North State Journal Vol. 6, Issue 30

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VOLUME 6 ISSUE 30 | WWW.NSJONLINE.COM | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

State Sen. Clark retiring at end of term Raleigh Ben Clark, a five-term state senator, announced on Tuesday he would not seek a sixth term in the General Assembly. In a statement, Clark said representing the citizens of Hoke and Cumberland counties was “the blessing and honor of my life.” He said in his announcement that he will complete his fifth term in Raleigh and will seek other ways to serve the state, including ensuring fair representation in the state’s new congressional and legislative maps. NSJ STAFF

Lawyer pleads not guilty in TrumpRussia investigation probe

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Trudeau’s party wins Canada vote but fails to attain majority Toronto Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party secured victory in parliamentary elections but failed to get the majority he wanted in a vote that focused on the coronavirus pandemic but that many Canadians saw as unnecessary. Trudeau struggled to justify why he called the election early given the virus, and the opposition was relentless in accusing him of holding the vote two years before the deadline for his own personal ambition. “Trudeau lost his gamble to get a majority so I would say this is a bittersweet victory for him,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Work in progress

State Sen. Jim Perry (R-Lenoir) holds his hand against budget documents at a conference committee meeting at the General Assembly. The House and Senate are expected to continue working into October on the state’s biennial budget.

Washington, D.C. A prominent lawyer with ties to Hillary Clinton pleaded not guilty to making a false statement to the FBI in a charge stemming from a probe of the U.S. government’s investigation into Russian election interference. Michael Sussman appeared Friday in D.C. federal court. He is the second person to be prosecuted by special counsel John Durham. The indictment accuses Sussmann of lying to the FBI when he was questioned about a September 2016 conversation he had with the FBI’s general counsel. Sussmann’s firm, Perkins Coie, has deep Democratic connections. A thenpartner at the firm, Marc Elias, brokered a deal with the Fusion GPS research firm which produced the infamous “Steele dossier” that helped form the basis of flawed surveillance applications targeting former Trump campaign officials.

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PHOTO VIA JIM PERRY

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Holder’s redistricting group disappointed in activist testimony at NC hearings Democratic-tied group holding trainings to improve comment quality

Drywall-repair company helps veterans learn a trade, run their own franchise PatchMasters CEO Tim Forrest talks about empowering veterans to learn drywall repair, “lift them to the next level” in life and business By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Need your drywall repaired? There’s a veteran run business that can help. PatchMasters is a veteran run and owned business specializing in drywall repair that offers franchise opportunities to military veterans. There are currently two locations, one serving Iredell County and another in southern Wake County. PatchMasters offers “high-quality drywall service for all those small holes, dings, and dents. Our technicians will leave it like it never happened.” The Iredell County location opened in March and the Wake County location opened up in July of this year. PatchMasters has fanchises across the United States and some in Canada. “All we do is drywall repair,” said Tim Forrest, the CEO and current owner and operator of the southern Wake County location. “We want to do the repair. We don’t want to get into competing for new homes and new buildings and all that. It’s not where I want to be.” A resident of Holly Springs in Wake County, Forrest served in the Army for 30 years and 10 months. He enlisted in 1987 and retired in 2018 is a colonel 06. “I lived in 42 countries for various and sundry reasons. I did two years in Afghanistan, two years in Iraq. I was there for the OIR fight, which you probably know is ISIS,” said Forrest. “I was over that way in northern Iraq.” Forrest said he’s seen “a lot of the world, and as an engineer I’ve built a lot of the world.” He also accumulated a number of medals and awards and recognitions, but he said he most wants to give back. That giving

back includes running for Holly Springs Town Council in the upcoming 2021 municipal election. He’s also helping veterans get their own business, leading a Boy Scout troop as committee chair and building beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Forrest, who also started PatchMasters in the Iredell location, said the organization has a parent Corporation, Bronze Star Holdings, which owns the two LLC’s. Bronze Star Holdings is named after the military meritorious valor award from a combat zone. Bronze Star Holdings was incorporated in May of 2020 by military veteran John Gallina. He is also the CEO of Purple Heart Homes, which has chapters in all 50 states, with offerings that include helping veterans obtain access ramps for a new house. “Bronze Star Holdings’ purpose is we want to recruit, train, and enable veterans to have their own franchise if they can,” said Forrest. “We want to enable them to get their own business, whether that’s through our investment, their investment or combination thereof.” Currently, there are three veterans working with PatchMasters, one of whom is a disabled veteran. “He’s a single-handed individual due to an IED in Iraq,” said Forrest. “But he’s actually able to do drywall because now there’s special equipment they didn’t have 10 years ago or 20 years ago, for one person to be able to do drywall by themselves. They have a lot of special gear now.” Forrest said they plan on recruiting more in 2022 once they get beyond process and training procedures, training concepts, operational development, and marketing. The idea for PatchMasters came from Gallina, who wanted to help veterans, disabled or not, who want to work and provide for their families. Forrest See VETERANS, page A2

By David Larson North State Journal DURHAM — Activists at public hearings on redistricting are calling for “fair maps” and speaking against gerrymandering, but operatives connected to Eric Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee are worried they are doing more harm than good to Democrats’ cause. The maps, expected from the North Carolina General Assem-

bly in October, will increase the state’s congressional representation from 13 seats to 14, due to 2020 census numbers showing the state’s growth relative to other states. Holder’s group is fighting to see that the new seat is not added to the Republican’s 8-5 advantage in the delegation. Throughout September, North Carolinians are being given a chance to communicate their priorities for the new congressional maps during public hearings in each of the 13 current congressional districts. Members of the General Assembly’s Joint Select Committee on Congressional ReSee HOLDER, page A2

ABC chair resigns amid supply issues Cooper appointee cites anxiety, distribution challenges

By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press RALEIGH — The chairman of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission has resigned from the board, citing anxiety over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the agency’s recent challenges with liquor distribution. A.D. “Zander” Guy submitted his resignation on Friday to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who appointed him to the chairmanship in early 2017. Guy, who also previously served as chairman when Democrat Beverly Perdue was governor, said in a phone interview Monday that recent events led he and his wife to reassess his service. The former mayor of Surf City said he’ll be 73 next month and that two friends and an uncle with COVID-19 had died in the last 90 days. Guy also said liquor supply troubles, including the rollout of a new computerized inventory and ordering software program by the ABC system’s warehouse operations contractor, had led to added stress. “When you can’t sleep at night and you’re worrying about things that you can’t control, it’s time to readjust,” Guy told The Associated Press, adding later: “I’m done.” Cooper’s office on Monday thanked Guy for his service on the commission. Guy’s three-sentence resignation letter, provided by the governor’s office, didn’t go

into specifics. There are two other commissioners who also serve at the pleasure of the governor. The See ABC, page A2


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