North State Journal Vol. 6, Issue 26

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 26

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021

the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

Taliban insist on airlift deadline amid new report of abuses Washington, D.C. The Taliban warned Tuesday that the U.S. airlift from Afghanistan must end Aug. 31, ramping up pressure on an already chaotic evacuation as new reports of rights abuses fueled concern about the fate of thousands of people still trying to flee the country. The announcements set the stage for an endgame a day after the CIA director met with a top Taliban leader in Kabul. Recent days have seen a flurry of efforts to speed the evacuation at Kabul’s airport, where scenes of desperation have highlighted both the disarray of the U.S. pullout and fears that the Taliban will resort to the brutal tactics they used when they last ruled Afghanistan. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cooper vetoes bill altering charter schools board makeup Raleigh Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed legislation that would slightly rework the state panel that recommends whether charter schools can open or should be shuttered. Currently two of the 11 voting members of the Charter Schools Advisory Board are chosen by the State Board of Education, of which the governor picks nearly all voting positions. The bill would have given the education board just one spot to fill, while the superintendent of public instruction or her designate would receive another voting position. Currently the superintendent or her designate is a nonvoting member to the advisory board. “The State Board of Education is constitutionally and statutorily charged with administering children’s education in state public schools, including charter schools,” Cooper wrote in his veto message. “It is critical that the board have both of their appointments to carry out its constitutional duties.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Daily new COVID-19 cases in Israel approach January peak Tel Aviv, Israel New daily coronavirus infections in Israel are approaching record levels, despite the country’s largely successful vaccination campaign and the recent rollout of the world’s first widespread booster shot. Mandatory masks and green passports, which had been lifted as infections bottomed out in May, are again required to enter public indoor spaces. Officials have pointed to evidence that the initial round of vaccines become less effective over time. Almost 1.6 million people have received the third shot, according to the Health Ministry. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FreedomWorks endorses Budd in US Senate race Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks for America endorsed Ted Budd in the state’s competitive 2022 Republican U.S. Senate primary. The conservative organization says Budd is a staunch supporter of small government principles and maintains a 97% lifetime score on its Congressional Scorecard. Noah Wall, FreedomWorks for America executive director, said, “Republicans need to run principled candidates who demonstrate a clear path to victory. Republicans have the momentum to regain control of Congress, and Rep. Ted Budd is the ideal choice to fill North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat and deliver when it comes to advancing conservative priorities.” NSJ STAFF

BRYAN ANDERSON | AP PHOTO

North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, in Raleigh.

NORTH

Lt. Gov Robinson, education task force release report

JOURNaL

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

STATE

Will your K-12 student be required to get a COVID-19 shot? One Guilford mom shares how her 14-year-old son was vaccinated without parental consent

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Whether K-12 students in North Carolina will be compelled to get a COVID-19 vaccination or not lies in the hands of the 13 members of the N.C. Public Health Commission. Per state statutes, the N.C. Commission on Public Health (NCCPH), which falls under the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), has the authority to add immunizations to the list of those already in state law for K-12 students. Statutes on immunizations also say that if and when the NCCPH requires a new immunization to be added, or an additional dose of a vaccine, NCCPH is “authorized to exempt from the new requirement children who are or who have been enrolled in school (K-12) on or before the effective date of the new requirement.” 2014 was the last time changes were made for K-12 immunizations by the NCCPH. At that time, updates conforming to Centers for Disease Control guidelines were made with specific attention paid to Pneumococcal Conjugate, Varicella and Meningococcal vaccines. According to its website, the

NCCPH is the “public health rulemaking body for North Carolina” and is “authorized and directed by the N.C. General Assembly to adopt rules to protect and promote the health of the public and to adopt rules necessary to implement public health programs administered by the Division of Public Health.” The NCCPH was created by the General Assembly in 1877 and was originally named the State Board of Health. It was renamed once in 1973 and then became the Commission for Public Health in 2007. The commission has four members appointed by the N.C. Medical Society and nine by the governor. The members of the NCCPH serve four-year terms. Per state law, in order to add a new immunization, only vaccines meeting the standards of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for use by the commission may be used. On Monday, Aug. 23, the FDA approved the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 shot, but only for individuals 16 and older. The Emergency Usage Authorization remains in place for children ages 12 to 15. The approval did not include 12-to-14-yearold children, likely due to investigations into increasing reports of a heightened risk of serious side effects such as myocarditis and blood clots associated with mRNA shots. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are mRNA See VACCINE, page A2

RALEIGH — Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s task force investigating indoctrination and the spread of Critical Race Theory in North Carolina K-12 classrooms has delivered its first report. Robinson’s Fairness and Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students (FACTS) task force was formed in March of this year with the objective of combating lessons and materials found to be inappropriate or politically biased. The 12-person advisory board for FACTS is made up of teachers, local and state board members, lawmakers, university professors and other community members. A portal for the public to submit concerns and examples was created on the website of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. There are 506 submissions included in the original report which have been reviewed by Robinson’s office and the task force. On Aug. 24, Robinson held a press conference discussing some of the details. Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden), Sen. Deanna Ballard (R-Watauga), Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), and state superintendent of public instruction Catherine Truitt were in attendance. “I want to make this plain; this is not an attack on educators or education,” said Robinson. “I am going to say that again, because I know there are going to be people who will say this is an assault on the teaching profession. It is not.” “What this is is an attempt to stop the abuse of the teaching profession by a few or using that profession to put undue pressure on young minds to accept their way of thinking,” Robinson said. Robinson said the task force was put together to answer the question of whether indoctrination is happening in North Carolina public schools. He then said that after doing this report and task force, that “the overwhelming answer is yes, it is.” N.C. Superintendent Catherine Truitt gave some brief remarks that included praising much of the work happening in public schools, but said that “no child should ever feel marginalized or ques-

Wilmington Marine struggles to get interpreters out as Taliban takes over By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — As many around the world watch the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, for one retired North Carolina Marine protecting the lives of those left behind is personal and now his mission. “To me, I feel like they are not only friends, but family,” Col. Eric Terashima told NSJ in an Aug. 23 interview. “I have a hard time not crying every day looking at every-

thing happening over there.” Terashima had three deployments to Afghanistan between 2010 and 2020, spending a total of more than two years in the country. He worked as an intelligence officer, an intelligence plans director and then, in his final deployment, the team police officer in charge for Task Force Southwest. During this time, he was in a small base in a provincial capital and became very close to the locals with whom he served, rubbing shoulders regular-

ly with everyone from powerful figures — like the provincial governor and the chief of police — to more common people. “I had daily contact with a lot of Afghans,” Terashima said. “They are the gentlest, kindest, most generous people I’ve been around. Most of them are very poor, but they, as a matter of course, would share their food and their tea with us. They’re just incredibly generous as a people. See INTERPRETERS, page A2

tion their place while in school.” She later said that based on what was in the report, it was clear that some educators were “using their personal and political beliefs to influence their students rather than to educate them.” “As a parent, a former teacher, and as the state superintendent, I am disappointed by the examples that have been brought to light,” Truitt said of the report. Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) touched on Critical Race Theory cited several examples from the report, including a student who experienced discrimination during remote learning when her teacher praised certain viewpoints while shutting others out and a 14-year veteran teacher who is afraid to speak out. Berger quoted the teacher, who said, “anyone who speaks up is afraid they will be canceled or terminated because they have a different opinion.” Berger said, “Take these teachers seriously; they are raising a red flag.” “Don’t tell me this doctrine doesn’t exist. Don’t tell me that all these teachers and parents are just making this stuff up,” Berger said of the report examples and Critical Race Theory. He then launched into an example of a presentation given at the Governor’s School which he said “looks like something straight out of Robin DeAngelo white privilege seminar.” The report presented at the press conference, originally 766 pages, was summarized down to approximately 41 pages and made See FACTS, page A3

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

A2 WEDNESDAY

THE WORD: HEALING POWER

8.25.21 #297

LUKE 17: 12-16

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

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“Liberty's story” Visit us online nsjonline.com North State Journal (USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher Matt Mercer Editor in Chief Cory Lavalette Managing/Sports Editor Frank Hill Senior Opinion Editor Emily Roberson Business/Features Editor David Larson Associate Editor Lauren Rose Design Editor

Published each Wednesday by North State Media, LLC 3101 Industrial Dr., Suite 105 Raleigh, N.C. 27609 TO SUBSCRIBE: 704-269-8461 or online at nsjonline.com Annual Subscription Price: $50.00 Periodicals Postage Paid at Raleigh, N.C. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: North State Journal 3101 Industrial Dr., Suite 105 Raleigh, N.C. 27609

INTERPRETERS from page A1 And working with them daily for nine months during my last deployment did bring us very close.” Now, many of the people he knew like family are contacting him desperate to get out of the country. It started with just the people he was close to, but now he’s hearing from many “random Afghans that are just stuck and are looking for any help that they can get.” “I spend a large volume of my day either on the phone or in direct messages or emails trying to facilitate these guys getting their paperwork to the right folks who can help them,” he said. Greg Steele, communications director for Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-08), told NSJ on Aug. 23 that their office was receiving a flood of applications and extraction requests as well. “Having Fort Bragg [in his congressional district], he’s hearing from a ton of vets and people still at Bragg saying, ‘Hey, my translator is still there. You need to help this guy out or this family out,’” Steele said. “I think my last count was that we’ve initiated inquiries or we’ve been in touch with 117 Afghan citizens who we’re trying to help and trying to communicate with. So we’re definitely all-hands-on-deck, even just trying to connect them with the State Department or get information back to them. We’re all extremely frustrated, but it’s definitely something we’re working on.” Terashima says the rules on who is being approved are too strict, which is leaving many of those who risked their lives to serve the American mission at risk. One require-

VACCINE from page A1 shots. “The public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said. “Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.” Shortly after the approval news was reported, Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted a Washington Post article about the FDA’s decision and promoted getting the shot. “Vaccines are safe and effective, and the FDA’s full approval is further proof of that. Visit http:// myspot.nc.gov to find a vaccine provider near you,” tweeted Cooper. The United States is the first to issue such an approval on a COVID vaccine and could embolden more governments, education institutions and businesses to issue vaccination edicts. The Pfizer approval by the FDA comes on the heels of an Aug. 22 letter sent by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) to the directors of the National Institute of

PUBLIC DOMAIN

“Saint Paul Writing His Epistles” attributed to Valentin de Boulogne (circa 1618) is a painting in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

While Jesus performed many miracles — turning water into wine, walking on water, feeding the multitude — his most frequent miraculous acts were curing the afflicted. The blind, paralyzed and diseased came to Jesus for his healing power. Some of Christ’s miracles were performed on the Sabbath, much to the chagrin of the Pharisees. Jesus worried not about the unclean. The Pharisees were constantly concerned with rigidly following protocol. In Mark 7, the Pharisees accused Jesus of failing to make his disciples wash their hands. Jesus responded that external forces do not defile man but rather things that come from within — sin — is what defiles man. When faced with 10 lepers who begged for God’s mercy, Jesus healed them. When one of the lepers returned to give thanks, Jesus told him, “thy faith hath made thee whole.”

ment is that the Afghan citizen needs to be able to provide two years of human resource paperwork. “One of my guys is five days short on his two-year requirement, and there’s no leniency, so he had his visa denied,” Terashima said. “And I said, ‘You need to resubmit on an appeal because that’s ridiculous to be short five days [and get denied].’” He said he thinks Congress should change their policies to allow more people to leave who are in danger, as the more expansive refugee resettlements after the Vietnam War. There are also logistical problems, like many of the contractors they worked for no longer exist, so the Afghans don’t know how to get human resource documents. Or they will need to get a letter from a supervisor, but they won’t know how to locate that person in the United States. “If somebody left the military sometime in the last 10 or 15 years, that person might not be able to be found very easily,” Terashima said. “And so far, I haven’t been able to find any for some of the contacts that people have asked me to find.” Steele agreed that the extraction process is in chaos. One example he gave was an email the State Department sent to Afghan applicants with an attachment for how American citizens can get extracted. Many of the Afghans assumed they could follow those directions as well. “A lot of them left hiding places and tried to go to the airport last week, and those were a lot of those who were blocked at the airport,” Steele said. “We had a lot of people we were talking to who were beaten up outside. So they shouldn’t have

gotten that email. They went thinking they were safe.” Terashima said he is not aware of any of his friends falling to the Taliban yet. But because most of his contact with them is through Facebook Messenger, he thinks if something were to happen, they’d just stop responding and he wouldn’t know why. “I may have to hear later from a friend of a friend what happened to those folks,” he said. Terashima said the United States’ exit plan endangered those who had helped American efforts in the country. “When we telegraph for in excess of a year when we were going to leave, that allowed the Taliban all that time to prepare,” he said, add-

ing that the Biden administration also contributed to the crisis. “And clearly they had prenegotiated with local commanders of the Afghan National Army that there would not be a fight. That’s why they took over so quickly.” Steele said everything was done “totally backwards.” “We’re not even sure what we can do at this point other than call the White House and tell them do not leave without getting everyone out,” Steele said. “President Trump wanted the withdrawal as well, but get these people out first, and then get the military out.” Ultimately, Terashima said the ramp-up of processing and evacuations is beginning to work, but he believes Congress also needs to

loosen the visa laws to let in more people who helped the United States and are now in grave danger from the Taliban. But while he continues his mission to save those trapped in Afghanistan, Terashima has been able to reunite with some old friends who are now in the United States and to again experience their generosity and hospitality. “The four interpreters that I’ve been able to immigrate here to the U.S., so far when I go to their house to visit, they all put out a big spread for me of food, and we all sit there for several hours enjoying food and tea together,” he said. He hopes it’s only a matter of time before more of their friends can join them.

Health and the Centers for Disease Control which criticized expediting the approval process as a political move made in order to impose vaccinations. “I see no need to rush the FDA approval process for any of the three Covid-19 vaccines,” wrote Johnson. “Expediting the process appears to only serve the political purpose of imposing and enforcing vaccine mandates.” Johnson went on to write that the “observational phases of FDA approval take time, because there is no substitute for time in detecting and determining possible long-term harm. Additionally, we are already experiencing a severe health care worker shortage. Frontline doctors and nurses that are contacting me are expressing grave concerns about vaccine mandates which will only exacerbate the shortage.” Protests have broken out during the last month over vaccine mandates in countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece and Germany. Similar protests have started to crop up in the United States; however, imposed masking has been the issue rather than vaccinations. With the FDA’s approval this week, those protests may

change focus especially after at least one teen in Guilford County was vaccinated without parental consent. Emily Happel, a mother of a student in Guilford County, reported that her 14-year-old son was given the COVID-19 vaccination without written parental consent just hours after Cooper signed a bill with such a requirement on Aug. 20. House Bill 96 states that a health care provider “shall obtain written consent from a parent or legal guardian prior to administering any vaccine that has been granted emergency use authorization and is not yet fully approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to an individual under 18 years of age.” It would appear this provision in the new law has now been rendered moot with the approval of the Pfizer vaccine. Happel told North State Journal that her son plays football for Western Guilford High School and that her son was required to get a COVID-19 test after it was learned some of the players had been exposed. The family was issued a letter from the school ordering the test, which they took with them to

the clinic being held at Northwest Guilford High School. The clinic was run by Old North State Medical Society in partnership with Guilford County Public Schools. According to Happel, her son had to fill out a form which she admits he did not read; however, the staff at the clinic asked for his parent’s phone number. Happel missed the call and she was unable to get anyone to respond when she tried calling back just a few minutes later. “My son told me that the lady who was helping him said they had tried to call his mother, but that she didn’t answer and said, ‘Let’s just give it to him anyway.’ I still had no idea that he was going to be getting a vaccine; I was still waiting for a test,” Happel told North State Journal. Happel recounted that as the staffer came at her son with the injection, he told her he did not want it but “before he knew it, he had the shot in his arm.” She also said that the entire time, the staff did not ask once for the letter from the school directing a test and not a vaccination. On the way home, her son pulled out the vaccination card and showed his father, who Happel said was “at a loss for words.”

“He came home. He handed me the card and I lost my mind,” said Happel. She contacted the school administrator and when she received a call back, the individual who contacted Happel dismissed her concerns and acted like it was “not a big deal” and compared it to her son getting an HIV test without parental consent. “I was irate with this man,” said Happel. “He completely downplayed my feelings for what happened and that has pretty much been the end of it.” Happel noted that the flyer for the clinic clearly states that minors under the age of 17 must have written parental consent to receive the vaccine. It is unclear if any other teens who visited the clinic were vaccinated without consent. Guilford County Schools Media Relations Specialist Janson Silvers told North State Journal he was not aware of any other similar incidents. Silvers said that “direct patient-doctor interactions” inquiries should be directed to Old North State Medical Society. North State Journal was unable to obtain a comment from Old North State Medical Society by press time.

STAFF SGT. VICTOR MANCILLA/U.S. MARINE CORPS VIA AP

In this Aug. 21, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, a U.S. Navy medical surgeon with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) talks to an interpreter as he provides medical assistance to a family during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Jeanne Robertson is pictured in this undated file photo.

Despite NC Sheriffs’ Assoc backing, Cooper likely to veto bill repealing state Pistol Purchase Permit law Senate Republicans blast Democrats for voting against repeal of ‘Jim Crow era’ law

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to veto a bill that would have repealed the state’s Pistol Purchase Permit law despite the bill being backed by the N.C. Sheriffs’ Association, who called the law “duplicative.” House Bill 398 passed both chambers of the legislature and was sent to Cooper on Aug. 20. As of Aug. 24, he had not taken action on the measure. Senate passed HB 398 by a vote of 27-20. All Democratic senators present voted it down. Voting no were Democratic Sens. Batch, Blue, Chaudhuri, Clark, Crawford, deViere, Fitch, Foushee, Garrett, J. Jackson, Lowe, Marcus, Mayfield, Mohammed, Murdock, Nickel, Robinson, Salvador, Waddell and Woodard. The vote in the House was also along party lines, passing by a vote of 69-48. House Bill 398 originally would have granted authority to county sheriff’s offices to issue a pistol purchase permit to “a resident of any contiguous county” if the current permit requirements are met. The language was changed, and the current version of the bill sent to the governor would have repealed the requirement of the sheriff issued pistol purchase permit entirely. The changes would also apply to a concealed handgun permit. In a statement, state Senate Republicans blasted their Democratic counterparts for not voting to end a “Jim Crow-era pistol permit law that was used to deny black people their Second Amendment rights.” “Senate Democrats cry ‘racism’ at nearly every turn. Yet they just voted to maintain a system actually created to disarm people of color, and which disproportionately impacts black people to this very day. Senate Democrats allege racism when it benefits them politically, but ignore it everywhere else,” State Sen. Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson) said in the statement. The statement from Senate Republicans noted that according to a report by the UNC Law Review, “black applicants [for pistol permits] are rejected at a rate near three times as high as white applicants.” The statement also cited that “black applicants [are] experiencing a rejection rate of approximately three times the rate of white applicants” for pistol permits at the Wake County Sheriff’s Office.” General Counsel for the N.C. Sheriffs’ Association Eddie Caldwell told North State Journal that the reason the association changed its position and backed the bill is due to the progress by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in getting mental health records uploaded into the system. Caldwell said the pistol pur-

chase permit was an alternative to NICS and that since firearm sellers also perform NICS checks on purchasers that sheriff-issued pistol permits were now “duplicative.” “The sheriffs feel like it was a very valuable system that has just outlived its use,” said Caldwell. Prior to being passed in the Senate, Democratic N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein issued a press statement claiming that removing the Pistol Purchase Permit process would “make North Carolinians less safe.” “When sheriffs grant or deny permits to people to purchase a pistol, they do so after considering the risk that person might pose to their community,” said Stein. “This background check process is one of our most effective tools to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, felons, and other dangerous people. However, this bill would remove sheriffs’ role in granting permits, taking away their ability to protect the people in their communities and making it easier for people who are dangerous to buy pistols.” Stein went on to cite homicide rates in Missouri, claiming that “Two years after Missouri’s permit to purchase law was repealed, the firearm homicide rate spiked by 25%, and the firearm suicide rate went up by 14%.” Grassroots North Carolina President Paul Valone called Attorney General Stein’s statement “the usual knee-jerk reaction of leftists to deny firearms to lawful citizens.” Grassroots North Carolina is a nonprofit and the state’s largest firearms and Second Amendment advocacy group. Valone went on to say that “particularly in urban areas, sheriffs no longer have personal knowledge of purchase permit applicants.” He also noted that the fact that mental health data is more promptly reported by clerks of court to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) is what caused the North Carolina Sheriffs Association to support repeal, calling the permit system “duplicative.” “Ironically, Stein opposes a bill which would improve background checks,” said Valone. “As noted by the Charlotte Observer, the present archaic system uses permits good for five years, allowing people to obtain permits, subsequently become disqualified from owning firearms, and then use the permit to bypass NICS. If purchase permits are repealed, background checks would be done at the time of purchase, not up to five years prior.” Valone said that what is most disingenuous about Stein’s statement is his claim that Missouri homicides increased after repealing its purchase permit law. “In truth, as demonstrated by the Crime Prevention Research Center, Missouri homicide increased by 32% in the five years prior to repealing the law, and then dropped by 15% after the repeal,” Valone pointed out. “Although it was higher after repeal than five years prior, it was actually lower than just before repeal.

The course was to be taught by a diversity training organization called The Equity Collaborative, which is co-founded and run by sitting General Assembly House Rep. Graig Meyer (D-Durham). Part two of the series covered talking points sent to the Wake County School Board by former assistant superintendent of the Office of Equity Affairs Rodney Trice, which, despite evidence to the contrary, denied Critical Race Theory was being employed in the district. Included in the report was a percentage breakdown of where submissions were originating. The largest percentage of submissions for a single school district came from the state’s largest district, Wake County Public Schools, with 20.9%. Orange County Public Schools came in second with 12.8%, followed by Forsyth at 7% and Guilford at 5.5%. A number of submissions did not have documentation of an incident or example of materials, but instead reported inappropriate behavior by teachers or staff,

such as being yelled at for questioning an assignment or set of instructions the student disagreed with. Other submissions detailed teachers pushing progressive and social justice ideologies in the classroom. There were a handful of submissions accusing the task force of being “pro-Trump racists.” Alternatively, a report submitted claimed a Wake County high school American History II honors teacher had made anti-Trump comments and had also disparaged other past Republican presidents. Submissions were not limited to just K-12 classrooms. Another submission claimed one of their college-aged children had a chemistry teacher call former President Donald Trump a “punitive rapist.” Following the press conference, Robinson presented the findings to the Senate Education/Higher Education Standing Committee. That committee also heard and approved House Bill 324, Ensuring Dignity & Nondiscrimination/ Schools.

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

FILE PHOTO

Jeanne Robertson, NC humorist, dies at 77 The Associated Press ELON — Jeanne Robertson, who parlayed her appearance in the Miss America pageant into a career as a speaker and humorist, died unexpectedly Saturday. She was 77. Her death was announced by Elon University, where she served as a trustee. “We have lost one of Elon’s greatest friends,” university President Connie Ledoux Book said in

a statement. “Jeanne Robertson loved to tell the Elon story wherever she went.” She died at her home in Burlington, said her manager, Al McCree. A cause of death was not released. Robertson became Miss North Carolina at age 19, and won Miss Congeniality at the 1963 Miss America pageant. Her pageant experience, and her 6-foot-2-inch frame, often provided fodder for her comedy

routines, delivered in her Southern accent. She wrote four books, the most recent being “Don’t Bungee Jump Naked and other important stuff.” Her YouTube channel has received more than 114 million views. In one popular routine, “ Don’t Send a Man to the Grocery Store,” she talked about her habit of making 7-Up pound cakes and the difficulty her husband, whom she always called “Left Brain,” had in interpreting her grocery list. She taught physical education in North Carolina for eight years after graduating from Auburn University in 1967. She was a one-time president of the National Speakers Association and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1981.

National group Susan B. Anthony List targets NC’s Deborah Ross as ‘too extreme for NC’ on abortion By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — The Susan B. Anthony List, a national 501(c) (4) organization based in Washington, D.C., is targeting a member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation as “too extreme” on abortion, as part of a six-figure campaign. The campaign has identified a list they call the #Terrible20 for refusing to maintain the decades-long bipartisan compromise, known as the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding to directly fund abortions, and Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat who represents North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District, has made the list. The national campaign will target each of these 20 members of Congress with ads and even rallies at their congressional and district offices. For the campaign against Ross, they kicked things off outside of her Raleigh district office with an event on Aug. 17. Marilyn Musgrave, the SBA List vice president of government affairs;

FACTS from page A1 available to the public on the lieutenant governor’s website. “The purpose of the information is to compile and present the information,” a member of Lt. Gov. Robinson’s staff told North State Journal in a preview of the report before it became public. The staffer added that the task force’s work showed it was “a way bigger problem” than they thought. In the report summary, the task force identifies six themes: fear of retaliation, the sexualization of kids, Critical Race Theory components, white shaming, biased news media and/or lesson plans, and shaming certain political beliefs. Examples included a high school yearbook dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement, Durham Public School’s resolution recognizing the teaching of “Black Lives Matter at School’s Week of Action,” as well as an accompanying coloring book with pages titled “Transgender Affirm-

along with N.C. House Rep Erin Pare, and Tommy Valentine, the national field director at Catholic Vote, headlined the event. “Ross is one of the #Terrible20 legislators who refuses to support the popular, bipartisan Hyde Amendment and similar policy riders that, for decades, have stopped taxpayer funding of abortion and saved millions of unborn American lives,” SBA List said in a statement. The group said this is an expansion of their continuing campaign to “expose abortion extremism” and that they would be traveling to Georgia and Arizona next for rallies against others on the #Terrible20 list. “Most Americans oppose taxpayer funding for abortion on demand, yet Deborah Ross has no problem ignoring her North Carolina constituents to vote in lockstep with the abortion industry,” said Mallory Quigley, SBA List vice president of communications and Women Speak Out national spokeswoman. “If she insists on forcing taxpayers to fund abortion on demand and support barbaric, late abortions without

ing” and “Queer Affirming.” Handouts on “white privilege,” “cis-gendered privilege,” “male privilege,” “able-bodied privilege,” “straight privilege,” and a “Christian privilege checklist” were given to students at North Carolina’s prestigious Governor’s School, which annually offers five-week summer residential programs for gifted and talented high school students. Reports covered complaints involving Critical Race Theory, social justice, Black Lives Matter and overtly left-leaning political indoctrination; however, there were a couple of instances of right-leaning bias found. Within the original 766-page report obtained by North State Journal, there were 98 references to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s social justice education group, “Learning for Justice,” which, until earlier this year, was named “Teaching Tolerance.” Submissions included age-inappropriate books promoting transgenderism and LGBT issues to elementary students. Accord-

limits, she must and will face the consequences of her extremism at the ballot box.” The SBA List statement said the campaign began Aug. 23 “with a digital ad and grassroots phone call campaign.” The campaign’s ad says that Ross and other Washington Democrats “have an extreme abortion agenda” and that they “support painful late-term abortions up to the moment of birth, even at nine months.” The Hyde Amendment, named after a long-term Illinois Republican Congressman, named Henry Hyde, has long been seen as an untouchable compromise in a country deeply divided on the issue of abortion. The current state of that compromise was brought into question; however, when President Joe Biden changed his position and numerous other Democrats said they would fight to overturn it. “If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment,” Biden said at an Atlanta fundraiser during his campaign, announcing his change in position.

ing to the submission on one of the books, “George” by Alex Gino makes “references to female and male anatomy and dirty magazines” and “alludes to porn and masturbation.” Gino’s book also instructs the reader that boys can do hormone therapy in order to suppress their testosterone so they can then have surgery to alter their anatomy. Another example in the report is teacher training in Wake County Public Schools involving a pyramid graphic charting “overt white supremacy.” In June, North State Journal launched a multi-part series on training taking place in Wake County schools that included the same pyramid and included sections on culturally sustaining pedagogy, antiracist education and antibias education. An earlier two-part series produced by North State Journal detailed an “Intro to Critical Race Theory” professional development course that was being offered by Wake County schools. The course was pulled after North State Journal began inquiries.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Murphy to Manteo

The natural wonders of NC

Jones & Blount GOP lawmakers hire private lawyer for voting rights suit

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By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press RALEIGH — North Carolina Republican legislative leaders have replaced state government attorneys with a private lawyer to defend them in litigation challenging the rules on when felony offenders can get their voting rights restored. A judicial panel plans to issue an order soon that says anyone convicted of a felony can register to vote after they’ve completed their prison sentence or if they received no time behind bars. State law on the books for nearly 50 years has required the offender to complete all punishments, including probation, parole or community supervision, before being able to register and cast ballots. Republican House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger — both lawsuit defendants — want to appeal the order, which could allow up to roughly 56,000 more people to register and vote starting this fall. A state Department of Justice attorney has represented the GOP leaders in the lawsuit. The department, led by Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, won’t commit to appealing the written order until lawyers review it, officials from his office and the legislature said. That wasn’t good enough for Berger and Moore, whose top legal aides called it a poor excuse given “there is no secret what the court’s ruling will say.” “The department has left the General Assembly with no option but to seek private counsel to protect its rights,” the

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North Carolina’s geography produces breathtaking sunsets, unforgettable beauty and many sights that can only be seen in the Tar Heel State. Chimney Rock State Park and the Looking Glass Rock in Transylvania County are quite the reward after a challenging hike in the Appalachians. To the east, Jockey’s Ridge and the Outer Banks, the first part of our state encountered by explorers from Europe, have their own history to share. The “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” the reputation N.C.’s barrier islands earned, continues to be a popular destination. There are many more wonders across the state to discover — but these are a great place to start.

WEST Officials: 5th person found dead after flooding Haywood County Officials have found a fifth person dead after flooding. Haywood County Emergency Services announced in a Facebook post that they found the fifth victim, Frank Lauer Sr., 74, of Cruso, on Sunday. It was the fifth day of rescue efforts in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fred. Four others from the town of Cruso that were found dead were identified as Frank Mungo, 86; Franklin McKenzie, 68,; Judy Mason, 73; and Charlene Mungo, 83. One person is still missing, and search efforts are continuing, officials said. As recently as Thursday, 20 people had been unaccounted for.

1. Looking Glass Rock Brevard

3. Pilot Mountain Pinnacle

6. Lake Mattamuskeet Swanquarter

2. Jockey's Ridge State Park Nags Head

4. Looking Glass Falls Brevard

7. Dry Falls Highlands

5. Stone Mountain Roaring Gap

PIEDMONT

Firefighter: 1 dead, 3 injured when tree falls in forest Transylvania County One motorist died and three people were critically injured when a large oak tree in a national forest fell into a road and onto their vehicle. The tree fell on two cars traveling on U.S. Highway 276 in Pisgah National Forest. No storm had occurred at the time. The tree pushed in the roof of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, ran it off the road and down a bank toward the Davidson River. The vehicle had four occupants trapped. Three were flown out with critical injuries. One was deceased. Two people inside the other car struck were not injured. AP

Morganton man wins worldwide cornhole tournament

Man who claimed to have bomb near US Capitol held in jail Cleveland County Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, of Grover, who claimed he had a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol, prompting evacuations and a standoff with police, told a federal judge he has not taken his “mind medication” and was ordered to undergo a mental competency hearing. Roseberry was charged with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to use an explosive device. Roseberry drove a pickup onto the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress and began shouting that he had a bomb. He later made bomb threats to police officers. AP

Burke County Brad Jones, a deputy at the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, won the World Champion Award in the amateur division at the American League Cornhole World Championships Aug. 2-8 in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Jones, an avid cornhole player for many years, competed in different tiers of the competition and along with his overall championship win, he placed in other events as well. Jones plans to return to the tournament next year. He will be playing in the pro division since he won the overall champion award in the amateur division.

Swain County The chief medical examiner says a man visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last year was likely killed by a bear. A park service statement said the death of Patrick Madura, 43, of Elgin, Illinois, was the second bear-related fatality in the history of the park. Park rangers said at the time that Madura’s remains were found near Hazel Creek Trail after backpackers discovered an unoccupied tent and saw the remains with a bear scavenging in the area on Sept. 11, 2020. The bear was located by rangers and euthanized.

EAST

Injuries reported when bench collapses at arena

AP

Medical examiner: Illinois man visiting park killed by bear

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Tornado touches down in two counties Alexander County The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Iredell and Alexander counties during a storm last week. The tornado touched down near the county line, about seven miles east of Taylorsville and moved north at 15 mph. The damage path was about five miles, with peak winds of 110 miles an hour. Dozens of trees were knocked down, and several homes reported damage. WSOC

Wake County A bench collapsed at an arena that was hosting a rodeo, leaving nearly a dozen people with minor injuries. The Wake County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy working off-duty at the rodeo on the site alerted dispatchers about the incident. Witnesses reported about a dozen people were seen dancing and jumping on the bleachers before they collapsed. The injured were taken to local hospitals for treatment of cuts and abrasions. A bull rider was also taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries related to the rodeo. AP

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Pender County A man received a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in connection with a 2018 crash that killed two passengers in his car. The Pender County District Attorney’s office said David Emmanuel Claytor Jr. of Hampstead pleaded guilty to felony death by motor vehicle. Claytor was given two suspended sentences of 45 to 66 months and three years of probation. Claytor ran a stop sign at an intersection with N.C. Highway 50 on June 18, 2018, and struck several trees, killing Shemada Banks, 35, and Kayla Dancy, 19, both of Holly Ridge. Speed and alcohol were factors. AP

Orange County Some students at a UNC dormitory have been placed in isolation after officials identified a cluster of COVID-19 cases. The university said Saturday a cluster of at least five cases has been identified at Avery Residence Hall. The announcement comes a day after university officials said that unvaccinated students will now have to be tested twice weekly. The initial requirement was once a week. Earlier this month, university officials announced a cluster of cases connected to an event at the school of pharmacy. The university says 87% of students report that they have been vaccinated.

In this April 26, 2021, file photo, House Speaker Tim Moore, left, talks with Senator Phil Berger in Raleigh

State Rep. Kidwell recovering from COVID-19

Man sentenced to prison for fatal wreck

Cluster of COVID-19 cases reported at UNC dormitory

Beaufort County A state legislator was recovering at home after he tested positive for COVID-19 recently and was hospitalized. Rep. Keith Kidwell of Beaufort County and his wife both were diagnosed with the coronavirus. Kidwell said in a social media post that he returned home from Vidant Beaufort Hospital over the weekend. Kidwell’s wife, Viki, had come home on Tuesday morning. Kidwell is now in his second House term. He’s chairman of the House Freedom Caucus at the General Assembly.

Brunswick County A sheriff’s office has filed charges against a woman who they say abandoned and starved animals at her home, leading to 19 deaths. Laralee Gene Milligan Williams, 42, of Shallotte, was charged with 12 counts of cruelty to animals and one count each of disposition of dead domesticated animals and abandonment of animals. Williams is accused of abandoning and depriving more than 30 animals of nourishment, including dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, geese, pigs and a goat. Williams failed to bury four domesticated cats and 15 chickens at least three feet deep within 24 hours of death.

10 counties to host public comments on redistricting criteria

AP

Million-dollar bond set for man accused of killing boy, 7 Cumberland County A man is jailed on a $1 million bond after authorities charged him in the death of his girlfriend’s 7-year-old son in 2019. Saint Michael Edwards, 25, of Fayetteville, is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the beating death of Ethan Henderson Bates. An autopsy says the child died of multiple blunt force injuries. Edwards will not face the death penalty. Evie Bates, 26, was charged with accessory after the fact of first-degree murder and felony child abuse. Ethan was beaten for getting in trouble at school and feared for his life.

Woman accused of starving animals; 19 died

FILE PHOTO VIA AP

The Associated Press RALEIGH — State legislators are expected to travel across the state next month to hear from the general public on redistricting criteria. The N.C. House and Senate’s joint committee on redistricting met on Aug. 18 to finalize the process in which the lawmakers will use to draw maps for the General Assembly and the state’s 14 congressional districts for use in the next 10 years. The proposed county

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aides wrote to top department attorneys late Monday, adding that the failure to commit “is flatly unacceptable to a client you are duty-bound to represent.” The aides, Josh Yost and Sam Hayes, wrote that legislative leaders have final decision-making authority on how a law challenged on constitutional grounds is defended in court. Stein spokesperson Nazneen Ahmed wrote in an email that state attorneys worked “diligently” for the past year on the state’s behalf. “We would have continued to do so — but only within the confines of the law, which requires a written order for an appeal,” Ahmed said. “Without a written order, our office was unable to commit to future legal strategy.” The General Assembly hired David Thompson, a Washington-based attorney who is also defending Moore and Berger in a pending state voter-identification lawsuit in state court. Stein and legislative leaders have differed in the past over the department’s representation in litigation. GOP lawmakers also criticized Stein for reaching a settlement that extended the grace period for mail-in ballots in last November’s election without their input. The State Board of Elections is also a defendant in the voting rights restoration litigation. The board has made no decision about whether to appeal the upcoming order, spokesperson Pat Gannon said. But board officials said Monday that county boards must immediately begin to permit these felony offenders affected by the decision to register.

The

98 % of ALL Farms Truth are Family Farms

About Ag

ncfb.org

list includes Caldwell, Durham, Forsyth, Jackson, Mecklenburg, Nash, New Hanover, Pasquotank, Pitt and Robeson. The Census Bureau released the county-level data nationwide on Aug. 12 and will have individual state files delivered in various formats to states by the end of September. Filing for 2022 primaries is set to open on Dec. 6, meaning legislators will have approximately three months to complete the redistricting process barring any changes.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

President Jerry Ford saved 130,000 South Vietnamese lives THE PAST TWO WEEKS in Afghanistan have been an unnecessary and unmitigated humanitarian and geopolitical disaster. It didn’t have to be this way. President Biden and his national security team appeared to be totally flummoxed when they tried to explain how the withdrawal of troops, America citizens and Afghani sympathizers became so chaotic under their watch. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin somewhat unbelievably said American military forces did not have the capability to go outside of the Kabul airport to get all of the estimated 11,000 Americans safely out of Kabul. There was hardly any talk about how this administration and national security leaders were going to evacuate the estimated 250,000 Afghani U.S. sympathizers who were translators, spies, drivers, informants and subcontractors who are now in danger of being executed by the Taliban. President Gerald R. Ford, our 38th president, approached the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Vietnam very differently in 1975. He used every U.S. military and commercial capability to evacuate 130,000 South Vietnamese U.S. sympathizers out of Vietnam in April before Saigon fell on the 30th. While it got scant notice at the time, only the evacuation of 330,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk in 1940 by Winston Churchill comes to mind as a greater success in terms of lives saved. Congressman Ford of Michigan, “Jerry” to his friends, was Republican minority leader in Congress from 1965 to 1975. Whenever he appeared on the evening news, my father would sit back, smile and say: “Jerry Ford. He is one of the good guys.” I always wondered how my dad knew Jerry Ford well enough to know “he was one of the good guys.” He would see Mr. Ford at annual College Football Hall of Fame dinners in New York since both had been All-American centers, Ford at Michigan (1933) and Dad at Duke (1938). Only recently did I find out Jerry Ford was the line coach for Dad when both were stationed at Chapel Hill for the Naval pre-flight program during the early years of World War II, which must have solidified their friendship through

PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGE OF 38TH UNITED STATES PRESIDENT GERALD R. FORD

their athletic and military associations. President Richard Nixon named Ford to be his vice-president in 1973 when Spiro T. Agnew resigned in disgrace. When Nixon resigned after Watergate in 1974, Ford became president. The Vietnam War was already winding down since the de-escalation of the war had started under Nixon and his secretary of state Henry Kissinger. President Ford knew what was coming when the last American troops left Vietnam so he asked Congress to authorize $250 million in humanitarian funds for the evacuation of all Americans and between 150,000 to 200,000

South Vietnamese citizens who could be identified as helpful U.S. allies. Only 14 Senate Democrats voted against the bill. One of them was none other than freshman Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, who callously and coldheartedly said: “The United States has no obligation to evacuate one — or 100,001 — South Vietnamese.” His statement is hard to believe since nowPresident Biden today has no problem with allowing 2 million people to enter the U.S. through the southern border who are not about to be slaughtered by Taliban terrorists or communist death squads. “It just burns me up, these great humanitarians” said Ford at the time. “They just want to turn their backs. We didn’t do it to the Hungarians (40,000 evacuated in 1956), we didn’t do it to the Cubans (675,000 evacuated after Castro’s takeover) and, damn it, we’re not going to do it now.” According to historian Thurston Clarke, 130,000 South Vietnamese were airlifted out of Saigon airport by any type of air transport possible in the month before Saigon fell on April 30, 1975. USAF pilots and officers turned their head the other way as thousands of refugees packed themselves on cargo transport planes daily. Saving 130,000 lives from certain slaughter in Vietnam happened because President Ford had the will to make it happen and U.S. soldiers and civilian personnel had the freedom to use any means possible to accomplish the goal. None of them said “We just can’t do it”; “This is someone else’s fault!” or “The South Vietnamese army just cut and ran away like cowards!” Jerry Ford was more than just “one of the good guys.” He was a great leader in a time of crisis. If only Joe Biden had learned his lesson when President Ford and his administration saved 130,000 lives in Vietnam.

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

Another bogus accusation of ‘cultural appropriation’ goes down in flames TWO SUMMERS AGO, I wrote a column about how actress Selma Blair and her friend Rachel Fleit, who is a filmmaker, were accused of “cultural appropriation” by social media mobs because they posted a photo where they were both wearing palecolored head wraps, which their online critics suggested was “appropriating” Sikh culture. Blair handled it well, telling one offended commentator that “Covering one’s head is not appropriating anything but warmth and a wig alternative.” To another, she wrote, “Scarves have been worn by all colors for ages. Relax.” As it turned out, both Blair and Fleit had reasons for wanting to cover their heads. Fleit has a condition called alopecia, which causes hair loss. Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 and was also dealing with hair loss at the time. Here we are in the summer of 2021, and unfortunately, accusations of “cultural appropriation” are alive and well, because apparently some people still would rather spend more time being outraged than going out and living life. This time around, it was culture writer Roslyn Talusan, who has written for Vice and Refinery 29 among other online publications. She logged on to Twitter last week to talk about a cookbook on dumplings and noodles that was written by a white

woman. This offended Talusan, who was blunt in her brief assessment. She asked, “why did a white woman write a cookbook about dumplings and noodles,” leaving off the question mark. But that’s okay, because in her very next tweet, she quoted directly from the cookbook, and included 12 question marks at the end, which is writer code for “What the [bleep]?” The big problem here is that the cookbook’s author, Pippa Middlehurst, wasn’t “culturally appropriating” anything. In fact, she went to great lengths in her cookbook to write about how far back her history of loving Asian cuisine goes. She said her grandfather treated her and her brother to Asian food from when they were kids, and she loved it. She found her first recipe for stir-fry when she was 12. She also fell in love with an Asian supermarket that was located below the restaurant she and her family frequented. She noted in the book that she still visits that same market from time to time and could navigate the aisles with her eyes closed. Middlehurst, who is a scientist, also wrote that as she became more familiar with all types of Asian cuisine, she went to a cookery school in Lanzhou, China, to learn how to make Asian food in a more “traditional way.”

Clearly, her cookbook was designed to showcase how her recipes were a tribute to her fondness for Asian dishes, and how she wanted to share them with people so maybe they would feel the same way once they tried them. While Talusan locked down her Twitter account because she received so much pushback, sadly, it looks as though Middlehurst deleted hers (she’s faced this same criticism before). But before she did, she told the people following her that she wasn’t “going to justify my career here,” which was the appropriate response. Another Twitter user made a great point about how “cooking is one of the greatest unifiers,” while others made sure to let Middlehurst know that they were Asian and that not only did they enjoy her cookbook, but that they looked forward to her learning more about and exploring Asian cuisine. After the controversy she stirred up over this “issue,” Talusan actually solicited for donations to help pay for the costs of the “therapy” she said she was going to need over some of the responses she received. Meanwhile, Middlehurst’s cookbook is listed as a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon, which further proves the old saying about how revenge is a dish best served cold. Media analyst Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021 COLUMN ERICK ERICKSON

COLUMN | STEVE JARVIS

Six-figure jobs that don’t require a degree Working with your hands might have been some sort of class marker a century ago, but it’s not so anymore. The trades are lucrative, and they command respect

IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, you’ve probably played the board game “Life.” Players reach a key crossroad early in the game: Choose to go to college, which sets you back a few spaces but ups your odds of winning the game, or choose not to, which puts you ahead briefly but may hurt you in the long run. For much of the past century that board game concept has manifested itself in real life. That’s not the case anymore for an increasing number of youths. Decades ago, a smaller proportion of students attended college, and they usually earned themselves a good-paying professional job in which they used their minds, not their muscles, to earn a living. They may have taken on a small amount of student debt, but white-collar salaries paid off that debt in short order, and that was that. Over time, a key variable in that equation — college tuition — started skyrocketing. As the supply of college-educated professionals keeps increasing, their salaries will plateau or even shrink relative to some non-college-educated positions. This means the notion that a four-year degree is a ticket to success in life has never been on shakier footing than right now. Soaring tuition and living costs burden students with decades of debt payments, and median salaries in some fields make it mathematically impossible for some borrowers to ever pay off their loans. Meanwhile, trade- and technical-school students can graduate with much smaller debt burdens and can earn salaries higher than some positions that require four-year degrees. For example, electricians, plumbers, elevatorrepair workers, and radiation therapists all earn an average salary above $70,000 per year. None of them require a four-year university degree.

As parents and as a society, we’ve placed too much prestige in a four-year university degree. It’s earned a sort of aura over the decades — a signal to others of a parenting job well done and of a child destined for a life of upper-middleclass comforts. That may have been true in the 1950s, but it’s not true anymore. Students can break into good-paying industries with a two-year stint at a community college or just a vocational certificate. Working with your hands might have been some sort of class marker a century ago, but it’s not so anymore. The trades are lucrative, and they command respect. Some teachers and parents have begun to embrace, or at least pay attention to, alternatives to the four-year-degree career pathway. That trend should continue. At its core, a quality education will prepare a student for a self-sufficient, productive life. Two-year and vocational schools do this, and sometimes they do it better than universities. In recognition of the shift that may soon be underway, the North Carolina legislature has invested growing sums in short-term workforce training and apprenticeship programs. I support this trend and will work to expand it. Real life isn’t a board game. There is no right path that leads you to win the game. It’s time to acknowledge and appreciate the plethora of options that our children have to become successful. Instead of forcing them into preconceived notions of success, let’s encourage them to find the path that fulfills their potential — whether that be a four-year degree, two-year degree, or a vocational certificate. Steve Jarvis serves in the NCGA representing Senate District 29.

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

End the real estate racket In other countries, like Britain and Australia, the fees are typically closer to 3%, half as high as in America.

THE HOUSING MARKET is hot, hot, hot right now, and home prices continue to soar in many markets to their highest prices ever. Since it doesn’t cost a real estate agent 10 times as much to sell a million-dollar home than a $100,000 home, one would expect that the percentage fees for real estate agents would be falling. They aren’t. Why? I started investigating the fees charged by the real estate industry some 15 years ago when I was an economics writer for the Wall Street Journal. What I discovered is that the real estate agents had created a de facto legal cartel that often rips off buyers and sellers of homes. The excess cost to home buyers and sellers from this industry cartel is typically more than $10,000 for homes with a price above $500,000. A Brookings Institution study found that, “across the country, national average commission fees over the past couple of decades have doubled and outpaced inflation in most years.” The researchers found that the increase in real estate commissions is “invariant to factors that affect the cost of housing transactions,” and that we would expect these fees to be falling due to “significant technological changes in the meantime.” For the economy as a whole, the real estate agent rules may cost home buyers and sellers up to $75 billion dollars — A YEAR. Don’t get me wrong. A great real estate agent can be a godsend for anyone buying or selling a home. The industry adds value for sure when the agent can find just the right dream home for a family or a buyer willing to pay top price. If a home buyer or seller wants the best in the business and is willing to pay a 6% transaction fee to their agent, that’s great. But too often the fees are fixed by the industry, with little or no flexibility in negotiating fees of 6% typically split between the agents for the buyers and the sellers. In other countries, like Britain and Australia, the fees are typically closer to 3%, half as high as in America. In this digital age — with online transactions becoming the norm — the fees and commissions in most consumer industries like stock trading, travel agents and used car brokers have fallen due to online competition from the likes of eBay,

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E*TRADE, Etsy, Netflix, Uber and Airbnb. Athome shopping is practically costless. Yet the real estate price gouging has managed to stay mostly immune from these “disintermediation” forces. High-priced commissions persist today because of government fiat. State laws often make it all but illegal for nonregistered agents to come in with lower commissions through “anti-rebate” laws. Even in normally procompetition states such as Florida and Texas, the politicians continue to protect the agents’ higher commissions — often adding tens of thousands to the price of the homes. Today, 40 states have laws that protect the industry by restricting full and fair price competition. Ten states still prohibit agents to compete by offering consumers rebates. Believe it or not, the penalty for real estate agents providing rebates and charging LESS is losing your license. Realtors prevail because they are good at flexing their political muscle. Every congressional district has hundreds of agents, and they are active in politics. Last year, national and state associations of realtors topped the rankings of campaign contributors in both parties in order to maintain high commission by protectionist rules. There are some hopeful signs of chinks in the real estate agent cartel’s armor. Technology upstarts like REX are trying to squeeze out unreasonable fees by suing states to end government-created rebate bans. If they succeed, agent fees would be slashed, and home shoppers of all income ranges would save thousands of dollars by negotiating better deals with the agents. I rarely agree with President Joe Biden on the economy, but he declared in a recent executive order that “competition is the core ingredient for capitalism.” He has called for a federal investigation into price fixing among competitors and occupational licensing rules. Perhaps, after all these years, he will be the president who ends the real estate racket. Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at FreedomWorks. He is the co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity and is a contributor to the Washington Examiner.

Resign FOR FOUR YEARS, Democrats and much of the media demanded former President Donald Trump resign or the 25th Amendment be deployed to remove him from office. The complaints largely stemmed from grievance over the 2016 election but magnified as Trump’s behavior got more combative and mean while in office. Now, having defeated Trump, President Joe Biden has reached a point where those who demanded Trump’s resignation should be calling for Biden’s, unless it was all just partisan bellyaching. Months ago, Biden said he intended to withdraw Americans from Afghanistan. It is one of the only issues on which he chose not to reverse Trump. He just dragged out the timeline. According to press reports and now leaks from inside the Biden administration, Biden was so insistent on having the symbolism of 9/11 coincide with the departure that he ignored everyone’s advice. Afghanistan has a fighting season. In late autumn, the Taliban go to the fields and oversee harvesting poppies for the opium drug trade. In winter, they retreat through mountain passes into northern Pakistan. The winters in Afghanistan are rough and frigid. In the early spring, after the snow melts, the Taliban return to Afghanistan and plant poppies. Then they fight. This is a well-known and welldocumented cycle. When Trump announced a withdrawal, he insisted on withdrawing while the Taliban were in the fields planting poppies. They would be preoccupied and unable to sweep down into the cities. For 18 months, with only 2,500 troops, Trump’s military held the nation of Afghanistan together with zero American casualties. Biden, so insistent on having 9/11 as a symbol, overrode his military commanders and diplomats and insisted on a withdrawal in the middle of the fighting season. Six weeks ago, Biden assured the American public and international community that there would be no fall of Afghanistan, the Taliban would not sweep in and there would be no rooftop embassy evacuations like what happened in Vietnam. Just six weeks later, the withdrawal is a disastrous evacuation. The world was shocked to see men falling from the sky, having lost the strength to hang on to the exterior of airplanes. Women and children scrambled to flee the Taliban only to be caught and beaten. Americans are stranded and the American military is under orders not to even try to rescue them. Instead, the military is held to the whim of the Taliban. Biden went into hiding as the Taliban swept back into power. Only international and press outrage forced him out of hiding and to a microphone. There, he made matters worse by claiming to accept responsibility but then blaming everyone else from Trump to the Afghans. But Biden, in ordering America out of Afghanistan, took from the Afghan army their intelligence and air support and even the mechanics to fix their helicopters. An army designed to fight alongside us was, by design, incapable of continuing a fight without us. Biden ensured their collapse. Instead of admitting his mistakes, he doubled down pridefully, blamed others, then retreated back to Camp David. A few days later, he returned to the White House, attacked Republicans for COVID-19, and again refused questions except from George Stephanopoulos. His interview was a disaster. When asked about the men falling from the sky trying to escape the Taliban, Biden claimed it was four days earlier, when it was more recent than that. He had no answers and no empathy. The man the press assured us was full of empathy showed no concern at all for the dead falling from the sky and barely any concern for Americans stranded due to his botched plans. Our military publicly is defending their commander-in-chief, but in the background they tell the world he ignored them and that this was all avoidable and foreseeable. Thousands of Americans are stuck in Afghanistan, the Taliban has captured our armaments and our air base and Biden has gone on an extended vacation in Delaware for rest. The president should resign. If Trump were president, the Democrats and press would demand no less. They should not lower their standards for the man who surrendered America to the Taliban on the eve of 9/11.

BE IN TOUCH

Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 3101 Industrial Dr. Suite 105. Raleigh, N.C. 27609. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

NATION & WORLD

Southern Democrats aim to export Georgia’s 2020 success By Bill Barrow The Associated Press ATLANTA — Stacey Abrams spent years telling donors that Democrats could win in Georgia if they would provide the money to build a statewide political operation. In 2020, Georgia finally delivered its 16 presidential electoral votes to a Democrat, Joe Biden, and sent two Democrats to the U.S. Senate. Other Southern states are now trying to follow, and Georgia is eager to help. The Georgia Democratic Party is combining forces with other state parties in the region for joint fundraising appeals, aiming to help those states make earlier-than-usual investments in voter registration and field organizing going into the 2022 midterms. Abrams’ Fair Fight organization, which has raised more than $100 million since its inception after her 2018 loss in the Georgia governor’s race, is readying for another round of spending as well. It’s the latest example of Abrams’ ripple effect on Democratic politics as she considers whether to run for Georgia governor again in 2022. Democrats pitch the investment in state parties — a relatively modest step, given the billions in political spending each cycle — as an important part of the larger effort to export Georgia’s successes across Southern Sun Belt states that Republicans have dominated for decades. That’s true from burgeoning battlegrounds such as Texas, where Democrats have reduced their deficits in recent statewide losses, to deeply Republican strongholds like Alabama, where swaths of black voters and young, urban voters could at least dent Republican majorities in the Legislature. “If there’s a way to partner with our friends in the South, then it’s a great opportunity for everybody,” said Scott Hogan, executive director of the Georgia Democratic Party. But party officials in the South agree that any future victories require a deliberate, long-term ap-

BEN GRAY | AP PHOTO

In this July 18, 2021, file photo, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., from left, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams, right, listen to people talk about their experiences in voting, in Smyrna, Ga. proach, and there’s plenty of realism in a region where national Democrats once-ballyhooed “50-state strategy” in the mid2000s yielded few lasting shifts. “If Georgia had a 10-year rebuild,” said the Alabama Democrats’ executive director, Wade Perry, “then we’re in about year three.” Texas Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said the decade of work by Abrams and others in Georgia provides the blueprint. “Every state is different,” Hinojosa said. “It’s not so much that Georgia is a step-by-step model, but they showed the impact that you can have with a significant campaign funded over a period of time.” Perry’s and Hinojosa’s state parties recently sent joint fundraising pitches with Georgia Democrats, email solicitations to the parties’ existing donor lists, splitting the proceeds. Separately, Georgia has joined several state parties -- in Arizona, North Carolina and Virginia -- in an ongoing joint fundraising agreement with multiple digital efforts partnering some or all of the states in the agreement. For Texas and Alabama, specifically, it’s part of building party infrastructure early in an election cycle. Both states, along with Georgia, are eying elections next year for governor, other statewide

offices, the state legislature and the U.S. House. Georgia and Alabama also each has a U.S. Senate contest. After a disappointing November, when President Donald Trump won Texas by more than 630,000 votes and Democrats failed to dent the GOP’s legislative majorities, Hinojosa’s organization launched a $12.5 million voter registration campaign targeting rural Hispanics and young urban liberals. “We know $12 million won’t cover the whole state, not even close,” Hinojosa said. But drawing on one lesson from Georgia, he added: “We have to have a targeted approach to do what we can execute in the time that we have.” Hinojosa said he has enough financial commitments to have begun hiring voter registration organizers. Separately, the Texas party has created jobs for seven rural regional coordinators. Three of those are filled, Hinojosa said, bringing his total staff to about 30. That’s roughly where Texas was at the same point in 2019, a year before the presidential election, but well ahead of its 2017 pace, Hinojosa said. Alabama has nine full-time staff members, Perry said, a high mark for a nonelection year. It comes after a decade of Democratic infighting that often left the state par-

ty unable to pay rent and utilities, much less hire field workers and organizers. Party staff in every state are supported in part by monthly infusions of at least $12,500 from the national party. But the state leaders agreed that a sustainable, winning model requires state parties to cultivate their own donors and support voter outreach operations that are never completely dismantled after an election. “So much of our success over the past cycle is because of investment in specific areas of need, and the pace of that investment matters,” Hogan said. He noted that Georgia has had at least 25 employees through the early stages of this midterm cycle and will only grow. A year ahead of the 2018 governor’s race, the party had about a half-dozen workers in its Atlanta headquarters. The fundraising teamwork is intended to help the state parties attract more long-term donors. The parties don’t share their full donor databases with each other. Rather, each sends out the same fundraising pitch to its respective donor lists. Any donor who responds ends up on the lists of all participating parties going forward. Hogan and his counterparts said it’s not just Georgia bringing substantial donor lists to the table. Texas was awash in small donors in 2018 when Democrat Beto O’Rourke made a serious challenge to GOP Sen. Ted Cruz but fell short. Alabama got its boost in 2017, when Democrat Doug Jones upset Republican Roy Moore in a Senate special election. Jones lost by a landslide in his bid for a full-term last November, but Perry said the state party is left with a list of past donors “donors from all 50 states.” Beyond the organizing that early party hires do, there’s an underappreciated benefit: leveraging what comes next. High-profile candidates such as O’Rourke and Abrams, both of whom could run statewide again next year, draw considerably more money than state parties ever could. Likewise, Fair Fight’s national fundraising footprint in 2022 will dwarf state parties. But in each case, candidates for governor and outside groups such as Fair Fight can mean an injection of cash or other coordination with party staff. But only if the party has built an operation already.

Haiti police commit more units to protecting earthquake aid By Evens Sanon The Associated Press LES CAYES, Haiti — Haiti’s National Police announced Monday that it had deployed additional units south of the capital to protect aid shipments being taken to the country’s earthquake-damaged southwestern peninsula. The announcement came one day after a powerful gang leader in that area said in a social media video that his allied gangs would assist in the aid effort. Gang activity, including the hijacking of aid trucks, has forced most of the early aid to be ferried via planes and helicopters, slowing relief efforts. Police spokeswoman Marie-Michelle Verrier said the police commander-in-chief had decided “to strengthen security in the Great South,” as the region is known. “Several support units were deployed there on the roads and at the city level,” Verrier said. “The presence of the police will promote the deployment of aid convoys, but also the protection of disaster victims and better distribution of relief kits by state authorities and representatives of the international community.” On Sunday, gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, alias “Barbecue,” offered a truce and promised help for communities in southwestern Haiti that were shattered by the 7.2-magnitude Aug. 14 earthquake. It remained to be seen whether anything would come from Cherizier’s offer. He does not control all of the area’s gangs. The earthquake killed at least 2,207 people, according to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency. It also says 12,268 people were injured and nearly 53,000 houses destroyed. In a video posted on Facebook, Cherizier addressed the hard-

MATIAS DELACROIX | AP PHOTO

A private security guard keeps order as motorcyclists wait to fill up their gas tanks in Les Cayes, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, a week after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the area. est-hit parts of the Haiti’s southwestern peninsula, saying: “We want to tell them that the G9 Revolutionary Forces and allies, all for one and one for all, sympathize with their pain and sorrows.” “The G9 Revolutionary Forces and allies ... will participate in the relief by bringing them help. We invite all compatriots to show solidarity with the victims by trying to share what little there is with them,” he said. The police spokeswoman said the U.S. Embassy facilitated an aerial assessment of some of the

most remote hard-hit areas. “These areas are severely affected, but have not yet received the attention of the authorities concerned because of their isolation,” Verrier said. “This is the case of Latibolière, where the state is absent. Everything is taken care of by the church and the population. In these areas, schools, shops, vocational schools, including a school in Coteaux, were destroyed. The commander-in-chief wants to give them sustained attention.” In one remote area, Haitian

authorities rescued 24 agricultural workers who had been trapped in a mountaintop forest since the quake caused a landslide, Berla Severin, an official with the Civil Protection Agency, said Monday. They had left to work there early the morning of the tremor and had not returned. By word of mouth, authorities eventually heard they were missing and mounted a search operation, Severin said. They were found in the forest on Pic Macaya and flown by helicopter to a hospital.

Ukraine leader stresses NATO, EU ties on independence day Kyiv, Ukraine Ukraine’s president urged closer ties between the exSoviet nation and NATO and the European Union in a speech marking the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. Ukraine celebrated its independence day on Tuesday with a military parade and massive festivities in the capital Kyiv. Opening the parade, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a strong Ukraine is “a country that dreams ambitiously and acts decisively.” “Such a country becomes NATO’s Enhanced Opportunities Partaner; such a country is officially supported by others when it applies to join the European Union,” Zelenskyy said. Ukraine didn’t officially become independent until the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991. But like most of the 15 former Soviet republics, it declared its sovereignty immediately after the failed hard-line coup against reformist Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. On Aug. 24, 1991, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, reestablishing the country’s independence after more than 70 years of being part of the Soviet Union. The 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence came as the country is locked in a bitter tug-ofwar with Russia, which in 2014 annexed Crimea and has since been backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, and Kyiv’s efforts to shore up support among Western nations. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Officials: Egypt closes Gaza border amid tensions with Hamas Cairo Egypt closed its main border-crossing point with the Gaza Strip on Monday amid tensions with the territory’s militant Hamas rulers, officials said. It was the first time the Rafah crossing was shuttered during a workday since early this year. Egyptian authorities had kept it open during the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in May. According to the Egyptian officials, the closure was connected to Cairo’s efforts to broker a long-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. It was not immediately clear how long the closure would last, the officials said. One of the officials said the move was meant to pressure Hamas because of the “differences” between Cairo and the militant group over lack of progress in both the Egyptian-led, indirect talks with Israel, and also efforts to reconcile Palestinian factions. Iyad al-Bozum, a spokesman for the Hamasrun Interior Ministry, said Hamas had been notified of the closure. He said they were in contact with Egyptian authorities to reopen Rafah. “The closure of the crossing exacerbates the humanitarian crisis inside the Gaza Strip,” he told The Associated Press. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, a year after winning Palestinian parliamentary elections. The blockade restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza, with Rafah serving as the primary exit point for Gazans to travel abroad when it is open. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021

SPORTS the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Western Carolina offensive line coach dies from COVID-19 Cullowhee Western Carolina offensive line coach John Peacock died from complications of COVID-19 last Wednesday, according to his fiancee, Erika Alexander. Peacock, who joined the Catamounts coaching staff this spring, was 32. He had previously worked at his alma mater Valdosta State University under current Catamounts coach Kerwin Bell. A native of Gainesville, Florida, Peacock also coached at Tusculum University and was a graduate assistant at South Florida after coaching high school football for eight years in his hometown. Peacock and Alexander had planned to get married in February. WCU said it will hold a moment of silence for Peacock during its season opener against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 4.

COLLEGE SPORTS

ACC joins Big Ten, Pac-12 in alliance Greensboro The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten and Pac-12 announced an alliance Tuesday that will work together “on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling” with a clear eye on the growing power of the SEC. Conference officials have been discussing the idea for weeks, but commissioners Jim Phillips of the ACC, Kevin Warren of the Big Ten and George Kliavkoff of the Pac‑12 — all relatively new to their positions —- acknowledged the plan publicly for the first time. The move comes less than a month after the Southeastern Conference invited Texas and Oklahoma to join and create a 16-school league by 2025. The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 hope its alliance of 41 schools that span from Miami to Seattle leads to stability at the top of big-time college sports and thwarts future realignment.

UNC football reels in 5-star recruit, B3

Rubin gets Winston-Salem Open spotlight The former Demon Deacon steps in on short notice to face Andy Murray By Shawn Krest North State Journal WINSTON-SALEM — The first weekend of the Winston-Salem Open had plenty of drama from unexpected sources. As the tournament returned to action after a one-year break due to the pandemic, the players at the center of the main storylines were a pair of men who weren’t mentioned when the tournament field was first announced. Andy Murray received one of the tournament’s two remaining wild-card spots — fellow Brit Daniel Evans got the other one — a few days before play began. The former world’s No. 1 and two-time Wimbledon champion became the biggest name in the Winston-Salem field. “To round out our direct entries into the main draw this year with these two gentlemen is a real treat for our fans,” said tournament director Jeff Ryan. “We are so proud to present this high-quality field to the community, and we know our event may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for so many.” Murray was schedule to open against Nick Kyrgios, but the matchup dissolved when Kyrgios withdrew from the field at the last minute, citing an injured left knee. “I was in Florida, in Bradenton rehabbing and training, and came here obviously excited to play here. I love the facility, it’s really great,” Kyrgios told a British paper. “To play Andy Murray, one of my good friends and a tennis icon, would have been amazing, but obviously I have to look after my body. I just didn’t feel as if the risk was worth it today. I’ve got to be more cautious with it, keep rehabbing, keep training.” That left tournament officials scrambling to find a replacement opponent for Murray and set the stage for the other unexpected appearance in the spotlight. Former Demon Deacon Noah Rubin won his opening match in the first round of qualifying for one of the final four spots in the field. Rubin, who played for Wake Forest in 2014-15 and turned pro after his freshman year, beat JC Aragone in three sets for his first tour win since February of last year. “It’s been a year and a half now since I won a match, and it was so nice to do it at home,” Rubin told the tournament website. “Getting to see the black and gold again was so surreal. I miss it. It really does feel like home.” Fellow former Demon Deacon

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Former Demon Deacon Noah Rubin returns a serve by Andy Murray during Sunday’s first round of the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest. Eduardo Nava lost in the first round of qualifying, dropping a three-setter to 2015 Winston-Salem Open finalist Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Rubin’s run on his former college court came to an end the next day when former world’s No. 10 Lucas Pouille staged a dramatic comeback. Rubin won the first set 6-4 then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set. He went on to reach match point later in the set, but Pouille battled back and evened up the match with a 7-6 win. Rubin jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the third set, but Pouille swept the final five games to take the set, and match, 6-2. Despite playing the two-hour match in the August heat, Rubin would get the chance to head back out onto the court. While he was playing, fellow qualifying los-

ers Herbert, who lost his second match, Yosuke Watanuki and Max Purcell passed on the chance to get back into the field by stepping in to face Murray. “It was by far the strangest situation I have ever been in before a match,” Murray said. “It’s pretty rare that you experience something new when you’re 17 years into your career.” Facing a new opponent, even an exhausted one, created a scouting problem for Murray. “I didn’t know if I was going to play tonight,” he told a British paper. “They said if I was playing against a qualifier then I wouldn’t play, and then I drew a lucky loser. It was tricky. It was obviously difficult for 45 minutes and then the first couple of games because you’ve gone over a strategy with your

coach about the match you’re going to play and then obviously that changes.” Rubin jumped at the chance to play, but there was no Cinderella story to be written. Murray made short work of the fatigued Deac, winning the first set 6-2 in 35 minutes then sweeping the second 6-0 in less than 25. “Tried to put on a show, but didn’t have much left,” Rubin tweeted. “Was a brutal day, but this is tennis, and what a weird way to come back.” “Noah was a great replacement for Nick,” Murray said. “It was great for the crowd, and I didn’t know he went to university here. It was just unfortunate he wasn’t able to give his best effort. It is a real shame tonight, but it was nice that it was packed.”

NC’s Lex Gillette looks for elusive gold in 5th Paralympics The Raleigh native and ECU graduate has won silver in the long jump at the last four Paralympics

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal LEX GILLETTE lost his sight to a congenital defect at the age of 8. But that hasn’t stopped him from seeing possibilities others often overlook. It’s a gift best described by the away message on his phone, in which he challenges the caller “to see more than what is in front of your eyes because that is where the true treasure lies.” For Gillette, that treasure includes a trove of gold, silver and bronze — medals won in events at four Paralympics and numerous other world championship track and field events for athletes with disabilities. The 36-year-old who was born in Kinston, grew up in Raleigh and earned a degree from East Carolina will try to add more precious metal to his stash on Friday when he competes in the long jump at the delayed 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. Regardless of the outcome, Gillette already considers himself a winner because of the inspiration his participation provides for other visually impaired individuals. “I think you start to have a

DAVID A. BARNES | UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA VIA AP

Five-time Paralympian Lex Gillette, a native of Raleigh and graduate of East Carolina, talks with his guide, Wesley Williams, after competing in the men’s long jump T11 final at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. greater understanding of your impact and what’s going on out there,” he said. “You look at it as more than just a competition. “I hear a lot from the blind and visually impaired community, but I also hear from athletes and people in general who are dealing with some sort of challenge. It’s definitely a ripple effect because somebody saw something within me and helped to expand my

reach.” That somebody in Gillette’s life was Brian Whitmer. The basketball coach at Raleigh’s Athens Drive High School and a specialist in teaching the visually impaired, Whitmer was impressed by Gillette’s athletic ability during testing for the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. The youngster was especially adept at the standing broad

jump, an event in which his first attempt went over 10 feet — farther than anyone else in the class that day. “I was like, ‘This is amazing,’” said Whitmer, who now works on the staff of Collegiate Prep Basketball Academy in Alpharetta, Georgia. “So after going through that class all year, I took him up to a sports camp in Kalamazoo, Michigan, through the United

States Association of Blind Athletes and had him do a number of different events.” One of them was the running long jump, an event Gillette was reluctant to try at first. “My first thought was that this guy is kind of insane,” he said of the man asking him to sprint in a straight line down a 130-foot runway and catapult himself as far as he could into a sandpit he couldn’t see. “Imagine yourself running as fast as you can toward a sound, not knowing if you’re going to run into anything or trip over something. But I decided to take a shot and see what happened.” When he got back home to Raleigh, Whitmer talked the track coach at Athens Drive into letting Gillette compete for the school’s varsity team. Building on the energy and determination he inherited from his mother, who is also blind, his career took off from there. As it turned out, he was a natural jumper — a fact Verdina Gillette learned shortly after her son lost his sight. “Elexis had this thing about climbing and jumping off of things, not knowing that those little footsteps, those little jumps were preparation for where he is today,” she said. “He’s a boy. They’re going to get bumps and bruises regardless, so I treated him just like he had sight. See GILLETTE, page B3

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

B2 WEDNESDAY

8.25.21

TRENDING

AJ McCarron: The Falcons quarterback is done for the season after sustaining a knee injury in a preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins, putting Atlanta in the market for a quarterback to back up Matt Ryan. The team announced Sunday that an MRI showed a season-ending ACL injury to McCarron’s right knee. The 30-year‑old McCarron was signed by the Falcons to fill the void left by the retirement of longtime backup Matt Schaub. Undrafted rookie Felipe Franks is the only other healthy quarterback on the roster behind Ryan. Anna Nordqvist: The 34-year-old Swedish golfer won her third major with a victory Sunday at the Women’s British Open at Carnoustie in Scotland. The victory made her the only non-American to win a major in three different decades — she won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2009 and U.S. Women’s Open in 2016. The win also earned her a spot on Europe’s Solheim Cup team. The Europeans will look to defend their 2019 Solheim Cup title from Sept. 4-6 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Mike Trout: The three-time AL MVP said over the weekend he is still aiming to return to the Los Angeles Angels lineup this season despite a lengthy and frustrating recovery from a calf injury that has sidelined him since May 17. The 30-year-old Trout said he couldn’t give a date when he’ll begin a rehabilitation assignment, but he’s been running every other day. Trout took part in on-field activities twice last week.

Beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES

NASCAR

Ryan Blaney won his second Cup Series race of the 2021 season, using a push from Kyle Busch to take the lead on a late restart to cruise to victory Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. Tyler Reddick is in the final playoff spot heading into next weekend’s regular season finale at Daytona, but if any unqualified drivers win the race they would claim the 16th slot.

RICK SCUTERI | AP PHOTO

“It felt good … but I’m also rooting for a lot of those guys.” Buffalo quarterback Mitch Trubisky on leading the Bills to four straight touchdown drives against the Bears, his former team.

CARLOS OSORIO | AP PHOTO

MLB

NHL

TERRY RENNA | AP PHOTO

“I’m obviously not the average freshman.”

JON BLACKER | THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP

PRIME NUMBER

Longtime Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera became the 28th major leaguer to hit 500 home runs, sending a 1-1 pitch from Blue Jays left‑hander Steven Matz in the sixth inning over the scoreboard in right-center field. The 38-year-old became the first Venezuelan players to reach the 500 home run club.

19

BOXING

Two-time NBA champion J.R. Smith during Monday’s news conference announcing he is joining the NC A&T men’s golf team.

Straight preseason wins for the Baltimore Ravens following their 20-3 win over the Panthers on Saturday night in Charlotte, tying an NFL record. Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers had a 19-game winning streak in exhibitions from 1959 to 1962. The Ravens last defeat in a preseason game was in 2015, a 20‑19 loss to the Falcons.

JOHN LENT | AP PHOTO

Rod Gilbert, the Hall of Fame right wing who starred for the New York Rangers and helped Canada win the 1972 Summit Series over the Soviet Union, has died. He was 80. Nicknamed Mr. Ranger, Gilbert spent his entire 18-year NHL career in New York, scoring 406 goals in 1,065 games for the Blueshirts.

JOHN LOCHER | AP PHOTO

Yordenis Ugás beat Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision Saturday night in Las Vegas, retaining his WBA welterweight title and putting the future of one of boxing’s biggest draws in doubt. The 42-year-old Pacquiao (67‑8-2), who is expected to run for president in the Philippines, was fighting for the first time in two years.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

B3

Players, coaches welcome fans’ return to stands After playing most of last season in empty stadiums, college football teams around the state are ready for loud crowds By Brett Friedlander North State Journal SCHOOL AND conference administrators did everything they could last fall to help college football soldier through the unprecedented challenges of a worldwide pandemic. But despite their best efforts, the more they tried to make things look and sound as normal as possible — including the use of canned crowd noise and faux fans in the stands — the more unnatural it seemed. Surreal is the way Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman described it. “We opened up with College GameDay (at Truist Field) and my parents couldn’t even go to the game, but the cutout picture of my dog was there,” Hartman said. “I’m really excited about having fans back. It’s probably the biggest thing I’m looking forward to because you work so hard and when you go out there, you want to have somebody there to celebrate with.” After a season played in a virtual vacuum, fans will be welcomed back at full or near-full capacity to college stadiums throughout North Carolina. None of the state’s seven FBS programs — North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, East Carolina, Appalachian State and Charlotte — are requiring proof of vaccination or for fans to wear face coverings in outdoor seating areas, but they are encouraging masks while frequenting indoor or confined facilities such as restrooms, concession areas and first-aid stations. It won’t exactly be business as usual because of restrictions brought about by delta variant and the recent COVID-19 spike it has caused. But it still beats the alternative. Like Hartman, NC State linebacker Payton Wilson is looking forward to hearing the roar of a real crowd as he and his teammates run out of the tunnel at Carter-Finley Stadium for the first time next Thursday for the Wolfpack’s season opener against South Florida. “Having everybody back in the stadium, playing in front of Wolfpack Nation is going to be awesome,” he said. “Having the band,

GERRY BROOME | AP PHOTO

Fans will return to NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium, and venues across the state, this fall for college football season. my parents out there, that means the world to me. Having everybody out there is just going to be awesome. “It was weird last year, the first couple of games and nobody’s cheering. You could hear everybody on the field. You can hear your coaches talking to you. It had its pros and its cons.” As much as the quiet made it easier for coaches to communicate with their players on the field during games, even they are looking forward to having fans back in the stands. “One of the most exciting experiences in my life was us coming into a full (Kenan) Stadium for the Miami game two years ago, and one of the worst moments in sports was walking into the Syracuse game last year with 25 in there,” UNC’s Mack Brown said. “We’ve had more at scrimmages. And then Dazz Newsome returns a punt 50 yards and nobody moves. There wasn’t anybody there. We all have to handle COVID so we can get back to the point we need to be, but it will be great to have fans back, the media, everybody back.” The home-field advantage isn’t the only reason players and coaches are looking forward to having fans back in the stands.

“Having the band, my parents out there, that means the world to me. Having everybody out there is just going to be awesome.” Payton Wilson, NC State linebacker

GERRY BROOME | AP PHOTO

A limited number of fans sit in Dowdy Ficklen Stadium prior East Carolina’s game last September against Central Florida. According to Duke teammates Mataeo Durant and DeWayne Carter, there’s just as much satisfaction in quieting a hostile crowd by playing well on the road as there in gaining energy from revved-up fans at home. “You know how the crowd can play into momentum swings in

a game and everything else that goes into it,” said defensive tackle Carter. “The crowd factor is a big thing, especially when you’re going into stadiums like Virginia Tech and Miami,” added running back Durant. “The crowd is always lively.” The atmosphere figures to

Brown, UNC land 5-star recruit Travis Shaw The Grimsley High School defensive tackle is the top football player to commit to the Tar Heels since Ronald Curry

“Every time I stepped on campus, no matter what, it was love.”

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal

Travis Shaw on why he committed to UNC

MACK BROWN is such a gifted salesman that it’s been said he can sell ice cubes to an Eskimo. Still, it was the Hall of Fame coach’s actions rather than his words that helped him pull off the biggest recruiting victory of his second tenure at North Carolina. Although it took the entire summer for five-star defensive tackle Travis Shaw to officially commit to Brown’s Tar Heels, the deal was sealed back in May on the day he underwent surgery to repair a shoulder injury suffered in Grimsley’s 4A state championship victory against Cardinal Gibbons. “It was the unconditional love,” Shaw said Saturday after announcing his college decision at his Greensboro high school. “Every time I stepped on campus, no matter what, it was love. “When I got hurt, every school knew I got hurt. But (Brown and his staff) were the only ones to check up on me the day of the surgery. That right there set them apart. The love that they showed, it never changed since Day 1.” Ranked No. 3 nationally by Rivals and No. 5 by 247 Sports, Shaw is the highest-rated recruit to commit to UNC since national player of the year Ronald Curry in 1997. He is also the second fivestar to commit to the Tar Heels in as many years, following the lead of current defensive back Tony Grimes. More significantly, his decision to choose UNC over national powers Clemson and Georgia — two of his three other finalist schools

care, one who is just going to make a play anytime his team needs it,” he said. “When the team needs the ball back, a dog is going to go get it. Whenever a team needs a big play, the dog is going to be the one to make it happen. I label myself a dog because whenever we need a big play, I’m going to go make it happen.” For all that aggression between the lines, Shaw also showed a sensitive side at his commitment ceremony before triumphantly putting on a UNC hat Saturday. Sitting next to his mother, Catina White, and surrounded by a large group of supporters, he fought back tears as he talked about the love and support his family has provided throughout his career. “Even the biggest dog has feelings,” he said. “It wasn’t intentional to let those tears come down. Being as big as I am I hate to see myself cry, (but) it’s an emotional time for the position I’m in.” Shaw isn’t the only one that got emotional over his decision to play for the Tar Heels. His future coach did too. “The moment I told him, he started crying,” Shaw said of Brown. “Just right there alone, that set it apart. When I told him I was staying home and I believed in him, he started crying. He can’t wait for me to get back on campus. He can’t wait to get the ball rolling.”

GERRY BROOME | AP PHOTO

UNC coach Mack Brown continued his dominance on the recruiting trail by landing Greensboro five-star defensive lineman Travis Shaw. — has helped solidify the stature Brown’s program has continued to gain since his return to Chapel Hill in 2019. “With the players they already have, they could be special,” Shaw said of the Tar Heels. “With the class we have coming in, I’ll say we’re definitely contenders for sure. We have some ballplayers coming in and I will say we’re not done yet.” Shaw is the 13th player to commit to the Tar Heels during the current recruiting cycle. Now that he’s in the fold, he said he plans to help recruit other players to join him in Carolina blue. His pitch to other rising young stars will be simple. “Mack Brown,” he said. “That’s

all you have to say.” Shaw recorded 85 tackles, five sacks and three interceptions in 10 games as a junior this spring while leading Grimsley to an undefeated record and a state championship during the COVID-delayed and shortened 2020 season. He has amassed 240 tackles, 17 sacks and five forced fumbles while also scoring three touchdowns as a short-yardage fullback in his three-year prep career. Although he is listed as a defensive tackle, he has the agility and quickness to play outside as well. At his commitment ceremony Saturday, Shaw described himself as a “dog.” “A dog on the field is just a relentless player, one who doesn’t

be especially electric at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte next Thursday night when in-state rivals East Carolina and App State face off in a neutral site opener. That, however, pales by comparison to what Pirates coach Mike Houston is expecting when his team plays South Carolina the following week in its first home game with fans in the stands since 2019. “I think it’s one of the best game day environments in college football,” he said. “Our fans have not been able to be out here and see our team in almost two years. I think it’s going to be a rowdy bunch, and I think they’re going to be excited to have Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium back open.”

GILLETTE from page B1 “I put him up there and he started walking the wall. He fell down, I picked him up and put him right back up there. I tell you what, it has been an awesome and extraordinary journey, and I am so proud of what he’s accomplished.” Because Gillette is unable to see the takeoff board, a guide positions himself at the end of the runway shouting “fly, fly, fly” to his athlete to let him know when to jump. At the Paralympics, blind competitors are given a larger takeoff area than sighted athletes. The box is coated with a powdery substance that allows their jumps to be measured accurately from the footprint of where they leave the ground. Gillette is a three-time world champion who has previously held the world record for the blind long jump and is currently the American record holder at 22 feet, 2 inches. He is also a motivational speaker whose motto is: “There’s no need for sight when you have a vision.” “He’s amazing,” Whitmer said. “Last year when everything was virtual and he couldn’t come visit, he got on Teams meetings with my classes and went through lessons. “That’s very inspirational to these kids. The kids I work with have disabilities and they need to see that he’s finding a way to overcome his. He does a really good job of communicating that with kids.” As important as that aspect of his career might be, Gillette is still a competitor. And because he has won silver in all four of his previous Paralympic appearances, he is highly motivated to bring home his first gold from Tokyo in what is likely to be his last opportunity. “That’s the goal,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, I’m certainly going in to win.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

B4

Momentum shifts in key Panthers position battles Carolina’s second preseason game sees movement at long snapper and backup quarterback By Shawn Krest North State Journal THE CAROLINA Panthers dropped their first home preseason game to drop to 0-2 in the shortened three-game warm-up schedule. The team struggled to finish drives on offense and fell to Baltimore, 20-3. After nearly the entire starting 22 players sat out the opening game in Indianapolis, the Panthers’ starters were on the field for a brief taste at the start of the Ravens game. That includes quarterback Sam Darnold, who made his debut in a Panthers uniform. Darnold was on the field for seven plays — two passes and five runs — and led the team to the Ravens 1-yard line before a fourth-down play was stopped short. Darnold hit Robby Anderson, a former teammate with the Jets, on his first play from scrimmage for a 16-yard gain as a defender closed in on him in the backfield. The team later agreed to terms with Anderson on a two-year contract extension for a reported $29.5 million, keeping him on the Panthers until at least age 30. Darnold’s second pass wasn’t as impressive. He appeared to get happy feet on the goal line as the line struggled to maintain a pocket and threw it out of the back of the end zone. Still, playing without top receiver DJ Moore and All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey, the starting offense looked solid in a brief glimpse. Here’s a look at how the other preseason storylines progressed in game two. The long-snapper battle J.J. Jansen may just pull the upset and keep his job against younger, cheaper rookie Thomas Fletcher. Jansen, the elder statesman, was perfect on three firsthalf snaps. Fletcher’s first snap was on a third-quarter punt, and punter Joseph Charlton had to take a big step to his left. He then barely got the kick off as a potential blocker closed in. Fletcher had an even bigger flub later in the game when he was flagged for holding on a fourth-quarter punt. QB2 This competition also saw an extreme momentum swing. PJ Walker looked like he’d wrapped up the spot in the preseason opener against the Colts, but Will Grier made a case for himself against the Ravens. He completed 12 of

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

Panthers linebacker Frankie Luvu improved his chances of earning a roster spot with his play Saturday against the Ravens in Carolina’s second preseason game. his first 13 passes and finished with 144 yards. Beyond his statistics, Grier looked confident and crisp running the offense, avoiding the dump-offs and safe throws that we saw against Indy. Instead, he was aggressive, looking downfield and hitting receivers. He also showed an ability to throw on the move, rolling out for big pass plays on several occasions. Walker struggled to a 1-for-8 day and was inaccurate, throwing over and behind receivers on several plays. He also threw deep into double coverage twice. His accuracy and risk-taking were two red flags in an otherwise impressive opening performance, and they caught up to him against Baltimore. The rookies First-rounder Jaycee Horn played for the first time. He was targeted once, on an incompletion, on the second drive. He also got downfield to block on Haason Reddick’s interception. He didn’t block well, but he hustled to get into position.

Second-round wide receiver Terrace Marshall started and had three catches — a quick out, a wide receiver screen and a 36yard catch on the sideline that was his highlight of the night. He also blocked well to clear space on a goal-line run. Third-round offensive tackle Brady Christensen once again played two positions, starting at right guard and moving to right tackle later in the game. He again was the bright spot for the rookies, handling his man and being the lineman that running backs followed. Third-round tight end Tommy Tremble had two catches, breaking tackles on a screen to get a first down and making a second and third effort on his second catch. He also blocked two different guys on a wide receiver screen. Fourth-round running back Chuba Hubbard started and had a few good gains on straight-forward runs. He ran into trouble when he shifted side to side in the backfield looking for an opening. It’s a habit he’ll need to break. He missed one blitzer but blocked another on a mixed bag day in pass

protection. He also had a fumble on a run but downed a punt on the 2 while playing special teams. Fifth-round defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon once again struggled to shed blocks and make plays. He moved from tackle to end but had trouble getting penetration at either spot. Fifth-round cornerback Keith Taylor showed tight coverage the two times he was targeted, but he went down with an injury late in the first half and didn’t return. Sixth-round wide receiver Shi Smith once again showed a flair for the flashy big play, making a leaping catch over the middle for a first down. He added another catch for a first later. He also made leaping attempts at two overthrown passes. On special teams, he made a questionable decision, picking up a bouncing kickoff that might have gone out of bounds and getting stopped at the 18. Sixth-round guard Deonte Brown had a false start on his second snap and was benched for the rest of the drive. He returned and avoided any big mistakes the rest of the way.

Ohtani steals show at Little League Classic The Angels’ MVP frontrunner outshines his teammate, the injured Mike Trout, with little leaguers By Shawn Krest North State Journal WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — When a player steps up to bat in a Little League World Series game, the television broadcast shows a graphic introducing him to the viewing audience. That’s a standard part of a televised baseball game at any level, but underneath the player’s name instead of the typical stats — home runs, RBIs, average — the little leaguers get to share a bit of personal information, including their favorite MLB player. This year, the runaway leaders in that category were a pair of Los Angeles Angels stars: Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. The players at this year’s Little League World Series got to see their favorite players up close and personal when Ohtani and Trout paid a visit to the complex before their game against Cleveland in the Little League Classic. “It’s my first time being here,” Trout said of the Williamsport experience. “Seeing the kids’ reaction in the dugouts and around the complex — looking back, if I was one of those kids seeing a major league player, I’d be ecstatic too. That’s what it’s about. It’s for the kids. … I told them I was in their shoes as well. I never played in the Little League World Series, but all

TOM E. PUSKAR | AP PHOTO

No player has captured the hearts of baseball fans — particularly younger ones — more than Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who was fawned over by little leaguers during MLB’s Little League Classic on Sunday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. of them have a dream of being an MLB baseball player. I was telling them I might be seeing some of them on TV someday.” While Trout has been the undisputed best player in baseball for the past decade or so, he appears to be playing second fiddle to his teammate. While reminiscing about his own experience in Little League, Trout recalled, “I played shortstop. I pitched. Kind of what Ohtani’s doing right now in The Show.” Ohtani has enjoyed a breakout

season, one that will most likely end with an MVP Award, as he dominates both on the mound and at the plate in a two-way performance that hasn’t been seen in more than a century. With Trout sidelined for much of the year with a calf injury, Ohtani has effortlessly stepped in as both the face of the Angels and the sport. They changed the rules of baseball to allow him to pitch and hit in the All-Star Game after he was named to the team at two different positions.

“It’s special,” Trout said of Ohtani. “Shohei’s a different cat. The Detroit game kind of put the whole season in perspective.” That was Ohtani’s most recent start, last week. He struck out eight and allowed just one run over eight innings to move to 8-1 on the year. Before taking the mound for his final inning, in the eighth, he came to the plate and hit a home run to give the Angels a bit of insurance in a 3-1 win. “He goes eight innings, 90 pitches, then he hits his 40th home

Seventh-round defensive tackle Phil Hoskins again had good penetration and helped on a tackle for loss. Helped themselves: Ian Thomas: He started at tight end and had a good block on a goal-line play. Frankie Luvu: The linebacker had a big game, forcing a fumble, batting down a pass and contributing to a near safety. He bit hard on one play action leading to a first down in his only black mark. He may have passed Paddy Fisher, who was blocked to the ground twice and missed a tackle on a Ravens touchdown. Hurt themselves Trent Scott: The right tackle was beaten on his block on his third snap. He moved to left tackle and was beaten again, forcing a dump-off pass. Chris Saunders: The receiver didn’t hurt himself with his play, but the star of early camp only got six snaps on offense and a pair of special teams plays.

run (of the year, which leads all of baseball). That’s pretty special, and it’s not even September yet. We’re just very fortunate. When he first came over, that’s what we expected from him. It took him a little bit to learn how it is over here, but he’s doing great this year.” It’s safe to say that the Little League World Series participants have noticed. The teams were given the lower-level seats ringing the infield for the MLB Little League Classic and were very vocal in their support of Ohtani, chanting “Take him deep,” during his first at-bat to lead off the game — Ohtani singled in that at-bat, one of three times he reached base in the game. He also stole second for his 19th steal of the year. “They were loud,” said Cleveland’s interim manager DeMarlo Hale. “We had a group behind our dugout (from Ohio), and actually, they were cheering for Ohtani, which was interesting. I thought they were supposed to be on our side.” Needless to say, the other Angels are used to handling Trout and Ohtani questions, the most common being, “What is it like?” “They’re just normal guys to us,” said David Fletcher. “It’s a cool thing to see them every day. We see a different side of them than the rest of the world gets to see, but obviously, everything they do, it’s impressive to have a front-row seat to that.” “We get a look into the work ethic,” said Jo Adell. “A lot of times, people not in the clubhouse don’t get to see exactly what goes into putting on that performance. You need to understand, there’s real work that comes with that. But it’s kind of cool to see they’re just like me.” Adell then smiled as he added. “They don’t play like it, but they’re normal people.”

A7

normal

WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home hina lied about the origin of the ONE THING IS CERTAIN; after thisthanks COVID-19 virus cavalierofmanner in which C orders to local ordissipates state governments,The a majority Americans WEEK, virus, according to members theand fede ied to tell the world there were only “THIS ISofTHE DA around the globe and in the United will to pay forTHIS this covered up its spread t areStates, havingChina to adjust what is being called the “new normal.” and state and local governments, Americans have rldwide panic, economic collapse and in it” (Psalm 118:24). catastrophe one way or another. 3,341 related led to wo Some of these orders extend at least through the end deaths of this has month. ce or stay-at-home fallen into place. I understand the seriousness of the virus thetoneed the curve in the novel coronavirus outbreak. The e being thrown out of work. I know that during Inand order put the crisis causedVirginia’s by Chinastay-at-home in perspective, zero millions of Americans needlessly orders go into June. ty of at Americans to take precautions, but I’m uneasy with how people who simply ask muted — after all, trends can easily reverse — but ayer least $2.4 trillion in added working from home worldwide pandemics can trace their source to theCarolina, United States over Gov.The hasstated cost the U.S. taxp Here in North Democratic Roycrisis Cooper during normal.” questions back to have abided by recommendations and orders. The Reserve backup liquidity to the about the data, and when things can start getting be glad” as the Bible our 231-year history. At least fourainrecent the 20th century alone be that “we debt plus trillions Federa coronavirus press can briefing just don’t know more yet” ifin the nd of this month. are treated in some circles with contempt. to flu,” stay 1977 at home; they’ve practiced socialthe distancin he U.S. dollar were notnormal the reserve and dad, Easter directly traced to China: 1957 “Asian flu,” 1968 “Hong Kong markets and financial outlets. If t state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May. Since when did They’re treated as though we as a society simply must accept flu” without they’ve donned masks. fund any of these emergency have tonot bethe thankful “Russian and the 2002 SARS outbreak. There is evidence that the currency, we would be able toa Perhaps If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to We need WALTER E. WILLIAMS per stated during question what the government tells us about when it’s massive safe to begin the The result: a reduction inwithout expected hospitalizat Lenten and of rampant inflation and currency pandemic. 1918 questioning “Spanish flu” pandemic also had for its origins in China. measures justification it. And the answers should not be vague onesimmediate like “we fea COVID-19 know yet” if the process of returning back to normalcy. transparency According to the University of Washington Institu For me, my faith is Easter seasons government There is 100% agreement, outside of do China, thatofCOVID-19 depreciation. must this out an abundance of caution.” is China’s No. The government works for us, and we have the right to ask those Metrics and Evaluation model most oft cited by m ant ways and decisions through making. As I celebra and honesty originated in at Wuhan Province probably from the has pay for their provide a China all levels It will need tocompletely be explained in detail to the people ofto this state who aberr asked as to the And the longer stay-at-home orders are in place all over and the unsanitary wet markets. Trump administration, theand expected need for hosp plomacy has obviouslyquestions. not worked Corinthians 1:4, whi Chernobyl. unregulated Some believe it came out of a economic financial means. D from our are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined message of become a gue likecentury “we health, country, and the stricter some of them get in states, such as Michigan, peak outbreak was revised down by over 120,000, orldones of 21st hygiene affliction, so that wew biowarfare lab run by the communist Chinese army. to bring China into the civilized scientific experts amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases hope that we13,000 will and bad thing? thethe more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxious about ventilators the number of ov unist regimes never take blame affliction, withcomm the co Until China adopts rigorous verifiable policing and regulation of by nearly and fair trade. Totalitarian are reliable. — we need to once again enjoy of this state who when will demand August by nearly 12,000. rse, because that is not whatthey can get back to providing for their families,their God.” That is what food safety and health protocols, American business has nowhat otherthe state or express sincere To know date, what I’ve gone has asked andregret then and rem they along with ndetermined answers. Here’s the problem: We still don’t know the ans sporting events, take advantage of every weakness If you are celebrat choice than tofree build redundant manufacturing totalitarian do. The citizens mandated thatplants we do,elsewhere but alongpurely the way I’ve also had governments questions about housands of cases at the local and state levels should be as forthcoming as they know, what they questions that will allow the economy to reopen. pushing until they win orLeaders the reflect on this messa concerts, family for national security safety reasons as well supply andleaders deliveryhave, too. they find in adversaries and keep the data. StateasRepublican living inand a free can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, but concerns. answer First, what is the true coronavirus fatality rate? God’sback. example don’t and when reliability adversaries gatherings, Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get push asked, there is and c AMERICA’S COLLEGES are rife with society were ked and then with details that give their statements believability. important because it determines whether certain nt happens such as the Chernobyl this difficult Th The most direct way to make China “pay”hope for this is to offer That is, unless an exogenous they to disaster corruption. The financial squeeze resulting sometimes a disturbing tendency among people to treat thosetime. ev church some services questions about We should families, be open or closed, whether we ought to pursue — believe that event, not the Star Warsall continue confident we will em supposed from COVID-19 offers opportunities for a to do what we can to keep our U.S. tax credits to companies whosimply willknow source at least halfdata of their meltdown 1986. Some back experts what theythe questioning and asking when we caninstart getting and many more Sponsored by Union and our communities safe. But we still continue more liberalized society that presumes wide spreat Sponsored by should also the dissolution of theourselves, Soviet In thisled same spirit bit of remediation. Let’s first examine what production back in the States. There is approximately $120 program of Reagan, directly to do, lastUnited I to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who don’t. after our own asked, there to of ask questions about the data, because while reasonable stay-at-home ought to lock down further. mightisbe the root academic corruption, neighbors helping ne billion worth checked. of American direct investment in plants and equipment otherwise don’t care if they get themselvesinor1989. others sick. title of a recent study, ehernobyl. to treatsuggested those by the measures are understandable, they should also have an expiration date. We’ve seen case fatality rates — the number of temporary In Concord, a high in China. Chinese direct investmentSince in thewhen U.S. did is about $65 billion by Perhaps COVID-19 China’s Cd questioning government at all levels become aisbad “Academic and to theAmericans, and it is not normal. Not in any way, North State Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020 starttalking getting backGrievance ThisStudies is all new the number of identified COVID-19 cases —aare but b eady about the possibility money to buy 3-D sacrifices are comparison. Senators inwere Washington alr thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society supposed Corruption of Scholarship.” The study was we should remain vigilant and are people who shape, or form. So while stay safe, at and the denominator are likely wrong. We don’t k debt we owe them as one way to get health care workers An investment tax credit of 30% U.S. investment in China over. of China forgiving $1.2 trillion in toon do,half lastof I checked. done by Areo, an opinion and analysis same time we shouldn’t get comfortable with this so-called “newbillion, applied to repatriated American manufacturing people have actually died coronavirus. Some the so yick. have caused the US. the Don’t hold your NC-produced film today, or $60 China to of “pay” damage digital magazine. By the way, Areo is short My first concern as we go along in all this, of course, isfor mythe family. I’m see” become aAreopagitica, badbut ask normal.” number has been overestimated, given that classifi to happen your elected for a speech delivered by investment to the U.S. would costworried the U.S.about Treasury billion the in virus, and breath waiting Ifor a Chinese them$18 catching I’m worried will. After “Jub projects todefense bring in y were supposed Not one little bit. of death, particularly among elderly patients, untable in tangible financial ways for John Milton in of free speech. tax revenue spread over a few years. $18 billion lost revenue hold Chinacan acc suffering fromin the H1N1 virusis(swine flu) representatives during the 2009topandemic, record Authors revenue Helen Pluckrose, James A. sources suggest the number is dramatically under decimal dust compared to the $6 I’ve trillion+ Marshall Plan extra we areprecautions, now this disaster. been trying to take because all of this brings up Lindsay and Peter Boghossian say has that also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah e, is my family. Stacey Matthews manyas people are dying home. d to operate as I’m responsible citizens of undertaking to save our own economy, notmany of defeated enemies in the It is at about timenot they expect way too memories of a painful experience I’d prefer to are repeat. something has gone drastically wrong RALEIGH — Filmmakers ied I will. After and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection. Even more importantly, we have no clue how mn ation. past. the world like any other modern But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has in academia,projects especially producing in within certain 2009 pandemic, actually have coronavirus. Some scientists sugges China has been cheating, stealing, pirating and pillaging American fields within the humanities. They call North Carolina are on of this brings up of identified business now for the past 30 years. They have made no secret that theycases could be an order of magnitude these fields “grievance studies,” where track to invest a record Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill,coronavirus senior opinion refer notscholarship to repeat. number of people who have had and n is not so much based upon intend to replace the U.S. as the premier superpower in the world and amount of money in the ost everyone hastruth but upon attending to finding replace the dollar as the reserve currency with their renminbi. state grievances. in 2021, Governor social Grievance scholars Roy Cooper bully students,announced administrators and other departments into adhering last week during a press to their worldview. The they promote is Jason conference at worldview EUE/ neither nor rigorous. Grievance EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS Screenscientific Gems Studios in studies consist of disciplines such as Wilmington. The spending sociology, anthropology, gender studies, amount of $409 million iscritical race COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON queer studies, sexuality and the largest tally seen in the studies. state since the creation In 2017 and 2018, authors Pluckrose, Lindsay and Boghossian started of the North Carolina Film submitting bogus academic and Entertainment Grant papers to academic journals in cultural, in 2014. Combined, these queer, race, gender, fat and sexuality studies productions will create to determine if they would pass peer more 25,000 job “THIS IS THEfallen DAYinto the lord has made, let usthe r seriousness ofthan the be virus and the review and accepted for need publication. WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home place. I understand opportunities for North Acceptance of dubious in it” (Psalm 118:24). y with how people who simplyresearch ask that orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans to take precautions, but I’m unea Carolina’s highly skilled editors found sympathetic to their this challenging time of soc n thingsjournal can start getting back to are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.”I know that during questions about the data, and wh intersectional or postmodern leftist vision film professionals and working from home or losing a job, it may be diffi with contempt. Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month. normal are treated in some circle of the world would prove the problem of background be glad” as the Bible tells us to do. as However, as aasC a societylow simply musttalent. accept without Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go into June. They’re treated though we academic standards. This new in-state and dad, the Easter holiday has reminded me s us about Several when it’s safe to begin the ROBERT F. BUKATY | AP PHOTO Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during question what the governmentoftelj of the fake research papers spending figure eclipses have to be thankful and of hopeful for, even m alcy. were accepted for publication. The Fat a recent coronavirus press Maloney briefing that “we just don’t know yet”COVID-19 if the process returning back in to the norm In this March 2, 2021, file photo, pharmacy technician Hollie loads a syringe with Pfizer’s vaccine. the state’s record Lenten and pandemic. us, and we have the previous right to ask those Studies journal published a hoax paper No. The government works for Since when did state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May. of $373 from 2012, that argued the term was me, my faith is an important part ofstay-atmy da home orders are million in place all bodybuilding over the Easter seasons If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked asFor to the questions. And the longer questioning when “Iron Man 3,” “We’re andas should be replaced making. As I celebrated Easter with my family, hem get exclusionary in states, such Michigan, justification for it. And the answers should notabe vague ones like “we country, and the stricter some ofI provide with “fat bodybuilding, a fat-inclusive The Millers,” “Revolution,” government Corinthians 1:4, which reminds our Lord “comf eeling isolated and/or anxious as about must do this out of an abundance of caution.” the more people,us sitting at home message of politicized performance.” One reviewer “Homeland” and demand “Banshee” affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those ng for their families, will at all levels It will need to be explained in detailhope to the people of this state who when they can get back to provid said, “I thoroughly enjoyed reading this that we will lensed in the state. affliction, with the comfort which we ourselves ar are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined answers. article and believe it has an important become a Productions continue they once again enjoy God.” vels should be as forthcoming contribution to make to as the field and this amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases Leaders at the local and state le bad thing? to vague be drawn to thebut answer sporting events, If you are celebrating the Easter season, I—urge again, not answers, journal.” are reliable. can be with those answers and state’s highly skilled “Our Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity That is what reflect on this message and be comforted, that ents believability. concerts, family To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then with details that give theirso statem film its wellFeminism anfamilies, Intersectional Reply to God’sabout example andWe comfort in need arou at we can to workforce, keep as our free citizens mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions shouldallallthose continue to do w gatherings, Neoliberal and Choice Feminism,” was established infrastructure, this difficult time. Through faith and by helping o fe. But we should also still continue Full approval of Pfizer’s and Drug Administration cited The Associatedliving Press in a free the data. State Republican leaders have, too. ourselves, and our communities s church services accepted for publication quality, and variety of by Affilia, a COVID-19 vaccine means it months of real-world evidence confident we will emerge out of this pandemic str ecause while reasonable stay-at-home Unfortunately, when certain types ofand questions get asked, there is to ask questions about the data, b feminist journal for social workers. The “Mandating becomes much many more society were locations, andexpiration the 25% date. meetsspirit, the same “very high WASHINGTON, D.C. — The that serious side effects are exthis same I continue to bestaninspired the by y shouldpaper also have an sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treatInthose measures are understandable, consisted in part of a rewritten dards required of all the aptremely rare. U.S. gave full approval to Pfizrebate offered through after our own easier when you have full supposed neighbors helping neighbors. d it is not normal. Not in any way,Two other passage from Mein Kampf. questioning the data and asking when we can start getting back This is all to Americans, a proved vaccines we new rely on every President Joe Biden said that Monday, simply the bi-partisan approved temporary highDr. school senior named d remainhoax vigilant and stay safe, at includinger’s COVID-19tovaccine approval. I think lotpeople of In Concord, papers were published, do, public last I confi- tofornormal as though they are conspiracy theorists oraare who day,” asaid shape, or form. So while weTanne shoul Jesse Goodman of those who hesitated to get potentially boosting North Carolina Film and “Rape and Queer Performativity a 3-D printer andwe plastic to make fa mfortable withCulture this so-called “new sacrifices are sick. if they what get themselves or others the same time get co businesses have been money to buy Georgetown University, ashouldn’t former the vaccinedon’t untilcare it received dence in the shots and instantly otherwise checked. Entertainment Grant. With at Urban Dog Parks.” This paper’s subject health care workers out of his own home. FDA vaccine chief. That should dubbed the “gold standard” opening the way for more univer- heSince when did questioning government at all normal.” over.for waiting it.”levels become a bad was dog-on-dog rape.on But the dog rape a strong emphasis help “anyone wholittle still bit. has conof FDA approval, “the moment sities, companies and local gov- thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed Not one paper forced Boghossian, serieseventually productions, cerns gain confidence” in the you’ve been waiting for is here.” ernments to make vaccinations to do, last I checked. Pluckrose and Lindsay to prematurely out recruiting efforts focus shots. “Please get vaccinated today,” Dr. Carlos del Rio, mandatory. under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah My first concern as we go along in all this, of course, is my family. I’m Stacey Matthews has also written themselves. A Wall Street Journal writer Earlier this month, Defense The Pentagon promptly an- he said. on project budget and the Emoryand University dState and Insurrection. hadLegal figured out what they were doing. worried catching the virus, I’m worried I will. After Secretary and Lloyd is a regular to Re Austincontributor said he Pfizerabout CEOthem Albert Bourla nounced it will press ahead with story’s setting that are the Some papers accepted for publication suffering from theaction H1N1 “an virus (swine flu) during the 2009 pandemic,would seek the president’s OK to called the FDA’s implans to force members of the best fit for the state.advocated training in academic journals been milestone trying to take precautions, of this brings make the vaccine mandatory by the FDAbecause for fullall approval of its up portant thatextra I think military to get vaccinated amid I’ve “Our messagewhite male men likeconsistent dogs and punishing mid-September or once the FDA vaccine. Johnson & Johnson, will too unlock some of theof more the battle against the extra-con- way many memories a painful experience I’ d prefer not to repeat. college students for historical slavery by of a strong workforce maker of the third option in the minds.” tagious delta variant. The Uni- skeptical But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone hasgrants final approval, whichevasking them toasit in silence in coupled with stable and on the floor Pfizer said the U.S. is the first U.S., said it hopes to do so later er comes first. On Monday, after versity of Minnesota likewise chains class and to has be expected to reliableduring rebate program the FDA acted, the Pentagon said said it will require its students country to grant full approval of this year. learn from the discomfort. Other papers Just over half of the U.S. pop- guidance on vaccinations will be get the shot, as did Louisiana’s its vaccine, in a process that rebeen heard loud and clear celebrated morbid obesity as a healthy life major public universities, includ- quired a 360,000-page applica- ulation is fully vaccinated. Vacci- worked out and a timeline will be by production executives choice and advocated treating privately ing LSU, though state law there tion and rigorous inspections. nations in this country bottomed provided in the coming days. and has resulted in these conducted masturbation as a form of The approval also opened the Never before has the FDA has so out in July at an average of about allows broad exemptions. economic developments sexual violence against women. Typically, More than 200 million Pfizer much evidence to judge a shot’s a half-million shots per day, way for swift action by colleges academic journalCarolina,” editors send submitted wins for North down from a peak of 3.4 million to require vaccines and solidified doses have been administered in safety. papers refereesdirector for review. In addedout GuytoGaster, The formula, jointly devel- a day in mid-April. As the delta the legal ground for hundreds of the U.S. under emergency provirecommending acceptance of the North Carolina Filmfor publication, sions — and hundreds of millions oped with Germany’s BioNTech, variant fills hospital beds, shots universities that have already ismany reviewers gave these papers glowing more worldwide — since Decem- will be marketed under the brand are on the rise again, with a mil- sued mandates for students and Office which is housed praise. lion a day given Thursday, Friday ber. In going a step further and name Comirnaty. within the Economic Political scientist Zach Goldberg ran See PFIZER, page B6 Moderna has also applied to and Saturday. granting full approval, the Food Development Partnership certain grievance studies concepts through of North Carolina and leads the Lexis/Nexis database, to see how often they appeared in our press over the years. the state’s recruiting efforts He found huge increases the usages in conjunction with the in N.C. of “white privilege,” “unconscious bias,” Department of Commerce. “critical race theory” and “whiteness.” “The pandemic has All of this is being taught to college taught a lotof - including students,usmany whom become primary that people demand more who then and secondary school teachers joined most Democrats attending untary tax from people already plier licenses for these operators. By Gary D. Robertson content to watch. Thepeople. TV & indoctrinate our young The state would collect 8% of Thursday’s floor session in approv- taking place in that market,” said The Associated Press I doubt whether the coronavirusFilm industries are looking Sen. Jim Perry, a Lenoir County an operator’s gross revenues. Half ing the measure 26-19. caused crunch willtogive college for newfinancial places and ways Social conservatives have re- Republican and bill sponsor. “We of the proceeds would go to a speRALEIGH — Sports gambling and university administrators, a supply that demand. The who are would be authorized across North mained opposed to putting the know they’re already spending cial fund to attract sporting events crossbreed between a parrot and jellyfish, Carolina, with up to a dozen en- state’s imprimatur on wagering. — choosing to spend their mon- and attractions to the state. Most numbers don’t lie - North the guts and backbone to restore academic tities licensed to offer online and But bill supporters say such gam- ey that way. And I believe I owe it of the rest of the money would Carolina is a desirable respectability. Far too often, they get much in-person betting, in legislation bling is already happening, with to the people I represent to try to head to the state’s regular coffers. place for the Film & TV of their political support from campus Licensees could offer betting as approved by Thursday by the state players using online apps to offer find alternative means to meet the production to dowho business,” grievance people are members of the soon as January on college, profesbets from out-of-state locations. needs of the community.” Senate. faculty and diversity and multicultural said Charlotte Councilman The legislation would direct the sional and some amateur sports, The bipartisan measure ad- And they say it’s better to reguadministrative and filmmakeroffices. Braxton vances to the House although a late it and collect revenues, which North Carolina Education Lottery including game outcomes and The best hope lies with boards of Winston. majority of Senate Republicans, could go to local needs like public commission to issue between 10 others not based on final scores.

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trustees, though many serve as yes-men who control the chamber, voted for the university president. I think that a against the bill. Nine Republicans good start would be to find 1950s or 1960s catalogs. Look at the course offerings at a time when college graduates knew how to read, write and compute, and make them today’s curricula. Another helpful tool would be to give careful consideration to eliminating all classes/majors/minors containing the word “studies,” such as women, Asian, black or queer studies. I’d bet that by restoring the traditional academic mission to colleges, they would put a serious dent into the COVID-19 budget shortfall. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

education, from the activity. “I look at this as more of a vol-

and 12 interactive sports wagering operator licenses, along with sup-

See GAMBLING, page B6

The Volvo XC60 is just right, B8

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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ncdot CASH REPORT For the week ending 8/20 Total Cash & Bond Proceeds:

$2,467,201,103 Add Receipts:

$77,197,990 Less Disbursements:

$112,891,455 Reserved Cash:

$547,848,526 Unreserved Cash Balance Total:

$5,310,816,975 Disaster Aid Reimbursement:

$0

GAMBLING from page B5 The operators could also set up an in-person betting location within or near a professional sports arena or where a pro golf event is held annually. The legislature’s fiscal staff, looking at one version of the bill, estimated the combined annual total collected could range from $8 million to $24 million. Sen. Jim Burgin, a Harnett County Republican, voted against the bill. It “produces very little money and it targets young people,” he said before Wednesday’s preliminary floor vote. North Carolina Family Policy Council Executive Director John Rustin said Thursday that the bill would mark a major expansion of state-sanctioned gambling that will create more problem gamblers, which in turn harms families. He spoke against the bill in Senate committees. The population will be “overcome with advertisements and promotions that are pushing, pushing, pushing gambling on our citizenry,” Rustin said. An amendment approved Wednesday would put aside $1 million toward addressing gambling addiction. Perry said he expected House supporters of the bill would seek to raise the 8% tax rate to bring in more revenues. He said he also will continue to advocate for ensuring proceeds benefit K-12 school construction. As for whether enough House will like the Senate’s measure, he quipped: “I’m not going to bet on the outcome.” It’s unusual for Senate Republican leaders to advance a measure to the floor for a vote that doesn’t have the support of a majority of GOP colleagues. Senate leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County, who was among the Republicans voting for the bill, said after Thursday’s vote that the sports wagering bill had been discussed for a while, and “I felt like it was important for us to go ahead and allow the chamber to work its will.” At least 20 states and the District of Columbia offer sports betting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Interest took off after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opened on-site betting operations at its two far western north Carolina casinos in March. Legislation was approved in 2019 authorizing such betting at the casinos.

PFIZER from page B5 staff. The public university systems in Louisiana and Minnesota had been waiting for FDA action before making vaccinations mandatory. Louisiana has become a COVID-19 hot spot, repeatedly breaking records for the number of people hospitalized with the virus. But certain other states forbid universities to require shots, including Texas and Florida. “Mandating becomes much easier when you have full approval,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio of Emory University. “I think a lot of businesses have been waiting for it.” On the same day the FDA decision came down, New York City

Raleigh business gets a helping hand from Carolina Panthers By Shawn Krest North State Journal AUGUST is a month filled with hard work, sweat and anxiety for players trying to make the Carolina Panthers during NFL training camp. Those three things come in the other 11 months of the year for owners of small businesses, trying to keep afloat during hard times, and, with the pandemic upending things for the last two years, times are hard indeed. The Panthers decided to help make things a little easier for a group of small businesses around the state, including the family-owned Raleigh Durham Rubber & Gasket. Housed in a small brick building in North Raleigh, RDR&G knows a little something about fighting to make it. The owner, Judy Hooks, left her job as a pharmacist to take over the business started by her husband in 1979 after he died suddenly and unexpectedly. She’s continued to keep the business afloat, even if it meant going without certain things for herself. In fact, earlier this year, she finally splurged and bought a new desk chair, after using the same one for the last 25 years. She’s also been stretching the technology budget, keeping around the same computers for as long as possible. “I think we’ve still got one on the (factory) floor that’s running Windows 7,” she said. “We need a big computer update. Every computer in here is past its prime, I would think. … We’ve always had plans to do that,

SHAWN KREST | AP PHOTO

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but, you know, things happen. We’re trying to keep employees working and getting paid instead “We’re trying to keep of equipment.” employees working and Cue the Carolina Panthers. In addition to getting their play- getting paid instead of ers ready for the season, the Pan- equipment. thers are reaching out a helping hand to businesses. They’ve partnered with Lenovo for the Evolve Judy Hooks, owner of RDR&G Small campaign. Fans were given a chance to nominate a local business that could use a boost. Out brand new Think Book laptop to of over 300 submissions, Raleigh start the move to new technology. “I just want to thank my emDurham Rubber and Gasket was chosen as one of 10 finalists after ployees,” Hooks said, while holdbeing nominated by Hooks’ em- ing the giant check. “Oh my goodness, they have done a tremendous ployees. Former Panthers offensive line- job through all this. It’s not been a man Kevin Donnalley arrived at usual year, but they have worked RDR&G last week to deliver the so hard to make things work, and, good news, along with an over- you know, supplies are hard to get, sized check for $5,000 that can be trying to get them in and help our used to upgrade RDR&G’s com- customers out when they’re in a puters. As a preview of what’s to bind. This is just remarkable. I’ve come, Hooks was also given a got the check in my hand, but my

Existing home sales rose in July, inventory ticked higher By Alexa Veiga The Associated Press SALES of previously occupied U.S. homes rose for the second consecutive month in July, though only modestly from a year ago, suggesting the red-hot housing market may be cooling a little. Existing homes sales rose 2% last month from June to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. That’s greater than the 5.82 mil-

lion economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Sales rose only 1.5% from July last year. By comparison, sales in June jumped about 23% from a year earlier, when many states were still in a pandemic lockdown. “Sales are still running above pre-pandemic conditions, but appear to be settling down,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. The median U.S. home price climbed 17.8% from a year ago to $359,900, near the all-time high it

set in June, NAR said. That annual gain was more modest than the 20%-25% year-over-year increases seen earlier this year. “Clearly, the home price growth is moderating,” Yun said. Sales of homes above $500,000 rose last month while those below that tier fell, helped skew the median price higher. Would-be homebuyers who have been trying to navigate the most competitive market in more than a decade had perhaps a wider selection to consider at the end of July, when the inventory of unsold homes stood at 1.32 million. That’s an increase of 7.3% from June, but it’s still down 12% from July last year. At the current sales pace, the unsold inventory amounts to a 2.6-month supply, the NAR said. With so few homes up for sale, it has become routine for anyone putting a house on the market to receive multiple offers that exceed the asking price, and many sell

employees, deserve all the credit for making this year, and making this business grow.” She’ll get the chance to thank some of them, because the finalist package came with tickets to a suite at the Panthers’ final home preseason game, against the Steelers. Hooks and her employees will watch the game with Donnalley and the other nine finalists, then be escorted to the field at halftime, where the grand prize winner will be announced—and given a regular-season advertising package with the Panthers worth $100,000. Donnalley, who has traveled the state handing out checks to finalists, would be thrilled to hand an even bigger check to Hooks. “Listen I grew up in the Raleigh area really just a few miles down the road, and so, when I see a business that’s here in the Triangle area that’s worked in the community for 42 years, and they’ve really kind of carried the load during COVID, with everything going on, staying open six days a week and trying to help their customers,” he said. “Everybody loves the employees here and what they do for them and their businesses that they struggle to keep theirs afloat. I couldn’t be more thrilled to represent the Carolina Panthers and Lenovo and just come out here and thank this this wonderful lady for all her service that she’s done in the community.” “It’s just great when you hear the things are submitted by employees,” Donnalley continued. “When you have employees that love you so much that they’re willing to take time out of their day to really kind of hammer home all the fine qualities of the of the lady that they work for, you know that Judy Hooks really deserves this thing. So I’m glad to be able to be a part of it, I mean, who doesn’t like delivering a big, huge check to somebody, plus a computer from Lenovo and also the tickets to the game.”

within days. In July, homes typically remained on the market 17 days before getting snapped up. That’s unchanged from June, but down from 22 days in July 2020. “I expect we’ll have more inventory in upcoming months,” Yun said. First-time homebuyers made up 30% of all transactions last month, down from 31% in June and 34% a year ago. These buyers have to contend with fewer homes for sale in the more affordable end of the market and competition from all-cash buyers, often investors. Some 23% of homes sold in July were paid for with cash, unchanged from June and up from 16% in July last year. Still, first-time buyers continue to benefit from ultra-low mortgage rates. The average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage eased last week to 2.86%, according to Freddie Mac. The benchmark rate, which reached a peak this year of 3.18% in April, stood at 2.99% a year ago. In this Sept. 29, 2020, file photo, a sale pending sign is displayed outside a residential home for sale.

CHARLES KRUPA | AP PHOTO

announced that all public school teachers and other staffers will have to get vaccinated. The delta variant has sent cases, deaths and hospitalizations soaring in recent weeks in the U.S., erasing months of progress. Deaths are running at about 1,000 a day on average for the first time since mid-March, and new cases are averaging 147,000 a day, a level last seen at the end of January. The FDA, like regulators in Europe and much of the rest of the world, initially allowed emergency use of Pfizer’s vaccine based on a study that tracked 44,000 people 16 and older for at least two months — the time period when serious side effects typically arise. That’s shorter than the six

months of safety data normally required for full approval. So Pfizer kept that study going, and the FDA also examined real-world safety evidence. Pfizer’s shot will continue to be dispensed to 12- to 15-year-olds under an emergency use authorization, until the company files its application for full approval. Normally, doctors can prescribe FDA-approved products for other reasons than their original use. But FDA’s acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock strongly warned that the Pfizer vaccine should not be used “off-label” for children under 12 — a warning echoed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Both Pfizer and Moderna have vaccine studies underway in youngsters, and they are using

lower doses than those available for people 12 and older. Pfizer’s Bourla said he expects study results from 5- to 11-yearolds by the end of September, but data for those younger than 5 will take a couple of months. Also, Woodcock said health providers are offering COVID-19 vaccines under agreements with the government that should preclude using Monday’s approval as a pretext for offering booster shots to the general population. Currently, the FDA has authorized third doses of either Pfizer’s or Moderna’s vaccine only for certain people with severely weakened immune systems, such as organ transplant recipients. For everyone else, the Biden administration is planning for boosters starting in the fall. But

the FDA is evaluating that question separately. In reaching Monday’s decision, the FDA said serious side effects remain very rare, such as chest pain and heart inflammation a few days after the second dose, mostly in young men. As for effectiveness, six months into Pfizer’s original study, the vaccine remained 97% protective against severe COVID-19. Protection against milder infection waned slightly, from a peak of 96% two months after the second dose to 84% by six months. Those findings came before the delta variant began spreading, but other data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the vaccine is still doing a good job preventing severe disease.

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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NICK OTTO | AP PHOTO

In his Aug. 10, 2021, file photo, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks regarding the Emergency Rental Assistance program in San Francisco.

Moderates bring House to standstill in Biden budget clash The Associated Press WASHINGTON. D.C. — Confronting moderates, House Democratic leaders tried to muscle President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint over a key hurdle, working overnight to ease an intraparty showdown that risks upending their domestic infrastructure agenda. Tensions flared and spilled into early Tuesday as a band of moderate lawmakers threatened to withhold their votes for the $3.5 trillion plan. They were demanding the House first approve a $1 trillion package of road, power grid, broadband and other infrastructure projects that’s already passed the Senate. Despite hours of negotiations at the Capitol, the House chamber came to a standstill and plans were thrown into flux late Monday, as leaders and lawmakers huddled privately to broker an agreement. Shortly after midnight, leaders announced no further votes would be taken until Tuesday’s session. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi implored Democrats during a private caucus not to bog down and miss this chance to deliver on the promises Biden and the party have

made to Americans. “Right now, we have an opportunity to pass something so substantial for our country, so transformative we haven’t seen anything like it,” Pelosi said, according to a person who requested anonymity to disclose the private comments. Pelosi told them it was “unfortunate” they were discussing the process when they should be debating the policy. “We cannot squander this majority and this Democratic White House by not passing what we need to do,” she said. With Republicans fully opposed to the president’s big plans, the Democratic leaders were trying to engineer a way out of a potentially devastating standoff between the party’s moderate and progressive wings that risks Biden’s agenda. Pelosi’s leadership sought to sidestep the issue by persuading lawmakers to take a procedural vote to simply start the process and save the policy fight for the months ahead, when they will be crafting and debating details within the full $3.5 trillion budget proposal. But it soon became clear that moderates were not on board and as soon as one meeting broke, a series of other private sessions were convened with them for further

discussion, including in Pelosi’s office. At one point, bags of takeout food were delivered nearby. What had been a night of scheduled votes came to an unexpected standstill. Challenging their party’s most powerful leaders, nine moderate Democrats signed onto a letter late last week raising their objections to pushing ahead with Biden’s broader infrastructure proposal without first considering the smaller public works plan that has already passed the Senate. Other moderates raised similar concerns in recent days. “I’m bewildered by my party’s misguided strategy to make passage of the popular, already-written, bipartisan infrastructure bill contingent upon passage of the contentious, yet-to-be-written, partisan reconciliation bill,” wrote Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a leader of the centrist Blue Dog caucus, in the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s bad policy and, yes, bad politics.” In the narrowly divided House, every vote matters and a few dissenters could conceivably end the Democratic majority’s hopes for passing any proposal. With most of Biden’s domestic agenda at stake, it’s unimaginable that Pelosi, D-Calif., would allow

an embarrassing defeat. That’s especially true because the package is stocked with priorities like child care, paid family leave and a Medicare expansion that are hardfought party goals. It also comes as the president is already under criticism over his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The $3.5 trillion budget resolution will set the stage this fall for further legislation to fill in that blueprint, and committees are already fast at work drafting how that money would be spent on the social safety net, environment and other programs over the next decade. The budget measure is at the heart of Biden’s “Build Back Better” vision for helping families and combating climate change and is progressives’ top priority, all of it largely financed with tax increases on the rich and big business. Progressives signaled early on they wanted the Biden budget priorities first before they agree to the smaller package, worried it would be an insufficient down-payment on his goals. But the moderates want the opposite, insisting Congress quickly send the smaller, bipartisan infrastructure measure to Biden

so he can sign it before the political winds shift. That would nail down a victory they could point to in their reelection campaigns next year. So far, the White House has backed Pelosi as she led her party in a tightly scripted strategy that aims to keep moderate and progressive lawmakers on board, setting a goal of passing both bills by Oct. 1. Progressives are criticizing their colleagues, warning they are jamming Biden’s plans. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said the budget “isn’t a political pawn. It’s an opportunity to deliver on our agenda.” She said in a statement, “We are not here to play politics with people’s lives — we are here to pass transformative policies.” Republicans said the $3.5 trillion effort that Democrats are seeking to advance fails to address “the crisis that American families are facing” and would lead to higher inflation and deficits. “The inflation crisis, the border crisis, the energy crisis, the Afghanistan crisis — this budget only makes it worse,” said Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, top Republican on the House Budget Committee.

Senators question FDA on work with opioid maker consultant The Associated Press SEVERAL U.S. senators are questioning the Food and Drug Administration’s work with a consulting firm that helped businesses sell prescription painkillers during the nation’s overdose crisis. Democrat Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, among others, have asked the FDA about potential conflicts of interest in its work with McKinsey and Co. The senators sent a letter Monday to the FDA noting that the agency paid McKinsey more than $140 million after hiring it several times starting in 2008. While helping the government, McKinsey “also worked for a wide range of actors in the opioid industry, including many of the companies that played a pivotal role in fueling the opioid epidemic that our country now faces,” the letter said. An FDA representative said the agency has received the letter and would respond directly to the senators. Earlier this year, McKinsey agreed to almost $600 million in settlements with nearly every state and five U.S. territories over its work with drugmakers on prescription opioid sales. Opioids, which also include illegal substances like heroin, have been linked to almost a half million deaths in the U.S. since 2000, a problem that has deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under its contracts with the FDA, McKinsey worked with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the agency’s main division for approving prescription opioids and other drugs, the letter states. While working with the FDA,

TOBY TALBOT | AP PHOTO

This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy. McKinsey also advised opioid manufacturers on avoiding oversight from the regulator, according to the letter. The consultant advised Purdue Pharma on how to soften an FDA drug safety program that required companies to communicate risks to patients, care providers and pharmacists. The senators noted that the final program announced in 2012, “was largely devoid of the restric-

tions the FDA had initially proposed.” The senators asked the FDA to answer several questions and provide documents by Sept. 20. They want to know how the agency checks for conflicts of interest and what its current relationship is with McKinsey. They also asked what disclosures McKinsey made to the agency about potential conflicts

and when the FDA became aware that McKinsey’s clients included “several major opioid distributors and retailers.” Four Democratic senators joined Hassan and Grassley in signing the letter. They include West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, Rhode Island’s Sheldon Whitehouse and Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey.

“[McKinsey] also worked for a wide range of actors in the opioid industry, including many of the companies that played a pivotal role in fueling the opioid epidemic that our country now faces.” Letter from senators to FDA

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North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

2021 Volvo XC60 T8

Nearly flawless One of my all-time favorites By Jordan Golson North State Journal SAN DIEGO — The new Volvo is more than a decade old now. Sold off by Ford in 2010, the storied Swedish carmaker was picked up by Chinese car giant Geely. Given new life and a new bank account, Volvo set about designing an entirely new lineup of cars for the next decade and beyond. Core to the new Volvo was Vision 2020, a goal that no one would be killed or seriously injured in a Volvo released after 2020. It’s a wildly lofty goal, but a good one. Some 40,000 people are killed every year in traffic crashes (I don’t call them accidents as humans are nearly always at fault), and we should be doing everything we can to minimize that. Volvo is unique among car brands in having a crash research center in Sweden that sends researchers to every significant crash in Sweden involving a Volvo and even many non-Volvo incidents. The company has data on countless impacts and has designed safety features to address rarer and more unusual collisions. For example, while Volvo (and most) cars are designed to handle front- or side-impact crashes, company researchers found that a significant number of spinal cord injuries were happening when a car left the road and went into a ditch alongside the pavement. But it wasn’t a collision or the ditch that caused the injury. Instead, it was the vehicle jumping out of the ditch at a high rate of speed, getting airborne, and landing again that caused the issue. Specifically, the vertical impact of the landing caused spinal cord issues, and neither seat belts nor airbags would protect against it. So Volvo designed a special crumple zone in the brackets that attach the front seats to the car. In the event of this obscure but real crash scenario, those crumple zones give way and cushion the blow to sensitive spines. You’ll probably never have a crash like that. Still, I like the idea of a car company that cares about safety so much that they’ll go out and find new crash scenarios to design for instead of waiting for government regulators or insurance companies to do it for them. This brings us to my test car this week, a fully loaded Volvo

XC60 T8 Inscription. That means it’s a compact SUV featuring the luxury-focused Inscription trim and a plug-in hybrid powertrain. That’s the T8 part, and I’ve written about it before. Volvo’s all-electric range isn’t the best, but it is competitive with many luxury plug-in kin, going about 20 miles. But 20 miles is within the daily driving range of many a suburbanite, and it’s good enough to help improve fuel economy and get you a small tax break for buying a car with a big battery. My XC60 priced out to $71,340, which is a lot. But this is a very zippy SUV with 400 horsepower and 472 lb-ft of torque, in the same ballpark - both speed and price-wise - as the fast SUVs from BMW and Audi. You can save almost $20,000 if you strip off some of the lux features and get rid of the fancy electric powertrain. But the XC60 is such a nice place to be. The heated and ventilated front seats are outrageously comfortable. Volvo is one of the only car brands to employ an orthopedic doctor to help with seat designs, and you can feel the difference, especially on long drives. The power-adjustable thigh bolster (available on other cars, to be fair) is especially lovely. The $3,200 Bowers & Wilkins sound system is exquisite as always. While not strictly necessary (the base is a lovely system from Harmon Kardon), the B&W stereo is one of the best you’ll find in a car - and it can replicate the acoustics of Volvo’s hometown opera house in Gothenburg. It’s a neat trick to show your friends, even if you’ve never been to Sweden. The $1,800 adjustable air suspension is another unnecessary splurge. Still, given how firm Volvo suspensions are (they’re designed for buttery smooth Swedish roads), the improved ride on our crap American streets might be well worth it. And, if you’re spending this much, it makes sense to get the best. I recommend the Volvo XC60 to many people when they ask me what kind of car to buy. It’s a good size, especially if you don’t have kids. It’s not overly decadent for a luxury car, and everything on it is practical and well thought out. If you want bigger or smaller, Volvo offers that in the XC40 or XC90. But I’m with Goldilocks: the Volvo XC60 is just right.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VOLVO

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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features Pandemic fiction: Fall books include stories of the virus The Associated Press NEW YORK — Near the end of 2020, the pandemic had lasted long enough for author Jodi Picoult to try something that seemed unthinkable for novelists in its early stages — turn it into fiction. “At the beginning of the pandemic, I couldn’t even read, much less write. I didn’t have the focus,” says Picoult, who last November began the novel “Wish You Were Here.” The fall release is set in New York and the Galapagos during the first two months of the pandemic, MarchMay of last year. “I couldn’t find myself in my own life; writing the book was therapeutic,” she added. “I finished a draft in February, very quickly. And the whole time it was going on, I was talking to friends of mine, telling them, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work.’ But I had very positive responses and feel that, unlike almost any other topic, I have written a book about this one experience that everyone on the planet has lived through.” From wars to plagues to the Sept. 11 attacks, the literary response to historic tragedies has been a process of absorbing trauma — often beginning with poetry and nonfiction and, after months or years, expanding to narrative fiction. The pandemic has now lasted into a second fall season for publishing, and a growing number of authors, among them Picoult, Louise Erdrich, Gary Shteyngart and Hilma Wolitzer, have worked it into their latest books. Shtyengart’s “Our Country Friends” features eight friends who gather in a remote house as the virus spreads, a storyline for which he drew upon Chekhov and other Russian writers, and upon Boccaccio’s 14th century classic “The Decameron.” Amitava Kumar’s “A Time Outside This Time” tells of an Indian-American author working at an artists retreat and trying to make sense of President Donald Trump, 24hour media and an equally relentless virus. Kumar began the book before the pandemic, but found it fit well — too well — into an existing wave of misinformation, “fake news,” reaching from the U.S. to his native India. “The Indian Prime Minister was asking people to bang their plates and pots at a certain hour; people in his conservative party

were touting the powers of cow dung and cow urine,” he says. “A minister of health said that the rays of the sun would build immunity. So, I was thinking, what exactly is the work a novel can do in the time of the novel coronavirus? “I’m telling you all this because I wasn’t at all in doubt about mentioning the pandemic — I didn’t think it could be avoided.” Erdrich’s “The Sentence,” her first since the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Night Watchman,” centers on a Minneapolis bookstore in 2020 and the city’s multiple crises, from the pandemic to the murder of George Floyd. Like Kumar, Erdrich had the original idea — a haunted bookstore — well before the virus spread. “By the end, I realized that although we might want to forget parts of 2020, we should not forget,” she wrote in a recent email. “Obviously, we can’t forget. We have to use what we learned.” Wolitzer’s “The Great Escape” is a new story in her collection “Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket,” which includes a foreword by “Olive Kitteridge” author Elizabeth Strout. “The Great Escape” is the first work of short fiction in years by Wolitzer, known for such novels as “The Doctor’s Daughter” and “An Available Man.” The 91year old author lost her husband to the virus, and drew upon her grief as she updated characters from previous stories, the married couple Howard and Paulette. “I found it cathartic,” Wolitzer says. “I wrote it in a week and I couldn’t stop writing about it. The images about what had happened to us kept coming up and I felt like I had to use them.” MEMOIRS Muldoon also assisted on one of the fall’s most anticipated memoirs: Paul McCartney’s “The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present,” a $79 double volume which the Irish poet helped edit. Hillary Clinton’s longtime aide and former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s estranged wife, Huma Abedin, has written “Both/And,” and #MeToo pioneer Tarana Burke tells her story in “Unbound.” Others with memoirs coming include Katie Couric, Jamie Foxx, James Ivory, Steve Van Zandt, Dave Grohl, Rob-

bie Krieger and two basketball greats, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. POLITICS Summer bestseller lists included such Trump-related works as “I Alone Can Fix It,” and this fall will test the continued appeal of stories about the former president, with new work coming from Bob Woodward and Washington Post colleague Robert Costa (“Peril”), and from ABC News correspondent Jon Karl (“Betrayal”). Former national security official Fiona Hill, a key witness during Trump’s first impeachment trial, for pressuring Ukraine leaders to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden, tells her story in “There Is Nothing for You Here.” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s “Republican Rescue” is a review of the more controversial ideas espoused some in his party, including that the election was stolen from Trump. Mollie Hemingway’s “Rigged” contends that “the Democrats, Big Tech, and the media built a machine to ensure that a Trump victory was impossible,” according to Regnery Publishing. One political genre is largely absent: Books by the opposition to a sitting president, a lucrative business during several previous administrations. Conservative books have a large audience; right-wing commentator Mark R. Levin’s “American Marxism” has sold hundreds of thousands of copies this summer. But publishers and booksellers struggled to name any upcoming works centered on criticism of President Biden. “The focus continues to be on Trump,” says Mark Laframboise, a buyer for the Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. Thomas Spence, publisher of the conservative Regnery Publishing, said his company had profited well from books about President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama, but was not even seeing proposals about Biden. “Conservatives don’t worry about him personally. They’re worried about the policies he’s pursuing,” Spence says. “And that is so different from the Clinton and Obama years when Regnery sold mountains of books criticizing both of those presidents.”

NETFLIX VIA AP

This combination photo shows promotional art for “Born For Business,” a series premiering on Peacock on Aug. 23, and “Clickbait,” a series premiering Aug. 25 on Netflix.

New this week: ‘Clickbait,’ Sturgill Simpson and Addison Rae The Associated Press HERE’S A COLLECTION curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIES — The pickings are a little slim for new streaming film options as August comes to a close, but there are a few fresh selections. For one, TikTok star Addison Rae (she has over 4.7 million YouTube subscribers) makes her acting debut in a remake of the 1999 Freddie Prinze Jr and Rachael Leigh Cook teen comedy “She’s All That,” which itself was loosely inspired by “Pygmalion.” But no, Rae is not playing an updated Laney Boggs. She’s the Freddie Prinze Jr. character because this version, called “He’s All That,” is gender-flipped. “He’s All That” hits Netflix on Aug. 27. — For something a little more adult and a little less covered in Gen Z influencers, Hulu has an R-rated comedy “Vacation Friends” coming Aug. 27 in which some chaotic party people played by John Cena and Meredith Hanger decide to crash the wedding of a couple (Lil Rel Howery and Yvonne Orji) they met on vacation Mexico and (asterisk)thought(asterisk) they bonded with. — Or for a more serious entry, the underrated Cold War thriller “The Courier” hits Amazon Prime Video on Friday. The film, based on a true story about a Soviet whistleblower (played Merab Ninidze) and the ordinary British businessman (Benedict Cumberbatch) recruited by intelligence agencies to pass information back and forth, got a little buried earlier this year in the Oscar leadup. The filmmakers take liberties with the story, which isn’t even really agreed upon by history books, but it’s still an exciting watch for anyone missing classic, adult-targeted espionage thrillers. MUSIC — Sturgill Simpson knows how to do a concept record. His latest, “The Ballad of Dood & Juanita,” proves once again he is a prodigious musical chameleon. It couldn’t be more different than his last album of original material, 2019’s fuzz rock, eardrum-blasting anime soundtrack “Sound & Fury.” In between he recorded a couple bluegrass records covering his own songs. “Dood & Juanita” has more in common with the two most recent records, both released in the past year, and even employs the same top-notch band. Willie Nelson takes a guest turn on the track “Juanita.” In his review, Scott Bauer said the album almost feels like a “radio serial from the 1940s.” — Here comes another listening session from Kanye West. This time, the 22-time Grammy winner is expected to unveil his 10th studio album “Donda” on Thursday at Soldier Field in Chicago. It’s the third time West will hold a listening session for his highly-anticipated album, which was named after his mother, Donda West, who died at the age of 58 in 2007. His first two massive sessions were both held in front of soldout crowds at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Several big names who attended include Rick Ross, Khloe Kardashian and his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian West, who showed up with their kids. TELEVISION

AP PHOTO

This combination of book cover images shows cover art for various upcoming releases.

— Looking for something to rouse you from the late summer doldrums? Trust “American Horror Story: Double Feature” to do the job. The two-part series opens in a beach town, where a dad with writer’s block, pregnant mom and their daughter have come expecting a quiet winter but are bound to be disappointed. Part two shifts to the desert, specifically Death Valley. Uh, oh. The FX series debuts 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday (Thursday on FX on Hulu) with Sarah Paulson, Frances Conroy and Macaulay Culkin part of the cast. — Want more angst? Try Netflix’s thriller “Clickbait,” in which an apparently ideal family man vanishes and then resurfaces, but not in a good way. An injured Nick (Adrian Grenier) is seen online holding a placard that says, “I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die.” A rescue effort by his sister (Zoe Kazan) and wife (Betty Gabriel) discovers what they didn’t know about Nick, as the drama promises to explore the gap between “our virtual and real-life personas.” The eight-episode series debuts Wednesday.

“Sturgill Simpson knows how to do a concept record. His latest, “The Ballad of Dood & Juanita,” proves once again he is a prodigious musical chameleon.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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NY theater leaders agree on a New Deal for Broadway The Associated Press NEW YORK — A wide Broadway coalition of theater owners, producers, union leaders, creators and casting directors have hammered out a series of reforms and commitments for the theater industry to ensure equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. The New Deal for Broadway emerged following a summit of industry leaders organized by Black Theatre United earlier this year. It outlines reforms that are shortterm — to be implemented prior to Broadway’s reopening this fall — and long-term over the next few years. “Just as we are all committed to create safe environments free from discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying, we are committed to create environments that are equitable, diverse, inclusive, accessible and in which everyone has a sense of belonging,” the document states. The focus is on Black theater members. The changes range from the abstract — “to push for more diversity” — to the specific, like that artists with visual disabilities be offered Braille audition materials and that the Shubert, Nederlander and Jujamcyn chains have at least one of their theaters named after a Black artist. (Jujamcyn already has the August Wilson Theatre). “We had meetings for six months with everyone in the industry and we pretty much formed this together. We knew what we wanted and what we wanted to change,” Tony Award-winner LaChanze and a founding member of Black Theatre United, told The Associated Press on Monday ahead of the document’s release. “This is the floor. This is not the ceiling. This is just the beginning for us. We’re hoping with this document that it will have a ripple effect throughout our industry for all other members of the community.”

MARY ALTAFFER | AP PHOTO

Protesters march past the Winter Garden Theatre in Times Square in New York on April 22, 2021, during a rally of theater workers demanding more inclusion for minorities and the disabled. Directors and authors have agreed to insist on diversity riders — to include members of underrepresented communities — in all new contracts they work on and “will never assemble an allwhite creative team on a production again.” Producers have agreed to widen the talent pool to more diverse candidates. One thing the groups all agree to is that they will each adopt “an EDIAB policy” — which stands for equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging — and post it on websites, theater lobbies and audition rooms, making it clear to everyone before rehears-

als begin and mandate its training. But what that exact policy will be is still to be determined by each group. “Each organization is going to create their own policy that we will be monitoring to make sure that they are in accordance to the New Deal,” said LaChanze. “We are not the ones writing out what the policy is going to be. We established guidelines for what it must include, but each company has to provide the exact language.” The New Deal for Broadway has been endorsed by many of Broadway’s biggest organizations and individuals, from the producers’

group The Broadway League to the labor organizations Actor’s Equity Association and MakeUp Artists and Hair Stylists Local 798. The biggest theater owners — the Nederlander Organization, Jujamcyn Theaters, Shubert Organization and Disney Theatrical Productions — are on board, as well as casting agencies like The Telsey Office and Tara Rubin Casting, plus playwrights like Lynn Nottage and Doug Wright, and composers like Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Jeanine Tesori. The unions have agreed to appoint a full-time Chief Diversi-

ty Officer. Casting agents have agreed to remove “stereotypical language.” And producers will “commit to hiring creative talent from historically excluded and underrepresented groups in our industry on every new creative team, regardless of the subject matter of the show.” Enforcement will be conducted by a committee consisting of Black Theatre United and members of each leading group that are signatories. Egregious violations could lead to parties being removed from the document, LaChanze said. Black Theatre United was formed in response to the wave of national unrest over racial injustice that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. It has hosted town halls on activism, bolstered census participation and developed mentorship programs for aspiring young Black theater artists. In addition to LaChanze, its founding members include Audra McDonald, Billy Porter, Norm Lewis and Vanessa Williams. Data from Broadway indicates vast inequities. According to the annual study, “The Visibility Report: Racial Representation on NYC Stages,” nearly 80% of Broadway and off-Broadway show writers were white as were 85.5% of directors during the 2017-18 season, the latest time frame analyzed. On stages, over 61% of all roles in New York City went to white actors, a rate double the population of white people in New York City. Data on designers is even more unbalanced: In the 2018-2019 theatrical season, 91% of Broadway design slots were filled with white designers. LaChanze said the killing of Floyd and last summer’s protests galvanized the industry to change. “Everyone wanted us to go back into the theater not the way we left it,” she said.

TAKE NOTICE

CABARRUS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION CABARRUS COUNTY 21SP183 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY THOMAS E. COOK, III AND MILAGROS B. COOK DATED JULY 27, 2015 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 11527 AT PAGE 82 IN THE CABARRUS COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority

17 SP 515 AMENDED 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 Jason O. Collet to Dale Fussell, Trustee(s), which was dated November 2, 2007 and recorded on November 5, 2007 in Book 07894 at Page 0108, 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 offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION CABARRUS COUNTY 21SP274 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY GLORIA A. BLOUNT DATED MAY 12, 2008 RECORDED IN BOOK 8247 AT PAGE 129 IN THE CABARRUS 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 the payment of the indebtedness thereby secured and failure to carry out and perform

CUMBERLAND AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 20 SP 652 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by James Smith and Gwendolyn Smith to Jeff Dunham, Trustee(s), dated the 10th day of June, 2006, and recorded in Book 7274, Page 038, and Re-recorded in Book 7342, Page 511, and Re-recorded in Book 7447, Page 830, and Additional Deed of Trust in Book 7247, Page 041, in Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the note thereby 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 Office of the Register of Deeds of Cumberland County, North Carolina

21 SP 387 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Stacie Duvall and David Duvall to Joel S. Jenkins, Jr., Trustee(s), which was dated September 4, 2008 and recorded on September 9, 2008 in Book 07980 at Page 0323 and rerecorded/modified/ corrected on September 29, 2008 in Book 07992, Page 0835, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual

contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 11:00AM on September 1, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Thomas E. Cook, III and Milagros B. Cook, dated July 27, 2015 to secure the original principal amount of $208,500.00, and recorded in Book 11527 at Page 82 of the Cabarrus County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified 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: 1 2 0 7 Berkshire Dr, Kannapolis, NC 28081 Tax Parcel ID: 56039159920000 Present Record Owners: The Estate of Thomas E. Cook, III And Being more commonly known as: 1207 Berkshire Dr, Kannapolis, NC 28081 The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are The Estate of Thomas E. Cook, III. The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered 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 officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either 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 offered 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 made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and assessments including but not limited to any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any re-sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing. SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If you are a tenant residing in the property, be advised that

an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon written notice to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. The date of this Notice is August 12, 2021. LLG Trustee LLC Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Parkway, Suite 400 Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 21-111488

and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on September 8, 2021 at 02:00 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, to wit: ALL THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF LAND SITUATED IN CABARRUS COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA AND MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEING LOTS NOS. 26, 27 AND 28 IN BLOCK 6 AS SHOWN ON THE MAP OF ROYAL OAKS, A MAP OF SAID PROPERTY BEING ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE REGISTER OF DEEDS FOR CABARRUS COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, IN MAP BOOK 5, PAGE 82. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 902 Virginia Street, Kannapolis, NC 28081. A cash deposit (no personal checks) of five percent

(5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. 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 Jason O. Collet.

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

but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 FAX: (910) 392-8587 File No.: 17-10728-FC01

the stipulation and agreements contained therein and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the indebtedness secured by said deed of trust, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 11:00 AM on September 10, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, situated in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Gloria A. Blount dated May 12, 2008 to secure the original principal amount of $168,743.00, and recorded in Book 8247 at Page 129 of the Cabarrus County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified 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: 385 Settlers Ridge Drive, Kannapolis, NC 28081 Tax Parcel ID: 5612499737

Present Record Owners: The Estate of Gloria A. Blount The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered 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 officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either 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 offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and assessments including but not limited to any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure, for paying, if any. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of

the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory upset period, all remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing. SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If you are a tenant residing in the property, be advised that an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon written notice to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the

mortgagor has not cured the default at the time notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. For additional information, please see Auction.com The date of this Notice is August 9, 2021.

and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on August 30, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of Lot 10, in a subdivision known as Recombination and Zero Lot Line Subdivision for Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity and the same being duly recorded in Book of Plats 116, Page 165, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 428 Vanstory Street, Fayetteville, North Carolina.

sale for up to one hour as provided in NCGS 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 NCGS 7A-308(a)(1). The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered 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 officers, 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 offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are 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 five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified 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 filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. 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, 2007, may after receiving the notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days but not more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in this notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE c/o Hutchens Law Firm LLP P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Case No: 1284471 (FC.FAY)

Property Address: 428 Street, Fayetteville, NC Parcel Identification No.: 0437-70-8204

Vanstory 28301

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the

and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on September 8, 2021 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:

EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

Said property is commonly known as 1141 Paddington Place, Fayetteville, NC 28314.

Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, 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 Stacie Duvall.

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

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,

Being all of Lot 37 in a subdivision known as KING’S MILL and the same being duly recorded in Book 56, Page 69, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b) (2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Grady I. Ingle, Attorney for the INGLE LAW FIRM, P.A. 9541 Julian Clark Ave., Ste202 Huntersville, NC 28078 (980)771-0717 File# 1326

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 FAX: (910) 392-8587 File No.: 20-02305-FC01

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

B11

TAKE NOTICE

CUMBERLAND 19 SP 741 AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Kaci H. Marcus to H. Terry Hutchens, Trustee(s), which was dated January 7, 2011 and recorded on January 13, 2011 in Book 08565 at Page 0659, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual

DAVIDSON IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION DAVIDSON COUNTY 21SP101 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY RAY ANTHONY PRESSLEY AND BARBARA JEAN PRESSLEY DATED JUNE 29, 2006 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 1711 AT PAGE 104 IN THE DAVIDSON 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

FORSYTH NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 21 SP 458 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Beatrice Patrick a/k/a Beatrice J. Patrick and Raymond Patrick a/k/a Raymond Patrick, Sr. (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Raymond Patrick, and Beatrice Patrick) to Carrie L. Hartsell, Trustee(s), dated June 1, 2006, and recorded in Book No. RE 2668, at Page 3122 in Forsyth 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 Office of the Register of Deeds Forsyth County, North Carolina

JOHNSTON 21 SP 163 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, JOHNSTON COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Jose R. Abaya and Aurora E. Abaya to NETCO, Inc., Trustee(s), which was dated October 19, 2015 and recorded on October 22, 2015 in Book 4672 at Page 366, Johnston 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

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 21 SP 182 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Polly Hinton Messer (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Polly Hinton Messer) to Andrew Valentine, Esquire, Trustee(s), dated January 19, 2007, and recorded in Book No. 3273, at Page 49 in Johnston 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 Office of the Register of Deeds Johnston County,NorthCarolinaandtheholderofthenoteevidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for

RANDOLPH IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION RANDOLPH COUNTY 19sp339 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY JAMES I. WENTZ AKA JAMES WENTZ DATED AUGUST 3, 2004 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 1880 AT PAGE 1623 IN THE RANDOLPH COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority

WAKE IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK 21 SP 952 NOTICE BY PUBLICATION OF A PETITION FOR PARTITION NORTH CAROLINA WAKE COUNTY

15 SP 2958 AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, WAKE COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Pamela K. Poynter to John C. Morisey Jr. and Steven R. Mull, Trustee(s), which was dated October 10, 2003 and recorded on October 10, 2003 in Book 010490 at Page 01963, Wake 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

GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION 15 CVS 16246 AMENDED NOTICE OF JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE SALE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF WAKE KODI ACQUISITIONS, LLC, vs.

Plaintiff,

Roosevelt Thomas; Nina Britt-Thomas; Frances White, as Substitute Trustee, Defendant(s). NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Jeremy B. Wilkins, Clerk of Court, Commissioner, pursuant to the Order/ Judgment entered in the above-captioned case on July

and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on September 8, 2021 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 No. 29, Section 1, Welmar Heights, according to a plat of the same duly recorded in Book of Plats 17, Page 47, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 1103 Martindale Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28304.

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

that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b) (2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 FAX: (910) 392-8587 File No.: 19-06676-FC01

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

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

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

because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 10:00AM on September 8, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Davidson County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Ray Anthony Pressley and Barbara Jean Pressley, dated June 29, 2006 to secure the original principal amount of $42,275.00, and recorded in Book 1711 at Page 104 of the Davidson County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified 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: 705 Tussey St, Lexington, NC 27292

Tax Parcel ID: 6735-01-28-8127 Present Record Owners: Barbara Jean Pressley And Being more commonly known as: 705 Tussey St, Lexington, NC 27292 The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Barbara Jean Pressley. The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered 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 officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either 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 offered 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 made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and

assessments including but not limited to any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any re-sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing. SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If you are a tenant residing in the property, be advised that an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon written notice

to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. The date of this Notice is August 3, 2021. LLG Trustee LLC Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Parkway, Suite 400 Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 21-111288

and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:15 PM on September 8, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Winston Salem in the County of Forsyth, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: All that certain property situated in the County of Forsyth and State of North Carolina, being more fully described in a deed dated 07/13/1999 and recorded 07/21/1999, among the land records of the County and State set forth above, in Deed Volume 2077 and Page 4547. Tax Map or Parcel ID No.: 3425A-043. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 2542 Wood Valley Road, Winston Salem, North Carolina. 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 offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered 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 officers, 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 offered 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 five percent (5%) of the

purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified 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 filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in 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, 2007, may after receiving the notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days but not more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in this notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE c/o Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 3897 - 13389

Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on August 31, 2021 at 12:00 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Johnston County, North Carolina, to wit:

Parcel Number: 15J08090F

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 Aurora E. Abaya.

Being all of Lot 3, Whitley Heights Subdivision as more particularly described by map recorded in Plat Book 53, Pages 284-285, Johnston County Registry. Being the same property or a portion of the same property conveyed to Jose R. Abaya and wife, Aurora E. Abaya by Instrument dated July 14, 2009 from Carol Grice Daniels (unmarried) filed on July 15, 2009 as Document Number 2009259537 and in Book 3732 at Page 329 in the Johnston County records. Commonly Cloverdale

known as: Drive, Clayton,

NC

104 27520

foreclosure sales, at 11:00 AM on August 31, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Clayton in the County of Johnston, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING known and designated as Lot 859, Glen Laurel, Phase 8D and 10A, as shown on plat recorded in Plat Book 53, Page 225, Johnston County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 709 Neuse Ridge Drive, Clayton, North Carolina. Parcel ID Number: 05I04027L 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 offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and

contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 10:00AM on September 2, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Randolph County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed James I. Wentz aka James Wentz, dated August 3, 2004 to secure the original principal amount of $136,000.00, and recorded in Book 1880 at Page 1623 of the Randolph County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified 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.

NOTICE BY PUBLICATION OF A PETITION FOR PARTITION ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims

and

3 BOYS CAPITAL, LLC, a NC limited liability company

CHATHAM CAPITAL GROUP, a NC limited liability company Petitioners, TRAVIS E. RICHARDSON; DEVONTE MORRIS COZART; ALEXIS DIAMOND COZART; TAQUAN MAURICE COZART; HEIRS OF RUSSELL BLAND whose identity or location are unknown; and any other HEIRS OF PAULETTE MIMMS whose Identity or location are unknown Respondents. To the unknown heirs of Paulette Mimms: A

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 104 Cloverdale Dr, Clayton, NC 27520.

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC

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

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

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 officers, 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 offered 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 five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified 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 filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in 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, 2007, may after receiving the notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by

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

1 0 9 2 2 Address of property: Randleman Rd, Randleman, NC 27317 Tax Parcel ID: 7758946778 James Present Record Owners: I. Wentz And Being more commonly known as: Randleman Rd, Randleman, NC 27317

10922

The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are James I. Wentz. The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered 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 officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either 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

against JAMES LACY TAYLOR, deceased, of Wake County, N.C. (2021-E-2725), are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before November 15, 2021, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent petition has been filed claiming that you have no right, title, or interest in the following property in Wake County, North Carolina, located on an easement leading to 0 Richardson Road, Apex, North Carolina (ID 0310486) and described as follows:

offered 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 made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and assessments including but not limited to any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any re-sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing. SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If

are asked to make immediate payment. This 25th day of August 2021. Alan S. Taylor, Administrator, c/o Lisa M. Schreiner, Stam Law Firm, PLLC, 510 W. Williams St., Apex, NC 27502. Maps 2003, Page 76. Together with an easement 30 feet in width shown on said Book of Maps. You must respond in writing to the address below by September 28, 2021 or your default will be entered and judgment rendered declaring that you have no right, title or interest in this property.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 FAX: (910) 392-8587 File No.: 21-03381-FC01

providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days but not more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in this notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE c/o Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 4706 - 17513

you are a tenant residing in the property, be advised that an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon written notice to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. The date of this Notice is July 30, 2021. Satterfield Legal, PLLC Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 16-084728

Parkway,

Suite

400

North State Journal: August 4, 11, 18 and 25, 202

Raleigh, NC 27622 Tel: 888-443-1446 Email: cameron@hemphillgelderlaw.com STAM LAW FIRM, PLLC S/ Paul Stam, Attorney P.O. Box Apex, NC Tel: Fax: Email: paulstam@stamlawfirm.com

for

Petitioner 1600 27502 919-642-8971 919-387-7329

BEING all of Tract 1 containing 10.0218 acres, more or less, as shown on a survey entitled “Recombination and Division Survey for Fred W. Richardson, Jr. and the R.F. Richardson Heirs dated 09/08/01 and revised 11/20/02, prepared by James L. Peacock, Professional Land Surveyor for M.M. Weeks Land Surveying and recorded on 1/16/03 in the office of the Wake County Register in Book of

This the 25th day of August, 2021. HEMPHILL GELDER. P.C. S/ Cameron Stanton Guardian Ad Litem for Unknown Heirs P.O. Box 31205

will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on September 8, 2021 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Wake County, North Carolina, to wit: Being all of Lot 22, Phase 2, of The Meadows at Eaglechase Subdivision, recorded in Map Book 1986, Page 716, Wake County Registry. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 5205 Heelands Court, Raleigh, NC 27610. A cash deposit (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset

bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. 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 Pamela Poynter. An Order for possession of the property may be issued

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

of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 FAX: (910) 392-8587 File No.: 15-20275-FC01

26, 2018 (“Order”), and by virtue of the appointment, power and authority contained in that Order, has been authorized and ordered to sell the property commonly known as 20 Lynn Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 (“Property”). Said Property is secured by the Deed of Trust executed by Roosevelt H. Thomas and Nina Britt Thomas, dated June 6, 1998 and recorded on June 11, 1998 in Book 8080 at Page 856 and rerecorded/modified/corrected on August 20, 2018 in Book 17218, Page 1596 of the Wake County, North Carolina Registry. The Property shall be sold together with improvements located thereon, towards satisfaction of the debt due by Roosevelt H. Thomas and Nina Britt Thomas, and secured by the lien against such property in favor of KODI ACQUISITIONS, LLC. The Commissioner will offer for sale to the highest bidder at a public auction 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 September 1, 2021 at 10:00 AM the following described real property (including all improvements thereon) located in Wake County, North Carolina and described as follows: ALL THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF LAND SITUATED IN THE CITY OF RALEIGH, RALEIGH TOWNSHIP, WAKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, AND MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:

BEING ALL OF LOT 6, BLOCK A, NORTH TRAIL SUBDIVISION, ACCORDING TO A MAP OF SAME, RECORDED IN BOOK OF MAPS 1971, VOLUME 1, PAGE 120, WAKE COUNTY REGISTRY. THIS CONVEYANCE IS MADE SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS RECORDED IN BOOK 2005, PAGE 125, WAKE COUNTY REGISTRY AND EASEMENTS OF RECORD AFFECTING SAID PROPERTY, INCLUDING AN EASEMENT TO CAROLINA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY RECORDED IN BOOK 4988, PAGE 449, WAKE COUNTY REGISTRY. The above described property will be sold, transferred and conveyed “AS IS, WHERE IS” subject to liens or encumbrances of record which are superior to such Deed of Trust, together with all unpaid taxes and assessments and any recorded releases. Neither the Commissioner nor the holder of the debt secured by such Deed of Trust, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Commissioner or the holder of the debt make any representation of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health, or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such conditions expressly are disclaimed. The Commissioner shall convey title to the property by

non-warranty deed, without any covenants or warranties, express or implied. An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 1-339.29 (c) in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the judge or clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current record owners of the property as reflected on the records of the WAKE COUNTY Register of Deeds’ office not more than ten (10) days prior to the date hereof are Roosevelt H. Thomas. A cash deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchasing price will be required at the time of the sale. Any successful bidder shall be required to tender the full balance of the

purchase price of bid in cash or certified check at the time the Commissioner tenders a deed for the Property or attempts to tender such deed, and should said successful bidder fail to pay the full balance purchase price of bid at that time, said bidder shall remain liable on said bid as provided for under North Carolina law. The sale will be reported to the court and will remain open for advance or upset bids for a period of ten (10) days as required by law. If the Commissioner is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the Commissioner. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the Commissioner, 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. JEREMY B. WILKINS, CLERK OF COURT, Commissioner 5431 Oleander Drive, Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 (910) 202-2800 Phone (888) 207-9353 Facsimile

B12

North State Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

pen & paper pursuits

sudoku

solutions From August 18, 2021

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 26 | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021 | RANDOLPHRECORD.COM

THE RANDOLPH COUNTY EDITION OF THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Randolph record

PJ WARD-BROWN | RANDOLPH RECORD

We all agree Randleman cheerleaders await the team’s arrival onto the field prior to Friday night’s season-opening game against visiting Asheboro. For Sports, see Page 5.

COUNTY NEWS RCC cancels live graduation ceremony A planned in-person graduation ceremony at Randolph Community College scheduled for Aug. 27 has been cancelled. The event was intended to celebrate students who completed degree programs in Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Summer 2021. The ceremony was optional for graduates. The school made the cancellation announcement Monday saying they based their decision on “new information.”

County COVID cases drop The number of weekly cases of COVID-19 in Randolph County dropped by 24% versus the prior week. According to CDC data, the county’s number of cases dropped from 426 to 322 between Aug. 15 and Aug. 22. Testing volume was up 12.6% during that same period, which includes testing for mandatory testing for travel or jobs. Four people were hospitalized during the 7-day period prior to Aug. 22. Over 38% of the county’s population over the age of 12 has been fully vaccinated with 65.9% of citizens over 65 years old being fully vaccinated.

State Senate approves sports betting Sports gambling would be authorized across N.C., with up to a dozen entities licensed to offer online and in-person betting, in legislation approved last week by the state Senate. The bipartisan measure advances to the House though a majority of Senate Republicans, who control the chamber, voted against the bill. Nine Republicans joined most Democrats attending Thursday’s floor session in approving the measure 2619. Four GOP senators, including Randolph County’s Sen. Dave Craven, had excused absences and did not vote on the measure.

Callicutt gets grand opportunity Asheboro native fulfills dream of playing at Grand Ole Opry

“It was everything I hoped for and more. The Grand Ole Opry is the pinnacle.”

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record ASHEBORO — It was a roundabout way, but the destination was what mattered for Trent Callicutt. He performed at the Grand Ole Opry. For a musician, Saturday night’s opportunity became a lifetime achievement in Nashville, Tenn. “It was everything I hoped for and more,” Callicutt said. “The Grand Ole Opry is the pinnacle. I was looking around and trying to take it all in.” The Asheboro native and Southwestern Randolph High School graduate played the banjo for Dailey & Vincent, an American bluegrass music group. Timing was on Callicutt’s side. He had connected with Dailey & Vincent, which has released nine albums, about possibly joining that group occasionally. The renowned group has been in need of a banjo player. Several times Dailey & Vin-

Trent Callicutt

COURTESY PHOTO

Trent Callicutt, right, performs on the Grand Ole Opry stage with Dailey & Vincent Saturday, August 21, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. cent and Callicutt tried to connect to strike tunes together, but the schedules didn’t mesh. Those conflicts kept arising, and even a recently-planned gig in Liberty fell through. Then last week Darrin Vincent reached out about 60 hours before the group was scheduled to take the stage in Nashville. From there, it all worked out. “I was just floored,” Callicutt said. “I went to never playing with them and then struck the first note for

them at the Grand Ole Opry.” Callicutt praised Vincent, Jamie Dailey and the group’s other musicians for making it a memorable experience. One of Callicutt’s inspirations in music was developed through his grandfather, A.J. Kendrick, who was a pastor. He has since passed away, but thoughts of him were prominent for Callicutt. The younger musician had “a moment of reflection” while in the building in Nashville. “He always

dreamed of doing that there,” he said of his grandfather. Callicutt, 32, has been playing banjo since age 12. His training, in part, came through lessons from Asheboro’s Tim Moon. Eventually, that led to opportunities to perform with traveling groups that went to Ireland and Canada. But Nashville had always been on his wish list, hoping to make it to the Grand Ole Opry. “It was a lifetime dream of mine to play professionally and maybe play the Grand Ole Opry,” he said. Dailey & Vincent played a threesong slot. It wasn’t exactly what Callicutt had rehearsed as the group made revisions pretty much on the fly. “Just kind of threw a curveball See CALLICUT, page 2

Concerns calmed about Asheboro water Annual changeover brings unusual volume of questions for city By Bob Sutton Randolph Record ASHEBORO – There has been plenty of curiosity about the status of City of Asheboro water during the past few weeks, but the good news is that there’s really no new news. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” said Bryan Lanier, manager for the city’s water treatment plant. The city’s annual month-long use of a pure chlorine treatment to help ensure a high level of disinfection in water mains concludes this week – with a return to the standard practices set for Aug. 30. For the other 11 months, a chloramines treatment is used. So there could have been a slight chlorine color or taste experienced by some customers during the past month, Lanier said. During this year’s 30-day period, there were more inquiries to the water department about the city’s water. “We’ve got the most questions about it than any other year,” Lanier said. “To me, (this process) is something so ordinary and normal.”

PHOTO BY TOM RAFTERY | CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Lanier said the switchover is an annual process in order to meet state requirements, something the city has done since 1997. He said the city also puts out a notice each year to remind water customers in case they notice a slight change during that time period. “We don’t know why (there have been more questions this year),” Lanier said. “It’s good that people are paying attention.” The chloramines treatment is a compound of chlorine and ammonia, resulting in little odor or taste, according to information from the city. Both treatment methods meet requirements set by the North Car-

olina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The city’s information points out that water users with special health concerns, such as those on kidney dialysis, should seek advice regarding drinking water from a medical professional. One reason for the uptick in questions could have stemmed from last month’s boil water advisory in Burlington, Lanier said. That situation, which came about because of what turned out to be an isolated E. coli contamination in one spigot, lasted a couple of days. That development received considerable attention at the time.

Randolph Record for Wednesday, July 21, 2021 Randolph Record for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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Randolph Record for Wednesday, July 7, 2021

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Apprenticeship Randolph honors Randolph RCCgraduates, pushes more Guidelag first signs 14students more as numbers MEETfor THE STAFF RANDOLPH COMMUNITY COLLEGE

PJ Ward-Brown Matt Lauren Frank Cory Who is “Editor?”

you. Your support throughout this Department of Labor. North State Journal staff By Bob Sutton enrollment before those classes start. whole sion, processthere’s has gotten us to of 915. At a celebratory dinner honorRandolph Record slightly fromhethe usual said there’s ef- That’s we are off today.” Hill said first eight graduates on Au-an where ASHEBORO — Apprentice- ing theWilliams number that enrollment. cit- the N.C. “There Zoo’s has never been a program wasranges createduptoto 1,000, 10, to 14 bolster new apprentices wereHe glad ship Randolph, a local initiative gustfort Williams said. ed the RCC Commitment ASHEBORO — Randolph Enrollmentannounced. give students an alternative pathBusiness and civicGrant, from local businesses, Annual Plant Sale better opportunity to attend Traditional enrollment numa program as a funding at Randolph Community way to successful career beyond joined thedesigned celebration. Community College, RandolphCol-leaders and not have to worry bers have flattened, but it’s the mechanism to fill the gap that’s lege isn’t likely toAsheboro bounce back a four-year university. “Thanks Harrington, Director County Schools and City to Chris 9am RCC — 3 pm high school students about how to pay for it.” not covered federal or state to aidyou,number pre-pandemic levels awayof Operations the eight of of us graduating at by Elastic Therapy Schools, celebrated its right inauguLocated in the Zoo’s Solar buried under student loans the dinner welcom- are notin ral class of graduates earlierpointing this Inc.,toopened programs designed for dual enstudents. despite a school official and have a college degree and attendance, notinga betmonth. rollment that has dropped, “Therein has never been out unprecedented financial in-ing everyone Pointe Shelters, the annual RCC president Dr. Robert great career.” every company represented at RCC Apprenticeship Randolph be- thatter “We’re just not seeing the level opportunity to attend centives for potential students. plant sale will include the dinner,that a gradueventnot were founding partners ganChad in JuneWilliams, 2016 as a collaboration of engagement we had seen,” Shackleford Jr. have to worry about howFollowing vice presidentthe and showcase plants cultivated by signingsaid. ceremony was helped startit,” theRCC program. He ation among Randolph Community Williams pay for president Dr. and for student services at RCC,Colsaid athatto zoo horticulture experts. held at the R. Alton Learnintroduced the eight Jr. gradulege, the Randolph County School inthenRobert RCC held Cox a one-week break Shackleford said. “We decline in high school students ing Resources Auditorium. having them stand to bewhere rec- they System, Asheboro has Citybeen Schools, earlier Center this month amid the sumstudents exactly dual enrollment the big-ates,meet The 14 mer pre-apprentices came as their the Asheboro/Randolph semester, each which began May are and helpname themwas go called. as far as they gest reason for a dip. Chamber ognized onstage to sign their apprentice“It wasn’t too long ago when we of Commerce, and local manufac24 and concludes July 26. Late “Overall, we’re still seeing a de- can possibly go.” ship contracts with industry off this thing Ap-semesturers. Theenrollment goal was to bridge both tokickedBeginning registration for the partfall semester withcalled the fall cline in comparing Jeopardy! Champion the interest and skill gaps in mod- prenticeship Randolph,” Har- ner representatives. previous years prior to the pan- ter, qualifying full-time students runs through Aug. 10, with class“I knew I wanted to do someern manufacturing and provide a rington said. “We had some menKen Jennings demic,” Williams said. “I don’t will be eligible for up to $1,000 es beginning Aug. 16. vehicle for expanding the work- tors that helped guide us, but we thing with my hands and didn’t Still dealing with adjustments knowpool if we’ll to numbers we’vebuiltper thesemester. car as we were driving want to go a university for anforce for get advance manufac7pm — 8pm made because of perfect,” the coronavirus That makes attending RCC seen in previous fall semesters. … This is turing in the county. The program down the road. We’re very proud of other four years. pandemic, notReece all 2021 fall semesfrom a finanWe’reparticipants reaching out to every Jeopardy! “Greatest of said new apprentice, Beefirst most cohort.enticing It took a lot of flexallows a debt-free ed-stu-thisthe ter classes will be in person. Some cial standpoint in the 16 years dent we can in every way we can.” ibility and adaptability. I also want son, who signed with United Brass ucation. All Time” champion Ken a hybrid Williams has that been at the A fall semester the school two-yearto thank Works will Inc. use “I was able to model meet with a everyone helped theschool, The program is forathigh Jennings will kick off the of face-to-faces he said. previously worked[United in mixture school and in Asheboro would oftenprogram Brass Works] early on sessions andHe these eight gentlejuniors seniors and begins Friends of the Library and virtual sessions. Many classRCC’s financial aid office. have 2,600 to 3,000 students enwith a six-week, pre-apprentice- men — they didn’t do it by them- multiple times. I feel like they’re a es provide with options never a better timegood to company, rolled. At the beginning of thisselves. “There’s Sunset Signature Series at verystudents family-orientIn addition to the schools, ship summer program that conon to how to attend participate, back to he said. week, that number stood at aboutthe go tinker. I love and to take College, thecollege,” companies, and ed. I love sists of RCC classes and 40 hours Asheboro’s historic Sunset Williams said. the current summer ses1,900 with about a month to goother For stuff apart and put it together and community organizations, per week of on-the-job training. Theatre. Open to the public. Once a business selects itsLOG appren- we want to recognize the fami- see how things work.” WEEKLY CRIME Beeson said he wasn’t contice after this trial period, the pro- ly members, the mentors, and the gram is spread four years people in the support network cerned about a four-year commit♦ Williams, Denishiaover Lorren ment. with students receiving on- that’s so critical to success.” (B /F/30) Arrest on chrg paid, of WEEKLY CRIME “It’s just a number,” he said. “If Brandon Hill, who boasted the the-job training while(F), earning an 1) Pwimsd Marijuana 2) LOG N.C. Pottery Center Associate of Applied Science Maintain Veh/dwell/place Cs De- highest GPA of the graduates, ad- you’re doing something you like, it “Retail Therapy” gree in 3)Manufacturing Technol- dressed the group. “I just want to won’t take long.” (f) (F), Possess X ♦ Whitehead, George Alan (M, 52), 176 E. Salisbury St, Asheboro, on Arrest on charge of Resisting ♦ Boggs, Matthew Harrison (M, 39), Exhibition Opening The evening ended with a celeogy or Information Technology say what a ride it’s been the past Arrest on charge of Misdemeanor Publiche Officer, Kings Rd, ArrestRCC on charge of Misdemeanorfour years,” of07/13/2021. the eight graduates who said. 321 “We’ve hadRidge a bration through and a Journeywork5pm —Possession 7pm of Schedule IV CS, Randleman, on 07/14/2021. Larceny, atfrom 2587the Wayne and downs. To our fam- turned their tassels ready for their er Certificate N.C.White Com- Rd,lot of ups ♦ Millikan, Bobby Wayne (M, 33), careers. ilies and significant others, thank munity College System and U.S. Possession of Stolen motor Pleasant Garden, on 07/14/2021. reception is open Arrest on charge of Assault on aThe free ♦ Hazelwood, Elizabeth (F, 44), vehicle, imporoper use of a dealer Female, at 8300 Curtis Power Rd, Arrest on chage of Misdemeanor ♦ Bolton McKee, James Henry to the public andtowill feature tag, failure deliver title, failure to Theon inaugural Bennett, NC, 07/14/2021. work by Larceny, at Hoover Hill Rd/Slick (M, 47), Arrest on charge of Bristow Pottery appear on felony, at I-85 Exit 111, class of AR Rodk Mtn, on 07/14/2021. Possession of Stolen Goods, at on 07/13/2021. (Asheboro), David Cole ♦ Passmore, Casey Lynn, Arrest on graduates 6469 Clyde King Rd, Seagrove, on Pottery (Oak Ridge), Doe charge of gathers possession of marijuana ♦ Cheek, Helenia in the ♦ Lynch, Detrick Lamont (M, 40), Spinks (F, 64), 07/15/2021. Ridge Pottery (Boone), JLK Gene up to 1/2 oz., at Haas Randolph Arrest on charge of Misdemeanor Arrest on charge of Assault by ComputerJewelrypointing (Seagrove), O’Keefe a Courthouse, on 7/13/2021. Possession of Schedule VI CS, ♦ Pugh, Robert Daniel (M, 39), a gun, Discharging Integrated Possessiong of Stolen Motor Arrest on charge of Simple Potteryfirearm (Pittsboro), O’Quinn to cause fear, Reckless Machining ♦ Roark, Justin Steven (M, 30), Vehicle, at I-85 Exit 111, on Assault (M), at 139 Drum St, Potterydriving (Seagrove), Red Seagrove, on to endanger, Institute. Arrest on charge of Possession 07/13/2021. Asheboro, on 07/14/2021. 07/12/2021. Pictured from of Meth, Possession with intent Hare Pottery (Seagrove) & left to right Burns (Seagrove), to manufacture, sell or distributeBenjamin ♦ McQueen, James Allen Jr (M, 35), ♦ Richardson, Erwin Quint Jr (M, ♦ Helms, Chad Lee (M, 37), Arrest are: Brandon Pottery heroin, Simple possession of Salvaterra Arrest on charge of Possession 31), Arrest on charges of Felony on charge of Felony Sexual Hill, Nikolaus Schedule II, III, IV CS, Maintaining of Marijuana up to 1/2 oz., Larceny and Possession of Stolen (Weaverville), Thomas Exploitation of a minor in the Gumbas, Place, Possession of Drug Possession of drug paraphernalia, Goods, at 5471 Needhams Trail, Potterysecond (Seagrove), degree and (10 counts), 727 Nicolas Pless, Paraphernalia, at 1029 High Point Failure to appeal on felony, failure Seagrove, on 07/14/2021. J.J. Warren, McDowell Rd,(Denton). Asheboro, NC, on Windsong Pottery Rd, on 7/13/2021. to appear on misdemeanor, at Monroe 07/12/2021. ♦ Seibert, Sarah Elizabeth (F, 32), Presnell, Jonathan Mroczkowski, Zachary Asheboro Summer Ratchford, Concert Series and Dustin “The Entertainers” Hill.

Aug. 28

Aug. 28

Aug. 28

♦ Harold Eugene “Gene” Anderson, 82, died at his CALLICUT from page home on Monday, July112, 2021 in a tragic house fire. and we went with it,” he said. Callicutt, at R&H ♦ Addie Mae who Huntworks McLeod, Trucking, hisJuly family’s storage age 79, died 11, 2021, at trailer rental and leasing busiAutumn Care in Biscoe. ness, went to college at Western wasn’t alone50, on ♦Carolina. JonathanHe Edward Ferree, his big night. His wife, Rachel, of Black Mountain, formerly of along with his parents, Everett Asheboro, died July 11, 2021. and Cindy Callicutt, a brother and sister-in-law were among ♦ Mildred Mae Cozart Poole, those present. age 85, of Asheboro, Afterward, Callicuttdied was July able See OBITS, page 7 2021. to9, provide about a 15-minute tour of the backstage area for his family. “I was kind of learning (about it) as I went,” he said See OBITS, page 7 of the particulars of that area. Callicutt remains active on the music scene, but his days of performing have become more sporadic than in the past. “I stay as busy as I want to be,” he said. This latest opportunity is bound to rekindle some of his desire to see where music might take him. By Dan Gelston “For me, it was my lifetime The Associated Press dream,” Callicutt said. “Hopefully, it won’t be my last time goPHILADELPHIA ing. It was a lot of fun.” — Triple H WEEKLY CRIME LOG

Sept. 6

WWE leaves virtual reality behind in 1st tour since 2020 walked with his arms crossed like an X — his signature Degeneration X symbol — with his 7-foot DEATH NOTICES tag-team partner, Joel Embiid, to ring a ceremonial bell last month ♦ Jacquelyn “Jackie” Evon Cooper before a Philadelphia 76ers playBrown, 84, died August 16, 2021, at off her game. home. His theme music blared through the Phillips arena, ♦ Shirley Louise Allred,and 83, of nearAsheboro,fans died August 16, 2021, at the ly 19,000 hanging from her home. rafters roared when the wrestler hoisted his bad-guy weapon-of♦ Virginia Carol Marley, 74, of choice sledgehammer and struck Asheboro, died August 17, 2021 at theWoodland bell. Hill Center in Asheboro. Sure, the setting wasn’t Wres♦ Wasim Qudoos Chaudhry, 33, ofH lost a tleMania — though Triple Siler City 2021 at when match in died the August same 20, building Hospitals, Chapel Hill. in 1999 — theUNC event was held there but for the superstar-turned-ex♦ Jamba Lee Hoffman, 28, of, ecutive, the frenzied atmosphere Johnstown, PA died August 18, 2021 wasat her a home reminder of what WWE in Johnstown. lost during the 16 months it ran ♦ Antonio Jaimes Mesa, 97,and of without live events raucous Asheboro died August 20, 2021. crowds. “It was a fun opportunity to get ♦ Iva Merline Bagley Farlow, 67, of back into an arena packed full of Asheboro died Tuesday, August 17, fans and have them go nuts,” said 2021. Triple H, known these days as ♦ John Walter Etchison,Paul 83, of Siler WWE executive Levesque. City died August 19, 2021 at “That adrenaline rush, there’s Transitions nothing likeHospice it.” Care, Raleigh. WWE hasn’t been the same ♦ Earl Bryan Hill, 89, of Asheboro died without its2021 “Yes!” chantsHealth. or “This August 16, at Randolph is Awe-some!” singsongs once the ♦ Mitchell Leerelegated McPherson,the 68, company pandemic of Randleman, died August to formerly running empty arena match2021, atweek Brunswick Medical es 15, every with a piped-in Center in Shallotte NC. soundtrack and virtual fans. No more. ♦ Larry Gene Cox, 77, of Asheboro died With most 15,American sports Sunday, August 2021. leagues settled in to their old routines, WWE ditched its stopgap home in Florida and resumed touring last Friday night with

♦ Collins, Arnold Gray Jr (M, 58), Arrrest on charge of Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug paraphernalia, at Pisgah Covered Bridge Rd, Asheboro, on 8/18/2021.

6pm — 8:30pm

PHOTO COURTESY OF RANDOLPH COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Disclosure of private images, at I-85S MM 110, on 8/17/2021. ♦ Baker, Robert Dontell (M, 36), Arrrest on charge of First Degree Sex Offesne, Sex Act Sub Parent/Custodian (6 counts), Indecent liberties with child (3 Counts), at 1991 NC Hwy 22 N, Franklinville, on 8/17/2021.

of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses, at 4005 Jones St Ext, on 8/17/2021. ♦ Moore, Bobby Lee (M, 53), Arrrest on charge of Injury to Personal Property, First Degree Trespass, Carrying concealed weapon, Attempted Second Degree Burglary, Possession of burglary tools, Possession of firearm by felon, at 4675 Billy Lee Rd, on 8/16/2021.

With selections from the latestple Top 40 hits,over Classic cheering him, or booing or going into different Rockover and him Roll and Country, directions over him,” this group is rooted in have benefited, Levesque said. “But that’s the R&B beauty and Carolina Beach of what we do, to go be enMusic. The concert will be tertained, however you want to at thebeBicentennial entertained.Park As ainperformer, sometimes that’s difficult.” downtown Asheboro and is WWE’s July 5 “RAW” on USA free to the public.

Network hit 1.472 million viewers, the lowest in the 28-plus year his♦ Johnson, Delondo (M, 44), Arrrest tory of the show. on charge of Assault on a Female, Levesque, WWE EVP of globMisdemeanor Larceny, Interfering with al talent strategy and developRandolph County Board Emergency Communications, at Hwy 62 ment, said the Meeting company would ♦ Jernigan, James William (M, 62), Arrrest at Finch Farm Rd, on 8/18/2021. of Commissioners ♦ Adams, Samantha Lynn (F, 25), Arrrest on “take a hard look” at how it can on charge of First Degree Trespass, charge of Possession of Meth, Possesion Resisting a Public Officer, at 112 Wright St, ♦ Lawson, Matthew Raymond (M, 29), 6pmattract more fans to the product of Drug paraphernalia, Possession of on 8/18/2021. Arrrest on charge of Possession of each week. WWE can only hope Heroin, at I-73 near Presnell St, Asheboro, Heroin, Possession of Meth, Possession The County Commissioners the combination of live crowds ♦ Keene, Jessica Dawn (F, 35), Arrrest on 8/16/2021. of Drug paraphernalia, at East River Rd, and the return of box office attractypically meet on the first on charge of Possession of Meth, Randleman, on 8/18/2021. tions such as Becky Lynch, Gold♦ Arrowood, Joseph (M, 40), Arrrest on Possession of Marijuana Paraphernalia, Monday of the month for berg, and Cena can ignite interest charge of Assault by pointing a gun (4 at Courthouse, on 8/17/2021. ♦ Tatum, Kellie Renee (F, 30), Arrrest on regular business meetings. and grow ratings during the build Counts), assault with a deadly weapon, charge of Felony Possession of Cocaine, This meeting was moved ♦ Snider, Craig Steven (M, 38), Arrrest to the marquee Aug. 21 Summergoing armed to the terror of the people, Misdemeanor Larceny, Possession on charge of Larceny by Employee, to Tuesday, Sept. 7 to of the Las VeHillsville Café, on 8/15/2021. of Meth, Possesion of Stolen Goods, Slam at the home Possession of Stolen Goods, Obtaining at Vision Drive and I-73, Asheboro, on gas Raiders.the Labor Day accommodate ♦ Hester, James Marcus III (M, 28), Arrrest Property by False Pretenses, at 4005 8/18/2021. “It is oneSept. thing,” Levesque Holiday onnever Monday, on charge of Assault with Deadly Weapon Jones Street Ext, on 8/17/2021. said. “We see this a moment in with intent to kill (4 Counts), Assault ♦ Alverson, Kendrick (M, 24), Arrrest on 6. The meeting will beas held time to shift everything. I think ♦ Staley, Juliann Frances (31), Arrrest on with Deadly Weapon with intent to kill charge of Purchasing or Possessing a at theyou’ll Historic see itCourthouse in just the layout of evcharge of Assault and Battery, at Old NC or inflict serious injury, Contributing to Firearm in violation of a domeestic order, Meeting Room, 145-C Worth the way 49 at Ben Lambeth, on 8/18/2021. erything, the set designs, DelinquencyPHOTO of juvenile, at 727 McDowell Carrying a concealed gun, Assault on BY WILLY SANJUAN/INVISION/AP Street, 27203 it’sAsheboro, presented.NC There’s a greater Rd, Asheboro, on 8/13/2021. a Female, Assault by pointing a gun, ♦ Suits, Leann Joy (F, 36), Arrrest on charge emphasis on utilizing the spacIn this Jan. 9, 2018, file photo, Paul “Triple H” Levesque participates in the “WWE Monday Night es that we have and the TV aspect Raw: 25th Anniversary” panel during the NBCUniversal Television Critics Association Winter Press of it while still engaging the fans. Tour in Pasadena, Calif. A lot of that comes from the time we had to experiment inside the Do you a birthday, wedding, engagement or other WWE then moved to its milestone in-house ThunderDome.” former,” Reigns said. “As a live pay-per-view Sunday in Texas and have The first start is putting fans Dallas on Monday for the flagship performer, that simultaneous re- performance center in Florida on toWWE celebrate? at celebrations@randolphrecord.com. sponseContact keeps youus sharp. We had March 13, before setting up what — holding their homemade signs “Raw” TV show on USA. spruced up sets, brought back old to adjust and adapt to the times it dubbed The ThunderDome -- and wearing their catchphrase where fans registered for spots T-shirts — back in the seats. stars and hit the reset button on that were in front of us.” “When we have that live crowd, With Hulk Hogan in the house, on LED digital videoboards — for TV programming humbled with record-low ratings and a strong WWE held their only Wrestle- stretches in Florida at the Amway sometimes they almost become Mania with fans this past April Center, Tropicana Field and the the cameras for a lot of the perneed for new stars. formers,” Reigns said. “But when “I do think if we were doing this 10 and 11 at Raymond James Sta- Yuengling Center. “People like Roman have been you don’t have that real-time, flesh in front of the live crowd, it would dium. WWE last ran a weeknight have been a situation that would televised event with a paid crowd able to emotionally bring a per- interaction, the red light becomes

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Sept. 7

Randolph Record for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

OPINION

3

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor VISUAL VOICES

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON

The buck stops where?

Former Obama Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called this President Biden’s “Bay of Pigs.” He also criticized President Biden for not taking responsibility, unlike President Kennedy in 1961.

THE BUCK STOPS HERE. The phrase was made popular by former President Harry Truman, who kept the words on his desk in the Oval Office. Many presidents have since uttered the phrase as an understanding that final decisions, as well as their consequences, rest with our nation’s commander in chief. Last week, President Joe Biden claimed the buck stops with him in regard to the catastrophic and poorly planned withdrawal from Afghanistan. However, the president’s words and actions say otherwise. The events of the past week in Afghanistan have been heartbreaking and infuriating. Reminiscent of Saigon, images of Taliban with American rifles and equipment have been an insult to American taxpayers and so many heroes who served or lost their lives there, as well as their Gold Star families. I first want to say to anyone who served in Afghanistan and to their families, hold your head high. You served with honor and you did your job. I also know from countless conversations I’ve had with so many of you that you are hurting. You need to know you are not alone, and your country supports you. I have long feared the fallout from an arbitrary withdrawal from Afghanistan, instead believing any withdrawal should be based on conditions on the ground and advice from military commanders. However, in April, President Biden announced his decision to leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, putting a symbolic political deadline and a major public relations win for the terrorists ahead of the safety of our troops and allies. Over the last week, President Biden defended this decision. Yet this misses the mark of the current uproar, which is not about the decision to leave, but the tragically incompetent way in which it was executed. President Donald Trump also wanted our troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. However, the Trump administration was adamant that any withdrawal would be conditions-based so that American citizens and allies would be protected and American military equipment would not fall into the hands of the Taliban. This withdrawal was backed by a deterrence model where the Taliban understood if they violated terms, they would face severe consequences. President Trump also insisted that U.S. troops would leave last — after all civilians were out and all military equipment was removed or destroyed. Unfortunately, the Biden administration did not follow this model. The speed in which the Taliban advanced through Afghanistan defied President Biden’s assurances from just one month ago when he told reporters, “The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.” Despite assurances that contingency plans were in place, images from our embassy and the airport have shown the administration was not prepared.

The chaotic exit has left tens of thousands of American citizens and Afghan allies stranded. Many remain in extreme danger, as the Taliban has blocked access to the airport and reportedly gone door-to-door exacting brutal revenge on those who stood by our side for decades. Yet, missing from President Biden’s remarks last week was taking responsibility for completely botching the withdrawal from Afghanistan. He also failed to lay out any plan to protect people and assets left behind, even as thousands of troops from Fort Bragg were hastily deployed to deal with the self-inflicted chaos. The president’s lack of preparation and understanding of the current fallout and furor are a failure of epic proportions. Former Obama Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called this President Biden’s “Bay of Pigs.” He also criticized President Biden for not taking responsibility, unlike President Kennedy in 1961. Following Afghanistan’s takeover, my heart breaks for Afghan women, girls and boys. Previous Taliban regimes brought about brutal humanitarian violations. Significant advances in civil rights over the last 20 years made possible by the brave men and women of the U.S. military are now in danger of being erased. I’m also saddened and angered by our failed commitment to so many Afghans who trusted us and worked with us against the Taliban yet are now left behind. I have been working for months to get our allies and American citizens out of Afghanistan. The State Department has been bogged down with delays which now threaten their lives. Just last week, the department responded to one of my inquiries for a special visa, advising the applicant to meet at the now-abandoned American Embassy in Kabul — on Sept. 28th. Additionally, the State Department sent notices to Afghan citizens to travel to the airport for evacuation, only to be turned away and beaten by the Taliban. Last week, I wrote a letter to Secretary of State Blinken to highlight this ineptitude that is putting lives at risk. American citizens and allies should have been evacuated from Afghanistan long before our troops. While I am hopeful our Armed Forces can save as many as possible, last week’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan will have implications for President Biden and our country for years. In the meantime, I hope you’ll join me in praying for our troops, veterans and Gold Star families. If you or anyone you know would like to talk, the veteran crisis hotline is available at 1-800-273-8255 (press 1). My office is also always here to help in any way. The buck should stop with the president of the United States. Rest assured, I will hold the administration accountable until every American citizen and ally is protected.

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Fiddling while Kabul falls Afghanistan is only one example of how Biden’s predictions about his policies’ effects have been belied by facts on the ground.

HISTORIANS AREN’T ACTUALLY sure that Nero caused or neglected a fire that consumed much of ancient Rome. Historians, however much they’d like to, won’t be able to deny that President Joe Biden bears full responsibility for America’s humiliating retreat from Afghanistan and our neglect of the tens of thousands who aided us and now face torture and death from the Taliban. “The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way,” Biden assured Americans on July 8. A Taliban takeover of Afghanistan “is not inevitable,” he said, pledging to “continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance, including speaking out for the rights of women and girls.” Asked if there were parallels with the American abandonment of Saigon, he saw “zero.” “The Taliban is not the South — the North Vietnamese army,” he said. “There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people lifted off the roof of an embassy in the — of the United States from Afghanistan.” Events last weekend forced Biden to go on national television Monday night and eat his words. He insisted that his administration was “cleareyed about the risks” and “planned for every contingency,” but conceded, in fine understatement, that “this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” Partisans of the president say he’s only doing what the public wanted, citing polls showing large majorities favoring withdrawal. But poll results depend on how questions are framed, and opinions can change sharply as events change. Thus, in July, the conservative polling firm Echelon Insights found 47% favoring the U.S. “maintain a small military presence” and only 36% favoring “end” military presence “entirely.” Last weekend, as news accounts showed Taliban advances and U.S. forces in flight, the Republican firm Trafalgar found 69% disapproval of Biden on Afghanistan. Afghanistan is only one example of how Biden’s predictions about his policies’ effects have been belied by facts on the ground. An “orderly” withdrawal has become a rout. The scene of desperate Vietnamese vainly seeking escape in Saigon in 1975 has been reprised by the pictures of desperate Afghans clinging to the wheels of American planes and then falling to their deaths in Kabul in 2021. Similarly, though many news media are not showing much video, illegal border crossings in July hit nearly 213,000, a record number for this century, even though Biden predicted crossings would decline in the summer heat (which is real: I’ve been to Laredo in August, when it’s over 100 with not a cloud in the sky). Biden’s administration has been crowding illegal immigrants into the facilities it campaigned against, and has been

dispersing COVID-infected individuals around the country. Homicide rates in major cities continue to rise at rates unprecedented since 1960, and after three months of 5% inflation, price increases are looking less “transitory” and more like galloping inflation. We seem like we’re headed back to the 1970s; the decade when Biden’s national political career began. Back then, he was part of large Democratic majorities in Congress that blocked attempts to stop North Vietnam’s conquest of the South. As helicopters lifted off the Saigon embassy, freshman Sen. Biden was unrepentant. “The United States has no obligation to evacuate one, or 100,001 South Vietnamese,” he said at one point. Like other Democrats, he complained that our allied government was corrupt and ineffective. He struck the same note Monday, blaming our Afghan allies for the collapse he failed to anticipate. “We gave them every tool they could need. We paid their salaries, provided for the maintenance of their air force,” he said. “We gave them every chance to determine their own future.” He lamented that Afghan leaders refused his advice “to seek a political settlement with the Taliban” and “to clean up the corruption in government” — advice much like American liberals’ complaints about the South Vietnamese in the 1970s. Those complaints were, in turn, echoes of the descriptions of Chiang Kaishek’s nationalist regime by liberals defending against charges that they “lost China” to Mao Zedong’s communist army. The nationalists, they said, were corrupt, right-wing and unwilling to fight hard. History has its ironies. The Vietnamese, nominally communist, foster capitalistic growth and pro-American feeling. Chiang’s nationalists fled to Taiwan, which is now politically democratic, economically dynamic and threatened by Xi Jinping’s increasingly aggressive China. After Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, “the Taiwanese government probably is reevaluating whether it is futile to resist China’s invasion,” wrote China-born author Helen Raleigh, while New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote that “every enemy will draw the lesson that the United States is a feckless power,” and “every ally — Taiwan, the Baltic States, Israel, Japan — will draw the lesson that it is on its own.” Meanwhile, after his 18-minute speech, Biden returned to vacationing behind the gates of Camp David. Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of The Almanac of American Politics.

Randolph Record for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

4

SPORTS SIDELINE REPORT MLB

Braves’ Soroka tears Achilles again Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Soroka, who made the AllStar Game as a rookie in 2019 but has not pitched since tearing his Achilles tendon three starts into the pandemic-delayed 2020 season, has suffered the same injury and will require another major surgery. He had hoped to be ready to return early this season — he even pitched in a game late in spring training — only to suffer a setback in his recovery that required another surgical procedure. He then completely tore the tendon for the second time. The 24-year-old went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in his first full year in the big leagues.

WNBA

Champion Seattle Storm visit White House Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden honored the 2020 WNBA champions Seattle Storm on Monday, celebrating their success on the court and hailing the four-time title holders for changing lives with their activism. The visit marked the first time that an NBA or WNBA team has visited the White House since the Cleveland Cavaliers were feted by Barack Obama in 2016. Presidents typically host college and major league sports champions for a White House ceremony, but the two big basketball leagues skipped such celebrations during Donald Trump’s administration in opposition to Trump’s policies.

NFL

Titans coach Vrabel tests positive for COVID-19 Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel has tested positive for COVID-19 and quarantined at home. Vrabel told reporters he woke up Sunday with a sore throat and an earache. After two initial tests came back positive, Vrabel was given a PCR test, which on Monday confirmed he was positive. The Titans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-3 in a preseason game Saturday night. Special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman helped run practice Monday, while defensive coordinator Shane Bowen filled in by talking to reporters after the session.

NHL

Jimmy Hayes, 31, Boston College star who played in NHL, dies Milton, Mass. Jimmy Hayes, who won a national hockey championship at Boston College and played seven seasons in the NHL, has died. He was 31. A law enforcement official said medics on Monday were called to the Hayes home in the Boston suburbs, where he was pronounced dead. The 6-foot-5 right wing was a second-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2008. He totaled 54 goals and 55 assists in 334 NHL games with the Blackhawks, Panthers, Bruins and Devils. In addition to his wife and children, Hayes is survived by four siblings — including younger brother Kevin, a center with the Philadelphia Flyers, and his parents, Shelagh and Kevin Hayes Sr.

CARLOS OSORIO | AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney (12) beats William Byron (24) at the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in Brooklyn, Mich.

Blaney takes lead on final restart, holds on to win Michigan By Michael Marot The Associated Press BROOKLYN, Mich. — Ryan Blaney needed a push to pass William Byron on Sunday. Kyle Busch provided the boost. With Busch’s help, Blaney took the lead on the final restart, then bobbed and weaved his way around Michigan International Speedway to beat Byron by 0.077 seconds. It was the narrowest victory margin in a Cup race at this track since electronic scoring began.

“I wouldn’t say we had the best car,” Blaney said. “We got pretty good, to a point where I thought we could run fourth or fifth, and it just worked out to where he could give us a push and it just worked out.” Blaney won for the second time this season and sixth overall. Ford has now won seven straight at Michigan. When the top three cars took the outside lane on the final restart, Blaney chose the inside lane next to Byron and in front of Busch.

His decision — and Busch’s push — changed the complexion of the race. “It was fun, kind of like a superspeedway race,” Byron said. “Unfortunately, he ran the bottom. You can only block so many lanes and I tried to block the top and cost myself the lead.” Kyle Larson and Byron took turns over the final seven laps trying to give one another a shot to pass Blaney. Nothing worked. “Just made a couple of bad moves, I guess,” Larson said. “A little too impatient behind the No. 12 and allowed William to get by me and then I was hoping they would get racing and I could get side-drafting.” And Blaney sped across the finish line barely ahead of Byron. “Really the push was the whole thing,” Blaney said. “So thanks, Kyle.” Blaney also ended Kevin Harvick’s winning streak at Michigan at three. But the consolation prize wasn’t bad — clinching the 15th

spot in the 16-car playoff that begins in two weeks. Elliott beat Larson to the finish line to win the first stage, and Busch took the second stage over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell. Austin Dillon heads into the regular-season finale in 17th place after finishing third in the first stage, but his day ended with a nasty crash as the second stage ended. Dillon was trying to move up from below the white line when the No. 3 Chevrolet appeared to make contact with Brad Kesewlowski, sending Dillon hard into the outside wall and briefly airborne in the front straightaway. Keselowski apologized immediately on the radio. “I think we would have a shot for something there at the end with that race car,” he said. “I thought we had a little room to come up but he just held me down a little bit.” The regular-season ends Saturday night at Daytona.

Pacquiao ponders ring retirement, political plans after loss Yordenis Ugás defeated the legendary boxer Saturday night in Las Vegas

The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao sounded like a fighter on his way out and a politician on his way up. He might have concealed his battered face behind big sunglasses, but Pacquiao didn’t hide behind excuses or denial after a discouraging unanimous-decision loss to Yordenis Ugás on Saturday night. Yes, Pacquiao disclosed that his legs cramped throughout the fight on the Vegas Strip, depriving him of the mobility that has always made his power so dangerous. The eight-division world champion still acknowledged the larger fact that was obvious even to most of his devoted fans around the world: He deserved his loss to Ugás, a talented opponent who probably wouldn’t have been much trouble for prime Pacman. And that might be a good reason to walk away. “This sport is my passion,” Pacquiao said. “That’s why I’m still here fighting at the age of 42. I’m enjoying it, but sometimes you have to think about the response of your body. ... My mind, my heart, it’s 100%. But my legs were cramping.” In the moments after he returned from a two-year ring absence with the loss to the rangy, resilient Ugás, Pacquiao repeatedly hinted he is planning to retire from boxing. He is still alongside Canelo Álvarez as the two biggest active stars in the sport, yet Pacquiao (67-8-2) has never spoken so frankly about leav-

JOHN LOCHER | AP PHOTO

Manny Pacquiao, left, of the Philippines, is hit Yordenis Ugas, of Cuba, in a welterweight championship boxing match Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Las Vegas. ing behind 26 years in the pro fight game. “I’ve done a lot for boxing, and boxing has done a lot for me,” Pacquiao said. “I look forward to spending a lot of time thinking about my future in boxing.” Pacquiao’s postfight comments included a sprinkling of such catchy, pre-written phrases — sort of like a stump speech by a politician. Indeed, the Filipino senator’s next fight is probably in the political ring: He is widely expected to enter the presidential race in the Philippines next month ahead of the May 2022 election. “In my heart, I want to contin-

ue to fight,” Pacquiao said. “But the thing is, I also have to consider my body. I’ve put it through a lot of things. Especially back in my country, there’s a lot of things that I need to accomplish to help people. I want to be an inspiration to the Philippine people inside and outside the ring.” If Pacquiao retires, he leaves boxing as one of the greats of his generation. Along with his stunning array of championship belts and his groundbreaking mobility across the sport’s weight classes, Pacquiao will be remembered for his utter fearlessness in taking on countless larger foes without blinking.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s devoted trainer for most of the past two decades, acknowledged being “a little worried” about the champ. “He’s boxed for a long time, and he’s the best guy I’ve ever had,” Roach said. “The best guy, the best fighter. I hate to see the day when he retires, but this could be it. We’ll see what Manny decides.” Another scenario seems equally plausible at this point: Pacquiao doesn’t win the presidency in nine months — he is behind several candidates in early polling — and he subsequently gets a highly lucrative opportunity to return to the ring late next year, when he will be nearly 44.

Randolph Record for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

5

Baker sets sights on comeback Randolph County teams send strong in Caraway standings Area driver aims to move up in points race

Billy Biscoe was a prominent driver in the 1960s at Caraway Speedway.

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record SOPHIA — Johnny Baker needs a fast finish in a true sense at Caraway Speedway. With the season winding down the Asheboro driver is contending for his third track championship in Mini Stocks. But it’s going to be a challenge. “We’re slowly getting there,” Baker said. “But it’s going to take some good luck.” Baker holds second place in the division, but he has been gaining ground. He has won four of the last five races in a division with diminishing entries. Brandon Collins leads with 1,141 points, while Baker has 1,073 with no other contenders because the next-best total belongs to Tyler Bush with 578. Baker, 29, said his 2016 and 2018 track titles are his career highlights. He also has won races at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem and Ace Speedway in Altamahaw. Caraway Speedway holds its next racing card Saturday night. Baker’s car blew an engine in the spring and that caused him to miss a week. Without those potential points, he has been digging out of a hole even though Collins hasn’t won a 2021 race in the division. “We’ve got a really fast race car,” Baker said. Baker, who works full-time as a supermarket refrigerator technician, said he’s determined to keep pursuing the track championship. He credits his father, Johnny Baker III, for helping keep that goal at-

PHOTO COURTESY OF CARAWAY SPEEDWAY

tainable as his crew chief.’ “Mostly it’s just a lot of hard work,” the younger Baker said. “It takes a lot of time, a lot of commitment.” Another Asheboro driver also holds second place in his division. Anthony Bennett is bidding to win the Challenger class. Bennett, with 973 points, trails Mike Chambers, who has 1,044. Induction set for weekend There will be five inductees into Caraway Speedway’s Wall of Fame as part of Saturday night’s racing card. The track celebrates its 56th anniversary. The inductees are: • Billy Biscoe, who was part of Richard Petty’s championship teams and now crew chief for son, A.J. Biscoe (who’s in Caraway’s UCar class). • Junior Burgess, who raced from 1964-77 at the track as part of a 30-year driving career. His first victory at the track came in a 1936 Chevrolet Modified sponsored by Coble’s Pressure Washing. • Wayne McBride, a winner of close to 100 races at the speedway

and other area tracks from 196272. Burgess was among his main rivals on the track. • Lowe Smith, a fixture in Hobby and Limited Sportsman races and the 1978 track champion in Limited Sportsman (and a racer who was considered independent without significant sponsorship). He drove a black-and-white No. 1 car. • Philip Smith, a two-time Modified division track champion along the way while registering 46 total wins at the speedway. His time at the track extended to the dirttrack days driving in the Limited Sportsman class for Decker Brothers and once the track was paved in 1973, he moved to the Sportsman class. Brown in field Jonathan Brown secured a starting spot in the 19th annual John Blewett Memorial North-South Shootout on Nov. 6-7 at Caraway based on his winning performance Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium. Brown won the 150-lap race in the Winston-Salem venue’s final race of the season.

opening messages

Randolph Record staff ASHEBORO — What an opening week for Randolph County football teams. The seven football-playing schools went a combined 6-1, with the lone loss coming in the only intra-county matchup (Asheboro defeating Randleman). In the other five games, the county teams outscored their opponents by a combined score of 177-31. The most notable might have been Eastern Randolph’s whipping of Eastern Alamance, which has been a Class 3-A power for most of the past decade. THIS WEEK’S And don’t discount what Trinity did, with GAMES its decision against Chatham Central marking its first triumph against an opponent othThursday er than Jordan-Matthews in its last 24 games. East Davidson Let’s take a look: at Wheatmore

Eastern Randolph 34, Eastern Alamance 6:

At Ramseur, Nahiem Lilly ran for 202 yards and three touchdowns to go with a touchdown reception as the host Wildcats rolled. Eastern Randolph has won its opener for the fourth season in a row.

Providence Grove 42, East Davidson 0:

At Thomasville, Luke Thomas threw three touchdown passes. Two of the scoring strikes went to Caleb Rogers, who also scored on a carry.

Wheatmore 34, West Davidson 13:

Friday Eastern Randolph at Asheboro Providence Grove at Southern Guilford Central Davidson at Randleman South Stanly at Southwestern Randolph Trinity at Forbush

At Lexington, Ben Walker threw for three touchdowns as part of a 298-yard passing performance. Almost half of the passing yards went to Dylan Weil (four catches, 137 yards), who scored on two of those plays. Perry Welch raked up 104 rushing yards to go with a touchdown.

Trinity 22, Chatham Central 12:

At Bear Creek, the Bulldogs snapped an 11-game road losing streak. Trinity hadn’t won away from home since Sept. 7, 2018, at North Moore.

Southwestern Randolph 45, Jordan-Matthews 0:

At Siler City, Keaton Reed threw three touchdown passes and ran for a touchdown and Adam Cole scored three touchdowns as the Cougars won in a game that was completed Saturday afternoon after Friday night’s suspension early in the second quarter. Cole scored on a rush, a reception and a punt return.

PJ WARD-BROWN | RANDOLPH RECORD

Asheboro’s Hakemme Butler makes a catch in front of Randleman’s Nick Connor.

Blue Comets collect early prize Asheboro pulls opening surprise at Randleman By Bob Sutton Randolph Record RANDLEMAN – Asheboro’s football team won for the first time in more than 600 days to open the season. Now the Blue Comets will have their sights set on more conquests. After a winless record in seven games when the 2020 season was shifted to this past spring, Asheboro might have been largely dismissed as a factor entering the new campaign. That was far from the case in Friday night’s season-opening 20-7 conquering of Randleman. “We proved that we got the talent,” linebacker/running back Qamelo Butler said.

Asheboro plays its home opener Friday night against Eastern Randolph, another highly regarded team. “We proved we could step it up and fix our mistakes,” Blue Comets defensive end Charles Perry said. The first-week result was jarring in many respects, particularly given that Randleman hadn’t lost a regular-season game since 2017. The Tigers roughed up Asheboro 43-7 slightly more than four months ago in Asheboro. “All they’ve heard about is how good Randleman is, how good ER is,” Asheboro coach Blake Brewer said. “They have a lot to prove.” It turns out that the Blue Comets entered the season with a certain fatigue – though not of the physical variety. “We’ve got a lot of kids who are tired,” Brewer said, referring to

players he described as fed up with losing. “They’ve had enough.” Now, they want more of this winning. “Just hard work and dedication,” Perry said. “No lollygagging.” Hakemme Butler began the scoring on a 9-yard run right after a successful fake punt late in the first quarter. “I got the first touchdown of the season,” Butler said, noting it was the first time he ever scored against Randleman. A 65-minute lightning-related delay followed, but it didn’t distract the Blue Comets. They scored in the second quarter on Markell Graham’s 60-yard pass reception on a toss from Khyland Hadley-Lindsay on the first play following the Blue Comets’ fourth-down defensive stand. Asheboro went up 20-0 with 1:53

left in the first half on Butler’s 28yard catch from Hadley-Lindsay. By game’s end, Hadley-Lindsay threw for 98 yards and rushed for 80. There was a relentless nature to Asheboro’s defense. “We were able to finish no matter how tired we were,” Perry said. “We had to keep pushing.” For Randleman coach Shane Timmons, he figured a new season would bring certain challenges. “Did I see it coming to this level? No,” he said. Part of the issue was that the Blue Comets didn’t budge along the line of scrimmage. “They were strong where we were weak,” Timmons said. Still, the Tigers reached the Asheboro 14-yard line in the final minute of the first half. They were stopped on downs after moving inside the Asheboro 20 early in the third quarter before finally scoring on Errvod Cassady’s 11yard run with 5:07 to play in the quarter. Then Randleman threat-

ened again later in the quarter, but Quamelo Butler intercepted Christian Long’s fourth-down desperation pass. “Our defense, they were so confident,” Brewer said. The Tigers have turned to Long at quarterback. The sophomore has switched positions after lining up as a receiver last season. Timmons said he liked the determination that Long showed. He said the quarterback kept a positive outlook that a turnaround would come despite possessions that fizzled. His 12-for-33 passing for 102 yards with one interception is something to focus on improving. “There’s going to be growing pains.” Timmons said. There were just 93 rushing yards for the Tigers, who were 0-for-6 on fourth-down conversions. “Failure is never fatal,” Timmons said. “But it better get your attention. … There’s going to be a different atmosphere in practice. We haven’t tasted this in a while.”

Randolph Record for Wednesday, July 21, 2021

6 6

Randolph Record for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

In step to shut Guantanamo, President Randolph County site selected for Biden transfers Moroccan home Duke economic development program

By Dino Hazell The Associated Press North State Journal Staff WASHINGTON, D.C. — The — took An industriBidenASHEBORO administration a step al siteitsingoal Sophia could soon toward of shutting downbe marketed nationally to compathe Guantánamo Bay detention nies for seeking places toterror expand center international sus-or relocate. A 170-acre tract on Wall pects on Monday, releasing into Brothers Rd was selected by Duke the custody of his home country a Energy for inclusion in the utilMoroccan who’ d been held withity company’s annual economic out charge almost since the U.S. development program. Duke has opened the facility 19 years ago. selected nine properties in eight The transfer of Abdullatif Nasscounties across North Carolina er was the first by the Biden adfor inclusion in its 2021 Site Readministration, reviving an Obama iness Program to enhance the administration effort that had readiness of the sites for business been stymied, in part, by conserand industrial development. Sites vative opposition and by the diffiin Catawba, Durham, Guilford, culty of finding secure sites to send Harnett, Henderson, Jones, Crasome of the detainees. ven, Randolph and Rowan counA review board had recomties were selected. mended repatriation for Readiness Nasser, Through the Site who is in his mid-50s, in July 2016, Program, Duke Energy identifies but he had remained at Guantánahigh-potential sites and partners mo under President Donald Trump, who opposed closing the site. In announcing Nasser’s transfer, the Pentagon cited the board’s determination that his detention was no longer necessary to protect U.S. national security. Nasser, also known as Abdul Latif Nasser, arrived Monday in Morocco. Police took him into custody and said they would investigate him on suspicion of committing terrorist acts. Nasser’s attorney in Morocco, Khalil Idrissi, said the years Nasser spent in Guantánamo “were unjustified and outside the law, and what he suffered remains a stain of disgrace on the forehead of the American system.” The State Department said in a statement that President Joe Biden’s administration would continue “a deliberate and thorough

ed on Wall Brothers Road in Sowith county officials and local ecophia, lies just north of Asheboro nomic development professionals and just of Interstate 74. The site to develop a strategy for getting “We are seeing a significant is easily accessible to major marthe sites ready to market to indusincrease in project activity kets with its access to I-85 and trial projects. In N.C., Duke has I-40. Substantial on-site utilities helped prepare 136 properties that across the Carolinas, and include power, natural gas and have won 35 major projects since demand for qualified induswater, and planning is underway the program started in 2005. The to extend sewer to the site. With program claims success in draw- trial sites has never been a flexible layout, this park can acing more than 6,500 new jobs and stronger.” commodate manufacturing and/ nearly $7.5 billion in capital inor distribution buildings ranging vestment to the state. in size from 50,000 square feet to “Despite the challenging envi- Stu Heishman, Duke Energy VP 800,000 square feet. ronment through the pandemic, of economic development “Being selected for the Duke Duke Energy remained fully comEnergy Site Readiness Program mitted to economic development could not have come at a better and our Site Readiness Program,” said Stu Heishman, Duke Ener- been stronger. Our team will con- time for Randolph County because gy’s vice president of economic de- tinue to work with local and re- the demand for readily available velopment and business recruit- gional partners to aggressively ad- sites is more prevalent now than ment. “We are seeing a significant vance the readiness of our prime ever before,” said Crystal Gettys, business recruitment director for increase in project activity across industrial sites.” ALEX BRANDON | AP PHOTO In Randolph County, a future Randolph County Economic Dethe Carolinas, and demand for Inqualified this Wednesday, 17, 2019, photo reviewed by U.S. military the control tower “As is seen velopment Corporation. Ranindustrial park locat- officials, industrialApril sites has neverfile170-acre through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

process” aimed at reducing the detainee population at Guantánamo. White House press secretary Jen Psaki had said in February it was the “intention” of the Biden administration to close the detention facility, something President Barack Obama pledged to do within a year shortly after he took office in January 2009. Almost 800 detainees have passed through Guantanamo. Of the 39 remaining, 10 are eligible to be transferred out, 17 are eligible to go through the review process for possible transfer, another 10 are involved in the military commission process used to prosecute detainees and two have been convicted, another senior administration official said. The Biden administration didn’t

address how it would handle the ongoing effort to prosecute five men held at Guantánamo for the Sept. 11 attacks. It also has to resolve what it will do with detainees that the Obama administration particularly struggled with, either because their home countries were not considered secure enough to return them to, or because they were refused by third-party countries. The detention center opened in 2002. Bush’s administration transformed what had been a quiet Navy outpost on Cuba’s southeastern tip into a place to interrogate and imprison people suspected of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Obama administration, seeking to allay concerns that some of those released had “returned to

the fight,” set up a process to ensure those repatriated or resettled in third countries no longer posed a threat. It also planned to try some of the men in federal court. But the closure effort was thwarted when Congress barred the transfer of prisoners from Guantánamo to the U.S., including for prosecution or medical care. The prisoner transfer process stalled under Trump, who said even before taking office there should be no further releases. “These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield,” Trump said. Under Trump, only one prisoner, a Saudi, was transferred to Saudi Arabia to serve the remainder of his sentence after he agreed to a

plea bargain. Under Obama, 197 were transdolph to County ferred other prepares countries.to expand itsThe inventory of viable possibility that industriformer al sites, the program provided Guantánamo prisoners would the reconstructive to sume hostile guidance activities needed has long move the development of our site been a concern that has played forward with confidence. We The are into the debate over releases. thankful to have been of selected for office of the Director National this program and look forward to Intelligence said in a 2016 report seeing the 17% positive impact it will that about of the 728 detainhavewho on our ees hadcommunity.” been released were Duke Energy with“susma“confirmed” and worked 12% were jor site of selection firmsin to evalupected” reengaging such acate the sites, including Global Lotivities. cation Strategies, Site Selection But the vast majority of those Group and Strategic Developreengagements occurred with ment Group. Based on did consultant former prisoners who not go recommendations, Energy through the securityDuke review that will set collaborate with countyA leadwas up under Obama. task ers and economic developforce thatlocal included agencies such ment professionals to develop an as the Defense Department and improved strategy for marketing the CIA analyzed who was held at these sites. Additionally, each site Guantánamo and determined who is eligible to apply for a $10,000 could be released and who should matching grant from Duke Encontinue in detention. ergy to help prepare it to attract The U.S. thanked Morocco for projects. facilitating Nasser’s transfer. After each site’s state of readi“The United States commends ness has advanced, Duke Energy’s the Kingdom of Morocco for its business recruitment team stratelong-time partnership in securgically markets each of them naing both countries’ national secutionwide to companies looking to rity interests,” the Pentagon stateexpand or relocate their operament tions.said. In a statement, the public prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Rabat said the National Division of the Judicial Police in Casablanca had been instructed to open an investigation into Nasser “on suspicion of committing terrorist acts.” Idrissi, Nasser’s attorney, said judicial authorities should not “take measures that prolong his torment and suffering, especially since he lived through the hell of Guantánamo.” Nasser’s journey to the Cuban prison was a long one. He was a member of a nonviolent but illegal Moroccan Sufi Islam group in the 1980s, according to his Pentagon file. In 1996, he was recruited to fight in Chechnya but ended up in Afghanistan, where he trained at an al-Qaida camp. He was captured after fighting U.S. forces there and was sent to Guantánamo in May 2002.

Garland lets immigration judges put off deportation cases court calendar following Sessions’ decision. Since the 2018 fiscal year, the number of cases pending in the U.S. ATTORNEY General Merimmigration courts has risen 74%, rick Garland tossed a Trump adto 1.3 million, according to data ministration policy that barred from EVELYN the Transactional Records immigration judges from putting HOCKSTEIN/POOL PHOTO VIA AP Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse off the deportation cases of immiU.S. waiting Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hold a joint news conference, in Singapore Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. University. grants on green cards and Gene Hamilton, a key architect visas. of many of Trump’s immigration Garland overruled a decision by pore, Vietnam and the policies who served in Philippines the Justice then-Attorney General Jeff Seslast month and vowed U.S. support Department, said he believes Garsions that judges could not temagainst Beijing’s intrusions in the land’s decision will let immigrants porarily shelve those cases — a South Sea. indefinitely destay in China the country practice known as administrative Alexander Feldman, president spite facing deportation. closure. CEO of the US-ASEANjudges Busiranging from the COVID-19 re- the perceptions of the countries of in research on coronavirus treat- and By Alexandra Jaffe But some immigration Immigration judges, who are ness Council, said Harris will have ments. And the Department of the U.S.’ global priorities and of its sponse to cybersecurity and supply The Associated Press said they can only use the practice employees of Garland’s Departto abelimited carefulnumber in her conversations Commerce is joining with the Sin- in chain cooperation. The news con- strategic intentions,” he said. of cases and ment of Justice, said the practice withitSingapore’s to foHarris’ Southeast Asian trip, gapore Ministry of Trade and In- that Vice dockets President ference was dominated by Afghanmakes theleaders courtsnot more efhelpsSINGAPORE them manage—their cus too heavily on China, but to dustry to create a partnership fowhich brings her to Singapore and istan, after the messy U.S. withKamala Harris asserted Monday ficient, not less. Without it, some more efficiently by letting them foemphasize ahave positive, productive the U.S. must itstofo- drawal sparked concerns about then later to Vietnam this week, is cused on strengthening trade immigrants wound up filcusthat on cases that are maintain ready to go U.S.applications relationshipforwith Singapore cus and on evacuating Americans and America’s commitments to its al- aimed at broadening cooperation throughout a handful of key indus- ing asylum or apcourt avoid dragging in immiand Vietnam. tries. with both nations to offer a counlies globally. vulnerable Afghans and shouldn’t peal simply to buy more time while grants and attorneys for unneces“Where could fallcard into applia trap Later, speaking to sailors on a waiting Harris’ visit to Singapore and terweight to China’s growing influgethearings. distracted by questions onshe their green sary That’s critical inover a is really trying to pit this as a U.S. U.S. Navy combat ship at Singaence in the region. Vietnam this week is seen as the what went wrong in the chaotic cation, Marks said. backlogged system where immiversus China trip. It should be a pore’s Changi naval base, Harris The vice president’s office anfirst real test of the Biden adminU.S. exit from Afghanistan. “It clutters up the system with grants already wait years to get a U.S. trip to our friends partat a news conference istration’s ability to reassure key al- nounced a series of new agree- expressed gratitude for the U.S. unnecessary filings and and unnecescourtSpeaking date. PATRICK SEMANSKY AP PHOTO ners hearings,” in Southeast Asia,” Feldman embassy staff| working ments with Singapore aimed at soldiers and in repeatedly de- lies of its resolve. sary she said. “ItSingapore, helps us Harris clear our dockets said. in an “incredibly challenging and combating cyberthreats, tackling Prime Minister Lee offered his clined to engage when asked what The move also restores autonso we’re dealing with cases that In this June 25, 2021 file photo, Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference on If China the main focal climate change, addressing the dangerous environment” to evacu- omy country’s support the U.S. defelt should have been done dif- voting to thebecomes country’s immigraareshe really ready for hearings,” said rights at the for Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. point, he said, “that makes it hardcision to withdraw, however, and COVID-19 pandemic and alleviat- ate Afghanistan. ferently in the withdrawal. tion judges over how they manage Immigration Judge Dana Leigh Singapore is the anchor of the er for our friends to move forward “There’s no question there will said Singapore was “grateful” for ing supply chain issues. their dockets, said Jeremy McKinMarks, president emerita and exOn cybersecurity, the Treasury U.S. naval presence in Southeast across the region, not only in Sinbe and should be a robust analy- the U.S. efforts to combat terrorecutive vice president of the Na- said immigration judges too often migrants fleeing violence to quali- courts, is making rules related to ney, president elect of the Amerisis of what has happened, but right ism in Afghanistan. He also of- and Defense Departments, as well Asia and has a deep trade partner- gapore and Vietnam but beyond administrative closure and will al- can Immigration Lawyers Associtional Association of Immigration let people stay in the country lon- fy for asylum. now there’s no question that our fo- fered the U.S. the use of the Singa- as the Cybersecurity and Infra- ship with the U.S., but the coun- that.” In the decision on immigration low the practice in the meantime, ation. Immigration judges clashed ger than they should in a sort of leJudges. Indeed, Singapore Foreign Mincus has to be on evacuating Amer- pore Air Force’s transport aircraft structure Security Agency, have try also seeks to maintain strong repeatedly with the Trump adjudges, Garland wrote that three the attorney general wrote. For many immigrants, admin- gal purgatory. ican citizens, Afghans who worked to help with the evacuation, and each inked a memorandum of un- ties with China and a position of ister Vivian Balakrishnan said in During the Trump administra- ministration, decrying measures The decision is one of several federal appeals courts had already istrative closure was seen as a lifewith us and vulnerable Afghans, said the country is now watching derstanding with their Singapore neutrality amid increasingly frosty a recent interview that Singapore saiduseful limited indepention, the number of cases in the they rejected Sessions’ 2018 policy, sayBiden administration reline that shielded them from de- recent will “be but their we will not be counterparts expanding informa- U.S.-China relations. including women and children,” what the U.S. does next. courts part- dence. judgesand had the authoriof former Donportation made use of” in its relations with U.S. Secretary of surged, State Antony tionthe sharing training to com- immigration “What mattersPresident is how the U.S. ing she said.while they awaited word versals “To countries, say the immigration judgas someand of the hundreds thou- both tocyberthreats. decide how they wanted to lyBlinken Trump’s immigration policies. on their applications for legal alongsta- ald and the nation’s U.S. Defenseof Secrerepositions itself in the Asia Pacif- tybat Harris took questions es never possessed this power was sands of cases that had been put handle cases. The Justice DepartLast month, Garland ended two tusside from other agencies, such as The two nations agreed to co- tary Lloyd Austin made their first prime minister previously warned Singapore Prime Minister Lee ic, engages the broader region and ridiculous,” McKinney hold were back the simply which runs closely the immigration that to made it harder im- ment, green cards or other visas. the U.S. against pursuing ansaid. agoverseas trips added to Japan andonSouth operate more to track on continues fight againstfor terrorHsien Loong after the twoCritics met for policies By Amy Taxin The Associated Press

VP Harris: Focus must stay on Afghan evacuation

about two hours to discuss issues

ism, because that will determine

COVID-19 variants and engage

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Korea. Austin traveled to Singa-

gressive approach to China.

Randolph Record for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

7

obituaries

Marie Luck Joyce 1944 - 2021

Marie Luck Joyce, age 77, of Asheboro passed away on Friday, August 20, 2021 at Randolph Hospice House. Ms. Joyce was born in Asheboro on January 26, 1944 to Clay and Irene Henley Luck. She was retired from Elastic Therapy. In addition to her parents, Marie was preceded in death by her daughter, Anita Hawkins. She is survived by her sons, Tony W. Hawkins of Burlington and Allen W. Hawkins and wife Suzanne of Jamestown; daughter, Tara W. Hawkins of Asheboro; grandchildren, Amelia Hawkins of Hyde Park, NY and Stuart Davis of Las Vegas, NV; brothers, Ray Luck and wife Diane, Bobby Luck and wife Shirley, and Larry Luck and wife Judy all of Asheboro; and sister, Mildred L. Coggins of Asheboro. The family will receive friends on Sunday, August 22, 2021 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm at Pugh Funeral Home, 437 Sunset Avenue in Asheboro. Funeral services will be held on Monday, August 23, 2021 at 11:00 am at the Pugh Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow in the Hopewell Friends Meeting Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Dr., Asheboro, NC 27203 or The Salt Box, Randolph County Senior Adults Association, 347 W. Salisbury St., Asheboro, NC 27203.

Roy Clayton Brown 1937 - 2021

Buddy Boone 1926 - 2021

Dr. Jon William “Buck” Couch

Bobbie Jean Alcorn Booker

1936 - 2021

Robert L. “Buddy” Boone, age 95, of Asheboro died Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at Randolph Hospice House. Buddy was born March 18, 1926 in Randolph County to Eli and Mary Boone.

1932 - 2021

Dr. Jon William “Buck” Couch, Bobbie Jean Alcorn Booker 85, died on Friday, August 20, 2021, of Asheboro passed away on at Clapp’s Convalescent Nursing Thursday, August 19, 2021. She was Center in Asheboro, North Carolina, 89 years old. after suffering a stroke five years Bobbie Jean was born August ago. He was born in Durham, North 18, 1932 to John Alfred and Mabel Carolina, on April 10, 1936, the eldest Bennett Alcorn. Bobbie and her Buddy served in the US son of the late Leamon F. Couch, Sr. identical twin sister, Jeanette, were Army during WWII from and Gladys Andrews Couch, and the youngest of seven children and 1944-1946. During this time brother of Janet Couch Teer and grew up in Rockingham County he was a Private 1st Class in the Leamon F. “Lea” Couch, Jr., who near Reidsville, where her father 45th Infantry Division, the 180 survive him. owned a farm and raised tobacco. Infantry Battalion and Company Buck graduated from high school The twins were both energetic and B 4th Platoon. He was stationed at the Fork Union Military Academy inseparable. Her family attended in Marseille, Frances and in 1954, where he played football Fairview Baptist Church, and it Nuremberg, Germany. Buddy and served as the drum major of the was there she met her husband of was wounded in action and was marching band. He graduated from 69 years, Carlton Gene Booker. He a Purple Heart recipient and Duke University with a bachelor of briefly dated her twin sister first, received the Service Medal with arts degree in English in 1958, and but the chemistry and his future 2 Bronze Stars while stationed in was a member of the Phi Delta Theta were with Bobbie Jean. Their love Rhineland and Central Europe. fraternity. At Duke he participated and commitment were a shining Buddy worked for Sherwin on the school lacrosse and club example for all. Williams Paint for 37 years football teams, and was an avid Gene and Bobbie Jean were ending his career as manager. golfer. While in college he enlisted married on June 9th, 1951. In the He was a Mason for close to 70 in the United States Navy Reserve, coming years, the Lord would years, a member of Asheboro where he served as a hospital bless them with four daughters. Friends where he sang in the choir corpsman assigned to a Marine In time, their family further grew and also sang with the Asheboro Corps reserve unit. He later received to include four sons-in-law, nine Community Choir. Buddy was a an honorable discharge from the grandchildren, and ten greatformer Scout Leader for Troop 571 Navy in 1964 after attaining the rank grandchildren. Bobbie was fiercely and enjoyed wood working. of Hospital Corpsman Second Class loyal and protective of her family, In addition to his parents, (HM2). loving each one unconditionally. Buddy was preceded in death by After working in his father’s She believed in them and supported his son, Alan Boone and sister, furniture store in Durham, Buck their dreams, and she taught Pauline McCauley. entered dental school at the them that with their faith, grit, He is survived by his wife of University of North Carolina at determination, and hard work 73 years, Mary Beck “Becky” Chapel Hill in 1961. Upon his they could accomplish anything. Boone; daughter, Cindy Owens graduation in 1965, he opened a In her life her priorities were God, of Wilkesboro; grandchildren, dental office in Asheboro, North her marriage, her family, and her Jonathan Owens and wife Ever Carolina, where he practiced for the church. of Apex, Julia Owens of Millers next twenty-nine years. Bobbie was the epitome of Creek; great grandchild, Reagan Throughout his life Buck was the North Carolina motto, ESSE Owens of Apex. an active member of the Randolph QUAM VIDERI - to be rather The family will receive friends County community. As a member than to seem. She was authentic Saturday, August 21, 2021 from of First Presbyterian Church in and freely spoke her mind, a 6 - 8 PM at Pugh Funeral Home, Asheboro he sang in the choir and quality that was combined with 437 Sunset Avenue, Asheboro. taught Sunday School. For his many humor and wit, kindness and Funeral services will be held years of service as the leader of Cub compassion, and sharp intelligence. Sunday, August 22, 2021 at 2:00 Scout Pack 525 he was awarded the Although she often downplayed pm at Asheboro Friends Meeting, prestigious Silver Beaver Award by her role in Gene’s ministry - and 230 E. Kivett St., Asheboro with the Boy Scouts of America. He sang even expressed reservations about Rev. David Millikan officiating. tenor as a member of the Randolph her qualifications as a pastor’s Burial will follow in Randolph Community Choir. In his later years wife - the truth is that all of their Memorial Park with military he was instrumental in establishing congregations were drawn to her honors by the Randolph County the Asheboro Shelter of Hope by and cherished her. Both she and Honor Guard and masonic honors contributing many volunteer hours Gene loved people and adored by the Balfour Lodge #188 AF & and finances to supply a kitchen. He children. Gene had the post high AM. was an active member of Back Creek school education, but Bobbie was The family kindly request that Friends Meeting Church from 2007 endowed with common sense, logic, no food or flowers be given and until his death. and a keen memory. Her husband that memorial contributions Buck is survived by his wife of counted on her to remember be made to Asheboro Friends thirty-four years Mrs. Patsy Waynick not only the names of his church 2021 - 2021 Meeting, 230 E. Kivett St., P. O. Couch of Asheboro, and her children: members and acquaintances, but Box 987, Asheboro, NC 27203 or Mrs. Karen McBride Hall of Badin also connections and facts about Blaiden Daniel Richardson, Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Lake; Mrs. Amy McBride Ferree their families. Her natural curiosity infant son of August Rose Dr., Asheboro, NC 27203, www. (Jeff) of Asheboro; and Mr. Gregory and love for people of all walks of Lockhart and Christian hospiceofrandolph.org W. McBride of Sanford. From his life and her ability to relate to others Richardson died Friday, August previous marriage to Mrs. Kay were a vital part of their ministry. 20, 2021 at Randolph Health. Mitchell Randolph, he is survived Bobbie lived with Alzheimers In addition to his parents, by three sons and their families: for more than 11 years. She met Blaiden is survived by sister, Mr. and Mrs. Jon M. Couch (Gloria) the challenges of that journey of Cloe Richardson, Mya Clark of Midlothian, Virginia; Mr. and memory loss with the same faith, and Caroline Lockhart; Mrs. David F. Couch (Stephanie) of wit, authenticity, kindness, and brothers, Dakota Richardson, Summerfield, North Carolina; and determination with which she Adrian Clark and Caden Clark; the Honorable and Mrs. V. Stuart lived the rest of her life. She loved grandmothers, Lisa Easterday Couch (Kim) of Crozet, Virginia. her caregivers at Cross Roads and Della Tuttle. He is also survived by his foster Memory Care Center, and she A memorial service will be children Lena Duggins Cox (Donnie), often made them laugh. Although held Monday, August 30, 2021 at Kenneth Duggins (Ashley), and her disease progressed, two weeks 2:00 pm at Pugh Funeral Home, Nash Duggins (Allacin). He was before her death she was still eating 437 Sunset Avenue, Asheboro. the proud grandfather of Alexandra well, recognizing the faces of her Couch Snukals, Stuart W. Couch, daughters, and interacting to the Sara Delle Couch, Matthew B. best of her ability. Her decline Couch, Andrew D. Couch, Dalton and demise came swiftly in those Hall, Jake Hall, Chelsea Hall Smith, last two weeks, and God honored Taylor Ferree, Emma Ferree, Jackson her family’s prayers that she not FRIDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY McBride, Lenna Cox, Brodie Cox, suffer. She passed peacefully in Carson Duggins, Sydney Duggins, her sleep, and now she is with Carter Duggins, Addie Cate Duggins, her heavenly Father. Today she is and Badin Duggins; and greatwith the husband she constantly grandfather of Warner Snukals, searched for after HIhis death, now 78° HI 91° HI Ellie Smith, and 91° Katherine Snukals, understanding why he was not by Ret Smith. her side these past LOnine months, 66° LO 70° LO 70° Buck will be remembered for and she is reunited with her beloved devotion to his family, friends, and twin sister andPRECIP with others that 57% PRECIP 15% PRECIP 15% community, and the many people she has been missing. While her he helped in ways big and small. family misses her, they rejoice in her Buck’s family and friends will hold a strong faith and obedience that led “celebration of life” at a date and place to a fruitful and fulfilling life. They to be announced. Pugh Funeral rejoice that she is beyond pain and Home in Asheboro is responsible for suffering. Celebrate the life of your loved arrangements although there will not Bobbie Jean is survived by her ones. Submit obituaries and be a funeral service. daughters, Hope Booker Haywood, Remembrances and memorial Joyce Booker Lewis, Jeanne death notices to be published in contributions can be made to Booker Eaker, and Jennifer Booker Randolph Record at Back Creek Quaker Men’s Group Baker. She will be laid to rest in the to support their ministry in the Fairview Baptist Church cemetery obits@randolphrecord.com community at the following address: in Reidsville in a graveside service Back Creek Quaker Men’s Group C/O surrounded by family. Back Creek Friends Meeting, 147 Back Creek Church Road, Asheboro, Stanly County Journal North Carolina 27205.

Blaiden Daniel Richardson

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Roy Clayton Brown, age 84, of Asheboro went home to be with his Lord and Savior on August 21, 2021 at the Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro. He was a member of Franklinville Wesleyan Church where he served the Lord many years as Sunday School Superintendent, song leader, and adult Sunday School teacher. Roy graduated from Coleridge High School and retired from Quality Blind and Awning after also having worked for Burlington Industries and Ramtex. Roy was a devoted husband, loving father, proud grandfather, caring son, and supportive brother. Most importantly, he was a child of God, leading a godly life as an example for his family. In addition to his parents, Roy was preceded in death by wife, Virginia Lowdermilk Brown, wife, Betty Elberson Brown, daughter, Karen Marie Brown, and brother, Howard Russell Brown. He is survived by his daughter, Susan Brown (Phillip) Hogan of Asheboro; granddaughters, Stephanie (Richard) Kinton of Asheboro, Rebecca (A.J.) Odom of Thomasville; great grandchildren, Daegon Kinton, Bannon Kinton, Adalynne Kinton, John Michael Odom, and Penelope Odom; sister, Ruth Ann Allred. Roy’s greatest desire, spoken often in his prayers, was “Lord, please help me to do what I wish I would have done when I stand before you.” Roy fought a good fight. He finished his course and he kept the faith. The family will receive family and friends on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 from 11:30 am12:45 pm at Pugh Funeral Home, 437 Sunset Avenue in Asheboro and other times at 2985 Pilot Mountain Road in Asheboro, Roy and Betty’s former residence before going to their heavenly homes. Funeral services will follow at 1:00 pm in the Pugh Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Terry Giles officiating. Burial will be in the Bethel Friends Meeting Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Roy’s memory to Franklinville Wesleyan Church, 225 Allred St., Franklinville, NC 27248.

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STATE & NATION

9 women now serving as governors, tying a record By David A. Lieb The Associated Press WITH KATHY HOCHUL officially taking the reins as New York’s governor, a historic number of women are currently leading U.S. states — a push towards equality and representation that could continue into next year’s midterm elections. There are now nine women serving as governor in the U.S. That ties a record that was set in 2004 and matched in 2007 and 2019. Six of the female governors are Democrats and three Republicans. Taking over on short notice for a scandal-plagued predecessor in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Hochul began her tenure Tuesday with more than enough challenges for a new administration. She also began with an historic opportunity: Hochul is the first woman to hold one of the most prominent governorships in the U.S. “New York as a whole has been a tough place for women to break into the highest levels, because there is very much a tight set of powerful gatekeepers,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “And unfortunately — even in 2021 — women are still seen, in effect, as newcomers,” she said. A century after women gained the right to vote, 19 states still have never been led by a woman. That includes some of the most populous states, such as California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Even if it succeeds, California’s recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom next month doesn’t appear likely to elevate a woman to the state’s top job. Hochul had served as New York’s lieutenant governor until succeeding fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who resigned after a decade in office. Cuomo had faced a potential impeachment battle after

HANS PENNINK | AP PHOTO

New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul gives a news conference at the state Capitol on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Albany, N.Y. an attorney general’s investigation said he had sexually harassed or inappropriately touched 11 women. Among other things, Cuomo also had faced a legislative investigation into whether he misled the public last year about COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. “I want people to believe in their government again,” Hochul said Tuesday while outlining her top goal. Hochul already has announced she will seek a full four-year term in 2022. Taking over in a crisis could benefit her politically, especially since

women can face greater scrutiny when running for office, said Betsy Fischer Martin, executive director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University. “It gives her an automatic way to shine in the office,” Fischer Martin said. Next year could be a pivotal one for women running for governor. Democratic Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon will be the only female incumbent barred from seeking re-election by term limits. Six male governors also will be term-limited, opening a path to office for fresh candidates from both parties.

In Arizona, where Republican Gov. Doug Ducey can’t run again, the field already has several candidates who are women, including Republican state Treasurer Kimberly Yee and Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Arizona already holds the record for the most women who have served as governor — four. Kansas has had three. In Arkansas, which has never had a woman serve as governor, a high-profile Republican primary pits Attorney General Leslie Rutledge against Sarah Sanders, press secretary for former President Donald Trump and daughter of for-

mer Gov. Mike Huckabee. The incumbent, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, will be termed out. In 2018, women’s political advocates also thought they were primed for success with a record number of candidates for governor. But they did not ultimately set a new record for victories. Women currently hold 18% of governors’ offices — significantly less than this year’s new records of 27% of U.S. congressional seats and 31% of state legislative seats. In addition, Vice President Kamala Harris also became the first woman in that role this year.

In this Dec. 16, 2020, file photo, Ingrid Radke, a critical care nurse in the ICU, receives the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccination at St. Peter’s Health in Helena, Mont.

THOM BRIDGE | INDEPENDENT RECORD VIA AP, FILE

Montana only state to ban vaccine requirements for employees By Iris Samuels The Associated Press HELENA, Mont. — While many large companies across the U.S. have announced that COVID-19 vaccines will be required for their employees to return to work in-person, there is one state where such requirements are banned: Montana. Under a new law passed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year, requiring vaccines as a condition for employment is deemed “discrimination” and a violation of the state’s human rights laws. Montana is the only state in the U.S. with a law like this for private employers, said Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. The law has raised concern among some employers across the state. “This is against everything we’ve ever known or believed about public health,” said Dr. Pamela Cutler,

president of the Montana Medical Association. “I believe it’s a travesty now and it needs to be fixed so that we can make our offices safe for patients and our coworkers.” GOP lawmakers who supported the bill in the state Legislature said it was needed in response to employers “coercing” employees to get vaccinations under threat of termination. Some of the loudest supporters of the bill were employees of Benefis Health System in Great Falls who were told earlier this year that COVID-19 vaccines would be necessary to keep their jobs. Benefis was forced to backtrack on that plan when the law was signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte in May. Gianforte, a former business executive who founded and ran a technology company, gave the bill the green light after changing it to allow health care facilities to require unvaccinated workers and those who refuse to disclose their vaccination status to wear masks

and take other precautions. He stood behind the law this week amid heightened scrutiny. “While the governor continues to encourage Montanans to receive safe and effective vaccines, doing so is voluntary and no individual should face discrimination based on vaccination status,” Brooke Stroyke, a spokesperson for Gianforte, said in an email. While the list of national corporations requiring vaccines of their employees who want to return to work in-person continues to grow, which now includes Google, Facebook, Walmart, and United Airlines, businesses in Montana don’t have that option. “Most (businesses) feel like their hands are tied right now,” said Mike Rooney, operations director for Downtown Helena Incorporated, an organization that represents businesses in downtown Helena. “Some would definitely be very supportive of a vaccination requirement or a mask requirement.”

The Montana Hospital Association opposed the law before it took effect, warning that it would make it harder for the state to meet its need for medical services. Now, the association is saying their fears may come to fruition. Dr. Neil Ku, an epidemiologist at Billings Clinic who sits on the board of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, said the law sets Montana apart in conversations about how to combat the coronavirus. “It is very difficult for me to participate in the conversation when everywhere in the country can talk about vaccinating their employees but I can’t,” Ku said. Hospitals in Montana until recently required their employees to get most vaccines approved by the Centers for Disease Control, including the annual flu shot, providing an avenue for employees to opt out for medical or religious reasons. Now, that is no longer possible, leaving both workers and patients vulnerable.

Across the U.S., 60% of those eligible are vaccinated against the COVID-19. In Montana, that number is 49%. In Montana hospitals, employees are vaccinated at a higher rate, but without a requirement, patients must contend with added risk to their health when seeking care. “It holds us out as an anomaly against the rest of the nation,” said Rich Rasmussen, president of the Montana Hospital Association. “We have to rely on recruiting from out of state. The rest of the nation is looking at us and they are saying, ‘I don’t know if I want to practice in Montana, because of their approach to patient and employee safety as it relates to vaccinations.’” Like many states, Montana is dealing with a rise in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Delta variant. According to a state report released earlier this week, 234 out of the 240 beds in the Benefis Hospital are occupied.

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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 47 | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021 | STANLYJOURNAL.COM

Stanly County Journal

Back to school

CHRIS SEWARD | AP PHOTO

On Monday, Aug. 23, students across the country headed back to the classroom, including in Stanly County. Also like in Stanly, many of these students returned with strict COVID-19 safety measures in place, like masking and social distancing. In this photo, masked children in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, are seen meeting their teachers.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Two killed in singleengine airplane crash Anson County Two people are dead after a small airplane crashed and burst into flames shortly after taking off. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that a Piper PA-24 crashed around 10:20 a.m. after taking off from Jeff Cloud Field at Anson County Airport. According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, it appeared the aircraft encountered some type of engine trouble and managed to clear one set of trees before dropping into another group of trees and bursting into flames. Investigators had not identified the victims as of Friday afternoon. AP

Body of missing woman found in lake by boater Davidson County The body of a woman who had been reported missing has been found in a lake, a sheriff’s office said. The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office identified the woman as Laura-Michelle Trent. Officials said Trent had been missing since Monday and was last seen at the Yadkin River Access under the bridge on U.S. Highway 64, near the Davidson-Davie county line. The sheriff’s office said her body was recovered from High Rock Lake on Friday. Trent’s body is being sent for an autopsy, and the sheriff’s office is looking into her death. AP

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$100M in funding for local Stanly County projects in NC House budget Airport, parks, drug treatment among biggest recipients By David Larson Stanly County Journal RALEIGH — Speaking to Stanly County Journal on Aug. 23, Rep. Wayne Sasser, a Republican in the N.C. House, who represents most of Stanly County, said he was able to secure around $100 million in various projects that benefit Stan-

ly County residents directly in the recently passed budget. The budget was passed by the House with a veto-proof majority, but the final version that will be sent to Gov. Roy Cooper will still need to be worked out with the Senate. The biggest chunk of funding for Stanly in the House budget, $28 million, is dedicated to the Stanly County Airport. “That’s a regional Office of Emergency Management facility,” Sasser said of the airport expansion. “Some of the things that will

be there include a 747 simulator that will simulate airplane crashes. People from all over the United States will come into the Stanly County Airport to train at that facility. That’s going to be a big deal for Stanly County.” He said a lot of the initial momentum for this regional facility came from the Senate side, especially with Stanly County’s state senator, Carl Ford. For this reason, this project will likely survive any negotiations between the two chambers.

The House budget also has a lot of funding directed towards Badin Lake and Morrow Mountain to improve roads and other infrastructure. Sasser said when he was a freshman, he noticed Morrow Mountain was getting skipped over for some funding. He said, at one point, he stood up on the House floor to inquire about it and got assurances the park would be included in future appropriations. He said among the funds are $1 See PROJECTS, page 2

Stanly County Schools begin fall 2021 semester

‘Play Music on the Porch Day’ debuts in Albemarle Aug. 28

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

ALBEMARLE — For the first time since March 2020, Stanly County Schools have opened up with full face-to-face instruction as the fall semester of classes began Monday for the district’s 11 elementary schools, four middle schools and seven high schools. “A new school year and new beginnings are always a cause for excitement and anticipation,” Dr. Jarrod Dennis, superintendent of Stanly County Schools, wrote in an open letter to the county posted on the SCS website. “The 2021-2022 school year brings an opportunity for a fresh start, and an opportunity for students and teachers to be together in class for the first time in quite a while.” Dennis referenced that the county’s schools will be continuing to use “appropriate safety measures” to try to deter the spread of COVID-19 throughout the school system. In addition, free COVID-19 testing will be offered for all students and staff throughout the school year. On Aug. 3, the Stanly County Board of Education voted 6-1

to enforce a mask policy for the fall semester that included a caveat — the policy will be dropped if the county’s percent-positive rate for tests falls below 7.9% for a consecutive two-week period. The Stanly County Health Department is currently reporting a 16.4% positivity rate based on data provided by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Aug. 23. In his letter, the SCS superintendent thanked the county’s employees for their efforts during the pandemic when many of them were forced to work remotely and adapt their schedules to the hybrid learning format that was adopted. “Our teachers and staff have done an outstanding job in the past year and a half with all of the challenges the pandemic has caused them to have to face,” Dennis said. “They have learned how to successfully provide remote instruction while also finding creative ways to provide instruction in an ever-changing educational landscape. Now it is time for students to return to what we recognize as invaluable face-to-face instruction.”

ALBEMARLE — With over 15 different acts scheduled to perform, there will be no shortage of live music in downtown Albemarle this Saturday. The internationally-held Play Music on the Porch Day event is set for an all-day showing at the Isaiah Snuggs House and the Freeman-Marks House located at 12 N. Third St. Presented by The Stanly County Historical Society, the outdoor concert will be free of charge thanks to a Stanly County Community Foundation grant. “This has been going on for several years but this is the first time that Albemarle has participated in it,” local musician Bucky Hinson told SCJ. Hinson and his Americana-folk group The Rusty Whistle Band are slated to perform during the 11:30 a.m. time slot at the Freeman-Marks House. “I think it’s pretty awesome,” Hinson said. “There are a lot of volunteers helping out to run the soundboard. They’ll have one

stage going with someone playing on the porch, and right beside it another stage will be getting set up with no downtime — continuous music from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.” The headlining sets of the night belong to Braden Harwood Acoustics (7 p.m.) and Radio Flyer Bluegrass Band (8 p.m.). Other acts include Jacob’s Creek, Jacob Almond with Coastal Mountain Connection, Spencer Ayscue and the North Street Band, Joe Judge, Tom Lipe, Rod Almond, and The Dancing Fleas. The concept for a worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day — held annually on the last Saturday of August — was developed in 2013 by Brian Mallman, a Los Angeles based artist. Within five years, musicians from at least 70 countries and over 700 cities had signed up for the event. More information about the lineup of musicians for Albemarle’s first annual “Porch Fest,” a nickname that has latched on in some locations, can be found by visiting The Stanly County Historical Society’s Facebook page.

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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Design Editor Lauren Rose Published each Wednesday by North State Media LLC 1550 N.C. Hwy 24/27 W, Albemarle, N.C. 28001 (704) 269-8461 INFO@STANLYJOURNAL.COM STANLYJOURNAL.COM

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DEATH NOTICES ♦ Melissa Ann Willis, 39, of Stanfield, died August 15. ♦ Trudy Kimrey Efird, 76, of Albemarle, died August 15.

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US WWII veteran reunites with Italians he saved as children By Charlene Pele NerdWallet BOLOGNA, Italy — For more than seven decades, Martin Adler treasured a black-and-white photo of himself as a young American soldier with a broad smile with three impeccably dressed Italian children he is credited with saving as the Nazis retreated northward in 1944. On Monday, the 97-year-old World War II veteran met the three siblings — now octogenarians themselves — in person for the first time since the war. Adler held out his hand to grasp those of Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi for the joyful reunion at Bologna’s airport after a 20-hour journey from Boca Raton, Florida. Then, just as he did as a 20-year-old soldier in their village of Monterenzio, he handed out bars of American chocolate. “Look at my smile,’’ Adler said of the long-awaited in-person reunion, made possible by the reach of social media. It was a happy ending to a story that could easily have been a tragedy. The very first time the soldier and the children saw each other, in 1944, the three faces peeked out of a huge wicker basket where their mother had hidden them as soldiers approached. Adler thought the house was empty, so he trained his machine gun on the basket when he heard a sound, thinking a German

ANTONIO CALANNI | AP PHOTO

A 97-year-old retired American soldier Martin Adler, center, receives a kiss by Mafalda, right, and Giuliana Naldi, which he saved during a WWII, at Bologna’s airport, Italy, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. soldier was hiding inside. “The mother, Mamma, came out and stood right in front of my gun to stop me (from) shooting,’’ Adler recalled. “She put her stomach right against my gun, yelling, ‘Bambinis! Bambinis! Bambinis!’ pounding my chest,’’ Adler recalled. “That was a real hero, the mother, not me. The mother was a real hero. Can you imagine you standing yourself in front of a gun and screaming ‘Children! No!’” he said. Adler still trembles when he remembers that he was only seconds away from opening fire on the basket. And after all these decades, he still suffers nightmares from the war, said his daughter, Rachelle Donley. The children, aged 3 to 6 when

they met, were a happy memory. His company stayed on in the village for a while, and he would come by and play with them. Giuliana Naldi, the youngest, is the only one of the three with any recollection of the event. She recalls climbing out of the basket and seeing Adler and another U.S. soldier, who has since died. “They were laughing,’’ Naldi, now 80, remembers. “They were happy they didn’t shoot.” She, on the other hand, didn’t quite comprehend the close call. “We weren’t afraid for anything,’’ she said. She also remembers the soldier’s chocolate, which came in a blueand-white wrapper. “We ate so much of that choco-

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late,’’ she laughed. Donley decided during the COVID-19 lockdown to use social media to try to track down the children in the old black-andwhite photo, starting with veterans’ groups in North America. Eventually the photo was spotted by an Italian journalist who had written a book on World War II. He was able to track down Adler’s regiment and where it had been stationed from a small detail in another photograph. The smiling photo was then published in a local newspaper, leading to the discovery of the identities of the three children, who by then were grandparents themselves. They shared a video reunion in December, and waited until the easing of pandemic travel rules made the trans-Atlantic trip possible. “I am so happy and so proud of him. Because things could have been so different in just a second. Because he hesitated, there have been generations of people,’’ Donley said. The serendipity isn’t lost on Giuliana Naldi’s 30-year-old granddaughter, Roberta Fontana, one of six children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who descended from the three children hidden in the wicker basket. “Knowing that Martin could have shot and that none of my family would exist is something very big,” Fontana said. “It is very emotional.” During his stay in Italy, Adler will spend some time in the village where he was stationed, before traveling on to Florence, Naples and Rome, where he hopes to meet Pope Francis. “My dad really wants to meet the pope,” Donley said. “He wants to share his message of peace and love. My dad is all about peace.”

♦ Elizabeth Smith Burris, 95, of Stanfield, died August 16. ♦ Susan Chandler Hathcock, 65, of Albemarle, died August 16. ♦ Irene Barbee Little, 84, of Oakboro, died August 18. ♦ Debra Jane Harris, 63, of Norwood, died August 19. ♦ Tony Eugene Smith, 69, of Stanly County, died August 19. ♦ Nehemiah Parah, 58, died August 19. ♦ Colleen Swaringen Parker, 85, of Albemarle, died August 19. ♦ Thurman Howell, 87, of Albemarle, died August 21. ♦ Ruby Louise Whitley Randall, 82, of Albemarle, died August 21. ♦ Phyllis Blake Sedberry, 78, of Albemarle, died August 22.

See OBITS, page 7

PROJECTS from page 1 million to resurface the roads that are there, as well as another $1 million to build a road from the swimming pool at Morrow Mountain to Falls Reservoir in the city limits of Badin. “For the half-a-million people that go to Morrow Mountain every year, their closest access to gas, restaurants, that type of stuff, will be Badin,” Sasser said on the impact of that new road. He said they also put money towards a pier that was damaged in a storm on Morrow Mountain, and it’s likely already completed. “A lot of good things going on up at Morrow Mountain showing how important it is regionally, and also of course to Stanly County,” Sasser said. Another major area of funding in the budget that would benefit Stanly County are a number of drug-treat-

ment facilities, both in and out of the county, but which serve the residents. TROSA, a major long-term treatment program out of Durham, received $11 million to fund an expansion to Winston-Salem. Sasser said Bridge to Recovery, a shortterm facility with facilities in Union and Stanly counties, sends many of their participants to TROSA. Bridge to Recovery itself received $500,000 in this budget Gateway of Hope is a newer project out of New London that aims to treat many of these patients closer to home. They received $1 million. A local pastor, Larry Wilkins, who runs multiple half-way houses in Locust, will run this program. Sasser said the money will go to building some housing for participants of Gateway of Hope as they create the new program. Sasser said as a pharmacist, he feels especially called to respond to the opioid crisis and sees it as a pas-

“I’ve been working with DHHS and with the attorney general’s office to make sure this opioid settlement money — and we could be looking at $750 million over the next 15 years or so — trying to make sure this money goes to what it was intended to do.” Rep. Wayne Sasser (R-Stanly) sion and expertise of his. Now as cochair of the Health and the Health Appropriations committees, he has a big influence on how funding for treatment programs gets distributed in the state. Of particular con-

cern is how to spend the opioid settlement money that big pharmaceutical companies are paying out for their role in the crisis. He said up to 70% will go directly to the counties, but with the portion that the state received, Sasser said he wanted to make sure that “got to where it needed to.” “I’ve been working with DHHS [the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services] and with the attorney general’s office to make sure this opioid settlement money — and we could be looking at $750 million over the next 15 years or so — trying to make sure this money goes to what it was intended to do,” Sasser said. “It’s meant to treat people who have been affected by opioids, not end up like tobacco settlement money ended up — which didn’t cure any cancer, didn’t stop anybody from smoking, it just built a lot of nice buildings in North Carolina.”

WEEKLY CRIME LOG ♦ Lechette, David Albert (W /M/34) Arrest on chrg of Domestic Criminal Trespass (M), at 126 South Second St, Albemarle, NC, on 8/23/2021 ♦ Torres, Luis Daniel (U /M/24) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felony Larceny (F) and 2) Larceny Of Motor Vehicle (f) (F), at 126 South Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 8/23/2021 ♦ Parker, Maliq Raekwon (B /M/18) Arrest on chrg of 1) Possession Of Stolen Firearm (F) and 2) Gun Etc On Educ Prop (F), at 126 South Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 8/23/2021 ♦ Espinoza, Danielle Danea (W /F/28) Arrest on chrg of Fugitive From Justice (F), at Us52/ danville Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 8/23/2021 ♦ Shehane, Dylan Case (W /M/29) Arrest on chrg of Assault And Battery (M), at 40014 Matt-neal Rd, Norwood, NC, on 8/23/2021 ♦ Morgan, Keith Morris (W /M/34) Arrest on chrg of 1) Pwimsd Sch Ii Cs (F), 2) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), 3) Felony Probation Violation (F), 4) Felony Probation Violation (F), and 5) Surrender By Surety (F), at 126 S Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 8/22/2021

♦ Simpson, Rhonda Foster (W /F/45) Arrest on chrg of Simple Assault, M (M), at 222 Old Hwy 49, Richfield, NC, on 8/22/2021 ♦ Cabe, Susan Leigh (W /F/46) Arrest on chrg of Detainer (F), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 8/21/2021 ♦ Howard, Antwann Lamont (B /M/40) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felony Possession Of Cocaine (F), 2) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), and 3) Carrying Concealed Gun (m) (M), at Union Grove, on 8/21/2021 ♦ Thompson, Joseph Tyler (W /M/29) Arrest on chrg of Fel Prob Viol Out Of County (F), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 8/21/2021 ♦ Harris, Joseph Maurice (B /M/53) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felony Possession Of Cocaine (F) and 2) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at Union Grove, Albemarle, NC, on 8/21/2021 ♦ Blankenship, Larry Scott (W /M/59) Arrest on chrg of 1) Driving While Impaired (M) and 2) Reckless Drvg-wanton Disregard (M), at Hugh Road/nc73, Albemarle, NC, on 8/21/2021 ♦ Blue, Brandon Lee (W /M/38) Arrest on chrg of 1) Pwimsd

Methamphetamine (F), 2) Maintain Veh/dwell/place Cs (f) (F), and 3) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 8/20/2021 ♦ Hoyt, Douglas Ray (W /M/29) Arrest on chrg of Fel Prob Viol Out Of County (F), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 8/20/2021 ♦ Bruer, Robert Harold (W /M/47) Arrest on chrg of Misd Prob Viol Out Of County (M), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 8/20/2021 ♦ Nance, Dwayne Edward (W /M/56) Arrest on chrg of 1) Crime Against Nature (F), 2) Sexual Battery (M), 3) Indecent Liberties With A Child (F), 4) Stat Sex Off With Child <= 15 (F), and 5) Att Sex Act-sub Par/ custodian (F), at 126 South 3rd St, Albemarle, NC, on 8/20/2021 ♦ Wiggins, William Dale (W /M/46) Arrest on chrg of 1) Shoplifting Concealment Goods (M), 2) Lar Remove/dest/dea Ct Compo (F), and 3) Poss Stolen Goods/prop (m) (M), at Food Lion, Albemarle, NC, on 8/19/2021 ♦ Aldridge, Marvin Edward (W /M/55) Arrest on chrg of Misdemeanor Probation Viol (M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC,

on 8/19/2021

and 5) Possession Of Firearm By Felon (F), at 50005 Guy Lane, Norwood, NC, on 8/17/2021

♦ Bruer, Robert Harold (W /M/47) Arrest on chrg of 1) Att Obtain Prop False Pretense (F) and 2) Felony Conspiracy (F), at Salisbury Ave, Albemarle, NC, on 8/19/2021

♦ Roberts, April Michelle (W F, 36) Arrest on chrg of Communicate Threats, M (M), at155 W South St, Albemarle, on 08/17/2021

♦ Ediale, Janessa Louise (B /F/32) Arrest on chrg of Identity Theft (F), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 8/18/2021

♦ Sells, Brandon Todd (W M, 36) Arrest on chrg of Breaking And Or Entering (f) (F), at400 Moose St, Albemarle, on 08/18/2021

♦ Dunn, Jamie Suzanne (W /F/41) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felony Possession Sch Ii Cs (F), 2) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), and 3) Misd Prob Viol Out Of County (M), at Starwood Drive, Albemarle, NC, on 8/18/2021

♦ Postlewaite, Rebecca Erin (W F, 28) Arrest on chrg of Possess Heroin (M), at 717Bost St, Albemarle, on 08/18/2021.

♦ Caldwell, Angela Denise (B /F/48) Arrest on chrg of 1) Misdemeanor Larceny (M) and 2) Obtain Property False Pretense (F), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 8/17/2021 ♦ Smith, Infinity Yazmin S (B /F/23) Arrest on chrg of Contempt Of Court (M), at 126 South Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 8/17/2021 ♦ Ward, Sean Patrick (W /M/33) Arrest on chrg of 1) Trafficking,opium Or Heroin (F), 2) Maintain Veh/dwell/place Cs (f) (F), 3) Pwimsd Heroin (F), 4) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M),

♦ Shue, Jarrett Leigh (W M, 31) Arrest on chrg of Possess Methamphetamine (F), at1209 Wiscassett St, Albemarle, on 08/19/2021. ♦ Parker, Jacob Myles (W M, 27) Arrest on chrg of Misdemeanor Larceny, M (M), at781 Leonard Av, Albemarle, on 08/19/202 ♦ Wall, Xavier Markieth (B M, 20) Arrest on chrg of Flee/elude Arrest W/mv (f) (F), at Us 52 Hwy S/thomasville Rd, Ansonville, on 08/22/2021 ♦ Wall, Xavier Markieth (B M, 20) Arrest on chrg of True Bill Of Indictment (F), at Us52 Hwy S/ thomasville Rd, Ansonville, on 08/22/202

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

OPINION

3

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor VISUAL VOICES

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON

The buck stops where?

Former Obama Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called this President Biden’s “Bay of Pigs.” He also criticized President Biden for not taking responsibility, unlike President Kennedy in 1961.

THE BUCK STOPS HERE. The phrase was made popular by former President Harry Truman, who kept the words on his desk in the Oval Office. Many presidents have since uttered the phrase as an understanding that final decisions, as well as their consequences, rest with our nation’s commander in chief. Last week, President Joe Biden claimed the buck stops with him in regard to the catastrophic and poorly planned withdrawal from Afghanistan. However, the president’s words and actions say otherwise. The events of the past week in Afghanistan have been heartbreaking and infuriating. Reminiscent of Saigon, images of Taliban with American rifles and equipment have been an insult to American taxpayers and so many heroes who served or lost their lives there, as well as their Gold Star families. I first want to say to anyone who served in Afghanistan and to their families, hold your head high. You served with honor and you did your job. I also know from countless conversations I’ve had with so many of you that you are hurting. You need to know you are not alone, and your country supports you. I have long feared the fallout from an arbitrary withdrawal from Afghanistan, instead believing any withdrawal should be based on conditions on the ground and advice from military commanders. However, in April, President Biden announced his decision to leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, putting a symbolic political deadline and a major public relations win for the terrorists ahead of the safety of our troops and allies. Over the last week, President Biden defended this decision. Yet this misses the mark of the current uproar, which is not about the decision to leave, but the tragically incompetent way in which it was executed. President Donald Trump also wanted our troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. However, the Trump administration was adamant that any withdrawal would be conditions-based so that American citizens and allies would be protected and American military equipment would not fall into the hands of the Taliban. This withdrawal was backed by a deterrence model where the Taliban understood if they violated terms, they would face severe consequences. President Trump also insisted that U.S. troops would leave last — after all civilians were out and all military equipment was removed or destroyed. Unfortunately, the Biden administration did not follow this model. The speed in which the Taliban advanced through Afghanistan defied President Biden’s assurances from just one month ago when he told reporters, “The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.” Despite assurances that contingency plans were in place, images from our embassy and the airport have shown the administration was not prepared.

The chaotic exit has left tens of thousands of American citizens and Afghan allies stranded. Many remain in extreme danger, as the Taliban has blocked access to the airport and reportedly gone door-to-door exacting brutal revenge on those who stood by our side for decades. Yet, missing from President Biden’s remarks last week was taking responsibility for completely botching the withdrawal from Afghanistan. He also failed to lay out any plan to protect people and assets left behind, even as thousands of troops from Fort Bragg were hastily deployed to deal with the self-inflicted chaos. The president’s lack of preparation and understanding of the current fallout and furor are a failure of epic proportions. Former Obama Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called this President Biden’s “Bay of Pigs.” He also criticized President Biden for not taking responsibility, unlike President Kennedy in 1961. Following Afghanistan’s takeover, my heart breaks for Afghan women, girls and boys. Previous Taliban regimes brought about brutal humanitarian violations. Significant advances in civil rights over the last 20 years made possible by the brave men and women of the U.S. military are now in danger of being erased. I’m also saddened and angered by our failed commitment to so many Afghans who trusted us and worked with us against the Taliban yet are now left behind. I have been working for months to get our allies and American citizens out of Afghanistan. The State Department has been bogged down with delays which now threaten their lives. Just last week, the department responded to one of my inquiries for a special visa, advising the applicant to meet at the now-abandoned American Embassy in Kabul — on Sept. 28th. Additionally, the State Department sent notices to Afghan citizens to travel to the airport for evacuation, only to be turned away and beaten by the Taliban. Last week, I wrote a letter to Secretary of State Blinken to highlight this ineptitude that is putting lives at risk. American citizens and allies should have been evacuated from Afghanistan long before our troops. While I am hopeful our Armed Forces can save as many as possible, last week’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan will have implications for President Biden and our country for years. In the meantime, I hope you’ll join me in praying for our troops, veterans and Gold Star families. If you or anyone you know would like to talk, the veteran crisis hotline is available at 1-800-273-8255 (press 1). My office is also always here to help in any way. The buck should stop with the president of the United States. Rest assured, I will hold the administration accountable until every American citizen and ally is protected.

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Fiddling while Kabul falls Afghanistan is only one example of how Biden’s predictions about his policies’ effects have been belied by facts on the ground.

HISTORIANS AREN’T ACTUALLY sure that Nero caused or neglected a fire that consumed much of ancient Rome. Historians, however much they’d like to, won’t be able to deny that President Joe Biden bears full responsibility for America’s humiliating retreat from Afghanistan and our neglect of the tens of thousands who aided us and now face torture and death from the Taliban. “The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way,” Biden assured Americans on July 8. A Taliban takeover of Afghanistan “is not inevitable,” he said, pledging to “continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance, including speaking out for the rights of women and girls.” Asked if there were parallels with the American abandonment of Saigon, he saw “zero.” “The Taliban is not the South — the North Vietnamese army,” he said. “There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people lifted off the roof of an embassy in the — of the United States from Afghanistan.” Events last weekend forced Biden to go on national television Monday night and eat his words. He insisted that his administration was “clear-eyed about the risks” and “planned for every contingency,” but conceded, in fine understatement, that “this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” Partisans of the president say he’s only doing what the public wanted, citing polls showing large majorities favoring withdrawal. But poll results depend on how questions are framed, and opinions can change sharply as events change. Thus, in July, the conservative polling firm Echelon Insights found 47% favoring the U.S. “maintain a small military presence” and only 36% favoring “end” military presence “entirely.” Last weekend, as news accounts showed Taliban advances and U.S. forces in flight, the Republican firm Trafalgar found 69% disapproval of Biden on Afghanistan. Afghanistan is only one example of how Biden’s predictions about his policies’ effects have been belied by facts on the ground. An “orderly” withdrawal has become a rout. The scene of desperate Vietnamese vainly seeking escape in Saigon in 1975 has been reprised by the pictures of desperate Afghans clinging to the wheels of American planes and then falling to their deaths in Kabul in 2021. Similarly, though many news media are not showing much video, illegal border crossings in July hit nearly 213,000, a record number for this century, even though Biden predicted crossings would decline in the summer heat (which is real: I’ve been to Laredo in August, when it’s over 100 with not a cloud in the sky). Biden’s administration has been crowding illegal immigrants into the facilities it campaigned against, and has been dispersing COVIDinfected individuals around the country.

Homicide rates in major cities continue to rise at rates unprecedented since 1960, and after three months of 5% inflation, price increases are looking less “transitory” and more like galloping inflation. We seem like we’re headed back to the 1970s; the decade when Biden’s national political career began. Back then, he was part of large Democratic majorities in Congress that blocked attempts to stop North Vietnam’s conquest of the South. As helicopters lifted off the Saigon embassy, freshman Sen. Biden was unrepentant. “The United States has no obligation to evacuate one, or 100,001 South Vietnamese,” he said at one point. Like other Democrats, he complained that our allied government was corrupt and ineffective. He struck the same note Monday, blaming our Afghan allies for the collapse he failed to anticipate. “We gave them every tool they could need. We paid their salaries, provided for the maintenance of their air force,” he said. “We gave them every chance to determine their own future.” He lamented that Afghan leaders refused his advice “to seek a political settlement with the Taliban” and “to clean up the corruption in government” — advice much like American liberals’ complaints about the South Vietnamese in the 1970s. Those complaints were, in turn, echoes of the descriptions of Chiang Kaishek’s nationalist regime by liberals defending against charges that they “lost China” to Mao Zedong’s communist army. The nationalists, they said, were corrupt, right-wing and unwilling to fight hard. History has its ironies. The Vietnamese, nominally communist, foster capitalistic growth and pro-American feeling. Chiang’s nationalists fled to Taiwan, which is now politically democratic, economically dynamic and threatened by Xi Jinping’s increasingly aggressive China. After Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, “the Taiwanese government probably is reevaluating whether it is futile to resist China’s invasion,” wrote China-born author Helen Raleigh, while New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote that “every enemy will draw the lesson that the United States is a feckless power,” and “every ally — Taiwan, the Baltic States, Israel, Japan — will draw the lesson that it is on its own.” Meanwhile, after his 18-minute speech, Biden returned to vacationing behind the gates of Camp David. Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of The Almanac of American Politics.

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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SPORTS SIDELINE REPORT MLB

Braves’ Soroka tears Achilles again Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Soroka, who made the AllStar Game as a rookie in 2019 but has not pitched since tearing his Achilles tendon three starts into the pandemic-delayed 2020 season, has suffered the same injury and will require another major surgery. He had hoped to be ready to return early this season — he even pitched in a game late in spring training — only to suffer a setback in his recovery that required another surgical procedure. He then completely tore the tendon for the second time. The 24-year-old went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in his first full year in the big leagues.

WNBA

Champion Seattle Storm visit White House Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden honored the 2020 WNBA champions Seattle Storm on Monday, celebrating their success on the court and hailing the four-time title holders for changing lives with their activism. The visit marked the first time that an NBA or WNBA team has visited the White House since the Cleveland Cavaliers were feted by Barack Obama in 2016. Presidents typically host college and major league sports champions for a White House ceremony, but the two big basketball leagues skipped such celebrations during Donald Trump’s administration in opposition to Trump’s policies.

NFL

Titans coach Vrabel tests positive for COVID-19 Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel has tested positive for COVID-19 and quarantined at home. Vrabel told reporters he woke up Sunday with a sore throat and an earache. After two initial tests came back positive, Vrabel was given a PCR test, which on Monday confirmed he was positive. The Titans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-3 in a preseason game Saturday night. Special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman helped run practice Monday, while defensive coordinator Shane Bowen filled in by talking to reporters after the session.

NHL

Jimmy Hayes, 31, Boston College star who played in NHL, dies Milton, Mass. Jimmy Hayes, who won a national hockey championship at Boston College and played seven seasons in the NHL, has died. He was 31. A law enforcement official said medics on Monday were called to the Hayes home in the Boston suburbs, where he was pronounced dead. The 6-foot-5 right wing was a second-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2008. He totaled 54 goals and 55 assists in 334 NHL games with the Blackhawks, Panthers, Bruins and Devils. In addition to his wife and children, Hayes is survived by four siblings — including younger brother Kevin, a center with the Philadelphia Flyers, and his parents, Shelagh and Kevin Hayes Sr.

CARLOS OSORIO | AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney (12) beats William Byron (24) at the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in Brooklyn, Mich.

Blaney takes lead on final restart, holds on to win Michigan By Michael Marot The Associated Press BROOKLYN, Mich. — Ryan Blaney needed a push to pass William Byron on Sunday. Kyle Busch provided the boost. With Busch’s help, Blaney took the lead on the final restart, then bobbed and weaved his way around Michigan International Speedway to beat Byron by 0.077 seconds. It was the narrowest victory margin in a Cup race at this track since electronic scoring began.

“I wouldn’t say we had the best car,” Blaney said. “We got pretty good, to a point where I thought we could run fourth or fifth, and it just worked out to where he could give us a push and it just worked out.” Blaney won for the second time this season and sixth overall. Ford has now won seven straight at Michigan. When the top three cars took the outside lane on the final restart, Blaney chose the inside lane next to Byron and in front of Busch.

His decision — and Busch’s push — changed the complexion of the race. “It was fun, kind of like a superspeedway race,” Byron said. “Unfortunately, he ran the bottom. You can only block so many lanes and I tried to block the top and cost myself the lead.” Kyle Larson and Byron took turns over the final seven laps trying to give one another a shot to pass Blaney. Nothing worked. “Just made a couple of bad moves, I guess,” Larson said. “A little too impatient behind the No. 12 and allowed William to get by me and then I was hoping they would get racing and I could get side-drafting.” And Blaney sped across the finish line barely ahead of Byron. “Really the push was the whole thing,” Blaney said. “So thanks, Kyle.” Blaney also ended Kevin Harvick’s winning streak at Michigan at three. But the consolation prize wasn’t bad — clinching the 15th

spot in the 16-car playoff that begins in two weeks. Elliott beat Larson to the finish line to win the first stage, and Busch took the second stage over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell. Austin Dillon heads into the regular-season finale in 17th place after finishing third in the first stage, but his day ended with a nasty crash as the second stage ended. Dillon was trying to move up from below the white line when the No. 3 Chevrolet appeared to make contact with Brad Kesewlowski, sending Dillon hard into the outside wall and briefly airborne in the front straightaway. Keselowski apologized immediately on the radio. “I think we would have a shot for something there at the end with that race car,” he said. “I thought we had a little room to come up but he just held me down a little bit.” The regular-season ends Saturday night at Daytona.

Pacquiao ponders ring retirement, political plans after loss Yordenis Ugás defeated the legendary boxer Saturday night in Las Vegas

The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao sounded like a fighter on his way out and a politician on his way up. He might have concealed his battered face behind big sunglasses, but Pacquiao didn’t hide behind excuses or denial after a discouraging unanimous-decision loss to Yordenis Ugás on Saturday night. Yes, Pacquiao disclosed that his legs cramped throughout the fight on the Vegas Strip, depriving him of the mobility that has always made his power so dangerous. The eight-division world champion still acknowledged the larger fact that was obvious even to most of his devoted fans around the world: He deserved his loss to Ugás, a talented opponent who probably wouldn’t have been much trouble for prime Pacman. And that might be a good reason to walk away. “This sport is my passion,” Pacquiao said. “That’s why I’m still here fighting at the age of 42. I’m enjoying it, but sometimes you have to think about the response of your body. ... My mind, my heart, it’s 100%. But my legs were cramping.” In the moments after he returned from a two-year ring absence with the loss to the rangy, resilient Ugás, Pacquiao repeatedly hinted he is planning to retire from boxing. He is still alongside Canelo Álvarez as the two biggest active stars in the sport, yet Pacquiao (67-8-2) has never spoken so frankly about leav-

JOHN LOCHER | AP PHOTO

Manny Pacquiao, left, of the Philippines, is hit by Yordenis Ugas, of Cuba, in a welterweight championship boxing match Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Las Vegas. ing behind 26 years in the pro fight game. “I’ve done a lot for boxing, and boxing has done a lot for me,” Pacquiao said. “I look forward to spending a lot of time thinking about my future in boxing.” Pacquiao’s postfight comments included a sprinkling of such catchy, pre-written phrases — sort of like a stump speech by a politician. Indeed, the Filipino senator’s next fight is probably in the political ring: He is widely expected to enter the presidential race in the Philippines next month ahead of the May 2022 election. “In my heart, I want to contin-

ue to fight,” Pacquiao said. “But the thing is, I also have to consider my body. I’ve put it through a lot of things. Especially back in my country, there’s a lot of things that I need to accomplish to help people. I want to be an inspiration to the Philippine people inside and outside the ring.” If Pacquiao retires, he leaves boxing as one of the greats of his generation. Along with his stunning array of championship belts and his groundbreaking mobility across the sport’s weight classes, Pacquiao will be remembered for his utter fearlessness in taking on countless larger foes without blinking.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s devoted trainer for most of the past two decades, acknowledged being “a little worried” about the champ. “He’s boxed for a long time, and he’s the best guy I’ve ever had,” Roach said. “The best guy, the best fighter. I hate to see the day when he retires, but this could be it. We’ll see what Manny decides.” Another scenario seems equally plausible at this point: Pacquiao doesn’t win the presidency in nine months — he is behind several candidates in early polling — and he subsequently gets a highly lucrative opportunity to return to the ring late next year, when he will be nearly 44.

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

West Stanly cruises to 45-6 road win over South Stanly The Colts had 358 rushing yards in their season-opening win

night, the Bulls’ offense failed to pick up steam as the Colts’ pass rush swarmed sophomore quarterback Drew Gaddy. “Jacob Lisk and Carter Miller — those two guys can get after By Jesse Deal it,” Morton said of his defensive Stanly County Journal linemen. “With Jamarquis MorriNORWOOD — In Friday night’s son on the inside and Nick Barrinfootball season opener between ger, I’m looking for big things from West Stanly and South Stanly, it that front four this season.” Lisk and Miller had a took less than two mincombined 4.5 sacks; one utes for one team to midway through the secjump to a 14-point lead. ond quarter took GadWest’s two primary “We had dy out of the game after running backs — junior he sustained a leg injuMatthew Parker and se- too many ry from the tackle. Gadnior Braden Hartsell — mistakes, dy later returned before each found the end zone but we’re being replaced by senior shortly after the game’s Trevor Tucker after halfkickoff, quickly estab- still time. lishing the tone in the tweaking Senior Caden EdColts’ dominant 45-6 some stuff wards and junior Jesse road win over the Bulls. Boone led the Colts with The Colts (1-0) blocking11 and 10 tackles, respecamassed 358 rushtively. ing yards while holding wise While West’s runthe Bulls (0-1) to only and we’ll heavy attack did most 98. Parker recorded 133 continue to of the heavy lifting for yards on 11 carries while the team’s offense, juHartsell picked up a get better nior quarterback Carteam-high 176 on 10 car- for sure.” son Morton completed 5 ries. of 8 passes for 81 yards Despite the lopsided and a touchdown. Senior win, West Stanly coach Brett Morton, Khaleel McAuley reeled Brett Morton wasn’t ful- West Stanly in the scoring catch with ly satisfied with what he coach three minutes left in the saw on the field as the game to wrap up a quarColts were held scoreless ter where the Colts tacked on 21 for the entire third quarter. “We have a lot of stuff to clean points to an existing 24-0 lead. McAuley led all West receivers up and get better at,” Morton said. “Offensively, the first quarter was with 59 yards from his three rehuge, but the second and third ceptions. West Stanly will travel to Albequarters were very pedestrian. We had too many mistakes, but we’re marle (0-1) on Friday to take on a still tweaking some stuff block- Bulldog team that suffered a 50-0 ing-wise and we’ll continue to get loss to Thomasville (1-0) in its season opener. That same night, better for sure.” South’s only points came on a 71- South Stanly will look to rebound yard touchdown run from Omau- as the Bulls make a trip to Southrion Eldridge as the fourth-quar- western Randolph (1-0) to face the ter clock expired. For most of the Cougars of the PAC-7 Conference.

5

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

ALBEMARLE (0-1, 0-0 YVC) vs. WEST STANLY (1-0, 0-0 RRC) Albemarle | Friday, Aug. 27 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs, coming off a 1-2 campaign in the spring’s truncated season, suffered a setback in their 2021 season opener in a 50-0 loss at Thomasville. It won’t be easy to bounce back in their home opener against cross-county rival West Stanly. The Colts, 3-1 in the spring, started off the fall with a 45-6 win over South Stanly. West Stanly got 100-yard games out of running backs Braden Hartsell and Matthew Parker.

NORTH STANLY (0-1, 0-0 YVC) vs. EAST ROWAN (0-0) New London | Friday, Aug. 27 7:30 p.m. The Comets had a 14-point second quarter to take an eightpoint halftime lead in their opener at Ledford, but the Panthers scored 14 points in the third quarter and won 20-14. North Stanly will look to rebound at home against East Rowan on Friday. The Mustangs, 2-5 in the spring, will be playing their season opener in New London. East Rowan and North Stanly last played in 2019, a 33-12 road win for the Mustangs — their second straight win in the series.

SOUTH STANLY (0-1, 0-0 RRC) at SOUTHWESTERN RANDOLPH (1-0) Asheboro | Friday, Aug. 27 7:30 p.m. The Bulls suffered a 45-6 home loss to West Stanly in their opener and next have to travel to Asheboro to face Southwestern Randolph in Week 2. The Cougars are coming off a 45-0 shutout of Jordan Matthews that was played over two days after lightning stopped the game in the second quarter Friday. Southwestern Randolph beat South Stanly in 2019, a 5538 Cougars win.

BOB MARTIN | AP PHOTO

Fireworks are set off during Tuesday’s opening ceremony for the 2020 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

Paralympics, like Olympics, open in empty stadium The event, which runs through Sept. 5, got underway with coronavirus cases surging in Tokyo The Associated Press TOKYO — The Paralympics began Tuesday in the same empty National Stadium — during the same pandemic — as the opening and closing ceremonies of the recently completed Tokyo Olympics. Japanese Emperor Naruhito got it all started again, this time under the theme “We Have Wings.” Among the few on hand were Douglas Emhoff, husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons and International Olympic President Thomas Bach.

It was a circus-like opening with acrobats, clowns, vibrant music and fireworks atop the stadium to mark the start of the long parade of athletes. “I cannot believe we are finally here,” Parsons said in his opening remarks. “Many doubted this day would happen. Many thought it impossible. But thanks to the efforts many, the most transformative sport event on earth is about to begin.” The opening ceremony featured the national flags of the 162 delegations represented, which included the refugee team. In addition, the flag of Afghanistan was carried by a volunteer despite the delegation not being on hand in Tokyo. Comparisons to the Olympics stop with the colorful jamboree, save for the logistical and medical barriers during the pandemic, and

the hollowing out of almost everything else. Tokyo and Paralympic organizers are under pressure from soaring new infections in the capital. About 40% of the Japanese population is fully vaccinated. But daily new cases in Tokyo have increased four to five times since the Olympics opened on July 23. Tokyo is under a state of emergency until Sept. 12, with the Paralympics ending Sept. 5. Organizers on Tuesday also announced the first positive test for an athlete living in the Paralympic Village. They gave no name or details and said the athlete had been isolated. The Paralympics are being held without fans, although organizers are planning to let some school children attend, going against the advice of much of the medical community.

Parsons and Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo organizing committee, say the Paralympics can be held safely. Both have tried to distance the Paralympics and Olympics from Tokyo’s rising infection rate. “For the moment we don’t see the correlation between having the Paralympics in Tokyo with the rising number of cases in Tokyo and Japan,” Parsons told The Associated Press. Some medical experts have argued that even if there is no direct link, the presence of the Olympics and Paralympics promoted a false sense of security and prompted people to let down their guard, which may have helped spread the virus. The Paralympics are about athletic prowess. The origin of the word is from “parallel” — an event running alongside the Olympics.

“For the moment we don’t see the correlation between having the Paralympics in Tokyo with the rising number of cases in Tokyo and Japan,” Andrew Parsons, Paralympic Committee president

ment. area.” EMPHIS, Tenn. — Faced For Nutbush resident He also cited a widespread fear the threat of overburdened of being unnecessarily exposed to fear of contracting the itals, states across the country matched with the worry th the onverting convention centers, Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, August 25,virus. 2021 “All around, people are scared,” could lose stores that are ts facilities and performance the neighborhood. Offici he said. es into backup treatment sites Their fears are not unfounded. ven’t said if stores would oronavirus patients. In this majority-black city along the Gateway facility was What some Memphis, Tenthe Mississippi River, lawmakers If they did, shopping wo e, residents don’t get is why in and community leaders have been come more difficult for re r city, a shopping center in the sounding the alarm over what they especially for those who ar dle of a predominantly black, working By Alexandra Jaffe have nostaff means of transpo see as a disturbing trend ofsoldiers the vi-and embassy income residential neighborin an “incredibly challenging and The Associated Press to stores located farther aw rus killing African Americans at a d has been chosen. dangerous environment” to evacu“For people who don’t higher rate. ty and state officials are conate Afghanistan. SINGAPORE — Vice President what do they Nutbush resident Patricia Singapore Har- car, ed that Kamala an influx of patients is the anchor of thedo?” ask Harris asserted Monday U.S. naval presence Southeast that the maintain its foris, whoinspoke to The Ass ris wondered aloud if city officials m Memphis, as U.S. wellmust as nearby Asia and a deepwhile trade partneron evacuating and lugging a bott were “trying to contaminate” the hasPress sissippi, cus Arkansas and Americans rural ship with thetergent, U.S., but a thepackage country of bott vulnerable Afghanshospiand shouldn’t neighborhood. Tennessee, will strain also seeks to maintain strong ties get distracted by questions over ter and otherofitems Activist Earle Fisher, an AfriTheir fears echoed with China and a position neu- from t what are went wrong across in the chaotic ADRIAN SAINZ | AP PHOTO A Lot to her car. She note can American Memphis pastor, country:U.S. Governors, mayors trality amid increasingly frosty exit from Afghanistan. grocery store recently clos understands the anxiety. “This health experts in numerous This Friday, April 3, 2020 photo, shows Gateway Shopping Center U.S.-China relations. Speaking at a news conference U.S. Secretary of State Antony in Singapore, Harris repeatedher house and she already is an honest and reasonable cones are also researching and in Memphis, Tenn. Blinken U.S. Defense to engage when asked fartherSecreto get to Gat cern and skepticism,” Fisher said.andtravel tructingly declined makeshift medical tary Lloyd Austin made their first what she felt should have been “When we do things “I think it’s par for the course for ities. done differently in the withdrawal. overseas trips to Japan and South got to consider the people black people to be righteously a Chinese restaurant and other Lee has disclosed a few: the Mun New York“There’s City, they’re turnKorea. Austin traveled to Singano question there will neighborhood,” she said. “W skeptical of governmentalpore, intersic City Center in Nashville, the businesses. o the Javits Center convention Vietnam and the Philippines be and should be a robust anallastwith month and vowed support need to U.S. make the neighb ysis of the whatMcCormick has happened,Chattanooga but Locating a treatment center for vention that did not consult Convention Center, in Chicago, intrusions the right now there’s no question that Knoxville Expo Center — all coronavirus patients there pos- people on the ground first.”against Beijing’s worse than it in already is.” e Convention Center; and in the South China Sea. has to beAmeron evacuating U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, Doug McGowen, the city’s chief sites away from residential neigh- es two problems, residents say: dy, Utah,our thefocus Mountain Alexander Feldman, president American citizens, Afghans who phis Democrat, said the d GateIt could potentially expose them operating officer, said theand Expo Center. CEO of the US-ASEAN Busiworked with us and vulnerableborhoods. Afmake beThe Gateway Shopping Cen- to the virus amid concerns that way site was being considered he U.S. ghans, Army including Corps ofwomen Engi-and chilness Council,doesn’t said Harris willsense. have “I’m sure there are othe cause it could potentially accoms has been scouting to be careful in her conversations dren,” she said. locations ter in the Nutbush neighborhood blacks are contracting COVID-19 withsaid Singapore’s to fo-and they took questions thatleaders wouldnot work, of Memphis is different. The cen- at higher rates; and it could force modate hundreds of beds. He Tennessee, Harris and officials here alongcus too heavily on China, but side Singapore Prime Minister Lee compiled a list of 35 possi- ter features a Save A Lot grocery some of the stores they rely on to if it were converted to a treatment have used thosetorather t emphasize ainto positive, productive neighbo Hsien Loong after the retwo met for a Rent-A-Center, a Fami- close. a residential site, it would hold only mildly ill store, backup sites. They haven’t U.S. relationship with Singapore about two hours to discuss issues be Cohen said. Nutbush resident and commu- coronavirus patients who could ed the whole list, butthe Gov. Bill lyre-Dollar, a beauty supply shop, and Vietnam. ranging from COVID-19

6

VP Harris: Focus must stay on Afghan evacuation

EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL PHOTO VIA AP

sponse to cybersecurity and supply chain cooperation. The news con- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hold a joint ference was dominated by Afghan- news conference, in Singapore Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. istan, after the messy U.S. withdrawal sparked concerns about bat cyberthreats. America’s commitments to its al- said the country is now watching ence in the region. The two nations agreed to coThe vice president’s office anwhat the U.S. does next. lies globally. “What matters is how the U.S. nounced a series of new agree- operate more closely to track Harris’ visit to Singapore and Vietnam this week is seen as the repositions itself in the Asia Pacif- ments with Singapore aimed at COVID-19 variants and engage first real test of the Biden adminis- ic, engages the broader region and combating cyberthreats, tackling in research on coronavirus treattration’s ability to reassure key al- continues to fight against terror- climate change, addressing the ments. And the Department of ism, because that will determine COVID-19 pandemic and alleviat- Commerce is joining with the Sinlies of its resolve. gapore Ministry of Trade and InPrime Minister Lee offered his the perceptions of the countries of ing supply chain issues. On cybersecurity, the Treasury dustry to create a partnership focountry’s support for the U.S. de- the U.S.’ global priorities and of its and Defense Departments, as well cused on strengthening trade cision to withdraw, however, and strategic intentions,” he said. Harris’ Southeast trip, as the Cybersecurity and Infra- throughout a handful of key indussaidPress Singapore was “grateful”bin forSalman, a son of King Asian Salman, Associated which brings her to Singapore and structure Security Agency, have tries. the U.S. efforts to combat terrorassented to the deal. Later, speaking to sailors on a ism in Afghanistan. He also of- then later to Vietnam this week, is each inked a memorandum of un“I go with the consent, so I UBAI, fered United Arab Emirthe U.S. the use of the Singa- aimed at broadening cooperation derstanding with their Singapore U.S. Navy combat ship at Singaagree,”with the both prince said,tochuckling, — OPEC, and other aircraft nations offer a coun- counterparts expanding informa- pore’s Changi naval base, Harris pore Russia Air Force’s transport a round of applause from roducing to China’s growing influ- tion sharing and training to com- expressed gratitude for the U.S. to nations help with on the Sunday evacuation,drawing and terweight

PEC, oil nations agree o nearly 10M barrel cut

“Where she could fall into a trap is really trying to pit this as a U.S. versus China trip. It should be a U.S. trip to our friends and partners in Southeast Asia,” Feldman said. If China becomes the main focal point, he said, “that makes it harder for our friends to move forward across the region, not only in Singapore and Vietnam but beyond that.” Indeed, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in a recent interview that Singapore will “be useful but we will not be made use of” in its relations with both countries, and the nation’s prime minister previously warned the U.S. against pursuing an aggressive approach to China.

ized an unprecedented pro- those on the video call. But it had not been smiles and ion cut of nearly 10 million els, or a 10th of global supply, laughs for weeks after the soopes of boosting crashing pric- called OPEC+ group of OPEC mid the coronavirus pandemic members and other nations failed in March to reach an agreement a price war, officials said. This could be the largest re- on production cuts, sending priction unfamiliar with the ravages of By Julie Carr Smythe ion in production from OPEC es tumbling. Saudi Arabia sharply diseases like polio. Associated Press lon- criticized Russia days earlier over perhaps The a decade, maybe “You just have our general popsaid U.S.COLUMBUS, Energy Secretary ulation saying, ‘I’m tired of thinkOhio — Thewhat vac- it described as comments critical of the kingdom, which Brouillette, credited ing about medical issues. I want to cinationswho that U.S. schoolchildren finds itself trying to appease be on vacation, I want to be outside, ident Donald Trump’s are required to get toperhold terrible I want to go to the shore, whatevdiseasesinlike polio, duelmeasles, Trump, tetaa longtime OPEC critic. l involvement getting er it is,” said Wharton. “So getting nus and whooping cough in check Even U.S. senators had warned parties to the table and helpa non-COVID vaccine doesn’t seem are way behind schedule this year, to end threatening a price war between Saudi Arabia to find a way to like the highest priority for people.” further complications boost di Arabiatoand Russia. When the Pennsylvania Departa school year already marred by prices as American shale il pricesCOVID-19. have collapsed as the firms face far-higher production ment of Health reminded parents last week to add their children’s The lag caused by pandemcosts. American troops had been navirus and thewasCOVID-19 SAUDI ENERGY routine vaccinations to back-toic-related last year to deployed to the kingdom for the ss it causes havedisruptions largely haltschool checklists, the comments routine doctor’s visits, summer and lobal travel and slowed down first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, In this photo released by Saudi Energy Ministry, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Minist section conflated into debate over sports camps at which kids usually r energy-chugging sectors attacks over concerns of Irani- Energy of Saudi Arabia, third right, chairs a virtual summit COVID-19 of the Group of 20and energy minister vaccines mask get their immunizations. as manufacturing. It has coordinate a response to plummet Now, pediatricians and an edu-retaliation amid regional ten- his office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Friday, April 10, 2020, tomandates. sions. stated cators the oil prices due to an oversupply in the market and a downturn in global demand due to togetting the pandem Even those committed are industry scrambling in to ensure the shots sounded tired. “This is that backlogs don’t keep “They’ve spent over the last U.S., which now pumps morekids from getting ridiculous with you people,” school or leave them vulnerable to month waging war on American e than any other country. parent. “Kind of hard contagious diseases. Andrés onepraise. ut some producers have been oil producers while we are defend- that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the deal but its president, remarked when you can’t get an appointment “It’s a big deal,” said Richard “Thestarts!” pure size ctant to Long, ease supply. car- ofing untilsaid AFTER school wroteof the cu executiveThe director thetheirs. This is not how friends the United Arab Emirates would Manuel López Obrador, had ANGIE WANG | AP PHOTO precedented, but, then ag Friday that he had agreed with cut another 2 million barrels of treat friends,” said Sen. Kevin nd other nations on Sunday another. Learning First Alliance, a partState education healththe de- corona is theand impact Trump that the U.S. will compenoil aatday them atop the nership of education organizations Anainfant receives a routine vaccination Firstbetween Georgia Physician Group Pediatrics, in Fayetteville, Ga., Cramer, Republican from North ed to allow Mexico to cut only joined dis- said M that has mounted a public Dakota, out- Tuesday, 2021. deal. having on local demand,” add to have OPEC+ deal. The three countries sate what Mexico cannot partments beforeAug. the17, OPEC+ 000 barrels a month, a sticktricts’ effortsmed to increase informareach “We’re going to Ghulam, an energy an U.S. producers have already did not immediately acknowledge the proposed cuts. point for an campaign. accord initially tion-sharing about vaccines and have kids getting seriously sick this Raymond James. “The big Oil Deal with OPEC been reducing output. The Amer- the cut themselves, though Zanhed Friday after practice in Fayetteville, Georgia, opportunities for children to get fall, and the a sadmarathon part is, for the most crease to the level that would have and pharmaceutical experts said. But Ghulam Plus is done. This will hunattended the video conferlaud- ganeh o conference 23 na- ican Petroleum their shots, and governors —and in- others was inundated with families need-save Dr. Melinda Wharton, director been necessaryInstitute to catch up children part, it’sbetween preventable.” it may not be enough. of thousands of energy jobsMaryland ed Sunday’s pact,routine saying it ence. s. The nations together cluding Republican Larget caught up on their shots. of the CDC’s Immunization Ser- ing todreds who didglobal not receive vacciThe number of agreed non-flu vaccines ry Hogan Kansas That in caused backlogStates,” of patients vices Division, said political rhet- cuts nations time.”nations’ stateordered and administered is Democrat at least a tempo the aUnited Trump said and “This Officials said other planned will help get on other ut 9.7 million barrels a day through Kelly lief — have elevated thisindustry headed the first of school oric and misinformation full reckoning schools the federal Vaccines for Children for the energy ininto a tweet. “Iday would like toLaura thank stand in the deal,around meaning owned oilA production to for follow the is would ughout May and June. month as National Immunization in early August. COVID-19 vaccines also aren’t still weeks off, when grace periods program, which covers about half Pu- the global economy. This i he group reached the deal just lead of U.S. producers that are try- an 8-million-barrel-per-day cut and congratulate President “Actually, we’ve even had pa- Awareness Month as a way to bolof Americans under 18 and serves that allow unvaccinated children to helping. tin of Russia and King Salman of is too big to be let to fail and from July through the end of the ing to adjust to plunging demand. s beforeas Asian markets re“In a lot of communities, we po- tients of other pediatricians call- ster compliance. a barometer of national trends, temporarily attend school begin to lianceFirst showed responsibil Saudi Arabia.” year and a 6-million-barrel cut for Brouillette said the U.S. did not ned Monday and as internaThe Learning Alliance’s larize vaccines: Either you believe ing us,” she said, “because I guess plummeted after former President lapse around the country. this vaccination agreement,” said Per M Thetold Kremlin in believe 2021. they’ve been make commitments of its own Power to Protect camal benchmark Brentdeclared crudea nationthat we’resaid some- President in months vaccines beginning or you don’t But the latest COVID-19 surge 16 Donald Trump paign, backed by the National PTA of ana able to work people vaccines. we’re the lumping a how magically to the has in“This al emergency 2020, production a re- linked cuts, Nysveen, the head Vladimir Putin held a joint call willAnd enable rebalancbutdelta wasvariant able to ed at just over $31in aMarch barrel and SalteachersRystad unions, Energy. has provided in andwith get toTrump them when doc-King whole perspectives issues added new hurdles including ing view by the U.S. Centers for Disease “Even tho andtheir Saudi of lot theofoil marketsand and the exshow the obvious — that — plunging American shale producers information to principals, teachers, swamped doctor’s offices and clin- into an artificial dichotomy,” she tors aren’t able to get them in.” Control and Prevention showed. to express support of the production cuts are small demand because of the pandem- pected rebound of prices by $15 Andman ggle. some parents remain com- school nurses and support staff like A subsequent review of 10 juris- ics, and even potential shortages of said. “That does worry me a great what the market needed a deal. It also Putin barrel in the short term,” said ic is expected slash U.S. oil proideo aired by thereleased Saudi-owned bus sepdrivers and janitors on which placent, experts saidsaid — either be-spoke deal.” medicinetovials, syringes and nee- per dictions, in June, showed the stock with Trump the students oil postpone from duction. lite channel of different ages are buildi causearately they’re vaccine skepticsabout or shots Dr. Sara “Sally” Goza,Nigeria’s immedi- oil dles — to the swirl of confusion and a statement that, despiteAl-Arabiya administered doses get and where to getthe wor they’reand exhausted by the required to straints ate past president of the Ameri- because fatigue facing thoseZanwork- ministry. approaching pre-pandemproblem, market other issues. Iranian Oilalready Minister Bijan wed the again moment that Saudi them. and come from a genera- cautious Academyhad of Pediatrics, saidblocked her pandemic to tackle the backlog, health can ic levels last fall, they “did not in- ing now avoided.” Analysts offered Mexico initially ganeh also told state television rgy Minister Prince Abdulaziz

Students’ lack of routine vaccines muddies start of school

& CREMATORY 522 North 2nd St. P.O. Box 7 Albemarle, NC 28002 Phone 704-983-1188

460 Branchview Dr. NE P.O. Box 367 Concord, NC 28026 Phone 704-786-1161

13575 Broadway Ave. P.O. Box 100 Midland, NC 28107 Phone 704-888-5571

www.hartsellfh.com

12115 University City Blvd. P.O. Box 219 Harrisburg, NC 28075 Phone 704-247-1722

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

7

obituaries Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020

7

obituaries Susan Hathcock

Phyllis Sedberry

PHYLLIS BLAKE SEDBERRY SUSAN CHANDLER passed away peacefully in the early HATHCOCK, 65, of Albemarle, morning hours while under the passed away Monday, August 16, Jason Tony care of Forest Oaks Healthcare and 2021 at Atrium Health Pineville in Efird Hospice of StanlySmith on August 22, 2021 Charlotte. at the age of 78. She was SMITH, a breast 72, of Susan was born April 3, 1956 in ASON EUGENE “GENE” ONY MONROE but succumbed Stanly County to the late Thurman EFIRD, 94, went home to be withcancer survivor Rockwell, NC, went to be to with her short battle Lou Gehrig’ s Lee Chandler the late Peggy his Lordand Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at his his Lord andwith Savior Jesus Christ disease. (ALS) Sides Chandler. In addition to her home in Stanfield. on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at GeneRay was Hathcock, born October 1925, in Phyllis his home surrounded by family. is predeceased her A husband Billy she9,was Cabarrus to the Simeonparents private family service willand be held. John Wesley Blake Irene also preceded inCounty death by herlate brother, Jason Efird and the late Sarah Ella ByrdOnline condolences can be made at Liles Blake, her husband Bobby Butch Chandler. In addition to his stanlyfuneralhome.com Joe Sedberry, Son Gary Wayne TheBurris familyEfird. will hold a memorial hedate. was preceded in death bySedberrry, TonySiblings was born AugustBlake, 11, 1947 Johnny serviceparents, at a later his wife, Jewell Little Efird; sisters, in Stanly County to the late Betty Blake, and Ralph Liles. Pearlie Survivors include brother, David Mary Lambert, Fannie Almond, Asbury Smith and Emmer Lee Phyllis is lovingly remembered Chandler (Juanita); sister, Drinda Minnie Furr, Wilma Burleson and Smith. He was the son in law of Pat by her sons Kevin Sedberry (Anita) Hathcock (Dink); special sister-inAileen Huskey; and brothers, Homer and Mick Cagle where he worked at and Todd Sedberry her law, Jane Chastain; numerous nieces Efird, Getus Efird and Wayne Efird, the fish house for(Jennifer), many years until grandchildren Shelby,House Nathan, and nephews; her dogs, Teddy and Sr. he opened Anchor Seafood Meghan, Dixie A private funeral service will be Madelyn, in Rockwell. He Mikaylah, and his wifeand Becky Olyvia. Herand brothers JimAnchor Liles and held on Saturday, April 11, 2020 owned operated House Blake her sister at Love’s Grove United Methodist Richard for 25 years(Carol), before retiring in 2009. Sandra (Tony) andmember her many Church Cemetery in Stanfield Mr.Baldwin Smith was a charter officiated by Rev. Jim White. Burialnieces and deacon at Open and nephews. SheDoor willBaptist also be will follow at the Love’s Grove United Church in Richfield. He loved the missed by lifelong neighbors Ruby Methodist Church Cemetery, 4360 Gibson Lord and his family abundantly. Tony and Mark and Penny Hatley. Polk Ford Road, Stanfield. was a was wonderful husband, father, and Phyllis born in Norman, Survivors include son Gerald grandfather andJanuary could fix8,anything North Carolina on 1943 Wayne (Gail) Efird of Albemarle; . Shehe put his hands on. graduated from Ellerbee High daughter Lisa Efird (Mark) Hartsell Mr. Smith is survived by his wife School in 1961. She worked as a of Stanfield; granddaughters, Becky Cagle Smith of the home, cashier Food Lion 20Robbie years. Kelly Efird Barbee and Lauren sonsatWalter Smithfor and enjoyed basket weaving, Hartsell (Justin) Crump; and great- She Smith; daughter Kayla Henderson gardening, watching old westerns grandsons, Ian Patrick Simmons and (Brandon); grandchildren Danielle, and listening to gospel music.Keaton She Elliot Jacob Simmons. Dustin, and Steele Smith, companionship of Memorials may be made to Love’salso enjoyed and Ella the Henderson; brother David furbaby Grove United Methodist Church, POher loyal Smith; sistersZeke. Kay Kriechbaum, Box 276, Stanfield, NC 28163-0276. AKaren Stevenson, Eudy, and celebration of lifeRuby ceremony will Dorothy Smithonly (Nick). be held for family per Phyllis’s wishes.He is preceded in death by

J

T

Nehemiah Parah

brothers Joe Smith, Wayne Smith,

Claude Smith, Wade Smith, Robert NEHEMIAH PARAH, 58 years Smith, and sister Mary Morris. old, passed away peacefully on Memorial contributions can be August 19, 2021 in Atrium Cabarrus made to Open Door Baptist Church surrounded by his loved ones and the at 44563 Hwy 52, Richfield, NC light of the lord. 28137 or to Hospice & Palliative Care Fondly known by his family and of Cabarrus County at 5003 Hospice friends as Coach, Nehi, Miah, Pops, Lane, Kannapolis, NC 28081. Son, Brother, Husband, and most importantly Dad. Nehemiah was born on March 24, 1963 in Grand Prairie, Texas. He leaves behind a legacy full of lovePauline and faith and will always be remembered for how Tucker deep his devotion was to his family, friends, and community. A Lead AULINE ELIZABETH Elder at theALMOND Gathering, runner, TUCKER, 98, passed camper,away gardener, andat avid hunter, peacefully Trinity Place, dedicated father and foster parent, Albemarle, NC on April 11, 2020. and humble mentor, was 22, Pauline wasNehemiah born on March more than words can encompass 1922any in Cabarrus County, NC to the or describe. He was made in the and Alice MARY ELAINE LONG HIBBS, late John Richard Almond 81, of The Landings, passed away Shirley purest vision of the Lord and lived Ada Ann Lambert Almond. August 20, 2021 in the Tucker She is survived her three his life selflessly and withbycomplete Haire Hospice House, Kannapolis. A daughters, Gay Michel (Jack), and unwavering love for his friends service will be held at a Oakall Island, NC; Pamela and above else eternal and Rushing memorial HIRLEY MAE HAIRE, 73, later date. (Foreman), Oakboro, sacrificial love for his family.NC; HeKathy is of Albemarle passed away on Born December 1939 in Hunt (Marc), Albemarle, NC; her April 11, 2020 at6,Atrium Health survived by his devoted wife, Renee, son, Chris Tucker (Chris Lear), Wheeling, WV, she was the daughter Stanly. The family will hold a private four children, Joshua, Christopher, Washington, DC. She will be greatlyof thegraveside late Lester Carlfor Long Mary service Mrs.and Haire. Benjamin, and Katie, and six missed by her five grandchildren, JeanShirley Murphy Long. worked12,as was bornShe December grandchildren, Camden, Mason, Heather Rushing Chaney (Shannon), in in doctor’ s officesDC when her 1946 Washington, to the Brooklyn, Cashius, Mason, and Michel an RN Michael Rushing, Elizabeth late Charles Richard Bateman and children were young and later earned Austin,Hartzog all of whom willJack carry on hisJr. (Craig), Michel, Elizabeth Mae Mulligan Bateman. her Nurse Practitioner Degree legacy and ensure that Nehemiah’ s (Jenn), and Woody Hunt as well as and became Shirleya is survived by her husband diabetic educator. light continues to shine bright both seven great-grandchildren. She also ofretiring 30 yearsshe Vaughn Smith of After and her husband on earth and behind in the kingdom leaves cherishedof nieces and Albemarle; sister Sandra Painter moved to Albemarle, NC where she heaven.nephews. As stated in Colossians of Gainesville, VA;active half-brother volunteered and was in several The family expresses its sincere 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at Robert Bateman of Stevensville, organizations. Quilting and sewing gratitude to theas staff and caregivers it with all your heart, working for MD; step-children Heather Smith were her passion and she was very at Trinity Place for the care they the Lord, not for human masters, of Jacksonville, FL and David talented at this art. Elaine entered provided Pauline. Smith of New London, NC; 4 a since you know that you will receive of her quilts and clothing A private graveside service step-grandchildren; nieces Cyndiin an inheritance from the Lord as a will becollection April 13, 2020. A the local county and was Hentschel offair Leesburg, VAhonored and reward.held It ison theMonday, Lord Christ you are celebration of Pauline’s life and legacy withCheryl ribbons for her beautiful Hardy of Aylett, VA;work. 16 grandserving.” May he continue to radiate will be held this summer. Elaine survived by her niecesisand nephews; andhusband Gus the unconditional love until we meet In lieu of flowers, the family Hibbs, children Daniel dog. Stanlythree Funeral and Cremation again. requests donations be made to the Denzil Care ofof Albemarle is serving Ray Hibbs Chesterland, OH,the Mary BrightFocus Foundation at www. Elizabeth HaireSimpson family. of Hoschton, GA, brightfocus.org. Jacqueline Ann Hass of Wendell, NC, 2 brothers Carl Long of Parkersburg, WV and Robert Paul Long of Newbury, OH, 7 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.

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Mary Hibbs

S

Ruby Randall

Irene Little

Elizabeth Burris

RUBY LOUISE WHITLEY IRENE BARBEE LITTLE, 84, RANDALL, 82, of Albemarle, of Oakboro, passed away August 18, passed away Saturday, August 21, Danny Jerry 2021, at Atrium Health in Concord. 2021 at home surrounded by friends She was born on December 17, Luther Fincher and family. 1936, to the late Walter and Ira Mae Ruby was born Junefrom 19, 1939 in Barbee. ANNY PAUL LUTHER, ERRY FINCHER passed North Carolina the at late Samuel Irene graduatedpassed from Greensboro 65, of Norwood, away this life on April 3,to 2020 8:05 Whitley and Mamie unexpectedly Thursday, April 9, a pm. Crowell He was surrounded bythe his late family Women’s College in 1959 with Whitley. waslove also 2020 at Atrium Health Stanly in holding the handShe of the ofpreceded degree in Biology. After working as aand Sides in death bypreceded husband, Albemarle. Jerry is inGary deathLamar lab technician, she worked with her his life. Randall, sisters, Rosettia Whitley, Mr. Luther was born March 27, by three siblings, two brothers, Billy husband at Davis-Little Drug store. 1955She to the late Robert and Gilbert Fincher, and Larry Richard Beulah Eudy Thompson, Eva Jane is survived byFulton her beloved Helen Tucker Luther. and one sister, Barbra Joyce Eudy, Annie Lee Morgan, Lottie husband of 62 years, James Harold Fincher, Danny waswas survived bywith his wife, Moore. Magdeline Hudson, Daisy Frances Little, and blessed two Denise Burleson Luther of Norwood; He is survivedLily by his wife, Eleanor Thompson, Ansoline Whitley, daughters, Monica (Dwayne) sons, Jeremy (Karen) Luther and Kateand Fincher of thePaul home, daughter, brothers, Junior Whitley, Nance and Evette (David) Orcutt. Jody Luther; step-sons, Bryan Cindy Fincher Jacobs Whitley, of Wingate Ramon Crowell and James She was Nana to granddaughter, Whitley and Gregg (Anita) Whitley; NC., son and daughter in law, Tommy Matthews Whitley. Katie Nance; Daniel three grandsons, Grandchildren, Luther and (Tiffany) Fincher of New London The family will receive friends DavidZado, Jamesas(Samantha) Orcutt, NC., Step Hunter well as his brother, Children, Jimmy (Lisa) from 7:00pm - 9:00pm, Thursday, Dillion Nance, and Daniel Bob Luther Jr (Lorena), uncle Orcutt; Jack Lanier of Locust NC, Wanda (Bob) August 26, 2021 atNC., Hartsell great-granddaughter, Iveighnieces, Mae Krimminger Luther and several other loved of Locust Eric Funeral Home of Albemarle. The funeral nephews Lanier of Charlotte NC., Nance. and She cousins. is also survived by her (Sharon) service will be on Friday, August DannyDena recently retired from (Gera) Whitson sisters, Huneycutt and Nelma Grandchildren-Trey 27, 2021Step-grandchildren, at 2:00pm at Open Door Charlotte Pipeand andbrother, FoundryEvans after of Midland, Huneycutt; aBarbee. dedicated 37 years and worked ZachBaptist (Brittney) Washington, Aaron Church in Richfield officiated thereShe with hispreceded sons and several other (Kinsey) Washington, (Nayeli) by Pastor NathanCaleb Hammill, Rev. was in death by friends and family members. Washington, Beth (Robbie) Setzer, Wayne Richardson, and Rev. Flynn great-grandsons, Jeremiah and Joel; Danny loved spending time at Matthew ( April ) Ruby Wallace, Richardson. willStep lie-in-state and brothers, Gerald and Lanny his lake house with his family and great-grandchildren, at the church 30Britlyn-Eve minutes prior to Barbee. friends as well as vacationing with his Washington, Robert Setzer, the service. Burial willGeorge follow at the family. Danny and Denise enjoyed (Sara) Setzer, Tracy (Rob) Setzer Stanly Gardens of Memory at 2001 listening to beach music and loved to Bumgardener, Katie Underwood, East Main St., Albemarle. shag dance every chance they could Andrew Underwood, Step great SurvivorsWaylon includeGeorge son, Bruce Alan get. He was an amazing father, loving great grandchild, (Tammy) Randall of New grandfather and great friend to Setzer and brother Donald LewisLondon, NC, daughter, Bonnie many. He will never be forgotten. Fincher of Albemarle, NC. Sue (Daniel Helms) Webb Albemarle, A celebration of life will be Jerry Fincher willofbe laid to rest NC, on grandsons, Randall New Rd., Suite 250, Charlotte, NC 28209. announced once the current Wednesday AprilDavid 8,2020 at 11:00of am London, NC,Church. and Nicholas COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. at Canton Baptist AnyoneRandall Hartsell Funeral Home of interested inLondon, attending, please of New NC, andRSVP greatAlbemarle is serving the Luther at 704-796-2412. Dr. Phil McCrayFaith granddaughter, McKenna family. and Randall. Pastor Tommy Fincher will officiate. Ruby was a devoted and loving wife to her husband of 59 years, Gary Randall. She loved trips with family and friends to the mountains. Ruby was proud of her flowers and enjoyed working in her flower gardens. She also enjoyed watching birds, especially hummingbirds. Ruby was also a faithful member of Open Door Baptist for 20 years where she taught Linda THURMAN HOWELL, 87, of Sunday School. Albemarle, passed away Saturday, Hatley August 21, 2021 at Atrium Health INDA TUCKER HATLEY, 69, of Stanly in Albemarle. Albemarle, passed away Monday, Thurman was born December April 13, 2020. 19, 1933 in Stanly County to the late Linda JO wasHUNEYCUTT born September 18, MARY Oscar Clarence Howell and the late 1950 in Concord to the latepassed Jacob and CRISCO, 86, of Albemarle Cora Ingold Howell. He was also Claris Tucker.August She was also preceded away Sunday, 22, 2021 in her preceded in death by his brothers, in death her brother, Terry home. Herby funeral service willLee be 11 Earnest Howell, J.P. Howell, Cliff Tucker, and her twin sister, Brenda AM on Thursday, August 26, 2021 Howell, Ray Howell and Grady Tucker Strickland. We know Brenda atand West Albemarle Baptist Church Howell; and sisters, Victoria Hinson, Linda are in Heaven watching with Hatley and Pastor and Jennette Harward. overPastor us andAdam laughing. BrentLinda Popewas officiating. Burial will Following his retirement, a loving mother, sister, follow in Fairview Memorial Park. Thurman enjoyed spending time and “Nana.” She was a very giving The family receive friends at the with family and friends and tending and lovingwill person. Linda would church 10 untilshe 11 AM prior to his animals and farm. He was also alwaysfrom do anything could for to others, especially her family. the service in the Family Life She Center. very active in Poplins’ Grove Baptist enjoyed working9, at1934 FastShop #5, Born October in Stanly Church serving as a Deacon for many Locust.NC Linda lovedof County, she will wasbe theforever daughter years. and greatly missed. the late Leonard C. Huneycutt and Thurman will Lie In State from Survivors include her son, She Annie Mae Morris Huneycutt. 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Thursday, Alan Hatley and wife, Angela, of was a member of West Albemarle August 26,Celebrate 2021 at Hartsellthe Funeral life of your loved Albemarle; brother, Ronnie Tucker Baptist Church and retired from Home, 522 North 2nd St. Albemarle, and wife, Linda, of Midland; Wachovia and was a former NC 28001. The funeral service ones. Submit obituaries and granddaughter, Leslie Hatley; 1 employee of2the Bank of Stanly. She officiated by Pastor Terry Burris niece; and nephews. to be published in was active in West Baptist will be at death 2:00 PM, notices Friday, August The family will Albemarle receive friends Church when her health 27, 2021 at Poplin Baptist Celebrate the life from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm,permitted. Thursday, SCJ atGrove obits@stanlyjournal.com She was16, also active in BPWFuneral for many Church, preceded by a 30 minute April 2020 at Hartsell of your loved ones. years while working inLinda banking. Lie In State. Burial will follow at Home in Albemarle. will Submit obituaries She was preceded death by her be laid to rest duringin a private the Poplin Grove Baptist Church and death notices committal service at Bethel United husband Harold Everette Crisco Cemetery, 220 Poplins Grove Church to be published in Midland. inMethodist 2018. SheChurch, is survived by her son Road, Albemarle. Social distancing is In lieu of flowers, please consider a SCJ at Harold J. Crisco of Albemarle, a sister requested by the family. memorial to Bethel UMC, Linda Clarkdonation of Siler City, and many Survivors include his loving wife obits@stanlyjournal.com 12700 Idlebrook Rd, Midland, NC nieces and nephews. of 60 years, Dorothy Smith Howell 28107. of Albemarle; son, Thurman Chad (Vivienne Gebrael) Howell of Charlotte; and sister, Margie Forrest. ELIZABETH SMITH BURRIS, 95, of Stanfield passed away on Merle Monday, August 16, 2021 at her home surrounded by family. Helms Elizabeth was born August 23, AUSTIN 1925 inERLE StanlyLORRAINE County to the late HELMS, 72, of Marshville, Burrill and Chloe Smith. She was passed away Wednesday, April 8, a founding member ofHospice Red Cross 2020 at McWhorter House Baptist Church and was always in Monroe. involved in church activities. In1947 Lorraine was born April 28, her free time, Elizabeth Enjoyed in Monroe to the late Homer David gardening, flowers, and Austin andgrowing Jewell Delphia-Jane working the yard. loved in Austin. in She was alsoShe preceded death bytime brothers, and Teddy spending withA.D. her family. Mrs. Austin; and sister, Austin. Burris retired fromJoy Stanly Knitting will receiveInspector. friends MillThe as afamily Quality Control from pmis- 8:00 pm, Friday, Mrs.6:00 Burris survived by her April 10,Cathy 2020 at Funeral daughter JoHartsell Burris (Dayna Homeof ofStanfield; Albemarle.nieces: The funeral Smith) Beverly service will be at 11:00 am on Deal (Roger) of Mt. Pleasant, Gina Saturday at Pleasant Hill Baptist Efird Ayscue (Frankie) of Charlotte, Church in Marshville, officiated Pat Almond of Aquadale, by Rev. John(Reggie) Miller and Rev. Leon Brenda Maner (Ned) Aquadale; Whitley. She will lie inofstate for 30 nephew: Efird of Charlotte; minutesTracy prior to the service. She will great-nephews: Deal of Mt. be laid to rest inBrad the church cemetery. Pleasant, Vance of She isand survived byAyscue her beloved Charlotte; great-niece: Chloe Ayscue husband of 47 years, Paul Helms the home;great-great-nephew: son, Alex (Deanna) ofof Charlotte; Helms ofDeal; Pageland; daughter, Paula Jonathan many other nieces (Cristin Brandt) Helms of Mint Hill; and nephews; extended family: grandchildren, Mason, Grant,of and Susan Fitch (Brandie Helms) Raegan Helms; brothers, Boyce, Stanfield and Wesley Gordon of Royce, Tim and sisters, Stanfield. SheAustin; is preceded in death Patricia Mullis, and Angel Tarleton. by her husband Joe Lee Burris; 6 Memorials may be made to the brothers ands Association, 1 sister. Alzheimer’ 4600 Park

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Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

STATE & NATION

Biden picks Nicholas Burns for China ambassador; Rahm Emanuel for Japan By Aamer Madhani The Associated Press PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN is nominating longtime former senior State Department official Nicholas Burns to serve as his ambassador to China and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve as his envoy to Japan. Emanuel was also a former three-term congressman who served as President Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff and was a senior adviser in President Bill Clinton’s administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Emanuel will be dispatched to Tokyo at a critical point in the U.S.-Japan relationship as Biden has made strengthening relations with partners in the Pacific a priority as he increases focus on China. Biden with his pick of Burns turns to a career foreign service officer to serve as his envoy to arguably the most difficult diplomatic mission. The president has repeatedly called China the United States most significant economic competitor and a rising national security concern and subsequently has sought to center his foreign policy on the Pacific in the early going of his administration. Biden had considered naming Emanuel to serve as his transportation secretary but ultimately passed him over in the face of fierce opposition from some in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party who took issue with his record on policing and school closures in predominantly black neighborhoods during his time as Chicago’s mayor. Emanuel served as an informal

KIICHIRO SATO | AP PHOTO

In this April 22, 2019, file photo, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel waves as he arrives at a news conference outside of the south air traffic control tower at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. adviser to Biden’s White House campaign and has been a significant force in Democratic Party politics for much of the last three decades. He left Congress to serve as Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff, helping the president shepherd his signature health care law and push for massive stimulus in the wake of the Great Recession. As the House Democrats’ chief fundraiser in 2006, he was the architect of the wave election that delivered his party to the majority

for the first time in a dozen years, and made Nancy Pelosi the first female speaker in history. As mayor, Emanuel touted record high school graduation rates in the nation’s third largest city and his success recruiting several large corporations to relocate to Chicago among his chief accomplishments. But he faced criticism for soaring homicide rates during his time as mayor, a fraught relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union, and mounting unmet pension obligations for city workers. Much

of the city’s financial plight was something Emanuel inherited from his predecessor Richard M. Daley’s administration. In 2018, he announced that he wouldn’t seek a third term as mayor as the city was bracing for the high-profile trial of a white police officer who fatally shot a black teen, Laquan McDonald, on a city street. Emanuel, facing reelection in 2015, argued against releasing police video of the shooting while the investigation was continuing. After months of litigation –

and after Emanuel was reelected to a second term – a court ordered the city to show the footage to the public. Emanuel’s relationship with Chicago’s black community became strained following the video’s release. Burns previously served as undersecretary of state under President George W. Bush and as U.S. envoy to Greece and NATO. He also served as State Department spokesman and spent five years on the White House National Security Council, a tenure that overlapped the Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations. His foreign service officer career included a stint as consulate general in Jerusalem (1985–1987) as well service at the U.S. embassy in Egypt (1983-1985) and Mauritania (1980 as an intern). Burns is now the executive director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum. He’s also a professor of the practice of diplomacy and international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. If confirmed by the Senate, Burns will head to Beijing at a difficult moment. U.S. intelligence officials are in the midst of a 90-day review focused on determining the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese lab. The president has also pressed China’s Xi Jinping on his government crackdown of democracy activists in Hong Kong, human rights abuses against Uyghur and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang province, and what the U.S. sees as unfair and coercive trade practices. The administration accused China of being behind a massive hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software and indicted four Chinese nationals on charges they tried to steal U.S. trade secrets, technology and disease research. China rejected the hacking accusation and demanded that Washington drop the charges against its citizens.

In this Dec. 16, 2020, file photo, Ingrid Radke, a critical care nurse in the ICU, receives the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccination at St. Peter’s Health in Helena, Mont.

THOM BRIDGE | INDEPENDENT RECORD VIA AP, FILE

Montana only state to ban vaccine requirements for employees By Iris Samuels The Associated Press HELENA, Mont. — While many large companies across the U.S. have announced that COVID-19 vaccines will be required for their employees to return to work in-person, there is one state where such requirements are banned: Montana. Under a new law passed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year, requiring vaccines as a condition for employment is deemed “discrimination” and a violation of the state’s human rights laws. Montana is the only state in the U.S. with a law like this for private employers, said Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. The law has raised concern among some employers across the state. “This is against everything we’ve ever known or believed about public health,” said Dr. Pamela Cutler,

president of the Montana Medical Association. “I believe it’s a travesty now and it needs to be fixed so that we can make our offices safe for patients and our coworkers.” GOP lawmakers who supported the bill in the state Legislature said it was needed in response to employers “coercing” employees to get vaccinations under threat of termination. Some of the loudest supporters of the bill were employees of Benefis Health System in Great Falls who were told earlier this year that COVID-19 vaccines would be necessary to keep their jobs. Benefis was forced to backtrack on that plan when the law was signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte in May. Gianforte, a former business executive who founded and ran a technology company, gave the bill the green light after changing it to allow health care facilities to require unvaccinated workers and those who refuse to disclose their vaccination status to wear masks

and take other precautions. He stood behind the law this week amid heightened scrutiny. “While the governor continues to encourage Montanans to receive safe and effective vaccines, doing so is voluntary and no individual should face discrimination based on vaccination status,” Brooke Stroyke, a spokesperson for Gianforte, said in an email. While the list of national corporations requiring vaccines of their employees who want to return to work in-person continues to grow, which now includes Google, Facebook, Walmart, and United Airlines, businesses in Montana don’t have that option. “Most (businesses) feel like their hands are tied right now,” said Mike Rooney, operations director for Downtown Helena Incorporated, an organization that represents businesses in downtown Helena. “Some would definitely be very supportive of a vaccination requirement or a mask requirement.”

The Montana Hospital Association opposed the law before it took effect, warning that it would make it harder for the state to meet its need for medical services. Now, the association is saying their fears may come to fruition. Dr. Neil Ku, an epidemiologist at Billings Clinic who sits on the board of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, said the law sets Montana apart in conversations about how to combat the coronavirus. “It is very difficult for me to participate in the conversation when everywhere in the country can talk about vaccinating their employees but I can’t,” Ku said. Hospitals in Montana until recently required their employees to get most vaccines approved by the Centers for Disease Control, including the annual flu shot, providing an avenue for employees to opt out for medical or religious reasons. Now, that is no longer possible, leaving both workers and patients vulnerable.

Across the U.S., 60% of those eligible are vaccinated against the COVID-19. In Montana, that number is 49%. In Montana hospitals, employees are vaccinated at a higher rate, but without a requirement, patients must contend with added risk to their health when seeking care. “It holds us out as an anomaly against the rest of the nation,” said Rich Rasmussen, president of the Montana Hospital Association. “We have to rely on recruiting from out of state. The rest of the nation is looking at us and they are saying, ‘I don’t know if I want to practice in Montana, because of their approach to patient and employee safety as it relates to vaccinations.’” Like many states, Montana is dealing with a rise in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Delta variant. According to a state report released earlier this week, 234 out of the 240 beds in the Benefis Hospital are occupied.

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 48 | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021

Twin City Herald

PHOTO COURTESY FORSYTH TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Welcome to the club: Blaze the gray fox was joined by several other Winston-Salem area mascots for her coming out party.

WHAT’S HAPPENING First home in Habitat for Humanity neighborhood completed Forsyth County Habitat for Humanity held a dedication ceremony for the first of several homes that will soon be completed in a planned neighborhood of Habitat homes. Work was completed on the first home in Stone Terrace, located in the Ogburn Station community. Jeanette Brown, a housekeeper at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, will live in the new house with her eight-year-old granddaughter. Habitat has 75 lots in Stone Terrace that it plans to develop. MY FOX 8

COVID cluster hits school just before first day Forsyth County Just a few days before the start of the new school year, a school in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School district reported a cluster of COVID-19 cases. R.J. Reynolds High School sent a letter to parents, students and staff last week, warning that there were several cases of COVID. The exposure appears to have resulted from participation in athletics, as the letter said that the cluster is among people associated with after-school sports.

Forsyth Tech introduces new mascot, Blaze the Gray Fox Becomes one of the few schools with a female mascot TCH staff FORSYTH TECH Community College announced its new nickname and introduced its mascot, completing a branding effort that began more than a year ago. Blaze the Gray Fox, made her first appearance as the face of Forsyth Tech last week, becoming one of the few female mascots of a college or university. Most schools and pro sports teams have male or genderless mascots, although some feature secondary mascots that are female. Mascots from other schools and teams in the area showed up for Blaze’s coming out party, welcoming her to the furry fraternity. The Demon Deacon from Wake Forest, Winston-Salem State’s ram mascot, Amon, the Winston-Salem Dash’s Bolt, the Carolina Disco Turkeys mascot, Boogie, and Winston, from the Carolina Thunderbirds all showed up for Blaze’s first appearance. The school also announced the new official nickname of Forsyth Tech’s teams—the Trail Blazers. But the new mascot was the

Blaze makes her first appearance as the Forsyth Tech mascot star of the show. True to the school nickname, Blaze joins a very select club of female mascots that includes the Delaware Blue Hen and Akron’s Zippy the kangaroo, who, on the basis of her pouch, appears to be a female as well.

“She is SO fierce and ready to blaze the trail!” the school tweeted out on its official social media channels, calling her “our new fearless leader” and adding the hashtags “#BlazeYourTrail #BlazeOn and #APlaceofPromise.”

2 Number of major college or professional teams with a primary mascot who is female The school president, Dr. Janet N. Spriggs, also welcomed Blaze on social media, posting, “Forsyth Tech CC is once again BLAZING NEW TRAILS! Our new Mascot has found HER #PlaceOfPromise at #ForsythTech! Join me in welcoming BLAZE! SHE is a NC gray fox and the brand new Mascot for the Forsyth Tech Trailblazers! #BlazeYourTrail at Forsyth Tech!” One of Blaze’s first appearances on campus was at the opening of the school’s new rebranded cafeteria, which is now called the Blaze Grill. The new dining hall will serve both brunch and lunch to Forsyth Tech students. The mascot and nickname reveal comes 14 months after the first phase of the school’s rebranding. Forsyth Tech unveiled their colors, logo and tagline. The school dropped black and royal blue, replacing them with cerulean and teal, revealed their new logo in a pandemic-mandated drive-thru unveiling on campus last June and announced their tagline, “A place of promise.” The new look came after a year-long research effort that included surveying more than 1,600 students, community members and employees of the school.

WXII

Flags ordered to half-staff to honor Salisbury veteran Rowan County Gov. Roy Cooper ordered American and North Carolina flags at state facilities to be flown at half-staff, Monday, to honor a military veteran killed in Korea. A funeral with full military honors was held Monday for Salisbury native Henry E. Ellis, a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Service Battalion, 1st Marine Division, in the Korean War. He was killed in action on Nov. 30, 1950, but the whereabouts of his remains were unknown. Last September, a U.S. Department of Defense medical examiner labeled remains as those of Ellis. A procession escorted Ellis’ remains back to Salisbury on Friday. AP

Two NC men accused of impersonating federal officers, robbing home The Associated Press WINSTON-SALEM — Two North Carolina men are accused of impersonating federal law enforcement officers, restraining a group of people inside a home and robbing it, authorities said. The Forsyth County Drug Task Force said Freddie Wayne Huff II, 41, of Lexington and Rahain Antoine Deriggs II, 27, of Jacksonville face multiple charges, including robbery with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping.

Huff faces charges of seven felony counts of kidnapping, felony robbery and misdemeanor impersonating a law enforcement officer. Deriggs was charged with seven felony counts of kidnapping, felony robbery and misdemeanor impersonating a law enforcement officer. In February, task force detectives received information about a drug-trafficking organization distributing large quantities of cocaine in Forsyth County and the surrounding area. Investigators say police responded on May 28 to

a report of a burglary and armed robbery in which two men suspected of posing as federal law enforcement officers forced their way into a home on Shady Hollow Lane in Winston-Salem, restrained the seven people inside and stole multiple items. Police and task force investigators then learned about a home in Davidson County linked to the burglary and the armed robbery, the task force said. Investigators identified two suspects, executed a search warrant at the home and seized all of the items that had been stolen from the other home, including firearms, cash and jewelry. Huff and Deriggs were arrested and taken to the Forsyth County jail. Huff received a $700,000 secured bond. Deriggs received an $850,000 secured bond. The pair also face charges from the drug-trafficking ring. The Da-

vidson County Sheriff’s office made a total of 10 arrests. Huff, a former North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper and Lexington police officer, faces kidnapping, armed robbery and trafficking cocaine charges. Facing lesser charges are Deriggs, John C. Pearson, Teddy R. Marlow Jr., Armando D. Molina, Vicente Jaimes, and Argenis S. Alicea, all of Lexington; and Andrew A. Rodriguez, of Robbins; Freddie W. Huff III, of Winston-Salem; and Jamie R. Fontanez, of Kissimmee, Florida. Police seized $300,000.00 in cash, more than 24 pounds of cocaine, over 130 pounds of methamphetamine and nearly four pounds of heroin. The drugs have an estimated street value of over $7.3 million. TCH staff contributed to this report

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

2 WEDNESDAY

8.25.21

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“Join the conversation” Twin City Herald Publisher Neal Robbins

Editor Shawn Krest

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Design Editor Lauren Rose Published each Wednesday as part of the North State Journal. 3101 Industrial Dr., Suite 105 Raleigh, N.C. 27609 (704) 269-8461 INFO@TWINCITYHERALD.COM TWINCITYHERALD.COM

TO SUBSCRIBE: 704-269-8461 or online at nsjonline.com Annual Subscription Price: $50.00 Periodicals Postage Paid at Raleigh, N.C. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Stanly County Journal 1550 N.C. Hwy 24/27 W, Albemarle, N.C. 28001.

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Aiken, Dominic Lawrence (M/24) Arrest on chrg of 1) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 2) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 3) Probation Violation (M), 4) Fail To Appear/ compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/ compl (F), and 6) Fail To Appear/ compl (F), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 8/20/2021 23:15. ♦ Boston, Gerald Marquis (M/30) Arrest on chrg of 1) 90-95asd2 S&d Other Sched Ii (F), 2) P/w/i/s/d Sched Ii (F), 3) 9095asd2 S&d Other Sched Ii (F), and 4) P/w/i/s/d Sched Ii (F), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 8/21/2021 21:00. ♦ BREWER, JOSHUA SCOTT was arrested on a charge of MISUSE OF 911 SYSTEM at 7910 NORTH POINT BV on 8/22/2021 ♦ CARTER, OBRIAN MONTEZ was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 200 N MAIN ST on 8/23/2021 ♦ Chicas, Jose (M/29) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M), 2) Assault-simple (M), 3) Asslt On Off/st Emp (M), and 4) Resisting Arrest (M), at 8330 Baux Mountain Rd, Germanton, NC, on 8/19/2021 01:00 ♦ COLCLOUGH, ALONZO WENDELL was arrested on a charge of FUGITIVE at 100 EDGEWOOD VIEW LN on 8/21/2021 ♦ COLEMAN, SHAWN RENARD was arrested on a charge of ADW - INFLICT INJURY at 1408 BETHLEHEM LN on 8/22/2021 ♦ Evans, Terry Wayne (M/52) Arrest on chrg of 1) Larceny/ misdemeanor (M), 2) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 6) Aid And Abet Larceny (over $1,000) (F), and 7) Resisting Arrest (M), at 600 Woodbriar Path, Rural Hall, NC, on 8/18/2021 18:05. ♦ Falls, Mario Ian (M/49) Arrest on chrg of Affray, M (M), at 1929 Kerner Rd, Kernersville, NC, on

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COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

Fiddling while Kabul falls HISTORIANS AREN’T ACTUALLY sure that Nero caused or neglected a fire that consumed much of ancient Rome. Historians, however much they’d like to, won’t be able to deny that President Joe Biden bears full responsibility for America’s humiliating retreat from Afghanistan and our neglect of the tens of thousands who aided us and now face torture and death from the Taliban. “The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way,” Biden assured Americans on July 8. A Taliban takeover of Afghanistan “is not inevitable,” he said, pledging to “continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance, including speaking out for the rights of women and girls.” Asked if there were parallels with the American abandonment of Saigon, he saw “zero.” “The Taliban is not the South — the North Vietnamese army,” he said. “There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people lifted off the roof of an embassy in the — of the United States from Afghanistan.” Events last weekend forced Biden to go on national television Monday night and eat his words. He insisted that his administration was “cleareyed about the risks” and “planned for every contingency,” but conceded, in fine understatement, that “this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” Partisans of the president say he’s only doing what the public wanted, citing polls showing large majorities favoring withdrawal. But poll results depend on how questions are framed, and opinions can change sharply as events change. Thus, in July, the conservative polling firm Echelon Insights found 47% favoring the U.S. “maintain a small military presence” and only 36% favoring “end” military presence “entirely.” Last weekend, as news accounts showed Taliban advances and U.S. forces in flight, the Republican firm Trafalgar found 69% disapproval of Biden on Afghanistan. Afghanistan is only one example of how Biden’s predictions about his policies’ effects have been belied by facts on the ground. An “orderly” withdrawal has become a rout. The scene of desperate Vietnamese vainly seeking escape in Saigon in 1975 has been reprised by the pictures of desperate Afghans clinging to the wheels of American planes and then falling to their deaths in Kabul in 2021. Similarly, though many news media are not showing much video, illegal border crossings in July hit nearly 213,000, a record number for this century, even though Biden predicted crossings would decline in the summer heat (which is real: I’ve been to Laredo in August, when it’s over 100 with not a cloud in the sky). Biden’s administration has been crowding illegal immigrants into the facilities it campaigned against, and has been

dispersing COVID-infected individuals around the country. Homicide rates in major cities continue to rise at rates unprecedented since 1960, and after three months of 5% inflation, price increases are looking less “transitory” and more like galloping inflation. We seem like we’re headed back to the 1970s; the decade when Biden’s national political career began. Back then, he was part of large Democratic majorities in Congress that blocked attempts to stop North Vietnam’s conquest of the South. As helicopters lifted off the Saigon embassy, freshman Sen. Biden was unrepentant. “The United States has no obligation to evacuate one, or 100,001 South Vietnamese,” he said at one point. Like other Democrats, he complained that our allied government was corrupt and ineffective. He struck the same note Monday, blaming our Afghan allies for the collapse he failed to anticipate. “We gave them every tool they could need. We paid their salaries, provided for the maintenance of their air force,” he said. “We gave them every chance to determine their own future.” He lamented that Afghan leaders refused his advice “to seek a political settlement with the Taliban” and “to clean up the corruption in government” — advice much like American liberals’ complaints about the South Vietnamese in the 1970s. Those complaints were, in turn, echoes of the descriptions of Chiang Kaishek’s nationalist regime by liberals defending against charges that they “lost China” to Mao Zedong’s communist army. The nationalists, they said, were corrupt, right-wing and unwilling to fight hard. History has its ironies. The Vietnamese, nominally communist, foster capitalistic growth and pro-American feeling. Chiang’s nationalists fled to Taiwan, which is now politically democratic, economically dynamic and threatened by Xi Jinping’s increasingly aggressive China. After Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, “the Taiwanese government probably is reevaluating whether it is futile to resist China’s invasion,” wrote China-born author Helen Raleigh, while New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote that “every enemy will draw the lesson that the United States is a feckless power,” and “every ally — Taiwan, the Baltic States, Israel, Japan — will draw the lesson that it is on its own.” Meanwhile, after his 18-minute speech, Biden returned to vacationing behind the gates of Camp David. Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of The Almanac of American Politics.

WEEKLY CRIME LOG ♦ Agrawal, Sachin Kumar (M/42) Arrest on chrg of Impaired Driving Dwi, M (M), at 2268 Lewisville-clemmons Rd/s Peace Haven Rd, Clemmons, NC, on 8/20/2021 00:51.

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DEATH NOTICES 8/19/2021 23:33. ♦ FRAZIER, DOMINIQUE VANESS was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT-SIMPLE at 633 VOSS ST on 8/21/2021 ♦ Gomez, Jochy Antonio (M/27) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault Strangulation (F) and 2) Assault On Female (M), at 6986 Clifton Wood Dr, Walkertown, NC, on 8/19/2021 09:14. ♦ Hines, Sedrick Denard (M/27) Arrest on chrg of Vio. Protective Order By Courts Another State/ Indian Tribe (M), at 200 N Main St, Winston-salem, NC, on 8/23/2021 10:49. ♦ HODGES, ALLI SAGE was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at SB 421/S CHERRY ST on 8/21/2021 ♦ HUDSONDODD, JORDAN AARON was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at NB 421/CLOVERDALE AV_NB 421 RA on 8/22/2021 ♦ JACKSON, ELIJAH ALI COLE was arrested on a charge of DISPENSE PRESCRIPTION DRUG NOT LICENSED at 930 N PATTERSON AV on 8/21/2021 ♦ JEFFERS, HOLLY LOUISE was arrested on a charge of PROBATION VIOLATION at 201 N CHURCH ST on 8/22/2021 ♦ JEFFREYS, JAVARIS CHRISHAUN was arrested on a charge of INTERFERING WITH EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION at 5050 SPLIT RAIL CR on 8/22/2021 ♦ JOHANN, JAMIE LYNN was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT-SIMPLE at 109 QUEENSBURY RD on 8/23/2021 ♦ Kaye, John Harper (M/18) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 7100 Spring Hill Rd, Lewisville, NC, on 8/18/2021 20:43. ♦ Mabe, Erin Lee (F/39) Arrest on chrg of 1) Drugs-poss Sched Iv (F), 2) 1st Degree Trespass (M), 3) Alter, Destroy, Or Steal Evidence Of Criminal Conduct (F), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 6) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 7) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 8) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 9) Reckless Driving (M), 10)

Speeding To Elude Arrest (F), and 11) Speeding - Excess Of 55 And Over 15 Mph To Elude Law Enforce (M), at 5987 Nc-801, Davie Co, NC, on 8/19/2021 09:30. ♦ Mcgee, Austin Cole (M/29) Arrest on chrg of 1) Impaired Driving Dwi (M), 2) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 5) Resisting Arrest (M), 6) Alter / Forging Title (M), and 7) Ndl - Suspended / Revoked (M), at 3328 Old Hollow Rd/avalee St, Walkertown, NC, on 8/20/2021 03:57 ♦ Mcgee, Austin Cole (M/29) Arrest on chrg of 1) Impaired Driving Dwi (M) and 2) Imp Regis - Expired, Suspended, Revoked, Altered Plate (M), at 3328 Old Hollow Rd/avalee St, Walkertown, NC, on 8/20/2021 06:57. ♦ MELVIN, CURTIS LEE was arrested on a charge of ASSLT ON OFF/ST EMP at 1332 W FIRST ST/N SUNSET DR on 8/21/2021 ♦ MOORE, ORLANDO AMADEUS JEROME was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 2990 GRIFFITH RD on 8/23/2021 ♦ Oliva, Heladio Olivares (M/47) Arrest on chrg of 1) Impaired Driving Dwi (M) and 2) Ndl Suspended / Revoked (M), at 2598 Union Cross Rd/ thomasville Rd, Winston-salem, NC, on 8/23/2021 03:54 ♦ ORTIZ, ANDREW CHRISTOPHER was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 201 DALEWOOD DR on 8/23/2021 ♦ POTTS, DELANIE ALVIN was arrested on a charge of ASSLT ON OFF/ST EMP at 2400 JOHN ST on 8/22/2021 ♦ POTTS, TOBIAS EARLE was arrested on a charge of RESISTING ARREST at 2500 JOHN ST/E TWENTY-FIFTH ST on 8/22/2021 ♦ Saunders, Kristine Harkins (F/52) Arrest on chrg of Affray (M), at 4378 Wallburg Landing Dr, Winston-salem, NC, on 8/22/2021 00:16. ♦ Settlemyre, Gregory Ellis

(M/44) Arrest on chrg of 1) Drugs-poss Sched Ii (F), 2) Drug Paraphernalia (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 6) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 7) Probation Violation (M), at 5226 Reidsville Rd, Walkertown, NC, on 8/20/2021 22:45. ♦ SHOCKLEY, DAKOTA MICHAEL WAYNE was arrested on a charge of FUGITIVE at 2576 SHOREFAIR DR on 8/23/2021 ♦ Smith, Douglas Allen (M/52) Arrest on chrg of 1) Sexual Battery (M) and 2) Assaultsimple (M), at Baux Mountain Rd/red Bank Rd, Winston-salem, NC, on 8/18/2021 09:00. ♦ SPRINKLE, CHARLES ERIC was arrested on a charge of ADWOTHER WEAPON at 3810 N PATTERSON AV on 8/22/2021 ♦ Staples, Justin (M/32) Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking/larc-felony (F), 2) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), at 1667 Banbridge Rd, Kernersville, NC, on 8/18/2021 11:45. ♦ TRINIAD, NAYDELIN VARGAS was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 2099 BOWEN BV/MANCHESTER ST on 8/21/2021 ♦ Veldman, Adrian (M/30) Arrest on chrg of 1) Violation Of A Valid Protective Order (M), 2) Violation Of A Valid Protective Order (M), and 3) Violation Of A Valid Protective Order (M), at 200 N Main St, Winston-salem, NC, on 8/18/2021 10:08. ♦ WALKER, PAMELA SMART was arrested on a charge of RESISTING ARREST at 612 ANSON ST on 8/21/2021 ♦ Williams, James Timothy (M/49) Arrest on chrg of Felon Adw/ser Injury (F), at 2651 W Mountain St, Kernersville, NC, on 8/19/2021 21:30. ♦ Williams Sutton, Jakyrius Tayveon (M/19) Arrest on chrg of 1) Poss Cocaine Fel (F), 2) Drugs-misd Poss (M), 3) Drug Paraphernalia (M), and 4) Ccw (M), at 3118 Sides Rd/kingstree Ridge Dr, Winston-salem, NC, on 8/18/2021 11:22.

♦ Mark Franklin Anders, 48, of Tobaccoville, died August 20, 2021. ♦ Ernest Monroe Bowden, Jr., 94, of Winston-Salem, died August 20, 2021. ♦ Genaro “Xavier” Camarena, 35, died August 3, 2021. ♦ Mayo Calvin Dull, 96, of Lewisville, died August 21, 2021. ♦ John Francis Dumont, 89, of Allegheny County, died August 18, 2021. ♦ Milton “Milt” Aloysius Goetz, 89, of WinstonSalem, died August 20, 2021. ♦ Christopher Lynne Holden, 54, of Walkertown, died August 22, 2021. ♦ Francis Tyler Morgan Jr., 92, of Winston-Salem, died August 20, 2021. ♦ Carolyn Joan Chalgren Rickoff, 92, of WinstonSalem, died August 22, 2021. ♦ Pamela Lynn Sawyers Shaffer, 54, died August 21, 2021. ♦ Robert Keith Snow, Sr., 61, of Lexington, died August 18, 2021. ♦ Dr. Herbert A. Soper, 87, of Winston-Salem, died August 21, 2021. ♦ Susan Morgan Washinsky, 60, of Clemmons, died August 21, 2021. ♦ Thomas Luther White Jr., 88, of Forsyth County, died August 22, 2021. ♦ Richard Connell Wilkins, 86, of Rutherfordton, died August 18, 2021.

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

SPORTS

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SIDELINE REPORT MLB

Braves’ Soroka tears Achilles again Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Soroka, who made the AllStar Game as a rookie in 2019 but has not pitched since tearing his Achilles tendon three starts into the pandemic-delayed 2020 season, has suffered the same injury and will require another major surgery. He had hoped to be ready to return early this season — he even pitched in a game late in spring training — only to suffer a setback in his recovery that required another surgical procedure. He then completely tore the tendon for the second time. The 24-year-old went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in his first full year in the big leagues.

WNBA

Champion Seattle Storm visit White House Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden honored the 2020 WNBA champions Seattle Storm on Monday, celebrating their success on the court and hailing the four-time title holders for changing lives with their activism. The visit marked the first time that an NBA or WNBA team has visited the White House since the Cleveland Cavaliers were feted by Barack Obama in 2016. Presidents typically host college and major league sports champions for a White House ceremony, but the two big basketball leagues skipped such celebrations during Donald Trump’s administration in opposition to Trump’s policies.

NFL

Titans coach Vrabel tests positive for COVID-19 Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel has tested positive for COVID-19 and quarantined at home. Vrabel told reporters he woke up Sunday with a sore throat and an earache. After two initial tests came back positive, Vrabel was given a PCR test, which on Monday confirmed he was positive. The Titans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-3 in a preseason game Saturday night. Special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman helped run practice Monday, while defensive coordinator Shane Bowen filled in by talking to reporters after the session.

NHL

Jimmy Hayes, 31, Boston College star who played in NHL, dies Milton, Mass. Jimmy Hayes, who won a national hockey championship at Boston College and played seven seasons in the NHL, has died. He was 31. A law enforcement official said medics on Monday were called to the Hayes home in the Boston suburbs, where he was pronounced dead. The 6-foot-5 right wing was a second-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2008. He totaled 54 goals and 55 assists in 334 NHL games with the Blackhawks, Panthers, Bruins and Devils. In addition to his wife and children, Hayes is survived by four siblings — including younger brother Kevin, a center with the Philadelphia Flyers, and his parents, Shelagh and Kevin Hayes Sr.

CARLOS OSORIO | AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney (12) beats William Byron (24) at the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in Brooklyn, Mich.

Blaney takes lead on final restart, holds on to win Michigan By Michael Marot The Associated Press BROOKLYN, Mich. — Ryan Blaney needed a push to pass William Byron on Sunday. Kyle Busch provided the boost. With Busch’s help, Blaney took the lead on the final restart, then bobbed and weaved his way around Michigan International Speedway to beat Byron by 0.077 seconds. It was the narrowest victory margin in a Cup race at this track since electronic scoring began.

“I wouldn’t say we had the best car,” Blaney said. “We got pretty good, to a point where I thought we could run fourth or fifth, and it just worked out to where he could give us a push and it just worked out.” Blaney won for the second time this season and sixth overall. Ford has now won seven straight at Michigan. When the top three cars took the outside lane on the final restart, Blaney chose the inside lane next to Byron and in front of Busch.

His decision — and Busch’s push — changed the complexion of the race. “It was fun, kind of like a superspeedway race,” Byron said. “Unfortunately, he ran the bottom. You can only block so many lanes and I tried to block the top and cost myself the lead.” Kyle Larson and Byron took turns over the final seven laps trying to give one another a shot to pass Blaney. Nothing worked. “Just made a couple of bad moves, I guess,” Larson said. “A little too impatient behind the No. 12 and allowed William to get by me and then I was hoping they would get racing and I could get side-drafting.” And Blaney sped across the finish line barely ahead of Byron. “Really the push was the whole thing,” Blaney said. “So thanks, Kyle.” Blaney also ended Kevin Harvick’s winning streak at Michigan at three. But the consolation prize wasn’t bad — clinching the 15th

spot in the 16-car playoff that begins in two weeks. Elliott beat Larson to the finish line to win the first stage, and Busch took the second stage over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell. Austin Dillon heads into the regular-season finale in 17th place after finishing third in the first stage, but his day ended with a nasty crash as the second stage ended. Dillon was trying to move up from below the white line when the No. 3 Chevrolet appeared to make contact with Brad Kesewlowski, sending Dillon hard into the outside wall and briefly airborne in the front straightaway. Keselowski apologized immediately on the radio. “I think we would have a shot for something there at the end with that race car,” he said. “I thought we had a little room to come up but he just held me down a little bit.” The regular-season ends Saturday night at Daytona.

Pacquiao ponders ring retirement, political plans after loss Yordenis Ugás defeated the legendary boxer Saturday night in Las Vegas

The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao sounded like a fighter on his way out and a politician on his way up. He might have concealed his battered face behind big sunglasses, but Pacquiao didn’t hide behind excuses or denial after a discouraging unanimous-decision loss to Yordenis Ugás on Saturday night. Yes, Pacquiao disclosed that his legs cramped throughout the fight on the Vegas Strip, depriving him of the mobility that has always made his power so dangerous. The eight-division world champion still acknowledged the larger fact that was obvious even to most of his devoted fans around the world: He deserved his loss to Ugás, a talented opponent who probably wouldn’t have been much trouble for prime Pacman. And that might be a good reason to walk away. “This sport is my passion,” Pacquiao said. “That’s why I’m still here fighting at the age of 42. I’m enjoying it, but sometimes you have to think about the response of your body. ... My mind, my heart, it’s 100%. But my legs were cramping.” In the moments after he returned from a two-year ring absence with the loss to the rangy, resilient Ugás, Pacquiao repeatedly hinted he is planning to retire from boxing. He is still alongside Canelo Álvarez as the two biggest active stars in the sport, yet Pacquiao (67-8-2) has never spoken so frankly about leav-

JOHN LOCHER | AP PHOTO

Manny Pacquiao, left, of the Philippines, is hit by Yordenis Ugas, of Cuba, in a welterweight championship boxing match Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Las Vegas. ing behind 26 years in the pro fight game. “I’ve done a lot for boxing, and boxing has done a lot for me,” Pacquiao said. “I look forward to spending a lot of time thinking about my future in boxing.” Pacquiao’s postfight comments included a sprinkling of such catchy, pre-written phrases — sort of like a stump speech by a politician. Indeed, the Filipino senator’s next fight is probably in the political ring: He is widely expected to enter the presidential race in the Philippines next month ahead of the May 2022 election. “In my heart, I want to contin-

ue to fight,” Pacquiao said. “But the thing is, I also have to consider my body. I’ve put it through a lot of things. Especially back in my country, there’s a lot of things that I need to accomplish to help people. I want to be an inspiration to the Philippine people inside and outside the ring.” If Pacquiao retires, he leaves boxing as one of the greats of his generation. Along with his stunning array of championship belts and his groundbreaking mobility across the sport’s weight classes, Pacquiao will be remembered for his utter fearlessness in taking on countless larger foes without blinking.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s devoted trainer for most of the past two decades, acknowledged being “a little worried” about the champ. “He’s boxed for a long time, and he’s the best guy I’ve ever had,” Roach said. “The best guy, the best fighter. I hate to see the day when he retires, but this could be it. We’ll see what Manny decides.” Another scenario seems equally plausible at this point: Pacquiao doesn’t win the presidency in nine months — he is behind several candidates in early polling — and he subsequently gets a highly lucrative opportunity to return to the ring late next year, when he will be nearly 44.

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Twin City Herald for Wednesday, August 25, 2021

STATE & NATION

Biden picks Nicholas Burns for China ambassador; Rahm Emanuel for Japan By Aamer Madhani The Associated Press PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN is nominating longtime former senior State Department official Nicholas Burns to serve as his ambassador to China and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve as his envoy to Japan. Emanuel was also a former three-term congressman who served as President Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff and was a senior adviser in President Bill Clinton’s administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Emanuel will be dispatched to Tokyo at a critical point in the U.S.-Japan relationship as Biden has made strengthening relations with partners in the Pacific a priority as he increases focus on China. Biden with his pick of Burns turns to a career foreign service officer to serve as his envoy to arguably the most difficult diplomatic mission. The president has repeatedly called China the United States most significant economic competitor and a rising national security concern and subsequently has sought to center his foreign policy on the Pacific in the early going of his administration. Biden had considered naming Emanuel to serve as his transportation secretary but ultimately passed him over in the face of fierce opposition from some in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party who took issue with his record on policing and school closures in predominantly black neighborhoods during his time as Chicago’s mayor. Emanuel served as an informal

KIICHIRO SATO | AP PHOTO

In this April 22, 2019, file photo, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel arrives at a news conference outside of the south air traffic control tower at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. adviser to Biden’s White House campaign and has been a significant force in Democratic Party politics for much of the last three decades. He left Congress to serve as Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff, helping the president shepherd his signature health care law and push for massive stimulus in the wake of the Great Recession. As the House Democrats’ chief fundraiser in 2006, he was the architect of the wave election that delivered his party to the majority

for the first time in a dozen years, and made Nancy Pelosi the first female speaker in history. As mayor, Emanuel touted record high school graduation rates in the nation’s third largest city and his success recruiting several large corporations to relocate to Chicago among his chief accomplishments. But he faced criticism for soaring homicide rates during his time as mayor, a fraught relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union, and mounting unmet pension obligations for city workers. Much

of the city’s financial plight was something Emanuel inherited from his predecessor Richard M. Daley’s administration. In 2018, he announced that he wouldn’t seek a third term as mayor as the city was bracing for the high-profile trial of a white police officer who fatally shot a black teen, Laquan McDonald, on a city street. Emanuel, facing reelection in 2015, argued against releasing police video of the shooting while the investigation was continuing. After months of litigation –

and after Emanuel was reelected to a second term – a court ordered the city to show the footage to the public. Emanuel’s relationship with Chicago’s black community became strained following the video’s release. Burns previously served as undersecretary of state under President George W. Bush and as U.S. envoy to Greece and NATO. He also served as State Department spokesman and spent five years on the White House National Security Council, a tenure that overlapped the Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations. His foreign service officer career included a stint as consulate general in Jerusalem (1985–1987) as well service at the U.S. embassy in Egypt (1983-1985) and Mauritania (1980 as an intern). Burns is now the executive director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum. He’s also a professor of the practice of diplomacy and international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. If confirmed by the Senate, Burns will head to Beijing at a difficult moment. U.S. intelligence officials are in the midst of a 90-day review focused on determining the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese lab. The president has also pressed China’s Xi Jinping on his government crackdown of democracy activists in Hong Kong, human rights abuses against Uyghur and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang province, and what the U.S. sees as unfair and coercive trade practices. The administration accused China of being behind a massive hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software and indicted four Chinese nationals on charges they tried to steal U.S. trade secrets, technology and disease research. China rejected the hacking accusation and demanded that Washington drop the charges against its citizens.

In this Dec. 16, 2020, file photo, Ingrid Radke, a critical care nurse in the ICU, receives the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccination at St. Peter’s Health in Helena, Mont.

THOM BRIDGE | INDEPENDENT RECORD VIA AP, FILE

Montana only state to ban vaccine requirements for employees By Iris Samuels The Associated Press HELENA, Mont. — While many large companies across the U.S. have announced that COVID-19 vaccines will be required for their employees to return to work in-person, there is one state where such requirements are banned: Montana. Under a new law passed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year, requiring vaccines as a condition for employment is deemed “discrimination” and a violation of the state’s human rights laws. Montana is the only state in the U.S. with a law like this for private employers, said Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. The law has raised concern among some employers across the state. “This is against everything we’ve ever known or believed about public health,” said Dr. Pamela Cutler,

president of the Montana Medical Association. “I believe it’s a travesty now and it needs to be fixed so that we can make our offices safe for patients and our coworkers.” GOP lawmakers who supported the bill in the state Legislature said it was needed in response to employers “coercing” employees to get vaccinations under threat of termination. Some of the loudest supporters of the bill were employees of Benefis Health System in Great Falls who were told earlier this year that COVID-19 vaccines would be necessary to keep their jobs. Benefis was forced to backtrack on that plan when the law was signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte in May. Gianforte, a former business executive who founded and ran a technology company, gave the bill the green light after changing it to allow health care facilities to require unvaccinated workers and those who refuse to disclose their vaccination status to wear masks

and take other precautions. He stood behind the law this week amid heightened scrutiny. “While the governor continues to encourage Montanans to receive safe and effective vaccines, doing so is voluntary and no individual should face discrimination based on vaccination status,” Brooke Stroyke, a spokesperson for Gianforte, said in an email. While the list of national corporations requiring vaccines of their employees who want to return to work in-person continues to grow, which now includes Google, Facebook, Walmart, and United Airlines, businesses in Montana don’t have that option. “Most (businesses) feel like their hands are tied right now,” said Mike Rooney, operations director for Downtown Helena Incorporated, an organization that represents businesses in downtown Helena. “Some would definitely be very supportive of a vaccination requirement or a mask requirement.”

The Montana Hospital Association opposed the law before it took effect, warning that it would make it harder for the state to meet its need for medical services. Now, the association is saying their fears may come to fruition. Dr. Neil Ku, an epidemiologist at Billings Clinic who sits on the board of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, said the law sets Montana apart in conversations about how to combat the coronavirus. “It is very difficult for me to participate in the conversation when everywhere in the country can talk about vaccinating their employees but I can’t,” Ku said. Hospitals in Montana until recently required their employees to get most vaccines approved by the Centers for Disease Control, including the annual flu shot, providing an avenue for employees to opt out for medical or religious reasons. Now, that is no longer possible, leaving both workers and patients vulnerable.

Across the U.S., 60% of those eligible are vaccinated against the COVID-19. In Montana, that number is 49%. In Montana hospitals, employees are vaccinated at a higher rate, but without a requirement, patients must contend with added risk to their health when seeking care. “It holds us out as an anomaly against the rest of the nation,” said Rich Rasmussen, president of the Montana Hospital Association. “We have to rely on recruiting from out of state. The rest of the nation is looking at us and they are saying, ‘I don’t know if I want to practice in Montana, because of their approach to patient and employee safety as it relates to vaccinations.’” Like many states, Montana is dealing with a rise in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Delta variant. According to a state report released earlier this week, 234 out of the 240 beds in the Benefis Hospital are occupied.