESPN reported at the time it came in frustration with the handling of a UConn-Syracuse replay review, leading to a delayed re -

“His deep understanding of the game makes him uniquely quali ed to lead ACC Football o ciating.”

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips

view after the snap for the ensuing play.

Patterson has worked the 2009 BCS championship game, the Army-Navy game in 2006, four ACC title games and numerous bowl games in an o ciating career that began in 1994.

Patterson will oversee recruiting, training, evaluation and scheduling of league o cials. The ACC said he would work with ESPN to build on last year’s launch of allow-

ing viewers to listen live to replay reviews during select broadcasts.

In a statement, commissioner Jim Phillips said Patterson “has earned the trust and respect of coaches and his o ciating colleagues.

“His extensive experience on the eld has been de ned by excellence, integrity and leadership, and his deep understanding of the game makes him uniquely quali ed to lead ACC Football o ciating,” Phillips continued. “We are thrilled to welcome Gary into this critical role, and we continue our commitment to excellence in football o ciating.”

In his statement, Patterson said it was “truly an honor to serve a conference that has meant so much to me throughout my career.”

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Madalyn Wright

Mount Tabor, girls’ soccer

Madalyn Wright nished her senior year as goalkeeper for the Mount Tabor girls’ soccer team. Wright helped lead the Spartans to the NCHSAA Class 6A regional nal in her nal season in the net.

Wright had nine shutouts last season and was named to the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association all-region team for the Triad region, the second straight season she earned all-region honors. She was also chosen for the NCCA North Carolina East West All-Star Game, which will take place at High Point next week. She’ll suit up for the West team.

Blaney wins 3-wide battle on nal lap of overtime in NASCAR Cup race in Atlanta

ter he was cut o by Wallace. Blaney remained on the track despite telling his crew he felt a “terrible” vibration.

By Charles Odum

Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — A late brush with the wall wasn’t enough to send Ryan Blaney to pit row.

The decision paid o with a dominant victory.

Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the nal lap of overtime in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta early Monday.

Blaney won every stage of the race and led 171 laps after starting on the pole, but the Team Penske Ford driver had to ght o challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who nished second, on the nal lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four.

Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and nished 29th instead of second.

There was a delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes because of rain and lightning. The race ended at 1:45 a.m. at EchoPark Speedway.

Blaney won the rst two stages but brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining, causing possible damage on his right side, af-

“I tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence,” Blaney said. “You know, I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stu like that, but luckily it still drove really decent. ... It wasn’t too bad. Luckily it wasn’t enough damage we couldn’t keep running.”

Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler said his team was able to view photos of the right side of the car and determine the best chance to win was to remain on the track.

“There were 30 cars on the lead lap at that point and not a lot of laps left,” Hassler said. ”Our best chance to win was to stay out there.”

Multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst, were involved in a wreck with ve laps remaining to set up the overtime.

There had been concern about approaching rain before lightning within eight miles of the 1.54-mile oval track near Atlanta led NASCAR o cials to order cars o the track and advise fans to exit the grandstand. Rain began soon after the race was delayed. Following some caution laps and pit stops, the race went back to green at 12:02 a.m.

Blaney said he “took a nap

and ate a little food” during the delay. Larson said the resumption of the race a few minutes before midnight “is de nitely past my bedtime.”

Blaney won the pole, and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano joined him on the front row. A third Team Penske driver, Austin Cindric, moved up to third early in the race for an early strong showing for the Fords. Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin, who quali ed 28th, nished 12th. Tyler Reddick was eighth. Reddick, who won at EchoPark Speedway in February as part of his string of ve wins in the season’s rst nine races, quali ed only 31st on Saturday. By the 35th lap he already had moved up to fourth, proving early that he again

“I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stu like that, but luckily it still drove really decent.”

Ryan Blaney

would be a factor in Atlanta.

Clean start

The weather delay was the rst caution for cause in the race, a dramatic departure from the weekend’s rst race. There were a track-record

13 cautions in Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race won by Justin Allgaier. That to -

tal included four red ag incidents, creating an ominous preview for the Cup Series race.

The rst caution for an incident on the track in the Cup Series race came when AJ Allmendinger lost control of his Chevrolet with 67 laps remaining. Allmendinger blew a tire and hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to cause another caution.

Another strong start for Team Penske

Blaney’s Stage 1 win gave Team Penske Fords yet another strong start in Atlanta. Team Penske drivers have won Stage 1 in six of the last eight races at the track.

Blaney held o Reddick, who nished second in the rst stage after qualifying 31st.

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

The Team Penske Ford driver survived hitting the wall to win

The

JACOB KUPFERMAN / AP PHOTO

Referee Gary Patterson o ciates the 2021 ACC championship game between Pitt and Wake Forest.

SIDELINE REPORT

MLB White Sox rookie Peters hits for cycle, rst for franchise in 9 years

Chicago

Rookie Chicago White Sox center elder Tristan Peters hit for the cycle, becoming the franchise’s rst player to do it in nine years. Peters doubled in the third, singled in the fth and hit a two-run homer in the seventh against the Athletics. He came up to bat a second time in the seventh and hit a grounder down the right- eld line. The 26-year- old former Durham Bull slid head rst into third to beat the relay throw. Peters is the third major leaguer to hit for the cycle this season.

PGA

Sche er misses cut for rst time in 4 years

North Berwick, Scotland

Scottie Sche er has his rst weekend o in nearly four years. The world’s No. 1 player looked ordinary over two days at the Scottish Open, shooting 72 on Friday and missing the cut by two shots. It’s his rst missed cut since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022. Sche er missed a 6-foot par putt on the last hole and missed a 7-foot birdie putt on his 16th hole.

WORLD CUP

FIFA selling eld to be used for World Cup nal in $450 pieces

East Rutherford, N.J. FIFA is selling pieces of the World Cup nal eld for $450 each. The grass will be used for the July 19 nal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

FIFA’s store describes each piece as 17.5 by 17.5 by 17.5 but doesn’t specify the unit of measurement. Players and coaches have criticized the eld quality at MetLife, which usually uses an arti cial surface for NFL games.

Rattín, whose dismissal in 1966 World Cup prompted rules change, dead at 89

Renowned Argentine soccer player Antonio Rattín died at 89. Rattín, a former Boca Juniors player, became famous for his de ance at the 1966 World Cup, which led to the introduction of yellow and red cards. Known for his hard-tackling style, he won six league titles with Boca Juniors. He played in two World Cups and was a Copa Libertadores runner-up. Rattín’s protest during a match against England at Wembley sparked changes in how referees communicate dismissals. His actions also fueled the soccer rivalry between Argentina and England.

NBA Raptors, Clippers put trade for Leonard on hold pending end of NBA investigation

Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is on hold because of an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers. The league is examining whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules. The NBA’s probe began in September, focusing on a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. The Raptors and Clippers had agreed on a trade earlier this month. Leonard, a seven-time All-Star, is coming o his highest-scoring season. There is no timetable for the investigation’s conclusion.

Sinner beats Zverev to win Wimbledon again

Noskova wins the women’s title for her rst Grand Slam

By Andrew Dampf The Associated Press

LONDON — Jannik Sinner is starting to make a habit of responding to adversity in Paris with titles at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 Sunday for his second consecutive title at the All England Club after his German opponent appeared bothered by a knee issue following a slip to the grass on a key point in the third set.

Sinner’s fth Grand Slam title came in his rst tournament since a second-round meltdown at the French Open, when he wilted in a Paris heat wave.

When Sinner ripped a forehand winner up the line on his rst match point, the Italian dropped to the grass on his back in celebration.

“There’s no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony.

A year ago, Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in the nal at the

All England Club after wasting three match points against his rival in the Roland Garros nal.

It was Sinner’s 10th straight victory over Zverev, who was coming o his rst Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Zverev’s previous best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round three times.

“I’m 29 years old and this is the rst time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev said.

Prince William joined his wife, Kate, and two of their children for the nal in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Ho man, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller. Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech women’s nal Saturday for her rst Grand Slam title.

Zverev slips

The top two seeds appeared perfectly matched until Zverev earned his only break point of the match at 3-3 in the third set — 2 hours and 42 minutes in. Sinner produced a drop shot, and Zverev slipped and

appeared to hyperextend his right knee as he attempted to change directions behind the baseline.

Zverev grasped his knee in apparent discomfort and Sinner went around the net and helped his opponent up o the grass. Zverev quickly resumed playing, but he appeared slightly hampered and slung his racket across the baseline in frustration when he missed a forehand and handed Sinner the rst break of the match and a 5-3 lead in the third. Sinner then served it out.

Zverev had also lost 14 straight sets to Sinner and when he claimed the opening set of the nal with a forehand winner up the line to conclude a tight tiebreaker. He let out a loud roar toward his box as he bent over in celebration.

Zverev continually cranked out serves at up to 139 mph, while Sinner produced a series of well-placed aces at a slightly lower speed.

But Sinner began to read Zverev’s serve better in the second-set tiebreaker, and Zverev started to miss forehands.

“He showed once again why he’s the best player in the world,” Zverev said.

Sinner produced 58 winners to Zverev’s 49 and had only 25 unforced errors to Zverev’s 45. Zverev led 17-15 in aces.

Paris meltdown

Amid sti ing heat and humidity in Paris in late May, Sinner had his 30-match winning streak ended after coming within one game of a straight-set victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56. Conditions were cooler in southwest London for thenal, with clear skies and a temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit but it was also breezy — which led to a series of shanked shots from both players.

Sinner went in for medical exams in Milan after the Paris defeat and didn’t play an ofcial match again until he arrived at Wimbledon, where he twice had to come back from a set down in a ve-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in the rst round.

Sinner then didn’t drop a set the rest of the way until the nal, having dominated against Novak Djokovic in the semi nals.

Despite the defeat in thenal, Zverev leapfrogged Alcaraz into the No. 2 spot in the rankings.

Alcaraz missed both the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury.

Hornets GM says Ball trade to Timberwolves made with long-term success in mind

The team hopes to break out of its play-in rut with the shakeup

By Steve Reed The Associated Press

THE CHARLOTTE Hornets won 44 games last season, a 25-win improvement over the previous year.

So the question begs to be asked: Why would Hornets general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Je Peterson break up a team that seemed on the rise by trading its most dynamic offensive player in LaMelo Ball?

Peterson addressed the question on Saturday in Las Vegas where the Hornets are playing Summer League games, saying it was all about the long-term success of the organization.

“These decisions are challenging at times, but when you look at the totality of the season and everything of where we were, it’s important to take an honest look in the mirror of where you guys are as a team,” Peterson said. “And that’s what I had to do at the end of the season. And I just feel like again, the goal is never to compete for a play-in spot. The goal isn’t to get to the play-in or even the playo s for one year.”

Charlotte reached the play-in tournament and beat Miami at home before getting blown out on the road at Orlando.

Ball, who had struggled with injuries in the past, had one of his best seasons and averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game while nishing second in the league to rookie teammate Kon Knueppel in 3-pointers made with 272.

However, the Hornets failed to make the playo s in the six seasons since Ball came to them as the No. 3 overall pick in 2020.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we had a successful season last year by a lot of people’s standards, and of course LaMelo was a huge part of that,” Peterson said. “But again, sometimes these decisions, they can be chal-

lenging. But ultimately I do feel a responsibility to the organization and to the fans really across the world of the Hornets to do what’s best for the long term of the franchise.”

Peterson believes acquiring Naz Reid and draft picks from Minnesota for Ball will give the Hornets more exibility moving forward as they continue to build. As part of a four-team trade with Brooklyn, Chicago and Minnesota, Charlotte sent Ball and Josh Green to the Timberwolves in exchange for Reid, a 2033 unprotected rst-round pick, rst-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030, and second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.

Along with draft capital, the Hornets also received a $40.7 million trade exception — the largest in NBA histo -

ry — as part of the deal, positioning themselves to add other top talent. Still, the move did not sit well with many fans in Charlotte, where Ball is extremely popular and has been a huge draw.

The anger is not on the same level as Mavs fans when Luka Doncic was traded to Los Angeles, but some felt the move was ill-timed given the Hornets appeared headed in the right direction with Ball as their leader. Peterson said he knows Ball will do great things in Minnesota.

“I do empathize with the fans, and I understand just where they’re coming from,” Peterson said. “If I’m honest, I love LaMelo. He’s a tremendous human being. Of course, he’s an enormous talent. He and I have a great relationship.

“But I would hope that they understand that I have the best interest of the Hornets organization. I truly do. And it’s not about one year or two years. It’s about sustained success and just being objective of where we truly are in our life cycle. I have no doubt that this team we roll out next year and the years to come is going to continue to compete and eventually we’ll get there.”

BRIAN INGANGA / AP PHOTO

Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men’s singles nal Sunday at Wimbledon.

NELL REDMOND / AP PHOTO

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball brings the ball up the court against the Heat during an NBA play-in tournament game.

the stream

‘Heartstopper Forever,’ ‘Lucky,’ ‘Marc by So a,’ Steve Lacy

Will Ferrell plays golf in “The Hawk” on Net ix

The Associated Press

A NEW ALBUM from Steve Lacy and the conclusion of the “Heartstopper” series are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: “Lucky,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, the game “D-topia” and “The Hawk,” which stars Will Ferrell as a gol ng great well past his prime.

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

Net ix’s popular series “Heartstopper” concludes with a feature lm nale, “Heartstopper Forever,” streaming Friday on Net ix. The lm, written by “Heartstopper” creator and graphic novelist Alice Oseman, follows the Season 3 ending in which Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) take their relationship to a new level. New challenges await, though, as Nick considers what university he’ll attend.

So a Coppola pro les fashion designer Marc Jacobs in “Marc by So a” (Thursday on HBO Max). The lm, largely shot as Jacobs prepares to unveil a ready-to-wear collection, marks a documentary rst for Coppola, the lmmaker of “Lost in Translation” and “The Bling Ring.” Christian Petzold’s “Miroirs No. 3” (Mubi on Friday), one of the standouts of the rst half of 2026, is about a piano student (Paula Beer) who, following a car accident, rehabilitates in the rural home of an older woman (Barbara Auer) who lives near where the crash happened. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle called the lm “beguiling and restorative.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

In 2022, he was inescapable. Lacy’s “Bad Habit” was a hit, anchored by its surprising — and addictive — self-e acing

hook: “I wish I knew you wanted me.” On Friday, the alt-R&B talent, formerly of the group the Internet, will release a new album titled “Oh yeah?” It’s a pop progression, from the dreamy collaboration with SZA, “Is It Cool?” to the ambitious “The Feeling.”

The Colombian Canadian artist Lido Pimienta is no stranger to pushing boundaries; it is why she is frequently compared to Björk and Natalia Lafourcade in equal measure. On Friday she will release “Caribenya,” a portmanteau of “Caribe” and the elusive Irish singer

“‘Miroirs No. 3’ is beguiling and restorative.”

Jake Coyle, AP lm writer

“Enya.” The title should provide a framework in which to experience this work: It’s at the intersection of her cumbia and DIY roots, as well as her ever-expanding, anti-colonial sonic experimentations.

SERIES TO STREAM

Robert Irwin won Season 34 of “Dancing with the Stars,” and now he’s the host of “The Next Pro,” where 12 dancers compete to be a pro in its next season. Mark Ballas, a three-time Mirrorball champ, is a judge alongside his mother, Shirley Ballas, winner of many Latin dance competitions and renowned instructor and British TV personality. A third spot at the judges’ table will feature rotating guests

including Derek Hough, Witney Carson and Jenna Johnson. The show is streaming now on Hulu. What would you do if you had a winning lottery ticket that you couldn’t cash in? Taylor-Joy plays Lucky, a con artist with that conundrum in a new Apple TV series of the same name. The winnings would give Lucky a chance at a new life, but both the feds and her crime boss are on her trail. Reese Witherspoon, who chose the novel for her book club in 2021, is an executive producer. The rst two episodes are now streaming. Ferrell plays Lonnie Hawkins, No. 1 golfer — of 2004. Present day though, the wear and tear of years on the course is showing. His ex-wife and son, golf’s latest hotshot, think the game is over and he should retire. Lonnie refuses to go out as anything but great — he’s just got to win one more major to complete a career Grand Slam. Molly Shannon, Jimmy Tatro, Fortune Feimster, Luke Wilson and Chris Parnell round out the cast. “The Hawk” premieres Thursday on Net ix.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

“Culdcept Begins” represents the return of a cult classic that’s been absent from consoles for too long. It’s a mashup of two popular kinds of tabletop games. One is a board game, like Monopoly, in which you roll dice, move and claim property. The other is a collectible card game, like Magic: The Gathering, in which you use your deck to summon creatures, cast spells or deploy weapons. If you land on a space that an opponent has already claimed, the battle is on. With ever-changing boards and more than 400 cards, you can indulge in a challenging solo campaign or play online against friends. Cut the deck Thursday on Switch.

“D-topia” looks like it might be a nice place to live. After all, it’s a place where “life is curated by arti cial intelligence to maximize happiness.” But machines break down sometimes, and your job as a facilitator is to x them. You may run into some human residents who aren’t entirely happy in this mellow but bland town. And once you discover the hidden “Block Side,” you may reveal some unsavory secrets. Publisher Annapurna Interactive describes it as “a calm, yet thought-provoking journey” in which your choices may lead to joy or despair. Check in on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch or PC.

COLLEEN E. HAYES / NETFLIX VIA AP

Will Ferrell plays golfer Lonnie Hawkins in “The Hawk.”

ALESSANDRA TARANTINO / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Director So a Coppola, left, and designer Marc Jacobs pose for photographers on the red carpet for the lm “Marc by So a” during the 82nd Venice Film Festival in 2025.

JESSICA BROOKS / APPLE TV VIA AP

Anya Taylor-Joy portrays a con artist in “Lucky” on Apple TV.

STATE & NATION

ICE shot, killed motorist in Maine; advocates say victim 26-year-old man from

The man was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number

By Patrick Whittle, Leah Willingham and Jack Brook The Associated Press

BIDDEFORD, Maine — A federal immigration o cer fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, the second time in a week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have used deadly force. It is at least the ninth such killing since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown.

Immigrant rights groups identi ed the man who was killed as a 26-year-old native of Colombia.

Sen. Angus King, (I-Maine), said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the o cer opened re after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against o cers who were pursuing him for deportation in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles southwest of Portland.

“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said.

The Maine attorney general’s o ce, which is investigating along with the FBI and other agencies, said initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to ee in the direction of the agent. The man was the target of an enforcement operation related to a nal order of removal, the o ce said, and the agent who killed him has been placed on leave.

Messages seeking comment were left for ICE and the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The man was authorized to work in the U.S., advocates say

The advocacy groups Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number. After the shooting, his family contacted the Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, executive director Mufalo Chitam said.

“It’s a young family and he was leaving to go to work,” Chitam told The Associated Press. The family, she said, isn’t ready to speak publicly about the shooting.

Mary Hayes, who lives close to where the shooting happened, said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter.

“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,” Hayes told the AP as she held a piece of cardboard with “No ICE Stop ICE” written on it. “I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

The Colombian Embassy told the AP in an emailed statement that it is in contact with U.S. authorities and “working to formally con rm the individual’s identity and nationality.”

Security video but no body-worn camera footage

Cory Poulin, whose family runs a laundromat near the scene, told the AP that security cameras at the business captured footage of the man’s car rolling into the intersection after shots were red. Other images from the scene showed the car going in circles and bullet holes in its windshield.

“Two ICE members ran to the

“I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

Mary Hayes

intersection and another ICE member in a Ford SUV went into the intersection to stop the car from rolling,” he said. “I don’t know for a fact, but I don’t believe he was alive when the car started rolling.”

He said Maine State Police asked that he not release the footage publicly.

The agents involved in the shooting didn’t have body-worn cameras, King said.

“The question is, what did he do with his vehicle,” King said. “Were o cers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justi ed deadly force?

“That’s what this investigation is all about and I certainly intend to stay after it to do everything I can to be sure the investigation is as transparent and thorough as possible.”

Anti-ICE protesters gather near the scene

Dozens of demonstrators critical of ICE and President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown gathered in Biddeford within hours of the shooting.

Amy Goodman, who is from nearby Wells, arrived with a sign that said “Stop Killing Us” and directed it toward police working at the scene.

“Sadly, it’s something we’re seeing a whole lot more often lately, and I’m mad about it,” said Goodman, who was wear-

Colombia

ing a shirt that said “ICE is best when crushed.”

“It’s heartbreaking and I wanted to show up,” Goodman’s friend, Molly Zucker of Cape Neddick, said as she held a sign reading, “No human being is illegal.”

Police blocked access to the shooting scene, which is in a neighborhood of mostly multifamily homes, churches and businesses near downtown.

Several protesters stood nearby, with some holding signs condemning ICE’s presence in the community and state.

“We are grieving, we are furious, and we will not allow his death to be treated as routine or inevitable,” Chitam said.

“How much more harm must our communities endure before those with the power to act acknowledge that this has gone too far?”

A recent uptick in Trump’s immigration crackdown

Monday’s killing was at least the ninth death from an encounter with federal immigration o cials since Trump returned to o ce 18 months ago.

On July 7, an ICE o cer fatally shot 52-year-old Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after he was pursued by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

The shootings come amid a newly intensi ed push by the Trump administration to carry out its mass deportations agenda. During the ve-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people.

The gures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests continue and are surging. The administration’s enforcement

e orts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

“More than anything else, I want to know, ‘Why are you in Maine?’” Rep. Chellie Pingree, (D-Maine), said in a video posted on social media.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat running for Senate, wrote on X: “It’s time to get ICE o our streets.”

Hundreds of Maine ICE arrests since Trump’s return

ICE had a signi cant presence in Maine earlier this year, which prompted several protests.

The Homeland Security Department named the operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent play on Maine’s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago.

Immigration o cials said in late January that they had ceased “enhanced operations” in Maine after hundreds of arrests.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horri c crimes” including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.”

Court records show that while some had felony convictions, others had unresolved immigration proceedings or had been arrested but never convicted of a crime.

ICE arrested 546 people in Maine between the start of Trump’s second term and March 11, 2026, the most recent data available, according to ICE arrest data provided to the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project.

About 45% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds. During the equivalent 416-day period before Trump took o ce, roughly 69% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, the data show.

PHOTOS BY ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

Left, Protesters gather near the scene of the shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday in Biddeford, Maine. Top right, A vehicle is transported on a atbed near the scene of the shooting. Bottom right, Biddeford City Councilor Abigail Woods hugs an unidenti ed constituent during an impromptu protest on Monday.

ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

Randolph record

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Supreme Court justices tell Congress safety at risk, more must be spent on security Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan testi ed to Congress on Tuesday, a rare event for members of the high court. They’re seeking millions of dollars to enhance security as threats rise to the judiciary. Judges nationwide have faced increased violence and intimidation, including a fake swatting call to Barrett’s home in May.

Bu ett omits gift to Gates’ foundation after Microsoft cofounder’s Epstein ties disclosed

Warren Bu ett omitted Bill Gates’ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of Gates’ ties to convicted sex o ender

Je rey Epstein. He’ll donate about $6 billion to four family foundations but didn’t mention Gates. Bu ett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth nearly $146 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034. Most of Bu ett’s donations since 2006 have gone to the Gates Foundation.

State budget allows NC Zoo to proceed

The opening of the Asia exhibition has been contingent on an updated budget

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — The funding is in place but the hiring still needs to happen before the much-anticipated opening of the Asia Continent habitat at North Carolina Zoo. Construction on the exhibit began with a groundbreaking nearly four years ago, and that part of the facility was deemed

complete this spring. But without a state budget, the zoo was unable to go ahead with hiring for positions needed for the Asia habitat.

Last week, a new state budget was approved, providing approximately $6.2 million to the NC Zoo for operating funds.

“The North Carolina Zoo is pleased that the majority of our requested positions and funding for the Zoo’s new Asia Continent were appropriated by the new state budget,” Michele Walker, assistant communications director of the N.C. Department of Natural

and Cultural Resources, said in a statement. “The 54 positions and $6.2 million in operating funds will allow us to move forward with opening this exciting new area to visitors as soon as practicable. We will work as quickly as possible to hire for these necessary positions and prepare to o cially open Asia once that process is complete.”

“We will work as quickly as possible to hire for these necessary positions and prepare to o cially open Asia once that process is complete.”

Michele Walker, N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

The Asia habitat consumes 12.5 acres. At one point, projections had the exhibit opening by June, but that time period passed without a state budget. Interim NC Zoo director Diane Villa told a Triad-area television station that some animals from the Asia habitat can be heard in other parts of the zoo, heightening the anticipation for when that area is open to the public. This is considered the zoo’s rst major expansion since 1994.

Asheboro approves pair of zoning items on West Balfour Avenue

A deer processing business is being relocated from Dorsett Avenue

By Ryan Henkel Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — The Ashe -

boro City Council met last week with the primary items on the agenda being two zoning items.

The council rst held a public hearing for a rezoning request for around 13 acres of property located at 403 West Balfour Ave. to go from Light Industrial to O ce-Apartment Conditional Zoning for the development of multifamily dwellings.

The proposal would be to construct a maximum of 64

units (32 one-bedroom and 32 two-bedrooms) on the undeveloped property spread out across eight apartment buildings.

“The land development map designates the property as part of the primary growth area, and even though the access is not directly from a minor thoroughfare, the proposed use may be less intensive than the industrial uses that could be permitted under the existing industrial zoning,” said John Evans, community development director.

The planning board recommended approval of the rezoning given the size of the property, the additional buffer protections for neighbors (a screen of evergreen trees spaced every 15 feet on center),

64

Proposed multifamily units

the property being close to employment, recreational amenities and the need for the provision of additional housing opportunities.

Following the hearing, the council approved the request. The second hearing was for a zoning amendment to allow a manufacturing, processing and/or assembly land use on around six acres of property located at 404 West Balfour Ave.

The undeveloped property was approved in 2025 for food storage warehouse use and was originally planned to be utilized as a freezer storage facility.

However, the developers no longer have a need for that use.

Instead, according to the applicant, the intent is to relocate a taxidermy and deer meat processing business (Harpley’s) from Dorsett Avenue to the property, hence the need for the zoning modi cation.

“We’re here because even though we want to modify our use to a less intensive use under your zoning ordinance, we have to come back through this entire process due to a state statute that requires that we do this,” said Harpley’s Properties corporate secretary Bob Crumley.

The council approved the request following the hearing with the requirement that the property will only be allowed to process wild game.

The Asheboro City Council will next meet Aug. 6.

THE RANDOLPH COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

The Asia Continent habitat remains o limits at North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, but the opening could be coming by later this summer.

Trip

THURSDAY 7.16.26

RCEDC’s summer fellow put to work

A ve-year strategic plan is being developed for the organization

Randolph Record sta

ASHEBORO — Kassandra

Richardson is serving as the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation’s summer fellow and is being tasked with helping shape the organization’s next ve-year strategic plan. Richardson’s role comes through the North Carolina Economic Development Asso-

CRIME LOG

July 6

• Michael Edwards Jones, 50, of Archdale, was arrested by RCSO for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill in icting serious injury, discharging a weapon into occupied property and possession of a rearm by a felon, and other charges.

• Roger Dale Julian, 56, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for felony violation of a domestic violence protective order, cyberstalking and communicating threats, and other charges.

• Ethan Wayne Stanley, 35, of Randleman, was arrested by NC P&P for habitual larceny and misdemeanor possession of stolen goods.

• Paulette Jeter Williams, 51, of Randleman, was arrested by RCSO for felony stalking and cyberstalking.

July 7

THURSDAY JULY 16

FRIDAY JULY 17

SATURDAY JULY 18

SUNDAY JULY 19

MONDAY JULY 20

TUESDAY JULY 21

WEDNESDAY JULY 22

ciation Foundation’s Economic Development Fellowship Program.

Richardson is a doctoral candidate in economics at UNC Greensboro, where she also holds a master’s in economics. She earned a master’s in nance from the University of New Orleans and a bachelor’s degree from Emory & Henry.

“This fellowship brings exceptional analytical talent and fresh perspective to one of the most important projects we can undertake — charting the path forward for Randolph County’s

economic future,” said Kevin Franklin, president of RCEDC. “We look forward to everything we’ll accomplish together.” According to the RCEDC, Richardson will evaluate the organization’s current ve-year strategic plan, gather input from local o cials, business leaders, and community stakeholders, and develop recommendations for the next strategic cycle. Her work will also support planning for a future capital campaign to fund RCEDC’s upcoming initiatives. The fellowship runs approximately 10 to 12 weeks through mid-August. Fellows are selected from graduate programs at North Carolina universities and colleges, with a focus on placing talent with economic development organizations serving underserved and distressed communities.

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

July

16

Ellie’s Exotic Roadshow

10:30 a.m. (second showing at 4 p.m.)

Live exotic animal ambassador program featuring reptiles, arachnids and other species as part of the library’s summer reading series. Two public showings are o ered.

Randleman Public Library 142 W. Academy St. Randleman

• Austin Tyler Cheek, 34, of High Point, was arrested by RCSO for felony possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

• Ashley Nicole Hutchinson, 33, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for simple assault, misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and misdemeanor violation of a domestic violence protective order, and other charges.

• Linwood Lee Robinson, 29, of Sophia, was arrested by Asheboro PD for injury to personal property, resisting a public o cer and disorderly conduct, and other charges.

• Amador Huerta Rojas, 34, of Randleman, was arrested by RCSO for indecent liberties with a child.

• Charles Nathaniel Spivey, 37, of Archdale, was arrested by NC P&P for defrauding a drug or alcohol test.

• Michael Troy Uptain, 31, of Mooresville, was arrested by RCSO for possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a controlled substance; felony possession of a controlled substance; simple possession of a controlled substance; and other charges.

July 8

• Shamarus Terell Chisholm, 40, of Siler City, was arrested by Asheboro PD for felony possession of cocaine and an open container alcohol violation.

• Jose Eduardo Meza, 21, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for identity theft and obtaining property by false pretense.

• Cleveland Brent Taylor, 20, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for discharging a weapon into occupied property, possession of a weapon of mass destruction and possession of a rearm by a felon, and other charges.

July 9

• Edward Allen Alley, 50, of Galax, was arrested by Asheboro PD for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and covering or disguising a registration plate.

• Eric Beraza, 20, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for rst-degree burglary.

• Trenton Allen Davis, 19, of Randleman, was arrested by NCHP for felony eeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, resisting a public o cer and reckless driving, and other charges.

• Brian Lee Rich, 48, of Trinity, was arrested by RCSO for discharging a rearm in an enclosure to cause fear, intimidating a witness and resisting a public o cer.

• Nicholas Wilson Trail, 34, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for misdemeanor violation of a domestic violence protective order.

July 10

• Richard Lloyd Dalton, 44, of Denton, was arrested by RCSO for misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and assault on a female.

• Tommy Eugene Dotson, 56, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver fentanyl; possession of methamphetamine; maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for controlled substances; and other charges.

• Tina Marie Helms, 46, of Archdale, was arrested by RCSO for possession of a controlled substance on prison or jail premises, possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana, and other charges.

• Carr Max Parrish, 58, of Archdale, was arrested by RCSO for felony conspiracy, obtaining property by false pretense and misdemeanor larceny.

• Jason Lewis Patterson, 45, of Liberty, was arrested by NCHP for felony possession of cocaine, misdemeanor eeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle and reckless driving, and other charges.

• Catherine Megan Scott, 46, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine; possession of methamphetamine; and maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for controlled substances.

• Arlene Larson Stamey, 57, of Archdale, was arrested by RCSO for felony conspiracy, obtaining property by false pretense and misdemeanor larceny.

July 11

• Stephanie Carter Bullard, 52, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for manufacturing, selling, delivering or possessing a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school; possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine; carrying a concealed weapon; and other charges.

• James Anthony Duncan, 58, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro PD for possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine; possession of methamphetamine; maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for controlled substances; and other charges.

• Larry Edward Graves, 57, of Randleman, was arrested by RCSO for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

July 17

Stepping Into The Craft — Summers in Seagrove 10 a.m.

Weekend-long community pottery festival featuring open studios, wheel-throwing demonstrations and hands-on sessions at participating Seagrove potteries, including McNeill’s Pottery, Crystal King Pottery, The Triangle Studio, Seagrove Art Pottery and Fiva McCanless Pottery. Some studios require reservations for hands-on activities.

Multiple pottery studios E. Main Street and N.C. Highway 705 Seagrove

July 18

Christmas in July Craft Fair 7 a.m.

Annual public craft fair featuring local artisan and vendor tables throughout the YMCA gymnasium, o ering handmade gifts and goods. Randolph-Asheboro YMCA 343 N.C. Highway 42 N Asheboro

The Sleigh Ride 8 a.m.

Annual charity cycling fundraiser presented by Operation Red Sleigh, with four route options ranging in distance through Uwharrie National Forest and southern Randolph County. Proceeds bene t Operation Red Sleigh’s holiday giving program for Randolph County families in need.

Hopewell Friends Meeting Grounds 1641 Hopewell Friends Road Asheboro

July 19

“Bloody Sunday” — North Randolph Historical Society Monthly Program 2:15 p.m.

Monthly historical program presented by Ryan Beeson exploring stories of local gures Fanning, Balfour, Milliken, Collier and Bryant in Randolph County history. Doors open at 2 p.m.

St. Paul Museum 401 High Point St.

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | DENNIS BERWYN

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Patients deserve transparency and accountability in North Carolina’s hospital system

The 340B Drug Pricing Program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines.

NORTH CAROLINA families shouldn’t have to guess what their healthcare will cost or whether they’re getting a fair deal. But too often, that’s exactly where people nd themselves: navigating a system where prices vary widely, transparency is limited and accountability can feel just out of reach.

At the center of this challenge is a trend that has quietly reshaped healthcare across the country: hospital consolidation.

Over the past two decades, hospitals have steadily joined larger systems, often with the goal of improving coordination and expanding access to care. Those are important goals. But the reality for many patients, especially those in rural communities, has been more complicated. Research continues to show that when markets become more concentrated, prices often rise and choices become more limited. New consolidation e orts in North Carolina raise real questions about what this means for patients, taxpayers and local communities.

When competition declines, patients lose. And too often, families and employers end up paying the price.

We’re seeing the e ects here in North Carolina. Wide di erences in hospital prices and real gaps in price transparency make it harder for patients and employers to plan ahead or even know if they’ve been treated fairly.

And it’s not just about confusion. It’s about trust — trust that the system is working as intended and that patients are bene ting from it.

One clear example is the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This federal program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines. Eligible hospitals and clinics can buy outpatient medicines at steep discounts with the understanding that those savings should support

patient care and community needs.

That goal and the 340B program are worth preserving. But over time, the program has expanded dramatically without consistent transparency or clear requirements for reporting how those savings are used. In too many cases, patients have no way to know whether discounted medicines are actually lowering their costs or improving access to care.

In North Carolina, data shows that some hospitals participating in 340B have charged far more than the discounted price they paid for certain medications. At the same time, there is no consistent requirement that those savings be passed directly to patients or clearly tied to improving patient access or a ordability. When that’s combined with continued hospital consolidation, it raises serious questions about whether the program is serving patients as Congress intended.

This highlights something else worth paying attention to: incentives matter. As hospitals grow larger and acquire new facilities, they can expand their use of programs like 340B. Over time, that dynamic can reward consolidation, reduce competition and make an already complicated healthcare system harder for families to understand.

Supporting hospitals and standing up for patients should not be in con ict. We can, and should, do both.

That starts with greater transparency so patients can understand prices before they receive care. It means clearer standards and accountability so programs designed to help vulnerable populations actually deliver on that promise. It also means practical federal reforms that protect legitimate safety-net providers while closing loopholes that allow the program to drift away from patients.

The Trump administration is taking one encouraging step by continuing to pursue

AOC should thank baby boomers for the world they left her

The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ says she knows why socialism is on the rise: Blame it on the boomers.

“Millennials and Gen Z combined, now for the rst time, are eclipsing the number of baby boomers,” she explained recently. “Young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world we’ve been left.”

It’s inarguable that younger generations feel this way. The notion that millennials and Generation Z are toiling in a uniquely grueling economic era, however, is utterly delusional.

But convincing young people they’ve been handed a broken world only fostered an unprecedented sense of hopelessness. You are not victims of “oligarchs,” unfettered capitalism or any other imaginary monsters.

One of the most popular myths these days (you hear it from both sides all the time) is that the American middle class is being gutted. It’s simply not true. In 1980, 36% of American families were middle class.

Only 31% of Americans are still in the middle class because the upper middle class has grown from 10% of households to more than 30%. The middle class is shrinking because the upper middle class is expanding.

Real median income has not only grown across all classes over the past 40 years but has zoomed past the rest of the Western world. The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

That’s a pretty remarkable economic

inheritance. Just ask the soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.

Another big grievance of younger people is that housing has become far too expensive. It’s a genuine concern. But ownership rates are no lower today than they were in the ’60s, ’70s or ’90s, and most of the 1980s. The homeownership rate in 1980 was 65.5%. In 2025, it was 65.4%. Rates temporarily spiked through the 2000s when government policy incentivized millions to “buy” houses they couldn’t a ord with no money down.

Housing shortages are driven by the laws of physics. It’s not the boomers’ fault that too many people want to live in and around major urban areas.

You also wonder if the average Gen Zer understands that the environment is in nitely cleaner today than it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

There has been widespread reforesting and wetland restoration. There is far less litter. Air quality is drastically cleaner, as is water. When boomers started driving, gas was leaded, and most cars didn’t even have catalytic converters. Gen X grew up worried about things called “nuclear winter” and “acid rain.”

An average household spends on clothing and food a fraction of what their grandparents did. And yet, they also have substantially more choices, including international and nutritious fare.

It’s true that healthcare costs have risen. Some of it can be attributed to bad policy. Most of it re ects prosperity, as younger Americans will generally enjoy longer life expectancy and better care than any generation before them.

the recent federal 340B rebate pilot, which o ers a measured way to add veri cation and accountability before discounts are nalized. Done correctly, that approach can help con rm that a prescription is eligible, reduce duplicate discounts, create a clearer data trail and bring more discipline to the program without changing which hospitals or clinics qualify for 340B. Just as important, it focuses on solving problems up front rather than relying on slower, after-the-fact e orts to untangle errors once the money has already moved.

That is the kind of commonsense reform conservatives should support: limited, practical, focused on accountability and respectful of both taxpayers and patients.

Just as importantly, we have to recognize where responsibility for reform truly sits. Programs like 340B are federal by design, and Congress should lead.

A patchwork of state-level xes risks creating more inconsistency and less accountability, failing to provide the clarity and consistency patients deserve.

North Carolina has always valued fairness, personal responsibility, competition and looking out for one another. Bringing more transparency and accountability to our healthcare system is simply an extension of those values.

At the end of the day, patients should come rst, and families should be able to trust the healthcare system they rely on. Congress should act now to strengthen 340B through clear federal reforms that restore transparency, protect taxpayers, preserve the safety net and ensure the program nally works the way it was intended: for patients.

Dennis Berwyn is vice chair of the Wake Republican Men and vice president of the Central Region of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Men.

Big Pharma, one of the industries reviled by Ocasio-Cortez and her allies, keeps coming up with ways to keep people with once-deadly diseases alive. None of it is cheap. Yet.

When Ocasio-Cortez rst won her congressional seat, Time magazine writer Charlotte Alter wrote a glowing pro le of the socialist newcomer, explaining that her “adulthood was de ned by nancial crisis, debt and climate change. No wonder she and her peers are moving left.”

Since Ocasio-Cortez turned 18 in 2007, there have been only two negative growth years in the United States, one of them due to a worldwide pandemic. From 1970 to 2007, there was, on average, a negative or recessionary year every three to four years. Americans worked through recessions in 1928, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1980/1981, 1990 and 2001 without turning to socialism. The only thing special about Ocasio-Cortez’s adulthood is that the recessions have become shorter and less severe. AOC is living in the golden age.

Boomers have failed on plenty of fronts, but being on the hook for a ridiculously expensive student loan on a useless degree isn’t one of the great tragedies to have befallen mankind. It’s just the consequence of choices. And most progressives want other people to pay for their choices.

There are plenty of serious problems — there always are — but historically speaking, by virtually every quanti able measure available, Americans are living in a uniquely wealthy and safe world. Ocasio- Cortez should be thanking baby boomers for the world they left her.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI

Ukraine proposed jointly developing a mass-produced, low-cost system within the next 12 months

By Emma Carmichael and Illia Novikov

The Associated Press

PARIS — Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing Kyiv’s experience in ghting Russia’s full-scale invasion for over four years.

“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against Russia’s missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the rest of Europe wary of Moscow’s wider ambitions on the continent.

Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles,” which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.

“We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize future missile threats,” the statement said. “We recognize Ukraine’s unique experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by Russia.”

The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system and said the plan remained open to other countries.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system with missiles that would let Europe supply itself with new antiballistic capability and provide it to others around the world who need protection.

Putin shows no sign Russia is backing down

Russian President Vladimir Putin was unyielding, vowing Monday emphatic retaliation to Kyiv’s recent long-range attacks on re neries, tankers and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.

“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists.

European foreign minis-

ters were meeting separately in Brussels where they discussed Ukraine’s needs and Russia’s threats to the continent.

Zelenskyy is keen to accelerate e orts with European countries to develop its air defenses ahead of winter, when Russia usually intensi es its attacks to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water.

Ukrainian o cials were in Paris to present a proposed Anti-Ballistic Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and defense companies who might take part, Zelenskyy said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge last week to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems to counter the ballistic missiles could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv. However, experts and Ukrainian o cials warn that turning the idea into reality would probably take years. It was unclear how quickly a European system could be built.

Ukraine wants to push Putin into negotiations

Kyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine’s recent successes and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the ghting, although Moscow has shown no willingness to compromise despite peace e orts by the Trump administration.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the Paris meeting

“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful.”

Vladimir Putin, Russian president

but dismissed its aspirations.

“This is a coalition of warmongers,” Peskov said. “They are driven by the profound delusion that it’s possible to in ict a strategic defeat on our country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of those who incite the war.”

Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have given it an edge recently, analysts and Western o cials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front have robbed the Russian army of momentum and made its progress slow and costly, they say.

Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days

Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula from July 6-13, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tug-

boats, Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.

The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian e ort to isolate the Crimean Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian logistics.

Crimea is a key rear base for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims, and Russian o cials made no immediate comment.

European leaders demonstrate their commitment to Kyiv

The Paris meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which brings together more than 30 countries and about 25 heads of state and government, appeared to be a demonstration of a long-term commitment to Ukraine and a warning to Russia, as Moscow tests Europe’s resilience.

Zelenskyy’s trip to the French capital followed the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters in Washington. Lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko called Graham “the closest link between Ukraine, our president and Trump.”

The trip also comes amid a major reshu e of Zelenskyy’s government that saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko step down Sunday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon the Russian ambassador to France and impose sanctions against Russian hackers. He told BFMTV-RMC that the issue is about “a vast cyber campaign aimed at sabotage and espionage, carried out by Russia in about 10 European countries.”

Ukraine’s neighbors have also felt the war’s impact.

In the latest incident, a drone launched during Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region crashed and exploded on Moldova’s territory, Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign A airs said Monday. It said the incident was “serious and unacceptable.”

Ukraine res more than

300 drones toward Moscow

Ukraine has aimed at targets deep inside Russia with its domestically developed long-range drones and missiles.

Russian air defenses downed 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow since late Sunday, including 50 near the capital, the capital’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 81 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, adding that three people were killed and three were injured by the attack in the Pionersky settlement in the western part of the Moscow region.

The Ukrainian air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 134 long-range strike drones and three guided aviation missiles at Ukraine.

A strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region set re to a docked merchant vessel carrying fertilizer under the ag of Togo, killing ve crew members and wounding 10, said regional military administration head Oleh Kiper.

Russia says it thwarted a major Ukraine drone operation

Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian plan for a drone attack on the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern Amur region and the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals.

Small drones were smuggled into Russia’s Bryansk region using air balloons and bigger transport drones, then taken by car near the air bases by Ukrainian agents, who were arrested, the security service said.

A covert Ukrainian operation a year ago, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, destroyed or damaged nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber eet with drones carried secretly into Russia, according to Ukrainian o cials.

TERESA SUARES / POOL PHOTO VIA AP

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis talk during the Coalition of the Willing summit on security guarantees for Ukraine at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris on Monday.

obituaries

Allene Hill Jarvis

Aug. 5, 1926 – June 13, 2026

Allene Hill Jarvis, 99, of Sanford, NC, died Saturday, June 13, 2026, at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford. Memorial services will be conducted at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, Asheboro. Burial will follow at Randolph Memorial Park.

Born August 5, 1926, in Randolph Co., NC, Mrs. Jarvis was the daughter of the late Virgil Hill and Bertha Trotter Hill. She was a devoted mother, sister, and grandmother who was dedicated to her family.

In addition to her parents, Mrs. Jarvis was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Lee Jarvis. She is survived by her daughter, Barbara Hughes and husband, Robert; grandchildren, R. Knox Hughes, Jr., and wife Pamela, Jonathan Hughes and wife Becky; great-grandchildren, Zachery Hughes and wife Llala, Joshua Hughes, Robert “Trip” Knox Hughes, III, Holden Hughes; great-great-grandchildren, Camden Hughes, Brooks Hughes; and a large extended family.

Cody Randall Hurley

Dec. 29, 1993 – July 8, 2026

Cody Randall Hurley, 32, of Asheboro, died Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at his home.

Graveside services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at New Hope Memorial Gardens in Asheboro, with Pastor Mark Wilburn o ciating.

Cody was born in Guilford County, NC, on December 29, 1993. A truly loving, good person, Cody had a tender heart and a kind, generous soul. His huge sense of humor made him a delight to be with. He always could come up with a joke. In addition to his comedy, Cody was very skilled. Working with his hands, xing things, and working on cars came easy to him. His talents extended to drawing and singing.

Cody was preceded in death by his grandfather, Rev. Red Hurley.

Survivors include his father, Randy Hurley of Asheboro; mother, Sheila Hurley Aleman of Asheboro; brother, Bryce Jennings of Asheboro; sister, Lakelee Hurley of Biscoe; grandparents, Gail Hurley, Minerva and Donald York; aunts, Sherry Howell, Rosa Craven; uncles, Billy Hurley, Rusty Hurley; niece, Harper Jennings; and several great aunts, great uncles, and numerous cousins.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home, and other times at the home of his father.

Katie Lynn Coker Lane

Sept. 15, 1992 – July 3, 2026

Katie Lynn Coker Lane, age 33, of Asheboro, passed away on July 3, 2026. Mrs. Lane was born in Polk County, Florida, on September 15, 1992, to Donald and Linda Hudson Coker, who preceded her in death. Katie attended Renew Family Church in Asheboro. Katie was a very loving, giving, strongspirited, and tough lady.

She is survived by her husband, Khris Lane; children, Miracle Lane, Jayce Coker, Adren Lane, Navayia Lane, Nautica Lane, Destiny Privett, and Arianna Maxwell; grandchildren, Asher Hall, Rozanna Hall, and Lyndon Siebings; sisters, Ashley Coggins, Jessica Coker, and Penny Coker; and brothers, Randall Coker and Andrew Coker. No services are planned at this time.

Patricia Miller

Dec. 29, 1950 – July 10, 2026

Patricia “Pat” Ann Williams

Miller, 75, of Troy, passed away Friday, July 10, 2026, at Randolph Health in Asheboro.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, Asheboro, with Rev. Brian Faircloth o ciating. Burial will follow at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church Cemetery, Asheboro.

Born on December 29, 1950, in Randolph County, NC, Pat was the daughter of the late Thurman Reid Williams and Queen Esther Latham Williams. She worked at Stuart Furniture, which later became Klaussner, and Wells Hosiery. Pat was a member of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, and she enjoyed sharing her faith and witnessing to people. She also worked at Princess House. In 1988, she cared for her father and later got her license to foster children. She housed and cared for 75 children from 1991 until 2017. She loved watching old TV shows, doing word search puzzles, and cooking. Most of all, Pat enjoyed traveling with her husband and spending time with all her family.

In addition to her parents, Patricia was preceded in death by her husband, Donnie Miller, Sr.; sisters, Mary Edwards, Alice Luther, Madelle Galloway; brothers, Rev. James B. Williams, Robert Williams, and Rev. Thurman Reid Williams, II.

Surviving are sons, Donnie Miller and wife Tami, Jonathan Miller, Christopher Jolly; sister, Kaye Luck and husband Gary; grandchildren, Colton Miller and wife Carrie Ann, Stetson Miller and wife Kelsey, Kourtlyn Atkins and husband Austin, Blaise Miller; and great-granddaughter, Pailyn Miller. The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Ridge Funeral Home in Asheboro.

Nancy Mason

Aug. 31, 1935 – July 6, 2026

Nancy Lee Jarrell Mason, age 90, of Asheboro, passed away on July 6, 2026, at Cross Road Retirement Community surrounded by her loving family. Mrs. Mason was born in Asheboro on August 31, 1935, to Ray and Alma Spoon Jarrell. Nancy was a 1953 graduate of Asheboro High School and attended Asheboro Business College for 2 years. She was a member of Balfour Baptist Church and was well respected in the community. Nancy was all about caring for other people, always putting their needs before her own. She had a great sense of humor and enjoyed cooking and being a homemaker. Nancy loved being outdoors, planting owers, music, shopping, reading romance novels, and working on puzzles. Family was paramount to Nancy. She was a good mother, always supportive of her children. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were the lights of her life, and she lovingly referred to them as her “babies.”

In addition to her parents, Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Robert R. Mason. She is survived by her sons, Gary Mason (Joanna) of Asheboro and Robert Mason (Lynn) of Asheboro; daughters, Cynthia Mason of Asheboro and Sheri M. Millikan (Tim) of Asheboro; 11 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and her canine companion, Callie, whom she loved very much.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, July 9, 2026 from 11:00 am-12:45 pm at Balfour Baptist Church. Funeral services will follow at 1:00 pm on Thursday at the church, with Rev. Gary Mason and Rev. Mark Wilburn o ciating. Interment will be held at Oaklawn Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8516 or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or Cross Road Retirement Community Dream Makers, 1302 Old Cox Rd., Asheboro, NC 27205.

Susan “Susie” Brady Cook

June 8, 1962 – July 2, 2026

Susan “Susie” Brady Cook, 64, of Lexington, passed away at her home. The Lord called her home on July 2, 2026. She was born June 8, 1962, in Randolph County, NC, to Leon Colbert Brady, Jr. and Maudie Louvine Ritter. She was very devoted to her family and willing to help anyone.

Susan was preceded in death by her parents, Leon Colbert Brady, Jr. and Maudie Louvine Ritter Brady. Susan attended Forsyth Tech, where she obtained her LPN certi cation. She was employed by Forsyth Memorial Hospital before ending her nursing career with Hospice of Randolph. Known as a wonderful caregiver, there was no limit to her devotion. During her free time, she enjoyed the outdoors, shing with family, tanning, gardening, or simply playing outside with her grandkids. She enjoyed bluegrass music, cooking, and baking as well. She loved her fur babies, especially her cat Sunshine. Susan loved people but also prided herself in independence. She is a true blessing to anyone who knew her. She is survived by her son, Shane Burrow, and his wife, Crystal, as well as her two grandchildren, Nathan and Noah Burrow, her niece, Bassie, and her nephews, Richard, Thomas, Manuel, Jr., Christian, and Tyler. She leaves behind wonderful brothers and sisters, Patricia Lovingood (David), Alphus Brady, Angela Salmeron (Manuel), and Joe Brady (Misty). She is also survived by many great-nieces and great-nephews and Sunshine, the cat.

The family will hold a private ceremony at the home.

Peter Anthony “Chummy” Recht

Nov. 12, 1935 – July 7, 2026

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Randolph Record at obits@ randolphrecord.com

Peter Anthony “Chummy” Recht, age 90, of Randleman, passed away on July 7, 2026, at the Randolph Hospice House. Mr. Recht was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and later resided in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. He has lived in Randleman, NC, for the past 3 1/2 years. Peter served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean Con ict. Peter retired after over 35 years of service as a Mechanical Engineer in the Automotive industry. Following his retirement, Peter moved to Cody, Wyoming. Peter enjoyed restoring and riding motorcycles. He loved woodworking, hiking, hunting, and shing. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Rosemary Recht; son, Michael A. Recht (Penny) of Liberty; daughters, Theresa Recht (Michael) of Harris, Minnesota, Cathy Paddock (Kurt) of Danbury, Wisconsin, and Elizabeth Recht Scaccia of Jamestown; 5 grandchildren; and his beloved canine companion, So e. No services are planned.

STATE & NATION

ICE shot, killed motorist in Maine; advocates say victim 26-year-old man from Colombia

The man was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number

By Patrick Whittle, Leah Willingham and Jack Brook

The Associated Press

BIDDEFORD, Maine — A federal immigration o cer fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, the second time in a week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have used deadly force. It is at least the ninth such killing since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown.

Immigrant rights groups identi ed the man who was killed as a 26-year-old native of Colombia.

Sen. Angus King, (I-Maine), said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the o cer opened re after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against o cers who were pursuing him for deportation in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles southwest of Portland.

“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said.

The Maine attorney general’s o ce, which is investigating along with the FBI and other agencies, said initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to ee in the direction of the agent. The man was the target of an enforcement operation related to a nal order of removal, the o ce said, and the agent who killed him has been placed on leave.

Messages seeking comment were left for ICE and the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The man was authorized to work in the U.S., advocates say

The advocacy groups Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number. After the shooting, his family contacted the Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, executive director Mufalo Chitam said.

“It’s a young family and he was leaving to go to work,” Chitam told The Associated Press. The family, she said, isn’t ready to speak publicly about the shooting.

Mary Hayes, who lives close to where the shooting happened, said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter.

“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,” Hayes told the AP as she held a piece of cardboard with “No ICE Stop ICE” written on it. “I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

The Colombian Embassy told the AP in an emailed statement that it is in contact with U.S. authorities and “working to formally con rm the individual’s identity and nationality.”

Security video but no body-worn camera footage

Cory Poulin, whose family runs a laundromat near the scene, told the AP that security cameras at the business captured footage of the man’s car rolling into the intersection after shots were red. Other images from the scene showed the car going in circles and bullet holes in its windshield.

“Two ICE members ran to the

“I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

Mary Hayes

intersection and another ICE member in a Ford SUV went into the intersection to stop the car from rolling,” he said. “I don’t know for a fact, but I don’t believe he was alive when the car started rolling.”

He said Maine State Police asked that he not release the footage publicly.

The agents involved in the shooting didn’t have body-worn cameras, King said.

“The question is, what did he do with his vehicle,” King said. “Were o cers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justi ed deadly force?

“That’s what this investigation is all about and I certainly intend to stay after it to do everything I can to be sure the investigation is as transparent and thorough as possible.”

Anti-ICE protesters gather near the scene

Dozens of demonstrators critical of ICE and President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown gathered in Biddeford within hours of the shooting.

Amy Goodman, who is from nearby Wells, arrived with a sign that said “Stop Killing Us” and directed it toward police working at the scene.

“Sadly, it’s something we’re seeing a whole lot more often lately, and I’m mad about it,” said Goodman, who was wear-

ing a shirt that said “ICE is best when crushed.”

“It’s heartbreaking and I wanted to show up,” Goodman’s friend, Molly Zucker of Cape Neddick, said as she held a sign reading, “No human being is illegal.”

Police blocked access to the shooting scene, which is in a neighborhood of mostly multifamily homes, churches and businesses near downtown.

Several protesters stood nearby, with some holding signs condemning ICE’s presence in the community and state.

“We are grieving, we are furious, and we will not allow his death to be treated as routine or inevitable,” Chitam said. “How much more harm must our communities endure before those with the power to act acknowledge that this has gone too far?”

A recent uptick in Trump’s immigration crackdown

Monday’s killing was at least the ninth death from an encounter with federal immigration o cials since Trump returned to o ce 18 months ago.

On July 7, an ICE o cer fatally shot 52-year-old Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after he was pursued by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

The shootings come amid a newly intensi ed push by the Trump administration to carry out its mass deportations agenda. During the ve-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people.

The gures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests continue and are surging. The administration’s enforcement

e orts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

“More than anything else, I want to know, ‘Why are you in Maine?’” Rep. Chellie Pingree, (D-Maine), said in a video posted on social media.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat running for Senate, wrote on X: “It’s time to get ICE o our streets.”

Hundreds of Maine ICE arrests since Trump’s return

ICE had a signi cant presence in Maine earlier this year, which prompted several protests.

The Homeland Security Department named the operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent play on Maine’s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago.

Immigration o cials said in late January that they had ceased “enhanced operations” in Maine after hundreds of arrests.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horri c crimes” including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.”

Court records show that while some had felony convictions, others had unresolved immigration proceedings or had been arrested but never convicted of a crime.

ICE arrested 546 people in Maine between the start of Trump’s second term and March 11, 2026, the most recent data available, according to ICE arrest data provided to the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project.

About 45% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds. During the equivalent 416-day period before Trump took o ce, roughly 69% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, the data show.

ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

Left, Protesters gather near the scene of the shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday in Biddeford, Maine. Top right, A vehicle is transported on a atbed near the scene of the shooting. Bottom right, Biddeford City Councilor Abigail Woods hugs an unidenti ed constituent during an impromptu protest on Monday.

ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

RandolpH SPORTS

No doubting Thomas’ 3-sport impact at Providence Grove

The multisport athlete excelled during his career with the Patriots

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

CLIMAX — By the time Andrew Thomas was done playing sports in Providence Grove uniforms, his impact spread across fall, winter and spring for multiple years.

Even better for Thomas, there was team success along the way.

“The last year, winning,” he

said of the best part of his high school career. “We nally got to win some conference championships and win some games with the people you grew up playing with. That was the best part.”

The Patriots were Central Carolina 3-A Conference champions in football and boys’ basketball, and they tied for the runner-up spot in baseball. At the heart of all that was Thomas.

“A special kid, special athlete,” said Shane Worth, who was his coach in basketball and

Former Wheatmore player takes repeat season with Post 45

The American Legion in elder is coming o his rst season of college baseball

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — After a season of college baseball, Wheatmore alum Caleb Coggins is taking another shot with Randolph County Post 45.

The return to American Legion baseball has been a good t for the versatile in elder.

“I enjoyed coming here,” Coggins said. “We were pretty good last year, and we’ve been pretty good this year.”

Indeed, Post 45 won the Area 3 North Division’s regular season and advanced through a playo series going into this week’s Area 3 semi nal series against Union County Post 535. That’s a best-of- ve series that should wrap up no later than Saturday.

Coggins played as a freshman this year for Guilford College. That was largely in a re -

serve role, frequently spending time at shortstop when he was on the eld.

“It is di erent and you’re being around some di erent guys,”

Coggins said. “There were some challenges that came with it, so you need to be staying engaged when you’re not playing.”

Working on his approach in the batter’s box has been among the priorities for Coggins this summer. He had a pair of hits during his limited playing time for the Quakers, though he picked up nine walks and struck out nine times.

“I got starts here and there,” he said. “Looking to get a little bit con dent at the plate.”

Having players with college experience dotting the roster can help, Post 45 manager Andrew Connor said.

“A little bigger and a little stronger and they’re used to a little faster pace,” he said.

Coggins’ versatility has been a boost for Post 45. He has logged time as the second baseman, shortstop and third baseman.

“I’m ne with playing any-

“It’s a big change. I’m de nitely going to miss this place, but it’s time for a new step, so (I’m) looking forward to it.”

Andrew Thomas, Providence Grove alum

baseball. “You can’t really put into words. … The success people see is not given. It comes with work.”

where besides catcher,” Coggins said.

Connor said Coggins gives Randolph County options when he’s lling out the lineup.

“He’s just a very athletic guy that you can put almost anywhere,” Coggins said.

Post 45 sweeps

After a rst-round bye, Randolph County swept Queens City in vastly di erent ways in the best-of-three series.

Post 45 needed a comeback for Friday night’s 19-15 home victory at McCrary Park in the series opener, then went on the road for a 12-2 decision in ve innings in Charlotte.

Tate Andrews and Lucas

Thomas, a middle in elder and pitcher, is signed to play baseball at UNC Greensboro, following older brother, Luke Thomas, to the Spartans. At the core of Andrew Thomas’ athletic endeavors was baseball. That even meant playing in travel ball events on weekends after a Friday night of football.

“I knew I wanted to play baseball in college for a while now,” Thomas said. “So whatever season it was, I was going to practice, and after practice I was working on baseball. Weekends, I was working on baseball.

The in elder is coming o a stellar collegiate season

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

TANNER MARSH of Asheboro was picked in the ninth round of Major League Baseball’s amateur draft by the Athletics on Sunday.

Marsh, who completed his junior collegiate season at Liberty this season, is a middle in elder.

Marsh was the 261st overall selection in the draft. Among players listed as second basemen in their draft pro les, Marsh was the seventh player picked.

Marsh, 21, was the Player of the Year in Conference USA. He also was dubbed the Defensive Player of the Year in the league, playing shortstop for Liberty. Marsh, who played in high school for Asheboro, is also a product of Randolph County Post 45’s American Legion program.

“He has earned every bit of it,” Post 45 manager Andrew

Summertime. Just kind of balancing both the best I could do.”

As a running back/slot receiver on the football team, Thomas scored a team-high 10 touchdowns as the Patriots’ second-leading rusher and receiver in 2025. Add in his return yardage, where he ranked tops on the team in all-purpose yards for the second year in a row. He also played in the defensive back eld as cornerback.

That helped result in the rst conference championship in the Providence Grove program’s history.

In basketball, Thomas was again the Patriots’ catalyst in the backcourt, becoming the second-leading scorer at 15.3 points per game and leading the team in steals. Then came baseball season, where he already had a PJ

See THOMAS, page B2

Connor said. “He works his butt o . He has really grown up being up at Liberty.” Connor was on the Post 45 coaching sta when Marsh played for the team, but their association extends much longer than that. Marsh is the youngest of the Marsh brothers to play for the Randolph County team.

Connor said Marsh often comes to his batting cage at his home when he’s in the area. At the very least, he regularly checks in.

“I’m very thankful that he

Providence Grove’s Andrew Thomas takes o ahead of Randleman’s Pacey Wagner during a high school football game last year.

COURTESY LIBERTY

Tanner Marsh

Braydon Tyl

Southwestern Randolph, soccer / tennis

Tyl had special moments in the fall and spring semesters.

He was a senior captain and a key defender for Southwestern Randolph’s rst state championship in boys’ soccer. The Cougars captured the Class 4A state title.

Tyl is a two-time all-conference selection in boys’ soccer.

More recently, Tyl was a standout on the tennis courts. He was dubbed the Player of the Year in the Four Rivers Athletic Conference.

During the summer, we recognize seniors from the past school year.

MARSH from page B1

always swings through,” Connor said.

Marsh is the rst draftee to come out of a Randolph County high school since Randleman catcher Brooks Brannon was picked by the Boston Red Sox in 2022. Brannon also was chosen in the ninth round (279th overall).

Marsh’s Liberty teammate Ben Blair, a pitcher, was drafted in the second round Saturday by the Tamp Bay Rays, while Liberty pitchers Tyler August (16th round to the Athletics) and Josh Swink (17th round to Colorado Rockies) were taken later Sunday. In the eighth round, the Athletics selected Duke pitcher Aidan Weaver.

ZooKeepers head to nal stretch in rst place

Asheboro’s team used a couple of victories against a divisional rival to stay atop the standings

Randolph Record sta

ASHEBORO — With slightly more than two weeks to go in the Coastal Plain League regular season, the Asheboro ZooKeepers have kept their grip on rst place in the West Division even though the weekend didn’t end well.

The ZooKeepers dropped a rain-shortened game to the host Wilmington Sharks on Sunday, falling 7-6 when the Sharks scored a tie-breaking run in the sixth. The game was halted before the inning was completed.

Takuma Sato took the loss, while Tyler Peller drove in three runs with a two-out, fth-inning double to tie the game. Heading into a pair of o days on the schedule this week, the ZooKeepers held a twogame lead atop the division.

The ZooKeepers defeated the second-place High Point-Thomasville HiToms on back-to-back nights last week.

Perry Hargett drove in three runs as the ZooKeepers rolled to an 11-1 victory against the visiting HiToms on Saturday night at McCrary Park. Asheboro went up 8-1 through three innings, allowing starting pitcher Elvin Ramos to glide through six innings while giving up one run.

Hargett supplied four hits and four runs batted in when

the ZooKeepers won 12-9 in 10 innings against the HiToms on Friday night at Finch Field in Thomasville. Daniel Stephens, Thomas Cano-Piszel and AJ Malzone all drove in two runs.

Robert Ahlgren, who threw two innings, was the winning pitcher despite giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

The ZooKeepers split with the visiting Florence Flamingos last Thursday, falling 11-10 in the completion of a suspended game and then posting a 9-3 romp.

The ZooKeepers played an exhibition game last week against the Catawba Valley Stars, winning 12-2 at home. Pitchers Quinn Saunders, Landon Johnson and McCall Biemiller combined for 15 strikeouts.

Post 81’s season ends in a ash

The Liberty team never gained much continuity and was eliminated in the rst round of the playo s

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

LIBERTY POST 81 manager Nate Cockman said he was hoping that when his players got into a regular routine that things would start clicking for the American Legion baseball team.

But the season ended too soon for Post 81.

Liberty was eliminated from the Area 3 playo s, falling to High Point-Thomasville Post 87 in a rst-round series last week.

Post 81’s record of 5-15 included losses in seven of itsnal eight games. That marked the fewest victories in three seasons since the program was reinstated.

In the best-of-three playo series, Post 81 dropped the rst game 11-2 at Finch Field but recovered the next day to win 5-4 at home at Eastern Randolph to force a third game. In Game 3, Liberty fell 13-3 despite leading 3-1 through three innings.

In its last game, John Wittig’s run-scoring double and Chance Holdaway’s

COGGINS from page B1

Connor hit solo home runs, Brady Arm eld knocked in four runs and scored three times, and Hudson Deel had two doubles among his three hits and also scored three runs in Game 1. Connor scored four runs.

“Being behind and coming back has kind of been our thing all year,” manager An-

PJ

Liberty Post 81’s Landon Albright delivers a pitch during last week’s Area 3 playo game against High Point-Thomasville Post 87 at Finch Field.

two -run home run gave Liberty its runs. Starting pitcher Landon Albright worked into the fourth inning, when High Point-Thomasville struck for ve runs, and took the loss. Cockman said an evolving schedule didn’t help matters. During a midseason stretch, Post 81 went more than a week with only one game played.

“Just playing games would help us,” he said. “We just haven’t gotten into a ow.” Liberty had a four-game stretch when it scored more

“We were pretty good last year and we’ve been pretty good this year.”

Caleb Coggins, Post 45 in elder

drew Connor said. “Just to not give up on a game.” Post 45’s John Kirkpatrick

reputation as an elite player.

“I like being that. It comes with responsibilities when people look up to you,” he said.

Then it got better for Thomas, who batted .507 with 33 stolen bases and struck out 66 batters in 432⁄3 innings as a senior.

“We won a lot more games in baseball, so it was a lot of fun with everybody,” he said. “I’d say I probably improved the most in baseball. Last year I did pretty good. This year, I feel like I kind of broke out. I grinded in the oseason because I knew this is what I’m playing college for. I took it another step in baseball.” Worth already knew he could count on Thomas at the top of the batting order, at shortstop and on the mound.

“It doesn’t matter what you put on him,” Worth said. “He

was already there. He went to a di erent level this year.” Thomas, 18, said it will be special to be on the same team as his older brother. Luke Thomas, who’ll be in his fth season in the UNCG program, also excelled in three sports for Providence Grove.

“I’m super excited. We nev-

than three runs only once. “We’ve got to score more runs,” Cockman said at the time. “We have a good amount of pitching. Pitching and defense are holding up.” Soon, that wasn’t the case, with the pitching and defense showing too many cracks. Beginning with the second week in June, Post 81 surrendered double- gure run totals in 11 games.

Liberty had a last-place record of 2-10 in Area 3 North Division regular-season play.

settled things down with 31⁄3 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the victory.

In Saturday’s series clincher, Post 45 rode Andrews’ big offense as he belted a grand slam and nished with ve runs batted in. Arm eld drilled a three-run home run.

Arm eld, Deel, Jake Riddle and Ashton Poe all scored two runs. Price Kidd pitched a two-hitter with three walks.

er got to play with each other,” Andrew Thomas said. “We’re pretty tight, so were both excited. It’s incredible.”

So now there will be adjustments for Thomas and for Providence Grove.

“It is kind of weird that I’m just doing baseball now,” Thomas said. “I get to focus on it and put all the e ort into that. But I’m de nitely going to miss the other two.”

The Patriots will be going on their next championship quests without an athlete who became critical in achieving recent accomplishments.

“He’s de nitely somebody we’re going to miss at PG,” Worth said.

For Thomas, it will be different, but he’s ready for what comes next.

“It’s a big change,” he said. “I’m de nitely going to miss this place, but it’s time for a new step, so (I’m) looking forward to it.”

JANN ORTIZ FOR RANDOLPH RECORD

THOMAS from page B1

WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

BOB SUTTON / RANDOLPH RECORD

Andrew Thomas

pen & paper pursuits

this week in history

Mandela is born, Aldrin and Armstrong walk the moon, Dahmer arrested

The Associated Press

JULY 16

1945: The United States detonated its rst experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo, New Mexico; the same day, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California on a secret mission to deliver atomic bomb components to Tinian Island in the Marianas.

1951: The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger was rst published by Little, Brown and Co.

1999: John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when their single-engine plane, piloted by Kennedy, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

JULY 17

1918: Russia’s Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.

1945: Following Nazi Germany’s surrender, President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the nal Allied summit of World War II.

1955: Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California.

JULY 18

1536: The English Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope void in England.

1918: South African anti-apartheid leader and fu-

People pose in front of the Biograph Theater as a woman displays a newspaper headline reading “Dillinger Slain” in Chicago. Outlaw John Dillinger was shot and killed by federal agents outside the movie theater on July 22, 1934, after watching “Manhattan Melodrama.”

Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, the rst men to land on the moon, plant the U.S. ag on the lunar surface July 20, 1969.

ture President Nelson Mandela was born in the village of Mvezo.

1925: Adolf Hitler published the rst volume of his autobiographical manifesto, “Mein Kampf (My Struggle).”

JULY 19

1812: During the War of 1812, the First Battle of Sackets Harbor in Lake Ontario resulted in an American victory.

1848: The rst “Convention to discuss the social, civil and religious condition and rights of Woman” convened at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York.

1979: The Nicaraguan capital of Managua fell to Sandinista guerrillas two days after President Anastasio Somoza ed the country.

JULY 20

1917: America’s World War I draft lottery began as

Secretary of War Newton Baker, wearing a blindfold, reached into a glass bowl and pulled out a capsule containing the number 258.

1951: Jordan’s King Abdullah I was assassinated in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman.

1969: Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the rst men to walk on the moon after reaching its surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module.

JULY 21

1861: During the Civil War, the rst Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Virginia, resulting in a Confederate victory.

1921: The so-called “Monkey Trial” ended in Dayton, Tennessee, with John T. Scopes found guilty of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. (The conviction was later overturned.)

1972: The Irish Republican Army carried out 22 bombings in Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing nine people and injuring 130 in what became known as “Bloody Friday.”

JULY 22

1933: Aviator Wiley Post landed at Floyd Bennett Field in New York City, completing the rst solo ight around the world in 7 days, 18 hours and 49 minutes.

1934: Bank robber John Dillinger was shot to death by federal agents outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater, where he had just seen the Clark Gable movie “Manhattan Melodrama.”

1991: Police in Milwaukee arrested Je rey Dahmer, who later confessed to killing 17 men and boys.

NASA VIA AP

AP PHOTO

‘Ted Lasso’ stars bring World Cup fever to Kansas City as Argentina faces Switzerland

Season 4 of the hit Apple TV comedy returns Aug. 5

By Dave Skretta

The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champion Argentina playing for a semi nal spot in Ted Lasso’s hometown?

You’d better “Believe” he’s paying attention.

The ctional coach of soccer club AFC Richmond — or rather, Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title character on the Apple TV series — was hosting a watch party at CPKC Stadium near downtown Kansas City on Saturday night when La Albiceleste were playing upstart Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium in their quest for back-to-back championships.

The fourth season of the comedy-drama, which has been on hiatus since 2023, is due to premiere Aug. 5.

“As much as we’ve loved football before we got started, I’ve grown to love it more as we got more immersed in the soccer culture,” said Sudeikis, who grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and still has a deep a nity for the city.

In fact, many of the scenes in the new season of “Ted Lasso” were shot around Kansas City. That includes riverfront CPKC Stadium, the home of the National Women’s Soccer League club Kansas City Current. It’s the rst of its size built speci cally for a women’s pro-

Jason Sudeikis stands on the eld ahead of the World Cup quarter nal soccer match between Argentina and Switzerland in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday.

fessional club, and a tting locale for several thousand people to attend a watch party, given that the new season of “Ted Lasso” will focus on the newly formed AFC Richmond women’s team.

It was a concept that the character Keeley Jones — played by the award-winning Juno Temple — subtly pitched at the end of the third season, when it was still unclear whether “Ted Lasso” would return for another run.

“It feels like a perfect moment to be talking about women’s football, and representing it — not that I play, obviously,” said Temple, who sported a teal Kansas City Current jersey Saturday. “So that’s rst and foremost. I hope that’s some-

“As much as we’ve loved football before we got started, I’ve grown to love it more as we got more immersed in the soccer culture.”

Jason Sudeikis

thing people really treasure. And I also hope people enjoy the journey each of the characters are going on.”

As for the World Cup, the cast hopes fans of the show have become fans of the game over the years. That has certainly been the case in the Sudeikis household; he played a little soccer as a kid before realizing basketball was more his game.

“I’ve certainly heard from some people that didn’t care about soccer at all until they started to watch ‘Ted Lasso,’” said Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard and is one of the show’s writers. He re ected on the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994.

“As opposed to 1994 when we had the World Cup and people knew even less about soccer, including me, people were ready for it,” Hunt said. “Yes, the world has come with this great energy, but we were more ready to be aware of their presence and reciprocate energy.”

The fact that Argentina and Switzerland were playing a World Cup quarter nal on Saturday night? In Kansas City?

“Luck of the draw,” Hunt said with a wry, bearded smile.

‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ author Kadono still believes in magic of books at 91

The series in original Japanese spans six books and three spino s

By Yuri Kageyama

The Associated Press

KAMAKURA, Japan — Eiko Kadono, the author behind Japan’s most famous — and almost certainly most beloved — literary witch, has a little trouble going up the stairs these days. At 91, she’s still writing every day and hasn’t stopped loving the color pink, dressing up or believing in the magic of books.

“Kiki’s Delivery Service,” which was rst published in 1985 and turned into a 1989 animated lm by Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, is among 200 books she has written.

“I never tire of writing,” she told The Associated Press at her home in the picturesque seaside town of Kamakura, south of Tokyo. With a little pink gate, the house is lled with books, pink chairs and her collection of animal gures.

“I’m probably a child at heart,” Kadono says with a small laugh.

“I love to write”

These days, she uses a keyboard, punching the keys slowly, one at a time. But when she is creating a story, it still all starts with writing by hand. She also draws pictures.

“I want to write so that the reader can visualize what I am writing,” she said. “I love to write.”

Still quick with her retorts, laughs and thoughts, Kadono shrugs o how she’s wearing a wig. She doesn’t understand why people might want to hide that. She wears red lipstick and acts

Eiko Kadono, the author of “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” poses for photos in Kamakura, Japan, on June 22.

“I want to write so that the reader can visualize what I am writing. I love to write.”

Eiko Kadono

a bit shy about her wrinkles. Still, her writing hasn’t basically changed over the years. Though when she looks back on her past writing, she feels it’s wordier than her current crisp style.

“Kiki and the New Magic”

Now, the second in the series, “Kiki and the New Magic,” is set for release in August in English, translated by Emily Balistrieri and illustrated by Yuta Onoda. Kadono, who won the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018, never set out to become a writer. She was basically a housewife, married to a designer and raising a daughter. She lived in Brazil for two years during her 30s and was asked to write about that expe -

rience. That’s when she discovered she liked writing as a fun thing to do, not as a job. It was certainly not something she was ordered or pushed to do.

The character of the sprightly, no-nonsense Kiki was inspired by a drawing her daughter did when she was 12: A cute witch was ying on a broomstick toward the moon.

Kadono decided to create a coming-of-age story about a little witch who goes on an adventure, traveling with her black cat Jiji.

The rest is history.

Books bring creation, imagination

Kadono hopes there will be a continuous ux of talented writers of children’s books so that the future generation can grow up to love books.

Now is a crucial period, she believes, that may decide whether that can really happen.

The walks in the woods and other activities that captured the imagination of children of the past no longer exist, said Kadono. There are other digital and modern diversions. And so, they must read.

AYAKA MCGILL / AP PHOTO

ASHLEY LANDIS / AP PHOTO

famous birthdays this week

Will Ferrell is 59, singer Kim Carnes hits 81, Kannapolis native George Clinton turns 85

The Associated Press THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.

JULY 16

International Tennis Hall of Famer Margaret Court is 84. Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is 78. Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 78. Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 74. Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 59. Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is 58. Actor Corey Feldman is 55.

JULY 17

Former sportscaster Verne Lundquist is 86. Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom is 79. Rock musician Terry “Geezer” Butler is 77. Actor Lucie Arnaz is 75. Actor David Hasselho is 74. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is 72.

JULY 18

Olympic gold medal gure skater Tenley Albright is 91. Movie director Paul Verhoeven is 88. Singer Dion DiMucci is 87. Actor James Brolin is 86. Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Torre is 86. Singer Martha Reeves is 85. Musician Ricky Skaggs is 72.

JULY 19

Civil rights activist and educator Rachel Robinson, widow of baseball’s Jackie Robinson, is 104. Blues singer-musician Little Freddie King is 86. Singer-musician Alan Gorrie (Average White Band) is 80. Rock musician Brian May (Queen) is 79. Actor Campbell Scott is 65.

JULY 20

Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Oliva is 88. Artist Judy Chicago is 87. Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 82. Singer Kim Carnes is 81. Rock musician Carlos Santana is 79. Rock musician Paul Cook (Sex Pistols) is 70.

Thursday.

JULY 21

Singer Yusuf Islam (also known as Cat Stevens) is 78. Author Michael Connelly is 70. Comedian Jon Lovitz is 69. Retired soccer player Brandi Chastain is 58. Actor-singer Charlotte Gainsbourg is 55.

JULY 22

Singer George Clinton is 85. Movie writer-director Paul Schrader is 80. Actor Danny Glover is 80. Singer Mireille Mathieu is 80. Actor-comedian-director Albert Brooks is 79. Rock singer Don Henley is 79. Author S.E. Hinton is 78. Jazz musician Al Di Meola is 72. Actor Willem Dafoe is 71.

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP PHOTO Actor and musician Corey Feldman turns 55

DAMIAN DOVARGANES / AP PHOTO Motown singer Martha Reeves turns 85 Saturday.

PAUL R. GIUNTA / INVISION / AP PHOTO Carlos Santana turns 79 Monday.

the stream

‘Heartstopper

Forever,’ ‘Lucky,’

‘Marc by So a,’ Steve Lacy

Will Ferrell plays golf in “The Hawk” on Net ix

The Associated Press

A NEW ALBUM from Steve Lacy and the conclusion of the “Heartstopper” series are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: “Lucky,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, the game “D-topia” and “The Hawk,” which stars Will Ferrell as a gol ng great well past his prime.

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

Net ix’s popular series “Heartstopper” concludes with a feature lm nale, “Heartstopper Forever,” streaming Friday on Net ix. The lm, written by “Heartstopper” creator and graphic novelist Alice Oseman, follows the Season 3 ending in which Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) take their relationship to a new level. New challenges await, though, as Nick considers what university he’ll attend.

So a Coppola pro les fashion designer Marc Jacobs in “Marc by So a” (Thursday on HBO Max). The lm, largely shot as Jacobs prepares to unveil a ready-to-wear collection, marks a documentary rst for Coppola, the lmmaker of “Lost in Translation” and “The Bling Ring.” Christian Petzold’s “Miroirs No. 3” (Mubi on Friday), one of the standouts of the rst half of 2026, is about a piano student (Paula Beer) who, following a car accident, rehabilitates in the rural home of an older woman (Barbara Auer) who lives near where the crash happened. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle called the lm “beguiling and restorative.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

In 2022, he was inescapable. Lacy’s “Bad Habit” was a hit, anchored by its surprising — and addictive — self-e acing

hook: “I wish I knew you wanted me.” On Friday, the alt-R&B talent, formerly of the group the Internet, will release a new album titled “Oh yeah?” It’s a pop progression, from the dreamy collaboration with SZA, “Is It Cool?” to the ambitious “The Feeling.”

The Colombian Canadian artist Lido Pimienta is no stranger to pushing boundaries; it is why she is frequently compared to Björk and Natalia Lafourcade in equal measure. On Friday she will release “Caribenya,” a portmanteau of “Caribe” and the elusive Irish singer

“‘Miroirs No. 3’ is beguiling and restorative.”

Jake Coyle, AP lm writer

“Enya.” The title should provide a framework in which to experience this work: It’s at the intersection of her cumbia and DIY roots, as well as her ever-expanding, anti-colonial sonic experimentations.

SERIES TO STREAM

Robert Irwin won Season 34 of “Dancing with the Stars,” and now he’s the host of “The Next Pro,” where 12 dancers compete to be a pro in its next season. Mark Ballas, a three-time Mirrorball champ, is a judge alongside his mother, Shirley Ballas, winner of many Latin dance competitions and renowned instructor and British TV personality. A third spot at the judges’ table will feature rotating guests

including Derek Hough, Witney Carson and Jenna Johnson. The show is streaming now on Hulu. What would you do if you had a winning lottery ticket that you couldn’t cash in? Taylor-Joy plays Lucky, a con artist with that conundrum in a new Apple TV series of the same name. The winnings would give Lucky a chance at a new life, but both the feds and her crime boss are on her trail. Reese Witherspoon, who chose the novel for her book club in 2021, is an executive producer. The rst two episodes are now streaming. Ferrell plays Lonnie Hawkins, No. 1 golfer — of 2004. Present day though, the wear and tear of years on the course is showing. His ex-wife and son, golf’s latest hotshot, think the game is over and he should retire. Lonnie refuses to go out as anything but great — he’s just got to win one more major to complete a career Grand Slam. Molly Shannon, Jimmy Tatro, Fortune Feimster, Luke Wilson and Chris Parnell round out the cast. “The Hawk” premieres Thursday on Net ix.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

“Culdcept Begins” represents the return of a cult classic that’s been absent from consoles for too long. It’s a mashup of two popular kinds of tabletop games. One is a board game, like Monopoly, in which you roll dice, move and claim property. The other is a collectible card game, like Magic: The Gathering, in which you use your deck to summon creatures, cast spells or deploy weapons. If you land on a space that an opponent has already claimed, the battle is on. With ever-changing boards and more than 400 cards, you can indulge in a challenging solo campaign or play online against friends. Cut the deck Thursday on Switch.

“D-topia” looks like it might be a nice place to live. After all, it’s a place where “life is curated by arti cial intelligence to maximize happiness.” But machines break down sometimes, and your job as a facilitator is to x them. You may run into some human residents who aren’t entirely happy in this mellow but bland town. And once you discover the hidden “Block Side,” you may reveal some unsavory secrets. Publisher Annapurna Interactive describes it as “a calm, yet thought-provoking journey” in which your choices may lead to joy or despair. Check in on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch or PC.

COLLEEN E. HAYES / NETFLIX VIA AP

Will Ferrell plays golfer Lonnie Hawkins in “The Hawk.”

ALESSANDRA TARANTINO / INVISION / AP PHOTO

Director So a Coppola, left, and designer Marc Jacobs pose for photographers on the red carpet for the lm “Marc by So a” during the 82nd Venice Film Festival in 2025.

JESSICA BROOKS / APPLE TV VIA AP

Anya Taylor-Joy portrays a con artist in “Lucky” on Apple TV.

HOKE COUNTY

PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Supreme Court justices tell Congress safety at risk, more must be spent on security

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan testi ed to Congress on Tuesday, a rare event for members of the high court. They’re seeking millions of dollars to enhance security as threats rise to the judiciary. Judges nationwide have faced increased violence and intimidation, including a fake swatting call to Barrett’s home in May.

Bu ett omits gift to Gates’ foundation after Microsoft cofounder’s Epstein ties disclosed

Warren Bu ett omitted Bill Gates’ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of Gates’ ties to convicted sex o ender Je rey Epstein. He’ll donate about $6 billion to four family foundations but didn’t mention Gates. Bu ett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth nearly $146 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034. Most of Bu ett’s donations since 2006 have gone to the Gates Foundation.

State budget allows NC Zoo to proceed

The opening of the Asia exhibition has been contingent on an updated budget

By Bob Sutton North State Journal

ASHEBORO — The funding is in place but the hiring still needs to happen before the much-anticipated opening of the Asia Continent habitat at North Carolina Zoo.

Construction on the exhibit began with a groundbreaking nearly four years ago, and that part of the facility was deemed complete this spring. But with-

out a state budget, the zoo was unable to go ahead with hiring for positions needed for the Asia habitat.

Last week, a new state budget was approved, providing approximately $6.2 million to the NC Zoo for operating funds.

“The North Carolina Zoo is pleased that the majority of our requested positions and funding for the Zoo’s new Asia Continent were appropriated by the new state budget,” Michele Walker, assistant communications director of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, said in a statement. “The 54 posi

“(We are) pleased that the majority of our requested positions and funding were appropriated.”

Michele Walker, NC DNCR

tions and $6.2 million in operating funds will allow us to move forward with opening this exciting new area to visitors as soon as practicable. We will work as quickly as possible to hire for these necessary po -

Hoke County Schools renews contract with i-Ready

The district utilizes i-Ready for K-5 math curriculum

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

RAEFORD — The Hoke County Schools Board of Education met Tuesday for a brief agenda, mostly pertaining to a few contractual items.

The board rst approved an approximately $138,000 contract renewal with i-Ready for K-5 math curriculum.

“It provides everything that we need, it supports data-driven instruction and student growth monitoring, but most importantly, it provides research based, high quality lessons for our teachers, eliminating time teachers are taking to plan lessons.”

Alfred Hammond, assistant superintendent of elementary curriculum and instruction

sitions and prepare to o cially open Asia once that process is complete.”

The Asia habitat consumes 12.5 acres. At one point, projections had the exhibit opening by June, but that time period passed without a state budget.

Interim NC Zoo director Diane Villa told a Triad-area television station that some animals from the Asia habitat can be heard in other parts of the zoo, heightening the anticipation for when that area is open to the public. This is considered the zoo’s rst major expansion since 1994.

ican Interpreters for the Deaf and Bayada Home Health Care.

The board also approved the Hoke County Schools Beginning Teacher Support Program Five Year Plan.

The program, which is sta ed by three full-time employees as well as being monitored by the assistant superintendent of human resources, sets out the guidance for providing comprehensive induction and professional development for beginning teachers.

“We started with i-Ready in 2021-22, and it provides the instruction that our teachers need, the assessments and also the progress monitoring that we need for our students,” said Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Alfred Hammond said. “It provides everything that we need, it supports data-driven instruction and student growth monitoring, but most importantly, it provides research based, high quality lessons for our teachers, eliminating time teachers are taking to plan lessons.”

tion and helps guide planning and pacing.

The contract includes the curriculum material, professional learning and the Teacher Toolbox, a digital collection of instructional materials designed to support teachers

The curriculum is aligned with North Carolina standards, supports early interven-

In addition, the board approved three separate EC contract renewals with Pediatric Services of America, All Amer-

“The purpose of the plan is to support, develop and retain, build con dence and grow our beginning teachers when they make this critical transition into the educational arena of the education profession,” said Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Erica Fortenberry.

It’s a three-year induction program for beginning teachers that includes new teacher orientation, ongoing professional development, trained mentors, observations and feedback and support for licensure progression and professional growth.

The Hoke County Schools Board of Education will next meet Aug. 11.

The Asia Continent habitat remains o limits at North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, but the opening could be coming by later this summer.

(USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365)

Pentagon says suspension lifted for SC helicopter pilots following July 4 beach event

Pentagon reverses decision after Republican leadership rallied to defend the pilots

By Meg Kinnard The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Eight South Carolina National Guard helicopter pilots have been returned to ying duties following a suspension over a low- ying sweep over beachgoers as part of a July 4 event honoring servicemembers.

“E ective immediately, the suspension of all involved South Carolina pilots has been lifted,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote Friday morning on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”

The suspension followed “Salute from the Shore,” a July 4 tradition honoring servicemembers in South Carolina since 2010 that features vintage and modern military aircraft ying along the 187-mile length of the state’s shoreline, with the intent of sparking patriotism among thousands of beachgoers gathered for the holiday.

This year’s salute included F-16s with the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing out of McEntire Joint Base, as well as a C-17 from the 437th Airlift Wing based at Joint Base Charleston. For the rst time, Apache helicopters joined the air parade, which also featured civilian-owned vintage planes like T-34s and T-6s. Numerous attendees often post video on social media of the display, but this year, online images of the Apaches ying at what appeared to be a low height over crowded beaches sparked concern with the South Carolina

National Guard, which launched a review of the event and temporarily suspended the eight pilots from ying duties while that was ongoing, later clarifying the suspension was “a routine, non-punitive safety measure, not a disciplinary action.”

Late last Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted on social media that the Pentagon was getting involved, writing, “We’ll x this. Carry on, Patriots.”

The message was similar to one issued by Hegseth in March after the lifting of a suspension for a pair of Army pilots who hovered two AH-64 Apache helicopters near Kid Rock’s Tennessee home during a training run while he clapped and saluted.

“No punishment. No Investigation. Carry on, patri-

ots,” Hegseth said then in a social media post, less than three hours after the Army announced its review. Kid Rock, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, said he thought it was “really cool” that the pilots stopped to hover at his house.

South Carolina Republicans rebuked the suspension of its Guard pilots. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents the Myrtle Beach area, said last Thursday that the pilots “should be celebrated, not sanctioned.”

Ahead of Parnell’s post noting the suspension had been lifted, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster — who serves as commander-in-chief of the state’s National Guard — said he trusted the pilots’ acumen, writing in a social media post that Guardsmen y in wartime.

“Surely, they know how to

Grateful dog owner describes mountain rescue after canine apparently ingests cannabis

Rescuers carried the incapacitated dog down the mountain in under an hour

By Brian Melley

The Associated Press

LONDON — Christina Bluhme was high on the anks of Britain’s tallest mountain with her dogs and one of the hounds was a lot higher — and not in a good way. Tokyo, a 5-year-old black Labrador retriever, had apparently ingested cannabis along the trail and had to be rescued after she began to sway like she was drunk and then couldn’t walk at all.

“She had a very bad trip,” said Bluhme, who was mysti ed at the time about what nearly doomed her dog during the July 5 hike. “It was a very terrifying experience.”

Bluhme knows a thing or two about dogs, having worked as a canine trainer for 25 years. But she never suspected Tokyo might be stoned. While cases of cannabis toxicity in pets is rising in the U.K., it’s an even bigger problem in the U.S., where marijuana has been legalized in many states and is available as a medical option in others. Marijuana and other drugs entered the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals top 10 list of tox-

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ins for pets for the rst time in 2023. Its poison control center said 10% more calls were related to potential marijuana ingestion than the previous year, and they had increased nearly threefold over the past ve years.

With the dog collapsed, Bluhme, her son and two dogs were more than three hours into their climb and near the peak of Ben Nevis, the 4,413-foot (mountain in the Scottish Highlands. The weather, which had been clear at the start of the day, had turned to rain and the temperature had plunged to 41 F. She told her son, Magnus, that their quest to reach the summit was over.

“I said, listen, we’ve got to

turn around and get her down,” Bluhme said Monday. “There’s something completely wrong here.”

Her son called for help, but police said they weren’t sure they could send a rescue crew.

Luckily for Bluhme and Tokyo, though, a crew from the all-volunteer Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team was already making their way down from the peak after helping a helicopter airlift an injured hiker. The crew put the 55-pound dog in their stretcher and quickly carried her down the steep, slick, rocky trail, making it to the trailhead in about an hour.

“They were almost running,” Bluhme said. “I was clinging on

safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and tourists on our 250th anniversary,” McMaster wrote.

McMaster’s o ce said last Friday the governor was pleased the suspension had been lifted.

Asked whether the governor — a longtime Trump ally — had directly intervened, a spokesperson said the o ce “remains in regular communication with state and federal partners as part of its routine operations.”

The Pentagon declined to comment beyond Parnell’s statement. Maj. Lisa Allen of the South Carolina National Guard con rmed in an email last Friday that the suspension had been lifted but did not respond to a question over whether the Guard were still conducting an internal review.

to the stretcher. They were so agile and so fast. It was incredible.” Police had called Crown Vets in nearby Fort William, and a veterinarian was standing by when Bluhme arrived.

Veterinarians initially thought the animal had a spinal issue, but a senior vet concluded she was on some kind of neurotoxin because she was drifting in and out of consciousness. When they consulted with a poison control center, her symptoms checked all the boxes for cannabis intoxication.

The dog was given activated charcoal and made a full recovery overnight.

After fearing she would lose the beloved dog on the mountain, Bluhme said the 1,000 pound ($1,335) vet bill was money well spent.

“The next day it was like nothing ever happened,” said Bluhme, who lives in southern England. “She recovered so quickly, and I’m the one still hanging a bit.”

JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON / AP PHOTO

The Pentagon has cleared eight helicopter pilots suspended for ying low over beachgoers.

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | DENNIS BERWYN

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Patients deserve transparency and accountability in North Carolina’s hospital system

The 340B Drug Pricing Program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines.

NORTH CAROLINA families shouldn’t have to guess what their healthcare will cost or whether they’re getting a fair deal. But too often, that’s exactly where people nd themselves: navigating a system where prices vary widely, transparency is limited and accountability can feel just out of reach.

At the center of this challenge is a trend that has quietly reshaped healthcare across the country: hospital consolidation.

Over the past two decades, hospitals have steadily joined larger systems, often with the goal of improving coordination and expanding access to care. Those are important goals. But the reality for many patients, especially those in rural communities, has been more complicated. Research continues to show that when markets become more concentrated, prices often rise and choices become more limited. New consolidation e orts in North Carolina raise real questions about what this means for patients, taxpayers and local communities.

When competition declines, patients lose. And too often, families and employers end up paying the price.

We’re seeing the e ects here in North Carolina. Wide di erences in hospital prices and real gaps in price transparency make it harder for patients and employers to plan ahead or even know if they’ve been treated fairly.

And it’s not just about confusion. It’s about trust — trust that the system is working as intended and that patients are bene ting from it.

One clear example is the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This federal program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines. Eligible hospitals and clinics can buy outpatient medicines at steep discounts with the understanding that those savings should support

patient care and community needs.

That goal and the 340B program are worth preserving. But over time, the program has expanded dramatically without consistent transparency or clear requirements for reporting how those savings are used. In too many cases, patients have no way to know whether discounted medicines are actually lowering their costs or improving access to care.

In North Carolina, data shows that some hospitals participating in 340B have charged far more than the discounted price they paid for certain medications. At the same time, there is no consistent requirement that those savings be passed directly to patients or clearly tied to improving patient access or a ordability. When that’s combined with continued hospital consolidation, it raises serious questions about whether the program is serving patients as Congress intended.

This highlights something else worth paying attention to: incentives matter. As hospitals grow larger and acquire new facilities, they can expand their use of programs like 340B. Over time, that dynamic can reward consolidation, reduce competition and make an already complicated healthcare system harder for families to understand.

Supporting hospitals and standing up for patients should not be in con ict. We can, and should, do both.

That starts with greater transparency so patients can understand prices before they receive care. It means clearer standards and accountability so programs designed to help vulnerable populations actually deliver on that promise. It also means practical federal reforms that protect legitimate safety-net providers while closing loopholes that allow the program to drift away from patients.

The Trump administration is taking one encouraging step by continuing to pursue

AOC should thank baby boomers for the world they left her

The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ says she knows why socialism is on the rise: Blame it on the boomers.

“Millennials and Gen Z combined, now for the rst time, are eclipsing the number of baby boomers,” she explained recently. “Young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world we’ve been left.”

It’s inarguable that younger generations feel this way. The notion that millennials and Generation Z are toiling in a uniquely grueling economic era, however, is utterly delusional.

But convincing young people they’ve been handed a broken world only fostered an unprecedented sense of hopelessness. You are not victims of “oligarchs,” unfettered capitalism or any other imaginary monsters.

One of the most popular myths these days (you hear it from both sides all the time) is that the American middle class is being gutted. It’s simply not true. In 1980, 36% of American families were middle class.

Only 31% of Americans are still in the middle class because the upper middle class has grown from 10% of households to more than 30%. The middle class is shrinking because the upper middle class is expanding.

Real median income has not only grown across all classes over the past 40 years but has zoomed past the rest of the Western world. The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

That’s a pretty remarkable economic

inheritance. Just ask the soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.

Another big grievance of younger people is that housing has become far too expensive. It’s a genuine concern. But ownership rates are no lower today than they were in the ’60s, ’70s or ’90s, and most of the 1980s. The homeownership rate in 1980 was 65.5%. In 2025, it was 65.4%. Rates temporarily spiked through the 2000s when government policy incentivized millions to “buy” houses they couldn’t a ord with no money down.

Housing shortages are driven by the laws of physics. It’s not the boomers’ fault that too many people want to live in and around major urban areas.

You also wonder if the average Gen Zer understands that the environment is in nitely cleaner today than it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

There has been widespread reforesting and wetland restoration. There is far less litter. Air quality is drastically cleaner, as is water. When boomers started driving, gas was leaded, and most cars didn’t even have catalytic converters. Gen X grew up worried about things called “nuclear winter” and “acid rain.”

An average household spends on clothing and food a fraction of what their grandparents did. And yet, they also have substantially more choices, including international and nutritious fare.

It’s true that healthcare costs have risen. Some of it can be attributed to bad policy. Most of it re ects prosperity, as younger Americans will generally enjoy longer life expectancy and better care than any generation before them.

the recent federal 340B rebate pilot, which o ers a measured way to add veri cation and accountability before discounts are nalized. Done correctly, that approach can help con rm that a prescription is eligible, reduce duplicate discounts, create a clearer data trail and bring more discipline to the program without changing which hospitals or clinics qualify for 340B. Just as important, it focuses on solving problems up front rather than relying on slower, after-the-fact e orts to untangle errors once the money has already moved.

That is the kind of commonsense reform conservatives should support: limited, practical, focused on accountability and respectful of both taxpayers and patients.

Just as importantly, we have to recognize where responsibility for reform truly sits. Programs like 340B are federal by design, and Congress should lead.

A patchwork of state-level xes risks creating more inconsistency and less accountability, failing to provide the clarity and consistency patients deserve.

North Carolina has always valued fairness, personal responsibility, competition and looking out for one another. Bringing more transparency and accountability to our healthcare system is simply an extension of those values.

At the end of the day, patients should come rst, and families should be able to trust the healthcare system they rely on. Congress should act now to strengthen 340B through clear federal reforms that restore transparency, protect taxpayers, preserve the safety net and ensure the program nally works the way it was intended: for patients.

Dennis Berwyn is vice chair of the Wake Republican Men and vice president of the Central Region of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Men.

Big Pharma, one of the industries reviled by Ocasio-Cortez and her allies, keeps coming up with ways to keep people with once-deadly diseases alive. None of it is cheap. Yet.

When Ocasio-Cortez rst won her congressional seat, Time magazine writer Charlotte Alter wrote a glowing pro le of the socialist newcomer, explaining that her “adulthood was de ned by nancial crisis, debt and climate change. No wonder she and her peers are moving left.”

Since Ocasio-Cortez turned 18 in 2007, there have been only two negative growth years in the United States, one of them due to a worldwide pandemic. From 1970 to 2007, there was, on average, a negative or recessionary year every three to four years. Americans worked through recessions in 1928, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1980/1981, 1990 and 2001 without turning to socialism. The only thing special about Ocasio-Cortez’s adulthood is that the recessions have become shorter and less severe. AOC is living in the golden age.

Boomers have failed on plenty of fronts, but being on the hook for a ridiculously expensive student loan on a useless degree isn’t one of the great tragedies to have befallen mankind. It’s just the consequence of choices. And most progressives want other people to pay for their choices.

There are plenty of serious problems — there always are — but historically speaking, by virtually every quanti able measure available, Americans are living in a uniquely wealthy and safe world. Ocasio- Cortez should be thanking baby boomers for the world they left her.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI

Ukraine, 9 other countries announce coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles

Ukraine proposed jointly developing a mass-produced, low-cost system within the next 12 months

By Emma Carmichael and Illia Novikov

Associated Press

The

PARIS — Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing Kyiv’s experience in ghting Russia’s full-scale invasion for over four years.

“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against Russia’s missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the rest of Europe wary of Moscow’s wider ambitions on the continent.

Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles,” which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.

“We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize future missile threats,” the statement said. “We recognize Ukraine’s unique experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by Russia.”

The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system and said the plan remained open to other countries.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system with missiles that would let Europe supply itself with new antiballistic capability and provide it to others around the world who need protection.

Putin shows no sign Russia is backing down

Russian President Vladimir Putin was unyielding, vowing Monday emphatic retaliation to Kyiv’s recent long-range attacks on re neries, tankers and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.

“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists.

European foreign ministers were meeting separately in Brussels where they discussed Ukraine’s needs and Russia’s threats to the continent.

Zelenskyy is keen to acceler-

ate e orts with European countries to develop its air defenses ahead of winter, when Russia usually intensi es its attacks to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water.

Ukrainian o cials were in Paris to present a proposed Anti-Ballistic Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and defense companies who might take part, Zelenskyy said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge last week to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems to counter the ballistic missiles could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv. However, experts and Ukrainian o cials warn that turning the idea into reality would probably take years. It was unclear how quickly a European system could be built.

Ukraine wants to push Putin into negotiations

Kyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine’s recent successes and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the ghting, although Moscow has shown no willingness to compromise despite peace e orts by the Trump administration.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the Paris meeting but dismissed its aspirations.

“This is a coalition of warmongers,” Peskov said. “They are driven by the profound delusion that it’s possible to in ict a strategic defeat on our country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of those who incite the war.”

Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have given it an edge

is

recently, analysts and Western o cials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front have robbed the Russian army of momentum and made its progress slow and costly, they say.

Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days

Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula from July 6-13, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tugboats, Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.

The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian e ort to isolate the Crimean Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian logistics. Crimea is a key rear base for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims, and Russian o cials made no immediate comment.

European leaders demonstrate their commitment to Kyiv

The Paris meeting of the so - called Coalition of the Willing, which brings together more than 30 countries and about 25 heads of state and government, appeared to be a demonstration of a long-term commitment to Ukraine and a warning to Russia, as Moscow tests Europe’s resilience.

Zelenskyy’s trip to the French capital followed the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters in Washington. Lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko called Graham “the closest link between Ukraine, our president and Trump.”

The trip also comes amid a major reshu e of Zelenskyy’s government that saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko step down Sunday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon the Russian ambassador to France and impose sanctions against Russian hackers. He told BFMTV-RMC that the issue is about “a vast cyber campaign aimed at sabotage and espionage, carried out by Russia in about 10 European countries.”

Ukraine’s neighbors have also felt the war’s impact.

In the latest incident, a drone launched during Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region crashed and exploded on Moldova’s territory, Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign A airs said Monday. It said the incident was “serious and unacceptable.”

Ukraine res more than 300 drones toward Moscow

Ukraine has aimed at targets deep inside Russia with its domestically developed long-range drones and missiles.

Russian air defenses downed 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow since late Sunday, including 50 near the capital, the capital’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Moscow regional Gov. An-

drei Vorobyov said 81 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, adding that three people were killed and three were injured by the attack in the Pionersky settlement in the western part of the Moscow region.

The Ukrainian air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 134 long-range strike drones and three guided aviation missiles at Ukraine.

A strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region set re to a docked merchant vessel carrying fertilizer under the ag of Togo, killing ve crew members and wounding 10, said regional military administration head Oleh Kiper.

Russia says it thwarted a major Ukraine drone operation

Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian plan for a drone attack on the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern Amur region and the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals.

Small drones were smuggled into Russia’s Bryansk region using air balloons and bigger transport drones, then taken by car near the air bases by Ukrainian agents, who were arrested, the security service said.

A covert Ukrainian operation a year ago, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, destroyed or damaged nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber eet with drones carried secretly into Russia, according to Ukrainian o cials.

Besides being the mother of two, she worked for many years at Burlington Mills. Betty enjoys church, watching youtube and doing word searches.

TERESA SUARES / POOL PHOTO VIA AP

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis talk during the Coalition of the Willing summit on security guarantees for Ukraine at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris on Monday.

HOKE SPORTS

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Matthew Coutouzis and Alvina McBride

Hoke County has two new coaches in its athletic department. Alvina McBride will take over as head coach for girls’ tennis. She is a Pinecrest High and Sandhills Community College alum who has taught science at Hoke since 2010.

Meanwhile, the Bucks’ girls’ ag football team will be led by Matthew Coutouzis, who has also worked with the Hoke girls’ soccer team as well as serving as an o cial and a JV high school basketball coach.

Hornets GM says Ball trade to Timberwolves

made with long-term

The team hopes to break out of its play-in rut with the shakeup

By Steve Reed The Associated Press

THE CHARLOTTE Hornets won 44 games last season, a 25win improvement over the previous year.

So the question begs to be asked: Why would Hornets general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Je Peterson break up a team that seemed on the rise by trading its most dynamic offensive player in LaMelo Ball?

Peterson addressed the question on Saturday in Las Vegas where the Hornets are playing Summer League games, saying it was all about the long-term success of the organization.

“These decisions are challenging at times, but when you look at the totality of the season and everything of where we were, it’s important to take an honest look in the mirror of where you guys are as a team,” Peterson said. “And that’s what I had to do at the end of the season. And I just feel like again, the goal is never to compete for a play-in spot. The goal isn’t to get to the play-in or even the playo s for one year.”

Charlotte reached the play-in tournament and beat Miami at home before getting blown out on the road at Orlando.

Ball, who had struggled with injuries in the past, had one of his best seasons and averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game while nishing second in the league to rookie teammate Kon Knueppel in 3-pointers made with 272.

success in mind

However, the Hornets failed to make the playo s in the six seasons since Ball came to them as the No. 3 overall pick in 2020.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we had a successful season last year by a lot of people’s standards, and of course LaMelo was a huge part of that,” Peterson said. “But again, sometimes these decisions, they can be challenging. But ultimately I do feel a responsibility to the organization and to the fans really across the world of the Hornets to do what’s best for the long term of the franchise.”

Peterson believes acquiring Naz Reid and draft picks from Minnesota for Ball will give the Hornets more exibility moving forward as they continue to build.

As part of a four-team trade with Brooklyn, Chicago and Minnesota, Charlotte sent Ball and Josh Green to the Timberwolves in exchange for Reid, a 2033 unprotected rst-round pick, rst-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030, and second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.

Along with draft capital, the Hornets also received a $40.7 million trade exception — the largest in NBA history — as

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball brings the ball up the court against the Heat during an NBA play-in tournament game.

part of the deal, positioning themselves to add other top talent.

Still, the move did not sit well with many fans in Charlotte, where Ball is extremely popular and has been a huge draw.

The anger is not on the same level as Mavs fans when Luka Doncic was traded to Los Angeles, but some felt the move was ill-timed given the Hornets appeared headed in the right direction with Ball as their leader.

Peterson said he knows Ball will do great things in Minnesota.

“I do empathize with the fans, and I understand just where they’re coming from,” Peterson said. “If I’m honest, I love LaMelo. He’s a tremendous human being. Of course, he’s an enormous talent. He and I have a great relationship.

“But I would hope that they understand that I have the best interest of the Hornets organization. I truly do. And it’s not about one year or two years. It’s about sustained success and just being objective of where we truly are in our life cycle. I have no doubt that this team we roll out next year and the years to come is going to continue to compete and eventually we’ll get there.”

ACC picks longtime ref Patterson as football o cials supervisor

The veteran o cial has worked ACC games since 2002

The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — The Atlantic Coast Conference has hired Gary Patterson as supervisor of football o cials. The league announced the hiring Monday after Al Riveron announced last week he is stepping down, marking a return for the longtime o cial to the league. He had worked as an ACC on- eld o cial since 2002 and as a referee since 2009 before quitting last September. ESPN reported at the time it came in frustration with the handling of a UConn-Syracuse replay review, leading to a delayed review after the snap for the ensuing play. Patterson has worked the 2009 BCS championship game, the Army-Navy game in 2006, four ACC title games and numerous bowl games in an o ciating career that began in 1994. Patterson will oversee recruiting, training, evaluation and scheduling of league ocials. The ACC said he would work with ESPN to build on

“His deep understanding of the game makes him uniquely quali ed to lead ACC Football o ciating.”

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips

last year’s launch of allowing viewers to listen live to replay reviews during select broadcasts.

In a statement, commissioner Jim Phillips said Patterson “has earned the trust and respect of coaches and his ociating colleagues.

“His extensive experience on the eld has been dened by excellence, integrity and leadership, and his deep understanding of the game makes him uniquely qualied to lead ACC Football ofciating,” Phillips continued. “We are thrilled to welcome Gary into this critical role, and we continue our commitment to excellence in football o ciating.”

In his statement, Patterson said it was “truly an honor to serve a conference that has meant so much to me throughout my career.”

PHOTOS COURTESY HC_BUCKS_ATHLETICS / INSTAGRAM

NELL REDMOND / AP PHOTO

JACOB KUPFERMAN / AP PHOTO

Referee Gary Patterson o ciates the 2021 ACC championship game between Pitt and Wake Forest.

SIDELINE REPORT

MLB White Sox rookie Peters hits for cycle, rst for franchise in 9 years

Chicago Rookie Chicago White Sox

center elder Tristan Peters hit for the cycle, becoming the franchise’s rst player to do it in nine years. Peters doubled in the third, singled in the fth and hit a two-run homer in the seventh against the Athletics. He came up to bat a second time in the seventh and hit a grounder down the right- eld line. The 26-year- old former Durham Bull slid head rst into third to beat the relay throw. Peters is the third major leaguer to hit for the cycle this season.

PGA Sche er misses cut for rst time in 4 years

North Berwick, Scotland

Scottie Sche er has his rst weekend o in nearly four years. The world’s No. 1 player looked ordinary over two days at the Scottish Open, shooting 72 on Friday and missing the cut by two shots. It’s his rst missed cut since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022. Sche er missed a 6-foot par putt on the last hole and missed a 7-foot birdie putt on his 16th hole.

NBA Raptors, Clippers put trade for Leonard on hold pending end of NBA investigation

Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is on hold because of an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers. The league is examining whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules. The NBA’s probe began in September, focusing on a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. The Raptors and Clippers had agreed on a trade earlier this month. Leonard, a seven-time All-Star, is coming o his highest-scoring season. There is no timetable for the investigation’s conclusion.

Sinner beats Zverev to win Wimbledon again

Noskova wins the women’s title for her rst Grand Slam

By Andrew Dampf The Associated Press

LONDON — Jannik Sinner is starting to make a habit of responding to adversity in Paris with titles at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 Sunday for his second consecutive title at the All England Club after his German opponent appeared bothered by a knee issue following a slip to the grass on a key point in the third set.

Sinner’s fth Grand Slam title came in his rst tournament since a second-round meltdown at the French Open, when he wilted in a Paris heat wave.

When Sinner ripped a forehand winner up the line on his rst match point, the Italian dropped to the grass on his back in celebration.

“There’s no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony.

A year ago, Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in the nal at the

All England Club after wasting three match points against his rival in the Roland Garros nal.

It was Sinner’s 10th straight victory over Zverev, who was coming o his rst Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Zverev’s previous best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round three times.

“I’m 29 years old and this is the rst time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev said.

Prince William joined his wife, Kate, and two of their children for the nal in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Ho man, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller.

Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech women’s nal Saturday for her rst Grand Slam title.

Zverev slips

The top two seeds appeared perfectly matched until Zverev earned his only break point of the match at 3-3 in the third set — 2 hours and 42 minutes in. Sinner produced a drop shot, and Zverev slipped and

appeared to hyperextend his right knee as he attempted to change directions behind the baseline.

Zverev grasped his knee in apparent discomfort and Sinner went around the net and helped his opponent up o the grass. Zverev quickly resumed playing, but he appeared slightly hampered and slung his racket across the baseline in frustration when he missed a forehand and handed Sinner the rst break of the match and a 5-3 lead in the third. Sinner then served it out.

Zverev had also lost 14 straight sets to Sinner and when he claimed the opening set of the nal with a forehand winner up the line to conclude a tight tiebreaker. He let out a loud roar toward his box as he bent over in celebration.

Zverev continually cranked out serves at up to 139 mph, while Sinner produced a series of well-placed aces at a slightly lower speed.

But Sinner began to read Zverev’s serve better in the second-set tiebreaker, and Zverev started to miss forehands.

“He showed once again why he’s the best player in the world,” Zverev said.

Sinner produced 58 winners to Zverev’s 49 and had only 25 unforced errors to Zverev’s 45. Zverev led 17-15 in aces.

Paris meltdown

Amid sti ing heat and humidity in Paris in late May, Sinner had his 30-match winning streak ended after coming within one game of a straight-set victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56. Conditions were cooler in southwest London for thenal, with clear skies and a temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit but it was also breezy — which led to a series of shanked shots from both players.

Sinner went in for medical exams in Milan after the Paris defeat and didn’t play an ofcial match again until he arrived at Wimbledon, where he twice had to come back from a set down in a ve-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in the rst round.

Sinner then didn’t drop a set the rest of the way until the nal, having dominated against Novak Djokovic in the semi nals.

Despite the defeat in thenal, Zverev leapfrogged Alcaraz into the No. 2 spot in the rankings.

Alcaraz missed both the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury.

BRIAN INGANGA / AP PHOTO

Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men’s singles nal Sunday at Wimbledon.

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in NSJ at obits@ northstatejournal.com

Harry Truman West Jr.

Feb. 3, 1973 – July 6, 2026

Mr. Harry Truman West Jr., of Maxton, NC, was born on February 3, 1973, and passed away on Monday, July 6, 2026, at Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, SC, completing his life at the age of 53. He was born to the late Harry West Sr. and Mary Catherine Lambert Tyler. In addition to his parents, he was also preceded in death by his brother, John Robert West.

Mr. Harry Truman West Jr. leaves to cherish his memories, one son: Tristan Quinn West of Maxton, NC; two sisters: Mary (Chris) Locklear of Maxton, NC and Amy Sue Lambert of Raeford, NC; three nephews: Christopher and Hunter Locklear of Maxton, NC and Jon Louis Locklear of Raeford, NC; eight nieces: Taylor, Diana, Isabella, Ava, and Amiaya Locklear, all of Maxton, NC, and Lori C. (Charles), Autumn (Chief), and Destiny Locklear, all of Raeford, NC; six great nieces and nephews, all of Raeford, NC; his god-parents: Bro. Stoney and Betty Clark, along with a host of other family and friends.

Annie Jarvie McGirt

Aug. 31, 1936 – July 8, 2026

Ms. Annie Jarvie L. McGirt, 89, of 1329 Red Hill Road, Maxton, North Carolina, was born Monday, August 31, 1936, to the late Mr. Neal Archie Lowry, Sr., and Mrs. Leola Locklear Lowry. She departed this life on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at Scotland Memorial Hospital, Laurinburg, North Carolina. She was preceded in death by a grandson, Devon “Dee” Locklear; six brothers: Mr. John D. Locklear, Mr. Benford Lowry Sr., Mr. Marvin Lowry, Mr. Neal Lowry Jr., Mr., Walter Lowry, Mr. Fulton “Pat” Lowry, two sisters: Mrs. Iona L. Oxendine, Mrs. Mary Della L. Collins; father of children, James Alton McGirt.

Ms. Annie Jarvie leaves behind to cherish her memory, three sons: Mr. Anthony McGirt (Jane) of Pembroke, North Carolina, Mr. Leevern McGirt (Wanda) of Maxton, North Carolina, Mr. John Derek McGirt (Barbara) of Maxton, North Carolina, one daughter: Ms. Veronica McGirt Jacobs (Sam) of Maxton, North Carolina, twelve grandchildren: Tanya, Brandon, Tony, Chassity, Yancey, David, Alexander, Erica, John, Shanelle, Ambria and Julie, seventeen great grandchildren, three great great grandchildren, she was not just a mother and grandmother to her own children but to a host of family and friends along the way.

New Zealand actor Sam Neill, known for ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Piano,’ dead at 78

He remained cancer-free despite his 2023 diagnosis with a rare lymphoma

By Mark Kennedy and Charlotte Graham-McLay

The Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Sam Neill, a smoothly elegant and versatile actor whose career moved from art lm to blockbuster as he dodged velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” to playing Holly Hunter’s husband in “The Piano,” has died. He was 78. In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Neill died Monday in Sydney, according to a statement posted to the actor’s social media page.

His death was “sudden and unexpected,” the statement said, adding that he “remained cancer free” when he died. A cause of death wasn’t speci ed.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” his family wrote.

Actor came to world’s notice with “Dead Calm” and “My Brilliant Career”

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian lms that began in the late 1970s, a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geo rey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong.

His range was remarkable, playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Alan Ayckbourn comedy “Sweet Revenge” to chopping o Hunter’s nger in “The Piano” to poking his own eyes out in the sci- horror “Event Horizon.”

In “Omen III: The Final Conict,” he played Damien the Antichrist, and he also played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in “The Tudors.”

The actor rst came to the attention of international audiences in Armstrong’s 1979 lm “My Brilliant Career,” which also introduced Judy Davis. He later appeared in Phillip Noyce’s “Dead Calm,” a classy thriller set at sea and co-starring the then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman. Neill twice co-starred with

Otes Bryant Jr.

June 21, 1959 – July 8, 2026

Mr. Otes Bryant Jr., age 67 of Lumber Bridge, North Carolina, was born on June 21, 1959, to the late Otes Bryant and Marnice Swoap in Robeson County, North Carolina. He departed this life on July 8, 2026, at Cape Fear Valley Hoke Campus, Raeford, North Carolina. Along with his father, he was preceded in death by a brother, Jodis Bryant, and a sister, Diana Bryant.

Mr. Otes leaves to cherish his memories his wife: Mary Lee Bryant of the home, one son: Otis Bryant III of Aberdeen, North Carolina, two daughters: Christina Hunt (Spencer) of Lumber Bridge, North Carolina, Dalexy Bryant (Brad) of Red Springs, North Carolina, his mother: Marnice Swoap, one brother: Michael Bryant of Maxton, North Carolina, one sister: Vickie Oxendine of Raeford, North Carolina, six grandchildren: Dorian Bryant( Kailee), Zachary Bryant, Rhianna Bryant, Nathan Washington III, Kinsley Hunt, Bradley Ray Hardin, three great grandchildren, along with a host of other relatives and friends.

Yvonne Williams

March 16, 1956 – July 9, 2026

Ms. Yvonne Williams, age 70, went home to rest with her Heavenly Father on Thursday, July 9, 2026. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, July 16, 2026, at 3:00 PM at the Pauline T. Buie Chapel.

Michael Paul Normand

April 4, 1948 – July 10, 2026

Michael Paul Normand passed on July 10, 2026, at the age of 78. Burial and Military Honors will be held at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery, 8220 Bragg Blvd, Spring Lake, NC 28390, on July 31, 2026, at 2:00 pm.

Meryl Streep, in Australian director Fred Schepisi’s “Plenty” and — again for Schepisi — in “A Cry in the Dark,” a lm about the sensationalized aftermath of a dingo killing a baby in the Australian Outback. He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 miniseries “Merlin” and another as narrator of 2017’s “Wild New Zealand.”

“Jurassic Park” was his best-known lm

Perhaps Neill achieved his highest level of fame in “Jurassic Park” playing paleontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island o Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs. He co-starred alongside Laura

Dern, Je Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. His character was thoughtful and reasonable, a scientist who warned the mastermind of the theme park before the chaos: “Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?”

Grant survived the harrowing events when the creatures get loose but didn’t return for “The Lost World: Jurassic Park II” in 1997. He came back for the third episode in 2001 and “Jurassic World: Dominion” in 2022.

“It’s probably a little late to learn these things,” he told the Daily News of New York in 2001, “but I nally feel I’ve worked out how to be an action hero. I’m happier with Grant this time. He’s gnarly and grizzled, but he looks like he knows what he’s doing.”

Neill grew up in Northern Ireland, then New Zealand

Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, Neill emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 7. He was born Nigel Neill but told interviewers he started to go by Sam because there were too many Nigels at his school.

His family settled in Dunedin on the South Island, and he was sent to boarding school in Christchurch. After college, he took the lead in “Sleeping Dogs” in 1977, the rst feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade.

Neill’s other lm roles included playing a Soviet submarine o cer who memorably dreams of a home in Montana in “The Hunt for Red October” and an investigator in director John Carpenter’s “In the Mouth of Madness.” On the small screen, Neill played the malign Chester Campbell in TV’s “Peaky Blinders” and Thomas Je erson in the four-hour CBS miniseries, “Sally Hemings: an American Trag-

edy.” On Apple TV, he was on “Invasion,” playing Oklahoma Sheri John Bell Tyson, a man late in his career searching for his purpose. In 2024 he starred opposite Annette Bening in the Peacock series “Apples Never Fall.”

Actor beloved in New Zealand as an unassuming celebrity

The actor became known in New Zealand as a modest and unassuming person who didn’t embrace celebrity. On social media, he often posted images of his farm animals, many of them a ectionately named after celebrities and friends, like Laura Dern the chicken, Kylie Minogue the duck and Helena Bonham Carter the cow.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon mourned Neill as “one of the greats” in a statement posted to social media.

“He started out when there was barely a lm industry to speak of,” Luxon wrote. “For more than fty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our lm industry into what it is today.”

Neill was also a vintner, and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

His memoir “Did I Ever Tell You This?” came out in March 2023, and he was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to lm,” a title approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” Neill told The Guardian in 2023, referring to his cancer diagnosis and treatment. “But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends.”

He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.

DANNY MOLOSHOK / AP PHOTO

Actor Sam Neill poses at the premiere of “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22, 2016, in Park City, Utah.

STATE & NATION

ICE

shot, killed motorist in Maine; advocates say victim 26-year-old man from

The man was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number

By Patrick Whittle, Leah Willingham and Jack Brook The Associated Press

BIDDEFORD, Maine — A federal immigration o cer fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, the second time in a week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have used deadly force. It is at least the ninth such killing since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown.

Immigrant rights groups identi ed the man who was killed as a 26-year-old native of Colombia.

Sen. Angus King, (I-Maine), said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the o cer opened re after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against o cers who were pursuing him for deportation in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles southwest of Portland.

“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said.

The Maine attorney general’s o ce, which is investigating along with the FBI and other agencies, said initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to ee in the direction of the agent. The man was the target of an enforcement operation related to a nal order of removal, the o ce said, and the agent who killed him has been placed on leave.

Messages seeking comment were left for ICE and the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The man was authorized to work in the U.S., advocates say

The advocacy groups Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number. After the shooting, his family contacted the Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, executive director Mufalo Chitam said.

“It’s a young family and he was leaving to go to work,” Chitam told The Associated Press. The family, she said, isn’t ready to speak publicly about the shooting.

Mary Hayes, who lives close to where the shooting happened, said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter.

“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,”

Hayes told the AP as she held a piece of cardboard with “No ICE Stop ICE” written on it. “I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

The Colombian Embassy told the AP in an emailed statement that it is in contact with U.S. authorities and “working to formally con rm the individual’s identity and nationality.”

Security video but no body-worn camera footage

Cory Poulin, whose family runs a laundromat near the scene, told the AP that security cameras at the business captured footage of the man’s car rolling into the intersection after shots were red. Other images from the scene showed the car going in circles and bullet holes in its windshield.

“Two ICE members ran to the

“I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

Mary Hayes

intersection and another ICE member in a Ford SUV went into the intersection to stop the car from rolling,” he said. “I don’t know for a fact, but I don’t believe he was alive when the car started rolling.”

He said Maine State Police asked that he not release the footage publicly.

The agents involved in the shooting didn’t have body-worn cameras, King said.

“The question is, what did he do with his vehicle,” King said. “Were o cers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justi ed deadly force?

“That’s what this investigation is all about and I certainly intend to stay after it to do everything I can to be sure the investigation is as transparent and thorough as possible.”

Anti-ICE protesters gather near the scene

Dozens of demonstrators critical of ICE and President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown gathered in Biddeford within hours of the shooting.

Amy Goodman, who is from nearby Wells, arrived with a sign that said “Stop Killing Us” and directed it toward police working at the scene.

“Sadly, it’s something we’re seeing a whole lot more often lately, and I’m mad about it,” said Goodman, who was wear-

Colombia

ing a shirt that said “ICE is best when crushed.”

“It’s heartbreaking and I wanted to show up,” Goodman’s friend, Molly Zucker of Cape Neddick, said as she held a sign reading, “No human being is illegal.”

Police blocked access to the shooting scene, which is in a neighborhood of mostly multifamily homes, churches and businesses near downtown.

Several protesters stood nearby, with some holding signs condemning ICE’s presence in the community and state.

“We are grieving, we are furious, and we will not allow his death to be treated as routine or inevitable,” Chitam said.

“How much more harm must our communities endure before those with the power to act acknowledge that this has gone too far?”

A recent uptick in Trump’s immigration crackdown

Monday’s killing was at least the ninth death from an encounter with federal immigration o cials since Trump returned to o ce 18 months ago.

On July 7, an ICE o cer fatally shot 52-year-old Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after he was pursued by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

The shootings come amid a newly intensi ed push by the Trump administration to carry out its mass deportations agenda. During the ve-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people.

The gures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests continue and are surging. The administration’s enforcement

e orts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

“More than anything else, I want to know, ‘Why are you in Maine?’” Rep. Chellie Pingree, (D-Maine), said in a video posted on social media.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat running for Senate, wrote on X: “It’s time to get ICE o our streets.”

Hundreds of Maine ICE arrests since Trump’s return

ICE had a signi cant presence in Maine earlier this year, which prompted several protests.

The Homeland Security Department named the operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent play on Maine’s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago.

Immigration o cials said in late January that they had ceased “enhanced operations” in Maine after hundreds of arrests.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horri c crimes” including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.”

Court records show that while some had felony convictions, others had unresolved immigration proceedings or had been arrested but never convicted of a crime.

ICE arrested 546 people in Maine between the start of Trump’s second term and March 11, 2026, the most recent data available, according to ICE arrest data provided to the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project.

About 45% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds. During the equivalent 416-day period before Trump took o ce, roughly 69% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, the data show.

PHOTOS BY ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

Left, Protesters gather near the scene of the shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday in Biddeford, Maine. Top right, A vehicle is transported on a atbed near the scene of the shooting. Bottom right, Biddeford City Councilor Abigail Woods hugs an unidenti ed constituent during an impromptu protest on Monday.

ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

State budget allows NC Zoo to proceed

Supreme Court justices tell Congress safety at risk, more must be spent on security

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan testi ed to Congress on Tuesday, a rare event for members of the high court. They’re seeking millions of dollars to enhance security as threats rise to the judiciary. Judges nationwide have faced increased violence and intimidation, including a fake swatting call to Barrett’s home in May.

Bu ett omits gift to Gates’ foundation after Microsoft cofounder’s Epstein ties disclosed

Warren Bu ett omitted Bill Gates’ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of Gates’ ties to convicted sex o ender Je rey Epstein. He’ll donate about $6 billion to four family foundations but didn’t mention Gates. Bu ett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth nearly $146 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034. Most of Bu ett’s donations since 2006 have gone to the Gates Foundation.

$2.00

The opening of the Asia exhibition has been contingent on an updated budget

By Bob Sutton North State Journal

ASHEBORO — The funding is in place but the hiring still needs to happen before the much-anticipated opening of the Asia Continent habitat at North Carolina Zoo.

Construction on the exhibit began with a groundbreaking nearly four years ago, and that part of the facility was deemed complete this spring. But with-

out a state budget, the zoo was unable to go ahead with hiring for positions needed for the Asia habitat.

Last week, a new state budget was approved, providing approximately $6.2 million to the NC Zoo for operating funds.

“The North Carolina Zoo is pleased that the majority of our requested positions and funding for the Zoo’s new Asia Continent were appropriated by the new state budget,” Michele Walker, assistant communications director of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, said in a statement. “The 54 posi-

“(We are) pleased that the majority of our requested positions and funding were appropriated.”

Michele Walker, NC DNCR

tions and $6.2 million in operating funds will allow us to move forward with opening this exciting new area to visitors as soon as practicable. We will work as quickly as possible to hire for these necessary po -

sitions and prepare to o cially open Asia once that process is complete.”

The Asia habitat consumes 12.5 acres. At one point, projections had the exhibit opening by June, but that time period passed without a state budget.

Interim NC Zoo director Diane Villa told a Triad-area television station that some animals from the Asia habitat can be heard in other parts of the zoo, heightening the anticipation for when that area is open to the public.

This is considered the zoo’s rst major expansion since 1994.

Nordone will be the rst woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate

By Meg Kinnard and Je rey Collins

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named as her late brother’s temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate after his unexpected death over the weekend.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a news conference at the Statehouse on Monday that Nordone would serve the remaining months on Graham’s current term, which expires in January.

A person familiar with the appointment process but not authorized to speak about it publicly said Nordone would be sworn in Wednesday. She will

be the rst woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

“It is such an honor,” Nordone said, as dozens of Graham sta ers and campaign advisers

stood behind her, some with eyes glassy from welling tears. “Lindsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him.”

Graham died Saturday night at age 71. He never married or had a family of his own, but Nordone was often by her brother’s side for the political touch points of his career, speaking at events and appearing in some of his campaign ads.

After their parents died at a young age, Graham was left to raise his sister, for whom he later became legal guardian. They were very close, and she was there as he led reelection paperwork earlier this year, along with her children and grandchildren.

“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words,” Nordone said, emotion rising in her voice. “But I’m going to do this. I got it.”

Introducing Nordone, McMaster said the two had spoken in “in the wee hours of Sunday morning” after Graham’s

The Asia Continent habitat remains o limits at North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, but the opening could be coming by later this summer.

RAINIER EHRHARDT / AP PHOTO

Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), walks to the stage before his announcement for presidency on June 1, 2015, in Central, South Carolina.

THURSDAY 7.16.26

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death, and he asked her to serve.

“I had wondered what you would say, and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve,” McMaster said. He added that President Donald Trump “thought it was a great idea” when he later told him of his pick. Trump announced his support for Nardone to ll the seat earlier Monday.

How will a special primary work?

A special election will be held next month to pick a new Republican nominee in the general election for Graham’s seat. He had been seeking a fth term this year.

The rare open Senate seat has ignited a scramble among South Carolina’s most ambitious conservatives, who have been eager to climb the political ladder.

Republicans just nished a sprawling and bruising contest to gure out their nominee for succeeding McMaster, who is wrapping up his second term. State Attorney General Alan Wilson won the nomination, overcoming a eld that included Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman — all of whom are now eyeing Graham’s seat following his death over the weekend.

According to South Carolina law, a one-week ling period for a special primary election begins on the second Tuesday after the candidate’s death, or July 21.

The special primary election would be held on the second Tuesday after that ling period closes, or Aug. 11. Any necessary runo would follow two weeks after that, or Aug. 25.

From that point, the new nominee would have just over two months to campaign for the general election on Nov. 3.

All of this is problematic according to federal law, which requires military and overseas ballots to go out 45 days before any federal election. For the special election primary, that would have been June 27. Federal Election Commission ofcials didn’t immediately return a message seeking clarity about the process.

Who could replace Graham?

Graham died Saturday

July 6

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: moorecommunity@ northstatejournal.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at noon

night, and a preliminary medical examiner report said he su ered a tear in his aorta, known as an aortic dissection.

In the hours after Graham’s death was announced, South Carolina’s Republican circles were already swirling with rumors about possible replacements. Given the proximity of November’s election, it’s likely that whomever McMaster appoints could be a top contender in the special primary, although it’s possible that McMaster’s choice will only serve as a temporary caretaker.

Evette, who has served nearly eight years alongside McMaster and received his endorsement in the governor’s race, is one possibility. She lost the June 23 runo to Wilson.

A person with knowledge of Evette’s thinking but not authorized to discuss it publicly said that she was getting encouragement from across the state and feels she would have good chances in the special primary.

It’s unlikely that any House member would be appointed to nish Graham’s current term, since Republicans have such a slim majority in the chamber.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a rumored replacement, said he assured Trump on Sunday that “my goal is to remain in the House to keep his two -vote majority for the American people!!!”

However, that doesn’t mean that House members won’t run for the next full term. A person with knowledge of Mace’s thinking but not authorized to speak about it publicly said she was considering the race. Mace is not running for reelection to the House.

But another Republican from the state, Rep. Russell Fry, could be a possibility. The two-term lawmaker represents the growing area around Myrtle Beach, and he’s been a top Trump ally.

Businessman Mark Lynch, whom Graham defeated in the primary, could also jump into the race. A person familiar with but not authorized to speak publicly about the thinking of Mark Sanford — South Carolina’s former governor who also served two separate stints in the U.S. House — said he was considering it too.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who lived in South Carolina before joining the Trump administration, has elded calls about potentially replacing Graham but doesn’t have interest in the role and

• Steven Alex Sessoms, 30, of Cameron, was arrested by Aberdeen PD for assault on a female and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

• Christian Grey Washington, 37, of Jackson Springs, was arrested by MCSO for violating a domestic violence protective order and cyberstalking.

• Yasmeen Latifa Dean, 38, of Lakeland, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for driving while impaired and misdemeanor child abuse.

• Robert Verean Pressley, 65, of Cameron, was arrested by MCSO for misdemeanor larceny, second-degree trespass and littering.

July 7

• Xzavion Tyriq Adams, 21, of Spring Hope, was arrested by Robbins PD for driving on a revoked license and expired registration.

• Worth Maurice Brown, 49, of Carthage, was arrested by MCSO for second-degree trespass and injury to personal property.

• Keeshon Damonta Bennett, 28, of Pineblu , was arrested by MCSO for assault in icting physical injury on a law enforcement, probation or parole o cer; injury to personal property; and resisting a public o cer.

July 8

• Austin Joseph Dezort, 28, of Monroe, was arrested by MCSO for simple assault, injury to real property and second-degree trespass.

• Orlando Watson Esperanza, 21, of Raeford, was arrested by MCSO for possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and driving on a revoked license, and other charges.

enjoys working for the president, according to a person who insisted on anonymity to describe private conversations.

How does Graham’s death a ect the general election?

No Democrat has won a Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically take statewide seats by double digits. When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin. So while history suggests that Graham was en route to a fth term, Republicans are carefully surveying the landscape.

Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews won the Democratic nomination last month and has raised more than $8 million in the race, and she had just under $3 million cash on hand at the end of May, according to federal lings. Graham had taken in $6 million, with just over $4 million on hand.

In a statement Sunday, Andrews called on South Carolinians to join her “in setting partisanship aside and o ering gratitude” to Graham for his service.

Harrison, noting that he and Graham “had our share of political disagreements,” wrote on social media that he “always appreciated that even in our ercest political battles, we could still share a conversation, a laugh, and a mutual respect for South Carolina and the institutions we were both privileged to serve.”

What happens to South Carolina’s Republican clout?

Graham leaves a major void in the Senate, where seniority can determine in uence. He served more than two decades in the chamber, positioning himself to lead committees and set the agenda.

Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator, has been in ofce only since 2012 — short by the state’s standards. Fritz Hollings served for 38 years, and Strom Thurmond was there for 47.

Scott, who co-chaired Graham’s reelection e ort, described his former colleague as “irreplaceable.”

“America lost a statesman, but I lost a friend,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”

moore happening

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in and around Moore County.

July 17

“The Princess Bride” Outdoor Screening

8 p.m.

Sunrise Theater hosts an outdoor, pet-friendly screening of the 1987 classic “The Princess Bride” (PG). Pets must be on a leash.

Sunrise Theater 250 NW Broad St.

July 18-22

Peach Pathways Glass Peach Scavenger Hunt

As part of Peach Week, 20 handcrafted glass peaches created by artisans at Starworks are hidden along trails throughout the Sandhills for visitors to nd. Daily trail announcements are made via the event’s social media channels. The hunt is free to participate.

July 18-26

Trails throughout the Sandhills

Southern Pines

Peach Week 2026

The fourth annual Peach Week celebrates Moore County’s peach-growing heritage with nine days of events throughout the Sandhills, including a restaurant competition, a food truck battle, a 5K run, a car show and kids’ activities. More than 35 restaurants and shops are expected to o er peach-inspired food and drinks.

Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area Southern Pines

July 9

• Johnny Brooks, 33, of Spring Lake, was arrested by MCSO for obtaining property under false pretenses of $100,000 or more, identity theft and felony conspiracy, and other charges.

• July 10

Percy Jermaine Purcell, 45, of Ho man, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for second-degree kidnapping, common law robbery and assault on a female, and other charges.

• Timothy Kody Ritter, 34, of Pineblu , was arrested by MCSO for possession of methamphetamine and expired registration.

• Chamya Yashee Williams, 21, of Raeford, was arrested by Aberdeen PD for possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

July 11

• Chasity Michelle Jacobs, 38, of Fayetteville, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for carrying a concealed weapon and misdemeanor larceny.

July 12

• Ashley Nicole Kinsman, 38, of West End, was arrested by MCSO for misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

• Lakendra Denise Roper, 23, of Southern Pines, was arrested by Aberdeen PD for misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and simple assault.

• Jan Carlos Vera Morales, 19, of Lillington, was arrested by Vass PD for driving after consuming alcohol while under 21 and failure to maintain lane control.

July 23 Mamma Mania! ABBA Tribute 7 p.m.

Sunrise Theater hosts a live ABBA tribute concert. Tickets start at $42.50, and the event was listed as selling fast at time of publication.

Sunrise Theater 250 NW Broad St. Southern Pines

July 24

Sunrise Theater presents live theater production titled “11 Days.”

Sunrise Theater 250 NW Broad St. Southern Pines

THE CONVERSATION

COLUMN | DENNIS BERWYN

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Patients deserve transparency and accountability in North Carolina’s hospital system

The 340B Drug Pricing Program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines.

NORTH CAROLINA families shouldn’t have to guess what their healthcare will cost or whether they’re getting a fair deal. But too often, that’s exactly where people nd themselves: navigating a system where prices vary widely, transparency is limited and accountability can feel just out of reach.

At the center of this challenge is a trend that has quietly reshaped healthcare across the country: hospital consolidation.

Over the past two decades, hospitals have steadily joined larger systems, often with the goal of improving coordination and expanding access to care. Those are important goals. But the reality for many patients, especially those in rural communities, has been more complicated. Research continues to show that when markets become more concentrated, prices often rise and choices become more limited. New consolidation e orts in North Carolina raise real questions about what this means for patients, taxpayers and local communities.

When competition declines, patients lose. And too often, families and employers end up paying the price.

We’re seeing the e ects here in North Carolina. Wide di erences in hospital prices and real gaps in price transparency make it harder for patients and employers to plan ahead or even know if they’ve been treated fairly.

And it’s not just about confusion. It’s about trust — trust that the system is working as intended and that patients are bene ting from it.

One clear example is the 340B Drug Pricing Program. This federal program was created in 1992 to help ensure low-income and rural patients have access to a ordable medicines. Eligible hospitals and clinics can buy outpatient medicines at steep discounts with the understanding that those savings should support

patient care and community needs.

That goal and the 340B program are worth preserving. But over time, the program has expanded dramatically without consistent transparency or clear requirements for reporting how those savings are used. In too many cases, patients have no way to know whether discounted medicines are actually lowering their costs or improving access to care.

In North Carolina, data shows that some hospitals participating in 340B have charged far more than the discounted price they paid for certain medications. At the same time, there is no consistent requirement that those savings be passed directly to patients or clearly tied to improving patient access or a ordability. When that’s combined with continued hospital consolidation, it raises serious questions about whether the program is serving patients as Congress intended.

This highlights something else worth paying attention to: incentives matter. As hospitals grow larger and acquire new facilities, they can expand their use of programs like 340B. Over time, that dynamic can reward consolidation, reduce competition and make an already complicated healthcare system harder for families to understand.

Supporting hospitals and standing up for patients should not be in con ict. We can, and should, do both.

That starts with greater transparency so patients can understand prices before they receive care. It means clearer standards and accountability so programs designed to help vulnerable populations actually deliver on that promise. It also means practical federal reforms that protect legitimate safety-net providers while closing loopholes that allow the program to drift away from patients.

The Trump administration is taking one encouraging step by continuing to pursue

AOC should thank baby boomers for the world they left her

The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ says she knows why socialism is on the rise: Blame it on the boomers.

“Millennials and Gen Z combined, now for the rst time, are eclipsing the number of baby boomers,” she explained recently. “Young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world we’ve been left.”

It’s inarguable that younger generations feel this way. The notion that millennials and Generation Z are toiling in a uniquely grueling economic era, however, is utterly delusional.

But convincing young people they’ve been handed a broken world only fostered an unprecedented sense of hopelessness. You are not victims of “oligarchs,” unfettered capitalism or any other imaginary monsters.

One of the most popular myths these days (you hear it from both sides all the time) is that the American middle class is being gutted. It’s simply not true. In 1980, 36% of American families were middle class.

Only 31% of Americans are still in the middle class because the upper middle class has grown from 10% of households to more than 30%. The middle class is shrinking because the upper middle class is expanding.

Real median income has not only grown across all classes over the past 40 years but has zoomed past the rest of the Western world. The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British and German family.

That’s a pretty remarkable economic

inheritance. Just ask the soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.

Another big grievance of younger people is that housing has become far too expensive. It’s a genuine concern. But ownership rates are no lower today than they were in the ’60s, ’70s or ’90s, and most of the 1980s. The homeownership rate in 1980 was 65.5%. In 2025, it was 65.4%. Rates temporarily spiked through the 2000s when government policy incentivized millions to “buy” houses they couldn’t a ord with no money down.

Housing shortages are driven by the laws of physics. It’s not the boomers’ fault that too many people want to live in and around major urban areas.

You also wonder if the average Gen Zer understands that the environment is in nitely cleaner today than it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

There has been widespread reforesting and wetland restoration. There is far less litter. Air quality is drastically cleaner, as is water. When boomers started driving, gas was leaded, and most cars didn’t even have catalytic converters. Gen X grew up worried about things called “nuclear winter” and “acid rain.”

An average household spends on clothing and food a fraction of what their grandparents did. And yet, they also have substantially more choices, including international and nutritious fare.

It’s true that healthcare costs have risen. Some of it can be attributed to bad policy. Most of it re ects prosperity, as younger Americans will generally enjoy longer life expectancy and better care than any generation before them.

the recent federal 340B rebate pilot, which o ers a measured way to add veri cation and accountability before discounts are nalized. Done correctly, that approach can help con rm that a prescription is eligible, reduce duplicate discounts, create a clearer data trail and bring more discipline to the program without changing which hospitals or clinics qualify for 340B. Just as important, it focuses on solving problems up front rather than relying on slower, after-the-fact e orts to untangle errors once the money has already moved.

That is the kind of commonsense reform conservatives should support: limited, practical, focused on accountability and respectful of both taxpayers and patients.

Just as importantly, we have to recognize where responsibility for reform truly sits. Programs like 340B are federal by design, and Congress should lead.

A patchwork of state-level xes risks creating more inconsistency and less accountability, failing to provide the clarity and consistency patients deserve.

North Carolina has always valued fairness, personal responsibility, competition and looking out for one another. Bringing more transparency and accountability to our healthcare system is simply an extension of those values.

At the end of the day, patients should come rst, and families should be able to trust the healthcare system they rely on. Congress should act now to strengthen 340B through clear federal reforms that restore transparency, protect taxpayers, preserve the safety net and ensure the program nally works the way it was intended: for patients.

Dennis Berwyn is vice chair of the Wake Republican Men and vice president of the Central Region of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Men.

Big Pharma, one of the industries reviled by Ocasio-Cortez and her allies, keeps coming up with ways to keep people with once-deadly diseases alive. None of it is cheap. Yet.

When Ocasio-Cortez rst won her congressional seat, Time magazine writer Charlotte Alter wrote a glowing pro le of the socialist newcomer, explaining that her “adulthood was de ned by nancial crisis, debt and climate change. No wonder she and her peers are moving left.”

Since Ocasio-Cortez turned 18 in 2007, there have been only two negative growth years in the United States, one of them due to a worldwide pandemic. From 1970 to 2007, there was, on average, a negative or recessionary year every three to four years. Americans worked through recessions in 1928, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1980/1981, 1990 and 2001 without turning to socialism. The only thing special about Ocasio-Cortez’s adulthood is that the recessions have become shorter and less severe. AOC is living in the golden age.

Boomers have failed on plenty of fronts, but being on the hook for a ridiculously expensive student loan on a useless degree isn’t one of the great tragedies to have befallen mankind. It’s just the consequence of choices. And most progressives want other people to pay for their choices.

There are plenty of serious problems — there always are — but historically speaking, by virtually every quanti able measure available, Americans are living in a uniquely wealthy and safe world. Ocasio- Cortez should be thanking baby boomers for the world they left her.

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI

Ukraine proposed jointly developing a mass-produced, low-cost system within the next 12 months

By Emma Carmichael and Illia Novikov

The Associated Press

PARIS — Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing Kyiv’s experience in ghting Russia’s full-scale invasion for over four years.

“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against Russia’s missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the rest of Europe wary of Moscow’s wider ambitions on the continent.

Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles,” which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.

“We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize future missile threats,” the statement said. “We recognize Ukraine’s unique experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by Russia.”

The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system and said the plan remained open to other countries.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system with missiles that would let Europe supply itself with new antiballistic capability and provide it to others around the world who need protection.

Putin shows no sign Russia is backing down

Russian President Vladimir Putin was unyielding, vowing Monday emphatic retaliation to Kyiv’s recent long-range attacks on re neries, tankers and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.

“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists.

European foreign minis-

ters were meeting separately in Brussels where they discussed Ukraine’s needs and Russia’s threats to the continent.

Zelenskyy is keen to accelerate e orts with European countries to develop its air defenses ahead of winter, when Russia usually intensi es its attacks to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water.

Ukrainian o cials were in Paris to present a proposed Anti-Ballistic Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and defense companies who might take part, Zelenskyy said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge last week to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems to counter the ballistic missiles could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv. However, experts and Ukrainian o cials warn that turning the idea into reality would probably take years. It was unclear how quickly a European system could be built.

Ukraine wants to push Putin into negotiations

Kyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine’s recent successes and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the ghting, although Moscow has shown no willingness to compromise despite peace e orts by the Trump administration.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the Paris meeting

“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful.”

Vladimir Putin, Russian president

but dismissed its aspirations.

“This is a coalition of warmongers,” Peskov said. “They are driven by the profound delusion that it’s possible to in ict a strategic defeat on our country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of those who incite the war.”

Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have given it an edge recently, analysts and Western o cials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front have robbed the Russian army of momentum and made its progress slow and costly, they say.

Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days

Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula from July 6-13, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tug-

boats, Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.

The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian e ort to isolate the Crimean Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian logistics.

Crimea is a key rear base for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims, and Russian o cials made no immediate comment.

European leaders demonstrate their commitment to Kyiv

The Paris meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which brings together more than 30 countries and about 25 heads of state and government, appeared to be a demonstration of a long-term commitment to Ukraine and a warning to Russia, as Moscow tests Europe’s resilience.

Zelenskyy’s trip to the French capital followed the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters in Washington. Lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko called Graham “the closest link between Ukraine, our president and Trump.”

The trip also comes amid a major reshu e of Zelenskyy’s government that saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko step down Sunday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon the Russian ambassador to France and impose sanctions against Russian hackers. He told BFMTV-RMC that the issue is about “a vast cyber campaign aimed at sabotage and espionage, carried out by Russia in about 10 European countries.”

Ukraine’s neighbors have also felt the war’s impact.

In the latest incident, a drone launched during Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region crashed and exploded on Moldova’s territory, Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign A airs said Monday. It said the incident was “serious and unacceptable.”

Ukraine res more than

300 drones toward Moscow

Ukraine has aimed at targets deep inside Russia with its domestically developed long-range drones and missiles.

Russian air defenses downed 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow since late Sunday, including 50 near the capital, the capital’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 81 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, adding that three people were killed and three were injured by the attack in the Pionersky settlement in the western part of the Moscow region.

The Ukrainian air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 134 long-range strike drones and three guided aviation missiles at Ukraine.

A strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region set re to a docked merchant vessel carrying fertilizer under the ag of Togo, killing ve crew members and wounding 10, said regional military administration head Oleh Kiper.

Russia says it thwarted a major Ukraine drone operation

Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian plan for a drone attack on the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern Amur region and the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals.

Small drones were smuggled into Russia’s Bryansk region using air balloons and bigger transport drones, then taken by car near the air bases by Ukrainian agents, who were arrested, the security service said.

A covert Ukrainian operation a year ago, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, destroyed or damaged nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber eet with drones carried secretly into Russia, according to Ukrainian o cials.

TERESA SUARES / POOL PHOTO VIA AP

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis talk during the Coalition of the Willing summit on security guarantees for Ukraine at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris on Monday.

MOORE SPORTS

ACC picks longtime ref Patterson as football o cials supervisor

The veteran o cial has worked ACC games since 2002

The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — The Atlantic Coast Conference has hired Gary Patterson as supervisor of football o cials.

The league announced the hiring Monday after Al Riveron announced last week he is stepping down, marking a return for the longtime o cial to the league.

He had worked as an ACC on- eld o cial since 2002 and as a referee since 2009 before quitting last September. ESPN reported at the time it came in frustration with the handling of a UConn-Syracuse replay review, leading to a delayed re -

“His deep understanding of the game makes him uniquely quali ed to lead ACC Football o ciating.”

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips

view after the snap for the ensuing play.

Patterson has worked the 2009 BCS championship game, the Army-Navy game in 2006, four ACC title games and numerous bowl games in an o ciating career that began in 1994.

Patterson will oversee recruiting, training, evaluation and scheduling of league o cials. The ACC said he would work with ESPN to build on last year’s launch of allow-

ing viewers to listen live to replay reviews during select broadcasts.

In a statement, commissioner Jim Phillips said Patterson “has earned the trust and respect of coaches and his o ciating colleagues.

“His extensive experience on the eld has been de ned by excellence, integrity and leadership, and his deep understanding of the game makes him uniquely quali ed to lead ACC Football o ciating,” Phillips continued. “We are thrilled to welcome Gary into this critical role, and we continue our commitment to excellence in football o ciating.”

In his statement, Patterson said it was “truly an honor to serve a conference that has meant so much to me throughout my career.”

Blaney

wins 3-wide battle on nal lap of overtime in NASCAR Cup race in Atlanta

Team Penske Ford driver survived hitting the wall to win

By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. — A late brush with the wall wasn’t enough to send Ryan Blaney to pit row. The decision paid o with a dominant victory.

Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the nal lap of overtime in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta early Monday.

Blaney won every stage of the race and led 171 laps after starting on the pole, but the Team Penske Ford driver had to ght o challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who nished second, on the nal lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four.

Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and nished 29th instead of second.

There was a delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes because of rain and lightning. The race ended at 1:45 a.m. at EchoPark Speedway.

Blaney won the rst two stages but brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining, causing possible damage on his right side, af-

ter he was cut o by Wallace. Blaney remained on the track despite telling his crew he felt a “terrible” vibration.

“I tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence,” Blaney said. “You know, I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stu like that, but luckily it still drove really decent. ... It wasn’t too bad. Luckily it wasn’t enough damage we couldn’t keep running.”

Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler said his team was able to view photos of the right side of the car and determine the best chance to win was to remain on the track.

“There were 30 cars on the lead lap at that point and not a lot of laps left,” Hassler said. ”Our best chance to win was to stay out there.”

Multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst, were involved in a wreck with ve laps remaining to set up the overtime.

There had been concern about approaching rain before lightning within eight miles of the 1.54-mile oval track near Atlanta led NASCAR o cials to order cars o the track and advise fans to exit the grandstand. Rain began soon after the race was delayed. Following some caution laps and pit stops, the race went back to green at 12:02 a.m.

Blaney said he “took a nap

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Lila Walker

Union Pines, girls’ soccer

Lila Walker nished her senior year as a defender for the Union Pines girls’ soccer team. Walker helped lead the Vikings to the NCHSAA Class 6A quarter nals in her nal season.

Wright led a Union Pines defense that had 16 shutouts on the season, including eight straight, going more than four weeks without allowing a goal. Walker was named to the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association all-region team for the Fayetteville region, the second straight season she earned all-region honors. She was also chosen for the NCCA North Carolina East West All-Star Game, which will take place at High Point next week. She’ll suit up for the East team.

and ate a little food” during the delay. Larson said the resumption of the race a few minutes before midnight “is de nitely past my bedtime.”

Blaney won the pole, and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano joined him on the front row. A third Team Penske driver, Austin Cindric, moved up to third early in the race for an early strong showing for the Fords.

Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin, who quali ed 28th, nished 12th. Tyler Reddick was eighth.

Reddick, who won at EchoPark Speedway in February as part of his string of ve wins in the season’s rst nine races, quali ed only 31st on Saturday. By the 35th lap he already had moved up to fourth, proving early that he again

“I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stu like that, but luckily it still drove really decent.”

Ryan Blaney

would be a factor in Atlanta.

Clean start

The weather delay was the rst caution for cause in the race, a dramatic departure from the weekend’s rst race. There were a track-record 13 cautions in Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race won by Justin Allgaier. That to -

tal included four red ag incidents, creating an ominous preview for the Cup Series race.

The rst caution for an incident on the track in the Cup Series race came when AJ Allmendinger lost control of his Chevrolet with 67 laps remaining. Allmendinger blew a tire and hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to cause another caution.

Another strong start for Team Penske

Blaney’s Stage 1 win gave Team Penske Fords yet another strong start in Atlanta. Team Penske drivers have won Stage 1 in six of the last eight races at the track.

Blaney held o Reddick, who nished second in the rst stage after qualifying 31st.

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta.

The

JACOB KUPFERMAN / AP PHOTO

Referee Gary Patterson o ciates the 2021 ACC championship game between Pitt and Wake Forest.

SIDELINE REPORT

MLB White Sox rookie Peters hits for cycle, rst for franchise in 9 years

Chicago

Rookie Chicago White Sox center elder Tristan Peters hit for the cycle, becoming the franchise’s rst player to do it in nine years. Peters doubled in the third, singled in the fth and hit a two-run homer in the seventh against the Athletics. He came up to bat a second time in the seventh and hit a grounder down the right- eld line. The 26-year- old former Durham Bull slid head rst into third to beat the relay throw. Peters is the third major leaguer to hit for the cycle this season.

PGA

Sche er misses cut for rst time in 4 years

North Berwick, Scotland

Scottie Sche er has his rst weekend o in nearly four years. The world’s No. 1 player looked ordinary over two days at the Scottish Open, shooting 72 on Friday and missing the cut by two shots. It’s his rst missed cut since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022. Sche er missed a 6-foot par putt on the last hole and missed a 7-foot birdie putt on his 16th hole.

WORLD CUP

FIFA selling eld to be used for World Cup nal in $450 pieces

East Rutherford, N.J. FIFA is selling pieces of the World Cup nal eld for $450 each. The grass will be used for the July 19 nal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

FIFA’s store describes each piece as 17.5 by 17.5 by 17.5 but doesn’t specify the unit of measurement. Players and coaches have criticized the eld quality at MetLife, which usually uses an arti cial surface for NFL games.

Rattín, whose dismissal in 1966 World Cup prompted rules change, dead at 89

Renowned Argentine soccer player Antonio Rattín died at 89. Rattín, a former Boca Juniors player, became famous for his de ance at the 1966 World Cup, which led to the introduction of yellow and red cards. Known for his hard-tackling style, he won six league titles with Boca Juniors. He played in two World Cups and was a Copa Libertadores runner-up. Rattín’s protest during a match against England at Wembley sparked changes in how referees communicate dismissals. His actions also fueled the soccer rivalry between Argentina and England.

NBA Raptors, Clippers put trade for Leonard on hold pending end of NBA investigation

Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is on hold because of an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers. The league is examining whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules. The NBA’s probe began in September, focusing on a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. The Raptors and Clippers had agreed on a trade earlier this month. Leonard, a seven-time All-Star, is coming o his highest-scoring season. There is no timetable for the investigation’s conclusion.

Sinner beats Zverev to win Wimbledon again

Noskova wins the women’s title for her rst Grand Slam

By Andrew Dampf The Associated Press

LONDON — Jannik Sinner is starting to make a habit of responding to adversity in Paris with titles at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 Sunday for his second consecutive title at the All England Club after his German opponent appeared bothered by a knee issue following a slip to the grass on a key point in the third set.

Sinner’s fth Grand Slam title came in his rst tournament since a second-round meltdown at the French Open, when he wilted in a Paris heat wave.

When Sinner ripped a forehand winner up the line on his rst match point, the Italian dropped to the grass on his back in celebration.

“There’s no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony.

A year ago, Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in the nal at the

All England Club after wasting three match points against his rival in the Roland Garros nal.

It was Sinner’s 10th straight victory over Zverev, who was coming o his rst Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Zverev’s previous best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round three times.

“I’m 29 years old and this is the rst time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev said.

Prince William joined his wife, Kate, and two of their children for the nal in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Ho man, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller. Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech women’s nal Saturday for her rst Grand Slam title.

Zverev slips

The top two seeds appeared perfectly matched until Zverev earned his only break point of the match at 3-3 in the third set — 2 hours and 42 minutes in. Sinner produced a drop shot, and Zverev slipped and

appeared to hyperextend his right knee as he attempted to change directions behind the baseline.

Zverev grasped his knee in apparent discomfort and Sinner went around the net and helped his opponent up o the grass. Zverev quickly resumed playing, but he appeared slightly hampered and slung his racket across the baseline in frustration when he missed a forehand and handed Sinner the rst break of the match and a 5-3 lead in the third. Sinner then served it out.

Zverev had also lost 14 straight sets to Sinner and when he claimed the opening set of the nal with a forehand winner up the line to conclude a tight tiebreaker. He let out a loud roar toward his box as he bent over in celebration.

Zverev continually cranked out serves at up to 139 mph, while Sinner produced a series of well-placed aces at a slightly lower speed.

But Sinner began to read Zverev’s serve better in the second-set tiebreaker, and Zverev started to miss forehands.

“He showed once again why he’s the best player in the world,” Zverev said.

Sinner produced 58 winners to Zverev’s 49 and had only 25 unforced errors to Zverev’s 45. Zverev led 17-15 in aces.

Paris meltdown

Amid sti ing heat and humidity in Paris in late May, Sinner had his 30-match winning streak ended after coming within one game of a straight-set victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56. Conditions were cooler in southwest London for thenal, with clear skies and a temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit but it was also breezy — which led to a series of shanked shots from both players.

Sinner went in for medical exams in Milan after the Paris defeat and didn’t play an ofcial match again until he arrived at Wimbledon, where he twice had to come back from a set down in a ve-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in the rst round.

Sinner then didn’t drop a set the rest of the way until the nal, having dominated against Novak Djokovic in the semi nals.

Despite the defeat in thenal, Zverev leapfrogged Alcaraz into the No. 2 spot in the rankings.

Alcaraz missed both the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury.

Hornets GM says Ball trade to Timberwolves made with long-term success in mind

The team hopes to break out of its play-in rut with the shakeup

By Steve Reed The Associated Press

THE CHARLOTTE Hornets won 44 games last season, a 25-win improvement over the previous year.

So the question begs to be asked: Why would Hornets general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Je Peterson break up a team that seemed on the rise by trading its most dynamic offensive player in LaMelo Ball? Peterson addressed the question on Saturday in Las Vegas where the Hornets are playing Summer League games, saying it was all about the long-term success of the organization.

“These decisions are challenging at times, but when you look at the totality of the season and everything of where we were, it’s important to take an honest look in the mirror of where you guys are as a team,” Peterson said. “And that’s what I had to do at the end of the season. And I just feel like again, the goal is never to compete for a play-in spot. The goal isn’t to get to the play-in or even the playo s for one year.”

Charlotte reached the play-in tournament and beat Miami at home before getting blown out on the road at Orlando.

Ball, who had struggled with injuries in the past, had one of his best seasons and averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game while nishing second in the league to rookie teammate Kon Knueppel in 3-pointers made with 272.

However, the Hornets failed to make the playo s in the six seasons since Ball came to them as the No. 3 overall pick in 2020.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we had a successful season last year by a lot of people’s standards, and of course LaMelo was a huge part of that,” Peterson said. “But again, sometimes these decisions, they can be chal-

lenging. But ultimately I do feel a responsibility to the organization and to the fans really across the world of the Hornets to do what’s best for the long term of the franchise.”

Peterson believes acquiring Naz Reid and draft picks from Minnesota for Ball will give the Hornets more exibility moving forward as they continue to build. As part of a four-team trade with Brooklyn, Chicago and Minnesota, Charlotte sent Ball and Josh Green to the Timberwolves in exchange for Reid, a 2033 unprotected rst-round pick, rst-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030, and second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.

Along with draft capital, the Hornets also received a $40.7 million trade exception — the largest in NBA histo -

ry — as part of the deal, positioning themselves to add other top talent. Still, the move did not sit well with many fans in Charlotte, where Ball is extremely popular and has been a huge draw.

The anger is not on the same level as Mavs fans when Luka Doncic was traded to Los Angeles, but some felt the move was ill-timed given the Hornets appeared headed in the right direction with Ball as their leader. Peterson said he knows Ball will do great things in Minnesota.

“I do empathize with the fans, and I understand just where they’re coming from,” Peterson said. “If I’m honest, I love LaMelo. He’s a tremendous human being. Of course, he’s an enormous talent. He and I have a great relationship.

“But I would hope that they understand that I have the best interest of the Hornets organization. I truly do. And it’s not about one year or two years. It’s about sustained success and just being objective of where we truly are in our life cycle. I have no doubt that this team we roll out next year and the years to come is going to continue to compete and eventually we’ll get there.”

BRIAN INGANGA / AP PHOTO

Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men’s singles nal Sunday at Wimbledon.

NELL REDMOND / AP PHOTO

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball brings the ball up the court against the Heat during an NBA play-in tournament game.

Sherman Shaw

Sept. 26, 1957 – July 5, 2026

Sherman M. Shaw, 68, of Sanford, N.C., passed away on Sunday, July 5, 2026, at his residence.

Henry Monley

July 26, 1975 – July 6, 2026

Henry Monley, 50, of Laurinburg departed this life on July 6, 2026. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, July 18, 2026, at the Kenneth M. Purcell Memorial Chapel. A viewing and visitation will be held from 1:00 until 5:00 p.m. Friday, July 17, 2026, at Purcell Funeral Home. Services are entrusted to Purcell Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Daniell Marque Gilchrist

Nov. 9, 1984 – July 8, 2026

Ms. Daniell Marque Gilchrist, 41, of Sanford, North Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at Duke Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Judith “Judy’ McDonnell

Sept. 16, 1940 – July 12, 2026

Judy McDonnell, age 85, of Robbins, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 12, 2026, at FirstHealth Hospice House. Arrangements are incomplete.

Helen Apple

Aug. 12, 1935 – July 5, 2026

Helen Apple, age 90, of Lakeview, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, July 5, 2026.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Lakeview Presbyterian Church at 11:00 am with Pastor Julie Hughes O ciating. The family will receive friends from 10:00 am until 11:00 am in the church.

Burial will follow in Cypress Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Cameron, NC.

Helen was born in Hoke County on August 12, 1935, to the late Raymond and Lillian Johnson.

She graduated from Greensboro High School, where she was a member of the basketball team. She went on to Greensboro Business College where she excelled in shorthand and typing. She became one of the rst employees of Sandhills Community College in 1965 and worked there until she retired in 1998. She was inducted into the Sandhills Community College Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. She married the love of her life, Lewis Apple, in 1957, who preceded her in death in October of 2025. Helen and Lewis raised two children, Mike Apple of Lakeview and the late Wendy Apple McRae also of Lakeview. She was a devoted wife and mother, loved sports, especially basketball, and enjoyed puzzle solving and reading. She loved cooking, working at the college and doting on her grandchildren. She is survived in life by her son Mike (Dawn); grandchildren Andrew (Nicole) Apple, Abby Howard (Mark), Maggie Harris, Will Apple (Alyssa), Eric McRae; great-grandchildren Stella Livengood, Lily Howard, Madison Apple, Amelia Apple, Luke Howard and Ila Howard; halfsisters, Lorriane York and Teresa Dean (Prentice).

In lieu of owers, donations can be made to Crystal Lake Support, Inc. P.O Box 353, Lakeview, N.C. 28350.

Larry Pearson

March 27, 1955 – July 9, 2026

Larry Pearson, 71, of Laurinburg departed this life on July 9, 2026. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, July 19, 2026, at Reedy Creek Missionary Baptist Church. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. A viewing and visitation will be held from 1:00 until 5:00 p.m. Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Purcell Funeral Home.

Claretta McCrimmon

Sept. 16, 1947 – July 9, 2026

Ms. Claretta Ann McCrimmon, 78, of Vass, North Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Pinehurst Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Josie Mae Gause

April 7, 1951 – July 9, 2026

Mother Josie Mae Gause, 75, of Laurinburg departed this life July 9, 2026. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, July 20, 2026, at Bright Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church. Interment will follow in the Hillside Memorial Park. A viewing and visitation will be held from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. Sunday, July 19, 2026, at Purcell Funeral Home. Services are entrusted to Purcell Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Wally Funk, aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to travel into space, dead at 87

Decades after NASA rejected her, she nally reached space at age 82

The Associated Press

GRAPEVINE, Texas — Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87.

Funk died last Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Du O’Dell said last week. O’Dell, who described herself as Funk’s caregiver, said she was by Funk’s side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.

“It took its toll,” O’Dell said in a phone interview.

Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but never made it into space. In 2021, she got her chance aboard Amazon founder Je Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket. At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest person to go into space, though the record was later broken by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s rst black astronaut candidate. They were both 90.

Bezos chose Funk as an “honored guest” to ride alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas.

In a post on X, Blue Origin said Funk was a “pioneer in every sense of the word.”

“We were humbled to be part of her journey,” the post said.

O’Dell said Funk was the “most eternally optimistic person” she had ever met.

“She was told by many, many, many men, ‘No, you can’t do this. No you can’t do that,’ ” O’Dell said. “And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”

Funk was the rst female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the rst female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a brief biography released by the City of Grapevine.

In the 1960s, she and other female pilots went through astronaut training in the Mercury 13 program, but they were not allowed to become astronauts.

“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would reach space. Her passion for ight, perseverance, and love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted Thursday on X.

“And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”

Du O’Dell, Funk’s caregiver

TONY GUTIERREZ / AP PHOTO

Wally Funk, right, describes her ight experience in the spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, on July 20, 2021.

STATE & NATION

ICE shot, killed motorist in Maine; advocates say victim 26-year-old man from Colombia

The man was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number

By Patrick Whittle, Leah Willingham and Jack Brook The Associated Press

BIDDEFORD, Maine — A federal immigration o cer fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, the second time in a week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have used deadly force. It is at least the ninth such killing since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown.

Immigrant rights groups identi ed the man who was killed as a 26-year-old native of Colombia.

Sen. Angus King, (I-Maine), said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the o cer opened re after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against o cers who were pursuing him for deportation in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles southwest of Portland.

“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said.

The Maine attorney general’s o ce, which is investigating along with the FBI and other agencies, said initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to ee in the direction of the agent. The man was the target of an enforcement operation related to a nal order of removal, the o ce said, and the agent who killed him has been placed on leave.

Messages seeking comment were left for ICE and the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The man was authorized to work in the U.S., advocates say

The advocacy groups Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number. After the shooting, his family contacted the Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, executive director Mufalo Chitam said.

“It’s a young family and he was leaving to go to work,” Chitam told The Associated Press. The family, she said, isn’t ready to speak publicly about the shooting.

Mary Hayes, who lives close to where the shooting happened, said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter.

“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,”

Hayes told the AP as she held a piece of cardboard with “No ICE Stop ICE” written on it. “I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

The Colombian Embassy told the AP in an emailed statement that it is in contact with U.S. authorities and “working to formally con rm the individual’s identity and nationality.”

Security video but no body-worn camera footage

Cory Poulin, whose family runs a laundromat near the scene, told the AP that security cameras at the business captured footage of the man’s car rolling into the intersection after shots were red. Other images from the scene showed the car going in circles and bullet holes in its windshield.

“Two ICE members ran to the

“I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

Mary Hayes

intersection and another ICE member in a Ford SUV went into the intersection to stop the car from rolling,” he said. “I don’t know for a fact, but I don’t believe he was alive when the car started rolling.”

He said Maine State Police asked that he not release the footage publicly.

The agents involved in the shooting didn’t have body-worn cameras, King said.

“The question is, what did he do with his vehicle,” King said. “Were o cers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justi ed deadly force?

“That’s what this investigation is all about and I certainly intend to stay after it to do everything I can to be sure the investigation is as transparent and thorough as possible.”

Anti-ICE protesters gather near the scene

Dozens of demonstrators critical of ICE and President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown gathered in Biddeford within hours of the shooting.

Amy Goodman, who is from nearby Wells, arrived with a sign that said “Stop Killing Us” and directed it toward police working at the scene.

“Sadly, it’s something we’re seeing a whole lot more often lately, and I’m mad about it,” said Goodman, who was wear-

ing a shirt that said “ICE is best when crushed.”

“It’s heartbreaking and I wanted to show up,” Goodman’s friend, Molly Zucker of Cape Neddick, said as she held a sign reading, “No human being is illegal.”

Police blocked access to the shooting scene, which is in a neighborhood of mostly multifamily homes, churches and businesses near downtown.

Several protesters stood nearby, with some holding signs condemning ICE’s presence in the community and state.

“We are grieving, we are furious, and we will not allow his death to be treated as routine or inevitable,” Chitam said.

“How much more harm must our communities endure before those with the power to act acknowledge that this has gone too far?”

A recent uptick in Trump’s immigration crackdown

Monday’s killing was at least the ninth death from an encounter with federal immigration o cials since Trump returned to o ce 18 months ago.

On July 7, an ICE o cer fatally shot 52-year-old Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after he was pursued by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

The shootings come amid a newly intensi ed push by the Trump administration to carry out its mass deportations agenda. During the ve-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people.

The gures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests continue and are surging. The administration’s enforcement

e orts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

“More than anything else, I want to know, ‘Why are you in Maine?’” Rep. Chellie Pingree, (D-Maine), said in a video posted on social media.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat running for Senate, wrote on X: “It’s time to get ICE o our streets.”

Hundreds of Maine ICE arrests since Trump’s return

ICE had a signi cant presence in Maine earlier this year, which prompted several protests.

The Homeland Security Department named the operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent play on Maine’s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago.

Immigration o cials said in late January that they had ceased “enhanced operations” in Maine after hundreds of arrests.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horri c crimes” including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.”

Court records show that while some had felony convictions, others had unresolved immigration proceedings or had been arrested but never convicted of a crime.

ICE arrested 546 people in Maine between the start of Trump’s second term and March 11, 2026, the most recent data available, according to ICE arrest data provided to the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project.

About 45% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds. During the equivalent 416-day period before Trump took o ce, roughly 69% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, the data show.

PHOTOS BY ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO

Left, Protesters gather near the scene of the shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday in Biddeford, Maine. Top right, A vehicle is transported on a atbed near the scene of the shooting. Bottom right, Biddeford City Councilor Abigail Woods hugs an unidenti ed constituent during an impromptu protest on Monday.

ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP PHOTO